Right Worshipful Grand Master, and ye, my much esteemed Brethren,-Institutions, religious or civil, if not founded on the strictest rules of propriety, will soon sink into ruin. By the perpetuity we must necessarily distinguish the propriety of the institution.
From this argument men are led to determine that our society is supported by the purest maxims, as it has continued through' innumerable ages unshaken in its principles, and uncorrupted by innovations.
We are not to search for our antiquity in the mythology of Greece or Rome - we advance into remoter ages. Religion was the original and constituent principle; a recognition of the Deity first distinguished us from the rest of mankind; our predecessors searched for the divine essence in the wonders displayed on the face of nature; they discovered supreme wisdom in the order of the universe - in the stellary system they traced the power, in the seasons and their changes the bounty, and in animal life the benevolence, of God; every argument brought with it conviction, and every object confirmation, that all the wonders daily displayed to the eye of man were only to be produced by some superlative being, and maintained by his superintendency. It was from such conviction that men began to class themselves in religious societies. - No rational mind could confess the being of a Supreme, from whose hand such bounties were poured forth, and by whose miraculous power such a complex existence as man was sustained (to whom even himself is a system of insoluble miracles), without conceiving that, for the attainment of his approbation, we should fill our souls with gratitude, and imitate his universal benevolence.
In benevolence is comprehended the whole law of society; and, whilst we weigh our obligations towards mankind by the divine assay, "Love thy neighbor as thyself," we must deduce this second rule, which includes all the moral law, "Do unto all men as thou wouldst they should do unto thee."
The natural wants and infirmities of human
life would very early be discovered, and the necessity of mutual
aids become the immediate result; but till those aids were regulated
by religious principles, and man's natural ferocity was subdued,
we may readily conceive few examples of virtue took place. Our
predecessors were the first who tasted of this felicity.
I may venture to assert, that it was the only consequence which
could ensue, whilst men were looking up to the Divinity through
his works, that they would conclude the sun was the region where,
in celestial glory, the Deity reposed.
We discover in the Amonian and Egyptian rites the most perfect remains of those originals to whom our society refers. We are told they esteemed the soul of man to be an emanation of the Supreme, and a spirit detached from the seraphic bands which filled the solar mansions and surrounded the throne of Majesty. They looked up to this grand luminary as the native realm from whence they were sent on this earthly pilgrimage, and to which they should, in the end, return. The figure of the sun was at once a memorial of their divine origin, a badge of the religious faith they professed, and a monitor of those principles which should conduct and ensure their restoration. How soon, or to what extreme, superstition and bigotry debased this emblem, is a research painful and unprofitable.
It was a custom, in remote antiquity, to consecrate and devote to the service of the Deity places and altars; the many instances in holy writ need not be enumerated to this assembly; it will suffice to mention that several of them were named* El and Bethel, the literal translation of which leaves no doubt of the consecration. From thence we derive the original composition of the two characters, the artificer and devotee; thence our present rules and maxims were deduced; and thence, also, arose the mixed assumption of these badges of architects and religious.
(* Gen xxviii. 18.)
It is not to be wondered that the first principles of natural religion should be extended hither from the regions of the east; for we are told, by authors of undoubted authority, the Germans and Scandinavians, in very early ages, had received the Amonian rites;* the Amonians also possessed all the borders of the Mediterranean; the Phoenicians and their allies, for merchandise, gained access to the coast of Britain. Amongst the many tribes of Amonians which spread themselves abroad were to be found a people who were styled Anakim, and were descended of the sons of Anak; they were particularly famous for architecture, which, according to the authority of Herodotus, they introduced into Greece. In all parts whither they came they erected noble structures, eminent for their beauty and splendor, which they dedicated to the Deity. Wherever they settled they were remarkable for their superiority in science, and particularly for their skill in building. Whenever the hands of our brethren have been exercised in architecture, they have been employed as devotees in erecting temples to the service of Heaven. We find them with Moses in the wilderness,** and with Solomon at Jerusalem, under the distinctions of the Righteous and Wise-hearted. The idolatrous and impious*** were not admitted to partake in the acceptable service, in which alone clean hands (hands unstained with the works of iniquity) and pious hearts, which had received the beatific gift of divine wisdom, could be received to the labor.
