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rendered incapable of following your work or prosecuting the duties of your profession, or by which you may be led into behaviour unbecoming of our order. You are, likewise, to labour diligently in your vocation; for he, who doth not work, should not eat," and "he, who is slothful in work, is brother to him who is a great waster.”

In the state you are to be a quiet and peaceable citizen. You are never to countenance treason or rebellion ; but to show yourself, on every occasion disposed to act in conformity to the laws, constitution, and government of the country, in which you live, and to induce others, as far as may be in your power, to act in the same man

ner.

In your intercourse with the world, you are to be particularly careful, to act in such a manner as that you may avoid censure or reproach.

Let not interest, favour, or partiality to any indivi dual, bias your integrity, or influence you to be guilty of a dishonourable action, of which you might afterwards have cause to repent; but let your whole conduct be such as will ensure you the testimony of a good conscience towards God and towards man.

ty,

Be eminent for the practice of benevolence and chariwhich may with great propriety be considered as the distinguishing characteristic of this venerable institution. You are carefully to study the principles, and endeavour to excel in all the virtues of the craft.

A punctual attendance, at every meeting of the lodge is required. Your improvement and your happiness will, thereby, be greatly promoted. Yet masonry must not interfere with your necessary employments; for these are, on no account, to be neglected. At your leisure, it is expected that you will apply to such brethren as are skilled in the mystic art, whom you will find to be fully as ready to give, as you to receive instruction.

You are to endeavour to improve in useful knowledge. Here no reflection is intended upon you. But it may be

safely asserted, that the wisest of us have much to learn, and that when a man thinks himself perfect in any art, science, or profession, all hopes of his improvement may, in general, be considered as vain. But of you, my brother, we entertain the most sanguine expectations, and doubt not that by your industry, perseverance, and good conduct, you will become an useful member of this lodge and an honour to the craft.

If, in the circle of your acquaintance, you should find one, who may be desirous of being received into our society, you are by no means to recommend him unless you be convinced, that he will conform to our rules, so that the honour and reputation of our institution may not be tarnished, and that the world, at large may be satisfied with respect to its benign influence.

Finally, You are to keep sacred and inviolable the mysteries of the order, as these are to distinguish you from the rest of the community, and mark your consequence amongst the fraternity.

Brother, we bid you a sincere welcome to all the pleasures of this affectionate and happy fraternity.

SECTION 2.- A CHARGE TO A FELLOW CRAFT.

Brother,

As you are now advanced to the second degree of masonry, viz. that of a fellow craft, we congratulate you on your preferment.

Your past good behaviour and regular deportment, have merited the additional honours which we have now conferred upon you; and, in this new character, it is not only expected that you will conform to the principles of masonry, but that you will steadily persevere in the practice of every virtue.

The study of the liberal arts, that valuable branch of education, which tends so effectually to polish and adorn the mind, is earnestly recommended to your consideration, especially the science of geometry, which is justly deemed the basis of our art. Geometry or masonry, originally synonymous terms, is of a divine and moral nature, and enriched with the most useful knowledge; for, while it proves the wonderful properties of nature, it demonstrates the more important doctrines of morality.

As the solemnity of our ceremonies requires a corresponding solemnity on your part, you are to be particularly attentive to your behaviour in all our meetings, to preserve the ancient usages and customs of the fraternity sacred and inviolable, and to induce others, by your example, to hold them in due veneration.

You are to support and maintain our laws and regulations, and be ever ready to assist in seeing them duly executed. You are neither to palliate nor aggravate the offences of your brethren, but are to judge with candour, admonish with friendship, and reprehend with justice.

As a craftsman in our private assemblies, you may of fer your sentiments on such subjects as may be agreeable to the tenets of masonry. By the exertion of this privilege you may improve your rational and intellectual powers, qualify yourself to become an useful member of society, and as every brother should do, endeavour to excel in every thing which is good and honourable.

You are duly to honour, and practically to obey, all signs and summonses, inasmuch as they consist with our professed principles. You are to supply the wants, and relieve the necessities of your brethren and fellows, to the utmost of your power, without injuring yourself and family; and you are, on no account whatever, to wrong them or see them wronged, but you are to apprize them

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of approaching danger, and consider their interest as inseparable from your own.*

Such is the nature of your engagements as a fellow craft, and to these duties you are now bound by the most sacred ties.

SECTION 3.-A CHARGE AT THE INITIATION OF A MASTER FREE-MASON.

Brother,

Your zeal for instruction, the progress you have made in the mysteries of masonry, and your steadfast conformity to our useful regulations, have pointed you out as a proper object for that peculiar mark of our esteem and favour.

Duty, honour and gratitude, will now bind you to be faithful to your trust, and to support the dignity of your character on all occasions. Exemplary conduct on your part, will convince the world, that merit is the only title to our privileges, and that on you, our favours have been deservedly bestowed.

To preserve unsullied the reputation of the fraternity, ought to be your constant study; and, for this purpose, it is incumbent on you to give the necessary instruction to unexperienced brethren, respecting the manner in which they ought to conduct themselves. To their superiors you are to recommend them to be obedient, to their equals to be courteous and affable, and to their inferiors to be kind and condescending. You are zealously to inculcate universal benevolence, and by the regularity of your own conduct, to afford the best example for the conduct of others. You are carefully to preserve our ancient landmarks, and shall, on no account whatever, suffer the least deviation whatever from our established usages and customs. Masonry, as it now stands, and has

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* This paragraph is to be omitted, if previously used in the course of he ceremony.

stood from time immemorial, has been found to be a most excellent institution, and stands in no need of improvement. Any attempt, therefore, to introduce the least innovation will be reprobated, not by one, but by the whole of the fraternity.

Your honour and reputation are concerned in supporting, with dignity, the character which you now bear. Be true and faithful, and imitate the example of that great man so celebrated in masonry, whom you have this evening represented. Thus, you will render yourself worthy of the honour which we have conferred, and worthy of that confidence which we are persuaded we have very properly reposed in you.

SECTION 4.AN ADDITIONAL ADDRESS, WHICH MAY BE
DELIVERED AT THE INITIATION OF A CLERGYMAN.

You, reverend brother, are a preacher of that religion, which inculcates benevolence and unbounded charity. You will, therefore, be fond of the order, and zealous for the interest of free-masonry, which, in the strongest manner, recommends the same charity, and like that religion, which you so worthily endeavour to prevail upon your hearers to adopt, encourages every moral and social virtue. It also recommends, by arguments the most cogent, peace and good will among men ; so that he, who is warmed by the spirit of Christianity, cannot when he is acquainted with its doctrines, be a foe to FREE-MA

SONRY.

Here virtue, the grand object in view, shines refulgent on the mind, enlivens the heart, and warms us with sympathy and affection to all mankind, particularly to our brethren of the same society.

Though every man, who carefully listens to the dictates of reason, may arrive at a clear perception of the

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