MASONIC.

Evening Star, Issue 8399, 27 December 1890, Page 2 (Supplement)

MASONIC.

The following oration, delivered by the D.G. Chaplain, S.C. (Bro. A. Barrett), at the reoent Quarterly Communication held in the Masonio Hall, Moray place, will no doubt be read with considerable interest by the fraternity:— . Brethren,—Aa part of the oeremony o' this Quarterly Commnnloation I am permitted by the R. W.D.G.M. to place before you a few thought* upon the all-important subject that T.G.A.O.T.U. is the source of Evidence* of this truth are innumerable. The present moment surrounds us with testimony of manliness, good fellowship, and aspirations for all that, is pure, true, and lovely. This Communication, in common with all our Masonio oeremonies, is the outcome of love; for as Free and Accepted Masons we are taught that In order to recognise T.G.A.O.T.U. as the source of love we must manifest love towards one another, and that in suoh proportion will our love towards Him be measured. In this power or influence of love there is greater subtlety, greater mystery, and greater effioaoy than in all the forces of Nature, the brillianoy of wisdom, or the aggregate of all other virtues. . Founded on love or oharity, Masonic teaching is founded on the imperishable Rock oi Ages. Representatives of all nationalities, religious dootrines, and creeds oan and do join in fellowship in our universal institution, which, like the grand luminary of day, diffuses its genial rays on all mankind, leaving them, while acknowledging T.G.A.O.T.U. as God over all, free to engage in their several and diverse callings or professions. In comprehensiveness there is no society or institution equal to that which teaches universal brotherhood, with ita natural conclusion—universal Fatherhood. Though our beloved institution formulates no oreeds or doctrines, yet it has for its basis the germ or foundation of true religion love, or oharity. The recognition of this virtue of all virtues cannot possibly be unacceptable to any man who has within him the principles of manhood. There can be no differences of opinion on this point. Men recognise love aB the sure mark of wisdom; and wise men know the best charity is that whioh never ostensibly parades itself as oharity. This truth is the sheet anohor of society—" Do unto others as ye would they should do unto you.' The sign of Masonio life—the sign by which all men shall know we are true Maßons—is love. But love oannot be ctf led a sign until it is manifested in perceptible effects. To live in oharity with all mankind is the Mason's aim, in order that he may be the better fitted for the performance of his allotted task in this work-a-day world, and finally prepared for the society of those who enjoy eternal peace, love, and harmony. We recognise T.G.A.O.T.U. by intuition, and that intuition is the force of love or charity dwelling in every man in whom is the image of God. We believe that God created man in His own image ; and that howsoever hardened and degraded by sensuality, hypoorißy, selfishness, and vice, there still remains a lingering spark of the likeness of God which the power of love alone oan save. As the magnet imparts its influence only to be transmitted or sent on as a perpetual current, so T.G.A.O.T.U. has implanted in us the pervading influence of His own essential and eternal beiDg—Love. This power we must exercise not only in striving to live peaceably with all mankind, but in doing all the good whatsoever our hand findeth to do, and doing it with all our might. We are to be good and true workmen, not scamping tho work by veneeriDg with appearances in order to deceive, but always remembering that as truly aa the subtle influence of the magnet is present, so the All-seeing Eye is ever present to detect our inmost secretß. By instinct the industrious bee constructs ita coll with geometrical exactitude; and even though God's ways are mysterious beyond the reach of human wisdom, yet by faith in T.G.A.O.T.U. we struggle on in the performance of our allotted task. In this coumeotion the Freemason never indulges in a rebellious spirit—never reasons. Why ?

