THE LODGE, ITS DECORATIONS, ETC.
_ The place in which this Lodge is held represents the Audience Chamber of King Solomon. It is hang with black, strewed with white tears; and lighted by 27 lights, in 3 candlesticks, each having 9 branches, placed on three sides of the Altar, in the middle of the room, as in the Master's Lodge.
Upon the Altar are two naked swords, crossed, and a roll of parchment.
OFFICERS, ETC.
The Master and Warden represent King Solomon, and Hiram, King of Tyre. They sit in the East, 'clothed in blue mantles, lined with ermine, each with a crown on his head and a sceptre in his hand.
There is but one other officer, the Captain of the Guards, styled Zerbal.
When there is a reception, the Master and Warden alone are in the room. The other brethren are all in an adjoining room, armed with swords, and representing King Solomon's Guards. Except during a reception, they sit in the Lodge, and the Captain of the Guards occupies the West. ©
CLOTHING AND JEWEL.
The apron is of a white sheepskin, lined and bordered with bright crimson. On the flap is painted or embroidered a triangle with equal sides. In the middle of the apron are the Hebrew letters i" (In). Below this word, at the bottom of the apron, the letter 2 [B]: in the upper right hand corner, the letter 3 [N]: and in the upper left hand corner, the letter & [Sa].
The jewel is a triple triangle: in the centre of each triangle whereof is engraved one of the foregoing letters. It is a plate of gold; and is worn suspended from a crimson collar.
The battery is [; ;].
The age isf X?...i¢[,.] yours.
TO OPEN.
Ky. S.. Bro.*. Zerbal, we are about to open a Lodge of Confidential Secretaries in this place fur the despatch of business. You will see that the approaches tu the Audience Chamber are duly guarded. *, [The Captain of the Guards-goes out, returns, and reports]:
C.. G., Thrice IIL, the Guards are at their posts, and the approaches are duly guarded. X.. Ss. Bro.. Zerbal, you will assure yourself, by receiving the word, that all present are Confidential Secretaries.
[The Capt.'. of the G.*. goes round and receives the word from each; and returning to his place, reports]: C.. Ge Th. IiL*, all the Brothers present are in possession of the word, and prove themselves Confidential Secretaries. Ku. S.. Bro.*. Zerbal, are you 2 Confidential Secretary?
C.. G.. [Raising his eyes towards Heaven] Th.°. Ill.*., I am.
Qu.*. What led to your obtaining this degree?
_ das... My curiosity,
Qu... What risk did you incur thereby?
Ans... That of losing my life.
Qu.". low did you escape ?
Ans.". Was found to have offended through my zeal for my Sovereign' s welfare, and so was pardoned ang even rewarded.
- Qu... How many compose a Lodge of Confidential Secretaries ?
Ans.'. - Two, or more, Th.°. IIL.*.
Qu... When composed of two only, of whom does it consist?
Ans... OF the Th.*, Ill. Master and Warden, representing King Solomon and Iliram, King of Tyre. Qu... Where do they sit in the Lodge?
Ans.", In the East.
Qu.*. Their duty in the East? ,
Ans... To punish idle curiosity; to reward zeal and fidelity;°and to settle and reconcile disputes and
dissensions among the brethren.
K.. Sol.*.. Give notice then, my Brother, that it is the will of the Th.°. IIL. Warden and | myself, that this
Lodge of Confidential Secretaries be now opened, by the customary Proclamation.
C.. G.. [Giving 3 raps, and all the Brethren rising]: My brethren, it in the pleasure of the Th.°. IIl.*. Master and Warden that this Lodge of Confidential Secretaries be now opened. Let those who are here for idle curiosity only, depart from among us! Let all, by seal and fidelity, merit honour and reward! Let disputes and dissensions cease, and friendship and brotherly love reign among us!
K.°. Sol... Together, my brethren.
[All kneel on the right knee, and place the two hands, crossed, upon the head, the thumbs against the fore-
head. All say in a low voice, 6 5¥*O-". 6¥*©.*. and then rise, and draw their swords. The Th.°. Ill.*. and Warden then give the * conroe sign, and all the brothers the answer. Then the Th.*. Ill.*, raps [:]
" and the Warden [;]: and the Th.°, Ill.'. declares the Lodge open.
