THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 THE COLLECTION OF 
 NORTH CAROLINIANA 
 
 ENDOWED BY 
 
 JOHN SPRUNT HILL 
 CLASS OF 1889 
 
 Cp366.1 
 
 B62b 
 
MASONIC ADDRESS 
 DELIVERED IN ZION, 
 October §, Anno liticl 5§51, 
 
 AT THE 
 
 DEDICATION OF BLACKMER LODGE 
 • No. 127. 
 
 BY LUKE BLACKMER, G. S. W. 
 
 J. J. BRUNER, PRINTER, SALISBURY, N. C. 
 
ADDRESS 
 
 Brothers : 
 
 WE read in Spanish story that on each return of icy winter the 
 Eagle quits his mountain eyry in the rugged sierra of the North and 
 takes his flight to Southern chmes, where, on the shores and in the en- 
 chanting vales of the Guadalquiver, he may sojourn during the season 
 in which storms and tempests spread desolation around his Northern 
 home ; there he may revel beneath the influence of a mild, tropical sky, 
 wdiere sparkling fountains play mid genial sunshine, where countless 
 flowers of every varied form of beauty bloom ; where birds of thrice ten 
 thousand shades of gorgeous plumage perch or wander on the wing ; 
 where murmuring streamlets wind their surpentine courses through vales 
 carpeted with richest verdure, where bleating flocks and lowing herds 
 are roaming joyously beneath the exhilarating influence of the happy 
 scene, where the glad voice of the vintage peasant rises in sweet songs 
 upon the morning air as he goes forth to his pleasant labors, and where, 
 at the jocund hours of evening, the merry sounds of castanets are heard 
 from the midst of vines that surround many a happy cottage home as 
 young men and maidens, with hearts as light and joyous as the scene is 
 beautiful, join in the rural dance " beneath soft eve's consenting stai'." 
 
 And thus it is with you my Brothers. On each return of a festal 
 morn in Masonry, you leave the rugged sierra of the world, and from 
 long and distant wanderii^s you come together around the altar of your 
 love, the shrine whereon your holy vows have been laid. Here, apart 
 from all the vexatious cares, the corroding strifes and withering disap- 
 pointments of the world, you renew your vows of love and devotion to 
 our venerable Order, and grasping firmly by the hand long separated and 
 wandering brothers, you sit down with them around the altar of your 
 vowing to spend a brief but blissful period in the happy interchange of 
 thoughts of purity and high devotion. The scene is well calculated to 
 subdue the feverish impulses of the heart and to banish the wild excite- 
 
4 
 
 ment of the world. Here, love for each other warms the heart and pity 
 for the wants and miseries of suffering humanity subdues the wilder im- 
 pulses of your joy, and you look forth upon the wide world, from this 
 happy station, as a field where Charity and Philanthropy may reap a 
 rich reward by wiping away the tears that stream down many a cheek 
 in anguish ; by soothing the sighs that come up from many a lone de- 
 sponding heart ; by taking the friendless outcast by the hand and speak- 
 ing words of consolation to ears in which tones of kindness seem like a 
 forgotten dream of early, happy childhood ; by checking the erring wan- 
 derer in his career of vice and crime and leading him back to virtue ; by 
 %'i siting the dreary abodes of poverty, suffering and despair with comfort 
 and consolation, and by pointing your fellow beings from the paths of 
 folly and error to those of truth, virtue and happiness. 
 
 The occasion is a propitious one, and never to be forgotten influences 
 should be brought to bear upon you ; influences that may continue to 
 operate upon you while you remain on earth ; influences that may be 
 felt in the happiness you spread around the hearth stone of many a home 
 where suffering, anguish and black despair are now seen ; influences whose 
 |)uvity and morality may be seen and felt in all your future associations 
 and in all your \aried walks in life as you travel onward from hence to 
 tiie grave : influences whose fruit may be seen after this mortal shall have 
 ]nit on imniortahty, and the fettered spirit shall have burst the bonds of 
 clay asunder that bind it here, and from the topmost round of our Ma- 
 Bonic Ladder you may be permitted to enter that celestial Lodge above, 
 whose preparation room is the world, whose Tyler is Death, and whos 
 |.^ort>al is the Grave, where the supreme Architect of the Univei'se, the 
 Lion of the Tribe of Judali, forever presides, forever reigns. Such are 
 the influences that should be brouglit to bear upon you my Brothers, on 
 this occasion ; and if your humble speaker were but imbued with all the 
 jtwfui majesty of language as were the inspired prophets of old, he would 
 bring it to bear, in ail its wild subhmity, on th^ present occasion, in point- 
 ing out to you your duty Avhile here on earth, and in dehniating the 
 matcliless glories that shine around the throne of the Great Eternal, the 
 Supreme High Priest of the Universe, into whose presence no one can 
 fj enter without the si (/net of God, a 2)ure hearty by means of which he | ) 
 niay pass the last and inner veil to the eternal sanctum sanctorum where 
 those who have been redeemed and regenerated by the atoning blood of 
 the Lamb, may sit down to an eternity of unalloyed happiness, " where 
 the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest." 
 
5 
 
 On the present occasion then, it may not be amiss for us to contem- 
 plate the purity and excellence of our Patron Saints, John the Baptist 
 and John the Evangelist, in order that we may be the better prepared 
 to imitate their virtues and practice the sublime principles of their mo- 
 rality. The question is often asked, why are Masonic Lodges dedicated 
 to these eminent Saints in the Christian Calender ? The question is easily 
 answered : In the earher ages of Masonry, Lodges were dedicated to 
 King Solomon ; from the Babylonian captivity to the coming of the 
 Mesiah, they were dedicated to Zerubbabel. During these two periods, 
 Masonry was regarded as an institution pure in its morality, subhme in 
 its teachings and elevating in its tendencies, many of which pointed un- 
 erringly to the coming of the promised Mesiah, and inasmuch as Masons 
 were then taught by allegory concerning the coming of the Saviour, it is 
 not strange that when He came they should at once wish to make their 
 principles subservient to the religion which He taught ; and they accord- 
 ingly dedicated their Lodges to St. John the Baptist from the advent of 
 Christ until the final destruction of the temple. Confusion ensued upon 
 this change of the Patron Saint, as many zealous Masons did not beheve 
 that Christ was the Mesiah, and they were unwilling to recognize The 
 Baptist as their patron. Confusion was succeeded by indifference and 
 inattention, and in a few years, owing to the persecution of the early 
 Christians, Masonry fell into disi-epute. In this state of affairs a depu- 
 tation of brethren waited upon St. John the Evangelist, who was then 
 the venerable Bishop of Ephesus, and solicited him to patronize the Fra- 
 ternity by becoming its Grand Master. This he consented to do, owing 
 to his attachment to the Order and his faith in the beneficient tendencies 
 of her teachings. Since then, all Christian Masons have dedicated their 
 Lodges to the Baptist and the Evangelist. Our Lodges are dedicated to 
 these personages because they were eminent for the purity of their lives 
 and the rectitude of their conduct as men ; because they w^ere eminent 
 as Chiistians for their devotion to that faith which was sealed by the 
 blood of Christ, and because they were no less eminent as men and 
 Christians than they were as Masons. 
 
