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and if, in addition to his monthly attendance at the Lodge, the industrious Brother were to devote a single hour every day to the pursuit, a very brief period would suffice to acquire a thorough knowledge of the science, and make him a better Mason than many who have been bold enough to occupy the Chair of a Lodge, and have undertaken the arduous task of instructing others without subjecting themselves to the same regulated course of discipline.

After the above process he may read everything that has been written on the subject, with a Common Place Book at hand to note down any memorabilia which he may think worthy of being preserved for future reference. It may be somewhat difficult to prescribe a course of reading which is applicable to every case, because much will depend on previous acquirements, habits of thought, education, and talent. The publications on Masonry, however, are not so numerous but that they may be read during the leisure hours which are at every person's disposal, however urgent the calls of business or the engagements of life may be; and if the elementary books be first mastered, he may pass on pleasantly to those which are more abstruse, in the full assurance that with the advantage of a clear head and a good understanding, his perseverance will be rewarded with success. Nihil est tam utile, quod in transitu prosit.

Before the Union, Masonry was famous for its convivialities during Lodge hours, in compliance with a law which directed "the Steward to provide good cheer against the hour of Refreshment, and to

call on each fellow to defray his share of the reckoning." This regulation was not expunged at the Union by any formal resolution, but was quietly superseded and rendered impracticable by removing the tables from the centre of the room, and placing benches against the wall for the accommodation of the Brethren. The old rule in the York Constitutions directed that the men should not be set to work before the rising of the sun; that they should be called from Labour to Refreshment at H. xii., and close their work for rest at sunset. But under the present system the demands of H. xii. are not complied with, the Brethren being kept at Labour from sunrise to sunset, and Refreshment substituted for repose in the shape of a supper.

In compliance with this ancient regulation, the Lodge was formerly called from Labour to Refreshment at the conclusion of every section of the Lecture, and a charge applicable to the subject that had been illustrated was drunk in a bumper, accompanied occasionally by a song, and the process of 66 DRIVING PILES." After which the duties of Masonic Labour were resumed, to be again succeeded by Refreshment; and so they alternated till the closing of the Lodge.

It was the period when the bon vivant was the only popular character in general society; and Freemasonry could not escape a contagion which affected every other class, and penetrated into the most private recesses even of royalty itself. But sooth to say, the practice, when moderated within the limits of decent decorum, as it was undoubtedly exercised in

our Lodges at the beginning of the present century, was fascinating, because it combined in a pleasing manner the utile dulce; and, while it was attractive without vice, it afforded a modest enjoyment without debauchery.

This primitive custom, however, is now obsolete in this country, and in the United States some of the Lodges have diverged into the opposite extreme, and enjoin total abstinence as the established rule to preserve the ebriety of the Lodge. And the practice may be extremely beneficial when the W. Master cannot restrain the cupidity of his Brethren on this point by any other regulation.

LECTURE XXV.

INDISPENSABLE

DUTIES.

"The great rule of duty may be compared to that celebrated rule of the philosophers, Nosce teipsum,-KNOW THYSELF; or, in other words, reflect upon the inward motions of thy heart, and observe thy demeanour to thyself; and this will faithfully admonish thee, and make thee skilful to discern what is the love and kindness which thou owest to others, and will enable thee to judge aright in all the instances of justice and humanity." -WHITBY.

"May temperance, fortitude, prudence, and justice, in conjunction with the three grand principles of Masonry,—brotherly love, relief, and truth,—be the constant support of every Mason." -SECTIONAL CHARGE.

THE recognition of the beauty and excellency of Masonic combinations increases upon us at every step of our inquiry. In a future Lecture we shall find the application of the Theological and Cardinal virtues under another aspect; but even here they are invested with interesting motives for reflection. Theologians have arranged the subject of this Lecture in the form of a triple triad, thus :—

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As these triads of virtue will receive due notice in other Lectures, I shall not inflict upon you a lengthened essay on each of them, although they are well worthy of it; but, on this occasion, I shall merely illustrate the great moral duties, so far as they apply to the teaching of Masonry.

We have no means of ascertaining with absolute certainty any particulars respecting this chief triad before the tenth century; but as the Constitutions of Athelstan were avowedly compiled from others of greater antiquity, we may reasonably conjecture that, in their general character, they embraced the same observances, and retained the same laws and doctrines as had been handed down from an unknown period. The first POINT, therefore, of these primitive Constitutions embodies this triad, which may be received as an unexceptionable test of a worthy Brother in the most ancient times. The form ran thus: "Every Mason shall cultivate brotherly love -the love of God-and a due respect for the Holy Christian Church." This sublime triad is purely moral and religious, and includes every injunction contained in the Decalogue. In our present system, however, it has been remoulded. Two of its constituent parts are still retained in the authorized Charge to an E. A. P., while the third, on which the former mainly rested, has been omitted to make room for the duty that we owe to ourselves, which indeed might with great propriety be included in the first member of the primitive triad.

In the moral Lecture appended to the Constitutions of Athelstan a Mason's personal duties are minutely delineated, whether in the Lodge, at work,

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