Page:Oration Delivered on the Centennial Day of Washington's Initiation into Masonry (1852).djvu/13

Rh in all its varied departments, ramifications and details, is, what alone, gives to the present, all its moral worth and excellence: all else is but empty sound and fleeting shadow, insubstantial as the morning clouds, and baseless as the rainbow—that fair but fading child of the sun and the storm.

And that which has imparted to the past all its real worth and greatness, and which gives to the present all its excellence, must transmit the same to the remotest future. The pursuit of truth is the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. And in this pursuit all are interested, and all, however humble, can take a part and each, in his own station, however low, may become a hero.

“Know thyself,” was the trite, but pompous saying of one of the Grecian sages; and it has been a pass word, in every land and age, to which Grecian literature has extended. But such knowledge, from the nature of the subject, can afford as little pleasure as profit; and these will be in an inverse ratio to the amount of the knowledge acquired. But a knowledge of truth, in all its departments, and submission to it will ever be attended by both pleasure and profit, and these will ever be in direct proportion to the extent of the knowledge of truth, increasing as men approximate towards its central and culminating point.

And here, we would beg leave to remark, that what won, by his sword, and established politically for truth, Masonry, in all ages, has claimed, as a moral right; freedom of inquiry, freedom of speech, and freedom of action in the cause of truth, the limits of which are to be the only limits of thought, of speech, and of action. Man’s divine tight and duty it is, to exercise this liberty, until no more truth remains to be discovered, and until its last blessing is secured.

But to possess a right is one thing, and to exercise that right, wisely and faithfully, is another: to understand a duty is one thing, and to perform that, truly and faithfully, is another: to enjoy the privilege of entering into every department of truth, visit its gardens and fields, and father, without prohibition and hindrance, its flowers and its fruits, and to exercise that privilege is another. And, in this particular, I must say to you, my brethren and friends, we are all guilty, less or more, in neglecting this great and unspeakably valuable privilege. Man is a creature of many wants, many infirmities, and many intrusts—which wants must be supplied—which infirmities must be removed, and his interests all secured, before he can realize the full measure of the peace and the happiness which, is the end of his creation and being—and by truth alone can all this be done—nor is it within the power of one department, or provence of truth alone, to effect this: all must contribute their share to achieve man’s full and perfect redemption. So far only as truth frees us, are we free. And, therefore, to neglect any department or branch or truth, is