Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1861-07-04


wait Till his ears ring with the lamentations Of
the miserable, put is aflcctionat, ly to anticipate
the wants OF the unfortunate and inspire them
with courage; looking for his reward, not IN the
loud and vain applause OF the multitude, but IN
the silent aud secret testimony Of his own heart,
and the sacred pleasure with which he is contem'
plated by Dcit,."
Such are the pri nciples inculcotcd in the char.
ges that lie at the foundations Of Masonry. With
these feeling and principles inculcated at every
step he takes IN Masonry they grow with his
grow th and strengthen with his strength until they
become part OF his being.
The aim of every good mason is to carry out
these principles-to make the world happy and
by his deeds Of bcnevolrncc, cmbalm his memory
in the hearts of the distressed whom he has re.
cved- the widow whose sorrOws he has en-.
dcavored to soothe, and of the orphans to whom
he has been protector. Every good Mason feels
that he would rather, when lile's fitiful scenes
are over that some widow. with choking utterance
should say to her orphan children, ns she wccps
owe his grave, "thcre lies the man that helped us
in our distress, " than have erected over his re.
mains the most beautiful monument Of sculptured
marble.
do not claim that all masons live up to these
principles, and professions, act out Masonry in
their lives. Every society has its Judas to betroy,
its Peter who will deny, and its Annanias who
will hold back part OF hat which hi, pr'nci.
pies aud professions tell him be ongs to Others -
Let the society that is fortunately without such
members throws stones at u.s.
The fault is in the human heart. and not in Ma.
sorry. Its nOblest sphere of operations i in sup
plying the wants of the needy, relieving pain and
sorrow, pityng and comforting nfrmity. The
true Mason looks, yes. Ii bound to looa to the
welfare of a brother Mason well as to his own,
and feels more satisfaction in giving than III re.
ceiving as istnnce. If his means are small AID his
ability OF affordng pecunary relief limited, he will
bestow those soft aud tender attentions, and those
heartfelt comrassions which soothe the distress
they cannot remove. He wi battle with tears the
wound he cannot heal. He will watch by the bed
of a languishing brother, and support the droop
ing head, listen to catch the expiring words, and
then close the glazing eye with fraternal sorrow.
His love will survive the tomb and become the in
hrrtance of the bcrcaved widow and o uhans -
He will sympthize in their Affections and soliows
enquire out their necessities, aud relieve the
wants.
Nor are his sympathies confined to the narrow
sphere Of his Lodge, his acquaintancps, or his
county. Masonry is not locally restricted soci
ETY.. Its boundaries, and Aiason's obligations
are restricted only by the wants OF humanity. la
every civilized. and in nearly every barbarous
country. under every free and every arbitrary gov.
ernmcnt Masonic institutions exist with the same
for 8, ceremonies and obligations, and for the
same charitable and benevolent purposes. No
matter what the f0rm of government may be ; or
what the religio S creed of the people among whom
it exists. Masonry is ever the same Il pure De.
mocrdcy in which the people annually elect their
own officers, and make their own laws. Tolerant
in religion, it recognizes, true in faith, all who
adore a God
Free principles in government, and liberation in
religion equality ofrights and privileges, and SUI
peliority in merit alone have ever been the dis.
a. II A.
sincerity, and candor, we proclaim before High
Heaven to be the principles, and objects, and aims
of Masonry aud we have met to day, to set apart
and dedicate Hall for the incubation Of these
principles.
Those who are not members of the Order, hut
have honored US with tn ir presence, have a right
to enquire for what purpose this tall is de icated
and we have endeavored to give you plain, can
did and truthful answer.
Brethren o, Spartan Lod7e On an occasion
so interesting as that of dcdicnt ng new Hall to
the purl ose of Masonry, n few remarks, dictated
by age, experience and observation, may not be
deemed inappropriate to you. 1t is no idle cerc-
mony that we have met to perform You have
now Hall set apart md dedicated to the incuca.
tion of the great truths and principles OF our Or
der. and on You heavy responsibility rests. To
YOU Is committed the sacred trust of carry ing out
these principles in you lives and conduct, and thus
convincing mankind of the goodness Of the insti.
tuition.
Let not the genius of Masonry weep over any
delinquency. nor mourn the fall of the fabric
erected to Br thcrly Love. Relief and Truth but
so regulate your lives by the Plumb line of Justice
and 80 Square YOUR actions by the square of Nir.
tue that when it shall be said of any OF you "He
is member of Spartan Lodge" the unanimous
response OF community may be "then he is n good
man " Practice that pure and undehled religion
which Is defined by an inspired writer to be, "to
visit the widow and the iatheress in their atllic-
tons, aud to keep yourselves unspotcd from the
pollutions of the world" How exactly does this
compare with the great missions of Masonry
The widows tear and the orph,n's cry are the
tocsins that have ever called Mas rs to the res,
cue and no true Mason is deaf to the wall ol
distress III any quarter inhabited by hu nanity.-
Do good unto all, but especially to the household
OF the faithful "is his leading tenet"
Let 1t, then, my Brethren. b Inscribed on your
door posts and lintels-"and now nbdeth Faith.
Hope. Charity these three and the greatest of
these is Charity for Faith may be lost in sight,
Hope end in truiton, but Charity extends beyond
the gave throughout the boundless realms of
eternity" Ever keep this leading principle in
view; fo'a Lo lge without it may have form to
live, but for all practical purposes is dead without
a hope ofrcsu:rcctiou.
Cultivate Charity, then, which is the bond of
pure religions nay, is the very OF religion
itself. Never wait for suffering humanity to call
on yOu but seek it out and relieve it not in OstCn
Ia tous nj sgivins, "but do your aims in secret,
not letting your left hand know what your right
hand docth"
While ostentation in the bestowal OF Charity is
contrary to the spirit Of masonry, yet we have a
PAST, in our history, to which We can point with.
out blush annals which, when searche in can
dor, will show that Institution has no existed
III vain. They are written on the hearts OF thou
sands who have been relieved by its charities, and
If the dead can look back on mortal scenes, and
are conscious of the occurrences Of life, they are
written on the memory of thousands now looking
down upon us from the spirit Word, and r,joic-
ing in the knowledge that such an Institution eX.
lists to bind up the broken heart alleviate sorrow
and tighten the burdens Of humanity
II every Mason, as lie ought to do, and as the
principles of the order teach him he should do,
would so school the heart that in honest sincerity
he could say "teach me to feel another's woe, to
hide the faults soe" to sympathize with the sor-
rowful, to relieve the distressed and protect injured
innocence, then would our order be what its ioun.
ders anticipated, and what it ought to be ; bright
and shining light IN an otherwise dark and dismal
world.
But would not only inculcate the practice o.
charity as the cardinal virtue, the Corner Stone of
the Order, but its sister virtue, Brotherly Love
Oh what Paradise our Order would be if every
brother carried out in practice, the obligations he
assumes at our Altar Ii we did not wrong or
deiraud each other in word, ordeed if we vind'
Gated the character of brother when we heard it
wrungfully aspcrscd would contribute to his re
lief, far MS his circumstances required, and ours
would permit; would keep inviolate the secrets
OF II worthy brother when communicated to, and
received by us ns such and remember the welfare