SHORT TALK BULLETIN - Vol.I      May, 1923      No.5 
 
SPIRIT OF MASONRY 
 
by: Unknown 
 
Outside of the home and the House of God there is nothing in this world 
more beautiful than the Spirit of Masonry.  Gentle, gracious, and wise; its 
mission is to form mankind into a great redemptive brotherhood, a league of 
noble and free men enlisted in the radiant enterprise of working out in 
time the love and will of the Eternal.  Who is sufficient to describe a 
spirit so benign?  With what words may one ever hope to capture and detain 
that which belongs of right to the genius of poetry and song, by whose 
magic those elusive and impalpable realities find embodiment and voice? 
 
With picture, parable, and stately drama; Masonry appeals to lovers of 
beauty bringing poetry and symbol to the aid of philosophy and are to the 
service of character.  Broad and tolerant in its teachings it appeals to 
men of intellect, equally by the depths of its faith and its pleas for 
liberty of thought - helping them to think things through to a more 
satisfying and hopeful vision of the meaning of life and the mystery of the 
world.  But its profoundest appeal, more eloquent than all others, is to 
the deep heart of man out of which are the issues of life and destiny.  
When all is said, it is as a man thinketh in his heart whether life be 
worth while or not, and whether he is a help or a curse to his race. 
 
Here Lies the tragedy of our race: 
Not that men are poor;  
All men know something of poverty. 
Not that men are wicked; 
Who can claim  to be good? 
Not that all men are ignorant; 
Who can boast that he is wise? 
But that men are strangers! 
 
Masonry if Friendship - friendship, first, with the great Companion, of 
whom our own hearts tell us, who is always nearer to us than we are to 
ourselves, and whose inspiration and help is the greatest fact of human 
experience.  To be in harmony with his purposes, to be open to His 
suggestions, to be conscious of fellowship with Him - this is Masonry on 
its God-ward side.  Then ,turning man-ward, friendship sums it all up.  To 
be friends with all men, however they may differ from us in creed, color, 
or condition; to fill every human relation with the spirit of friendship; 
is there anything more or better than this that the wisest and best men can 
hope to do?  Such is the Spirit of Masonry; such is its ideal, and if to 
realize it all at once is denied us, surely it means much to see it, love 
it, and labor to make it come true. 
 
Nor is the spirit of friendship a mere sentiment held by a sympathetic, and 
therefore unstable, fraternity, which would dissolve the concrete features 
of humanity into a vague blur of misty emotion.  No; it has its roots in a 
profound philosophy which sees that the universe is friendly, and that men 
must learn to be friends if they would live as befits the world in which 
they live, as well as their own origin and destiny.  For, since God is the 
life of all that was, is, and is to be; and since we are all born into the 
world by one high wisdom and one vast love, we are brothers to the last man 
of us, forever!  For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and 
in health, and even after death us do part, all men are held together by 
ties of spiritual kinship, sons of one eternal friend.  Upon this fact 
human fraternity rests, and it is the basis of the plea of Masonry, not 
only for freedom, but for friendship among men. 
 
Thus friendship, so far from being a mush of concessions, is in fact the 
constructive genius of the universe.  Love is ever the Builder, and those 
who have done most to establish the City of God on earth have been the men 
who loved their fellow men.  Once you let this spirit prevail, the 
wrangling sects will be lost in the great league of those who love in the 
service of those who suffer.  No man will then revile the faith in which 
his neighbor finds help for today and hope for the morrow; pity will smite 
him mute, and love will teach him that God is found in many ways, by those 
who seek him with honest hearts.  Once you let this spirit rule in the 
realm of trade the law of the jungle will cease, and men will strive to 
build a social order in which all men may have the opportunity "To Live, 
and to Live Well," as Aristotle defined the purpose of society.  Here is 
the basis of that magical stability aimed at by the earliest artists when 
they sought to build for eternity, by imitating on earth the House of God. 
 