For why ? the Lord our God is good, His ueroy is (or ever sure, His truth at all times firmly stood, And shall from ago to age endure. HoW beautiful is the patient waiting of faith. I* grasps the unseen without seekiDg to penetrate into its mysteries. It apprehends the ineffable without attempting to gaze upon its dazzling radiance, and thus become blinded and bewildered. A thousand aberrations may present themselves ; but. true as the magnet to the pole, faith still points to T.G.A.0.T.U., whose love it realises. Our immortal destination must always in this sublunary existence be a faith, a hope, not the human possibility of a demonstrated certainty. We have, besides the exercise of our faith, the confidancß that T.G.A.O.T.U. is love. We may in thoughtful iyomenta be perplexed as to the existence of evil, and unable to derive much solace from— There Is some soul of goodness in things evil, Would men obeorvlngly distil it out. But the Freemason comprehends the teaching that all men are on the "level," and placed here as " rough ashlers." He firmly hopes that T.G.A.O.T.U. will enable us, out of His boundless love, so to complete our life-long work as to become "perfect aahlers " fitted for the grand lodge eternal in tho heavens. In this we accept the fact of our imperfect state without speculating upon why or wherefore, further than perhaps as an interpretation of truth contained in the words "He hath shut up all unto disobedience, that He might have mercy jipon all." There's a divinity that shapes our ends , Rcugh hew them how we will. Masonry teaches that the love of God is immeasurably and incomprehensibly great, and therefore not to ha Jimited or restricted by the conclusions of logicians, or mathematicians, or even theologians. The exact sciences, as th&y are called, do not apply to the unlimited power and eternity of #od s love. Mankind by wisdom can never know Belief in T.G.A.O.T.U. means belief in the infinite power and ultimate supremacy .of love. Then, in order to maintain this belief, we must struggle against impurity, Against luxury, against indolence, against selfishness in every form; and, above all, against the fatal spirit of cynicism. The spirit of love is the true Masonic " sign, the very sign of signs, ft aught to be a fcrnism not worth repeating thaf mo religious dogma, no rite, no ceremony, no worship «■ of the slightest importance except so far as direot or indirectly it enables ns to fulfil, the law of love. It has been wisely said fihat the law of love is the gospel of TG.A.O.T.U., the spirit of which, says a modern author, is " to edneate all olasses, lighten the pressure of labor, jncrease the joys and lawful pleasures of life, sti* up the rich to labor for their country, lead the poor towards thrift and industry, discourage luxury and encourage public spirit, unite together by community of interest employers and employed ; where society appears to be .disorganising itself on the principle of competition, reorganise society on the basis of the golden rule ' As ye would that men should do to you, dp ye also to them like, wise.' Then shall the force of love diffcse health, happiness, and culture; and shall xoot oat the causes of crime, and banian war itom the world." . Without allowing onr thoughts to narrow into th« channel of any of the creeds which in our conscientious convictions we have an onauestionable right to follow out of the lodge, I may be permitted to remark that the «upremo authority and love of T.G.A.O.T.U. are not superseded in the teaching of those religions creeds followed by the great majority in this onr adopted country. Ouroiaimia that Freemasonry is not an, tagoniatic to religion of any kind wbatso£?er, wherein T.5.A.0.T tf is recognised ■uprewely as the God of love. This is -essential on the part of every member of the fraternity. Creeds, dootrines, and fund*, mentals we regard bo far as non-essentials that they are not permitted to disturb the harmony of the lodge, while out of the lodge the brethren, aa brethren should do, agree to differ upon religious, political, or national .questions.Wing full well that **£*£•! <Tf opinion cannot set aside nnjvewal broth,erXo build up a cosmopolitan empire of food and true men, exercising al theflutes of love, we say there is no institution ,more potent than that of Free and Accepted JHasons, who stand fast with one spirit,

