realities _while they last_; and, in the Past, no more _un_real than
what we have acted in our waking hours. No man can say that he hath as
sure possession of the truth as of a chattel. When men entertain
opinions diametrically opposed to each other, and each is honest, who
shall decide which hath the Truth; and how can either say with certainty
that _he_ hath it? We know not what _is_ the truth. That we ourselves
believe and feel absolutely certain that our own belief is true, is in
reality not the slightest proof of the fact, seem it never so certain
and incapable of doubt to us. No man is responsible for the rightness of
his faith; but only for the _up_rightness of it.
Therefore no man hath or ever had a right to persecute another for his
belief; for there cannot be two antagonistic rights; and if one can
persecute another, because he himself is satisfied that the belief of
that other is erroneous, the other has, for the same reason, equally as
certain a right to persecute him.
The truth comes to us tinged and colored with our prejudices and our
preconceptions, which are as old as ourselves, and strong with a divine
force. It comes to us as the image of a rod comes to us through the
water, bent and distorted. An argument sinks into and convinces the mind
of one man, while from that of another it rebounds like a ball of ivory
dropped on marble. It is no merit in a man to have a particular faith,
excellent and sound and philosophic as it may be, when he imbibed it
with his mother's milk. It is no more a merit than his prejudices and
his passions.
The sincere Moslem has as much right to persecute us, as we to persecute
him; and therefore Masonry wisely requires no more than a belief in One
Great All-Powerful Deity, the Father and Preserver of the Universe.
Therefore it is she teaches her votaries that toleration is one of the
chief duties of every good Mason, a component part of that charity
without which we are mere hollow images of true Masons, mere sounding
brass and tinkling cymbals.
No evil hath so afflicted the world as intolerance of religious opinion.
The human beings it has slain in various ways, if once and together
brought to life, would make a nation of people; left to live and
increase, would have doubled the population of the civilized portion of
the globe; among which civilized portion it chiefly is that religious
wars are waged. The treasure and the human labor thus lost would have
made the earth a garden, in which, but for his evil passions, man might
now be as happy as in Eden.
No man truly obeys the Masonic law who _merely_ tolerates those whose
religious opinions are opposed to his own. Every man's opinions are his
own private property, and the rights of all men to maintain each his own
are perfectly equal. Merely to _tolerate_, to _bear with_ an opposing
opinion, is to assume it to be heretical; and assert the _right_ to
persecute, if we would; and claim our _toleration_ of it as a merit. The
Mason's creed goes further than that. No man, it holds, has any right in
any way to interfere with the religious belief of another. It holds that
each man is absolutely sovereign as to his own belief, and that belief
is a matter absolutely foreign to all who do not entertain the same
belief; and that, if there were any right of persecution at all, it
would in all cases be a mutual right; because one party has the same
right as the other to sit as judge in his own case; and God is the only
magistrate that can rightfully decide between them. To that great Judge,
Masonry refers the matter; and opening wide its portals, it invites to
enter there and live in peace and harmony, the Protestant, the Catholic,
the Jew, the Moslem; every man who will lead a truly virtuous and moral
life, love his brethren, minister to the sick and distressed, and
believe in the ONE, _All-Powerful, All-Wise, everywhere-Present_ GOD,
_Architect, Creator_, and _Preserver of all things_, by whose universal
law of Harmony ever rolls on this universe, the great, vast, infinite
circle of successive Death and Life:--to whose INEFFABLE NAME let all
true Masons pay profoundest homage! for whose thousand blessings poured
upon us, let us feel the sincerest gratitude, now, henceforth, and
forever!
We may well be tolerant of each other's creed; for in every faith there
are excellent moral precepts. Far in the South of Asia, Zoroaster taught
this doctrine:
"On commencing a journey. The Faithful should turn his thoughts
toward Ormuzd, and confess him, in the purity of his heart, to be
King of the World; he should love him, do him homage, and serve
him. He must be upright and charitable, despise the pleasures of
the body, and avoid pride and haughtiness, and vice in all its
forms, and especially falsehood, one of the basest sins of which,
man can be guilty. He must forget injuries and not avenge himself.
