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Article INSTRUCTION. ← Page 5 of 8 →
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Instruction.
" Kingdoms which long have stood , And slow to strength and power attained at last , Thus from the summit of high fortuned fiood They ebb to ruin fast . " United and faithful , we may boldly defy difficulties- ~ disunited and unfaithful , we shall become an easy prey to designing men . The danger we have to guard against is a dangerfrom within , and not a danger from without . ( Hear , hear . ) Internal disunion ,
and not external aggression is what we have to fear . We have a cause common to one and all- —and in that cause we must labour . In private Lodges nothing so certainly and so speedily ensures decay andr-rum as the existence of iC party within it ; and just so it is with the Grand Lodge . ( Hear , hear . ) Nothing can or will be so ruinous . It checks progress , it embarrasses the conduct of affairs , it hinders needful reforms , provokes contentions , and is directly opposed to the spirit and letter of our ancient laws . In such a society as ours , difference of * ' - ¦¦" ' ¦ f % ft ¦ ¦ . ' - ¦ ¦ '¦ . ¦ ¦ ¦ : * m ' . \ . * m ' . m . -mm i-ii- * '•' ' .
. opinion cannot fail to occur ; let us endeavour to conduct these differences to a peaceful and Masonic issue , ( Applause . ) As a violation of our first principles , " party" should not be heard of or tolerated amongst us . ( Cheers . ) I do hot believe—I cannot believe— -I will hot believe—that there is > or can be , an individual amongst us who would prefer his own personal interests to the interests of our noble institution- ^( hear )~^ -who would sacrifice the interests and destroy the harmony of this noble institution to satisfy selfish ends . No such man is of can be amongst us ; if such a one there ever should be , I would proclaim him recreant
throughout the length and breadth of the land , an enemy to our Order * false to his oath , and traitor to the society to which he has solemnly sworn fidelity . ( The speaker was here greeted with a tremendous outburst of applause and a hearty round of " ¦ good fire" ) Brethren , societies , like nations , have their periods of difficulty ; and these , like storms , recur with some degree of seeming regularity . Pondering over some of our recent difiiculties , and endeavouring to explain to myself their origin and their causes , I have been reminded of a story which bears date anterior even to that claimed by Masonry . It relates that Jove , in one of his joyous
moments over a bowl of nectar , determined to send a present to the poor mortals below . He commissioned Momus—there were no Pickfords in those days—( laughter ) to be the bearer of his message , who descended from Olympus , carrying with him a large bundle , which , being opened , presented to the eyes of the gaping multitude myriads of—spectacles ! Now these spectacles were composed of different coloured glass , so that each one looking through only his own glasses , saw objects in a different colour from that in which they appeared to his neighbours ; and thence arose great diversity of opinion . Now , I really think that some of
these spectacles are in use amongst the Masonic fraternity in the present day ; and hence , in surveying our Brethren , some look yellow , some green , others black , and some very blue . ( Laughter . ) It is to the use of these several glasses that I ascribe many of our recent difiiculties . ( Hear . ) If we would only look occasionally through our neighbour ' s glass , and get him , if he will , to take a peep through ours , and see how we judge of each other ' s acts , depend upon it we should be none the worse , and Masonry would be all the better for the exchange . ( Hear , hear . ) No feuds are so bitter as family feuds . Masons , We know , can
love each other with the love of brothers ; let us not emulate the quarrels of blood relations . Life is not too long for its to spend so much of our time in bickering and . quarrel . ( Applause . ) Let ushere , oh this appropriate occasion , on this spot , consecrated for the time to the true work of Masonry—let us bury all our animosities , let us resolve to work together in kindness and in brotherly love , to treat each other with courtesy and forbearance , and let the new year which is about to commence prove the opening of a new era in Masonic unity . ( Applause . ) Let us be true to ourselves and true to each other . Let us remember that we
have not only to maintain our institution in honour and respect , we have not only to support our charities and to see that their funds are faithfully and judiciously administered , we have not only to practise that charity of the purse which will enable i \> \> o Ibe said of us that—¦ c ( We ourselves have been , Tlio fathers and tho deajorft out . , 'i'
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Instruction.
