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,
yes, 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 drudgeries of life. When the star-crowned
trees, and the glint of the sunlight on 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 hand 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 meaning 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 , 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. -- Joseph Fort Newton, "The Builders".
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Famous Masons
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