April, 2008
Page 10
¡±and improve myself in
Masonry¡±
Respecting the origin and early history of Masonry,
men differ and probably will continue to differ. While some date its birth with
the creation of the world, others trace it back to an age enveloped by the mist
of time.
¡°The erection of Solomon¡¯s Temple,¡± said Bro. De
Witt Clinton,¡± the retreat of the Druids,and the crusades to the holy land,
have been, at different times, especially assigned as sources of its existence.
¡°The order, harmony, and wonders of creation,
the principles of mathematical science, and the productions of architectural
skill, have been confounded with Freemasonry.
¡°Whenever a great philosopher has
enlightened the ancient world, he has been resolved, by a species of moral
metempyschosis, or intellectual chemistry into a Freemason; and in all the
secret institutions of antiquity, the footsteps of Lodges have been traced by
credulity.¡±
Various as are the opinions relative to the
infancy of Masonry, no one the least acquainted with history can fail to trace
her through centuries to a remote period.
Her principles and virtues he recognizes among
the good of every age; on her roll, he reads the names of illustrious men whose
lives have left an unfading halo around their memory; and on the pages of her
history, he beholds the record of her beneficent deeds dating back to the
obscure past.
More than this, if he rightly comprehends the
institution and its design, he regards it as the most perfect establishment
ever conceived and erected by man. He respects it for its antiquity, but he
reveres it for its purity and its intrinsic worth. It is not to him a moldy
relic of a barbarous age unsuited to the present wants of mankind; it is not a
society which has accomplished its mission, and is fit only to be buried with
decent ceremonies.
It is a system perfect in itself; no age can
improve it, and yet it is adapted to every age and every people; and it is as
young and vigorous now as it was centuries ago and as capable of producing
results beneficial to the human race. Such we believe to be the opinion of
Masons who value our time-honored order and desire to promote its interests.
Taken from the August, 2007 issue of the Northern Light