Free Masonry - The Masonic Trowel

34 PRETENSIONS OF FREE MASONRY.
CHAPTER VII.
" Wc know thee by thy apron white
" An architect to be ;
" We know thee by thy trowel bright
" Well skilled in Masonry."
THE ancient pretensions of this institution have been sufficiently
discussed, to show that Free Masonry is not impervious
to objections. Its armour of wonder has been
severely struck, and the reverberation is emptiness. The
hand that gave the blow is not palsied; and why should
the spirit faint ? How many spears are sharpened for the
fight, cannot now be known; but truly the pretensions of
Masonry have been hitherto ks eggs that are left; and although
gathered in the open day, and in the face of the
sun, " there was none that moved the wing, or opened the
mouth, or peeped." .
Extraordinary pretensions excite suspicion; solid merit
and real excellence confide in their own powers of recommendation,
and avoid splendid professions. The magnificent
pretensions of Masonry, like all braggarts, are cowards:
met boldly, they faint away; there is no more spirit in them.
The world is full of falsehood, which ever conceals its
own name. Its tendency is not on that account the less
pernicious. Men may most innocently imbibe and maintain
wrong views; yet not with impunity: wrong opinions
tend to wrong conduct, and error, like poison, is poison still,
though taken by the unsuspecting.*
The subject of Free Masonry has distressed me. Its pre-
* " Whether we are hurt by a mad, or a blind man, the pain is still the
same."