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

FOREWORD TO THE THIRD EDITION.
The spirit of unrest is in the air. On the surface
of things today, CommerciaUsm most often and
most loudly claims attention. Great combinations
oi capital and the massing of millions seem the
order of the day. Within the body politic organization
and cooperation is being tried on a scale
never before recorded in the history of man, and
economic problems are being tested in a way that
cannot help adding immensely to the combined experience
of mankind. What the final outcome may
be, only the wisest could now say, and perhaps only
the foolish would venture to predict.
But human nature is essentially a stable product,
and can be relied on in any event. Deep in the
heart of man lies the principle of justice and
equity, and no abuse that selfishness and greed can
devise can long have any permanency. We may
be far from the universal reign of Brotherhood,
(vii)