Mystic masonry, or, The symbols of freemasonry and the greater ...

120 Mystic Masonry.
all times essentially the same; only the outer gloss,
the parables and allegories concealing it differ
among different people.
Underlying this Secret Doctrine was a profound
philosophy of the creation or evolution of worlds
and of man. The present humanity, in many quarters
of the globe, has evolved on the intellectual
plane so far that there now exist a very large number
of persons capable of apprehending this old
philosophy, and, at the same time, capable of understanding
the responsibility incurred in misusing or
misinterpreting it. A large number of persons have
reached, on the intellectual plane, the state of manhood;
and are capable of partaking of the "fruit
of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil."
There is, therefore, no reason why this old philosophy
should be longer concealed. On the other
hand, there are reasons why it should be known.
Empirical knowledge has advanced in certain directions
into the realm of Psychism, and the arts anciently
designated by the term Magic, and it is imperative
that the dangers that attend these pursuits
should be pointed out and demonstrated, in order
that they may be avoided by the beneficent, and that
the ignorant or innocent may be afforded protection.
How far these modern inroads into Occultism