THE HULL THAT CONCEALS THE KERNEL
by M. W. B. J. Jordan Ichabod, from the address of the Grand Master of Arkansas
Freemasons' Monthly Magazine - 1857
"Our
principal tenets are Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. What can
be sounder and more deeply moral than our creed? What more
beautiful and simple than our tenets? That institution built upon
the sand (we have from high authority) must fall, but that which
is built upon a rock resists all floods and storms; and, amid
crumbling empires and falling dynasties, still lifts its time
honored head above the ruins, pursuing those labors of love and
good will to the human family, that have characterized
Freemasonry in all cries of its existence, Dr. Oliver very truly
says: ' There is something in Masonry deeper and better than
words and signs and ceremonies;' and I say that he who is content
with merely knowing how to work his way into a Lodge room
and to pass himself as a Brother, will never see the real
living beauties of Masonry - will never behold the dazzling glory
of the Mystic Temple - its moral, its Scriptural
excellencies. I admit that the outward defenses thrown around
our institution are absolutely necessary to preserve the
secrets of the Order from unhallowed hands, and the approach
of the impostor and the unworthy; and all Masons should
be perfect in a knowledge of them; but then we must bear
in mind that they are but the casket that contains the
precious jewel - the hull that conceals the kernel - the shell
to preserve the egg. The destruction of the one is the
inevitable ruin of the other. Preserve both. Masonry
itself is a living, active principle, possessing both a body and
a soul, as well as outward adornments. Its paraphernalia and
mystic signs are but the robes that enshrine and cover its vital,
living principles, with which every Mason should be deeply
imbued. We should all stand by and contend for the old land marks
of the Order, and never recognise the existence of any power
under the canopy of heaven to change those features of the
Masonic Ritual which mark its distinctiveness as a systems and
give it universality in the three symbolical Degrees. The
world may and ought to progress in the arts and sciences, in
philosophy and morals. In our efforts to do good, to alleviate
the sufferings of our species to dry the widow's tears, to
educate and relieve the orphan, to hush the sighs of affliction
and human woe, to shelter the homeless, feed the hungry, clothe
the naked and instruct the ignorant - in all these, as the divine
mission of our Order, we may progress. There should be
progression. But in the observance of our Ritual we should be
'Old Fogies.' While it behooves us to preserve, with vestal
vigilance, all the words, signs and ceremonies of the Ritual, we
should also dig deep for the pearls that lie concealed at the
bottom, and familiarize ourselves with our great principles, and
become well acquainted with those sublime doctrines so
beautifully taught and illustrated by our symbols. To do this
satisfactorily requires great diligence. We must not only commit
to memory our lectures, but should avail ourselves of all
the Masonic publications and authorized Masonic literature,
to which we can gain access. Time and perseverance accomplish
all things; and the beauties and moral excellencies of Masonry
are only to be discovered and rightly appreciated by the
industrious and diligent student. A lazy Mason is a
misnomer.'' back to top
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