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abysses of men ' s unfathomable fears ! Such is London , to the philosopher who stands by the side of the stream , and weeps at , or derides it all ! Here , then , apply our first remarks . Remove Masonry from this dreadful scene of fratricidal carnage of man upon his fellow , and
you at once annihilate that influence which , second to Christianity alone , and very often received where its great prototype would be refused , works silently , but ever , for man ' s amelioration . Allowing that numerous , almost innumerable , fountains and channels of philanthropic aid subsist and flow , yet sectarian bias , the necessity ^ of influential presentation , and that great upas tree of selfishness which
poisons all our good , render the solace , compared with the suffering , so restricted , as to well elicit our gratitude to those Masonic establishments which open their treasures to the only magic talisman they recognise—the " Sesame '' of want . Take , for example , that most noble institution for aged Freemasons and their widows , just completed . Can anything be more attractively confident in the great principles ,
and their activity , of Masonry than the unostentatious information of a deficit existing , with the certain assurance of its being met by all the Brethren to the fullest exercise of their ability ; ay , even beyond their temporary convenience ? Why , this very Institution stamps an honour upon every Mason who aids it , associating him with the noblest relics of our fallen nature ' s primeval glory . Remove
also the quiet action , unobserved , of individual Masons , one to another , and would it not be missed ? What other fraternity can say that , without the stimulus of committees , speeches , placards , placehunting , clubs , or councils , relief is bestowed upon thousands ? More still , that many of these thousands are sought out ; not waited for until they walk over the ashes of proper pride and self-respect , and , goaded by necessity , are forced to beg , but carefully looked up , and
not one worthy claimant repudiated ; and this , by individual and distinct exercise of the principle which the simple observance of a solemn oath infers upon all . Blot out this beam , this day-star of a better sky , and would the world become brighter for its extinction ? Erase this rainbow , this promise of a moral refuge from the deluge of suffering , and how many wanderers would pine for the arc of its glory and the beam of its protection ?
Apply next the force of contrast . We take our examples here" know all men ! " from actual fact , and shall not adduce them invidiously , for the characteristic of Masonry being the unselfish recognition of good in every worker , system , case , and class , it " envieth not . " A . was a London reputable gentleman , as was also B ., both belonged to the same profession , the law , though not to the same line
of it , as A . was a barrister , B . a solicitor ; moreover , the latter was a Freemason , the other was not . It happened that C , a Mason , required a service to be rendered to him : he had been brought up , and had , though not at college , maintained intimacy with A ., for more than twenty years . Of B ., C . knew little , except from Masonic connection extending over a period of a few months . The favour was
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
abysses of men ' s unfathomable fears ! Such is London , to the philosopher who stands by the side of the stream , and weeps at , or derides it all ! Here , then , apply our first remarks . Remove Masonry from this dreadful scene of fratricidal carnage of man upon his fellow , and
you at once annihilate that influence which , second to Christianity alone , and very often received where its great prototype would be refused , works silently , but ever , for man ' s amelioration . Allowing that numerous , almost innumerable , fountains and channels of philanthropic aid subsist and flow , yet sectarian bias , the necessity ^ of influential presentation , and that great upas tree of selfishness which
poisons all our good , render the solace , compared with the suffering , so restricted , as to well elicit our gratitude to those Masonic establishments which open their treasures to the only magic talisman they recognise—the " Sesame '' of want . Take , for example , that most noble institution for aged Freemasons and their widows , just completed . Can anything be more attractively confident in the great principles ,
and their activity , of Masonry than the unostentatious information of a deficit existing , with the certain assurance of its being met by all the Brethren to the fullest exercise of their ability ; ay , even beyond their temporary convenience ? Why , this very Institution stamps an honour upon every Mason who aids it , associating him with the noblest relics of our fallen nature ' s primeval glory . Remove
also the quiet action , unobserved , of individual Masons , one to another , and would it not be missed ? What other fraternity can say that , without the stimulus of committees , speeches , placards , placehunting , clubs , or councils , relief is bestowed upon thousands ? More still , that many of these thousands are sought out ; not waited for until they walk over the ashes of proper pride and self-respect , and , goaded by necessity , are forced to beg , but carefully looked up , and
not one worthy claimant repudiated ; and this , by individual and distinct exercise of the principle which the simple observance of a solemn oath infers upon all . Blot out this beam , this day-star of a better sky , and would the world become brighter for its extinction ? Erase this rainbow , this promise of a moral refuge from the deluge of suffering , and how many wanderers would pine for the arc of its glory and the beam of its protection ?
Apply next the force of contrast . We take our examples here" know all men ! " from actual fact , and shall not adduce them invidiously , for the characteristic of Masonry being the unselfish recognition of good in every worker , system , case , and class , it " envieth not . " A . was a London reputable gentleman , as was also B ., both belonged to the same profession , the law , though not to the same line
of it , as A . was a barrister , B . a solicitor ; moreover , the latter was a Freemason , the other was not . It happened that C , a Mason , required a service to be rendered to him : he had been brought up , and had , though not at college , maintained intimacy with A ., for more than twenty years . Of B ., C . knew little , except from Masonic connection extending over a period of a few months . The favour was