The Address to
the Brethren
Canadian Work,
British Columbia
Brethren, such is the nature of our Institution, that while
some must, of necessity, rule and teach, so others must, of course, learn,
submit and obey. Humility in both is an essential duty. The Brethren elected and
appointed to assist in the government of the lodge are too well acquainted with
the principles of Freemasonry and the rules of propriety to exceed the power
with which they are entrusted, and you are of too generous a disposition to
envy their preferment. I, there, shall trust that we have but one aim, to
please each other and unite in the grand design of being happy and
communicating happiness.[NOTES]
Masonry, my brethren, according to the general acceptance of
the term, is an art, founded on the principles of Geometry, and directed to the
service and convenience of mankind, but Freemasonry, embracing a wider range,
and having a nobler object in view, namely the cultivation and improvement of
the human mind, may with more propriety be styled a science, inasmuch as
availing itself of the terms of the former, it inculcates the principles of the
purest morality, though its lessons are chiefly veiled in allegory and
illustrated by symbols. To draw aside this veil, therefore, or more properly
speaking, to penetrate through it, is the object of rulers in Freemasonry, and
by a careful and appropriate attention to them, we may hope ultimately to become
acquainted with all its mysteries.[NOTES]
Freemasonry, from its origin to the present time, in all its
vicissitudes, has been the steady and unvarying friend of man. It has (in the
language of an eloquent brother) gone forth from age to age; the constant
messenger of peace and love; never weary, never forgetful of its holy mission,
patiently administering to the relief of want and sorrow, and scattering with
unsparing hands, blessings and benefits to all around. It comforts the mourner,
it speaks peace and consolation to the troubled spirit, it carries relief and
gladness to the habitations of want and destitution, it dries the tears of the
widow and orphan, it opens the source of knowledge, it widens the sphere of
human happiness, it even seeks to light up the darkness and gloom of the grave
by pointing to the hopes and promises of a better life to come. All this
Freemasonry has done and is still doing. Such is Freemasonry, and such as its
mission; and we should never forget, while enjoying its benefits and
appreciating its value, the duties we owe to the order; for there is no right
without a parallel duty, no liberty without the supremacy of the law, no high
destiny without earnest perseverance, and no real greatness without
self-denial.[NOTES]
A lodge of freemasons is the temple of peace, harmony and
brotherly love; nothing is allowed to enter which has the remotest tendency to
disturb the quietude of its pursuit. A calm enquiry into the beauty of wisdom
and virtue, and the study of moral geometry, constitute the chief employments
in the tyled recesses of the lodge. The lessons of virtue which proceed from
the East, like rays of brilliant light from the rising sun, illuminate the West
and South, and as the work proceeds, are carefully imbibed by the workmen.
Thus, while wisdom contrives the plan, strength lends its able support to the
moral fabric, and beauty adorns it with curious and cunning workmanship. All
this is accomplished without any compulsory or coercive means, but on the
principle of friendship and brotherly love, which guards the precincts of our
temple that nothing may enter to disturb the peaceful sanctity of that holy place.
The object, however, of meeting in the lodge is of a two-fold nature, namely,
moral instruction and social intercourse. Our meetings are intended to
cultivate and enlighten the mind, to induce a habit of virtue, and to
strengthen the fundamental principles of our Order: Brotherly Love, Relief and
Truth. And if these meetings are blended with social mirth and a mutual
interchange of fraternal feelings, then Freemasonry will be shown in its true
light, as an institution which fosters and improves the best affections of our
nature, and carries into active operation the practice of the four cardinal
virtues: Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence and Justice, combined with the
theological virtues - Faith, Hope and Charity - thereby demonstrating to the
world at large that in Freemasonry there is found the true import of the three
great social treasures: Fraternity, Liberty and Equality. Therefore the utmost
extension of fraternal feeling and affection which can subsist between man and
man is expected to be displayed among the brethren of our order in a lodge of
freemasons, and then will be attained the chief point of Freemasonry, namely,
to endeavor to be happy ourselves, and to communicate that happiness to
others.[NOTES]
Before I conclude, my brethren, let me endeavor to portray to
you the ideal of a freemason.
If you see a man who quietly and modestly moves in the sphere of his life; who,
without blemish, fulfils his duty as a man a subject, a husband and a father;
who is pious without hypocrisy, benevolent without ostentation, and aids his
fellowman without self-interest; whose heart beats warm for friendship. whose
serene mind is open for licensed pleasures, who in vicissitudes does not
despair, nor in fortune will be presumptuous, and who will be resolute in the
hour of danger;
The man who is free from superstition and free from infidelity; who in nature
sees the finger of the Eternal Master; who feels and adores the higher
destination of man; to whom faith, hope and charity are not mere words without
any meaning; to whom property, nay, even life, is not too dear for the
protection of innocence and virtue, and for the defence of truth;
The man who towards himself is a severe judge, but who is tolerant with the
debilities of his neighbour; who endeavors to oppose errors without arrogance,
and to promote intelligence without impatience; who properly understands how to
estimate and employ his means; who honours virtue, though it be in the most
humble garment, and who does not favour vice though it be clad in purple; and
who administers justice to merit whether dwelling in palaces or cottages;
The man who, without courting applause, is loved by all noble-minded men,
respected by his superiors and revered by his subordinates; the man who never
proclaims what he has done, can do, or will do, but where need is will lay hold
with dispassionate courage, circumspect resolution, indefatigable exertion and
a rare power of mind, and who will not cease until he has accomplished his
work, and who then, without pretension, will retire into the multitude because
he did the good act, not for himself, but for the cause of good!
If you, my brethren meet such a man, you will see the personification of
brotherly love, relief and truth; and you will have found the ideal of a
freemason.[NOTES]
Finally, my brethren, as our fraternity has been formed and
perfected in complete unanimity and concord, in which we all greatly rejoice,
so may it continue until time shall be no more. May you long enjoy every
satisfaction and delight which disinterested friendship can afford. Within your
peaceful walls may your children’s children celebrate with joy and gratitude
the annual recurrence of this auspicious solemnity. And may the genuine tenets
of our time-honoured Institution be transmitted through your Lodges pure and
unimpaired from generation to generation.[NOTES]
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