He must honor the memory of his parents and relatives. At night,
before retiring to sleep, he should rigorously examine his
conscience, and repent of the faults which weakness or ill-fortune
had caused him to commit."
He was required to pray for strength to persevere in the Good, and to
obtain forgiveness for his errors. It was his duty to confess his faults
to a Magus, or to a layman renowned for his virtues, or to the Sun.
Fasting and maceration were prohibited; and, on the contrary, it was his
duty suitably to nourish the body and to maintain its vigor, that his
soul might be strong to resist the Genius of Darkness; that he might
more attentively read the Divine Word, and have more courage to perform
noble deeds.
And in the North of Europe the Druids taught devotion to friends,
indulgence for reciprocal wrongs, love of deserved praise, prudence,
humanity, hospitality, respect for old age, disregard of the future,
temperance, contempt of death, and a chivalrous deference to woman.
Listen to these maxims from the Hava Maal, or Sublime Book of Odin:
"If thou hast a friend, visit him often; the path will grow over
with grass, and the trees soon cover it, if thou dost not
constantly walk upon it. He is a faithful friend, who, having but
two loaves, gives his friend one. Be never first to break with thy
friend; sorrow wrings the heart of him who has no one save himself
with whom to take counsel. There is no virtuous man who has not
some vice, no bad man who has not some virtue. Happy he who obtains
the praise and good-will of men; for all that depends on the will
of another is hazardous and uncertain. Riches flit away in the
twinkling of an eye; they are the most inconstant of friends;
flocks and herds perish, parents die, friends are not immortal,
thou thyself diest; I know but one thing that doth not die, the
judgment that is passed upon the dead. Be humane toward those whom
thou meetest on the road. If the guest that cometh to thy house is
a-cold, give him fire; the man who has journeyed over the mountains
needs food and dry garments. Mock not at the aged; for words full
of sense come often from the wrinkles of age. Be moderately wise,
and not over-prudent. Let no one seek to know his destiny, if he
would sleep tranquilly. There is no malady more cruel than to be
discontented with our lot. The glutton eats his own death; and the
wise man laughs at the fool's greediness. Nothing is more injurious
to the young than excessive drinking; the more one drinks the more
he loses his reason; the bird of forgetfulness sings before those
who intoxicate themselves, and wiles away their souls. Man devoid
of sense believes he will live always if he avoids war; but, if the
lances spare him, old age will give him no quarter. Better live
well than live long. When a man lights a fire in his house, death
comes before it goes out."
And thus said the Indian books:
"Honor thy father and mother. Never forget the benefits thou hast
received. Learn while thou art young. Be submissive to the laws of
thy country. Seek the company of virtuous men. Speak not of God but
with respect. Live on good terms with thy fellow-citizens. Remain
in thy proper place. Speak ill of no one. Mock at the bodily
infirmities of none. Pursue not unrelentingly a conquered enemy.
Strive to acquire a good reputation. Take counsel with wise men.
The more one learns, the more he acquires the faculty of learning.
Knowledge is the most permanent wealth. As well be dumb as
ignorant. The true use of knowledge is to distinguish good from
evil. Be not a subject of shame to thy parents. What one learns in
youth endures like the engraving upon a rock. He is wise who knows
himself. Let thy books be thy best friends. When thou attainest an
hundred years, cease to learn. Wisdom is solidly planted, even on
the shifting ocean. Deceive no one, not even thine enemy. Wisdom is
a treasure that everywhere commands its value. Speak mildly, even
to the poor. It is sweeter to forgive than to take vengeance.
Gaming and quarrels lead to misery. There is no true merit without
the practice of virtue. To honor our mother is the most fitting
homage we can pay the Divinity. There is no tranquil sleep without
a clear conscience. He badly understands his interest who breaks
his word."
Twenty-four centuries ago these were the Chinese Ethics:
"The Philosopher [Confucius] said, 'SAN! my doctrine is simple, and
easy to be understood.' THSENG-TSEU replied, 'that is certain.' The
Philosopher having gone out, the disciples asked what their master
had meant to say. THSENG-TSEU responded, 'The doctrine of our
Master consists solely in being upright of heart, and loving our
neighbor as we love ourself.'"