with one mind striving tor the univenal and eternal truth that T.G.A.O.T.U. is love. Love, therefore, th* forgetter, not the Idolater of self, oan alone build anything worthy to stand, or capable of standing long. « would be a miserable state of things If agreement In creeds was to be the bit and cuib holding us baok from the free and full exercise of that universal oharity which endnreth all things, and Is ever kind even to all sorts and conditions of men—that love whioh regards the erring more with sorrow than with repugnance, more with pity than contempt. . "Love thyself last," says an eminent authority:— Chetlsh those hearts that bate tbee; Corruption wins not mors than honesty. Still io thy right hand earry gentle peace To silenoe envious tongues. Be just and fear not. Let all the ends thou aim's* at be thy country's, Thy Qod's, and truth's. This is Masonry in a nutshell. That which Masonry is not may be spoken in one word —selfishness. The positive of Masonry is love radiating from a centre. The negative— The wretch oonoentr'd all in self. Selfishness leads a man to refer everything to his own temporal advantage. To live long and see good days, in the lowest worldly meaning of the terms, must be the end and aim of his forecasting. Selfishness, therefore, tends to degrade and enslave. In ancient times the Babylonians were notorious for their luxury, effeminacy, and licentiousness. Their civilisation was of a high stamp:— Hor hanging gardens deck'd with fairest flowers, Her lofty terraces and perfum'd bowers; Her hundred brazen gates of giant mould ; Her temples, lakes, her jewels, and her gold, if et the people were lovers of self more than lovers of righteousness, truth, and and the rights of man. Their hands were full of oppression and all iniquity. Know, then, O wicked king! the God of might, Jehovah's self, hath weighed and found thee light. Thy kingdom is no morn, and o'er thy brow , Destruction, ruin, deatb, are hovering now. Such 18 thy doom, O Babylon ! and thou On whose jewell'd brow Kingdoms their crowns reposed, and nations still I I low'J to the dictates of thy sovereign will, I How art thou fallen ! Though the mighty hand Of Nlmrod raised thee mlstreßS of the land, Scaroo history's self can single out the plain W here Babylon and all her pomp are Uin ; The queenly splendors thut wei o ones her own Lie buried now midst heaps of shapeless stone. All the ancient cities Nineveh, and Babylon, Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities of the Medea and Persians, the cities of Greece and Rome, with all their wealth and worldwide power—have dwindled away. Selfishness, as a hideous monster preying on the people in the several degrees ot oppression and tyranny, luxury and licentiousness, extortion and robbery, rapine and murder, has not only annihilated the aocient cities of the world, but is disintegrating every unjust and unrighteous Government of modern times. If any groat_ and powerful city of the present day sink into oblivion, this hideous monster selfishness, steeped in sensuality, oppression, luxury, and vice, will enable the historian to say: " Here the proud city once imperial stood." Selfishness, which degrades the manliness and robustness of individuals as of nations, must be fought against by every true Mason whenever and wherever it leads him to disregard the feelings of others, to become callous to suffering humanity, and to follow in the steps of those whose great motive in this world seems to be self—self first, self la&t, self always, and nothing but self. " Perfect love casteth out fear ;" therefore, Free and Accepted Masons of all men should be the moßt valiant, since they are not in warfare man against man, but shoulder to shoulder, helping one another against all the evil, the vice, the weaknesses, and the misery that surround and enslave mankind.

The Freemason is not cowed. He is not of those timorous mortals described by a modern writer, who appear to be always apologising for venturing to be in this.world, who seem virtually to say to everyone they meet, but especially to all baronets, lords, and the like: " I beg your pardon for being here " ; and even to wealthy mercantile men they say the same. This cowed nature is morally wrong. It implies a forgetfulness of Him who put us in this world, that we should wish to skulk through it in suoh a fashion. The Freemason in the exeroise of true manliness does the right thing for a humanbeingtodo. Hesays: "T.G.A.O.T.U. p«t me here, in my lowly place, indeed ; but I have as good a right in this world, in my own place in it, as any other man. • My title to be here is exactly the same as that of the greatest and noblest; it is the will of my Maker. While always ready to give honor to whom honor is due, I will not abnegate my right as a man for mortal. I intend, as was said by one of old: ' wherein lam called, therein to serve God.' And in point of conduct towards all mankind I will follow the noble advice given by the father of an immortal poet and brother Mason—

He bade me aot a manly part, though I hail ne'er a farthing- , , .. For without an honest manly heart no one was worth regarding." Practising out ot the lodge those receipts wo are taught in the lodge is the teat by which the worLd can recognise the true Mason, and also respect the noble institution that sends forth men stamped with manliness of life and conduct.

