The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1867-12-13

uus JuWy AllS sUIikut. iTutSTuOi Cuulu,
~ That binds US heart to heart below,
r Cnweaken'd and undimm' u remain,
When to the Heavenly Lodge We 60.
There by this bond that Ger shall last
Eternal as the starry sky,
May we be linked when life is past,
- Sweet "Mystic Tie''-sweet Mystic Tie.'
raE =.--Ass----- p. =
Worthy, and Well Quallfled.
The qualifications Of candidates
for Masonry are clearly laid downin
our ancient charges. 1.-The persons
made Masons, or admitted members
Of . Lodge. must be good and true
: men, Of mature and discrees age,
free born and Of sound judgment, no
bondmsn, no woman, no immoral or
scandalsus man, but of good report. "
These then are the qualifications
required in q candidate; and y beth
or or not he possesses these qualifi-
cations, is the question which every
true Mason should ask himself before
he decides for against an applicant;
not whether he is rich iors- poor;
whether he is learned or i poorly
educated man; whether he possessed
Of polished manners or is simply u
plain honest man; not whether be is
our friend or a man who, for some
cause, perhaps an unworthy one on
ourpart. wedo not care much about:
but simply does he possess high NOR
alprinciple and sound mind, does
he believe in the Great Architect
Of the Universe. and does he strive
to obey the moral law.
When a candidate offers himself
ne should use all charity in deciding
whether or not he possesses these
necessary qualifications; making
diligent enqniries and Yspembering
that hjss fsalts riU IL nentioned
without asking for them, for human
nature isso constituted that it de-
lightsia proclsiming tho faults of
Others, while its. deriycy no CORES.
ponding pleasure. excspt from in
ter ssted motives, : in xtolling their
virtues. We may find him to be a
niser, hut still % honest nan;
grasping, but noyerknown to Cypress
the poor; spenathtift, but careful to
psyh HIS debts, ana spend no ones
moaey but his own; tofextreme opin-
ions, but willing to listen to, and
be,conyiaced BY reason; co1esiBsd,
but having good abilities and kind
heart; wanting in moral courage,
but yneryously anxious to do what is
right. # we find that his good quail
tiles overbalance his bad ones, we
nsy reasonably conclude that the
material il such, that - his initiA-
ton - foundation may be laid on
which to raise q superstructure, per-
feet in its parts. and an honor to its
builder.
Masonry teaches that man in his
natural state is an unhewn stone,
not without wild boa uty Of its own,
but useless for embodiment in =
building, till it's irregularities are
broken. Of and its roughness toned
down, its angles made square, and
beauty brought out. Instead. then,
Of applying tho plumb-line to the
life, and the square to the actions of
the material offered, and because
we find one Wavy line and the 9th
or . slightly obtuse angle, reject it,
Ne should consider whether it be Of
such . nature that the crooked parts
could not be made straight, and
whether, by the application Of those |
truly Masonic forces. brothsrly love,
relief and truth, the. obtusc might
not be formed into ! right angle.
and whether as Mason be might
not walk with IAN upright lle. lev-
Of steps and we'll squared actions"
We can, not expect to find in
candidatcall that we would wish in
q brother, nor do our brethren find
IN a. al that they could desire;
still, we acknowledge that Masonry
is benefit to all who practice its
prccepts and endeavor to live up to
the standsrdit sets before our minds.
This being the case. ) may We not
rcasonably hope that . man Of or,
binary intelligence and morality will
be 30 benefited BY III alliance with
our ancient institution, As to be
come in time IN ornament to soeie-
~ and an honor to our srsft. Ma
sonic Review. ~
FREE4AsoNRY IL a SCIENCE H.
SYMB0Ls.-What are
symbols? The word symbol is COM
posed Of two Greek words, literally !
placing or casting together
of two things in juxtaposition
Tor contrast. Symbols are THIS pic
torial ID etaphors. by which the orig
NAL thought is rendered clearer and
more attractive. Thus an open eye
represents watchfulncss and care; an
open hand, liberality and generosity;
4 serpent, rsubtility; and dove in
nocenoe-
Symbols are divided into Types,
Emblena, and De viceA and Signs,
Marks Ind Tokens.
Type is properly fren. : mark.
rom j Greek root. 1signifying liter.
.lly 70 bsat-thcnce % impression
made - :bestiot = . natrix. Thus
ny pic lure becomes type.
=.