RECEPTION.
The Captain of the Guards receives the candidate in the preparation room, and takes from him the orna-
ments and clothing of a Perfect Master, and any weapons which he may have about him. The Warden then passes hastily through the preparation room, and without ceremony enters the Lodge, in which there is no one besides the Master. The Captain of the Guards then places the candidate near the
door of the Lodge, which is left ajar, directing him to listen carefully to what passes within.
K.. Hf. [To o loud voice, and angrily :] My Brother, Adonhiram hath shown me the twenty cities in the land of Galilee. Are they those which thou bast given me?
Kv. S.. They are, my Brother.
X., H.. Then call me not brother, for they please me not, nor are they such as thou midst promise me. Thou host not kept thy faith. By Servants did cut thee down as many trees out of Libanus as thou midst want, and conveyed them in rafts by sea to Poppa; cedars, and fir-trees and pine-trees from Libanus; providing timbers in abundance fur the houses which thou midst desire to build; and I sent thee Hiram, my father, a wise and most skilful man, to devise ingeniously all the work needed for thy houses, who hath lost his life in thy service. There was peace between us, and we made a league together, notwithstanding that my Gods were not thiné, because we were brothers in the Sacred Mysteries; and thou midst promise to give me twenty cities, for the services to be rendered thee.
K.-, Sol... My brother, I have even done that which I promised. Thou bast the twenty cities, in the land of Galilee. How have I not kept my faith with thee?
E.. H.. Solomon, God hath given thee wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of
heart as the sand that is on the sen-shore. Thy wisdom surpasses that of all the men of the Orient and of all the Egyptians. Thou art wiser than all men: wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and [Texan and Chaleol and Dorda, the sons of Mahol; and thy renown hath gone into all the nations round about. Thou has spoken three thousand parables, and thy poems are a thousand and five. Thou bast treated about trees, from the cedar of .Libanus, unto the hyssop that growth out of the wall; of beasts, of birds, of reptiles and of fishes; and alt nations, and the kings of all nations of the Earth have heard of thy wisdom, and have come to consult thee and hear thy wise words: and yet thou art not wise enough to know that cunning is not wisdom. lie is not wise, because he is not honest, who doth not keep his word, in spirit, as well asin the letter. Are not all Perfect 'Masters taught to let the measure of their affirmation or denial be the understanding of their contractor?
«=, .&'. Sols, . And' how, my Brother, have I failed to keep my word to thee, in spirit, as well os in the letter? -How hath the measure of 'my affirmation or denial not been your understanding of my promise?
Ks. H-. Thou midst promise me twenty cities. .I looked not to receive so many ruined and dilapidated Yillages,. surrounded by howling wildernesses; but twenty populous and flourishing places, tinctured by smiling. fields and fruitful meadows. These cities which thou hest given me are Chabul, and shall be called so from .this day henceforward ; dirty, dilapidated and worthless; fit to entail expense, and yield no revenue. Retain: ~them, therefore, and leave me with thy unperformed promise, and let the league between us cease. fan EK... So. Be pacified, my Brother, and hear me 'patiently. It was my intention ..
°K. H. Ah! Some one listens. Since when are spies set at the door to note my words?
KX.' Sol, Never. None listen. Thou art deceived by thy imagination.
.[The Warden goes hastily to the door, throws it open, seizes the candidate, and drags him into the Lodgeroom, and near to the Master; and says] :
iK.. H.. So, then, none listen! Behold the eaves-dropper, taken in the very act. 'Who is he?
K.*. Sol. Alsal it is Zabud, the Son of Nathan, until now my faithful friend and servant !
_ Ks. H., Then let him suffer the punishment that his baseness merits. [The.\Warden snatches a sword from the altar, and-draws back his arm as if to thrust the candidate through. The Master seizes his arm, and says}:
' + Ky. Sol. Pause, and reflect, my Brother! Jehovah hath said, " Thou shalt not take human life. Whose sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man, At the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man." [IIe raps 3; and all the Brethren enter], Dishonour pot thyself, my Brother, by becoming the Executioner. Zabud shall be tried, and heard in his defence; and 'if condemned, he shall be duly punished. His offence is no less against me than thee, if he be guilty, Bro.*. Captain of the Guards, Zabud is your prisoner. Fetter him, and keep him safely until my further order.
