Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
French Masonry.—The Sanctuary Of Memphis.
FRENCH MASONRY . —THE SANCTUARY OF MEMPHIS .
A VOICE FROM OtTE NEIGHBOURS . Discourse of the Orator of the " Sanctuary of Memphis " to ihe newly-initiated Mason of that Order . TRANSLATED BY N . B . KENNY .
( Concluded from page 433 . ) EVERY man owes himself to the brotherhood of man—to society . Set thyself to conceive a noble and a grand idea , and consecrate thy life to its realisation . Thus thy passage upon this earth shall not have been barren ; thus shalt thou have accomplished a God-sent mission—a trust given by Providence aud faithfully fulfilled ; butat the same timethe duties are
con-, , current—never forget that you must likewise propose to thyself and set down a purpose useful to humanit y in general . Never allow thy mouth to alter the secret thoughts and convictions of thy heart . Let that heart be always a true and faithful organ ; but know how to guard a prudent silence , which permits not even a suspicion of the secret confided to thy trust and fidelity . Thus shalt thou avoid every importunity ,
and a falsehood shall never contaminate th y lips . Divulge not , without pressing necessity , and , to prevent injustice or wrong , any secret entrusted to you . And this is the inculcation likewise of one who speaks to you over the ruins of the palaces of Imperial Rome . * By what right wouldst thou exact from another more faithfulness to preserve thy secret than that which thou thyself had manifested ? In fine , let chaste and rigid morals be thy
inseparable companions . Keep th y soul pure , th y mind straig ht , correct , frank , ancl true . Let modesty and moderation he thy guiding law . Never consider the hound which thou mayest have reached—for thy race may he slackened—bub that goal at which it is th y dut y to arrive , ancl which the brief duration of thy existence hardl y leaves thee the hope to attain . This exposition of thy duties should not scare thee . The way of virtue is as facile as that of vice . It is sufficient to enter upon it and to proceed . This course shall be easv if betimes thou submit to the restraint of that other
virtue which they designate temperance , without which there is no wisdoimno self-command . Temperance is the universal pervading medioant for the moral as well as physical well-being . Be sober , then , frugal , and moderate , and thou shalt prevent as well the ailments of the bod y as the indisposition of the mind .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
French Masonry.—The Sanctuary Of Memphis.
FRENCH MASONRY . —THE SANCTUARY OF MEMPHIS .
A VOICE FROM OtTE NEIGHBOURS . Discourse of the Orator of the " Sanctuary of Memphis " to ihe newly-initiated Mason of that Order . TRANSLATED BY N . B . KENNY .
( Concluded from page 433 . ) EVERY man owes himself to the brotherhood of man—to society . Set thyself to conceive a noble and a grand idea , and consecrate thy life to its realisation . Thus thy passage upon this earth shall not have been barren ; thus shalt thou have accomplished a God-sent mission—a trust given by Providence aud faithfully fulfilled ; butat the same timethe duties are
con-, , current—never forget that you must likewise propose to thyself and set down a purpose useful to humanit y in general . Never allow thy mouth to alter the secret thoughts and convictions of thy heart . Let that heart be always a true and faithful organ ; but know how to guard a prudent silence , which permits not even a suspicion of the secret confided to thy trust and fidelity . Thus shalt thou avoid every importunity ,
and a falsehood shall never contaminate th y lips . Divulge not , without pressing necessity , and , to prevent injustice or wrong , any secret entrusted to you . And this is the inculcation likewise of one who speaks to you over the ruins of the palaces of Imperial Rome . * By what right wouldst thou exact from another more faithfulness to preserve thy secret than that which thou thyself had manifested ? In fine , let chaste and rigid morals be thy
inseparable companions . Keep th y soul pure , th y mind straig ht , correct , frank , ancl true . Let modesty and moderation he thy guiding law . Never consider the hound which thou mayest have reached—for thy race may he slackened—bub that goal at which it is th y dut y to arrive , ancl which the brief duration of thy existence hardl y leaves thee the hope to attain . This exposition of thy duties should not scare thee . The way of virtue is as facile as that of vice . It is sufficient to enter upon it and to proceed . This course shall be easv if betimes thou submit to the restraint of that other
virtue which they designate temperance , without which there is no wisdoimno self-command . Temperance is the universal pervading medioant for the moral as well as physical well-being . Be sober , then , frugal , and moderate , and thou shalt prevent as well the ailments of the bod y as the indisposition of the mind .