CHAPTER XII. COWANS.-JOHN DENT. 1794-1798. "It is frequently urged against Freemasonry, that some of those who belong to it are intemperate, profligate, and vicious. But nothing can be more unfair or unjust than to depreciate or condemn any institution, good in itself, on account of the faults of those who pretend to adhere to it. The abuse of a thing is no valid objection to its inherent goodness. Worthless characters are to be found occasionally in the very best institutions upon earth."-HARRIS. "Nothing is more common than for giddy young men, just entering into life, to join the society with the mere sinister view of extending their connexions. Such men dissipate their time, money, and attention, in running about from one Lodge to another, where they rather aim to distinguish themselves in the licentious character of jolly companions, than in the more discreet one of steady good Masons."-NOORTHOUCK, "Let Cowans, therefore, and the upstart fry And freely their conjectures wild forgive." "I REMEMBER," the Square continued, “and it is one of the earliest circumstances which has been imprinted on my memory, that after the great fire of London, 1666, when the re-edification of St. Paul's was in progress, the surveyor was setting out the dimensions of the great dome, and had fixed upon the centre, a common labourer was ordered to bring a flat stone from the heaps of rubbish (such as should first come to hand), to be laid for a mark and direction to the masons: the stone, which was immediately brought and laid down for that purpose, happened to be a piece of a gravestone, with nothing remaining of the inscription but this single word, in large capitals, RESURGAM. This circumstance made so strong an impression on the mind of Sir Christopher Wren, that he caused a Phoenix, rising from the flames, with the motto Resurgam inscribed beneath, to be sculptured in the tympanum of the south pediment above the portico, as emblematical of the reconstruction of the church after the fire.1 "This circumstance occurred in the year 1715," the Square observed, "and referred not merely to the re-edifying of the cathedral, but also to the restoration of ancient Masonry, which was accomplished about the same period, and is supposed to have a further allusion to the revivification of the Order, by the reunion of ancient and modern Masons, that was now in progress, and actually completed within a few years from the present period. The preparations for 1 Mr. Brayley conjectures that the stone which was thus brought to Sir Christopher was the same as had been provided in commemoration of Dr. King, who preached the sermon before James the First, for promoting the rebuilding of St. Paul's; and who directed by his will that a plain stone only, with the word RESURGAM, should record his memory. this great event were already arranged, and our present R. W. M., Bro. John Dent, was one of the influential parties who brought it about. "He was elevated to the chair on St. John's Day, 1794, and his inaugural address was received with acclamations. It was to this effect : "Brethren, by a unanimous vote you have elevated me to the proud distinction of R. W. M. of one of the oldest Lodges on record. Invested with the Jewel of that far-famed architect Sir Christopher Wren, I will take especial care that its brilliancy shall not be sullied in my possession. I trust you will never have occasion to reflect that your confidence has been misplaced. I have too high a respect for the system to allow its beneficial operation to be jeoparded by any species of neglect or moral delinquency; and I trust, that while I adhere to the general Constitutions of Masonry, and the provisions of our Bye-Laws myself, I shall be enabled, with your kind co-operation, to prevent their infraction by others. "We have all much to learn,' he continued, with becoming humility, and it will be our own fault if we do not gladly embrace every opportunity which presents itself, in the labours of the Lodge, of improving our minds, and correcting our morals; for while Masonry tolerates private judgment in matters of religion and politics, and even forbids the introduction of questions which may produce a diversity of opinion on those exciting subjects, it enters very largely on the sacred duties of morality, and expa tiates, with a pardonable enthusiasm, on almost all the Christian graces and perfections. "In the First Decree, we find many types of the Great Atonement, by which, according to the repeated promises made to the patriarchs and prophets in the Old Testament, original sin was to be expiated, and mankind placed in a condition of salvation. And the Lecture contains a series of significant symbols, which inculcate the morality of the New Testament. The first clause exhibits an emblem which reminds the Brethren of the necessity of observing a strict attention to silence or secrecy in their commerce with the world, because it is a Jewel of inestimable value, derived from the practice of the Deity, in concealing from his creatures the secret mysteries of his providence. And this is not only the duty of a Mason, but of every person who is desirous of maintaining a spotless reputation amongst his fellows. For instance, if a friend intrusts a secret to your keeping, it is with a tacit understanding that it shall be preserved inviolate, for a babbler or a tale-bearer is a character universally despised, and deservedly scouted from civil society. He who betrays a secret is guilty of treason to his friend. What confidence can be placed in any one who has been so indiscreet as to violate a sacred pledge? You might as well pour water into a sieve under the impression that it will not escape, as to pour your griefs and sorrows into the bosom of a man who will communicate to the next person he meets every fact which you are desirous of concealing from the world. "The same subject,' Bro. Dent continued, 'is recurred to in the Third Degree, where you have each undertaken to keep a Brother's secrets as carefully as you would conceal your own. And for this reason, that the betraying of such a trust might do him the greatest injury he could possibly sustain ; it would be like the villany of an assassin, who lurks in darkness to inflict a mortal wound upon his adversary when unarmed and least prepared to meet an enemy. And so careful is Freemasonry in enforcing an observance of this duty, that it forms a part of the solemn obligation which every Mason enters into at his initiation, and is repeated with additional solemnity at the commencement of each degree. And it will not be too much to anticipate that by an attention to this one duty the Fraternity will prove themselves more worthy of the confidence of their friends; and the profession of Masonry will thus conduce not only to their own peace and comfort, but to the general benefit of society. "The E. A. P. Lecture then proceeds to explain the tendency of those expressive ceremonies which took place at your initiation, for the purpose of showing that the most minute observance was not without its moral signification, and calculated to contribute its powerful aid towards promoting the great design of the institution, the improvement of the reasoning faculties, the cultivation of the intellect, and a gradual progress in the science of virtuous living. You are here first introduced to those Great Lights which are to be your guides and directors in |