Wisconsin herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1846-1849, 1848-08-19

the universe, ana thoughts wandering t1rUs
elySian fields, and with lopgngs visihle TO
lqueneh his thirsty soul in the pure celestial
spring that wells up and bubbles and spar
kleS from beneath the great White throne
he answers in Godi The foundation OF Ma
soury then is God and his divine Revela-
lions. The foundation is deep--it is based
I upon the Rock of eternal ages, and neither
the treachery or baseneSs of the world or am
individual brother or thespromp,iug of the
devils or the cnrrodiug lapse OF time shall
wear away the foundations. or 'sqrench the
fire that burns on its sacred altar.n Is il
surprising that masonry has been transmit
ted from father to son, age af er age, pure
and bright as in its origin? and that when
the minds of men awoke from the slumbers
of ages it shone forth in the early dawn of
'morqing the brightest among the reviving
lights of truth and knoWledge? Ii indeed
is almost the only relic the Bible excepted
which Survived the long night of the dark
ages and like the holy faith upon which it
is founded it stood ready upon the first ghm-
Imer of morning dawn to seize upon the minds
Of men and lead Them back from the pollu-
ton of ignorance and superstition To the
path of truth and science. Masonry to a
great extent may be regarded as the medi-
un and herald of reviving literature; for il
was through the inSIrumentality Of a branch
of the order that learning was preserved
from total destruction, by the ruthless hand
of harbarans, and finally eXhumed from the
grave tore indle the light of science among
The debased and enslayed nations OF the
earth
Second. The superstructure or essential
parts of Masonry. The nature of any IN
stitution may be fairly deduccd from lis pre-
Ecepts and obligations. As light and heat are
reflected from the great luminary OF day so
will principles spring from and flow out ct
the system upon which they are based.--
What then does Masonry teach'
/ The first lesson BY it taught is TO be good
men and true, and lis principle point is three
fold ,hrotherly love, relief and truth. These
are the tenets of nasons profession. Add
TO these the four cardinal virtues, temper
ance, fortitude, prudence and Justice, and
YOU have an exposition of the main prcceprs
iof masonry, which may he embodied in the
Icompre hensye terws-inoraity and charity.
The term morality we do not here use rs
Synonymous with religion. For br0therly
love teaches Us to regard the whole human
species as one family. Masonry untes per-
Soas Of every cline aud kindred, religion,
\ sect and opinion, as menberS of one great
\ fauiiiy; whoascreateAty one Almighty hand,
and inhabitants of the same planet, are To
aid, support and protect each other, wheth-
en- high or low, rich or poor.
4 The blessed followers of the meek and
owlv Jesus, or the deiusled disciples of an
earthly Mahomedon, they are stilI the chill
dren Of God, they were created by him,
they are brethren.
However. the Theological no less than
( oa-.lts,aI VII Lal,pus colo a. 9th
les, for in addition to three cardinal virtues
which have mentioned are the theological
! filth, hope and charity. This opens n
/ Geld us wide MS creation aud bright with the
/ touchers of inspired wisdom.
/ These three virtues are as bright, perfect
! and glorious, when praciised--as were they
when the SO weary Pilgrim OF Luz resting
" his head upon the talsnanlc stone of Pal
80 estine" in prophetic vision saw the glori-
Gus ladders ascending from earth to heaven
bearing in their passage the God commits
stoned messengers of these virtues
Faith in God, Hope IN immortality aud
Charity TOWARDS all mankind are the golden
links whic!l unite earth to Heaven, man to
God. Charity is the brightest jewel in The
Masonic temple. 1t is a virtue which noEe
than any other assinlates man to his Gre
ator. Opening the heart to the divine efit-
sions of unlimited sympathy aud bcnevo-
lencc 1t relieves the diSirP~ses of not only
present wants hut looking for new order
of things, it seeks the means Of laying the
foundation of future happiness and prosper
ity, aud points to time when al shall be
regarded as brethren, and want shall be un-
knnwa. In this sense il IL n virtue Of re-
Election as well rs Of feeling. 10 the due
exercise of Charity reason no less than i'm
pulse has Us duty to perform, for while on
the one hand, cold reflection ought not al
all times To bfnunb the generous cxertions
of an a'nlable impulsC-so ON the other
ought not a too ardent sensllnlfy to stimulate
us to an improper aud ludiscrllDinate lavish
ment of that which might be needed for
pressing occasions. Happy is itfor as my
brethren that the bOuntifuI hand Of mature
has been 80 lavish and prodigaI of lis bli :
sings 10 this glorious land-lhat the ca,is
upon human eOmniSeration are scarcely
known among US. in tbis smiling land Of
plenty, industry ran seldom fail to reap the
rich reward Of plenty. Yet even among ~
the frown of adversely will sometimes rest
upon the deserving.
Poverty and distress viii sometimes await
the aged and infirm, and among the thou
sands that yearly flee from the curses of the
strong arm of oppression in Il blightel home
To seek safety and repose beneath the broad
folds of the Eagles wings, aud the stars
sild stripes of liberty, some viii necessarily
claim and always receive the benevolent all
Of free na~oHs. There j. n passive as well
a. an GciiUe kiml Of charity that by MasDn-
should to carefully cultivated. IT. soriaI
benefits are equal 20 the kind of charity that
prompts to the relief Of pressing want.
II Is tina, kind Of charity that restraints ~
from thinking too unfivorably Of each 9TH
err. I he human mind j. an ever acting ev-
or, moving, ever thinking principle. Il
never prompts TO an act without motive;
charity should lead Us IL attribute good mo-
t.rn- 70 a-Ll..-. 81. u 1911 49, -.