Orangeburg news and times. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1875-1877, 1875-11-27

'S i1olu kiiy 1Ou Win 1ll Thy
heart and with dll thy soul and with
all thy mind.
this is the first aud great com
mandmnent. And the second is like
unto it, Til on shalt love thy ncighbor
as thysclf
"On these two commandments
hang aNthe ta~ and yMeprophcts."
Justice, therefore, in its highest
sense, coif'prchends all the duties of
man toward his Maker, his fellow
man Cor ncighbor,) and himself
the emphatic mandate Of this high
virtue is, that "to each shall be rend-
cred that which is his just DUE and
these great duties comprehend all
others.
Thus, an accurate definition OF this
cardinal virtue results in the establish
ment of q remarkable parallelsm be-
tween the most sublime tcachincs Of
Christianity aud of Masonry. The
three great duties Of Masons arc CO.
equal and co-cxtcnsiyc with the two
great commandments of the New
Testament.
But the Justice hereafter to be
metcd within these walls must, in lie
nature Of things, he subject to limi,a-
tons and impcrlccti"ns. Principlcs
may be recognized. but their varied
and complex mutual relations cannot
always be determined or understood
Laws which seem wisely enacted may
prove unjust in their practical oper
at'on-and the best laws may be both
misunderstood and misapplied. In
other words, human laws carry with
them the human frailtics and short
comlngs of those with whom they
originate and Of those by whom
they ara administered. The corner
stone may be 'wcll formed, true and
rusty but lis relation to other Dor.
tons Of the buildingsmay not have
been wisely considered-the building
itself, indeed, may not have been
necdeo-lnay even be worse than use
less, c positive and unmitigatcd evil.
Against these dangers the most
effective safeguard is tho cultivation
among all communities and among
all nations, of those sentiments of
Truth, of Honor, ofForbcarance. Of
Brothcrly Love, which are either
expressly or by inference comprised
III the cardinnl virtue of the Christian
aud Masonic filth when .hese
sentiments Shall have become the
mainsprings Of human action, then, in
deed, will be realized tho desire Of one
who spoke from his souls depths:
"l'or Justice, :,Il seasons s,lmmcr-cycry
antl y Lomc"
And yet it must be admitted
that, for absolute Justice, this world
has, absolutely, no homc-;hat for
it no season can be absolutely sum
mcr. For no matter how wise, how
good, the law MAY be in i,sclf-no
matter how ably cxpounded or how
honestly administcred-thcre is ne
cessarily Inherent in all human laws
a rigidity, an inilcxihilty, an inability
of adaptation to special and exception
al cases, which must occasionally lead
to the most disastrous consequences.
But let us leave the consideration of
that which is SO unfortunately inevi-
table, and turn to the pleasanter sub
jccts suggested by these proceedings.
From every neighborhood of the
cotinty our brothers have come today
to aid us in III, performance of ccre-
mony which carries us, in imagina-
ton, back through medieval DAYS to
the remote ages when our ancient
brethren wrought lin both operative
and speculative Masonry when the
Trowcl' the Level, the Square, and all
the other implements of our craft,
were welded, in actual labor, by men
Of honest heart and brawny hand.
Then was it first taught that laJoraye
est or"re--that to ,corh. is, in one sense
(and noble onc,) to pyny-and that
the wages most sincerely enjoyed are
those which arc most honestly earned.