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Article THE MYSTIC BEAUTIES OF FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Mystic Beauties Of Freemasonry.
THE MYSTIC BEAUTIES OF FREEMASONRY .
In our last issue we gave expression to a few desultory thoughts on " the seven liberal arts aud sciences , " as being well deserving the attention of those who would study the mystic beauties of Freemasonry . But , however important the
consideration of the liberal arts and sciences may be , by no means is our desire to have it understood that there are not other subjects which merit attention also ; and we , therefore , ask the attention of our Masonic readers to the Jewels worn by the Craft .
The Square is worn by the person who governs the Lodge , intimating that he should found his government within the square of concord and universal love ; for as nature's All-powerful Architect moves the system with His fingers , and
touches the spheres with harmony , and the morning stars together sing the songs of gratitude , and the floods clap their hands amidst the invariable beauties of order , so should Masons , rejoicing under the mild directions of their governor , be of
one mind and one law ; in unanimity , in charity and in affection , moving by one unchanging system and actuated by one principle in rectitude of conduct .
In a moral sense , Masons are taught by their jewels to try their affections by justice and their actions by truth , as the square tries the workmanship of the mechanic , and to regard their moral state—whether it be opulent or indigent—as being
of one nature in the beginning and of one rank in its close . In sensations , passions and pleasures —in infirmities , maladies and wants , all mankind are on a parallel ; nature has given us no superiorities . It is wisdom and virtue that constitutes
superiority . Yet merely to act with justice and truth is not all that we should attempt , for even that excellence would be selfishness ; that duty is not relative , but merely proper ; it is only touching our own characters and doing nothing for our
neighbours , for justice is an indispensable duty in each individual . We were not bom for ourselves alone , only to shape our course through life in the tracks of tranquility , and solely to study that which should afford peace to the conscience at
home ; but we were made as mutual aids to each other . No one amongst us , be he ever so opulent , can subsist without the assistance of his
fellow-creatures . Nature s wants are numerous , and our hands are filled with very little of the warfare of necessity . Our nakedness must be clothed , our hunger satisfied , our infirmities visited . When shall the proud man toil for sustenance if
he stands unaided by his neighbour ? When we look through the varied scenes of life , we see our fellow-creatures attacked with innumerable
calamities ; and we were without compassion , we should exist without one of the finest feelings of the human heart . To love and to approve are movements in the soul which yield us pleasure ; but to pity gives heavenly sensations , and to relieve is
divine . Charity thus has her existence ; her rise is from the consciousness of our similarity in nature , the Level on which mortality was created iu the beginning ; its progress in sympathetic feelings from the affections of the heart breathing
love towards our brother , ooupled with the touch of original estimation in our minds , which proves all our species to be brethren of one existence . Its conclusion is from comparison producing judgment , we weigh the necessities of our suffering
fellow-creatures by our natural equality , by compassion , our sympathy , and our abilities , and dispense our gifts from affection . To be an upright man — walking by the plumb —¦ is our bounden duty ; to do justice and to have charity
are excellent steps in human life ; but to act uprightly gives a superlative degree of influence ; for in that station we shall become examples iu religious , in civil , and in moral conduct . It is not enough that we are neither enthusiasts nor
persecutors in religion , neither bending towards innovation nor infidelity , not to be in the passive only ; but we should appear in the active character ; we should be zealous practisers , observers of , and stedfast members in religious duties .
In civil matters we should not only submit to , but execute the just laws of our country ; obey their ordinances and perform all their precepts ; be faithful to our country , and true soldiers in the defence of liberty .
In morality , it requires of us not only that we should not err by injuring , betraying , or deceiving ; but that we should do good in thai station of life wherein the Almighty Providence has been pleased to place us .
Let us moralize the Jewels . As the tracing-board is for the Master to lay down his lines , and draw his designs on , to
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Mystic Beauties Of Freemasonry.
THE MYSTIC BEAUTIES OF FREEMASONRY .
In our last issue we gave expression to a few desultory thoughts on " the seven liberal arts aud sciences , " as being well deserving the attention of those who would study the mystic beauties of Freemasonry . But , however important the
consideration of the liberal arts and sciences may be , by no means is our desire to have it understood that there are not other subjects which merit attention also ; and we , therefore , ask the attention of our Masonic readers to the Jewels worn by the Craft .
The Square is worn by the person who governs the Lodge , intimating that he should found his government within the square of concord and universal love ; for as nature's All-powerful Architect moves the system with His fingers , and
touches the spheres with harmony , and the morning stars together sing the songs of gratitude , and the floods clap their hands amidst the invariable beauties of order , so should Masons , rejoicing under the mild directions of their governor , be of
one mind and one law ; in unanimity , in charity and in affection , moving by one unchanging system and actuated by one principle in rectitude of conduct .
In a moral sense , Masons are taught by their jewels to try their affections by justice and their actions by truth , as the square tries the workmanship of the mechanic , and to regard their moral state—whether it be opulent or indigent—as being
of one nature in the beginning and of one rank in its close . In sensations , passions and pleasures —in infirmities , maladies and wants , all mankind are on a parallel ; nature has given us no superiorities . It is wisdom and virtue that constitutes
superiority . Yet merely to act with justice and truth is not all that we should attempt , for even that excellence would be selfishness ; that duty is not relative , but merely proper ; it is only touching our own characters and doing nothing for our
neighbours , for justice is an indispensable duty in each individual . We were not bom for ourselves alone , only to shape our course through life in the tracks of tranquility , and solely to study that which should afford peace to the conscience at
home ; but we were made as mutual aids to each other . No one amongst us , be he ever so opulent , can subsist without the assistance of his
fellow-creatures . Nature s wants are numerous , and our hands are filled with very little of the warfare of necessity . Our nakedness must be clothed , our hunger satisfied , our infirmities visited . When shall the proud man toil for sustenance if
he stands unaided by his neighbour ? When we look through the varied scenes of life , we see our fellow-creatures attacked with innumerable
calamities ; and we were without compassion , we should exist without one of the finest feelings of the human heart . To love and to approve are movements in the soul which yield us pleasure ; but to pity gives heavenly sensations , and to relieve is
divine . Charity thus has her existence ; her rise is from the consciousness of our similarity in nature , the Level on which mortality was created iu the beginning ; its progress in sympathetic feelings from the affections of the heart breathing
love towards our brother , ooupled with the touch of original estimation in our minds , which proves all our species to be brethren of one existence . Its conclusion is from comparison producing judgment , we weigh the necessities of our suffering
fellow-creatures by our natural equality , by compassion , our sympathy , and our abilities , and dispense our gifts from affection . To be an upright man — walking by the plumb —¦ is our bounden duty ; to do justice and to have charity
are excellent steps in human life ; but to act uprightly gives a superlative degree of influence ; for in that station we shall become examples iu religious , in civil , and in moral conduct . It is not enough that we are neither enthusiasts nor
persecutors in religion , neither bending towards innovation nor infidelity , not to be in the passive only ; but we should appear in the active character ; we should be zealous practisers , observers of , and stedfast members in religious duties .
In civil matters we should not only submit to , but execute the just laws of our country ; obey their ordinances and perform all their precepts ; be faithful to our country , and true soldiers in the defence of liberty .
In morality , it requires of us not only that we should not err by injuring , betraying , or deceiving ; but that we should do good in thai station of life wherein the Almighty Providence has been pleased to place us .
Let us moralize the Jewels . As the tracing-board is for the Master to lay down his lines , and draw his designs on , to