 Then let us take a hasty review of their characters, for w^e as Masons 
 would be guilty of the greatest absurdity were we to refuse to imitate, 
 as far as is in our power, the virtues of our Patron Saints. 
 
 John the Baptist was designed of God for the discharge of important 
 duties, and the miracles that attended his birth plainly indicate, that he 
 was designed to act an important part in the fearful drama of the world's 
 
redemption. Obedient to liis heavenly mandate, lie appeared in tlie 
 wilderaess of Judea, preaching Te])entance^ and teaching the people to 
 "prepare the way of the Lord." John the Baptist only spake of one 
 who was " to come after him," teaching not his own doctrines and de- 
 siring not to aggrandise himself. So Masonry at the present day doth 
 not arrogate to herself supreme excellence, but with meekness and hu- 
 mility points her votaries to a purer shrine and a holier faith, which 
 shrine they must approach and which faith they must possess before 
 they enter the celestial Lodge above ; " for there is no other name given 
 under heaven whereby they can be saved." In the humility of the 
 Baptist and his indifference to his own glory and fame, w^e find a beau- 
 tiful type of the unpretending excellence of Masonry. He was a man 
 so perfect, possessing a character so entirely without spot or blemish, and 
 " was so lovely in his life and manners " that " all men mused in their 
 hearts concerning him, whether Ifie was the Christ." The character of 
 Masonry is such that when the unprejudiced beholder contemplates its 
 beauty, he is led to wonder and adore, but a voice immediately comes 
 uj) from her altars, and, in tones of heavenly sweetness, says to him, 
 " I am not the Christ, there is a greater coming after me, whose shoe's 
 latchet I am not worthy to unloose." As the Baptist prepared the way 
 for the coming of the Son of Man, so Masonry endeavors to prepare the 
 way for his Gospel by softening and subduing the harsh asperities of our 
 nature and by correcting the vices and irregularities of conduct to which 
 we are all exposed. 
 
 The Baptist went forth as the fearless champion of virtue, nothing in- 
 timidated by the idea that his doctrines might not be acceptable to the 
 multitudes to whom he preached ; but being actuated by an exalted sense 
 of duty and a burning desire to fulfil the divine missdon on which he 
 was sent, he fearlessly said to all who came unto them, " Repent, for the 
 kingdom of heaven is at hand." 
 
 His Meekness and Humihty are well worthy the imitation of every 
 ]\Iason ; that softness of temper which ever preserved him from irritation 
 and anger ; that mildness of spirit and gentleness of manner which en- 
 abled him to win his way so effectually to the hearts of all who heard 
 liis preaching ; that forbearance under injury and provocation which pre- 
 served him from rash retaliation and enabled him to submit without a 
 murmur or repining word to the decrees of heaven, should be the study 
 and emulation of every good man and true Mason. 
 
 He it was who enjoyed the glorious privilege of baptising the Son of 
 
7 
 
 God in Jordan, and heard the voice from heaven declaring, " this is my 
 beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." 
 
 He was seen by Isaiah, as that venerable prophet, imbued with the 
 spirit of inspiration and a prescience of events that were to happen in 
 after ages, lifted the veil which hides the eternity of the future from mor- 
 tal eye, and standing on the heights of prophecy he saw him advancing 
 from the vales of the future. That ancient prophet not only saw the 
 Baptist advancing, but his own eloquence, the most awful and sublime 
 of all the prophets, was silenced in mute astonishment as he heard the 
 voice of the Baptist coming up from the far distant ages of the future, 
 " crying in the wilderness." Malachi, the last of the prophets, saw him 
 in the visions of the future, and in the midst of those fearful denuncia- 
 tions which he pronounced against the children of Israel, he prophesied 
 the forerunner of Christ, After the Son of God had entered upon that 
 high and holy mission for which He had been sent from the throne of 
 heaven to this fallen world. He exclaimed " verily, I say unto you, that 
 among them that are born of women, there hath not arisen a greater 
 than John the Baptist." 
 
 The purity of his life, the rectitude of his conduct, should inspire us 
 all with a love of virtue ; and his constant reproofs of vice in all its forms, 
 should be, received by us as admonitions given directly to us, to " repent, 
 for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." He discharged the duties for 
 which he was sent, with freedom^ fervency and zeal^ never faltering in 
 well-doing until at length the proud ruler of Israel became incensed that 
 one so humble should dare reprove him for his immorality, and ordered 
 him to be slain. Thus fell the earlier of our Patron Saints, a noble 
 martyr to his uncompromising hostility to vice ; and shall the sad lesson 
 of his death be lost upon the votaries of that Order of which he was 
 proud to be the Patron ? Can we indulge in the vices and immoralities 
 of life, forgetful of this solemn lesson, forgetful of our duty to ourselves, 
 to our families, our neighbors, our country and our God ? If any incon- 
 siderate, thoughtless brother hath been led astray ; if he has never 
 thought of the- fearful weight of responsibility resting upon him, I would 
 ask him to contemplate the purity of the Baptist's character, and make 
 it an ensample for his own actions in future. 
 
 Saint John the Evangelist was one of the immediate disciples of Christ 
 and received directly from Him the great principles of the Christian re- 
 Hgion. The EvangeHst was one among the most favored of the Apostles 
 while they remained with their Master ; he was one of the most successful 
 
8 
 
 preachers of Christianity after the ascension, and in some respects was tJie 
 most remarkable man that ever Hvecl ; and it is impossible for the devout 
 Mason to contemplate his character without being made a better man. 
 
 Christ chose twelve Apostles whom He- might instruct in the sublime 
 principles of the redemption which He was to prepare by offering up 
 His life a ransom on the cross, and which they were to preach to all the 
 world after He was taken from them. Among those twelve there was 
 one whom Jesus loved above all the rest : that one was our noble Patron ; 
 he was the beloved disciple. He was by much the youngest of the Apos- 
 tles, yet he was admitted into a greater share of his Master's confidence 
 than any other. He was one of those to whom he communicated the 
 most private transactions of His life ; one of those whom He took with 
 Him when He raised the daughter of Jairius from the dead ; one of those 
 to whom He displayed a specimen of His divinity when He revealed in 
 Himself the glories of the Father on the mount of transfiguration ; one 
 of those who were present at His conference with Moses and Elias and 
 heard that voice which declared Him the beloved Son of God." He 
 was the favored one whose seat was beside the Saviour at the last supper, 
 where he enjoyed the blessed privilege of rechning in his Master's bosom ; 
 he was one of the chosen companions of His solitude, in His most retired 
 devotions, and he was with Him during the bitter agonies of Gethsemane. 
 These instances of particular favor, our Patron endeavored, in some mea- 
 sure, to answer by returns of particular kindness and constancy. For 
 though^ he, with all the other apostles, deserted his Master on His be- 
 trayal, yet he was the first to return to his Saviour, and confidently enter- 
 ing the High Priest's hall, he followed his Lord through the severe in- 
 dignities of His trial, and was the only one of the disciples that followed 
 Him to calvary, owning Him, as well as being owned by Hiyi, in the 
 midst of armed soldiers, and of dense crowds of His most infuriated and 
 inveterate enemies. Here it was that the Redeemer committed to our 
 Patron's care, His sorrowing and disconsolate mother, with His dying 
 breath. And certainly the holy Jesus could not have given a more hon- 
 orable or conclusive testimony of His particular respect and partiality 
 for St. John than by leaving His own mother to his trust and care, and 
 in substituting him to supply that duty which He, Himself, had paid 
 her, while He resided in this vale of sorrow. 
 
