Leander Ker

“ Ladies, our subject, to-day, has been truth—that truth, which has given to the past all its real glory, to the present all its worth and excellence, and which can transmit to the future the same.—And that which is the glory, honor and dignity of man, is no less the honor, glory and dignity of your sex. And in this truth, and in all its multiplied and diversified blessings, you have as deep an interest as ourselves. ”

“ He sees no truth but in the single department, in which he moves and lives; and he has no sympathy of heart, no communion of mind, no fellowship of soul with any, save those, only, who live and move with himself. And thus he creates discord where peace would reign—creates division where unity would dwell, and as a final result sets man against man, and nation against nation, to propagate his epitome of truth by the sword, and consume by fire, all that he calls error, though it may be all truth. ”

“ Had the mother of our Washington been an Abby Folsam, or one of that sisterhood of insane and preposterous fools; had she instead of training up her son in the ways of truth, wisdom and virtue, spent her time as do those modern female Peter Hermits, in traversing the country, preaching a crusade against woman’s wrongs, and prating wisely as owls, about woman’s rights; holding conventions to remodle society, and turn the world upside, by overthrowing all the institutions of God and man, our country might still be without a Washington to venerate ”

“ Such in our world has been its reception; such its treatment, and such its vitality and power.—Crushed in one age, it appears in the next; banished from one country, it rises up in another; confined in dungeons and loaded with chains, burnt at the stake and beheaded on the scaffold, and when its destruction has been proclaimed, and its enemies exulting in the conviction, that truth will trouble them no more, of a sudden it appears in their midst, shaking its gory locks, the axe, the chains and the faggot, at its destroyers and its foes. ”

“ But, as a single drop of water may contain, within itself, all the elements and materials, out of which Omnipotence can create and replenish a world, so a single century may give birth to men and events, that will change the political and moral character of the world; which, giving life and being to a train of principles, whose operations and extension will tell, loudly and deeply, upon each succeeding generation; and whose consummated work of grandeur, wisdom and goodness will be read, only in the last, the brightest and the best pages of time’s recorded history. ”

“ And yet, strange to tell, and sad as strange, every department of truth has either been shut up, or placed under heavy restrictions and embarrassments, while every species of truth had had its martyrs, And yet, in this sacred charter of all our rights and privileges—this source of light and life divine—this guide and warrant of eternal life—the precept is, “Prove all things, and hold fast what is good.” ”

“ But to throw light upon our subject—the subject of truth, the glory of God and the glory of man—we remark here, that while truth is one, a vast and infinite unity, its departments are many, a multiplicity of branches, each bearing fruits of life, but all from the same root and stem, each branch adapted to some specific and peculiar condition, circumstance want and interest of man; to meet those conditions, supply those wants, and secure those interests, and all resulting in the full and perfect happiness of man. ”

“ A hundred years hence, and others will occupy our places in society and the world, engaged in its pursuits, its struggles and its cares. A hundred years hence, what changes may take place it is vain to conjecture and idle to speculate. But one question forces itself upon the mind. Will the name of Washington then be as dear, and his memory then be as sacred, to the citizens of this now? Will liberty herself, then dwell in our vallies, repose on our mountains, and smile on our plains? ”

“ And hence it is every man’s right, his liberty, his duty, and his interest to visit and explore, and make himself master of each and all these departments of truth, to gather the flowers, eat the fruits, and drink the waters, that blossom, ripen and flow in these many gardens of God. There are no dragons here to guard these more than Hisperian fruits—no guards with flaming swords to bar the entrance to any inquirers after truth, except those which man, by neglecting his own duty and privilege; permits his fellow mortal to station there. ”

“ 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 when her final battle is fought, and her last victory is won: when all her enemies are put under her feet: when the star of her celestial glory, in its full orbed splendor, shall shine in the East and illumine the West, glow in the South and warm in the North: when her sons and her daughters shall sing her praise to the ends of the earth, and the nations rejoice in their deliverance, then, greater than all, and by its superior glory and power, out-shining all—may this, our country, still appear ”

“ Nor can we, nor should we be idle, in this warfare of truth and liberty, against error and oppression. We should be actively engaged in that warfare; using only the weapons of truth; for in this warfare none other can succeed. And though it is right, and a sacred duty, to defend truth and liberty by the sword; it is never right, and never a duty, to propagate them by the sword. ”

“ And, although we do not affirm, that to Masonry alone, is man indebted for all the moral worth and excellence, in the past or the present either; but we do contend that Masonry is, and ever has been, on the side of man’s interest and welfare.
We do not claim for our Order, all the good that is in the world; but we do contend, that all she does claim and possess, is good. Nor do we affirm that all Masons are good men, honest and true; but we do contend, that Masonry docs not make them bad men, dishonest and false, in their obligations to God, to society and to men. ”

“ Were it not, that truth is of God, and partakes of his essential nature and being, it must have perished long ere now, assailed as it was, by all the powers of darkness and hell; and assailed too by deluded man, who has too often engaged in this unholy and unnatural warfare, against the promoter, defender, and preserver of his best, his highest, and his noblest interests, welfare and happiness. But truth is eternal, omnipotent, and last and best of all—being identified with the cause of God, which is also the cause of man—“it must and will prevail.” ”

