kept in perpetual remembrance until the last day, when they shall be rewarded or punished according to their works. From the surplus of this water which fell to the earth after having refreshed the leaves of the Ash, the bees made their honey. In all the ancient mysteries, Honey was an acknowledged symbol of death; and is said in this case to have been produced from the refuse of the water; which, being rejected by the sacred Tree, referred unquestionably to the evil deeds contained in the water of Past Things, (the good actions having been absorbed by the Ash, and consequently accepted by the supreme Being, personified in the eagle;) and hence the honey which was concocted from it, was emblematical of that second death, which forms the eternal punishment of sin.

In illustration of the contents of this Lecture, I here introduce the following Table, which will exhibit the SEVEN STEPPED LADDER of the Mysteries in all its various and extensive application.

You have here a most extraordinary coincidence of custom with respect to the Masonic Ladder, existing in every region of the world, and all equally applicable to a gradual ascent to heaven by the practice of moral virtue. Amongst us this practice is founded on the strong basis of FAITH, which is the first step of the Ladder resting on the word of God. It produces a well grounded HOPE of sharing the promises recorded in that Sacred Volume; and this is the second step of the Masonic Ladder. The third a most perfect step is CHARITY, by which we attain the summit of the Ladder; metaphorically speaking, the dominion of bliss, and the mansion of pure and permanent delight.

LECTURE IX.

ON THE POINT WITHIN A CIRCLE.

THE progress of error is rapid and uniform, when the restraints imposed on man's depravity by a pure and peaceable religion, are exchanged for the wild dreams and enthusiastic figments of human invention; and like a spherical body precipitated with violence from the summit of an inclined plane, acquires additional force and velocity at every revolution, until its progress is irresistible. An illustration of this principle will be contained in the present Lecture on that most important emblem of Masonry-A POINT WITHIN A CIRCLE.

Whether we regard this symbol in the purity of its legitimate interpretation; or consider the unlimited corruption which it sustained in its progress through the mysteries of idolatry, the general principle will be found equally significant. It was originally the conservator of a genuine moral precept founded on a fundamental religious truth; but innovation fol

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lowed innovation, until this degraded symbol became the dreadful depository of obscenity and lust.

The use of this emblem is coeval with the first created man. A primary idea which would suggest itself to the mind of Adam, when engaged in reflections on his own situation, the form of the universe, and the nature of all the objects presented to his view, would be, that the creation was a circle, and himself the centre. This figure, implanted without an effort, would be ever present in all his contemplations, and would influence his judgment to a certain extent, while attempting to decide on the mysterious phenomena which were continually before him. To persons unacquainted with the intricate philosophy of nature, as we may fairly presume Adam was, this is the plain idea conveyed to the senses by a superficial view of nature's works. Ask an unlettered hind of the present day, and he will tell you that the earth is a circular plane; and perhaps he will have some indistinct notion that the expanse above his head is spherical, but he will assuredly look upon himself as the common centre of all. This is consistent with the general appearance of things; for if he look around, he finds the horizon, unless intercepted by the intervention of sensible objects, equally distant from the point of vision in all its parts. And the experiment uniformly producing the same results whether made by night or day, he relies on the evidence of his senses, and pronounces his own judgment cor