 After the Saviour's ascension, the apostles made a division of the pro- 
 vinces among themselves, when that of Asia fell to the share of St. John ; 
 he did not, however, enter immediately upon his charge, but continued 
 
9 
 
 at Jerusalem until tlie death of the blessed Virgin, which occurred about 
 fifteen years after the ascension. Being released from the trust commit- 
 ted to him by his dying Master, he entered with zeal and efficiency upon 
 his ministry, founding many churches, the most prominent of which were 
 those at Smyrna, Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea, 
 during which time his chief place of residence was at Ephesus. After 
 spending several years at Ephesus, the Eoman Emperor, Domitiah, began 
 a persecution against the Christians, and the Evangelist was sent bound 
 to Rome, where he met the treatment that might have been expected 
 from so barbarous a prince, being thrown into a cauldron of boihng oil. 
 But the Almighty had further work for him to perform, and restrained 
 the heat as He did in the fiery furnance of old, and delivered His faithful 
 servant from death. It might be supposed that such an interposition 
 of miraculous providence would have caused the savage Emperor's fury 
 to abate ; but on seeing him come forth from the boiling fluid unharmed, 
 he ordered that he should be banished to the mines of Patmos, where he 
 remained until the death of Domitian, during which time he received 
 those thrilling visions from the throne of God and the Lamb, by which 
 he was enabled to gaze far down into futurity and behold the destiny of 
 the church and the world for countless ages to come. 
 
 St. John the Evangelist was the only mortal being to whom the glories 
 of heaven were unveiled, so that he might look upon them with mortal 
 eyes ; to him alone was it given to look onward into the dim vistas of 
 futurity, and behold the final consummation of all earthly things. Cover- 
 ed with a mantle of glory, and " being in the spirit on the Lord's day," he 
 had the unspeakable delight of meeting face to face with his risen and 
 ascended Savior who said unto him, " I am he that liveth and was dead ; 
 and, behold, I am alive forevermore ;" he it was to whom the attendant 
 angels presented "the bride, the Lamb's wife." The radiant glories of 
 Paradise were unfolded to him, he there beheld the souls of those Avho 
 were slain for the cause of Christ, he there beheld " the souls of those 
 who came up through much tribulation ;" he heard the songs of gTory 
 and the shouts of rejoicing that arise continually from the redeemed 
 throng who surround the eternal throne. 
 
 On the death of Domitian, his successor, Narva, repealed those odi- 
 ous edicts, and the Evangelist was permitted to return to Ephesus, where 
 he immediately entered upon the active duties of his ministry, travelling 
 far and wide to instruct the world in the principles of that holy religion 
 he was sent to propagate : and thus did he continue to labor until death 
 
10 
 
 put an end to all his toils and sufferings ; wMch happened in the begin- 
 ning of Trajan's reign, in the ninety-eighth year of his age ; and, accord- 
 ing to Eusebius, his remains were buried in Ephesus. 
 
 The most prominent trait in the character of the Evangehst was his 
 humility, which ever led him to conceal his own honor. In his gospel 
 and epistles he never styles himself either apostle or evangelist ; and 
 when, in his gospel, he speaks of " the disciple whom Jesus loved," he 
 constantly conceals his own name, leaving the reader to discover whom 
 he meant. 
 
 The writings of the Evangelist are among the most beautiful and in- 
 structing of all in the Bible. The Apocalypse was the first book he wrote, 
 though placed last in the sacred canon ; next, in point of time, are his 
 three epistles, wTitten in the order in which they are placed, and last in 
 point of time, though first in its position in the Bible, is his gospel. 
 
 Before he commenced this last great task of writing the Gospel, he 
 appointed a general fast to be observed by all the churches in Asia, to 
 implore the blessing of heaven on so great and momentous an under- 
 taking. When this was done, he set about the work, and completed it 
 in so excellent and sublime a manner that the ancients generally com- 
 pared him to an eagle soaring aloft among the clouds, whither the weak 
 eye of man was not able to follow him. St. Basil says that " among all 
 the evangelical writers none are like St. John, the son of thunder, for the 
 sublimity of his speech, and the heighth of his discourses, which are 
 beyond any man's capacity fully to reach and comprehend." Epiphanius 
 says that, " St. John, as a true son of thunder, by a loftiness of speech 
 peculiar to himself, acquaints us, as it were, out of the clouds and dark 
 recesses of wisdom, mth the divine doctrine of the Son of God." 
 
 Such were the Patron Saints of Masonry : men so pure in their lives, 
 so upright and consistent in all their actions that even the fiercest ene- 
 mies of the christian religion have never been able to discover the least 
 blemish or defect in either ; men who acted a conspicuous part in the 
 introduction of the world's redemption, one as the herald of Christ, the 
 other as the disciple whom He loved ; men whose memories have sur- 
 vived the wreck of empires, and whose names must live while time itself 
 endures, treasured in the heart of every believer in the Christian faith, so 
 intimately are they connected with the dearest hope that warms the chris- 
 tian heart. And it is your duty, my brothers ; it is the duty of every 
 Mason, to imitate and emulate the pure lives of our Patron Saints. Every 
 Mason should be a thinking man ; he should think of the fearful respon- 
 
11 
 
 sibility there is resting upon him in hfe, a responsibility that will survive 
 the grave and be felt throughout the boundless ages of eternity ; he 
 should think of the weight his influence may give to a bad practice, per- 
 haps causing some innocent, unsuspecting youth to run astray from the 
 paths of virtue and enter the great whirlpool of vice ; he should think 
 and reflect upon the beauty and loveliness of virtue, and upon the ugli- 
 ness and deformity of vice ; he should ever reflect upon the fact that the 
 life of virtue and strict morality, is the life of the greatest pleasure and 
 happiness ; while the life of the evil-doer is beset with sharp thorns of 
 anguish and bitter tears of remorse, /j Let me ask of you, my brothers, 
 if any of you ever committed an act, some little folly, for which you 
 condemned yourselves when cooler moments came over you and reason 
 had taken the place of excitement, of thoughtlessness, or of passion ? 
 How bitter in that moment was your self-regret, that you should have 
 been led astray so far as to forget the becoming dignity of a gentleman 
 and say a word or do a deed to wound the kinder feelings of some other 
 fellow-being ! By every such act of yours, you plant a thorn in your 
 own bosoms that will rankle there until the latest hour of your existence ; H 
 and, more fearful still the thought, you may have said or done those 
 things which can never be forgotten by others, for they may have sunk 
 deep into sensitive hearts. Let me ask of you again, my brothers, of 
 the silent pleasure, the pure joy, that comes forth, as an overflowing 
 fountain, to pervade your whole being, with the consciousness of duty 
 performed, of purity vindicated, and innocence sustained ; you are then 
 happy, and the chief source of your happiness is the sweet consciousness 
 that you have done something to make others happy ; you may have 
 given a wandering, homeless orphan a piece of bread ; you may have 
 clad the shivering limbs of helpless age ; you may have entered the 
 squallid abode of poverty, and there administered comfort to hearts that 
 were ready to despair ; you may have wiped away the tears of orphan- 
 age, and sent joy and sunshine into cheerless homes and benighted 
 hearts ; you may have stood up boldly in defiance of the scoffs^nd 
 sneers of the vicious, and vindicated the cause of virtue and purity. 
 Would you exchange one such moment of quiet happiness for years of 
 heartless dissipation and folly ? When you have heard the widow's 
 prayer and the orphan's supplication ascending to the throne of heaven, 
 imploring blessings to rest upon the good man's name, have you not 
 thought that such prayers, breaking forth from the lips of innocence, 
 and ascending from hearts of spotless purity, were wprth more than all 
 
