The Dickinson press., 1914-04-18
world somehow aroused the jealousy
Of the church. The Ecclesiastical au-

OF the church. The Ecclesiastical au-
thorities seeing their grip loosening
over these men, tried to bind them to
servile militant body, but their
once tested independence foreboded a
second bondage and they refused to
bind themselves to any church or
ecclesiastical authority, but with vows
Of secrecy, purity Of life, obedience
to God and the defense Of Holy things
Hugh de Payne, Godfrey de St. Aide
mar and seven others formed the first
Christian Military Knighthood Of the
world, now known as Knights Temp
Ter. This, however, soon brought the
strong arm Of the church upon them;
nevertheless the order grew, not only
in Palestine, but it crossed the waters
to. Holland, Netherlands, Germany,
France, England and Scotland until
the Knights Templers numbered
hundreds Of thousands of loyal noble,
christian men. Traitors within and
without the camp, constant persecu-
tion, villiication, Imprisonment, tor
ture, death lost to them the Holy
land, but for 500 years in Cyprus,
Rhodes, Malta, the Knights Templers
made their headquarters, until Egypt,
Turkey and other of the enemy
tscattered them abroad; not, however,
until a million hearts had been solidly
united to the Christ of God, and with
this came the great reforms Of
Europe. - = :.s -.
Each century kept the fire alive
tby some great leader, Wycliff gave
us the New Testament in our own
tongue in the 18th century. Luther
! in the 18th, Tyndale in the transla-
| ton Of the whole Bible in the 18th,
1 The exodus Of the Pilgrim fathers
i from Holland in the 18th, Milton in
the 18th, until the world was solidi-
i fed in christian power and hopeful
] ness. History says that the return
Eof these Sir Knights was the begin
ming Of a new era in art, science,
literature, poetry and architecture
throughout Europe. +.
The last point Mr.. Orchard brought
out was that Knighthood was the de-
fender Of the religion of Jesus Christ.
81 Christianity has that within it that
q atsWorth defending, something good
y syaihh a. 1T that man needs and consciously
or unconsciously seeks. The world
is full Of paradoxes, it curses that for
which it prays, it sneers at that it
hopes for, and it hates that which it
wants by; and bye. That which an
chors men to the earth, is by st.
Paul called weights, perhaps the
worse drag the Goth century has is
the love of money, well has it been
said that -~-.... -. ia
France has her lilly, England has
her rose g s3 .s Il I s;sss :,ss
1 And every body knows where the
shamrock grows n.'s,,5E=H ssEo
Scotland has her thistle on every
side hill, ;.5.s .,s!. .!s..' /, =:
But the Yankees favorite emblem
Il is the One Dollar Bill" e.
Be that as it may, every man
has one foot in the finite and one in
the infinite, one hand stretched to
heaven, the other clutching earth.
The world is torn asunder between
two worlds, the higher and lower;
Every man according to his degree, in
the solitude Of his thoughts and in
/ the silence Of his soul, is torn be-
ttWeen these two worlds, it is uni.
fversal, inevitable and inescapable
Knights Templer believes all this and
talso in the personal sacrifice Of
Christ for man, believes in his divin.
4 ity, accepts his leadership.
Earlier degrees Of Masonry centers
Iaround the Old Testament and natur-
Tally. this means formality, foreshad-
lowing, but no fnality. 2
But christianity is not a book but a
man, not an argument but a. life,
again the earlier degrees builds its
ritual around a building but Knight
| hood centers itself in a man, lives the
life Of q man, breathes, throbs, pull.
1sates in the life Of the Son Of God.
Thoughtful Knights remember their
vows, though these do not demand the
open profession Of them for its
life, vet it holds sacredly to all that
lt has vowed, nor doessit give 81 its
/ abundance with ostentation, ii the
words of James the Apostle they be
llieve that tpure religion and undefiled
Lis to visit The fatherless and widow in
their: afaiction and to keep themselves
iunspotted from the world" !"
80 8ss
Dickinson Choral Society
The splendid body off nearly forty