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Article FREEMASONRY VINDICATED, ← Page 6 of 8 →
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Freemasonry Vindicated,
thereof , that they might again re-enter into the bosom of their respective families , free from those apprehensions that induced them to expatriate themselves . Great secrecy and certain emblematic signs became indispensible for their own safety ; for they found that Prejudice , Indolence , and Passion , render the major part of
mankind accomplices to those who strive to eternize their ignorance , in order to keep their necks beneath the yoke imposed on them , and profit by their abjection . Hence nations groan under hereditary evils , thoughtless of a remedy , being either ignorant of the cause , or so long accustomed to disease , that they have lost even the desire of health . Men are like hypochondriacs whom
interested doctors keep in their splenetic fits , that their attendance should be required and their fees increased . The primitive Freemasons were p laced in a similar conjuncture as those persecuted men ; and , being virtuous men , whose object was to elicit Truth and Knowledge , ancl propagate them , they did not fail having enemies directly ; for ,
Improbis aliena virtus semper formidable fuit . They were , therefore , compelled to constitute themselves into secret societies , not to give umbrage to their persecutors ; and in order to practice their vocation in peace and tranquillity , they found it necessary to introduce mysterious ceremonies and a variety
af emblematic and symbolic signs in their communications as well as in their meetings ; which ceremonies and signs were transmitted to us , and which we scrupulously preserve and revere in commemoration of those critical times when they were first adopted . As the fundamental aim of Freemasonry is the practice of Virtue , so its set forms , its symbols , and its emblems , have been instituted to recall to our minds our chief obligations . They are a living book always open , containing the text of our code—a
silent language , yet sublime , which touches the heart in an infallible manner , and warms the soul—a language which the experienced Masons , who alone are conversant in it , apply themselves to put , imperceptibly and with a wise circumspection , within the reach of the newly initiated members , measuring the light they propound according to the strength of their sight and the progress
of their faculties , so as not to" dazzle or confuse them . Every change to be permanent , whether physical or moral , must be progressive ; for , as "Nemo repenlefuil tur- pissimus , " so nobody from a state of ignorance or wickedness , can , all of a sudden , become
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry Vindicated,
thereof , that they might again re-enter into the bosom of their respective families , free from those apprehensions that induced them to expatriate themselves . Great secrecy and certain emblematic signs became indispensible for their own safety ; for they found that Prejudice , Indolence , and Passion , render the major part of
mankind accomplices to those who strive to eternize their ignorance , in order to keep their necks beneath the yoke imposed on them , and profit by their abjection . Hence nations groan under hereditary evils , thoughtless of a remedy , being either ignorant of the cause , or so long accustomed to disease , that they have lost even the desire of health . Men are like hypochondriacs whom
interested doctors keep in their splenetic fits , that their attendance should be required and their fees increased . The primitive Freemasons were p laced in a similar conjuncture as those persecuted men ; and , being virtuous men , whose object was to elicit Truth and Knowledge , ancl propagate them , they did not fail having enemies directly ; for ,
Improbis aliena virtus semper formidable fuit . They were , therefore , compelled to constitute themselves into secret societies , not to give umbrage to their persecutors ; and in order to practice their vocation in peace and tranquillity , they found it necessary to introduce mysterious ceremonies and a variety
af emblematic and symbolic signs in their communications as well as in their meetings ; which ceremonies and signs were transmitted to us , and which we scrupulously preserve and revere in commemoration of those critical times when they were first adopted . As the fundamental aim of Freemasonry is the practice of Virtue , so its set forms , its symbols , and its emblems , have been instituted to recall to our minds our chief obligations . They are a living book always open , containing the text of our code—a
silent language , yet sublime , which touches the heart in an infallible manner , and warms the soul—a language which the experienced Masons , who alone are conversant in it , apply themselves to put , imperceptibly and with a wise circumspection , within the reach of the newly initiated members , measuring the light they propound according to the strength of their sight and the progress
of their faculties , so as not to" dazzle or confuse them . Every change to be permanent , whether physical or moral , must be progressive ; for , as "Nemo repenlefuil tur- pissimus , " so nobody from a state of ignorance or wickedness , can , all of a sudden , become