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Origin Of Masonry,
And Its General Advantages
SECTION III
BOOK I - The Excellency of Masonry Displayed
illustrations of masonry
william preston
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. No
art, no science preceded it. 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 diffused unbounded utility.
Abstracting from the pure pleasures which arise from friendship so widely
constituted as that which subsists among masons, and which is scarcely possible
that any circumstance or occurrence can erase, masonry is a science confined to
no particular country but extends 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, it becomes an
universal language. Hence many advantages are gained. The distant Chinese, the
wild Arab, the American savage, will embrace a brother Briton; 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; for mutual toleration in religious opinions is one of the most
distinguishing and most valuable characteristics of the Craft. As all religions
teach morality, if a brother be found to act the part of a truly honest man, his
private speculative opinions are left to God and himself. Thus, through the
influence of Masonry, which is reconcilable to the best policy, all those
disputes which embitter life, and sour the tempers of men are avoided; while the
common good, the general object, is zealously pursed.
From this view of our system, its utility is sufficiently obvious. The
universal principles of the art unite, in one indissoluble bond of affection,
men of the most opposite tenets, of the most distant countries, and of the most
contradictory opinions; hence in every nation a Mason may find a friend, and in
every climate a home.
Such is the nature of the institution, that in a Lodge, union is cemented by
sincere attachment, and pleasure reciprocally communicated in the cheerful
observances of every obliging office. Virtue, the grand object in view, luminous
as the meridian sun, shines resurgent on the mind, enlivens the heart, and
heightens cool approbation into warm sympathy and cordial attention.
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