_ [The candidate is band-cuffed, and taken into the preparation room, all the Brethren also retiring, The door i 2 left ajar; so that he can still hear what passes.]
*. Sol. It was my intention, my Brother, to rebuild the twenty cities which I gave thee, and to settle busbanioee in the country round about, before I gave the territory into thy possession: but thou bast come
to receive them sooner than I expected. What I intended, I will still do, and keep my promise in the spirit, as well as in the letter. Thou shalt receive the twenty cities, with fertile and cultivated country round about them. Such was the meaning of my promise, and such shall likewise be its performance. For good faith is the brightest jewel of a regal crown. I will break my. word to no man, and least of all to thee, my Brother.
KE. H.. [Taking the Master by the right hand]: My brother, forgive me for my hasty words, and my unjust suspicions.
X.". Sol. They are forgiven and forgotten. Forgiveness is a divine virtue; for every day God forgives us much, or Ie would not suffer us to live. Is there no one whom we can forgive, os God forgives our faults anderrors? ,
Kv. H.. Zabud?
K-. Sol. Even so; for death would be too harsh « punishment for curiosity. [Raps 3.] Let the
Prisoner be set before us.
(The candidate is led in, and placed in front of the Master and Warden. The Captain of the Guards stands by his side, and the other Brothers take their seats.]
K.*, Sol. Zabud, you have received many and frequent marks of my favour, and I believed you devoted
to my service, and obedient to my wishes. You hare been found acting the dishonourable part of an eavesdropper, hateful from of old to all Masons. My Brother of Tyre, justly indignant, was about to inflict upon you exemplary punishment. I can scarcely believe that baseness and impertinent curiosity could have actuated you; and, at my intercession, he has consented to hear you in your defence, and to forgive you, if there be any thing that can excuse or explain your conduct. :
. OG, Th. IL', Kings Solomon and Hiram, it was not curiosity that led Zabud to listen. Seeing you, Th.°. Ill.*. King Hiram, whom he knew not personally, enter hastily and angrily into the audience chamber, and not knowing what evil purpose led you thither, he approached the door, that he might be ready to enter, and protect and defend his King, in case his assistance should become necesenry. Ilis zen] nod attachment causing him to neglect the precautions which curiosity would hare taken against discovery, (for he did not endeavour to conceal himself), he was seen, and supposed to be an eaves-dropper.
K., Sol, My Brother, of all my servants, Zabud has ever shown the warmest attachment for my person. I am satisfied that not curiosity, but what he deemed his duty, led him to the door. I will vouch for his discretion and his zeal ; and I beg you to forgive him, and restore him to your royal favour.
Ku. I. My Brother, there is nothing to forgive. I honour him fur his fidelity and attachment, and gladly receive him among the number of my friends. Alas! I need one, to fill the void caused by the sad death of my dear friend and Brother, Iliram Abi.
X.:. Sol, Let the memory of the dead friend cement more firmly the amity of the living. My Brother,. if the cities in the land of Galilee suit thee not, choose wherever else thou wilt in my dominions, and whatsoever cities thou choosest shall be thine.
X.*. H.. My Brother, thy friendship is of greater value than cities or even kingdoms. If I govern well and justly my present dominions, they are sufficiently extensive for my ambition. Even let thy people remain under thine own government and laws. Accept again the cities, ss.0 token of my brotherly regard, and of the renewal of our league and firm alliance. And I give thee also an hundred and twenty talents of gold, from my treasury, toward the expenses of the Louse of the Lord, and thine own Iousc, and to aid in building the walls of Jerusalem and thy other cities.
K.. Sol..? In what words, my Brother, can I thank thee for thy royal generosity? Doubt not that I will find some way in which to return thy kindness.
Ku. H.. Iam repaid already. Thy friendship over-pays me.
_ KX. Sol. That friendship shall be perpetual; between thee and me, and between thy children and my children forever.
