THE MASONIC J 0 U H N A L
experience equal delight and satisfaction. | Brethren of old, and all is bright ami
To exhaust the various subjects of which [ clear, if we do but follow the teachings of
it teaches would be to transcend the pow- i our “Great light,” the “inestimable gift
e.'-s of the brightest genius, and any at- i of God to man, which is the rule and
lempt to do so by me, would fall far | guide of our faith,” In the ceremonies
sliort of the mark. At many points, the i of this degree we are required to complete
initiated find its truths vailed in mystery, ' our duty to God, oiir neighbor, and our-
but we are taught that perseverance and ' selves, step '-y step, mounting from the
application remove each difficulty as it | lowest toihe highest, our duties are
occurs. At every step instruciion of the ; marked ont, and made so plain that, llie
noblest kind opens to the view, and new j wayfaring man may not err therein,
pleasures are presented in a new light to | Although my remarks have become
the enquiring mind.. In the search after ' some what extendeii. the myths and le.-,
Light and irulli, the intellectual tac- : gends of Free Masonry claim some atten-
iilties are employed in promoting the|tioii, I will remark that the history of
spiiitual forces, of which all the combats, an-
tagonism.s ami disorders of tlie outward, visi
ble world, were only for distant eclioe.o, or fee
ble reverberations. 'i'YiuioN—eril, for a peri
od appeared to triiiKipb. Willi Ilia wlies and
arts, lieoveicame Osrnjs—Tnithf dismcmixir-
ed ids body, and concealed the fiagiuc.uts in
the ser eini quarters of llie eartli. Then llie
whole unheise was siiroudcd in.gloom, and
reso> ndi d with laiuentation and inouniing
and your charities, to enable its historian
to fill up the brightest page, in the histo
ry of the Fraternity in our State.
And now, a few words to the ladies
and I am done. From the seclusion of
home and the press of domestic care.s,
you have come here to do honor to this '
occasion. It is one ot our peculiarities
over the fall of Ihc beauliful ami goed. I«I,S , ^'^^il ted within the
set furili on litT wot'ul pilgrimage to tiiid llie | If is one of the
beloved O.sfKIS. Afler many disappointments lituumarks of the order, has always ex
isted, and will probably always exi.-it.
o,f
glory ol God, and the universal good
mankind.
But I digress, fl.ue Lodge Ma.sorary
is composed of three degrees—Knfered
the human race proves that the mind of
man in all ages, h-is liati a yearning after
the acquirement of divinity. Our mother
Eve, in the garden of Eden, was the first j
•Apprentice, Fellow Craft ard Master | fooverstep the bounds |
Mason. The symboli.sm of this branch of i prudence to grasp the Infinite. Adam !
the order is eraiiientlv calculated to en- ! Promptly followed his sjiouse, and entail-
force the duties of rnoralitv, and imprint
on the memory the noblest principles |
wliicli can adorn the human miridi. The |
entered apiprentic-e- syraboli'cally repre- i
sen 1s the entrance of a man into the world,
in which he is afterwanl's to becomes
living and (iimking- a-ctor. Coming from,
an outer world ai “a poor blind caiid'i
date, who has groped' in ignorance and
darknes.s. his first craving is for light—
which light is symbolically represented
bv wbat Masons term the “Ti ree Great i
L gilts," which properly understood, are |
but that moral and' intellectual light, ;
wliich emanates from, the throne of the |
Supreme Grami .Architect of the I'r.i '
verse. The profane hero represents one 1
who is seeking,for alight whieh is to-;
guide his footsteps in the pathway which !
leads to duty, and to Him who g-ives to ,
duty its reward. The points of the Cbm- i
pass are still in darkness, but in the
symbolism of the great Ligiits, lie is urg- '
ed onward in search of other Masonic-1
truths, which as a fehow cr-a.ft with the ;
points of the Compasses properly arrang- j
f d, he is intended to typify rhe-struggles j
ed uotokl evils upon their progeny.—
Throughout all nature there is no law
without a penally, but at the same time
there is no transgression, which does not
have its corresponding pardon and abso
lution—ivhether it be inherent in the law
orreslsiti the hands of the chief execu
five. In the case to which we refer, the
remedy rested alone in the hands of the
great Creator who sent us redemption
from the penalties of the law, ir. the per
son of our Savior, so that man may ever
feel grateful to our first parents, for the
good received'more than counterbalances
the evil ; but we must pass on.
The mythology of Free Masonry is one
©fits most valuable attributes, because,
in a certain sense it fills a void which has
always existed in the breast of the fallen,
blit redeemed man, which we suppose was
implanted in the hiiman breast for some
W’i.se purpose, ilasonic myi.hs are figu
rative represent-ations of events or ideas
in the garb of history ; they' develop
themselves spontaneously and unarlifi-
cially in the consciousness of the human
mind, instead of being arti.stic products
ami trials, litr elforts wore crowned with suc
cess. Tlie great da.v of triunipli eamo. Ty-
THON—eril, was (lesti-oyed by lloni’s; the
tomb of Osiius opened, and IlK— Order, Trvlh
Justice—came forth, victorious in tlie posses
sion ot iiuinortal life, amt Imi-mony, peace and
joy prevailed tliroiiglioiit the uiiive.se.”