12 
 
 the idle words of adulation and flattery tliat a heartless world could 
 bestow ? If the cause of virtue has such strong reasons to commend 
 itself to one not a Mason, how doubly strong are the reasons urged by 
 Masonry why all her votaries should be upright and virtuous and kind ? 
 All the claims that are binding upon you as men, continue binding upon 
 you as Masons, for it is one of her primary objects to enforce the moral 
 law, the laws of kindness, benevolence and charity, in all their beauty 
 and in all their purity. After indulging such a train of thought as this, 
 you will see the propriety of adopting as Patron Saints, men of such 
 unblemished purity of morals, of such a stern regard to the dictates of 
 truth and who were so fearless in the discharge of every duty as the 
 Baptist and the Evangelist, and I ask of you to contemplate well the 
 excellence of their characters, and at least to make an effort to approxi- 
 mate to them in the fearless discharge of duty in defiance of the sneers 
 of the vicious and unprincipled, and the opposition of those who through 
 ignorance or prejudice may be the enemies of Masonry. 
 
 The true Mason must be the friend of virtue and the foe of vice ; he 
 must exert himself to lessen the amount of human misery and to increase 
 the sum of human happiness. It is not enough that a Mason be an 
 upright man himself, so long as he sees others going astray in the paths 
 of recklessness, folly and crime ; for every Mason is expected to be, and 
 if he does his duty, will be, a fearless and daring soldier in the cause of 
 honor, integrity and uprightness. There is now a warfare going on, one 
 that has been raging for unnumbered ages ; it is a warfare between the 
 forces of Truth and Error. Many fierce and deadly conflicts have been 
 fought with varied success. The armies of Truth have generally been 
 successful, but at times, when Error has entered into a league offensive 
 and defensive with Bigotry, Ignorance, Prejudice and Fanaticism, Truth 
 has been driven from the field, but she has never been conquered, for 
 
 " Truth crushed to earth will rise again." 
 These conflicts have occurred, they must occur again ; combats must 
 occur, the sound of hostile forces must be heard, tournaments must be 
 seen ; but let the forces be the invincible sons of Truth, opposed to the 
 hireling, craven minions of Error ; and let the pageants be no other than 
 the fierce strife of stalwart mind with mind. You have minds which it 
 is your duty to cultivate ; and you should strive, not so much for brilKant 
 and gigantic attainments, as for attainments in moral purity and excel- 
 lence. If splendor and power of intellect merely be the standard, let 
 men admire the electric fire as it glances along the path of the storm ; 
 
13 
 
 true, it may rend the eartli and spread terror and death among men ; 
 but what of that ? behold bow grand and beautiful it plays and flashes 
 along the sky ! Let them gaze with delight upon the almost angehc 
 glory of the Lucifer of modern poetry, while from the dark portentious 
 shadows of his wings he distills upon the hearth stone of innocence and 
 purity the cold death damps of passion and guilt. Has mind no greater 
 glory than mere display ? Does its chief excellence consist in being 
 wrought into productions of beauty, elegance and power ? to be valued 
 only for its ingenuity and refinement ? If so, let men admire the brilhant 
 productions of heathen philosophers ; true their philosophy is like their 
 own mythelogical heavens, peopled with bright, but cold and inaccessi- 
 ble deities ; while the philosophy of the modern is like the heaven of 
 the Christian, resplendant with the glory of infinite love. But shall mind 
 be only a field for display ? Shall it be trained only for gladiatorial en- 
 counters of skill and strength ? Encounters must and will occur, but let 
 them be only the mighty conflicts of truth and error. Pageants will be 
 seen, but let them be the sheen of the burnished armor and the array 
 of the embattled hosts of invincible Truth. 
 
 Truth is one of the tenets of a Masons profession, and when encoun- 
 ters occur you are to be sought for in the ranks of Truth. Nor are you 
 to be trembling, doubting soldiers in this warfare ; you must go forth 
 fearlessly, to meet the champions of Error. Go forth with hiuiiilify, too, 
 not with vain boasting and arrogant words. Go forth as went the son 
 of Jesse, with a firm reliance upon the God you serve and the correct- 
 ness of your cause ; go to the great fountain of Truth, which is ever full, 
 an ever welling springs aiid there gather a few smooth e pebbles and place 
 them in your sling ; with these go forth, not in the spirit of vain glory, 
 but with meekness and humility, and the Gohah of your enemies will 
 fall before you. 
 
 But before you become veteran warriors in the ranks of Masonry, you 
 should have so studied the principles of our Institution that you can 
 properly appreciate them. The individual who for the first time gazes 
 up into the glorious arch of heaven, and beholds the radiant jewels that 
 pave the paths where angels tread is filled with wonder and delight ; — 
 but how much purer is his dehght when he is told that they have shone 
 in heaven since creations natal evening ; that they sang together when 
 the earth sprang forth fi-om the realms of chaos to take a place among 
 the constellated luminaries of the universe as a world of life and light, 
 of joy and love, of innocence and purity. Trace out for him the brilliant 
 
14 
 
 constellations that gem the vault of night, relate to him the thousand 
 legends of the early astronomers, the tales of mortals deified and stationed 
 in the heavens ; lead him forth gradually to behold in each bright star 
 a magnificient sun, the centre of a system as large or larger than our 
 own, vnth its train of planets, satellites and far sweeping comets ; point 
 him to the grandeur of the milk-y way, lead him onward and still onward 
 in imagination until he is conveyed incalculable millions of miles beyond 
 the most distant point that optic glasses ever reached, and there standing 
 upon some beautiful planet in those distant fields of space, point out to 
 him the countless myriads of new worlds beyond ; point him to the side- 
 real heavens, where there are myriads of suns bound in one mighty bro- 
 therhood ; then prove to him that our sun, w^ith its attendant constella- 
 tions, is performing a revolution around some common centre of the uni- 
 verse in which its motion is at the rate of two hundred thousand miles 
 an hour ; and that moving with this velocity, it requires eighteen million 
 two hundred thousand years to perform the revolution, and he Avill ex- 
 claim, " Insufferable is the glory of God, — let me lie down in the grave." 
 
