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Article ON FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 2 →
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On Freemasonry.
ON FREEMASONRY .
A POSTHUMOUS PAPER . BY THE LATE BROTHER HENRY O ' BRIEN . * THERE is in the human soul , despite of that chilling selfishness which sometimes mars its influence , an inborn thirst for the ennobling attributes of sacred Truth . The proudest gem in the vestal ' s habiliments
was the personification of this property ; the monarch ' s diadem would have been tarnished without it ; the sanctity of the ermine and of the sacerdotal surplice would degenerate in its absence into deformity and abomination ; and , to crown the climax of its universal recognition , the immutability of nature ' s laws , more popularl y designated by the epithet of Fate , became synonymous , in the vocabulary of primitive mortals , with the fixedness and nature of God ' s own Word .
The Greeks themselves , ignorant though they unquestionably were of either the import or the origin of this simple subject , which we are now pursuing , yet bowed in veneration before its deified abstract ; and one of their wisest sages is memorable for nothing so much as for that virtuous axiom , worthy of being registered in golden letters , viz ., that if men could but behold Truth in her sensible and tangible charms , they would become so fascinated and enamoured by the sight , as never again to be
able to secede from her devotion ! Such was the evanescent gleam of Greece ' s most immortal son : what would have been his raptures had he himself but seen this beauty ? What , however , is Truth ?—what is this idol to which high and low
alike pay homage ? A Seer of the olden clays , with an import as mysterious as it is physically accurate , has deposed to its manifestation at the bottom of a well . A greater than a Seer , yea , " the only begotten Son of the Father , " while identifying his own essence with the spirit of this virtue , has ennobled still farther its mystic interpretation ; f and , however startling it may sound to the ears of uninitiated man , it was the spirit of this fact , impalpable to outer touch , and accessible only to
Masonic intelligences , that the Saviour had above figured forth ! Nay , it was the Masonry ofthe soul in its purity and in its vitality , whose advantages he had depicted , when he promised to his disciples that if they should continue in his word , then ' you shall know the Truth , and the Truth shall make you free . ' ' J Truth , then , being to be found in the precepts of Freemasonry alone , it is necessary we should distinguish this divine institution as of a
twofold character . Cast our eye where we will over the diversified range of this lower planet , and the evidences of former worlds salute us at every step . What could have called into existence the Masonic miracles of Elora ? What could have chiseled into beauty tbe emblematic wonders of Elephanta ? What could have knit into the compactness of an almost indestructible adhesion the pyramidical devices of Egypt , and raised to the elevation of an all but celestial hei ght the towering symbols of ancient Persia or Iran ? The irresistible evidences of tradition and of science here concur in their response , and affiliate those remains upon the pious votary of Providence , who , in His great universal scheme ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry.
ON FREEMASONRY .
A POSTHUMOUS PAPER . BY THE LATE BROTHER HENRY O ' BRIEN . * THERE is in the human soul , despite of that chilling selfishness which sometimes mars its influence , an inborn thirst for the ennobling attributes of sacred Truth . The proudest gem in the vestal ' s habiliments
was the personification of this property ; the monarch ' s diadem would have been tarnished without it ; the sanctity of the ermine and of the sacerdotal surplice would degenerate in its absence into deformity and abomination ; and , to crown the climax of its universal recognition , the immutability of nature ' s laws , more popularl y designated by the epithet of Fate , became synonymous , in the vocabulary of primitive mortals , with the fixedness and nature of God ' s own Word .
The Greeks themselves , ignorant though they unquestionably were of either the import or the origin of this simple subject , which we are now pursuing , yet bowed in veneration before its deified abstract ; and one of their wisest sages is memorable for nothing so much as for that virtuous axiom , worthy of being registered in golden letters , viz ., that if men could but behold Truth in her sensible and tangible charms , they would become so fascinated and enamoured by the sight , as never again to be
able to secede from her devotion ! Such was the evanescent gleam of Greece ' s most immortal son : what would have been his raptures had he himself but seen this beauty ? What , however , is Truth ?—what is this idol to which high and low
alike pay homage ? A Seer of the olden clays , with an import as mysterious as it is physically accurate , has deposed to its manifestation at the bottom of a well . A greater than a Seer , yea , " the only begotten Son of the Father , " while identifying his own essence with the spirit of this virtue , has ennobled still farther its mystic interpretation ; f and , however startling it may sound to the ears of uninitiated man , it was the spirit of this fact , impalpable to outer touch , and accessible only to
Masonic intelligences , that the Saviour had above figured forth ! Nay , it was the Masonry ofthe soul in its purity and in its vitality , whose advantages he had depicted , when he promised to his disciples that if they should continue in his word , then ' you shall know the Truth , and the Truth shall make you free . ' ' J Truth , then , being to be found in the precepts of Freemasonry alone , it is necessary we should distinguish this divine institution as of a
twofold character . Cast our eye where we will over the diversified range of this lower planet , and the evidences of former worlds salute us at every step . What could have called into existence the Masonic miracles of Elora ? What could have chiseled into beauty tbe emblematic wonders of Elephanta ? What could have knit into the compactness of an almost indestructible adhesion the pyramidical devices of Egypt , and raised to the elevation of an all but celestial hei ght the towering symbols of ancient Persia or Iran ? The irresistible evidences of tradition and of science here concur in their response , and affiliate those remains upon the pious votary of Providence , who , in His great universal scheme ,