Here the Ty.-ian artist is the symbol of
Beauty and Older, Goodness and Truth,
wliieli embellishes and beautifies life,
idealizes all nature, transforming dull
and prosy reality into a sunny flowery
dream,
•‘Cloth,iug- llie palpable and llie familiar,
'Villi g-oldc'i exhalation.s of llie dawn.”
This beautiful myth is perpetually re
peated, says the same wi'iter in the histo
ry of human affairs. Orpheus was iiiur-
dereil, ami his body was thrown into the
Hebros, Socrates was made to drink the
hemlock, and in all ages we have- seen
Evil temporarily triumphant, and viitr.e
and truth calumniated, uersecuted, cru
cified and slain. But eternal justice
marches su.ely and swiftly through the
world; the Typhoss, the children of
darkness, the plotters of crime, are swept
into oblivion, and Truth and Virtue—for
a time overpowered—come forth, clothed
with divine majesty, and crowned with
everlasting glory.
‘•Truth, ei-iislied to earth, will rise again;
The etonial years of God are hers’
While error wounded, writhes in pain,
And dies amid tier w orsiiippm-s ”
I have thus far alluded to only two of
the mylhical legends of Free Masonry—
As we teach speculative Masonry at this
day and time you cannot be admitted in
to our order. There are many reasons
'vhy this is so. We have no power to
out loose from a principle, which is as old
as the Craft itself. Such an innovation
would beget others, and after a few years
we would lose all but the skeleton, and
in a short time even that would be bur
ied, Thr.s much I may be allowed to
say: Your admission in the Order could
do you no goo •, and would do the order
rncalculable harm. You carry the key
to iinloc'k the- hi'd'den mysteries of man's
nature, and you have it in your power
to make his life nobler, better, purer.
Do this and he will become an ornament
to the Craft, a'lida- useful member of the
great family of men. 'You were not in
tended by the Creator to become a drone'
in the hive of human industry, but a pow
erful factor; and.- co worker, iu (he ac
tivities which-biiiild'irp the vvorM's best
estate. 1 ou 'have a work to do' Your
brain, and your eiiergien must be drawn
■ ont and*d'l'Scipi 111 ed,. and become some
thing more than a- mere- honey-combed
receptacle, fit sn-ly to drink of the nectar,
which is distilled in the alembics of the
flowers of life. You have it in your pow
er to inspirit the baser se.x by precepl. and
example; by truthfulness and virtue
and 1 may be allowed to pause and say that
the latter is alway.s safe among Master
our ritual and our teachings are full of dry up the tear of sorrow, give
of the ardent mind for the attainment of i '“vention, and they symbol
Truth, that “Divine attribute-" the com
prehension of which surpa.ssetli human j
understanding, and to wliich, standing m
the middle chamber, after his ascent of!
the wiinling stairs, he can only approxi
mate, by the reception of an iiniie-rfect i
and yet s lorious reward, in the revela
tion of that “hieroglyphic light which .
none but craftsmen ever saw.” In the
Ma.ster's degree the symbolism is further
exemplified. Here we have the tyiie of j
a man, complete in moral and intellectii-
ize the forces and operations of nature,
under whose infl'uence they are formed,
and have an essentially religious charac
ter.
In the second degree we have the beau-
tiful rnvth, or legend tf the winding
s-tairs, which are passed by the candidate
in gaining admission into the middle
chamber, which is symbolic of tlii.slife,
and where only the symbol of the word
can be given — where o,-iIy the truth can
be reached by approxrmal ion, and yet
where we are to lea-rn that Truth, which
ill culture—no longer left to acquire ,
1 11 ,'-,1,3-1 II ! consists in a more extended knowledceof
knowleiige, except in the traailional loss ! . . . . . . "
of an important tribute—which will be
■iiiderstood by every M-dster .Mason pres- ,
eiit—but prepared to use the knowledge
he lia.s obtained. L’nioiqof the most un
selfish nature, has always characterized '
our fraternity. -‘Vmhition, desire for '
firae, everv passion wiiich appeals to the
.self love of man, have been merged in i
the perfect union‘engendered by an ad-
berence to the tenets of our order, to
such a degree, that with a very tew ex
ceptions, the names even of our gi eat!
architects have not come down tn us, ■
though their work stili stands, to attest j
their excelleiica. ,-\ll was the work of
Brethren, and each was allowed his share
of the glory.