(* Bryant's Analysis)
(** Exodus, xxxi. 1 Kings, v. 2 Chron. ii)
(*** The Samaritans being idolators)
After the benign influence of Christianity prevailed, and, with healing in her wings, had passed through Europe, religious works continued to attend this society, and grew into great splendor in the foundation of monasteries and abbeys. Many holy artificers attended the crusades,* for the purpose of building churches in Palestine. In our first stage we see the devotee, with his own hands, erecting the sacred column, which he sanctifies with the name of El, - literally implying, "The true God," - where he performed his religious offices; the place having been rendered holy by the presence of the Deity, as it was with Jacob. In the second and third classes we observe them divided in two orders, and those who labored were distinct from the rest of the brethren; yet there was no diminution of honor in the one, or increase of pre-eminence in the other - they were all Masons.
(* The Anglo-Saxon Antiq.)
Our reverend and learned brother, Dr. Scott, in his excellent oration, pointed out to us that the progressive advancements in human civilization were perfectly distinguished by the steps of architecture. As men arose from the state of nature, through the cultivation of society, the genius of art was developed and set forth, to contribute to the ease and elegance of human life; from the cavern and grotto, which first sheltered the human race from the inclemency of seasons, edifices more commodious were invented. As the joys of common intercourse and mutual aids were experienced, men exercised their talents in projecting suitable structures to receive the growing societies; and, at length, places for divine worship, where congregations might assemble, were devised. In the process of ages these talents experienced a refinement; elegance took place, and proportion, symmetry, and ornament were studied. As the cavern had furnished the first idea of the mansion, and as the sacred groves and forests, held to be hallowed in the primitive ages, had given the first model of columns and arches for temples,* so it can be no matter of astonishment that men, who had formed their original plan from nature, should resort to nature for their lessons of proportion and ornament to complete their labors. The eye that was charmed with the fair sex, the heart that was conscious of woman's elegance and beauty, would instantly catch the idea from thence, and, fired with this favorite object, transpose the fair symmetry to the system he was studying. It was a natural transposition-nothing could be conceived more likely to refine the maxims of the architect's design, who was touched with such passion and sentiment as the poet happily expresses : --
"On she came;
Grace was in all her steps, heaven in her eye,
In ev'ry gesture dignity and love.
(He) led her, blushing like the morn; all heaven
And happy constellations, on that hour,
Shed their selectest influence; the earth
Gave sign of gratulation, and each hill;
Joyous the birds; fresh gales and gentle airs
Whisper'd it to the woods, and, from their wings,
Flung roses-flung odors from the spicy shrub,
Desporting, till the amorous bird of night
Sung spousal, and hid haste the evening star
On his hill top to light the bridal lamp."
(Milton's Panadise Lost.)
(* Archaeologia, vol. i., p. 40.)
This day we dedicate a house to the peculiar services of our society: the secrets and mysteries there to be exercised are wholly consistent with the purest maxims of the Christian revelation: they are peculiar to us in form, but, in effect, pertinent to the principles of every moral and religious man. The first character of a Mason which passes these gates and is revealed to the eyes of the world is charity; the amiableness of this part of our profession deifies this panegyric. The heart of humanity feels its divine influence; compassion acknowledges kindred with the spirits of Heaven. We do not arrogate to ourselves a more sublime possession of this virtue than others; but we profess it an ordination which we are bound to obey, and a duty which we must necessarily perform. The ordinary motives are felt by this whole assembly: in benevolence to our fellow-creatures we are all Masons. The miseries of human life, the misfortunes of mankind, are equally objects with all; but we singularly attach ourselves to their relief.
The next distinguishing characteristic is truth; excellent as the duty may seem, difficult in its accomplishments, and happy in its consequences, no man, professing himself a Mason, stands approved without possessing this jewel uncontaminated with the fashions of the age; pure as the celestial ray first descended, unstained by rhetorications and mental reservation, she is possessed by us, wholly, undivided, and in the simplest character. We must not only speak of each other nothing but truth, but we must pronounce all that is truth; for suppression is a crime as well as an infringement. Thus it is with us, the guilty seldom escape retribution, or the meritorious go without a reward.
I have already trespassed on this audience; time so limited will not suffer me to expatiate on all the excellencies of our order. It must suffice that I express a sincere hope, as our maxims are void of offence, that they will claim the patronage of the good and wise. As we avow our fidelity to the best of kings, and our firm attachment to the excellent constitution and laws of this realm, we may still possess the support and countenance of government. And as our internal rules are devised for the honor, protection, and welfare of each individual of the society, I entreat that every member, by his con-duct, may prove to the observing world it is not a superficial profession which distinguishes him to be a Mason, but his virtue, his temperance, and morality.
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