 So with the candidate : when his eye for the first time rests upon the 
 hghts and jewels of Masonry ; w^hen he listens for the first time to the 
 treasures of her traditionary lore, when he hears for the first time the 
 subhme exposition of her principles, he is filled w ith wonder and dehght ! 
 But *as yet he knows little or nothing of Masonry. Take him by the 
 hand and lead him onward and upward amid the glories of the Order ; 
 teach him to converse in a language which is universal ; explain to him 
 the sublime allegorical meaning of our lights, and jewels, and emblems ; 
 teach him to converse in that voice of silvery sweetness which hath such 
 magic power as to disarm a human being of the wildest, most fearful 
 ^nd destructive passions that the heart of man is subject to ; lead him 
 to appreciate the seraphic loveliness and heavenly purity of every prin- 
 ciple taught, and every emotion created ; teach him that this is the vitali- 
 ty, the very soul of Masonry without w^hich it w^ould be like a blazing- 
 arrow^ shot through the blackest midnight, which -in its flight would daz- 
 zle every beholder, but striking no shining mark it leaves all in a dark- 
 ness more profound than before. Then lead him forth to a bolder flight, 
 and show him hundreds and thousands of Masons in his own country, 
 all possessing the elements of this same universal language ; all skilled 
 in the same traditionary learning with himself — they members of Lodges 
 w^here the same jewelry is seen and the same bright lights burning wdiich 
 he first beheld — those Lodges governed by the same Constitution, and 
 
15 
 
 revolving in peace and harmony around a common centre. Lead hira 
 onward and traverse with him the great highways of the world where 
 he will behold different races of men, and where his ear will hsten to the 
 accents of strange languages, and show him that he has a language with 
 which he can converse even there, and by means of which he can awake 
 the tenderest chord of their sympathetic hearts ; leave, with him, the 
 abodes of civilization and the lands of universal science, and take him 
 far off among the wild sons of the desert, or among the red men of the 
 forest, and let him behold the same mysterious language used in its per- 
 fection among those untutored children of nature ; lift the veil of the 
 past and point him backward in the world's history for thousands of years, 
 and let him behold Masonry flourishing in the full vigor of maturity in 
 those primeval ages of the world ; the same science, inculcating the same 
 pure principles of morality, and the same high and noble aspirations that 
 he now beholds it ; tell him of the millions of wise and good and great 
 men who have taken the same vows with himself, and whose eyes once 
 rested with delight upon the same emblems he now beholds ; tell him 
 they were his brothers, although ages upon ages intervene between him 
 and them, and they, having completed all the designs laid down upon 
 the great tressle hoard of life for them, have been called off from labor 
 in the lodge of earth to refreshment in the celestial lodge above, where 
 they have all received the reward of their labors ; tell him of heart-broken 
 widows, comforted and protected ; of wandering, friendless orphans be- 
 friended, educated and prepared for usefulness and honor in the Avorld ; 
 tell him of the tears that have been dried, the sorrows that have been 
 soothed, the sighs that have been hushed, the wants that have been re- 
 lieved, the wanderers that have been reclaimed, the vice it has subdued, 
 and the immorality it has overcome, and he will exclaim, surely Masonry 
 is the handmaid of our holy religion ; for -her foundation stone is truth, 
 her superstructure is virtue, her fruit is charity, her empire is the wide 
 world. Teach him that this universal language is as impressive now as 
 it was w^ien the Chaldean shepherds watched their flocks upon the plains 
 of Asia, although the languages of those nations ha\^ sank beneath the 
 w^ave of oblivion, and that it is through the medium of Masonry, which 
 has survived the wrecks of ages and empires that we breath, as it were, 
 the air of ages whose memory is now well nigh forgotten ; and that 
 Masonry now constitutes the strongest chain by which we are bound to 
 antiquity, and his soul will be excited with emotions of the purest order, 
 and he will be overwhelmed with the most exalted conceptions of the 
 
16 
 
 majesty and power of an Institution so venerable in years that its origin 
 is hidden by the laps of countless ages. 
 
 Here I might pause ; but other topics present themselves with such force 
 that I am constrained to trespass upon your patience yet a little longer, 
 
 THE TENETS OF A MASONS PROFESSION ARE BROTHERLY LOVE, 
 RELIEF AND TRUTH. 
 
 By Brotherly Love we are taught to regard the whole human species 
 as one great family of which we are members. We are thereby taught 
 that certain duties devolve upon us as members of this family, which 
 it is our bounden duty to perform. Human happiness is the great end 
 and aim of human existence ; for this purpose governments have been 
 established and society has been founded, with rules and regulations that 
 no one can transgress without detracting from his own happiness, or the 
 happiness of some fellow being. These rules and regulations have been 
 instituted for the happpiness of all. It is not for me, for you, or any 
 other individual, or for any class of individuals that these regulations 
 have been made ; but for universal man. Man, placed separate and 
 apart by himself, is more helpless than the beasts that roam the wilder- 
 ness : it is only as a member of society that he is or can be any thing. 
 It is to society he must look for all the comforts and enjoyments of lite : 
 when each member of society does his duty, laboring either mentally or 
 physically, happiness will be promoted ; and we ought to reflect upon the 
 important fact that inasmuch as it is from society that we derive our 
 happiness, we ought to exert ourselves to the best of our ability to promote 
 the happiness of others ; it is our duty not only as men, but as Masons, 
 for Brotlierly Love is one of the purest emotions of the heart, and teaches 
 us to regard a brother's interest and a brother's ha])pihess as our own. 
 
 Relief teaches us to go forth as the good Samaritan to bind up the 
 wounds, relieve the distress and provide for the wants of any suffering 
 fellow being whom we may meet. It teaches us not to limit our benev- 
 olence and sympathy to our own immediate friends or kindred, but 
 wherever we And a fellow being, bearing the image of our Creator, who 
 is an object of charity, there should we be ready to perform those acts of 
 kindness and labors of love which, we are taught in the Holy Scriptures, 
 are incumbent upon us all. The distribution of alms is not the only field 
 for expansive charity ; but when we do any thing to increase the happiness 
 or lessen the misery of a fellow being we are performing the mission of 
 heavenly charity. A word of kindness, a kind look, a friendly pressure 
 of the hand may be so gratefully received by some unfortunat<3 being as 
 
17 
 
 to be nevei* forgotten. These are things, so small in themselves, that 
 ■vve are very liable to forget them, but 
 
 " A little word in kindness spokenj 
 
 A motion or a tear 
 Hath often healed a heart that's broken, 
 
 And made a friend sincere." 
 