Who is a Freemason ? Is he not one Honestly eating the bread ho has won ; Walking in uprightness, fearing his God, Leaving no stain on the path he has trod. Caring not whether his coat may be old, Prizing sincerity far abflvo gold ? Who is a Freemason ? say, is it birth Makas a man noble or adds to his worth ? Is there a family fee to be had, Shady enough to conceal what Is bad ? Seek out the man wfco has Qod for hid guide, Nothing to tremble at, nothing to hide; Be he a noble, or be he in trade, lie is the Freemason that God has made. The late Marquis of Hastings, in hia celebrated address to the brethren in Calcutta, said, in spepking of the interest taken in Freemasonry by the nobility: "Once initiated they received lessons which never oould have reached them in other situations. They were taught that throughout the necessary gradations in a community, and amid the unavoidable distinctions arising from talents or property, man was still the brother of man. This primary position once adopted, all corollaries from it were readily embraced. The doctrine imbibed in the lodge became the rule of action for the man of might in his public sphere; and his example disseminated' the prinoiples of humanity and justice to the utmost extent of the circle." The world's greatest dramatist, he whom Sir Walter Scott describes as " the brightest and best poet that ever was, is, or will be," was certainly in touch with Masonic principles. An able author in our day writes: "The after condition of humanity, we believe, In Shakespeare's mind, rested on the firm conyictionj of the reasonableness of eternal hope. Ke had no part with those who do not feel that the Almighty's grace to save is greater than sin. Hifl belief in immortality was stronger than disbelief, begotten of dogmas, in the eternal of evil. His belief in God's meroiful goodness may prove a merciful cause of His inspiring even the worst of ns with some feeble grain of goodness, and that this merest atom of good sepd existing in the heart of the weakest and least unworthy of us all may, under the divioa meroy, so progress that in the end none fcus good seed shall prevail. Suoh Is the bvo and" charity taught of * Brotherly love," it la truly and wisely said, " is the foundation and oopestoao, the cement and glory of this ancient fraternity." This power of love we hold in trust from T.G.A.0.T.U., from whom oometh every good gift and every perfect gift. We have, then, this most exalted position—we are feHow - workers with T.G.A.O.T.U. In the creation of His allpervading empire of love, A being of infinite goodness, directed by infinite wisdom, is the highest blessing; while the want of suoh a one would be the greatest calamity that is possible. In this confidence we stand fast, knowing that all opposition to the laws of Ood must perish. The all-pervading power of perfect love must of necessity annihilate evil and rebel. Hon, and whatsoever worketh iniquity. Goodness in spite of evil is apparent everywhere—goodness is overcoming evil and rendering its very existence subservient to benpvolent ends—goodness therefore is eternal, all-powerful, inexhaustible, and will in the end subdue. In the volume of the Law we recognise a powerful pioture in whjtah are presented three remarkable touoheo. In the first, surrounded with'vain pomp and glory,

tho. busy security of the disobedient and rebellious is thus presented:— Why do the nations rage. And the people imagines rain thing? Too kings of the earth est themaelTee, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord And against His Anointed, . Saying: Let us break their bonds asunder, And oast away their cords f coin. us. In the second touch we see in this remarkable.pioture T.G.A.O.T.U. quietly mocking their efforts : He that sitteth In the Heavens shall laugh— The Lord shall have them in derision. The final touch of the picture shows the Omnipotent annihilating with a burst of wrath and displeasure their malignant projects at a stroke— Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath, And vex them lo Hl* sore displeasure. Even in all this there is evidence that T.G.A.O.T.U. is Love ; for, since quality belongs to a high order of things, there must exist obligation to the laws of God, without whioh there would be nothing to command our life, no standard, no test of right, no "plumb," no "square,"no "oompasses." Therefore, law and order, associated with truth and honest v, are the vital breath of Love; hence punishment of the disobedient and rebellious has a moral purpose in bringing about amendment and restoring goodness. How beautifully is expressed the conviction of Tennyson:— That nothing walks with aimless feet That not one life shall be destroy'd, Or cist as rubbish to the void When Ood hath made the pile complete. The hard knocks of the "gavel" and the sharp incisions of the "chisel" are absolutely necessary on every face of the " rough ashler," not for the mere sake of punishment, but for the triumph of good in the working out of the mysterious plans of T.G.A.0.T.U., by which man ultimately becomes fitted for the glorious University of Love—the Temple not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens, Whoso gates of pearl in lucid radiance drest Shall gird the Elysian city of the blest; Where, though no sun or moon by day or night Shall lend the gliding year its wand'ring light, Yet the stream of life shall shine with stronger ray, For God's own face will give eternal day. ThanksbetoT.G.A,O.T.U. that all His laws are the embodiment of love ; that perfect love casteth out fear ; and that love is the fulfilment of God's laws. Let us therefore stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving for the truth, making every conscientious effort in the cause of the_ truth and in support of the truth—the universal and eternal truth, that T.G.A.O.T.U. is Love or Charity ! Then, brethren, shall the daily practice of our Masonic life, apart from all mere sentiment, be To live for those who love me, For those who know mo true ; For the Heaven that smiles above me, And awaits my spirit too ; For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrongs that need resistance, And the good that I can do.