In this degree we have a type of the
communion of man with God. Fong be
fore the incarnation of that great Being,
in the person of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, whom I do not hesitate to
sav was a Mason—was the hoj-e enter
tained of seeing Him with mortai eyes,
and no exertio:.s were deemed too great
the Grand ' Architect of the Universe
This is- the re'.vard of the inquiring Mason,
and is the wages of a Fellow Craft. He
is drrected.'to the South, but he must trav
el further and a.scend still higher to attain
it. It is-as a symbol—myth—and sym
bol onl',', that we must study this beauti
ful legend of the winding stairs. We
e-annot adopt it as a histor'cal fact, or wise
men will wonder at our credulity—a.s a
svmbol, or as -an allegory, it is fertile with
instruction.
In the tragic legend of the third degree,
which exemplifies the virtues and'the fi
delity of the Tyrian artists,, we have a
ravth which is (inqiiestionabij the- most
important, impressive, and imstruesive
portion of the ritual of Ancient Free Ma-
sonrv. It has been well sai.i that “it
transcends all others in its profound phi-
losophy, in the wide range of ideasit aims
to elucidate, ami the dramatic interest
wiih which it is invested,” But it is a
myth. A learned writer says it is thor
oughly Egyptian, and thus explains it :
‘•CsrRi.s, Tsis. ami Tyrnox, are the tliree
principal cliiiracters. Tviuion—m'/, made
to insure that consummation. With us,
these ideas are but a type ; for '.ve have ypo,, Osiris -Beauty. Guixhiesr, Truth.
that realization so longed for by the A fierc.' conflict long raged between these
them, each shining out with no borrowed
biilliancy, but with its own. iiat.unal j
brightness in tiie grand panoiama which
the tenets of our order preseiith-to the
world.
I cannot conclude witlionfe some nefer-
' ence to that grand raonn merit to Ma.son-
j ic cliai'hty. the ©ixfordi Orphan, and its
- si.ster Asylum at Asdieville. Here breth
ren weare emphatically, clothing the nak
ed and feeding tlie liiitigry,,aye—we are
doing more, we are storing the minds of
the litl le children, who have been gathered
into these sclioois wiih usefsil knowledee,
in order that they may become- useful
members of society. Brethren, there
are in Oxford two of the grand
children of one of the governors of North
Carolina. During hi.s Lfe he had wealth
and honors, but his fortune was swefit
away, and his honors lasled only during
his life. The Masonic fraternity gathers
up his grand children and feeds, clothes
and educates them—‘'inasmuch as ye did
it unto the least of these ye have done it
unto me." Brethren, these A.sylums are
something to be proud of—they a. e mon
uments to the charity of North Carolina
Masons, which will last until time shall
be no more. But they still need your
aii1 and your charity. Open your heart
and your purse strings, and contribute
something to enable North Carolina Ma
sons to carry out the work so. auspieious-
liy begun. ‘'He-who giveth ta the poor
Inndelh to the Lord,” and how much
mere oomm-endable is it in us to contrib
ute to the relief of those little ones who
: cannot help tbemselvvs ^ God has placed
\ them here as our wards, and we must
cherish, protect and nourish them. In
■ this great. Masonic oharit}' we can prove
to the world, that we can practice as well
fi-eligion the light of a life illustration, far
Transcending all the power of its apolo
gists ; make }’our beauteous presence a
shrine at which wearied and tempted men
may delight to bow, ami become the
guardian of those sibylline leaves on
which the world shall read the prophe
sies of “a good time coming.” A golden
age of finer aspect than that sung 1 y the
classic harp ; a millennium who.se dstwn,
•shall bring back the lost Eden, -R’-ftf. all
its blossoms and bowers, with not a single
tree who-se friivt shall be “foii^bidden to
taste,'" and in which ‘•‘the tree c'f kno-wl-
'edge'”' of God', anti his works shall be the
central objects, and and its apples bliisho
'ing on llie boughs of all the
regained
Paradise. With such a mission, why
.seek graver obligations?
My task is done. My effort has been vain
and useless, if it fails to excite our serious
reflection, and strengthen onr resolutions
of ameii'dment, aud improvement in the
duties of Free Masonry. Let us all re
solve to maintiin with sincerity, the dicr-
nified character of our profession, May
our faith be evinced in a correct moral
walk and deportment ; may our hope be
bright as the glorious mysteries, that will
he revealed hereafter, and our charity as
boundless as the wants of our fellow crea
tures. And having failhfnlly discharged
the great duties we owe to God, oar neigh
bor, and ourselves, may the tresi/e Board
of our lives, at last pass an inspection
wliich will entitle us to the -weleome plau
dit of “well done thou good and faithful
servant, enter thou into the joy of thv
Lord ”
Pride may sometimes be a useful
springboard to the aspiring soul, but it
as preach. It is already iu successful ! is much more frequently a destructive
operation, and needs only your favors • stumbling block.
- J;
1 -‘D S
Hjlf'