Whilst princes and heroes promiscuously fight,
Whilst each poet sings of great princes and kings,
When orient wisdom beam'd serene,
When quite a young spark,
What joys do the craft, on each Mason bestow,
Whilst science yields a thousand lights,
What solemn sounds on holy Sinai rung,
When first the golden morn aloft,
Wake the lute and quiv'ring strings,
What sacred sounds on Zion's top were heard,
With greatful hearts your voices raise,
When the Grand Master and great Lord of all,
Where are these hydras ? Let me vent my spleen
With what malicious joy, e'er I knew better,
Well, here I'm come to let you know my tho'ts,
What mournful strains invade our ears,
While every orator and bard displays,
While arts and sciences did lie,
While all our nation, whelm'd in grief,
With cordial hearts let's drink a health,
When the Deity's word,
Whoever wants wisdom must with some delight,
Ye dull stupid mortals give o'er your conjectures,
Ye sons of fair science, impatient to learn,
Ye gracious powers of choral song,
Ye Masons look round, and hark to the sound,
Ye thrice happy few,
Ye brethren free, attend to me,
Ye sons of fair science, impatient to learn,
Ye free-born sons of every clime,
At the Opening of a Lodge.
ERE Wisdom her standard displays,,
Here nobly the sciences shine;
Here the Temple's vast column we raise,
And finish a work that divine,,
Illum'd from the East with pure light,..
Here arts do their blessings bestow ;.
And all perfect unfold to the sight
What none but a Mason can know.
With fervency, freedom, and zeal,
Our Master's commands we obey ;:
No cowan our secrets can steal,
No babbler our myst'ries betray.
Here all competitions must cease—— ·
And not e'en one discordant strain,
Disturb e'er the Lodges' sweet peace,.
Where silence and harmony reign.
If on earth any praise can be found,
Any virtue unnam'd in my songa,
Any grace in the Universs round,
May these to a Mason belong!.
May each Brother his passion subdue,
Practice Charity, Concord, and Love;
And be hail'd by the thrice happy few
Who preside in the Grand Lodge above..
Written by Brother J. WILLIAMSON,
[Tune, Dear Tom, this brown Jug.]
DVANCE each true brother, my song now attend, And assist in full chorus a brother and friend. With good humour he calls you, then socially join, That the cieling may ring with a theme that's divine. Cho. Then join, brother Masons, aloft raise the song, All the virtues in life to true Masons belong.
The wisest of men was a Mason, we know:
From him our chief honors and dignities flow
He founded the temple, the pillars he rais'd,
And Solomon still in our songs shall be prais'd.
Cho. Then join, &c. .
With
square and with compass, with level and line,.
We constantly work to complete our design;
By prudence we steer, and the passions subdue,
What we learn in our youth in our age we renew.
Cho. Then join, &c.
On Freedom and Friendship our order began,
To deal squarely with all is the chief of our plan ; ·
The sneer then of fools we esteem as a feather,
Since virtue's the cement that joins us together.
Cho. Then join, &c.
Till the ocean be dry, and hard rocks melt away,;
Till the globe shall dissolve, and no sun cheer the day ; :
So long shall the Masons their order maintain,
And the arrows of slander be shot forth in vain..
An extemporaneous Dirge, by the Rev. T. M. HARRIS, sung at the Funeral of Br. GEORGE WASHINGTON.
WHILE all our nation, wheml'd in grief,
Lament their General, Patriot, Chief,
Let us, his brethren, long revere
A name to Masonry so dear!
In mystic rites our Lodge displays,
Its sorrows and its patron's praise;
And spreads fresh garlands round the tomb,
Where the sweet cassia long shall bloom.
Look to the East; its splendors fail !
The lesser lights grow dim and pale!
-The glory once reflected here
Now dawns upon a higher sphere!
ANTHEM-On Laying the Foundation Stone, or at the Consecration of a Church or Chapel.
To Heaven's high Architect all praise,
All gratitude be given,.
Who deign'd the human soul to raise
By secrets sprung from Heaven.
Cho. Then sound the great JEHOVAH's praise ;
To him the glorious structure raise.
Now swells the choir in solemn tone,
And hovering Angels join ;.
RELIGION look delighted down,
When vot'ries press the shrine,
'Blest be the place! thither repair
The true and pious train :
DEVOTION wake her anthems there,
And heaven accept the strain,
UARDIAN genius of our art divine,
Unto thy faithful sons appear:
、Cease now o'er ruins of the east to pine,
And smile in blooming beauty here.
The sciences from eastern regions brought,
Which after shine in Greece and Rome,
Are here in hundreds stately lodges taught,
To which remotest brethren come.
Behold in strength our rising dome appear,
Till mixing with the azure skies.:
Behold what beauty through the whole appears;
So wisely built, it must surprise.
Nor are we only to these arts confin'd;
For we the paths of virtue trace:
By us man's rugged nature is refin'd,
And polish'd into love and peace.
OPEN, ye gates, receive the fair, who share
With equal sense our happiness and care:
Then, charming females, there behold
What massy stores of burning gold;
Yet richer is our art;
Not all the orient gems that shine,
Nor treasures of rich Ophir's mine,
Excel the Mason's heart :
True to the fair, he honors more
Than glit'ring gems, or brighest ore,
The plighted pledge of love :
every tie of honor bound,
In love and friendship constant found,
And favored 'from above,
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