Charity, in the works of moralists, is defined to be the love of our Brethren, or a kind of brotherly affection, by which we are to understand that generous principle of the soul, which respects the human species as one family, created by an All-wise Being, and placed on this globe for the mutual assistance of each other; it must be unfeigned, constant, and out of no other design than their happiness : this is the attractive principle, or power, that draws men together and unites them in bodies politic, families, societies, and the various orders and denominations among men. Such are the general sentiments entertained of this virtue, and what the moralists define it to be at this day.
But as most of these are partial, contracted,
or confined to a particular country, religion, or opinion; our
order, on the contrary, is calculated to unite mankind as one
family: every individual of which is cemented with the rest, and
has a just claim to friendship and regard.
You are taught that the Divine Artificer has thus cemented you,
for the preservation of harmony, in that system of things which
his unerring wisdom has thought fit to establish: that it is not
your own immediate endeavors to which you are indebted for what
you enjoy; the diligence by which you have acquired, or the genius
by which you have commanded the goods of fortune, were given to
you by the Supreme Benevolence; and given not as emoluments to
yourselves only, or only to be employed for your own advantage;
that he is the common Father of all; that he regards the whole
species as his children, nor excludes the meanest from his paternal
care; and that his mercies (however partially they may seem to
be bestowed) are not given for the advantage of a few, but of
the whole: if he, therefore, have dealt more favorably with you
than with thousands around you, equally the works of his hands,
and who have the same claim to his beneficence, look upon yourselves
as the happy agents employed by him for distributing his goodness
to others; show, by your love to man, your gratitude to God; be
truly thankful, and obey his precepts. "Ye are only the stewards
of his unlimited bounty," and are, therefore, to look upon
every human creature, "whatever has the character of a man,
and wears the same image of God that you do," as truly your
brethren, and having a just claim to your kindness.
The objects of true charity, among Masons, are merit and virtue in distress; persons who are incapable of extricating themselves from misfortunes in the journey through life; industrious men, from inevitable accidents and acts of providence, fallen into ruin; widows left survivors of their husbands, by whose labors they subsisted; orphans, in tender years, left naked to the world; and the aged, whose spirits are exhausted, whose arms are embraced by time, and thereby rendered unable to procure for themselves that sustenance they could accomplish in their youthful days.
For which purpose, the feelings of the heart ought to direct the hand of charity, which requires us to be divested of every idea of superiority, and to estimate ourselves as being of the same rank and race of men. In this disposition of mind we may be susceptible of those sentiments which charity delighteth in; and feel the woes and miseries of others with a genuine and true sympathy of soul: in sincerity and truth, and without dissimulation or hypocrisy, we should be always ready to commiserate distress; our hand ever ready to relieve it, and bind up the hearts which sorrow has broken; and thus experience the exalted happiness of communicating happiness to others.
Whilst free from care, we are enjoying the blessings of Providence, we should not forget to raise the drooping spirits, and exhilarate the desponding hearts of our indigent brethren; and whilst we know one worthy brother deprived of the necessaries of life, we ought not to revel in its superfluities.
The very key-stone, as it were, of our mystical fabric is Charity. Let us cherish this amiable virtue, let us consider it as the vital principle of the society, the constant rule of our actions, and the just square by which we regulate our dealings with all mankind. And though pity may plead, in more tender and eloquent terms, for the distresses of a brother, yet let us be ready to extend the hand of relief, as far as our circumstances will admit, to misfortunes of every kind, wherever they meet us.
But money is not the only thing the unfortunate stand in need of; compassion points out many resources, to those who are not rich, for the relief of the indigent; such as consolation, advice, protection, &c. The distressed often stand in need only of a tongue to make known their complaints: they often want no more than a word which they cannot speak, a reason they are ashamed to give, or entrance at the door of a great man, which they cannot obtain.
Therefore, whilst you are in plenty, regaling and enjoying the blessings sent you by a beneficent Parent of the universe, you will not be deaf to the pathetic voice of compassion, or divest yourselves of benevolent thoughts and social affections; you will not shut out from your minds the calamities of distressed brethren, to whom a morsel of bread is wanting; nor forget your obligations as men, your obligations as Masons, to relieve them.
When you have afforded the children of misfortune such consolation as prudence directs, you will enjoy the pleasures presented to you with greater relish: I say as prudence directs; for you are not under such obligations to liberality that nothing will excuse you from it: Masonry teaches you, that charity must be preceded by justice: and unless. a distressed brother's calamities call for instant assistance, when humanity prompts you to bestow bounties; or when others call upon you so to do; you must not be unmindful of those whom Nature has more immediately connected to you.
If you cannot bestow alms on the necessitous, you may recommend them to those who can; you may drop a tear over their misfortunes, and in something or other be serviceable to them; and in whatever way you can contribute your mite. Charity with pleasure will accept of it; she will consider the principles by which you were influenced, and if these were proper, she will tell you, you have done your duty, that you have her applause, and that, in due time, you will plenteously gather the happy fruits of your benevolence.
The man who loves his fellow-creatures, who sympathizes in their miseries, and who anxiously wishes it was in his power to relieve them, though his circumstances allow him to give no pecuniary assistance, is very charitable: for gifts and alms are the expressions, not the essence of this virtue. A man may bestow great sums on the poor and indigent without being charitable; and may be charitable when he is not able to bestow any thing. Charity, therefore, is a habit of good-will or benevolence in the soul, which disposes us to the love, assistance, and relief of mankind, especially of those who stand in need of it.
By inspiring gladness into a heart oppressed with want, you receive the most rapturous, the most durable pleasure, of which the heart is capable: and so far as you are thoroughly sensible of the satisfaction which arises from doing good, and that the best way of enlarging human happiness is by communicating it to others, so truly are you Masons; and as such you will always have a tear of tenderness ready to shed over the unfortunate, and be ever ready to do them kind offices; your hands will never be shut when benevolence commands them to be opened; and when a collection is to be made for charitable purposes, you will cheerfully throw in your mite to increase it.
Whatever collection is now made, you may be assured will be religiously appropriated for the purposes for which you design it; industrious, but unfortunate brethren, and not the idle and dissolute, will be partakers of it: some part of it will go to the dwellings of poverty and disease, there to pro cure bread for the hungry, and medicines for the sick; and some part of it will rejoice the hearts of the aged.
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