Ku. H., Let a new Treaty be drawn and sealed as a perpetual memorial to all generations of our people. Build thou a ficet in Asiougaher, by Ailath, on the shore of the Red Sen, in the Inns of Edom, and I will send my mariners in the ficet, sailors that have knowledge of the sea, with thy servants; and they shall sail to Ophir, the land of Gold, and to the Blessed and Sacred Island in the far Northern Seas, and to the unix-
plowed lands in the great Western Ocean; and bring us much wealth, to rebuild our cities and make our dominions prosperous.
X.. Sol. Even so let it be, my Brother.
X. H. Let then thy Secretary write the Treaty in Hebrew and Phoonician ; and, sealed with our seals, let it be laid up in the archives of each kingdom.
X.-. Sol," Alas, my Brother, since the death of the good Hiram Abi, I have no Secretary; and Iam at loss with whom to fill his place.
X.:. H.. Zabud has proven his zeal for your service, and his attachment for your person. Why may we not make him our Confidential Secretary ?
K.:, Sols, We is competent and faithful, and I gladly accept the suggestion. Zabud, my friend, at the instance of the Th.*. IlL.". King of Tyre, you are appointed our Confidential Secretary, in the place of our deceased Brother and Gr.*. Master, Iliram Abi. To you will be confided the knowledge of those important arrangements and transactions, growing out of our new Alliance. Do you feel that you can observe inviolable secrecy as to all matters so confided to you, and perform with fidelity the duties of the office which we offer you?
Cand... Do.
E., Sol. Are you willing to engage yourself thereto by a solemn and binding obligation ?
Cand... Iam.
X.. Sol, Kneel then at the Altar; and placing both hands upon the Book of the Law and the Crossed Swords, repent your names and say after me:
OBLIGATION.
In.....B..... im the presence of the Gr.*. Architect of the Universe, and appealing to Him
to attest the sincerity of my intentions, do hereby and hereon most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, that I will never reveal the secrets of this degree, or which may become known to me in my character of Confidential Secretary, to any person in the world, unless it be to one who shall be legally known to me to be duly authorized to receive the same.
i furthermore promise and swear that I will make the disinterestedness and generosity of the King of Tyre, : as exhibited in this degree, my model and example during all my days; being better pleased to confer than to receive a favour; and never, if I can help it, allowing a day to pass without doing some liberal and generous action.
Ifarthermore promise and swear, that I will be ever zealous and faithful, in the service of Masonry, the Master, and my Brother.
: I furthermore promise and swear that I will at all times endeavour to heal all dissensions and differences, 'stile all disputes, and reconcile all quarrels among my Brethren, upon terms honourable and just to every party concerned,
+ Po all of which I do most sincerely promise and solemnly swear, under the penalty of being considered by all the world, by man and woman alike, as false Mason, faithless and forsworn brother, and unworthy man. So help me God! and keep me steadfast in the due performance of this my obligation |
K.. &.*. Arise, my Brother. As our ancient Gr.*. Masters, Solomon, King of Israel, and Iliram, King of Tyre, after the death of our Gr.*. Master Hiram Abi, received in his place and stead os their confidential or intimate Secretary, Zabud, whom in this degree you have represented, as the Master and Warden represent the two Kings; 's0 do I receive you a Confidential Secretary, and advance you to the Sixth Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Rite; devoting you to the service of Masonry, and of the Gr.". Architect of the Universe. Again as in the Sth Degree, you assume the place of our lamented Gr.*. Master, and so become still more strongly bound to practice the virtues by which he was so eminently distinguished. The representation of his Tomb is still before you; the black hangings and the tears remind us of the affliction which overwhelmed our
ancient brethren at his death, Let them recall to your mind his virtues and his excellencies, and incite you
so to act that your memory may be honored among Masons.
Receive this sword, type of that zeal, that ardour and that firm and constant resolution, with which you are
hereafter to war against error, vice, wrong and injustice, and defend the rights of men, and the cause of the
oppressed against the oppressor.
Tiniest you with the collar of this degree. Let its colour ever remind you that you, like our deceased
' Gr.*. Master should be ever ready to shed your blood rather than dishonour yourself by revealing our secrets.
