The lynx. (Panola, Mi. [i.e. Miss.]) 1845-1845, 1845-07-19

4
of tyranny, the throes Of anarchy and |
revolutions, and downfall and upbuild- |
ing of empires, as has that of Masonry, |
would vanish like bubble and be for
gotten in an hour. 1t might do tempo
rary good-bCt it could not be perma-
nentIy useful either TO its members or
the world. To say, as some do, tia;
good can be done as we'll openly as
secretly" is TO beg the question We |
deny the fact, or we should give up our
position on the subject Thetruth is our
pecuniary fund is limited. If we would
do the greatest amount Of good with it,
we must exclude the unworthy. We
are unable to 90 this without means of
our own providing. lfthese means are
exposed alike to the worthy and unwor-
thy we shall be subject to imposition,
and our money, instead Of being dislri-
buted among the worthy alone, will be
chiefly consumed By those least worthy
Of it, | deem it a conclusive answer
to the objection TO state the fact, that
while no shadow Of Injury is dono TO any
living, by this feature of secrecy, our
charity fund, is, in consequence of its
existence, rarely misappropriated.
Again it is alleged, that our regalia,
Jewels and emblems are all "mumme-
ry fit only for children 10 play with"
And what on the stage Of life is not
mummery? Everything is insigni6
cant, trifing and useless 10 him who
does not reflect, OF does not understand
it. Who ever looked upon a game of
Chess, without understanding it, and
did not consider it triAing business for
grown men to indulge in? Did ever
philosopher hunt in natures mines TO
develope her hidden mysteries, without
appearing a very child? Did not DR..
Franklin seem as much the child, when,
PLAYING with his Kite and keys, he
drew down the lightnings of heaven, as
whenhe spent months with alord Of Eng
land in playing a single gam9 of chess
There are some things which, if We
! would learn, we must nrst become as
! little children" When the obiectol
/ shall have assumed tcachabie dispo
/ sigion. If he does not learn that our
children's play-thIG gs have their ration
al and manly use; if he does not sec
in our twenty-four inch gage, by which
we divide our time; in our common ga
rel by which we are reminded to dives
our minds Of their vices; in our Iaml
skin apron, the emblem Of innocence
in our heo1Ogicai lauder, the round:
of which are faith, hope and charity
admonshing US 10 have faith in God
hope in Immortality and charity to al
mankind; in our plumb, admonshin2
Us to walk uprighlly; in our square
teaching us to square our actions by the
square ofvirtue; in our cOmpasSeS, by
which We learn TO circumscfibe our d.
eires and keep our passions within dut
bounds, in our froacel, which teaches u
to spread the cement Of brotherly love
and affection; in short if he does no
see in every emblem which we carry
and IN every apparent mummery II
which we indulge. rational meaning
and valuable use, confess that, 70
myself, must give him up as incorri
giby obtuse.
Again the serious objection is urge'
that Masonry furnishes " a field tor dc
hatchery, cloak for crime und imro
sition,'' and is even" dangerous TO civ
il liberty" Does the Director believ
these charges? If he does, | denounc
him as neither pat riot nor philanthrc
pist if he does not herald and embIazo
them to the world as something whic
should startle men from their slumbers
But, for myself, | am unable TO believ
: that there is even shadow of groun
for any one SO much as 10 suspect thu
truth of such charges. Can a ra,iona
man believe that majority of The gret
test and best men of the world, Of you
revolutionary patriots and signers {
your declarations Of national indeper
dence, including the great and goo
Washington among their number, wer
weak enough not to see such chara
= teristic in the order, or base enoug
. being Masons themselves, not TO expos
d and denounce it, if they did? III
u churches Of your holy religion furns
$ as good'a field for debauchery, the 6
N ,ars of the Most High as secure
m |