-
Articles/Ads
Article SIXTY POUNDS TO THE INCH. ← Page 4 of 6 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Sixty Pounds To The Inch.
are made to comprehend the great aim of our institution , and by careful education constituted so many apostles to go out into the highways and by-ways of life , preaching those great truths of our doctrine that shall ultimately prevail when all men are prepared to
assume the ties of fraternity designed for them from the beginning . We are evidently going much too fast for this at present ; but , as I have remarked , in relation to the general community , it would be of service to us if the safety-valve of Masonry were raised si , little , and our velocity slackened in a corresponding degree .
It would appear as if all the labour that has thus far been spent upon the Order has been principally directed to the idea of establishing it on a firm footing in the various countries of the earth , and to answering , in a thousand ways , the question ever in . the mouths of the profane , cui bono ? It is to be admitted that earnest , truthful
and zealous advocates of the real idea ! have at times appeared , but their works have yet to find their reward , for the masses have beeu in too great a hurry to stop long enough in their headlong course to give them due attention , or to profit by their teachings , as they might have done , without money and without price . But it is
respectfully submitted that the work of establishment is sufficiently advanced to rest as it is for a time , while we seek to inspire a higher flight— -a wider range of intellectual strength . The world at large , with the exception of Rome and her dependents , admits the benevolent and useful character of the Order ; and all enlightened governments are not only willing simply to tolerate
it , but also to assist , by their countenance , its continuance , as one of the estates of morality whereby men are taught greater respect for , and more ready acquiescence in , the legitimate demands of the powers to which they owe allegiance ; and I further submit that the world does not understand us ; nay , more , that as a whole , we do not sufficiently understand ourselves ; that is , we have not so studied the
internal philosophy and design of our institution as to fully comprehend how much it is above the common acceptation of simply a secret society , or a benevolent institution , or a means of social enjoyment . It appears , then , to be a duty to show , by our own enlightenment , how much the world is mistaken in its estimate of Freemasonry—how much Masons themselves underrate the talent
committed to them , and for the improvement of which they are morally responsible . We shall best be able to convince the profane of the rectitude of our intentions—of the value of our services in preparing the mind of humanity for the idea of universal brotherhood— -by an earnest preparation on our own part—by a full comprehension of , and adhesion to , the esoteric doctrines of the science ot Freemasonry ; nor can we hope to arrive at such a consummation
without earnest and enlightened effort . In this matter we cannot be satisfied with the ordinary routine of entering , passing , raising , and then demitting to give the subject no further thought ; we cannot crowd the labour required into tho lifetime of a single generation , any more than as a nation we can compass the work of twenty ceiv
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Sixty Pounds To The Inch.
are made to comprehend the great aim of our institution , and by careful education constituted so many apostles to go out into the highways and by-ways of life , preaching those great truths of our doctrine that shall ultimately prevail when all men are prepared to
assume the ties of fraternity designed for them from the beginning . We are evidently going much too fast for this at present ; but , as I have remarked , in relation to the general community , it would be of service to us if the safety-valve of Masonry were raised si , little , and our velocity slackened in a corresponding degree .
It would appear as if all the labour that has thus far been spent upon the Order has been principally directed to the idea of establishing it on a firm footing in the various countries of the earth , and to answering , in a thousand ways , the question ever in . the mouths of the profane , cui bono ? It is to be admitted that earnest , truthful
and zealous advocates of the real idea ! have at times appeared , but their works have yet to find their reward , for the masses have beeu in too great a hurry to stop long enough in their headlong course to give them due attention , or to profit by their teachings , as they might have done , without money and without price . But it is
respectfully submitted that the work of establishment is sufficiently advanced to rest as it is for a time , while we seek to inspire a higher flight— -a wider range of intellectual strength . The world at large , with the exception of Rome and her dependents , admits the benevolent and useful character of the Order ; and all enlightened governments are not only willing simply to tolerate
it , but also to assist , by their countenance , its continuance , as one of the estates of morality whereby men are taught greater respect for , and more ready acquiescence in , the legitimate demands of the powers to which they owe allegiance ; and I further submit that the world does not understand us ; nay , more , that as a whole , we do not sufficiently understand ourselves ; that is , we have not so studied the
internal philosophy and design of our institution as to fully comprehend how much it is above the common acceptation of simply a secret society , or a benevolent institution , or a means of social enjoyment . It appears , then , to be a duty to show , by our own enlightenment , how much the world is mistaken in its estimate of Freemasonry—how much Masons themselves underrate the talent
committed to them , and for the improvement of which they are morally responsible . We shall best be able to convince the profane of the rectitude of our intentions—of the value of our services in preparing the mind of humanity for the idea of universal brotherhood— -by an earnest preparation on our own part—by a full comprehension of , and adhesion to , the esoteric doctrines of the science ot Freemasonry ; nor can we hope to arrive at such a consummation
without earnest and enlightened effort . In this matter we cannot be satisfied with the ordinary routine of entering , passing , raising , and then demitting to give the subject no further thought ; we cannot crowd the labour required into tho lifetime of a single generation , any more than as a nation we can compass the work of twenty ceiv