The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1878-07-02

hills have echoed its sound. The lar,
rcachinginomes of kings have their
limit. The mightsnd expansc of nations
find a bound. but from lowest earth to
highest heaven froGadarkcniSg West
to shining East-from farthest South
to snow.bound North-shine those
lights which reveal to Tie true Mason
the presence of bis brother, and which
enable him to commune with the most
faithful hearts.
There ore occasions wien man meets
Lis fellow man and there are mutual
but vain longings for, communion. Since
mans daring purpose Of sinful rebellion
was thwarted and punished by confusion
of tongues it chances often that man
lacks some medium by which he can i'm
part to the stranger the thoughts df bis
own heart, or receive those the stranger
seeks to Communicate. Kiudest thoughts
are unuttered, and troubled hearts
struggle on unrelieved because they rise
in stranger mind, and press on stran-
ger bosom. ,''' .''
Mere presence does uot suffice for
mans social need. Man may be utterly
alone with thousands of his fellow men
around himsi TSus, lielpfal conpapiop :
ship must have mutual understanding,
mutual sympathies, mutual communica-
tou. This necessity is met 10y the ~
COMMON LANGUAsE
Of Masonry Masons have n common
means of communication. Scattered
over the whole earth, they must differ
in ordinary speech. Some sing in fiow-
ing Italian, some shout in harsh, gut
tpral Morse tongue, some speak 10 strong,
pobss Sskons ;seqc putteH in weird,
confused chinese. But THEY can all
speak the common tongue which Ma
sonry teaches. They may not pour out
multitude Of words, bus the supply is
sufficient. Brethren speak eye to eye,
hand to hand, ear to ear, heart to
heart stgegtrhuk .aTess
None but Masons Fave this Common
possession. There is no nations tongue,
there are few. if any wor4s-wl'ich
can compass the whole earth. The near
est approach to universal use is said TO
be- The words, T"Ball8ujaht AID
Amen Fifty years ago, on hetrack-
I less ocean, tvo white !wisgcd yessels ap-
preached each other Both were manned
} by true meu, but men of difereqt faces
and speech. IT was in the carnival sea-
son. and the chosen, sphere of piracy
and murder. y Anxiety reigned over all.
As the ships drew nearer the dread OF
+vilwas deepened.a NOEtAey, arc side
I'by side. but no angry SUMMONS is hettd,
No dreadful cannon played. The crews
Looked each other IN the face They were
not enemies. Fear gave place to joy.
Kind hearts long.d to utter Kindly
greeting. They shouted. They were
but strangers still. Swiftly they were
parting Thrilling with joy sailor
, tossed aloft his cap and shouted Halle
lujah |" Tho. .zephyrs swept the word of
praise to fhc strangers. A moment, and
then repeated by every billow was
thuudcred back the grand "Amen. 4"
They had but expressed common faith.
but it was enough, heart had spoken to
heart.
Masonry has her "Halelujah" AND
i.her "Amen," but she has more. Brother
can ask and answer brother. Masonry,
the common mother, has bridgeda over
tho separating hindranccs, and her sons
sit themselves down TO cheer and
strengthen each other.
Thus Masonry furnishes the conipan
ion and the means of companlouship
Anywhere, everywhere, tile men and
the language may be found. But ex'
peri,nce teaches US that men Of the
same tongue meet daily and pass each
other unnoticcd. They have The means
of mutual assistance, but have no de.
sire to exercise them So far as social
need is concerned, they had as we'll in
habit different worlds. Something is
REQUIRED to create the desire to be mu-
.pnlly helpful. This something is OF
least, in part supplied by the
COMMON OBLIGATION -.F-
of Masonry. Every Mason is bound by
ono and the same obligation. The Mason
King and his humblest Brotber-Subjec'
have knelt at the same altar. The gal.
? liant, misguided Mos'om, the proud fet'
tered Brahmin, the chosen child Of Is
: rael, the iiol,oTer OF the lowly Nazarene
US Masops are bound by q eomaonr tir,
No reservations err are allowed to the lofty;
no conditions are imposed upon the
losIy. whatctct one Mason has prom
ised to do, all are pledged to perform
Whatever one Alason has promised no'
to do, all are solemnly pledged to leave
undonc.
The mere fact of having uttered the
same obligation has tendency 10 draw
men together. But few obligations arr
purely negative. Almost always duties
lie sieasea By them. and sthc pressure
Of mutual duties invariably unite. Tw'
. nsichbors may have been iuharmoniou
|, for years Nothing in common exlste'
! between them, and they have lived 10
different to each Others existencs-i
not declared enemies. a change comes
=. They are summoned to discharge tn
y du,iep and face the dangers OF wal
r They become soldiers Of ,ha a4ma host
,.1,oo, ,ban gent