The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-01-12 00:00:00

THE EXHORTATIONS OF THE ORANGE INSTI.

TUTION TO ITS MEMBERS

(TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMA

() Thou! whom we have initiated in the doctrines of
Wisdom ! listen to us, and open thy heart to the serious pre-
cepts of Truth. We will shew thee the path to happiness of
life; the way in which thou mayst please thy Creator; how
thou mayst employ with benign success, for the benefit of
mankind, all the means which Providence has entrusted thee
with, and thus procure thyself the sacred pleasure of bene-
volence.

I.—TRY DUTY TOWARDS GOD AND RELIGION.
Thy first homage thou owest to the Deity. Adore the
Being of all beings, of which thy heart is full ; which, how-
ever, thy confined intellects can neither conceive nor des-
cribe. Look down with pity upon the deplorable madness
of those that turn their eves from the light, and wander
about in the darkness of accidental events.
Deeply sensible of the parental benefactions of thy God,
and with a heart full of gratitude, reject with contempt those
shallow inferences that prove nothing but how much human
reason degrades itself when it wanders from its original
source. Oft elevate tby heart above sublunary things, and
cast thy eye with ardour towards those higher spheres which
are thy inheritance. Offer up in sacrifice to the Most High
thy will and thy wishes ; strive to deserve His animating in-
fluence, and obey the commands he has prescribed for thy
terrestrial career.

Let it be thy only happiness to please thy God—let it be
thy incessant endeavour, the incitement to all thy actions,
to effect an eternal union with him. The Sacred Code is the
foundation of all thy duties ;—if thou didst not believe in it,
thou wouldst cease to be an Orangeman. Let every action
be distinguished by an enlightened and active piety, without
prejudice or bigotry.
Religion does not consist of speculative truths ;—exert thy-
self in fulfilling all those moral duties it prescribes, and then
only thou shalt be happy—thy contemporaries will bless thee,
and with serenity thou mayst appear before throne of the
Eternal. Particularly, thou shouldst be penetrated by the
feelings of benevolence and brotherly love, the fundamental
pillar of this holy religion. Pity him in error, without hat-
ing or persecuting him. Leave the judgment to God, but—
" do thou love and tolerate."

Children of the same God ! ye who are already Brethren
through the universal faith, bind closer the ties of brotherly
love, and banish for ever all prejudices that might disturb
our brotherly union.
IL—THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL.

Man ! King of the earth ! Master-piece of the creation ;
animated by the breath of God, be sensible of thy dignified
destination. The whole animal race is subdued under thy
dominion. All that waves and moves about thee ceases again
to be, but thy soul survives all component things, and is, by
virtue of its divine origin, incapable of being destroyed. In
this consists thy true nobility. Feel thy happiness without
arrogance. Pride was the cause of the degradation of man ;
it would certainly plunge thee into the same abyss. _ _

Degenerated being, what art thou in the presence of the
Eternal, with all the dignity originally appropriated to thee,
and still distinguishing thee from other beings ? Adore Him,
the Lord on High, in the utmost humility, and take care
that the heavenly immortal essence which animates thee be
not depraved. This essence is thy soul: exert thyself in en-
dowing it, it is capable of infinite perfections. Make it so
susceptible, so open to virtuous impressions, that, after thy
dissolution, it may, without impediment, return to the pure
and original source of virtue. So prepared, thou will be
free, even in fetters ; serene in misfortunes, the heaviest
storm will not make thee tremble, and with true heroism,
thou wilt advance, even in the face of death. if ever thou
couldst doubt the immortal nature of thy soul, and its high
destination, in vain had we initiated thee. Thou wouldst
not be the adopted son, the darling of wisdom. thou wouldst
step back, and mix again with the multitude of the profane
rabble, who, like moles, crawl in the dark.
111.—DUTY TOWARDS THY KING AND COUNTRY.

God has ordained a sovereign power of each country to be
his vicegerent. Entertain reverence for the supreme power,
and be faithful to it, in whatever corner of the world thou
livest : after the homage thou owest to God, the duties to-
ward the state and country follow next. Should man wander
rude and unsociable about woods and forests, he would be
less inclined to answer the intentions of Providence and to
eusure to himself all the good intended for him ; his being

ennobles itself amongst his equals, and the difference of
opinions improve his genius.

But in soiety, were every one left to himself, the posses-
sion of property, and the unrestrained passions would cause
incessant quarrels, and cunning or power would soon triumph
over innocence. For this reason laws were necessary to re-
gulate mankind by, and rulers to support and keep inviolate
those laws. Sensible man ! thou honourest thy parents, ho-
nour the fathers of the state also, for they represent the Deity.
If they err, they are accountable for it to the Judge of Kings ;
but thy own, often very erroneous, judgment cannot exempt
thee from obedience.