any improvement which takes place in himself, but in that also which he beholds in his brethren; to which he must always consider it an honour and a privilege to be in any way enabled to contribute. And this, indeed, is one of the things to which the law of Charity most strongly binds us, and the grace of Charity most powerfully impels us.

It is proper that in connection with this subject, we should direct special attention to the various things already noticed as distinguishing the perfect ashlar—or, to speak more accurately, the ashlar in progress towards perfection from the rough ashlar; the man as he ought to be or as he is labouring to become, from the man in whom no improvement has even begun. The highest place of all must be assigned to religion, the highest influence ascribed to it. A man without religion not only lacks power to curb his evil passions and propensities, but he is destitute of any sufficient motive for doing so. Worldly prudence may restrain him at times from vice or crime; a regard to his own health and comfort, his position in society, or his prospects of temporal advantage; but this is all, and of very little value it all is when temptation becomes strong, or any violent passion is excited. Very properly, therefore, has Freemasonry, from the very first, and universally, excluded all atheists from the privileges of the brotherhood. A man who does not believe in the existence of God, and in the doctrine of a future state, in which is implied that of a judgment to come, is declared by one of the ancient landmarks to be incapable of admission into the Order; a profession of belief in these simple first principles of religion being required of every candidate. That more than this is desired, evidently appears from the reverence shown to the Word of God, and the place assigned to it in all Masonic solemnities; as well as from the use of prayer in every lodge, and the inculcation of the duty of prayer by symbols, hereafter to be noticed, and in masonic teachings. However simple and few the absolute requirements of religious profession, purposely made so that all may be admitted to the benefits

of Freemasonry except those who have no religion, yet it must be considered that the greatest perfection in religious knowledge and faith is deemed desirable, as indeed Freemasonry aims at nothing short of perfection in all that it cultivates, or incites the members of the brotherhood to cultivate.

But however highly we must estimate the power of religion in promoting moral improvement, and however great the influence we must assign to it in stimulating the exercise of the mental faculties, and in at once elevating and refining the man whose heart is filled with the fear and love of God, we must also recognise the importance of other things instrumental in smoothing the rough ashlar and turning it into the polished stone. Inferior they no doubt are, but yet they are of great importance, and Freemasonry seeks to employ them all and to incite others to their employment. The first of these is education, a term which we here use in its widest sense, and as including not only the rudiments of learning, but the cultivation of all the arts and sciences; and next to it we must rank the influences of good society, of frequent conversation with the wise and good. A man with very little education may be truly religious; but even in matters of religion his want of education will make itself sadly felt; whereas he who enjoys the advantage of a good education has-and even in the most elementary branches of it, reading, writing, and arithmetic-instruments of vast power which he may employ for his own improvement, and to contribute to the improvement of others. No branch of science can be prosecuted without advantage to the man himself, nor without increasing his power of usefulness. The astronomer who studies the orbs of heaven and their motions; the microscopist who examines the structure of organised creatures invisible to the naked eye; the one contemplating the vastness of creation, the other the perfection of its most minute parts,-have their minds elevated to more and more admiration of the power, wisdom, and goodness of God. And so it is with the

studies of the geologist, the zoologist, the botanist; so it is indeed as to every department of science. The faculties are improved by their own exercise; the mind is expanded, ennobled, refined. The cultivation of the fine arts, if prosecuted in a proper manner, has likewise a beneficial effect. To these points, however, we must recur in subsequent chapters, and, therefore, do not dwell further upon them now.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

MASONIC SYMBOLS. THE TRESTLE BOARD.

THE Trestle Board is a board placed upon a wooden frame of three legs, and in operative masonry the master draws upon it his design, for the direction of the working masons. In Speculative Masonry, it is the symbol of the books of nature and of revelation, in which the Great Architect of the Universe has made known His will, for the direction of men in that which ought to be the great and constant work of their lives, the pursuit of piety, holiness, and virtue, the repressing and removing of all that is evil, and the advancement of all that is good, beautiful, and praiseworthy, both in themselves and in others. It is to be observed that it is not the design of God in the creation. which by this symbol we are called to consider-although in some measure that also is manifested to us even in the book of nature and is still further displayed in the book of revelation-but the will of God made known to us for the direction of our conduct, and the government of our thoughts and feelings. That some knowledge of this is to be derived from the book of nature is admitted by all who acknowledge the existence of God and believe in Him as the Creator and Lord of the Universe; for, indeed, to the book of nature we must refer for proof of the existence of God, and from it we may learn something of some of His attributes, from which may certainly be deduced important conclusions as to the duty of man, as, for instance, the reverence with which we ought to regard God, and the gratitude which we ought to feel towards Him. The Holy Scriptures fully recognise this teaching of nature.

"The heavens declare the glory of God," says

the royal psalmist, David, "and the firmament sheweth His handy-work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world" (Ps. xix. 1-4). The Apostle Paul says in his Epistle to the Romans, when condemning the idolatry and vices of the heathen, "That which may be known of God is manifest in [among] them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened" (Rom. 1. 19-21). And it seems to have been with some obscure perception of the truth that there is one Great Supreme God, that the Athenians erected an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD: for Paul standing in the Areopagus, having referred to it, said, "Whom, therefore, ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you (Acts xvii. 23). But, whatever may be the teachings in the book of nature to be fairly deduced from it by an enlightened mind, it is to the book of divine revelation that we are mainly indebted for that enlightenment which enables us to study it with intelligence and advantage; it is chiefly from God's Word that we derive our knowledge of His will. Men destitute of the light of revelation, have never liked to retain God in their knowledge, and professing themselves to be wise have become fools, "and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like unto corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things" (Rom. i. 23). In some measure, certainly, conscience has always borne witness in the hearts even of the most degraded heathen, their thoughts "accusing or else excusing one another" (Rom. ii. 15); but conscience has not only been stifled