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Article ANCIENT WRITERS AND MODERN PRACTICES ← Page 5 of 5
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Ancient Writers And Modern Practices
sued the friend , " then we—— " " Tickle the Persians , " said the king . " But after that is done , " urged the obstinate friend , " whither next P " " Why , really man , it ' s really hard to say ; you give one no time to breathe , but we'll consider the case as soon as we come to Persia ; and until we ' ve settled it , we can crown ourselves with roses , and pass tbe time pleasantly enough over the best wine to be
old , is nfever happy unless in the pursuit of some new thing . We profess to be so far Tories in Masonic matters ( we say nothing of political and other affairs in which we may hold different views ) , that we think what is old is for the most part what is best , and no more want change than did the Mend of Pyrrhus ; the Epirote , who tried to dissuade that gentleman from certain exciting expeditions which lie
was proposing to himself by a process of ( Anglice ) " mild chafl ^" and accordingly asked him what ulterior purpose he might mask under his expedition to Sicily . "Why after that is finished , " replied the king , "I mean to administer a little correction ( very much wanted ) to certain parts of Italy , and particularly to that nest of
rascals in Latinm . " " And then— " said the friend . " And then , " said Pyrrhus , " next we go for Macedon , and after that job ' s done , next , ^ of course , for Greece . " " Which done— " said the friend " Which done , " interrupted the king , " as done it shall be , then we ' re off to tickle the Egyptians . " " Whom having tickled , "
purfound in Ecbatana . " " That ' s a very just idea , " replied the friend ; " but , with submission , it strikes me that we might do that just now , and at the beginning of all these tedious wars , instead of waiting for their end . " " Bless me ! " said Pyrrhus ; " if ever I thought oitliat before . Why , man , you ' re a conjuror—you ' ve discovered a mine of
happiness . So here , boy , bring us roses and plenty of Cretan wine . " King Pyrrhus , it seems , discovered that it was possible to be happy without change ; true , lie discovered it through the medium of wine , and though the Horatian maxim— " JNTunc vino pellite curas" holds
good to a certain extent and within moderate grounds , and we , with the aforesaid Pyrrhus , have not the least objection to a glass of good wine—yet on other principles , and especially in Eree-Masonry , we object to change , except it be such a change as is thoroughly in accordance with the spirit of our ancient -charges * After all , if Eree-Masons want change , what are they but men ?
" Qui fit , Maecenas—¦ Says Horace— " ut nemo , cjuam sibi sortem Sen ratio dederit , seu fors objecerit , ilia Contentus vivat , laudet diversa secjuentes ?" " How comes it , Maecenas , that no one can live contented with hia
lot in life , whether of his own choice or thrown in his way by chance , but must envy that of other people ? " And so instead of quoting only the three first lines of Horace ' s Satires , we might go on through the whole of them , and quote numberless passages bearing on the same point . Let Masons at all events pause before introducing , or trying to introduce , changes , and rather in the words of the old song' —¦ a Leave well alone . " X .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ancient Writers And Modern Practices
sued the friend , " then we—— " " Tickle the Persians , " said the king . " But after that is done , " urged the obstinate friend , " whither next P " " Why , really man , it ' s really hard to say ; you give one no time to breathe , but we'll consider the case as soon as we come to Persia ; and until we ' ve settled it , we can crown ourselves with roses , and pass tbe time pleasantly enough over the best wine to be
old , is nfever happy unless in the pursuit of some new thing . We profess to be so far Tories in Masonic matters ( we say nothing of political and other affairs in which we may hold different views ) , that we think what is old is for the most part what is best , and no more want change than did the Mend of Pyrrhus ; the Epirote , who tried to dissuade that gentleman from certain exciting expeditions which lie
was proposing to himself by a process of ( Anglice ) " mild chafl ^" and accordingly asked him what ulterior purpose he might mask under his expedition to Sicily . "Why after that is finished , " replied the king , "I mean to administer a little correction ( very much wanted ) to certain parts of Italy , and particularly to that nest of
rascals in Latinm . " " And then— " said the friend . " And then , " said Pyrrhus , " next we go for Macedon , and after that job ' s done , next , ^ of course , for Greece . " " Which done— " said the friend " Which done , " interrupted the king , " as done it shall be , then we ' re off to tickle the Egyptians . " " Whom having tickled , "
purfound in Ecbatana . " " That ' s a very just idea , " replied the friend ; " but , with submission , it strikes me that we might do that just now , and at the beginning of all these tedious wars , instead of waiting for their end . " " Bless me ! " said Pyrrhus ; " if ever I thought oitliat before . Why , man , you ' re a conjuror—you ' ve discovered a mine of
happiness . So here , boy , bring us roses and plenty of Cretan wine . " King Pyrrhus , it seems , discovered that it was possible to be happy without change ; true , lie discovered it through the medium of wine , and though the Horatian maxim— " JNTunc vino pellite curas" holds
good to a certain extent and within moderate grounds , and we , with the aforesaid Pyrrhus , have not the least objection to a glass of good wine—yet on other principles , and especially in Eree-Masonry , we object to change , except it be such a change as is thoroughly in accordance with the spirit of our ancient -charges * After all , if Eree-Masons want change , what are they but men ?
" Qui fit , Maecenas—¦ Says Horace— " ut nemo , cjuam sibi sortem Sen ratio dederit , seu fors objecerit , ilia Contentus vivat , laudet diversa secjuentes ?" " How comes it , Maecenas , that no one can live contented with hia
lot in life , whether of his own choice or thrown in his way by chance , but must envy that of other people ? " And so instead of quoting only the three first lines of Horace ' s Satires , we might go on through the whole of them , and quote numberless passages bearing on the same point . Let Masons at all events pause before introducing , or trying to introduce , changes , and rather in the words of the old song' —¦ a Leave well alone . " X .