Oration By M.W. Grand Master Van Slyck, Of Rhode Island.

ORATION BY M . W . GRAND MASTER VAN SLYCK , OF RHODE ISLAND .

America , St . John ' s Day , 1874 . ( Concluded from page 118 . ) Passing rapidly doivn to the mediaeval period , after the poiver of Borne had

compassed the conquest ancl re-organization of its Western Empire , and its arts and laivs had entered into the civilization of Europe , Ave find the sentiment of fraternity seeking its external cx 2 _ ression in the bands of builders , in Avhom the sentiment of the

paternity , or religion , Avas more closely intertwined Avith the former , than in their Roman predecessors . Yet Avith them , the idea of building , or of doing—the arts of construction , the theory of Avorking for the general prosperity , the advancement of society in its material interests Avas still inseparably connected Avith , as it Avas outwardly manifested in , the ivorship of

the Divinity and the yearnings of brotherhood . They laid their skilful hands upon the lofty turret and spacious dome , fit shrines for God ' s glory and ivorship , but they Avithheld not the hand of melting charity in a Brother ' s need . We may not pause to consider at length

, IIOAV the brotherhood of English mediasval builders organized , itself at York , into that special society from which the distinctive system of modern Masonry has been resolved , or IIOAV from the morning twi light of the race , that' Avhich Avas at first

an instinct , then a sentiment , ascended at last , in the expansion of human nature , to the unimagined heights of an Institution limited only by the necessities of mankind . Yet at every point of history and under every sky and climate , Ave shall discover that the work has been a

progresone . The first and simplest notions of mutual recognition and protection ansAvered the needs of the rude forms of society ancl the primitive habits of life . They Avere soon extended to meet the larger needs of men

gradually enlightened by education and experience . As the light of science began to daAvn and the arts of life to be unfolded into shapes of beauty and symmetry , the hiulders of the world Avould add to their pre-existing bonds of association , the

revelations of scientific truth , the speculations of philosophy and the cultivation of the spirit as Avell as the forms of art . Upon the reverential and protective foundation of Masonry , AVOUM be raised ¦ a structure of art , of philosophy , of history , literature

and poetry , Avhich Avould vindicate its claim to be oA'er linked Avith the progress of its kind ancl Avith every advance in human condition . It would thus draw to itself the richest symbolism of the Avorld around it , and incorporate into its ceremonies and instructions the exuberant

stores of nature ancl the choicest Avealth of the spheres of intellect and of art . As men looked into the arcana of the earth or into the closets of the human soul , they found mystery Avritten alike upon the processes of matter ancl of mind . The clearest perceptions of science Avere not sufficient to unravel the subtle threads by which even the atoms of matter are held

together . lhe stupendous evolutions and combinations by Avhich the different geological periods reveal the forces of nature ivere seen , as they are now seen , only as results , for no man could fathom or comprehend the processes . The subtle operations of chemistry , under Avhich there seems to be no limitation to those

transmutations and capabilities of matter Avhich are bent to human uses , could be detected and followed by no alembic or instrumentality of comprehension . The laws ancl Avorkings of the mind itself could only be faintly and imperfectly traced . Silence md secresy was thus Avrittenas by an

, inexorable decree , upon the highest Avorks of nature and upon the human soul . The Avhirhvind , the thunder and the tempest were but the noisy demonstrations of a temporary disarrangement of forces , visible and sometimes perhaps sufficiently

understood ; but who could look into that silent but mighty chemistry , whose processes transmute the common dust into the glittering diamond—AVIIO could comprehend the still and subtle forces by Avhich from the rudest earth , is evolved oven the simplest flower . "The secret things belong to God . " It Avas thus in accordance