TABLE OF LODGES IN MISSOURI, 45 Chartered Lodges, and 5 working under Dispensation-total 50. MASONRY AND SCIENCE. We make the following extract from an excellent and interesting historical address, delivered at Fayette, Miss., before the members of Thomas Hinds Lodge, by Br. CHARLES B. NEW, M. D. The object of the writer seems to be to show the agency of Masonry in producing the existing union between Science and Art. That Masonry, at one period of its existence, combined the two in itself, is probably susceptible of satisfactory demonstration. There are some other points of this address that we should be pleased to copy, were we not crowded with other matter: "The appearance of Pythagoras, 497 years before Christ, constitutes an important era in the annals of science and Masonry. Up to this period and long after, science was cultivated not as a useful pursuit; not with the view of ameliorating the condition of man, but as an intellectual exercise. Pythagoras pointed the way in which science should be made subservient to the wants of man; made to minister alike to his pleasure and his improvement. He erected the platform upon which the great English philosopher afterwards stood, and with his Archimedan lever moved the intellectual, moral, and physical world. He introduced the study of Arithmetic and Geometry into the Lodge, and was the first to adopt the former in the prosecution of the latter study. Although the doctrines of Pythagoras partook sometimes of the visionary doctrines of his cotemporaries, he made many useful additions to science. He was the founder of the science of numbers; the author of the common multiplication table, and the demonstrator of the 47th proposition of Euclid, which has been adopted as one of the emblems of Masonry; and the inventor of the present system of measuring heights and distances of inaccessible objects. His system of the universe, so much derided at first, has been proved by Newton beyond the possibility of cavil. His skill in music and medicine-his knowledge of mathematics and natural philosophy-the proper adaptation of all to the use of man-and moreover his practice of all the Masonic virtues, entitled him to the proudest station among ancient Philosophers and Masons. That we may be able to appreciate properly the services Masonry has rendered to science, christianity, and civil liberty, it is necessary to be more particular in reference to the condition of society in the early periods of the world. Metaphysics and logic were the favorite studies of the early philosopher. He reasoned learnedly, but like one sailing 'in an eddy ;' to use the apt illustration of a friend, he made no progress. Abstract questions leading to no practical utility, were all that occupied the mind of man. Plato and Aristotle, the most accomplished of the school of sophists, contended that natural philosophy was a study too lofty for other purposes than to afford intellectual enjoyment-that it was degrading science to wed her with art. Human perfectibility, the sole object of contemplation, the comfort of man, was regarded as too groveling for the attention of the philosopher. Seneca, one of this school, said improvements of the plough, ship, or mill, were objects too low for philosophy; her office was to form the soul, not to teach man to use his hands. According to Plutarch, Plato thought Geometry degraded in its application to any purpose of vulgar utility. Archytas framed machines of great power on mathematical principles, Plato remonstrated with him; said he was degrading a noble intellectual exercise into a low craft, fit only for mechanics. This is the philosophy which occupied the minds of the most talented for centuries. It was taught in the Porch, in the Forum, and in the Vatican, clothed in the most magnificent diction, and embellished with the fascinating imagery of classic minds;no wonder men were so long infatuated with it. Like a flowering shrub of rare beauty, producing no fruit, it was followed by no practical results, made up of revolving questions which had no end; the mind of man in consequence, instead of marching, 'only marked time. There was no want of ingenuity, of zeal, of talent; every trace of intellectual cultivation was then but a harvest. There were ploughing, harrowing, hoeing; but no winnowing, nothing garnered. Philosophy thus arrayed against the mechanic arts, content with imaginary fruits, science could make no advance, and the physical well being of man was, in consequence, neglected. With the continuance of such philosophy, man must have remained chained under a despotism of ignorance and superstition; civil and religious liberty never could have dawned upon the world; though this philosophy of weeds made barren the intellectual field, yet we are not the less indebted to him, who first planted the seed, which after the lapse of many centuries has brought forth good fruit. For a Mason we claim this honor. He pointed out the goal which the Baconian philosophy afterwards reached. He saw science was only useful so far as it improved the condition of man. He did not deem man too low for his philosophy, but travelled twenty years in Asia, Egypt, and