 There are those upon whom misfortune will come ; it will come upon us 
 all; and there are moments when the world, with all of its beautiful 
 scenes, appear a dreary waste, when utter desolation comes over the 
 heart, and nature seems clad in saccloth. In such an hour, when the soul 
 retires within itself to commune with the spirits of loved lost ones, how 
 grateful are those little attentions : the affectionate, silent pressure of the 
 hand tells thrillingly upon the heart, and a gentle, affectionate glance of 
 the eye sinks down into the very depths of the soul, never to be forgotten. 
 They are more powerful by far than the most studied forais of fashionable 
 sympathy and condolence. Then let us, my Brothers, speak tenderly 
 to, and look kindly upon, all. A harsh, reproachful glance of the eye 
 often wounds more deeply than bitter words. " Not all the pleasure 
 kind looks or kind words give, or have given in life, can balance the pain 
 that reproachful eyes occasion— eyes that have become sealed over with 
 that leaden seal which lifts not how expressive their contempt, how 
 powerful the language they convey ; — " how they pierce one by day 
 time, and more dreadfully by night, — through and through. Harsh 
 words may slip and be forgotten ; but ungrateful looks, reproachful looks, 
 haunt us continually : we cannot flee from them ; they are ever present 
 with us by day, and when we sleep they haunt us still and make up all 
 that is most terrible in dreams." 
 
 Truth is one of the tenets of Mason's profession, and it is a principle 
 without which no character can be perfect. It is here used in its most 
 expansive sense in which it signifies not only the absence of falsehood in 
 our statements and declarations, but the conformity of words to thoughts, 
 which has ever been denominated moral truth^ exact accordance^ with 
 that which is, or has been, or shall be. Truth when used to signify the 
 absence of falsehood is a virtue so absolutely essential to an individuaFs 
 well being and respectability in society, that I need not even pause to 
 call your attention to its observance. But moral truth is a virtue more 
 frequently neglected, and its neglect is frequently the source of the most 
 serious and lementable results. In its most expansive sense it means a 
 true man, a good man ; one who can be rehed on at any time and und«r 
 
18 
 
 all emergencies ; one whom tlie devious winds of fortune or tlie fickle 
 gales of chance cannot turn astray. One who never makes empty and 
 idle professions of friendship, but who utters only the true sentiments of 
 his heart. There are those people in the world who, like Janus, have 
 two faces: when in your presence they will be most profuse in their 
 professions of friendship and attachment, but who, in your absence, will 
 say all manner of evil things against you to ruin your fair fame. Such 
 persons are the worst enemies we can have, they destroy the peace and 
 happiness of community, and cause much bitterness and many sorrows. 
 I hope for the honor of the Fraternity that no Mason will ever be guilty 
 of such a moral delinquency, for such a person is more pernicious and 
 more to be dreaded than one who is notorious for his falsehoods. 
 
 The cardinal virtues of Masonry are Temperance^ Fortitude^ Pru- 
 dence and JusticCj and as there are many valuable lessons of instruction 
 contained in them without which no Masonic character can be complete, 
 I will call your attention briefly to them. 
 
 Temperance is used here not merely to denote the absence of intox- 
 ication in the use of ardent spirits, but in that more expansive sense in 
 which it is used by the Apostle Paul when he says " every man that 
 striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things." In this sense it 
 means temperance in speech, in action, in desire, and in appetite ; mod- 
 eration in the indulgence of the passions, by which a person will be cool, 
 calm, collected and self-possessed in every emergency. This virtue 
 teaches us that we should keep a restraint upon our speech and never 
 suffer ourselves to say any thing that may injure another person. But 
 the great lesson intended to be conveyed is that of temperance in the use 
 of intoxicating drinks. I do not know as I would make a change in Ma- 
 sonry if I had the power ; it is so nearly perfect, its organization is such 
 as to have enabled it to survive so many fearful revolutions of public 
 opinion that I would hesitate long before I added to, or subtracted from 
 her principles ; — but if I were to make a change it would be in the en- 
 tire prohibition of all intoxicating drinks among her members. I need 
 not enlarge on this subject, however, for you my Brethren, have heard 
 my views upon it before, and I will only say for the benefit of those who 
 are uninitiated, that no true Mason will permit himself to become intox- 
 icated. 
 
 Fortitude is that strength and firmness of mind by which a person 
 is enabled to encounter danger with calmness and courage, and to bear 
 adversity without murmuring, depression, or despondency. This virtue 
 
19 
 
 is neither assimilated to rashness, or cowardice, but is equally removed 
 from both ; and it teaches us that we should be as firm and unyielding 
 in our principles of honor, integrity and uprightness as the eternal hills. 
 
 Prudence is the application of wisdom to practice, and implies cau- 
 tion in delilierating and consulting on the most suitable means for accom- 
 plishing valuable |)urposes. A man may be wise, but not prudent, for 
 prudence imphes more caution, investigation and reserve than wisdom. 
 We should never do, or say any thing to affect another without the 
 greatest prudence in deliberating upon its propriety. Prudence is truth- 
 fully represented in the Hyeroglyphical language of Masonry by a 
 beautiful woman viewing herself in a mirror, from which we may draw 
 a valuable lesson ; — it teaches us that we should endeavor to see our 
 o'vvn actions in the same light in which they are seen by others ; or as 
 our departed Brother, the unrivalled minstrel of Scotland expresses it, 
 
 " O wad some Power the giftie gie us 
 
 To see oursels as others see us, 
 
 It wad frae monie a blunder free us.'* 
 
 We would all of us conduct ourselves very differently at times if we 
 could behold our actions through the same medium in which they are 
 beheld by others. This representation of prudence also teaches us that 
 we should be as careful to remove all defects or blemishes from our 
 hearts and consciences as we would be in removing any defect or blem- 
 ish from our external appearance ; and that as we bestow much care 
 and attention in attiring our persons in such a manner as to appear 
 comely and respectable among our friends, so should we bestow the 
 strictest attention upon an inward preparation for a presence in which 
 we must all appear, and where we will have to pass a strict examination 
 at the door of the celestial Lodge above, when if purity of heart and 
 rectitude of conduct be found wanting, we will be condemned to eternal 
 banishment from those whose work has been approved and whose wa- 
 ges is the immediate entrance upon the full fruition of unending felicity. 
 
 Justice is that virtue which consists in giving to every one what is 
 due ; a strict conformity to the principles of rectitude in our dealings 
 with all men ; a fair judgment and an exact expression of opinion con- 
 cerning the merit, or demerit of others. In its most expansive sense, 
 that in which we use it as Masons, it means the doing of that which is 
 right, and the abstaining from every thing which is wrong. Justice is 
 represented in Masonic language by a female figure, blindfolded, holding 
 evenly balanced scales in her left hand and the sword of Justice in her 
 
20 
 
 right hand, which teaches us that the evenly balanced scales should be 
 our guide in all our dealings, remembering that the sword of Justice will 
 sooner or later overtake us and mete out to us a merited punishment for 
 all our misdeeds. 
 