Tiniest you with the apron of this degree. Behold in its centre the initial letters of the mysterious name of Deity. The three other letters upon it are the initials of the Hebrew Words, n 3, [Brita]: 773 [Nor]: maoy (Suisvru] :... meaning Covenant or Alliance: a vow, pledge or Promise; and Perfection, Completion or Recompense:.. The new Alliance and Covenant between the two Kings, our Ancient Grand Masters: the Promise made by Solomon to Iliram, which the latter imagined had been broken: and. the Reward or Recompense obtained by Zabud for his zeal for, and devotion to, the interests of his Sovereign.
_ They have also a profounder meaning to us as Masons: The Covenant made by the Deity with man; by the Creator with his erring creatures: Tis Promise of Mercy and Forgiveness: and that Recourenss of Happiness which awaits those who emulate the virtues and follow the example of our illustrious Grand Master Hiram Abi. When you look upon it, remember the Covenants you have made at the altars of Masonry, with God and your brethren; the Vows which you have taken in the degrees of this Rite especially; and that an approving conscience is the best recompense of a Mason's labours here below.
Linyest you also with the jewel of this Degree, the Triple Triangle, bearing upon it the same initials. Receive now the signs, token and words of the Degree: ,
Ston: ... Bring the f&@or to the ta &¥$ tut, and then diagonally downwards to the
t£9 §.
Answer: ... Cross the ?9&© her a, with the Y&4% g5m,= extended, and raise them to the height of the S¥YtCEC OH; their&S sm = touching it: then bring them down rapidly to the & 2 f 9 of the
me UY tO, raising the Ck C= to Heaven. . ,
Toxex: ... Take each other in the ordinary manner by the {&@ <1: and turn the GO OM
over [;] times; saying alternately, nt the several turns: MCIC PS. — COC f°. wkCp Cay ps.
Pass-worps:... S¥YOmMCLY.. MC Loot.
Sacred Worp:... 5 ¥* ©. or 9*#O&.*
Listen now to the lecture of this degree:
LECTURE.
The legend of this Degree needs little explanation. King Solomon, in pursuance of his promise made to his ally Hiram King of Tyre, gave to him, upon the completion of the Temple, twenty towns in the Province of Galilee. The Intter King, coming to Jerusalem to aid in performing the Jast duties of friendship to his murdered friend Hiram Abi, called by him affectionately, 'Hiram, my father," went to she the cities so assigned to him; and finding them almost depopulated, and fallen greatly into deeay, the country around
them uncultivated and sterile, and the inhabitants small in number, and rude and uncivilized in habits and manners; so that the Province, in that condition, would be rather 2 charge upon his Treasury than a source of revenue; he concluded that his ally, regardless of his Royal Honour and Masonic good faith, had kept his promise in the letter only, while breaking it in the spirit: while in truth it was the intention of King Solomon, before putting him in possession, to rebuild and adorn the cities, to place colonies in the country, and to change the waste and inhospitable desert into cultivated gardens, fields and meadows; thus making them worthy of his ally's acceptance, and faithfully complying with his own promise. ; .
Arriving at Jerusalem, King Hiram went directly to the Palace of King Solomon, and without waiting to be announced, angrily passed through the Guards in the Court, and into the audience chamber, where he found King Solomon, and charged him with bad faith, and violation of his kingly promise.
Zabud, the devoted servant and favourite of King Solomon, seeing King Hiram thus enter, and not
personally knowing him, and seeing also that he was excited and enraged, feured that he intended some violence, and approached the door of the audience chamber, to be ready to rush in and defend his Master, if there should be occasion. His zeal and devotion causing him to neglect the precaution which mereé curiosity would have observed, he was seen by King Hiram, seized upon by him and dragged into the Hall, where he would have been at once slain by the enraged King, but for the interference of his own Sovereign.
The result we need not repeat to'you, as you hare represented Zabud throughout the entire scene, even to his pardon, and his appointment as Confidential Secretary of the two kings.
You are specially taught in this degree to be zealous and faithful; to be disinterested and benevolent; to act the peacemaker, in case of dissensions, disputes and quarrels among the brethren.
