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

Conclusion. 257
ings and deeper revelations. In retracing the steps
by which these ancient symbols and their profound
philosophy have come down to our own time, more
and more obscured with every passing century, students
have gathered a large number of facts, a great
mass of traditions and general information, all of
which have been variously interpreted by different
writers on Masonry. All writers, however, agree
in the conclusion that the symbols and traditions
of Freemasonry come from the far East, and go
back to the remotest antiquity.
So that the saying that the Mason journeys from
Wesrt: to East in search of light is literally true.
This search is not one incited by curious interest
only. If Masonry possesses merely a mass of curious
myths and meaningless symbols, of what real value
is it to any one to trace them down? What real
benefit can it be to any one to demonstrate that five
or ten thousand years ago the same curious myths'
and meaningless symbols existed in the Mysteries
of Egypt, or were taught by Pythagoras and the
followers of Zoroaster? Such, however, is not the
genius of Freemasonry.
The real secrets of Masonry lie concealed in its
Symbols, and these, constituting as they do a Picture
Language, or Art Speech, are made to carry a