Excerpt from The Book of the Lodge: Or Officer's ManualI well remember in my early masonic days, before I became acquainted with the true bearing and excellence of institution, the bitter mortification to which I found myself subjected, when an expert antagonist advanced arguments against the Order, which I was not prepared to refute; for the masonic literature of that day was circumscribed within a very narrow compass, and extended information on the subject of masonry was difficult of attainment.It is a matter of infinite gratification to me, that this unfavourable state of things no longer exists, and that I have lived to a period when the fraternity have roused themselves to a sense of duty, and entertain a feeling that the dignity of Freemasonry requires some exertions on their part, to promote its popularity, and place it on a level with other scientific institutions; and who for this great purpose, employ their talents through the medium of the Press, to display its utility as a benevolent Order, promoting at once the investigations of science, and the practice of every moral and social virtue.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.