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

The Great Lodge. 237
wisdom. The ignorance of the rabble, the zeal of
the superstitious, and the "Vicegerent of God" have
often made sad inroads among the servants of the
Great Lodge; yet they have never been altogether
exterminated; they have alvv^ays existed to bear witness;
and they exist today! If the reader is ready
to deny all this, of course it can make no difference
to the real Adept, and it is certainly a matter of indifference
to the present v^riter. One can do no
more than to state, candidly what he believes, and
to set forth that which he knows to be true.
These Adepts, or Masters, have, in every age,
constituted the Great Lodge. Whether they congregate
beneath vaulted domes, or meet at stated
times, no one would be likely to know unless he belonged
to the same degree; but one thing is very
certain, and that is, that they bring help and knowledge
to the world when most needed, and they are
working thus today in the West as they have not
done before for many weary centuries. They are
enabled to work now, because the ground has been
prepared for them by "one who knew," and who
served them to the death, in the face of scorn and
slander. They have been aided also by many ignorant
but faithful believers in their existence, and in
their work, who have been rewarded at every step