“ Let us, my Brethren, regard our country as we regard truth—embracing the whole and not a part—acting the part of moral Mathematicians, regarding the whole as equal to all its parts, and all the parts equal to the whole, and each part, however small, necessary to it. Let us make the interests of each section of our country, diversified as they be, our interests, which, like truth, with its multiplicity of parts, constitutes a mighty unity; and that unity, like truth again becoming stronger, and yet stronger, by every addition of individual aggregations. ”

“ But we have come hither as brothers bound together by ties as sacred as truth, and as honored as they are ancient. We have come as patriots, having a common heritage, a common birthright, and a common country, to commemorate a simple and humble transaction, which, one hundred years ago, identified the greatest and the best of men—the first of Generals and the purest of patriots, with the ancient and honorable order of Masons. ”

“ Washington’s fame and glory will increase and extend as truth, knowledge, virtue and liberty advance among the nations of the earth. His fame is like the light of a new-born star, of transcendant splendor, which, if it require ages to reach this world, will continue to shine on, with undiminished brilliancy, for ages after its orb has expired on the distant fields of immensity. ”

“ And the most essential and important feature and principle of truth, is liberty—liberty of mind, of thought, to search after this truth; for, without this, truth is valueless, inoperative and dead, like the gold and other precious metals deposited in the earth, which are of no value, until discovered and put to use. And it is upon this first and most essential feature, and principle of truth—this heavenly grant to man—his divine right, that the whole burden of man’s obligation, duties, and the responsibilities, is founded. ”

“ In the light of truth, nations, as well as men, well see what their true interests are; and in what consists their true greatness, their glory and their happiness: and under the influence and guidance of truth, will they secure the same.
Under the power and influence of truth, thy people will be restored to their rights and liberties; when their long lost sovereignty will return to them again, and, enlightened and guided by truth, they will exercise that sovereignty wisely and righteously—in government and laws, just, equitable and good to all ”

“ The weapons of this warfare are not carnal or material, but spiritual and moral, yet mighty to the pulling down of the strong holds of error and ignorance, prejudice and oppression. And though these strong-holds are, indeed, strong, and many, and diversified; but in the magazine of truth there are arms and material sufficient to destroy them all. And in this contest, which has been carried on for thousands of years, truth will, eventually prevail, though it may continue for thousands of years to come. ”

“ Or, in the third place, mistaking, through ignorance, error for truth, folly for wisdom, evil for good, and the vain speculations of his pride for the dictates of reason; under the combined influence of all these, he pursues phantoms and shadows, that in their mazy and erratic dance, lead him on farther from God, truth and light, and into deeper darkness, greater folly, and wider and wilder wastes of ruin; each successive stage of his downward progress becoming more hopeless, because more helpless. ”

“ 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. ”

“ We call upon them all to look at this unity and peace and harmony of Masonry, and among Masons, as a type of that unity and harmony, love and good will, which all good men desire to see, and all good men labor to establish throughout the earth, among all its nations, creating among all a unity of hearts and minds; a unity of interests and happiness, which Masonry has anticipated from the beginning, and which she, by silent labor, and by unobtrusive efforts, has sought to achieve. ”

“ They take a part for the whole; they pursue the truth in one department, to the exclusion of all the rest; they gather the fruits and the flowers in in one or a few of its gardens, and drink of its waters, and thereby secure a part of their interests; but while the rest is neglected, many interests lie in ruins, and much happiness is lost. And thus, they miss the full benefit and blessings, that the whole truth can bestow.—By taking a part, only, they are, only partially benefitted: and that truth, which, by neglect, benefits them not, they despise and deny. ”

“ We have not assembled here, to-day, to commemorate some mighty event, that stands out prominent and illustrious in the annals of time—that constitutes a new era or epoch in itself, and which has imparted another and a better character to the world, another and a better spirit to men and nations; developing itself in manners more simple, in morals more pure, in laws more just and wise, and in government more permanent.
We have not met to celebrate the rise of an empire ”

“ Is man a moral being, surrounded by a thousand moral evils, and suffering a thousand moral wants? there is a department of truth for such, in which there is a remedy and a supply for each and all of these. And is man an immortal being—with immortal necessities pressing upon him? immortal evils, to be banished away from the endless path of his immortal career, and with ten thousand immortal interests to be secured? ”

“ Truth may be crushed, and by bleeding the while, under the heel of lawless and despotic power; it may be compelled for a season to fly to the deserts, and hide itself, in the dens and caves of the earth ”

“ Your station is the private walks of life—but not the less important is that station, not the less great, solemn and important, the duties and responsibilities connected with that station—nor less the consequences resulting from their discharge or neglect. In the wise arrangements of heaven, the family institution is the parent of all institutions—the first in order and the first in point of importance—and from the homes of men, as from the fountain head, flow all the moral influences of good or of evil, to bless or curse the world ”

“ Europe shall be free only when truth makes her free. Truth and liberty are benevolent, their possession inspires the heart, with none but sentiments and principles of the purest benevolence—and this is an evidence that they are of God. ”