The Preface.

whereby he should not bo evil served , ancl they ashamed , and that they shall call hhn tlie governor of . the work Avhilst they worked Avith him ; and many other charges which are too long to toll , ancl to all these

charges ho made them swear the great oath that men used to swear at that time , and ordained for them reasonable payment , that they might live by it honestly , and also that they should come and assemble there together , that they might have counsel in

their craft how they mi ght Avork host to serve their lord for their profit and Avorship , and to correct themselves if they have trespassed ; thus the craft of Geometry was governed there , and the Avorthy master called it Geometry , and it is called Masonry in this land .

Since long after the children of Israel were come into the land of Bethel , now called amongst us the country of Hierusalem , the holy city , that is with them , Templum Dei , ancl the same king David loved Masons Avell , and cherished them ,

and gave them good payment , and he gave them charges that afterwards , and after the decease of king David , Solomon his son performed out the temple that his father had begun ; and he sent after for

Masons out of clivers lands and gathered them together . So that he had ei ghty thousand of them , and they Avere named Masons , ancl he had three thousand that were ordained to be masters and governors of that Avork . ( To be continued . )

Masonic Thoughts.

MASONIC THOUGHTS .

Above aU , a personal fidelity , absolutely incorruptible , should be the characteristic of every Mason ; and none should gain admission to your Temples , Avho are not 80 organized and tempered that , Avhatever emergency may arise , there shall be no

sacrifice of one jot or tittle of the faith t } iey have plighted at your altars . There

can bo no divided foalty or devotion among us . I am one of those who demand of my Masonic brethren exactly Avhat I propose to give to them in return—a loyalty to my vows which no earthly influence can shatter or impair . I demand that the

moral standard of the ancient brotherhood shall bo steadily advanced—raised higher and higher , ancl yet higher—until the golden period shall come again , Avhen the simple name of Freemason shall bo a guarantee of manhood , faithfulness and integrity . Let us

not be content with any half-way excellence . The genius of our Order demands all the perfection attainable , and in these respects , at least , humanity is capable of absolute perfection .

No man is so constituted that he cannot be true and faithful , and he Avho , possessing the faculty , Avill not exercise it , is unworthy material , to be cast out Avithout compassion or delay . Let me admonish you again to look more to quality and less to quantity ; ancl not to forget that in the character , not

m the number , of your bretliren is to be found the strength , the influence and the capacity of the brotherhood . I submit to you , in illustration of this vieAV , the simple proposition , that it Avould be better , infinitely better , that there should be but

one hundred Masons in this vast Coinmnn-Avealth , ancl each one of that hundred feel that he could repose in serene ancl perfect confidence on the fidelity and truth of the other ninety-nine , than that there should be an hundred thousand , with the

distrustful feeling that ten of them , in the hour of trial might prove false . Let us know Avhere Ave stand as Masons , and

whether the solemn VOAVS Avhich Ave have uttered are to govern our actions , or whether they are IIOUOAV mockeries , imposing no higher duties than those we OAved before they Avere uttered . Let us ascertain whether Masonry is a livincr

reality , demanding some sacrifice as the occasion for it may arise , or a delusion and a sham—a child ' s rattle , to be toyed with at pleasure , and cast aside Avhenever a K