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Article STATE OF MASONRY IN IRELAND. ← Page 6 of 9 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
State Of Masonry In Ireland.
cpnyictionis that Masonry possesses any intrinsic excellence , the conclusion is irresistible that it is entitled to support , and consequently to the evident practicable extension amongst all sections of the human family . It is as impossible for any man , who truly believes that he has discovered a secret eminently conducive to human happiness , to avoid feeling an ardent , active zeal forcibly impelling him towards its universal disseminationunder conditionsas it is for him amidst the glare of
, proper , day to open his eyes and remain insensible to the agency of heaven ' s own radiant light . Every Brother who is not , in this respect , actuated by a missionary spirit , is in his secret heart no veritable Mason , whatever may be the seeming quality of his ostensible profession . Universal philanthropy is of the very essence of Masonry , and he can be neither a philanthropist nor a Mason , who is not intensely anxious to embrace , if possibleevery child of Adam within that circle of enlightenmentand
, , virtue , and happiness , to which he has himself been privileged with an introduction . If this be not his felt consciousness , his Masonic faith is an imagination , and his fraternal profession only an " organized hypocrisy . " ~ If these remarks are , in the abstract true , in relation to every individual' Mason , they come home with infinitely multiplied power to the case of those Brethrenthe presumed exaltation of whose attainments
, has raised them to , " supreme command , " and hasinstrumentally placed in their safe keeping , the temporal destinies of the associated Brotherhood itself . In ordinary social life , trusteeship brings with it very peculiar responsibilities , and in Masonry these responsibilities are enhanced by the superadded moralities which have their origin in the very
fountain of knowledge itself . Thence it is the special duty of the Grand Lodge to exert all ; the intrinsic energies of which its members are in possessiori , as well as all the influences at their command , in order to extend as widely as possible the empire ofillumination , arid not only so ; but-to ' add to it : the concurrent attributes of orderly arrangement and permanent stability . For this purpose , the establishment of district superintendence is essentially necessary , and this superintendence ought tb be made , not an occasional , but afixed and generalized ' element in
the whole plan of Masonic-government in Ireland . Wehave been in several-Irish Lodges , and we have been invariably struck with-the Want ofa proper uniformity in the system of working by which . they all seem to , he characterized ; and to Masons we need only to indicate how much oft really harmonic beauty is lost when any ofthe , fundamental rules of orderly arrangement are habitually departed'from . After the institution of an efficient system of district controul , the ' next best ; thing which the Grarid'Lodge ' cpuId dp ; would be-to establishra ceritral ' ' Lodge of
Promulgation , ]' -whereby the : operative irregularities alluded to ;; as well ; as all similar deformities , would , be removed , and uniformity : enaction ; would become a necessary characteristicy of , the whole plan . Indeed , in / the absence ofthis ; uniformity , itis not easy to conceive howthe work can be carried on , / and . the fact is , that , as might naturally beexpected , its progress is , so seriously : retarded , that , Ireland may truly be said to be whole centuries behind . theyiSister : countries .,- It is important that the truth '
shbuld be-fairl y knpwn : as : well as honestly stated , and this truth is that the . backward condition ; of-Masonry in Ireland ; is to be attributed mainly , if [ not , altogether , to , the negligent conduct of the'Grand : Lodge ; : for jtis totally absurd ; to expect that when the heads of the institute ^ are'apa- thetic , their , subordinates ; should be remarkable for zealous activity : ; On ' VOL . iv . ? , I
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
State Of Masonry In Ireland.
cpnyictionis that Masonry possesses any intrinsic excellence , the conclusion is irresistible that it is entitled to support , and consequently to the evident practicable extension amongst all sections of the human family . It is as impossible for any man , who truly believes that he has discovered a secret eminently conducive to human happiness , to avoid feeling an ardent , active zeal forcibly impelling him towards its universal disseminationunder conditionsas it is for him amidst the glare of
, proper , day to open his eyes and remain insensible to the agency of heaven ' s own radiant light . Every Brother who is not , in this respect , actuated by a missionary spirit , is in his secret heart no veritable Mason , whatever may be the seeming quality of his ostensible profession . Universal philanthropy is of the very essence of Masonry , and he can be neither a philanthropist nor a Mason , who is not intensely anxious to embrace , if possibleevery child of Adam within that circle of enlightenmentand
, , virtue , and happiness , to which he has himself been privileged with an introduction . If this be not his felt consciousness , his Masonic faith is an imagination , and his fraternal profession only an " organized hypocrisy . " ~ If these remarks are , in the abstract true , in relation to every individual' Mason , they come home with infinitely multiplied power to the case of those Brethrenthe presumed exaltation of whose attainments
, has raised them to , " supreme command , " and hasinstrumentally placed in their safe keeping , the temporal destinies of the associated Brotherhood itself . In ordinary social life , trusteeship brings with it very peculiar responsibilities , and in Masonry these responsibilities are enhanced by the superadded moralities which have their origin in the very
fountain of knowledge itself . Thence it is the special duty of the Grand Lodge to exert all ; the intrinsic energies of which its members are in possessiori , as well as all the influences at their command , in order to extend as widely as possible the empire ofillumination , arid not only so ; but-to ' add to it : the concurrent attributes of orderly arrangement and permanent stability . For this purpose , the establishment of district superintendence is essentially necessary , and this superintendence ought tb be made , not an occasional , but afixed and generalized ' element in
the whole plan of Masonic-government in Ireland . Wehave been in several-Irish Lodges , and we have been invariably struck with-the Want ofa proper uniformity in the system of working by which . they all seem to , he characterized ; and to Masons we need only to indicate how much oft really harmonic beauty is lost when any ofthe , fundamental rules of orderly arrangement are habitually departed'from . After the institution of an efficient system of district controul , the ' next best ; thing which the Grarid'Lodge ' cpuId dp ; would be-to establishra ceritral ' ' Lodge of
Promulgation , ]' -whereby the : operative irregularities alluded to ;; as well ; as all similar deformities , would , be removed , and uniformity : enaction ; would become a necessary characteristicy of , the whole plan . Indeed , in / the absence ofthis ; uniformity , itis not easy to conceive howthe work can be carried on , / and . the fact is , that , as might naturally beexpected , its progress is , so seriously : retarded , that , Ireland may truly be said to be whole centuries behind . theyiSister : countries .,- It is important that the truth '
shbuld be-fairl y knpwn : as : well as honestly stated , and this truth is that the . backward condition ; of-Masonry in Ireland ; is to be attributed mainly , if [ not , altogether , to , the negligent conduct of the'Grand : Lodge ; : for jtis totally absurd ; to expect that when the heads of the institute ^ are'apa- thetic , their , subordinates ; should be remarkable for zealous activity : ; On ' VOL . iv . ? , I