Brother Ozymandias

by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor

WB Seth Anthony

We have all met Brother Ozymandias. He is a member of every Lodge in every Jurisdiction. He has been a member of the Craft from time immemorial and a trusted advisor to many Masonic leaders. He tends to appear shortly before the time of installation and stays for a varying duration based on the leader’s program.

Brother Ozymandias is best known for the promise of the legacy he wishes to help each leader leave. He whispers into the ear of Masonic leaders and reminds them that their time in the East is short; that they need a grand design on the trestle board if they are to make an impact on their organization. He cultivates a desire in all to have their name engraved upon the hearts and minds of Brothers everywhere. In some ways, he motivates those in authority more than other, yet he is a fickle Brother. Just as a leader feels as if his legacy is secure, Brother Ozymandias leaves him to begin consulting with the next in line, promising a greater legacy to him than any that came before.

Yet, no matter how many legacies Brother Ozymandias orchestrates, Brother Time erases each with his ever passing nature; in time, “nothing beside remains.”

How much do you listen to the whispering of Brother Ozymandias?

Ozymandias

By Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:

And on the pedestal these words appear:

'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

~SA

WB Seth Anthony has been a member of the Fraternity for more than ten years. He is proud to serve Abraham C. Treichler Lodge No. 682 as an officer and as the Lodge Historian.