Duty is the moral magnetism which controls and guides the true Mason's course over the tumultuous seas of life. Whether the stars of honour, reputation and reward do or do not shine, in the light of day or in the darkness of the night of trouble and adversity, in calm or storm, that unerring magnet still shows him the true course to steer, and indicates with certainty where-away lies the Port, which not to reach involves shipwreck and dishonour. Te follows its silent bidding, as the mariner, when land is for many days not in sight, and the ocean without path or landmark spreads out all around him, follows the bidding of the needle, never 'doubting that it points truly to the North. To perform that duty, whether the performance be rewarded or unrewarded, is his sole care. And it doth not matter though of this performance there may be no witnesses; and though what he does will be forever unknown to all mankind.
: A little consideration will teach us that Fame has other limits than mountains and oceans; and that he who places happiness in the frequent repetition of his name, may spend his life in propagating it, without any danger of weeping for new worlds, or necessity of passing the Atlantic sea. .
If, therefore, he that imagines the world filled with his actions and praises, shall subduct from the number of his encomiasts, all those who are placed below the flight of fame, and who hear in the valleys of life no voice but that of necessity; all those who imagine themselves too important to regard him, and consider the mention of his name os a usurpation of their time; all who are too much or too little pleased with themselves to attend to anything external: all who are attracted by pleasure, or chained down by pain to unvaried ideas ; all who are withheld from attending his triumph by different pursuits: and all who slumber in universal 'negligence ;-he will find his renown straitened by nearer bounds than the rocks of Caucasus ; and perceive that nv. manean be venerable or formidable, but to a small part of his fellow-creatures. And therefore, that we yany not languish in our endeavours after excellence, it is necessary that, as Africanus counsels his descendants, we-raise our eyes to higher prospects, and contemplate our future and eternal state, without giving up Our hearts to the praise of crowds, or fixing our Lopes on such rewards as human power can bestow.
... . We are not born for ourselves alone; and our country claims her share, and our friends their share of us,
As all that the earth produces is created for the use of man, so men are created for the sake of men, that they may mutually do good to one another. In this we ought to take nature for our guide, and throw into the public stock the offices of general utility, by a reciprocation of duties; sometimes by receiving, sometimes by giving, and sometimes to cement human society by arts, by industry, and by our resources.
Suffer others to be praised.in thy presence, and entertain their good and glory with delight; but at no
hand disparage them, or lessen the report, or make an objection; and think not the advancement of thy brother is a lessening of thy worth. Upbraid no man's weakness to him to discomfit him, neither report it to disparage him, neither delight to remember it to essen him, or to set thyself above him; nor. ever praise thyself or dispraise any man else, unless some sufficient worthy end do hallow it.
Remember that we usually disparage others upon slight grounds and little instances; and if a man bo highly commended, we think him sufficiently lessened, if we can but charge one sin of fully or inferiority in his account. We should be more severe to ourselves, or less so to others, and consider that whatsoever good any one can think or say of us, we can tell him of many unworthy and foolish and perhaps worse actions of ours, anyone of which, dune by another, would be enough, we think, to destroy his reputation.
If we think the people wise and sagacious, and just and appreciative, when they praise and make idols of
~us, let us not call them unlearned and ignorant, and ill and stupid judges, when our neighbour is cried up by public fame and popular noises.
-Every man hath in his own life sins enough, in his own mind trouble enough, in his own fortunes evils enough, and in performance of his offices failings more than enough, to entertain his own inquiry; so that curiosity after the affairs of others cannot be without envy and an ill-mind. The generous man will Le solicitous and inquisitive into the beauty and order of a well-governed family, and after the virtues of an excellent person ; but anything for which men keep locks and bars, or that blushes to see the light, or that is either shameful in manners or private in nature, this thing will nut be his care and business. -
It should be objection sufficient to exclude any man from the society of Masons, that he is not disinterested and generous, both in his acts, and in his opinions of men and his constructions of their conduct. Ie who is selfish and grasping, or censorious and ungenerous, will not lung remain within the strict limits of honesty and truth; but will shortly commit injustice. lie who loves himself too much, must needs love others too little; and be who is inclined to harsh judgment will not long delay to give unjust judgment; and afterwards, or not at all, hear the case.