Our human history, saturated with blood and blistered with tears, is the 
story of man making friends with man.  Society has evolved from a feud into 
a friendship by the slow growth of love and the welding of man, first to 
his kin, and then to his kind.  The first man who walked in the red dawn of 
time lived every man for himself, his heart a sanctuary of suspicions, 
every man feeling that every other man was his foe, and therefore his prey.  
So there was war, strife and bloodshed.  Slowly there came to the savage a 
gleam of the truth that it is better to help than to hurt, and he organized 
clans and tribes.  But the tribes were divided by rivers and mountains, and 
the men on one side of the river felt that the men on the other side were 
their enemies.  Again there was war, pillage, and sorrow.  Great empires 
arose and met in the shock of conflict, leaving trails of skeletons across 
the earth.  Then came the great roads, reaching out with their stony clutch 
and bringing the ends of the earth together.  Men met, mingled, passed and 
repassed; and learned that human nature is much the same everywhere, with 
hopes and fears in common.  Still there were many things to divide and 
estrange men from each other, and the earth was full of bitterness.  Not 
satisfied with natural barriers, men erected high walls of sect and caste, 
to exclude their fellows, and the men of one sect were sure that the men of 
all other sects were wrong - and doomed to be lost.  Thus, when real 
mountains no longer separated man from man, mountains were made out of 
molehills - mountains of immemorial misunderstanding not yet moved into the 
sea! 
Barriers of race, of creed, of caste, of training and interest separate men 
today, as if some malign genius were bent on keeping man from his fellows; 
begetting suspicion, uncharitableness, and hate.  Still there is war, 
waste, and woe!  Yet all the while men have been unfriendly, and, therefore 
unjust and cruel, only because they are unacquainted.  Amidst feud, 
faction, and folly; Masonry, the oldest and most widely spread order, toils 
in behalf of friendship; uniting men upon the only basis upon which they 
can ever meet with dignity.  Each lodge is an oasis of equality and 
goodwill in a desert of strife, working to weld mankind into a great league 
of sympathy and service, which, by the terms of our definition seeks to 
exhibit even now on a small scale.  At its Altar men meet as man to man, 
without vanity and without pretense, without fear and without reproach; as 
tourists crossing the Alps tie themselves together so that if one slips, 
all may hold him up.  No tongue can tell the meaning of such a ministry, no 
pen can trace the influence in melting the hardness of the world into pity 
and gladness. 
 
The Spirit of Masonry!  He who would describe that spirit must be a poet, a 
musician, and a seer - a master of melodies, echoes, and long far-sounding 
cadences.  Now, as always, it toils to make man better, to refine his 
thought and purify his sympathy, to broaden his outlook, to lift his 
altitude, to establish in amplitude and resoluteness his life in all its 
relations.  All its great history, its vast accumulations of tradition, its 
simple faith and its solemn rites, its freedom and its friendship are 
dedicated to the high moral ideal, seeking to tame the tiger in man, and 
bring his wild passions into obedience to the will of God.  It has no other 
mission than to exalt and ennoble humanity, to bring light out of darkness, 
beauty out of angularity; to make every hard-won inheritance more secure, 
every sanctuary more sacred, every hope more radiant! 
 
The Spirit of Masonry!  Aye, when that spirit has its way upon earth, as at 
last it surely will, society will be a vast communion of kindness and 
justice, business a system of human service, law a rule of beneficence; 
home will be more holy, the laughter of childhood more joyous, and the 
temple of prayer mortised and tendoned in a simple faith.  Evil, injustice, 
bigotry, greed, and every vile and slimy thing that defiles and defames 
humanity will skulk into the dark, unable to bear the light of a juste, 
wiser, more merciful order.  Industry will be upright, education prophetic, 
and religion not a shadow, but a real Presence, when man has become 
acquainted with man and has learned to worship God by serving his fellows.  
When Masonry is victorious every tyranny will fall, every bastille crumble, 
and man will be not only unfettered in mind and hand, but free of heart to 
walk erect in the light and liberty of the truth. 
 