Western Europe; establishing Lodges, teaching the arts and sciences and instructing his Brethren in the principles of the order-this is Masonry. It was Pythagoras who carved out the great high-way over which the philosopher Bacon, in his triumphal car passed revolutionizing the intellectual and physical world. Let us pursue the subject still further; and see how this great end was accomplished. Though Bacon performed the part of conqueror, erecting a new dynasty upon the ruins of the old; he was not alone in the struggle. Christianity, the mother of modern Masonry, restless under the tyranny of this fruitless philosophy, broke asunder the chains which so long!had bound her, and gave civil and religious liberty to the world. In the fifth century, Christianity had conquered Paganism, and Paganism had infected Christianity. The Church was now victorious and corrupt; the rites of the pantheon had passed into her worship and the subtleties of the academy into her creed.' The Papal church shielded her iniquities behind the subtle logic of Aristotle. But the bold Luther fiercely attacked this philosophy, entrenched as it was, and stripping the Church of her flimsy covering, exposed alike her follies and her logic. "The reformation in the Church annihilated the philosophy of the Sophists; the shackles of the human mind were stricken off. The Bible, the guide of the Mason and light of the world, which so long had been withheld from man, save in the Lodge, was now restored; science and art soon began an onward march; and under the guidance of the Baconian philosophy, are destined never to halt. "The Mystics,' says D'Aubigne, who has written recently almost valuable history of the Reformation, who have existed in almost every age, seeking in silence holiness, righteousness of life, and quiet communion with God, beheld with alarm and sorrow the wretched condition of the Church. They carefully abstained from the quarrels of the schools, and all unprofitable discussions.' This is the true spirit of Masonry, it is the philosophy of works not of words. In this great struggle of mind, Masons, however, were not inactive. They rendered signal services to the cause of the reformation. And we find Wrie, Hutton, Francis of Sickengen, and other brave knights foremost in the ranks of the enemies of usurping Rome. "The philosophy of the ancients now at an end, anarchy in the intellectual world soon reigned; Bacon then appeared, and with a philosophy based on the doctrines of Pythagoras, the principles of the Masonic Order-utility and progress its essential features; multiplying human blessings and relieving human evils, its objects-a new era in the history of man occurs. The old philosophy began in sophistry and ended in sophistry. The new began in observation and ended in art. In the language of the most accomplished writer of the day,' what has this new philosophy not accomplished? It has lengthened life, given new security to the mariner; it has increased the fertility of the soil; it has spanned great rivers and estuaries with bridges of form unknown to our fathers; it has guided the thunderbolt innocuously from heaven to earth, it has lighted up the night with the splendor of the day; it has extended the range of human vision, it has multiplied the power of human muscle, it has accelerated motion; it has fa cilitated intercourse, correspondence, all friendly offices, all dispatches of business; it has enabled man to descend to the depths of the sea, to soar in the air, to penetrate unhurt into the noxious recesses of the earth, to traverse the land on cars whirling along without horses, and the ocean in ships without sails. These are a part of its fruits; for it is a philosophy, says the same writer, that never sleeps, its law is progress; a point which yesterday was invisible, is its goal to day, and its starting place to-morrow."" MASONIC INTELLIGENCE. MICHIGAN. We have received a copy of the proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Michigan, had at its annual communication, held in the city of Detroit, in January last. The transactions were chiefly of a local character; indicating, however, that the Grand Lodge is in a prosperous condition, and rapidly multiplying the number of its Lodges. The officers were all in their places, and the Lodges, we infer, were mostly represented, though we cannot ascertain from the proceedings, the number in the State. Reference is made to Western Star Lodge, No. ten, and we suppose there are at least that number on the roll of the Grand Lodge. We make the following extract from the excellent and spirited report of the committee on foreign correspondence : Your committee cannot withhold an expression of sincere pleasure when they look at the condition of our own Jurisdiction, and contrast it with the condition we were in a few years since. Many of you have not forgotten, nor ever will forget, the fiery ordeal the Fraternity have passed through in Michigan. Antimasonry, like a desolating storm, swept our fair state, as with a besom of destruction, and laid the fair fabric of our institution in "utter desolation." Perhaps no where, in the civilized world, (if we