Ancient Mystic Oriental Masonry

29." Only the Perfect Master can so chip away the stone as to reveal in all its grandeur and beauty the Divine Ideal, and endow it with the breath of life. Such is the building of character. The fable of Pygmalion and Galatea, is, after all, more real than history. The thread of history is not in isolate facts, joined by conjecture, and warped to the ignorant, bigoted, and time-serving opinions of men. The real thread is to be sought in the theme that runs through the symphony of creation; in the lofty ideals that inspire the life of man, and that lead him from the clod and the lowlands, where hover the ghosts of superstition and fear to the mountains of light, where dwell forever inspiration and peace. Such ideals are the Christ, Hiram, and the Perfect Masters.

30." No genuine Mason, imbued with the spirit of liberality, will treat any religion with derision or contempt, or exclude from fellowship any Brother who believes in the existence of God, the Brotherhood of Man and the Immortality of the Soul. This Catholic spirit is the very foundation of Masonry, and any departure from it is im-Masonic, and subversive of the ancient Landmarks and Genius of Masonry. True Masonry has, for ages, held aloft the torch-light of Toleration, Equity and Fraternity. The bigoted sectarian, whoever he may be, divides the world into two classes; those who, with zeal and blind faith, accept his dogmas ^[39] and those who do not.

31." In its ritualism and monitorial lessons Masonry teaches nothing in morals, in science, in religion, or in any other department of human knowledge or human interest, not taught elsewhere in current forms of thought, or by the sages of the past. In these directions it has no secrets of any kind. It is in the ancient symbols of Freemasonry that its real secrets lie concealed, and these are as densely veiled to the Mason as to any other, unless he has studied the science of symbolism in general, and Masonic symbols in particular. In place of the term Mystic Masonry, the term Symbolic Masonry might have been used alone, but just here lies the whole secret, a profound mystery, and few Masons up to the present time have had the interest or the patience necessary to such investigation. This is a fact, and not intended as either a criticism or a reproach. If lacking a knowledge of the profound meaning of Masonic symbolism, and its transcendent interest and importance, Masons have allowed the whole organization not only to fail in all real progress, but to degenerate, that is indeed a reproach.

32." There was never greater need than at the present time; never so great an opportunity as now for Masonry to assume its true place among the institutions of man and to force recognition by the simple power of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth, based upon philosophy such as nowhere else exists outside of its ancient symbols. If the majority of Masons do not realize the true significance and value of their possessions, there is all the more need for those who do to ^[40] speak out, even in the face of discouragement and detraction, and do their utmost to demonstrate the truth. Does any intelligent Mason imagine that the guilds of practical Masons of a century and a half ago originated the order of Freemasons? There were indeed Architects, and Master builders among them, but the great majority of Masons were far more ignorant, as manual servants, than the majority of such builders are to-day.

33." Freemasonry is modeled on the plan of Ancient Mysteries, with their glyphics and allegories, and this is no mere coincidence; the parallels are too closely drawn. Bro. Pike came to the conclusion, after long and patient investigation, that certain Hermetic Philosophers* had a hand in the construction of the organization of Free and Accepted Masons, and if they embodied in its symbolism more than appears on the surface, and far deeper truths than the superficial student really discerns, it was evidently designed that future generations should discern and use these pro-founder secrets.

34." In brief, then, the real Secrets of Freemasonry lie in its Symbols, and the meaning of the symbols reveal a profound philosophy, and a Universal Science, that have never been transcended by man. "