Masonic Reading.

nected with the lodge-room , and encourage Masonic reading . HOY / often , when there has been no work on hand , have I heard the W . M . " run the lectures round the room , " ancl thus enforce ei'ery brother to keep up his ritual . The system is a good one , but it ivoulcl be much better if that were alternated by the Master giving a subject for discussion aud appointing certain brethren to give their views upon itand this universal knowledge would soon be acquired .

, I Avant Brethren to get beyond their own lodge-room , to step over narrow restrictions , ancl breathe the free atmosphere of Masonry unii'ersal ; and , to clo so , Masonic reading must be encouraged . The lodge-room is a school-room , the Master ancl officers are teachers , and the brethren pupils . As a rule , the pupils , especially the younger ones , are eager to learn ; but , in many cases , the teachers are laggardsandas long as they ive the routine lessons ( the ritual )

, , g , they care for nought else . Here is ivhere the damage is clone . Brethren , I appeal to you to change these things . Elect no brother to the east , west , or south , unless he knows something of Masonry beyond the ritual of the first three degrees , and is capable of expressing his own views intelligently on Masonic topics . Ignorance amongst the teachers produces apathy amongst the pupils , ancl such pupils soon leave school in disgust .

Grand Masters ancl others in authority should more constantl y bring this subject before the notice of Masters of lodges , and they to the brethren . It is a disgrace to the Fraternit y that Masonic journals barely exist ; the brains ancl intellect of the Craft are given with liberality and generosity in order to spread "more light , " ancl yet the veterans in the brotherhood , who have devoted their lives to the diffusion of Masonic knowledge , are allowed to drift

doAvn the stream iu poA'erty ancl want * The Grand Lodge of Ohio actually A'oted one hundred dollars to " the old man eloquent , " who , by means of the Masonic Bevieiu , had clone more for a quarter of a century in the aid of Ohio Masonry than its Grand Lodge had ever clone ; yet the beloved veteran , Cornelius Moore , was voted one hundred dollars ! Comment is unnecessary . This is the Avay Masons encourage those who furnish the Fraternity with Masonic reading . Eie upon such a comment for the profane and the sceptic to jeer at !

If Brethren would only strive to grasp the lessons taught by our mystic symbolism , the Fraternit y would rise with tenfold strength and accomplish tenfold the good that it now does . The great ancl good , the philanthropic ancl benevolent , would take an active part in its welfare . It would become not only a great benevolent association , but a gigantic emporium of science , ivhere men of letters and erudition ivoulcl lay bare their discoveries and display their talents . Masonic reading isas a rulesuch as develops the

, , intellect of man by producing solemn , serious thought , leading his mind from frivolous matters to those of a theo-philosophic character . A reading Mason cannot but be a man of deep thought and liberal ideas . The very character of our mysteries is such as to induce him to contemplate those higher , grander , and nobler mysteries , which have absorbed the attention of the human race from the earliest ages . Should we not , then , by every means in our poiver

encourage Masonic reading ? HOAV much better it is for a brother to spend his leisure in " the search of truth , " as symbolised by a more eager desire to know God in his wondrous mystery , than to devote it to the frivolous literature , of the day—trash in many instances ; aye , not only useless , but often pernicious ? Masters , I appeal to you to guide the neophyte through the flowery paths of Masonic erudition , and then our noble institution will have few ashlars in its holy temple that will not " stand the test of the Great Overseer ' s Square . "