ARGUMENT VI.

OF THE MOSAIC WORK AS A SYMBOL, AND THE VIRTUES OF FAITH, HOPE, CHARITY, TEMPERANCE, FORTITUDE, PRUDENCE, JUSTICE, BROTHERLY LOVE, RELIEF, AND TRUTH OF THE MASONIC INSTITUTIONS.

As the steps of man are attended by various and uncertain incidents of life, as our days are chequered with a strange contrariety of events, and our passage through this existence, though sometimes blessed with prosperous circumstances, yet often beset by a multitude of evils, hence is the lodge furnished with Mosaic work, to remind us of the precariousness of our state on earth.

To-day our feet tread in prosperity, to-morrow we totter on the uneven paths of weakness, temptation and adversity. Whilst this emblem is before us, we are instructed to boast of nothing, to have compassion, and give aid to those who are in adversity, to walk uprightly and with humility; for such is our existence that there is no station in which pride can be stably founded: all men are similar by nature, yet some are born to more elevated stations than others, but when in the grave all are upon a level-death destroying all distinctions.

Whilst we tread on the Mosaic work, let our

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ideas return to the original which it copies; and let every Mason act as the dictates of reason prompt him, to live in brotherly love, faith, hope and charity.

Faith is the foundation of justice, the bond of amity, and the chief support of society; we live by faith, we walk by faith; by faith we have a continual hope in the acknowledgment of a Supreme Being; by faith we are justified, accepted, and finally saved. A true Christian faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things If we with suitable true devotion maintain our Masonic profession, our faith will become a beam of light, and bring us to those blessed mansions where we shall be eternally happy with God, the Grand Architect of the Universe, whose Son died for us and rose again, that we might be justified through faith in his blood.

not seen.

Hope is the anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and enters into that within the veil; let a firm reliance in the Almighty's faithfulness animate our endeavours, and teach us to fix our hopes within the limits of his promises, so shall success attend us. If we believe a thing to be impossible, our despondency may render it so; but he that perseveres will ultimately overcome all difficulties.

Charity-oh, how lovely is the theme !—it is the brightest gem that can adorn our Masonic profession; it is the best test and the surest proof of religion. Benevolence, attended by heaven-born Charity, is an honour to the nation from whence it

springs, it is nourished, and cherished. Happy is the man who has sowed in his breast the seeds of benevolence, the produce thereof is love and peace; he envieth not his neighbour; he listeneth not to a tale, when reported by slander; revenge or malice hath no place in his breast; he forgives the injuries of men, and endeavours to blot them from his recollection. Let us, therefore, remember that we are Christians and Masons, being ready to listen to him who craveth our assistance, and from want never to withhold a liberal hand; so shall an heartfelt satisfaction reward our labour, and the produce of liberality most assuredly follow after.

By the exercise of brotherly love, we are taught to regard the whole human species as one family— the high and low, rich and poor; all created by one Almighty Being, and sent into the world for the aid, support, and protection of each other: on this grand principle Masonry unites men of every country, sect, and opinion, and conciliates true friendship amongst those who might otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance.

Relief is another tenet of our Masonic profession. To relieve the distressed is a duty incumbent upon every man, but more particularly upon Masons, who are linked together by one indissoluble chain of sincere affection; hence, to soothe the unhappy, to sympathise with their misfortunes, to compassionate their miseries, and restore peace to

the troubled mind, is the grand aim we have in view on this basis we establish our friendships and form our connections.

Truth is a divine attribute and the foundation of every Masonic virtue: to be good men and true, is a lesson we are taught at our initiation; on this grand theme we contemplate, and by its dictates we endeavour to rule and govern our lives and actions; hence hypocrisy and deceit are supposed to be unknown to us; sincerity and plain dealing are our distinguishing characteristics, while the heart and tongue join in promoting each other's welfare, and rejoicing in each other's prosperity.

Virtue is the highest attainment of the mind, the integrity, harmony, and just balance of affection ; the health, strength, and beauty of the soul. The perfection of virtue is to give reason its full scope, to obey the authority of conscience with alacrity, to exercise the duties of life with fortitude, in public to maintain justice, and in private to observe temperance. To love and adore God with disinterested affection, and to acquiesce in his kind providence with a calm resignation, is the surest means of attaining virtue, approaching to perfection and happiness, and leaving the unhappy ways of vice and misery.

Temperance is that due restraint of our passions and affections which renders the body tame and governable, and frees the mind from the allurements of vice: this virtue ought to be the practice

of every Mason, as it teaches him to avoid excess, or contracting any vicious or licentious habits that might necessarily lead him to betray his trust.

Fortitude is that noble and steady purpose of the soul, equally distant from rashness and cowardice, which enables us to undergo any labour or difficulty when found necessary or expedient, and ought to be deeply impressed on the breast of every Mason, as a fence of security against any attack that might be made upon him, by force or otherwise, to extort from him any of our royal secrets.'

Prudence teaches us to regulate our lives and actions according to the dictates of reason; being that habit of the mind by which men wisely judge and prudentially determine on all things relative to their present as well as their future happiness, and ought to be nicely attended to in all strange and mixed companies; never to let drop or slip the least hint whereby the secrets of our royal art may be illegally obtained.

Justice is the boundary of right, and constitutes

In the last century our brethren introduced many tests of fortitude, to prove the candidates before they were initiated; and hence the brand, which in those times referred to the initiation fee, was often considered in a much more formidable point of view, and was an object of dread to the nervous candidate, and his initiation frequently produced more entertainment to the brethren than the order would fairly justify. His fortitude was severely tested in some of the lodges; but such practices form no part of the system of Freemasonry, and have been many years abolished. - EDITOR.