III. As the good things of this life are partially dis-

pensed, and some persons are opulent while others are in distress, such principles always enjoin a Mason, be he ever so poor, to testify his good-will toward his brother.
6
82 THE MASTER MASON,
Riches alone do not allow the means of doing good. Virtue and benevolence are not confined to the walls of opulence. The rich man from his many talents is re- quired to make extensive works, under the principles of virtue. And yet poverty is no excuse for an omission of that exercise; for, as the cry of innocence .ascendeth up to heaven, as the voice of babes and sucklings reaches the throne of God, and as the breathings of a contrite heart are heard in heaven, so a Mason's prayers for the welfare of his brother are required of him.