POSTERITY, to record the wise doctrines and religious principles of the first professors of the true worship, have adopted these descriptions of the Lodge in which they have assembled; and maintain those religious tenets which nature dictates, gratitude to Him under whom we exist; and working in the acceptable service of Him, who rejoiceth in the upright man.

-as such is a

As such it is to be a Free Mason Lodge of Masons-as such are the principles of this society; as these were the original institutions of our brotherhood, let us hold ourselves above the ridicule of the ignorant, and the scoffing of the vulgar ;-Envy is the parent of wicked works; and whilst we perform our duties in life with integrity, and maintain our principles as Masons, with fidelity and truth, malice cannot reach our peace, or persecution shake our minds, safe in the rectitude of our hearts and the inoffensiveness of our consciences.

K

LECTURE V.

THE FURNITURE OF THE LODGE.

It is with pleasure I pursue the duty I have imposed upon myself, to give solutions of the mysteries in Masonry; which to minds inattentive to the real import of the objects in their view, might remain undiscovered; and the professor of masonry might pass on, without receiving a just sense of those dignities which he hath assumed.

I HAVE defined what is intended to be represented by a Lodge, and its origin and nature; it is now my duty to discover to you the import of the Furniture of a Lodge.

As Solomon at Jerusalem carried into the Jewish temple all the vessels and instruments requisite for the service of Jehovah, according to the law of his people; so we Masons, as workers in moral duties, and as servants of the Great Architect of the world, have before us, those emblems which must constantly remind us of what we are, and what is required of us.

THE third emanation of Abrax, in the Gnostic hierarchy, was Phronasis, the emblem of Prudence, which is the first and most exalted object that demands our attention, in the lodge.-it is placed in the centre ever to be present to the eye of the mason, that his heart may be attentive to her dictates, and stedfast in her laws; for Prudence is the rule of all Virtues ;

prudence is the path which leads to every degree of propriety;-prudence is the channel whence self-approbation flows for ever;-she leads us forth to worthy actions, and as a Blazing Star, enlightneth us through the dreary and darksome paths of this life.

VIRTUE by moralists is defined to be that sted"fast purpose and firm will of doing those things "which nature hath dictated to us, as the best and "most salutary;;—a habit of the soul by which man"kind are inclined to do the things which are upright "and good, and to avoid those that are evil"-In short, virtue is moral honesty and comprehends good principles.

Of the Virtues of which Prudence is the rule, there are called Cardinal Virtues, of which, properly, a Mason should be possessed,-Fortitude, Temperance and Justice; for without these, the name of Mason is an empty title, and but a painted bubble,

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THAT Fortitude should be the characteristic of a Mason, we need not argue; by which, in the midst of pressing evils, he is enabled always to do that which is agreeable to the dictates of right reason.

TEMPERANCE also must be one of his stedfast principles, being a moderating or restraining of our affections and passions, especially in sobriety and chastity. We regard Temperance, under the various definitions of moralists, as constituting honesty, decency, and bashfulness; and in its potential parts, instituting meekness, clemency, and modesty.

WE profess justice as dictating to us to do right to all, and to yield to every man what belongeth to him.

THE cardinal virtues, prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice, hold in their train the inferior powers of peace, concord, quietness, liberty, safety, honor, felicity, piety, and charity, with many others which were adored by the ancients in those ages, when they confounded mythology with the worship of the Divinity. Within the starry girdle of prudence, all the virtues are enfolded.

WE may apply this emblem to a still more religious import --it may be said to represent the star which led the wise men to Bethlehem, proclaiming to mankind the nativity of the Son of God, and here conducting our spiritual progress to the author of redemption.

As the steps of man tread in the various and uncertain incidents of life; as our days are chequered with a strange contrariety of events, and our passage thro' this existence, though sometimes attended with prosperous circumstances, is 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 human existence, that there is no station in which pride can be stably founded ---all-men in birth and in the

grave are on the level.--.Whilst we tread on this Mosaic work, let our 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.

As more immediate guides for a free mason, the lodge is furnished with unerring rules, whereby he shall form his conduct; -the book of his law is laid before him, that he may not say through ignorance he erred; -whatever the great Architect of the world hath dictated to mankind, as the mode in which he would be served, and the path in which man is to tread to obtain his approbation;-whatever precepts he hath administered, and with whatever laws he hath inspired the sages of old, the same are faithfully comprized in the book of the law of masonry. That book, which is never closed in any lodge, reveals the duties which the great Master of all exacts from us;-open to every eye, comprehensible to every mind; then who shall say among us, that he knoweth not the acceptable service.

Bur as the frailty of human nature constantly wageth war with truth, and man's infirmities struggle with his virtues; to aid and conduct every mason, the master holdeth the compass, limiting the distance, progress, and circumference of the work: he dictateth the manners, he giveth the direction of the design, and delineateth each portion and part of the labour; assigning to each his province and his order. And such is his mastership, that each part, when asunder, seemeth irregular and without form; yet when put together, like the building of the temple at Jerusalem,