Toward a great friendship, long foreseen by Masonic faith, the world is 
slowly moving, amid difficulties and delays, reactions and reconstructions.  
Though long deferred, of the day, which will surely arrive, when nations 
will be reverent in the use of freedom, just in the exercise of power, 
humane in the practice of wisdom; when no man will ride over the rights of 
his fellows; when no woman will be made forlorn, no little child wretched 
by bigotry or greed, Masonry has ever been a prophet.  Nor will she ever be 
content until all the threads of human fellowship are woven into one mystic 
cord of friendship, encircling the earth and holding the race in unity of 
spirit and the bonds of peace; as in the will of God it is one in the 
origin and end.   
Having outlived empires and philosophies, having seen generations appear 
and vanish, it will yet live to see the travail of its soul, and be 
satisfied - When the War Drum throbs no longer, And the Battle Flags are 
furled; In the Parliament of man, The Federation of the World. 
 
Manifestly, since love is the law of life, if men are to be won from hate 
to love, if those who doubt and deny are to be wooed to faith, if the race 
is ever to be led and lifted into a life of service, it must be by the fine 
art of Friendship.  Inasmuch as this is the purpose of Masonry, its mission 
determines the method not less than the spirit of its labor.  Earnestly it 
endeavors to bring men - first the individual man, and then, so far as is 
possible, those who are united with him - to love one another, while 
holding aloft, in picture and dream, that Temple of character which is the 
noblest labor of life to build in the midst of the years, and which will 
outlast time and death.  Thus it seeks to reach the lonely inner life of 
man where the real battles are fought, and where the issues of destiny are 
decided, now with shouts of victory, now with sobs of defeat.  What a 
ministry to a young man who enters its Temple in the morning of life, when 
the dew of heaven is upon his days and the birds are singing in his heart! 
 
From the wise lore of the East Max Muller translated a parable which tells 
how the Gods, having stolen from man his divinity, met in council to 
discuss where they should hide it.  One suggested that it be carried to the 
other side of the earth and buried; but, it was pointed out that man is a 
great wanderer, and that he might find the lost treasure on the other side 
of the earth.  Another proposed that it be dropped into the depths of the 
sea; but, the same fear was expressed - that man, in his insatiable 
curiosity, might dive deep enough to find even there.  Finally, after a 
space of silence, the oldest and wisest of the Gods said:  "Hide it in man 
himself, as that is the last place he will ever think to look for it."  And 
so it was agreed, all seeing at once the subtle and wise strategy.  Man did 
wander the earth, for ages, seeking in all places high and low, far and 
near, before he thought to look within himself for the divinity he sought.  
At last, slowly, dimly, he began to realize that what he thought was far 
off, hidden in the "The Pathos of Distance, is nearer than the breath he 
breathes, even in his own heart. 
 
Here lies the great secret of Masonry - that it makes a man aware of that 
divinity within him, wherefrom his whole life takes its beauty and meaning, 
and inspires him to follow and obey it.  Once a man learns this deep 
secret, life is new, and the old world is a valley all dewy to the dawn 
with a lark song over it.  There never was a truer saying than, the 
religion of a man is the chief fact concerning him.  By religion is meant 
not the creed to which a man will subscribe, or otherwise give his assent; 
not that necessarily; often not that at all - since we see men of all 
degrees of worth and worthlessness signing all kinds of creeds.  No; the 
religion of a man is that which he practically believes, lays to heart, 
acts upon, and thereby knows concerning this mysterious universe and his 
duty and destiny in it.  That is in all cases the primary thing in him, and 
creatively determines all the rest; that is his religion.  It is, then, of 
vital importance what faith, what vision, what conception of life a man 
lays to heart, and acts upon. 
 
