| The Address tothe Brethren Canadian Work,British Columbia Brethren, such is the nature of our Institution, that whilesome must, of necessity, rule and teach, so others must, of course, learn,submit and obey. Humility in both is an essential duty. The Brethren elected andappointed to assist in the government of the lodge are too well acquainted withthe principles of Freemasonry and the rules of propriety to exceed the powerwith which they are entrusted, and you are of too generous a disposition toenvy their preferment. I, there, shall trust that we have but one aim, toplease each other and unite in the grand design of being happy andcommunicating happiness.[NOTES] Masonry, my brethren, according to the general acceptance ofthe term, is an art, founded on the principles of Geometry, and directed to theservice and convenience of mankind, but Freemasonry, embracing a wider range,and having a nobler object in view, namely the cultivation and improvement ofthe human mind, may with more propriety be styled a science, inasmuch asavailing itself of the terms of the former, it inculcates the principles of thepurest morality, though its lessons are chiefly veiled in allegory andillustrated by symbols. To draw aside this veil, therefore, or more properlyspeaking, to penetrate through it, is the object of rulers in Freemasonry, andby a careful and appropriate attention to them, we may hope ultimately to becomeacquainted with all its mysteries.[NOTES] Freemasonry, from its origin to the present time, in all itsvicissitudes, has been the steady and unvarying friend of man. It has (in thelanguage of an eloquent brother) gone forth from age to age; the constantmessenger of peace and love; never weary, never forgetful of its holy mission,patiently administering to the relief of want and sorrow, and scattering withunsparing hands, blessings and benefits to all around. It comforts the mourner,it speaks peace and consolation to the troubled spirit, it carries relief andgladness to the habitations of want and destitution, it dries the tears of thewidow and orphan, it opens the source of knowledge, it widens the sphere ofhuman happiness, it even seeks to light up the darkness and gloom of the graveby pointing to the hopes and promises of a better life to come. All thisFreemasonry has done and is still doing. Such is Freemasonry, and such as itsmission; and we should never forget, while enjoying its benefits andappreciating its value, the duties we owe to the order; for there is no rightwithout a parallel duty, no liberty without the supremacy of the law, no highdestiny without earnest perseverance, and no real greatness withoutself-denial.[NOTES] A lodge of freemasons is the temple of peace, harmony andbrotherly love; nothing is allowed to enter which has the remotest tendency todisturb the quietude of its pursuit. A calm enquiry into the beauty of wisdomand virtue, and the study of moral geometry, constitute the chief employmentsin the tyled recesses of the lodge. The lessons of virtue which proceed fromthe East, like rays of brilliant light from the rising sun, illuminate the Westand South, and as the work proceeds, are carefully imbibed by the workmen.Thus, while wisdom contrives the plan, strength lends its able support to themoral fabric, and beauty adorns it with curious and cunning workmanship. Allthis is accomplished without any compulsory or coercive means, but on theprinciple of friendship and brotherly love, which guards the precincts of ourtemple that nothing may enter to disturb the peaceful sanctity of that holy place. The object, however, of meeting in the lodge is of a two-fold nature, namely,moral instruction and social intercourse. Our meetings are intended tocultivate and enlighten the mind, to induce a habit of virtue, and tostrengthen the fundamental principles of our Order: Brotherly Love, Relief andTruth. And if these meetings are blended with social mirth and a mutualinterchange of fraternal feelings, then Freemasonry will be shown in its truelight, as an institution which fosters and improves the best affections of ournature, and carries into active operation the practice of the four cardinalvirtues: Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence and Justice, combined with thetheological virtues – Faith, Hope and Charity – thereby demonstrating to theworld at large that in Freemasonry there is found the true import of the threegreat social treasures: Fraternity, Liberty and Equality. Therefore the utmostextension of fraternal feeling and affection which can subsist between man andman is expected to be displayed among the brethren of our order in a lodge offreemasons, and then will be attained the chief point of Freemasonry, namely,to endeavor to be happy ourselves, and to communicate that happiness toothers.[NOTES] Before I conclude, my brethren, let me endeavor to portray toyou the ideal of a freemason. If you see a man who quietly and modestly moves in the sphere of his life; who,without blemish, fulfils his duty as a man a subject, a husband and a father;who is pious without hypocrisy, benevolent without ostentation, and aids hisfellowman without self-interest; whose heart beats warm for friendship. whoseserene mind is open for licensed pleasures, who in vicissitudes does notdespair, nor in fortune will be presumptuous, and who will be resolute in thehour of danger; The man who is free from superstition and free from infidelity; who in naturesees the finger of the Eternal Master; who feels and adores the higherdestination of man; to whom faith, hope and charity are not mere words withoutany meaning; to whom property, nay, even life, is not too dear for theprotection of innocence and virtue, and for the defence of truth; The man who towards himself is a severe judge, but who is tolerant with thedebilities of his neighbour; who endeavors to oppose errors without arrogance,and to promote intelligence without impatience; who properly understands how toestimate and employ his means; who honours virtue, though it be in the mosthumble garment, and who does not favour vice though it be clad in purple; andwho administers justice to merit whether dwelling in palaces or cottages; The man who, without courting applause, is loved by all noble-minded men,respected by his superiors and revered by his subordinates; the man who neverproclaims what he has done, can do, or will do, but where need is will lay holdwith dispassionate courage, circumspect resolution, indefatigable exertion anda rare power of mind, and who will not cease until he has accomplished hiswork, and who then, without pretension, will retire into the multitude becausehe did the good act, not for himself, but for the cause of good! If you, my brethren meet such a man, you will see the personification ofbrotherly love, relief and truth; and you will have found the ideal of afreemason.[NOTES] Finally, my brethren, as our fraternity has been formed andperfected in complete unanimity and concord, in which we all greatly rejoice,so may it continue until time shall be no more. May you long enjoy everysatisfaction and delight which disinterested friendship can afford. Within yourpeaceful walls may your children’s children celebrate with joy and gratitudethe annual recurrence of this auspicious solemnity. And may the genuine tenetsof our time-honoured Institution be transmitted through your Lodges pure andunimpaired from generation to generation.[NOTES] |
