Masonry and Geometry, anciently synonymous terms,......... Condition of, in United States, 1858,..... ................ " 2223 25 ............ 154 252 United States, condition of Masonry in 1858, in the,...... 18 Warden, Senior, Covenant of,.......... 66 Junior, Covenant of,... ...... 127 128 FREEMASON'S MONITOR. CHAPTER I. ORIGIN OF MASONRY AND ITS GENERAL ADVANTAGES.* FROM the commencement of the world, we may trace the foundation of Masonry. Ever since symmetry began, and harmony displayed her charms, our Order has had a being. During many ages, and in many different countries, it has flourished. In the dark periods of antiquity, when literature was in a low state, and the rude manners of our forefathers withheld from them that knowledge we now so amply share, Masonry diffused its influence. This science unveiled, arts arose, civilization took place, and the progress of knowledge and philosophy gradually dispelled the gloom of ignorance and barbarism. Government being settled, authority was given to laws, and the assemblies of the fraternity acquired the patronage of the great and the good, while the tenets of the profession were attended with unbounded utility. For ample proof of the antiquity of Masonry, that necessary foundation of its universality and unchangeability, see the writings of George Oliver, D. D., whose investigations under this head embrace the entire range of history, ancient and modern. A belief in the antiquity of Ma * The larger type is the text, as found in the Monitor; the paragraphs interspersed in smaller type are Mr. Morris's comments and notes. † Masonry and Geometry are sometimes used as synonymous terms. 18 ORIGIN AND ADVANTAGES OF MASONRY. sonry is the first requisite of a good teacher. Upon this all the legends of the Order are based. The dignity of the Institution depends mainly upon its age, and to disguise its gray hairs is to expose it to a contemptuous comparison with every society of modern date. Masonry is a science confined to no particular country, but diffused over the whole terrestrial globe. Wherever arts flourish, there it flourishes too. Add to this, that by secret and inviolable signs, carefully preserved among the fraternity throughout the world, Masonry becomes a universal language. Hence many advantages are gained: the distant Chinese, the wild Arab, and the American savage, will embrace a brother Briton, Franc or German; and will know, that beside the common ties of humanity, there is still a stronger obligation to induce him to kind and friendly offices. The spirit of the fulminating priest will be tamed; and a moral brother, though of a different persuasion, engage his esteem. Thus, through the influence of Masonry, which is reconcileable to the best policy, all those disputes, which embitter life, and sour the tempers of men, are avoided; while the common good, the general design of the Craft is zealously pursued. In the United States there are at this time (1858) 36 Grand Lodges, viz: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin. The aggregate number of Subordinate Lodges working under these is about 4500, having a membership in gross of 160,000 Master Masons. It is demonstrable that the United States has more Lodges and Masons than the whole of the world besides. "Lo what a goodly heritage, The Lord to us hath given!" Each symbolic degree has at least one sign that is universal. The tokens and words, there is reason to believe, are universal. |