Show 1 I INSPIRATION IN INTHE INTHE I THE SOUTH t t t BY W J BARRETTE I 1 II I read in orthodox holy writ that be because because cause of the transgressions of our first forebears in that they the did eat cat of the forbidden tree of knowledge sentence was pronounced upon them and through them upon us In the sweat t of thy th brow shall thou eat bread This was the first announcement of the doc doe doctrine doctrine trine of work I ant ani no theologian and the whys and wherefores of that alle allegory allegory gory I do confess are beyond me But this I do know that in honest toil til is the greatest safeguard to physical mental and moral health Older than all aU preached gospels is this Inarticulate but In Ineradicable Ineradicable Ineradicable eradicable forever enduring gospel Work and therein have welt well being So said Thomas Carlyle And then I read further from the same high authority that after ages aged of toll toil and with that toll toil much of bitter strife among men there came one whose message was peace on earth and anO good will toward men inca And in this symbol I see an Inspiration tion to lay la close to our hearts the vital vita meaning of thee two great concep conceptions conceptions the first as decreed by the grand architect of the universe and an the other oth r ras as taught by the Nazarene the first great advocate of ot peace among amon men mell It Masonry recognizes no caste there is only one aristocracy tolerated by b us usand usand usand and that aristocracy is not one of wealth nor of at family nor yet the for forgivable forgivable forgivable one of intellect pure and aIm sim simple Im plenn nay none of these but rather the aristocracy of excellence in toil toll excel excellence excellence excellence lence in service excellence In those th ac activities activities which make for the peace J and anti happiness of mankind I serve was the crested motto of the first Teutonic prince In England and had nis successors successors successors sors abided by the spirit as they ther have by b the mere letter of that motto then had many unhappy pages in English history never been written In such service and hi In n the th rivalry for that sort of ot excellence no human individuality Is sacrificed It Is rather intensified and developed We Ve Wedo Wedo Vedo do not mean when we e the merit of toil toll and the blessings of rot f har liar harmony harmony mony and peace that the Individual shall forfeit his individuality or bow his head to prince or give his soul into the keeping of any an priest God gave gavel to each man his own life Ufa to live and whether he gave him a hundred talents or one they are his and his lila c nl Not a single tone is lost when a har liar harmony harmon mony mon of sounds is produced Fa t note of the several is as Individual and as ax distinctly distinct itself as a if mode made alone yet et the waves of sound from froni the different notes vibrating together each note contributing its share without loss of ot its own character or individuality pro produce produce duce the most pleasing of sounds the S harmony harmon To a similar harmony among men do we aspire Nor does it symbolize any sacrifice of virility nor any insipidness l of oi charac character ter nor any am lunching flinching at meting out righteous judgment when wrong wron is done Did not the Great creat peacemaker in wrath scourge the niney mme changers from toni the temple did he 11 not defy the tho th howling im mob hold 1111 iti them m at i bay h and I u Ull a Jl nJ vv a 11 w JI L HV W J 9 v u Ull a Jl nJ vv a 11 w JI L HV W J 9 v taunt them that le Je who was without sin might cast ca t the first sone We e live by b our ideals these thes make or unmake the man tends to raise and strengthen the ideals in oven even tho the weakest of us makes for manhood tends to lower or weaken the ideals in oven men the best bestor of or men tends to o rag manhood with it womanhood to the abyss We e are diverse in our natures and anti that it is so adds to the zest of o life II creeds vary tastes differ dilfer it is a trite saying that one mans mafs meat is IR another mans poison DOtson But wo we can cnn all agree upon fundamentals Truth should never neer be any an mans poison polson Honor in integrity Integrity cleanliness of character r de tie decency i loyalty manhood a true truo rever reverence reverence I ence for tor the Most High these be they the upon which the souls of ot all of us UP may feast cast in unison Even Een the individual man Is a com corn complex complex plex and variant creature Would a aman aman aman man know himself elf let lar Ii him look into Inte the recesses of his own soul and see se there a curious gathering together ther of fir the forces of good goo and evil courage and cowardice love loe and hate hope and an fear reverence and a diabolical ribald ribaldry ry r loyalty and the lace of Judas him himself himself self seU None of ot us attain perfection we all alt fall far short of the full of ot manhood for we are but human But Hut ButIn HutIn Butin In effort there is strength in struggle there is development ana amid in harmon harmonizing harmonIzing harmonizing izing ourselves not only with our brother man but with ourselves Js u s the greatest attainment Worshipful sir there ther are gathered here within the sound of your our voice vol e mayhap some several hundred Masons gathered here from I know not how many states who each of us believe belleve