At the bottom, a man is what his thinking is, thoughts being the artists 
who give color to our days.  Optimists and pessimists live in the same 
world, walk under the same sky, and observe the same facts,  Skeptics and 
believers look up at the same great stars - the stars that shone in Eden 
and will flash again in Paradise.  Clearly the difference between them is a 
difference not of fact, but of faith - of insight, outlook, and point of 
view - a difference of inner attitude and habit of thought with regard to 
the worth and use of life.  By the same taken, ant influence which reaches 
and alters that inner habit and bias of mind, and changes it from doubt to 
faith, from fear to courage, from despair to sunburst hope, has wrought the 
most benign ministry which a mortal may enjoy.  Every man has a train of 
thought on which he rides when he is alone; and the worth of his life to 
himself and others, as well as its happiness, depend upon the direction in 
which that train is going, the baggage it carries, and the country through 
which it travels.  If, then, Masonry can put that inner train of thought on 
the right track, freight it with precious treasure, and start it on the way 
to the City of God, what other or higher ministry can it render to a man?  
And that is what it dies for any man who will listen to it, love it, and 
lay its truth to heart. 
 
High, Fine, Ineffably rich and beautiful are the faith and vision which 
Masonry gives to those who foregather at its Altar, bringing to them in 
picture, parable, and symbol the lofty and pure truth wrought out through 
ages of experience, tested by time, and found to be valid for the conduct 
of life.  By such teaching, if they have the heart to heed it, men become 
wise, learning how to be both brave and gentle, faithful, and free; how to 
renounce superstition and retain faith; how to keep a fine poise of reason 
between falsehood of extremes; how to accept the joys of life with glee, 
and endure its ills with patient valor; how to look upon the folly of man 
and not forget his nobility - in short, how to live cleanly, kindly, open-
eyed and unafraid in a sane world, sweet of heart and full of hope.  Who so 
lays this lucid and profound wisdom to heart, and lives by it, will have 
little regret, and nothing to fear, when the evening shadows fall.  Happy 
the young man who in the morning of his years makes it his guide, 
philosopher, and friend. 
 
Such is the ideal of Masonry, and fidelity to all that is holy demands that 
we give ourselves to it, trusting the power of truth, the reality of love, 
and the sovereign worth of character.  For only as we incarnate that ideal 
in real life and activity does it become real tangible, and effective.  God 
works for man through man and seldom, if at all, in any other way.  He asks 
for our voices to speak His Truth, for our hands to do his work here below 
- sweet voices and clean hands to make liberty and love prevail over 
injustice and hate.  Not all of us can be learned or famous, but each of us 
can be loyal and true of heart, undefiled by evil, undaunted by error, 
faithful and helpful to our fellow souls.  Life is a capacity for the 
highest - an eager incessant quest of truth; a noble utility, a lofty 
honor, a wise freedom, a genuine service - that through us the Spirit of 
Masonry may grow and be glorified. 
 
When is a man a Mason?  When he can look out over the rivers, the hills, 
and the far horizon with a profound sense of his own littleness in the vast 
scheme of things, and yet have faith, hope, and courage - which is the root 
of every virtue.  When he knows that down in his heart every man is as 
noble, as vile, as divine, as diabolic, and as lonely as himself; and seeks 
to know, to forgive and to love his fellow man.  When he knows how to 
sympathize with men in their sorrows, yea, even in their sins - knowing 
that each man fights a hard fight against many odds.  When he has learned 
how to make friends and to keep them, and above all how to keep friends 
with himself.  When he loves flowers, can hunt the birds without a gun, and 
feels the thrill of an old forgotten joy when he hears the laugh of a 
little child.  When he can be happy and high-minded amid the meaner drudg-
eries of life.  When star-crowned trees, and the glint of sunlight on the 
flowing waters, subdue him like the thought of one much loved and long 
dead.  When no voice of distress reaches his ears in vain, and no hands 
seeks his aid without response.  When he finds good in every faith that 
helps any man  to lay hold of divine things and sees majestic meanings in 
life, whatever the name of that faith may be.  When he can look into a 
wayside puddle and see something beyond mud, and into the face of the most 
forlorn fellow mortal and see something beyond sin.  When he knows how to 
pray, how to love, and how to hope.  When he has kept faith with himself, 
with his fellow man, with his God; in his hand a sword for evil, in his 
heart a bit of a song - glad to live, but not afraid to die!  Such a man 
has found the only real secret of Masonry, and the one which it is trying 
to give to all the world. 
  