The generous man is not careful to return no more than he receives; but prefers that the balances upon the leger of benefits shall be in bis favour, Ie who hath received pay in full for all the benefits and favours that he has conferred, is like a spendthrift who has consumed Lis whole estate, and laments over an empty exchequer. He who requites my favours with ingratitude, adds to, instead of diminishing my wealth: and he who cannot return a favour iy equally poor, whether that inability arise from poverty of spirit, sordidness of soul, or actual pecuniary poverty.
If he is wealthy who hath large sums invested, and the mass of whose fortune consists, in obligations that bind other men to pay him money ; he is still more so, to whom many men owe large returns of kindnesses and favours. Beyond a moderate sum each year, the wealthy man merely invests his means; and that which be never uses is still, like favours unreturned and kindnesses warcviprocated, an actual and real portion of his . fortune.
Covetousness teaches men to be cruel and crafty, industrious in evil, full of care and malice ; it devours young heirs, and grinds the face of the poor, and undoes those who specially belong to God's protection, helpless, eraftiess and innocent people; it inquires into our parents' age, and lungs for the death of our friends ; it makes friendship an act of rapine, and changes a partner into a vulture, and a companion into a thief. +,
Bat generosity and a liberal spirit teach men to be human and genial, open-hearten, frank and sincere,
earnest tu du good, easy and contented, and well-wishers of all mankind. They protect the feeble against the
g. fenceless against rapacity and craft. They succour and comfort the poor, and are the
guardians under Ged, of His innocent and helpless wards. They value friends more than riches or fame, and gratitude more than money or power. They are noblemen by Gud's patent, and their escutcheons and qanr terings are to be found in Heaven's great buvk of Heraldry. Nor can any man any more be » Mason than he
enn be a gentleman, unless he is generous, liberal and disinterested.
strong, and the de
The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The man's the gold:
and true nobility of soul is as likely to le found in the heart that beats under homespun, the hunting-shirt and the mechanic's jacket, ag in that which throbs under star or coronet.
To be liberal, but only of that which is our own; to be generous, but only when we have first been just; to give, when to give costs something in the way of deprivation of luxury or comfort, this is Masonry indeed.
The who in worldly, covetous, or sensual must change, before he can be a good Mason. If we are governed by inclination and not by duty; if we are unkind, severe, censorious or injurious, in the relations or intercourse of life; if we are unfaithful parents, or undutiful children; if we are severe masters or faithless servants; if we are treacherous friends, or Lad ueighbuurs, or bitter competitors, we are wandering at a great distance from true Masonic light.
Masons must bo kind and affectionate, one to another. Coming to the same Lodge, kneeling at the same altar, they must feel that respect and kindness fur each other, which their common relation and common approach to one God should inspire. There needs to be more of the spirit of the Ancient Fellowship among us; more tenderness for each other's faults, more zeal and solicitude fur each other's improvement and good fortune.
Nothing should be allowed to interfere with that kindness and affection: neither the spirit of business, absorbing, eager and overreaching, ungenerous and hard in its dealings, keen and Litter in its competitions, low and sordid in its purposes; nor that of ambition, selfish, mercenary, restless, circumventing, living only in the opinion of others, envious of the good fortune of others, miserably vain of its own success, unjust, unscrupulous sod slanderous.
He that does me a favour, hath bound me to make him a return of thankfulness. The obligation comes not by covenant; not by his own express intention, but by the nature of the thing; and is a duty springing up within the spirit of the obliged person, to whom it is more natural to love his friend, and to do good for good, than to return evil for evil; because a man may forgive an injury, but he must never forget a good turn. He that refuses to do good to them whom he is bound to love, or to-love that which did him good, is unnatural 'and monstrous in his affections, and thinks all the world born to minister to him; with a greediness worse
than that of the sea; which, although it receives all rivers into itself, yet it furnishes the clouds and springs with a return of all they need. Our duty to those who are our benefactors is, to esteem and love their persons, to make them proportionable returns of service, or duty, or profit, according as we can, or as they need, or as opportunity presents itself; and according to the greatnesses of their kindness.
The generous man cannot but regret to see dissensions and disputes among his brethren. It is the base and ungenerous only that delight in discord. It is the poorest occupation of humanity to labour to make men think worse of each other; and yet a multitude of men work assiduously, with tongue and pen, in that occupation alone. It is the duty of the Mason to strive to make man think better of his neighbour; to quiet, instead of aggravating difficulties; to bring together those who are severed and estranged; to save friends from becoming foes, and to persuade foes to become friends. To do this, he must needs control his own passions, and be not
rash and-hasty, nor swift to take offence, nor ready to be angered.