 II When we look abroad into the world and scan the position^of different 
 persons and of associations, we find, in some instances, that party hnes too 
 strictly drawn, and sectarian impulses too closely adhered to, create divi- 
 sions and dissensions which ever have and, as long as they continue to 
 exercise their present influence, ever will, mar the fair face of society, 
 destroy its peace and happiness, turning brother against brother, friend 
 against friend, and finally eventuate in the most relentless animosities, 
 which not only rankle during life, but, after having pursued the object of 
 hatred till death, and seen the cold clods of the grave hide him from 
 mortal sight, will persecute his memory with all the unrelenting hatred in 
 which they would pursue a living, breathing enemy. We behold this l \. 
 state of affairs in the political world Avhere neighbor is turned against 
 neighbor and even father against son, simply because the one admires a 
 man whom the other dislikes, because the one believes that certain mea- 
 sures are right and just which the other believes to be wrong ; we 
 behold it in church affairs where one withholds all fellowship from his 
 fellow christian because he has been baptized by sprinkling instead of 
 immersion ; — because one believes in the final perseverance of the saints 
 and the other believes in the doctrine of falling from grace, and in a 
 thousand other ways this spirit is seen to show itself to the entire dis- 
 comfiture of all feelings of charity or happiness. This is really a sad 
 state of affairs, and hajDpy would the world be if such a spirit could be 
 forever banished from the abodes and hearts of men. 
 
 To banish this spirit Masonry is doing and has done more, so far as 
 its influence is felt, than all other causes that are or ever have been in 
 operation. She banishes far from her retreats all those elements of dis- 
 cord. Articles of faith in worldly matters or christian affairs are not 
 permitted to have any influence within a Lodge of Masons, or in a Ma- 
 son's heart. When the applicant i>resents himself for Masonic member- 
 ship, no questions are asked him concerning his rehgious or political 
 belief; he is required to come with a good name, being esteemed an 
 honorable, upright man ; correct in his dealings, ever doing that which 
 is right and avoiding that which is wrong ; in addition to this, he is re- 
 quired to avow an unequivocal belief in God. These are the requisites, 
 and after the candidate has been initiated to the mysteries of Masonry, 
 
21 
 
 lie is told that nothing of a partizan or sectarian character will be per- 
 mitted in the Lodge, for there men of every shade of political and reli- 
 gious belief are equal, and that while each is left to the free indulgence 
 of all his peculiar views concerning matters aside from Masonry, he is 
 not to molest, annoy or interfere with any brother who may differ widely 
 from him. The Sons of Masonry meet in friendship and part in love. 
 Men from all classes here meet on the level^ act by the plumb and part 
 on the square. Worldly w^ealth and honor are no stepping stones for 
 Masonic honor ; for the proud nobleman, aye, the King from his throne, 
 sits side by side with the humblest artizan, applying to him the endear- 
 ing appellation of brother^ and regards him, while in the Lodge, as a Ma- 
 son fully equal to himself. All the hot strifes and fierce turmoils of the 
 world are left behind when the brother enters the sacred retreat of Ma- 
 sonry ; and he is there assured of a season of unalloyed happiness while 
 mingling in the society of kindred spirits. It matters not how widely 
 brothers may differ respecting political, religious, or sectarian matters, 
 when they meet as Masons those differences are forgotten, their conflict- 
 ing views are laid aside, they carefully avoid every allusion that may 
 tend in the shghtest degree to wound a brother's feelings or to excite his 
 displeasure. Within the sacred precincts of a Lodge of Masons is pre- 
 sented one of the most desirable retreats from the strifes, the conten- 
 tions, the cares and sorrows of the world that can be found on earth. — 
 The charm that bindeth kindred spirits in an eternal compact is more 
 fully understood among Masons, and is more successfully taught in their 
 Lodges than among any other class of men who are governed by an 
 institution whose principles are of human origin. Its power sways con- 
 trol over all the finer feelings of the heart ; it subdues the wayward mind 
 and binds in mild submission the wildest passions ; it charms tlie soul 
 with principles and teachings so pure and beautiful and holy that the 
 rudest mind must listen with delight to their rehearsal. Influences are 
 there brought to bear whose benign influence must be felt throughout 
 the vast empires of eternity ; for the intelligent Mason receives instruc- 
 tion that will assist him in bursting asunder the bands of error and ena- 
 ble him to rise superior to the galling fetters with which the organic im- 
 becility of frail mortality is bound by nature. Within the sacred retreat 
 of a Lodge of Masons the purest principles of morality are inculcated. 
 The candidate is told that to be a true Mason he must be a good man ; 
 that if he would rear such a superstructure upon his newly laid founda- 
 tion as will be a shield, a protection and a defence to him in after years, 
 
22 
 
 when the storms of adversity and misfortune blow around him, that he 
 must use a pure and elevated and refining morahty for his cement. That 
 if he would wish to have a green island in the dreary desert of life to 
 which he could ever turn aside fi*om the sorrows and turmoils, the fre- 
 quent strifes and disgusting spenes amid which he is called to act his part 
 in the fearful drama of the world, that he may secure it by cultivating 
 the purer impulses of the heart while in a Lodge and practicing thera 
 in the association of the world. When the Mason gives free action to 
 the most generous impulses of his heart, thereby casting many a beam 
 of sunshine athwart the darksome path of earth's unnumbered wretched, 
 sorrowing children, he is himself more highly blest than are the recipients 
 of his kindness. When an hour of quiet thoughtfulness comes over the 
 soul, when the tumult of the w^ol'ld's passions are lulled to rest and the 
 heart retires within itself to hold sweet communion with the gentle spi- 
 rits of the past, how vividly will every smile of gi-atitude that has shone 
 upon us from the orphan and the widow rise up from beyond the cold 
 and intervening hills of time brightly illuminating the leaflets of mem- 
 ory, reanimating the heart with the sweet consolation that we have re- 
 moved some thorns from, and strewed some flowers in, the pathway of 
 suffering, afflicted humanity. Should you, my Brothers, be permitted to 
 continue your pilgrimage on earth till silvered locks and furrowed cheek 
 and tottering step and trembling hand betoken for you the flight of many 
 years, even then, while standing in a musing mood upon the shore of 
 that stream which runs between time and eternity, vainly endeavoring 
 to pierce the mists that ever hang above those waters of oblivion and 
 behold the reahties of 
 
 " That clime which keeps the disembodied spirits of the dead" 
 
 how full of consolation to you will be the thought, while standing upon 
 the confines of time, that many prayers have been breathed to heaven in 
 your behalf ; prayers that have broken in sweet, harmonious accents ft'om 
 the lips of disconsolate widowhood and friendless orphanage ; bearing 
 your names to heaven on the sweet incense that rises from off" the spotless 
 altar of woman's heart. Charity is the brightest jewel in the Masonic 
 casket, and it w^ill be the christian's crown of glory when death, hell and 
 the grave shall have been overcome and the joys of paradise shall have 
 been won. Think you not my Brothers, that lives of active charity will 
 enhance the bliss of the better land ; that the soul will pulsate w4th a 
 purer joy with the thought that many of the suflerings of earth's chil- 
 dren were relieved by you ? Under the gospel dispensation we a|'e 
 