" Kingdoms which long have stood , And slow to strength and power attained at last , Thus from the summit of high fortuned fiood They ebb to ruin fast . " United and faithful , we may boldly defy difficulties- ~ disunited and unfaithful , we shall become an easy prey to designing men . The danger we have to guard against is a dangerfrom within , and not a danger from without . ( Hear , hear . ) Internal disunion ,
and not external aggression is what we have to fear . We have a cause common to one and all- —and in that cause we must labour . In private Lodges nothing so certainly and so speedily ensures decay andr-rum as the existence of iC party within it ; and just so it is with the Grand Lodge . ( Hear , hear . ) Nothing can or will be so ruinous . It checks progress , it embarrasses the conduct of affairs , it hinders needful reforms , provokes contentions , and is directly opposed to the spirit and letter of our ancient laws . In such a society as ours , difference of * ' - ¦¦" ' ¦ f % ft ¦ ¦ . ' - ¦ ¦ '¦ . ¦ ¦ ¦ : * m ' . \ . * m ' . m . -mm i-ii- * '•' ' .
. opinion cannot fail to occur ; let us endeavour to conduct these differences to a peaceful and Masonic issue , ( Applause . ) As a violation of our first principles , " party" should not be heard of or tolerated amongst us . ( Cheers . ) I do hot believe—I cannot believe— -I will hot believe—that there is > or can be , an individual amongst us who would prefer his own personal interests to the interests of our noble institution- ^( hear )~^ -who would sacrifice the interests and destroy the harmony of this noble institution to satisfy selfish ends . No such man is of can be amongst us ; if such a one there ever should be , I would proclaim him recreant
throughout the length and breadth of the land , an enemy to our Order * false to his oath , and traitor to the society to which he has solemnly sworn fidelity . ( The speaker was here greeted with a tremendous outburst of applause and a hearty round of " ¦ good fire" ) Brethren , societies , like nations , have their periods of difficulty ; and these , like storms , recur with some degree of seeming regularity . Pondering over some of our recent difiiculties , and endeavouring to explain to myself their origin and their causes , I have been reminded of a story which bears date anterior even to that claimed by Masonry . It relates that Jove , in one of his joyous
moments over a bowl of nectar , determined to send a present to the poor mortals below . He commissioned Momus—there were no Pickfords in those days—( laughter ) to be the bearer of his message , who descended from Olympus , carrying with him a large bundle , which , being opened , presented to the eyes of the gaping multitude myriads of—spectacles ! Now these spectacles were composed of different coloured glass , so that each one looking through only his own glasses , saw objects in a different colour from that in which they appeared to his neighbours ; and thence arose great diversity of opinion . Now , I really think that some of
these spectacles are in use amongst the Masonic fraternity in the present day ; and hence , in surveying our Brethren , some look yellow , some green , others black , and some very blue . ( Laughter . ) It is to the use of these several glasses that I ascribe many of our recent difiiculties . ( Hear . ) If we would only look occasionally through our neighbour ' s glass , and get him , if he will , to take a peep through ours , and see how we judge of each other ' s acts , depend upon it we should be none the worse , and Masonry would be all the better for the exchange . ( Hear , hear . ) No feuds are so bitter as family feuds . Masons , We know , can
love each other with the love of brothers ; let us not emulate the quarrels of blood relations . Life is not too long for its to spend so much of our time in bickering and . quarrel . ( Applause . ) Let ushere , oh this appropriate occasion , on this spot , consecrated for the time to the true work of Masonry—let us bury all our animosities , let us resolve to work together in kindness and in brotherly love , to treat each other with courtesy and forbearance , and let the new year which is about to commence prove the opening of a new era in Masonic unity . ( Applause . ) Let us be true to ourselves and true to each other . Let us remember that we
have not only to maintain our institution in honour and respect , we have not only to support our charities and to see that their funds are faithfully and judiciously administered , we have not only to practise that charity of the purse which will enable i \> \> o Ibe said of us that—¦ c ( We ourselves have been , Tlio fathers and tho deajorft out . , 'i'