About a Century later, the Hebrew law said,
"If any man hate his neighbor ... then shall ye do unto him, as he
had thought to do unto his brother ... Better is a neighbor that
is near, than a brother afar off ... Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself."
In the same fifth century before Christ, SOCRATES the Grecian said,
"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
Three generations earlier, ZOROASTER had said to the Persians:
"Offer up thy grateful prayers to the Lord, the most just and pure
Ormuzd, the supreme and adorable God, who thus declared to his
Prophet Zerdusht: 'Hold it not meet to do unto others what thou
wouldst not desire done unto thyself; do that unto the people,
which, when done to thyself, is not disagreeable unto thee.'"
The same doctrine had been long taught in the schools of Babylon,
Alexandria, and Jerusalem. A Pagan declared to the Pharisee HILLEL, that
he was ready to embrace the Jewish religion, if he could make known to
him in a few words a summary of the whole law of Moses. "That which thou
likest not done to thyself," said Hillel, "do it not unto thy neighbor.
Therein is all the law: the rest is nothing but the commentary upon it."
"Nothing is more natural," said CONFUCIUS, "nothing more simple,
than the principles of that morality which I endeavor, by salutary
maxims, to inculcate in you ... It is humanity; which is to say,
that universal charity among all of our species, without
distinction. It is uprightness; that is, that rectitude of spirit
and of heart, which makes one seek for truth in everything, and
desire it, without deceiving one's self or others. It is, finally,
sincerity or good faith; which is to say, that frankness, that
openness of heart, tempered by self-reliance, which excludes all
feints and all disguising, as much in speech as in action."
To diffuse useful information, to further intellectual refinement, sure
forerunner of moral improvement, to hasten the coming of the great day,
when the dawn of general knowledge shall chase away the lazy, lingering
mists of ignorance and error, even from the base of the great social
pyramid, is indeed a high calling, in which the most splendid talents
and consummate virtue may well press onward, eager to bear a part. From
the Masonic ranks ought to go forth those whose genius and not their
ancestry ennoble them, to open to all ranks the temple of science, and
by their own example to make the humblest men emulous to climb steps no
longer inaccessible, and enter the unfolded gates burning in the sun.
The highest intellectual cultivation is perfectly compatible with the
daily cares and toils of working-men. A keen relish for the most sublime
truths of science belongs alike to every class of mankind. And, as
philosophy was taught in the sacred groves of Athens, and under the
Portico, and in the old Temples of Egypt and India, so in our Lodges
ought Knowledge to be dispensed, the Sciences taught, and the Lectures
become like the teachings of Socrates and Plato, of Agassiz and Cousin.
Real knowledge never permitted either turbulence or unbelief; but its
progress is the forerunner of liberality and enlightened toleration.
Whoso dreads these may well tremble; for he may be well assured that
their day is at length come, and must put to speedy flight the evil
spirits of tyranny and persecution, which haunted the long night now
gone down the sky. And it is to be hoped that the time will soon arrive,
when, as men will no longer suffer themselves to be led blindfolded in
ignorance, so will they no more yield to the vile principle of judging
and treating their fellow-creatures, not according to the intrinsic
merit of their _actions_, but according to the accidental and
involuntary coincidence of their _opinions_.
Whenever we come to treat with entire respect those who conscientiously
differ from ourselves, the only practical effect of a difference will
be, to make us enlighten the ignorance on one side or the other, from
which it springs, by instructing them, if it be theirs; ourselves, if it
be our own; to the end that the only kind of unanimity may be produced
which is desirable among rational beings,--the agreement proceeding from
full conviction after the freest discussion.
The Elu of Fifteen ought therefore to take the lead of his
fellow-citizen, not in frivolous amusements, not in the degrading
pursuits of the ambitious vulgar; but in the truly noble task of
enlightening the mass of his countrymen, and of leaving his own name
encircled, not with barbaric splendor, or attached to courtly gewgaws,
but illustrated by the honors most worthy of our rational nature;
coupled with the diffusion of knowledge, and gratefully pronounced by a
few, at least, whom his wise beneficence has rescued from ignorance and
vice.
