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

210 Mystic Masonry.
grovel with fear at the curse will the truth be concealed.
When men are wise enough and brave
enough to defy both the anathema and the anathematizer,
the whole opposition to light and progress
will fall to pieces. Till then, the ignorant masses,
imitating their superiors, will scout, ridicule and
slander all who speak the truth. Freedom and Enlightenment
are the only real Saviors of Mankind;
while Ignorance is the father of Superstition, and
Selfishness the parent of Vice.
The Ideal in Church and State, the motive for the
Ecclesiastical and Political Hierarchies, has been in
all ages to govern men professedly for their own
good. The Secret Doctrine teaches man to govern
himself. So long as Hierarchies subordinate all
things to the real benefit of man, and give Light and
Knowledge to all in such measure as they are capable
of receiving, they are' a blessing and not a curse.
When, however, the Potentate suppresses Knowledge,
claims power by Divine Right, or by inheritance,
rather than by proof of knowledge and by
service done to man ; when ignorance or disbelief is
punished as a crime and men torture the — body, or
agonize the mind under that devil's plea "to save
the Soul"—then does the Hierarchy become an
enemy of both God and Man.