The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-06-12


people became ebsuched In chsTae
ter byl the very wealth which gave
iner power and prestige 8 N
Witness Rome. II whose giltterlng
eagles bore evidence Of her ssogerels:
~ IN many clines; yet The. sturdy viz,
tues that carried her to victory gave
way 10 the luxurious living which sap.
ped her life. fed b; the riches which
followed her conquests, and at last
made her an easy prey to the yaadal
aud the Hun. p
And SO It has been in all human his.
tory. II the development Of personal
character In the people does not keep
pace with the production and accumu.
lation Of material wealth, retrogres.
sion. decay and death must inevitably
follow.
That a man does not live for himself
alone; that he Is his brothers keeper:
that, In order to preserve bis own high
plane he must help to raise his brot....
er to the same level, are facts fundl.
mental to the conception OF the BIRTH
erhood Of the.race: and the measure o.
the civilization OF any country Is :as
Ideals OF personal character In the peo.
pie, and the extent to which these are
exemRllaed In their lives and c8aaae,
and in the institutions in which they
are expressed. And It Is this high
mission that Masonry has as Its goal.
A desire for knowledge, that ae ma;
be able TO order our own lives by con.
forming 10 the truth OF things: a de.
sire to be servlcable 10 Our fellowmen
that thus We may better fulfill the obll.
cations We owe 10 them. surely these
are among the highest aspirations OF
the human soul. And these Masonry
requires Of all who seek initiation. He
who seeks the portals OF Masonry for
any selfish reason TO profit bis bust.
ness or his ambition, is unworthy and
should be turned away. II has no les.
son for such man, and Its teachings
would fail deaf on his ears.
For more than two centuries, Ma.
sonry has pursued the even tenor of
Its way. teaching Its doctrines. helping
man to be better, dispensing It's deeds
of love in unobtrusive fashion wher.
ever misfortune, misery and suffering
are found, amid all the changing for.
tunes OF governments, dynastIes and
religious beliefs, asking no man to be.
come Identified with It. yet gradually
extending Its influence until now, from
the sunless and frigid SHOWS OF Alaska
TO the burning sands OF Africa and
Asia and the islands Of the sea, its
mystic symbols are seen, its sublime
doctrines are taught and practlced, and
It's hands are stretched forth TO vel
come the pilgrim and aid the suffering.
Such an institution could not have
survived the anathemas Of so.called
religious aRtocrats, the persecution OF
princes and the detractlon OF ignorant
enemies, II 1t had not been founded
upon the eternal and immutable prin.
ciples Of the sovereignty OF Almighty
God, and the brotherhood Of man, In
faith, hope and love.
We are laying today the cornerstone
OF a building in which the cardinal doc.
tr!nes Of Free Masonry forms will be
perpetuated. Let these foundation
stones be typical OF the strength and
enduring character OF the edItice which
shall be here erected, and let the
building Itself be a physical type and
symbol OF the enduring character Of
the institution which here shall find
a home. Let this be q centre Of In.
ffuence which shall teach men high
and noble ideals of character and con.
duct, and inspire them with the am.
billion TO "be true and good, and to do
faithfully whatsoever duty requires"
And now, my brethren, let me re.
peat the words Of that grand Mason,
Albert Pike, uttered on an occasion
similar to this:
Let us, dear brethren. firmly re.
solve that not by any furtherance Civ.
en- by our lukewarmness or unfaith.
by Our own illdoIng. or coun.
tenance given by us to anything that
tends to lower, degrade and abase It
or impair Its energies or usefulness,
Its dignity and glory, shall Free Ma.
sonry ever be brought to shame! May
Its ancient glories shine with new lus.
tire, and endure until there shall be no
wrongs In the world to redress, no
Ills In the world to remedy, and all the
world shall acknowledge and faithfully
obey and live by the law Of Masonic
brotherhood. So mote it be-"