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.
And it will be, my brethren and friends, by the universal diffusion of all truth, that the universal reign of peace will be established. 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; then will they see and know, that the interest of each is the interest of all—and that the interest of all, is to do justly and act righteously towards one another, and live in fellowship, peace and love—a unity of interests, creating and consolidating a unity of nations, which will be the last grand earthly act of truth.
And now my brethren, in a work so great and good, we should be first and foremost. Let us be up and doing, and engaged in every good word and work. Let our watchword be the cause of truth—the glory of God and the good of man. And, in the first place like Washington, let our country ever be to us the dearest of all earthly considerations. Let her honor and glory, her safety and happiness, be to us dear as our lives, our fortunes and our honors.
And, looking at the Constitution of our country as the platform of truth and liberty, and entrenching ourselves deeply and firmly in its principles, let us take our station there, and with the eyes of jealous vigilance fixed upon it, live or die, stand or fall, there with it! Better, far better, to die in its ruins and be buried there, than Marius-like, amidst the ruins of fallen Carthage—live in disgrace; to weep the tears of sorrow and shame, over the fragments of our broken Constitution. 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.
And, here, let us remark—that, that unity of Masonry, which has withstood all the shocks and revolutions of time, and outlived