that our Ideals are raised our lives lles harmonized to a degree at least leui our courage strengthened our knowledge I Of f and our belief bellet in our increased by the Instruction and Inspiration given n us by this sim situ simple simple pie Instrument of manual toll As used by us it ta s only a sym symbol bol but a symbol s of lofty things s It suggests that this gathering athern Is s not one ono for pastime or amusement but tut for a avital avital vital human living purpose Our sym sm symbolism holism and our drama are arc not idle idie forms they exemplify the great Issues of this mortal life They teach not less 1 ls praying pra but more doing doln not less les preaching but more practicing pra I read lengthy and learned learnt tl discus discussions discussions discussions upon the antiquity of ot Masonry What difference whether historically it began bf gan with the artisans o ot of th h middle or nr whether In I some ome form fonn ro or r an I other th with the builders of King IDA Solo Solomons mons finns temple or whether Indeed as not a few It had lt ith origin in mysticisms of ot India It is now what we no make wake it and as is c It is IB exemplified in inus Inus us tie so 5 will vill It be Interpreted bj by b those thoe who wha are not of us so will it be known and taught by Those who shall Rhall come after us Shall we forget that we to ta today tad today day d y are making history Sl an we bo b bof of those thoe who forget torget th t today is the most mot crucial vital day da of them all alland alland alland and that man ana tomorrow is tho the will o 0 the time wisp that no man can canever canever ever oel overtake Any An man with a fair amount of for fortitude fortitude fortitude can go bravely into tn the s dark darl vailey valle of ot the shadow and an to of his hands in his last long sleep steep Us lix but buta a submission to na nO i tures universal law but who wIo of us u tm does courageously l sanely sane wisely wl ely hope hopefully hopefully fully strom perform that other more Intricate problem That of ot living living lIying today tollay And what will the centuries of Masonry avail if we fail pow now When hen you eliminate from mans life Ufe the th need d dof of effort effot when you ou eliminate the In Inspiration to bo be b and do lor tor others as aswell a aw aswell well w ll as ones self then thou but a step back to savagery not merely merel the say sav savagery sa agery of unarmed nakedness but hut the savagery of hate and lust and rapine even een In the tIme very midst of civilization Itself In the time law taught by h title till symbol lies the great strength and an enduring qualities of Masonry Nations have havo grown up come to flower and gone to decay deca creeds and systems of religions religion have blossomed and tiled flied human institutions institutions of all sorts Forts have existed for a time and anti passed away awa They fhe were nil all au inherently weak wak in this that part san ship and polemics led to division the strong and the time arrogant dominated the weak Strife arose for place antI and power the individual man was sari sacrificed sa rl and destruction was Ine Masonry has survived these thee all with without without out without persecuting Think what the tho world at a largo large lar might be were these teachings but hut universal universally ly acted upon What then of ot the standing stand InS armies that encumber the earth When hen then of ot the wars of men Den Denby by land and at sea What then of the arraying of class against class What hat then of orthe the between predatory in insolent Insolent insolent solent wealth upon the one hand and grinding poverty on the other What then of all the other manifestations of mans inhumanity to man mair ma and the trail of mourning thousands they all alt leave l ave behind That these all be wiped out is a consummation devoutly to he wished Where is there then sir the inspiration to work and to agree airee a ree and then to hope the inspiration to learn to know and understand ind be believe behave have lieve in our fellowmen that in the th end It may be given to all of t f us those to whom Gods Gads mysteries are as an open book and those to whom they thc seem eem inscrutable and a d beyond human ken kento to all it may ma he be glen given to know somewhat of what was really meant m ant by I Him who said raid And the second Is IB like I unto it thou shall love thy as thyself th self and that the day shall snail in indeed Indeed indeed deed come when men shall recast ther th t swords into plow Io shares phares and homing doves shall build their nests in Sn th the cannons mouth There is Ii here the Inspiration to prove proe by b dally daily experience that men nien of different attainments different di beliefs different callings different tempera temperaments temperaments ments meats may and do when they the have a common moral purpose and are each attuned to the doctrine of ot mutual help and development and tho doing of right for rights own sweet sake make malee a moral and spiritual harmony harmon a har harman nony man that must in truth be pleasing to o the Most High himself and such su h a harmony as shall ahall continue to sound through the ages to come until blend blendIng lag Ing ng with the singing of the morning stars it shall with them usher in a anew anew anew new and more glorious day This trowel inspires i these thoughts thought g gin J hi in i the south 1 4 |