Scotch Masonic Lectures.

-elevate ; and ividely as our material knowledge has extended , enormous in power as our mechanical - -appliances have become , centuries ago there were principals in art ancl architecture which produced -effects of elegance ancl grandeur ivhich seem to

be unknown in the modern world . For those educated in art know Avell that the best imitations are restorations of an ancient art , lack the intellectual element as much as does the wax image lack the soul of life . True the Craft , in olden time

ivas custodier of much that the press has now . made patent to the outward ivorld ; but a vast amount of the intellectual element eludes the vulgar grasp , and though the future may have a millenium , for mind , in store it is not yet ;

it is for the students in philosophy to band . themselves together to preserve Avhat is true and just of the past , to search for Avhat is good in the present , and to garner with care that which is Just and holy for those of the future . And what

has all this to do ivith Freemasonry ? Much ! For the Avork Ave have pointed out , her moral code and -ceremonies are invaluable , for in them you will find the elements of the most perfect form of . . government , " Order ancl regularity . " Such

, indeed , has been the charm of her ceremonies that though only a means to an end , they have in so many instances taken the place of both means and end , that the end has become ignored and nothing but the repetition of ceremony remained . This in itself might not have been a result to be so

much deplored had the ceremonies been retained In their original purity , but the ceremonies without their sequence ivas like the tube of a telescope which had lost its eye-pieces and object glass . Their true purpose ivas lost or overlooked ; the

purpose was a great one , and , having lost the element Avhich gave them dignity , the ceremonies degenerated into burlesque ; but there ivas too . much intrinsic worth in the old institution to remain long a mere handmaid to buffoonery and

excess . Society still recognises the necessity of . guarantees of Avorth , for though the means of diffusing knowledge have so enormously increased , it has not followed that moral practice is necessarily enforced . The tremendous engines for the

diffn-. sion of good , or evil , renders unity for good more . a necessity than ever . Transmission of intelligence is now almost as rapid as thought , but a lie does not become a truth by any rapidity in the process of transmission ; nor does a mean or weak sentence "become a moral maxim by any multiplicity of

stereotyping . Let if not be said , then , that the functions of our Order are effete ancl worn out . Her powers of selection and order are higher than those of any other secular community . Turn those elements to proper account ; demand from those

within your circles , aud from those who seek their entree , that standard of Avorth and intelligence inculcated in your Masonic decalogue , ancl it ivill scarcely require powers of prophecy to foretell that your circles will be sought for by the true

philosopher , and that the name of Freemason will become a guarantee for sincerity ancl truth . As the higher uses of our Order devclope , the dignity and beauty of the ceremonies becomes more apparent , and the impression deepens that those ivho framed

and perfected them understood human nature well and wisely ; they knew that to maintain order and a proper understanding between temperaments of the most opposite kinds ceremony ivas necessary , and they framed a code ivhich—properly worked

and rightly understood—accomplishes this purpose to perfection . For several years past there has been a oTOAvinj ? ivish amongst us for a thorough

understanding of the ancient purposes and modern uses of our Order , ancl , as the first step to an end so desirable—that the ceremonies should be properly explained and their true purpose pointed out in-order that a uniform system , so far as local

customs might permit , should be adopted—rehearsals of the various offices can , and have been , practised amongst the office-bearers themselves ; but the duties ancl purpose of each office should be known to every brother in order that , on

the one hand , the brother holding office may efficiently execute its duties , ancl , on the other , that the brethren may pay that due respect , demanded from them , towards the

functions of each office . With the permission of the E . W . M . ive will endeavour to explain the nature and duties of each office , reversing our usual order , ive will begin Avith the office of the Master . Bro . Cowie then explained the duties of

the E . W . M ., the jewels and symbols dedicated to the office and the high qualifications necessary to fill with dignity the Master ' s seat . Iu concluding his remarks on this office , he said , " The Master would require such graces ancl accomplishments as

I have pointed out because he is invested with powers of the most despotic kind . Within his lodge he has no peers , and therefore his decisions are important ; should a Master forget the respect due to the Order by violating or infringing Ma-