23 
 
 taught that faith without good wotlis is dead ; so in Masonry, the spirit 
 and vitahty consist in doing good. Do not deceive yourselves, however, 
 with the idea that the bestowal of alms and the administering of conso- 
 lation comprises the whole of your duty, for " though I bestow all my 
 goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and 
 have not charity, I am i^othing." The Order has other claims upon you. 
 It devolves upon you to practice a pure and refined morality ; to endea- 
 vor to give tone and character to public sentiment ; to promote peace 
 and harmony in society ; to practice in its purity that charity which 
 " thinketh no ill of its neighbor." In other words, the great mission of 
 M^onry is the education of the heart, Man may be learned in all the 
 wisdom of the schools ; he may have drank deeply at the fountains of 
 learning ; he may have soared on the strong pinions of educated intel- 
 lect far above the region occupied by the great mass of mortality, he may 
 be enabled to reason from cause to effect, and by the gigantic powers of 
 his mind be well nigh able to give a solution of the vast problem of 
 creation ; and yet, if the education of the heart has been neglected he 
 will be a curse, a scourge, rather than a blessing to mankind. The edu- 
 ucation of the intellect merely, makes a being powerful ; and the chances 
 are too great, that such power will be exerted for evil. The temptations 
 to go astray are* many and strong, the allurements of vice are insidious 
 and powerful, and unless the heart be prepared by education to encoun- 
 ter and withstand the inducements of error, the individual will be very 
 likely to go astray. The education of the heart prepares the individual 
 for usefulness and happiness. It matters not so much about the intel- 
 lect, if the heart be right its possessor will be wise far above all the learn- 
 ing of the schoolmen. He will breathe an atmosphere of purity and his 
 influence for good will be felt on earth and recorded in heaven. The 
 two branches of education should ever be joined, but if either must be 
 neglected, let it be the intellect, for the man with powers of beneficence 
 but lacking the heart culture necessary to their exercise, is of all men, 
 the most to be pitied and the most to be dreaded. We sometimes hear 
 that the conscience, that inward monitor sent by our Maker to supervise 
 our actions, is a safe, a sufficient guide. This is the best argument that 
 can be adduced in support of my position. If the conscience be ever a 
 safe guide, why is it that the poor deluded mother of India casts her 
 darling children into the jaws of the horrid monsters of the Ganges ? 
 Why is it that the Hindoo widow ascends the funeral pile and is con- 
 sumed in the flames with the body of her dead husband ? Simply be- 
 
24 
 
 cause tlie conscience, the hearty is not educated 2)roperlyi They believe 
 that such are great religious duties ; and then* conduct demonstrates 
 most forcibly the power of the conscience when educated, ^Yhether for 
 good or for evil. 
 
 There are numerous objections urged against the institution of Ma- 
 sonry, nearly all of which I have endeavored to, answer In previous ad- 
 dresses. As those addresses have been read by many of the Masons be- 
 fore me, I will not attempt to answer them again. There is one objec- 
 tion, however, which I \\ill dwell upon for a moment ; it is that of hold- 
 ing Lodge aieetings at night. 
 
 The busy tumult of day, its press of business, its scenes of restless, 
 never dying excitement, are poorly calculated to prepare the heart for the 
 softening, subduing, purifying influences of Masonry. In the gTeat strife 
 of day-life we have each a part to act, for Masons, above all men, are 
 charged to be industrious. The hundreds of industrial avocations which 
 w^e behold on every hand, mingle their accents and roll their merry mur- 
 mur upon the ear. But when the shades of evening cover the world, 
 ^vhen the busy scenes of our existence are withdrawn, when the departed 
 sun has left the world to silence and the soothing influence of night, there 
 is a season which has ever been a favorite one with the wise and good 
 of all nations. There is shed over the universal face of nature, at this 
 period, a calmness and tranquiUty, a peace and sanctity, which almost 
 insensibly steals into the breast of man, and disposes him to solitude and 
 meditation. He naturally compares the dechne of light and animation 
 with that which attaches to the lot of humanity ; and the evening of day, 
 and the evening of life, become closely assimilated in his mind. It is an 
 association from which, where vice and guilt have not hardened the heart, 
 the most beneficial results may be experienced. It is one which, while 
 it forcibly suggests to us the transient tenure of our being here, teaches 
 us, at the same time, how we may best prepare for that which awaits 
 us hereafter. The sun has descended, but not till after a coui'se of 
 beneficence and utility, of dignity and glory, while all around him, 
 as he sank, there breathed a diftusive air of blessedness and repose. 
 It is a scene which directs us the way we ought to go ; it tells us, 
 that after having passed the fervor and the vigor of our existence, 
 the morning and noon of our a2'>pointed pilgiimage, thus should the 
 evening of our existence set in, mild yet generous, with every 
 earthly ardour softened or subdued, and with the loveliest hues of heav- 
 en just mingling in its farewell light. It is a scene, moreover, which 
 
25 
 
 almost instinctively reminds us of another world ; the one we are inhabit- 
 ing has receded from our view ; the shades of night have gathered round our 
 heads ; we experience a^ sensation of thoughtful loneliness and our minds 
 naturally travel away from earth to regions of unending happiness and 
 splendor, where, in mental vision, we behold mansions of e^'erlasting 
 peace, homes of ever-during delight. Oiir thoughts a*re carried forward 
 to a Being infinitely great and good, the Father of us all, who, distant 
 though h^ seem to be, and imigeasurably beyond the power of our facul- 
 ties to comprehend, is yet about our path, earing for us all ; who has 
 prepared for those who love him, scenes of unutterable joy ^ scenes, when 
 compared with which, the brightness of the sun shall be but as the glim- 
 mering of a distant star. How appropriate it is, then, for Masons to 
 meet at such an hour, when worldly scenes together with the ennobhng 
 teachings of Masonry, combine to make him a better man. Every hour 
 properly spent in a Masonic Lodge, with such thoughts and contempla- 
 tions as these will be felt in eternity. 
 
 Brothers, the responsibilities of life are great, and they increase in pro- 
 portion to the opportunities we have presented to us for acting well our 
 parts. You can plead no want of knowledge, of abihty, or of opportu- 
 nity, and as the good deeds of Masonry may now be seen like lines of 
 light from one vast circumference, converging to one common centre, 
 may not the friends of humanity hope to see this circumference enlarged 
 through your efforts ? May we not glance with prophetic eye towards 
 the converging point of these mighty efforts and behold, as their result, 
 universal man disenthralled from the bands of bigotry, superstition and 
 error ?v May we not hope to see human nature, through the instrumen- 
 tahty of Masonry, arising from the miserable pools of sophistry and re- 
 fusing to soil her beautiful garments in the filth of human passion ? May 
 we not hope to see her breathing a spirit so pure and beneficent as to fling 
 back upon their sources the gilded dregs and jeweled chalices of moral 
 death ? May we not see the Mght of truth beaming so intensely and 
 powerfully as to frighten from their gloomy dens and caverns the mis- 
 erable screechowls of superstition, ignorance and error, and human na- 
 ture, renovated, exalted and refined, manifesting new and greater develop- 
 ments of mental and moral greatness. 
 
 Note. — For facts relating to the lives of our Patron Saints and their connection % 
 with Masonry, the reader is referred to the writings of St. Basil, Eusebius, and'' 
 Bpiphanius also to Ahi Rez, Scrip. IHus. and the Lives of the Apostles.