340
ANDREW MICHAEL RAMSAY.
0 noctes coenaeque Deum . . .
Sermo oritur, non de regnis domibusve alienis
. . . sed quod magis ad nos
Pertinet, et nescire malum est, agitamus ; utrumne
Divitiis homines, an sint virtute beati;
Quidve ad amicitias usus rectumve trahat nos,
Et quae sit natura bom, summumque quid ejus.
Thus the obligations imposed upon you by the Order, are to protect your brothers by
your authority, to enlighten them by your knowledge, to edify them by your virtues, to
succor them in their necessities, to sacrifice all personal resentment, and to strive after all
that may contribute to the peace and unity of society.
We hav? secrets; they are figurative signs and sacred words, composing a language some-
times mute, sometimes very eloquent, in order to communicate with one another at the
greatest distance, and to recognise our brothers of whatsoever tongue. These were words
of war which the Crusaders gave each other in order to guarantee them from the surprises
of the Saracens, who often crept in amongst them to kill them. These signs and words
recall the remembrance either of some part of our science, or of some moral virtue, or of
some mystery of the faith. That has happened to us which never befell any former
Society. Our Lodges have been established, and are spread in all civilised nations, and
nevertheless, among this numerous multitude of men, never has a brother betrayed our
secrets. Those natures most trivial, most indiscreet, least schooled to silence, learn this
great art on entering our Society. Such is the power over all natures of the idea of
a fraternal bond ! This inviolable secret contributes powerfully to unite the subjects
of all nations, and to render the communication of benefits easy and mutual between
us. We have many examples in the annals of our Order. Our brothers, travelling
in divers lands, have only needed to make themselves known in our Lodges in order to
be there immediately overwhelmed by all kinds of succour, even in time of the most
bloody wars, and illustrious prisoners have found brothers where they only expected to
meet enemies.
Should any fail in the solemn promises which bind us, you know, gentlemen, that the
penalties which we impose upon him are remorse of conscience, shame at his perfidy, and
exclusion from our Society, according to those beautiful lines of Horace—
Est et fideli tuta silencio
Merces; vetabo qui Cereris sacrum
Vulgai it arcanum, sub iisdem
Sit trabibus, fragilemque mecum
Salvat phaselum. . . .
Yes, sirs, the famous festivals of Ceres at Eleusis, of Isis in Egypt, of Minerva at Athens,
of Urania amongst the Phenicians, and of Diana in Scythia were connected with ours. In
those places mysteries were celebrated which concealed many vestiges of the ancient religion
of Noah and the Patriarchs. They concluded with banquets and libations, and neither
that intemperance nor excess were known into which the heathen gradually fell. The
source of these infamies was the admission to the nocturnal assemblies of persons of both
sexes in contravention of the primitive usages. It is in order to prevent similar abuses
that women are excluded from our Order. We are not so unjust as to regard the fair sex