except Western N. York,) were the Fraternity followed with more virulent hatred, or more unrelenting persecution, than in Michigan. Every where the stoutest heart was made to quail and sink, and gloom and despondency pervaded every breast. The Masonic harp was left unstrung upon the willow trees, and for nearly fourteen years the Masonic lamp was quenched upon all our altars save one, and even there, it burned so feeble and sickly, it made the surrounding darkness more visible. In 1841, the storm had passed away, and here and there might be seen a solitary workman searching amidst the ruins for the implements of the Craft, to rebuild the fallen Temple-one encouraged another until the timid were made bold. The Grand Lodge was reorganized-dormant subordinate Lodges were revived-new ones chartered-and we proceeded in trimming and relighting our Masonic lamps, as all believed, according to Masonic usage. Some of our sister Grand Lodges doubted the correctness of our proceedings, others condemned them altogether, and but few were willing to give us the right hand of fellowship. At this crisis, the conservative principles of our beloved institution prevailed in the counsels of our Brethren; all personal feelings, and private opinions were laid aside, and complete harmony and peace prevailed throughout our Jurisdiction. By the advice and kind assistance of a sister Grand Lodge, we were enabled to retrace our steps, and reorganize our Grand Lodge upon true Masonic principles, and ancient and approved usage; and we have the satisfaction of knowing that our work is approved by the whole Fraternity. MISSOURI. R. W. Br. Carnegy closes his final report to the Grand Lodge of Missouri, as agent of the Masonic College, submitted at the annual communication in October last, as follows: He has thus exhibited, as far as he knows and believes, a correct, explicit statement of his agency to this day, as far as the collection of money is concerned. He regrets, however, that he has neither room, ability nor time to state all that might be said in connection with the duties thus devolved upon him. Let it suffice to say, with the exception of less than one dozen of all he has seen and conversed with, all have spoken of our school in terms of the highest commendation. And he takes pleasure in expressing the most ardent gratitude of heart towards the liberal and benevolent from whom he received so much kindness and aid. He would gladly specify the names and residence of those who were foremost in their kind endeavors, but they are too numerous to mention. The foregoing list must suffice. In connection with the foregoing, your agent feels it his duty to state also, that in discharge of what he felt it his duty to perform, he has kept a constant and vigilant eye upon all that related to the College, and is happy to add his to the oft repeated testimony of other officers of the Grand Lodge, of the able, efficient services of the Faculty, the Steward, and all, except perhaps, some of the Curators. He states that the College, in all its departments, bids fair to fill our most sanguine hopes. The students (for the most part) are studious, moral and obedient, and their conduct (the ten thousand slanderous tales that envy, malice and ambition have set afloat upon the winds, to the contrary notwithstanding) will bear a favorable comparison with that of any other equal number of students any where; some irregularities have taken place, but the Faculty have done their duty and either reclaimed or expelled the vicious. From the tabular statement of the Grand Secretary, it appears that there were initiated in the State, the past year, in 36 Lodges, from which returns were made, two hundred and six candidates. There are fifty Lodges in the State, including five Working by Dispensation. INDIANA. We have had a copy of the proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Indiana sometime on hand, but have not been able to find room to notice them at an earlier period. The session was opened by the Deputy Grand Master, R. W. ISAAC BARTLETT, Esq., the Grand Master being prevented by illness from attending the meeting. He however forwarded an address to the Grand Lodge, from which we make the following extract: Although considerable advancement has been made in Masonic intelligence within our jurisdiction, it must be admitted that we are behind the age in which we live. The most prompt and efficient measures should be taken to enlarge our stock of Masonic Intelligence. Notwithstanding the limited means of the Grand Lodge, I do most earnestly recommend that the Grand Lodge appoint a Grand Lecturer, and endow him for one year with a small salary, and require him to devote as much of his time in instructing the subordinate Lodges as the means allowed him would justify. No doubt is entertained that if this course be adopted, the desire of instruction will prompt a voluntary contribution on the part of the subordinate Lodges; which, together with the amount given by the Grand Lodge, would enable a liberal individual to visit and lecture most of the Lodges in a year. If the plan be approved and adopted, great care is necessary in the selec |