For anger is o professed enemy to counsel. Itisa direct storm, in which no man can be heard to speak or.call from without: for if you counsel gently, you are disregarded; if you urge it and be vehement, you provoke it more. It is neither manly nor ingenuous. It makes marriage to be a necessary and unavoidable trouble ; friendships and societies and familiarities, to be intolerable. It multiplies the evils of drunkenness, and makes the levities of wine to ran into madness. It makes innocent jesting to bo the beginning of tragedies. It turns friendship into hatred; it makes a man lose himself, and his reason and his argument, in disputation. It turns the desires of knowledge into an itch of wrangling. It adds insolence to power. It turns justice into cruelty, and judgment into oppression. It changes discipline into tediousness and hatred of liberal institution. It makes a prosperous man to be envied, and the unfortunate to be unpitied.
She therefore, my Brother, that first controlling your own temper, and governing your own passions, you fit yourself to keep peace and harmony among other men, and especially the brethren. Above all, remember that Masonry is the realm of pence, and that among Masons there must be no dissension, but only that noblo
emulation, which can best work and best agree. Wherever there is strife and hatred among the brethren, there is no Masonry ; for Masonry is Peace, and Brotherly Love and Concord.
Masonry is the great Peace Society of the world. Wherever it exists, it struggles to prevent international difficulties and disputes; and to bind Republics, Kingdoms and Empires together in one great band of peace and amity. ; .
Who can sum up the horrors and woes accumulated in a single war? Masonry is not dazzled with all its pomp and circumstance, all its glitter and glory. War comes with its bloody hand into our very dwellings. It takes from ten thousand homes those who lived there in peace and comfort, held by the tender ties of family and kindred. It drags them away, to die intended, of fever or exposure, in infectious climes; or to be hacked, torn and mangled in the fierce fight; to fall on the gory field, to rise no more, or to be borne away, in awful agony, to noisome and horrid hospitals. The groans of the battle field are echoed in sighs of bereavement, from thousands of desolated hearths. Returning, the soldier brings worse sorrow to his home, by the infection which he has caught, of camp vices. The country is demoralized. The national mind is brought down, from the noble interchange of kind offices with another people, to wrath and revenge, and base pride, and the habit
"of measuring brute strength against brute strength, in battle. Treasures are expended, that would suffice to build ten thousand churches, hospitals and universities, or rib and tie together a continent with rails of iron. If that treasure were sunk in the ses, it would be calamity enough; but it is put to worse use; for it is
expended in cutting into the reins and arteries of human life, until the earth is deluged with a sen of blood. |
Such, my Brother, are the lessons of this Degree; and you hare sworn to make them the rule, the law and the guide, of your life and conduct. If you do so, you will be fitted and entitled to advance in Masonry. If you do not, you hare already gone too far.
TO CLOSE.
Mf. Bro.*. Zerbal, what is the hour?
Co, Go. Th. Ill. it is the 6th hour of the day.
Mf, If that be the hour, it is time to rest from our labours. Does any dispute remain unreconciled, or.
any enmity unappeased among the brethren?
Cv. G.. None, Th.. I+, within my knowledge.
Mf, Doth any brother entertain ill-will against his brother; or hath any one unsettled quarrel with his
Brother? If so, it must be settled before we pact.
Hf. Doth any one complain of promise unperfurmed, or performed in letter only; or of any wrong or injury or injustice, by act or word? If ao, let him now make it known, that the promise may be fulfilled, oc the injury atoned for.
df. Even as they do now, so evermore may peace and harmony prevail amongst us! Give notice, Bro.*,
Zerbal, that we are about to close this Lodge. °
C.. G.. [Rapping 3 times, at which all the brethren rise]: Brethren, the Th.°. all*. Master and Warden
are about to close this Lodge. You will take due notice, and govern yourselves accordingly.
Af. Together, my Brethren |
{All kneel, and the same ceremonies are performed as in opening; and the Master declares the Lodge
closed.]
FINIS.
ok a at