We say to him, in the words of the great Roman: "Men in no respect so
nearly approach to the Deity, as when they confer benefits on men. To
serve and do good to as many as possible,--there is nothing greater in
your fortune than that you should be able, and nothing finer in your
nature, than that you should be desirous to do this." This is the true
mark for the aim of every man and Mason who either prizes the enjoyment
of pure happiness, or sets a right value upon a high and unsullied
renown. And if the benefactors of mankind, when they rest from their
noble labors, shall be permitted to enjoy hereafter, as an appropriate
reward of their virtue, the privilege of looking down upon the blessings
with which their exertions and charities, and perhaps their toils and
sufferings have clothed the scene of their former existence, it will
not, in a state of exalted purity and wisdom, be the founders of mighty
dynasties, the conquerors of new empires, the Cæsars, Alexanders, and
Tamerlanes; nor the mere Kings and Counsellors, Presidents and Senators,
who have lived for their party chiefly, and for their country only
incidentally, often sacrificing to their own aggrandizement or that of
their faction the good of their fellow-creatures;--it will not be they
who will be gratified by contemplating the monuments of their inglorious
fame; but those will enjoy that delight and march in that triumph, who
can trace the remote effects of their enlightened benevolence in the
improved condition of their species, and exult in the reflection, that
the change which they at last, perhaps after many years, survey, with
eyes that age and sorrow can make dim no more,--of Knowledge become
Power,--Virtue sharing that Empire,--Superstition dethroned, and Tyranny
exiled, is, if even only in some small and very slight degree, yet still
in _some_ degree, the fruit, precious if costly, and though late repaid
yet long enduring, of their own self-denial and strenuous exertion, of
their own mite of charity and aid to education wisely bestowed, and of
the hardships and hazards which they encountered here below.
Masonry requires of its Initiates and votaries nothing that is
impracticable. It does not demand that they should undertake to climb to
those lofty and sublime peaks of a theoretical and imaginary unpractical
virtue, high and cold and remote as the eternal snows that wrap the
shoulders of Chimborazo, and at least as inaccessible as they. It asks
that alone to be done which is easy to be done. It overtasks no one's
strength, and asks no one to go beyond his means and capacities. It does
not expect one whose business or profession yields him little more than
the wants of himself and his family require, and whose time is
necessarily occupied by his daily vocations, to abandon or neglect the
business by which he and his children live, and devote himself and his
means to the diffusion of knowledge among men. It does not expect him to
publish books for the people, or to lecture, to the ruin of his private
affairs, or to found academies and colleges, build up libraries, and
entitle himself to statues.
But it does require and expect every man of us to do something, within
and according to his means; and there is no Mason who _cannot_ do _some_
thing, if not alone, then by combination and association.
If a Lodge cannot aid in founding a school or an academy it can still do
something. It can educate one boy or girl, at least, the child of some
poor or departed brother. And it should never be forgotten, that in the
poorest unregarded child that seems abandoned to ignorance and vice
_may_ slumber the virtues of a Socrates, the intellect of a Bacon or a
Bossuet, the genius of a Shakespeare, the capacity to benefit mankind of
a Washington; and that in rescuing him from the mire in which he is
plunged, and giving him the means of education and development, the
Lodge that does it may be the direct and immediate means of conferring
upon the world as great a boon as that given it by John Faust the boy of
Mentz; may perpetuate the liberties of a country and change the
destinies of nations, and write a new chapter in the history of the
world.
For we never know the importance of the act we do. The daughter of
Pharaoh little thought what she was doing for the human race, and the
vast unimaginable consequences that depended on her charitable act, when
she drew the little child of a Hebrew woman from among the rushes that
grew along the bank of the Nile, and determined to rear it as if it were
her own.
How often has an act of charity, costing the doer little, given to the
world a great painter, a great musician, a great inventor! How often has
such an act developed the ragged boy into the benefactor of his race! On
what small and apparently unimportant circumstances have turned and
hinged the fates of the world's great conquerors. There is no law that
limits the returns that shall be reaped from a single good deed. The
widow's mite may not only be as acceptable to God, but may produce as
great results as the rich man's costly offering. The poorest boy, helped
by benevolence, may come to lead armies, to control senates, to decide
on peace and war, to dictate to cabinets; and his magnificent thoughts
and noble words may be law many years hereafter to millions of men yet
unborn.
But the opportunity to effect a great good does not often occur to any
one. It is worse than folly for one to lie idle and inert, and expect
the accident to befall him, by which his influences shall live forever.
He can expect that to happen, only in consequence of one or many or all
of a long series of acts. He can expect to benefit the world only as men
attain other results; by continuance by persistence, by a steady and
uniform habit of laboring for the enlightenment of the world, to the
extent of his means and capacity.
For it is, in all instances, by steady labor, by giving enough of
application to our work, and having enough of time for the doing of it,
by regular pains-taking, and the plying of constant assiduities, and not
by any process of legerdemain, that we secure the strength and the
staple of real excellence. It was thus that Demosthenes, clause after
clause, and sentence after sentence, elaborated to the uttermost his
immortal orations. It was thus that Newton pioneered his way, by the
steps of an ascending geometry, to the mechanism of the Heavens, and Le
Verrier added a planet to our Solar System.
It is a most erroneous opinion that those who have left the most
stupendous monuments of intellect behind them, were not differently
exercised from the rest of the species, but only differently gifted;
that they signalized themselves only by their talent, and hardly ever by
their industry; for it is in truth to the most strenuous application of
those commonplace faculties which are diffused among all, that they are
indebted for the glories which now encircle their remembrance and their
name.
We must not imagine it to be a vulgarizing of genius, that it should be
lighted up in any other way than by a direct inspiration from Heaven;
nor overlook the steadfastness of purpose, the devotion to some single
but great object, the unweariedness of labor that is given, not in
convulsive and preternatural throes, but by little and little as the
strength of the mind may bear it; the accumulation of many small
efforts, instead of a few grand and gigantic, but perhaps irregular
movements, on the part of energies that are marvellous; by which former
alone the great results are brought out that write their enduring
records on the face of the earth and in the history of nations and of
man.
We must not overlook these elements, to which genius owes the best and
proudest of her achievements; nor imagine that qualities so generally
possessed as patience and pains-taking, and resolute industry, have no
share in upholding a distinction so illustrious as that of the
benefactor of his kind.
We must not forget that great results are most ordinarily produced by an
aggregate of many contributions and exertions; as it is the invisible
particles of vapor, each separate and distinct from the other, that,
rising from the oceans and their bays and gulfs, from lakes and rivers,
and wide morasses and overflowed plains, float away as clouds, and
distill upon the earth in dews, and fall in showers and rain and snows
upon the broad plains and rude mountains, and make the great navigable
streams that are the arteries along which flows the life-blood of a
country.
And so Masonry can do much, if each Mason be content to do his share,
and if their united efforts are directed by wise counsels to a common
purpose. "It is for God and for Omnipotency to do mighty things in a
moment; but by degrees to grow to greatness is the course that He hath
left for man."
If Masonry will but be true to her mission, and Masons to their promises
and obligations--if, re-entering vigorously upon a career of
beneficence, she and they will but pursue it earnestly and
unfalteringly, remembering that our contributions to the cause of
charity and education then deserve the greatest credit when it costs us
something, the curtailing of a comfort or the relinquishment of a
luxury, to make them--if we will but give aid to what were once
Masonry's great schemes for human improvement, not fitfully and
spasmodically, but regularly and incessantly, as the vapors rise and the
springs run, and as the sun rises and the stars come up into the
heavens, then we may be sure that great results will be attained and a
great work done. And then it will most surely be seen that Masonry is
not effete or impotent, nor degenerated nor drooping to a fatal decay.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
XI.
SUBLIME ELECT OF THE TWELVE;
OR
PRINCE AMETH.
[Elu of the Twelve.]