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

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66 Mystic Masonry.
and to concur heartily and with the fullness of his
strength, in the bestowment of happiness upon all,
and thus to make of the whole human race one
family of brothers, united by affection, wisdom and
labor."
Rebold's History of Masonry, p. 62.
The above quotations from two of the most prominent
modern writers on Freemasonry—the one dealing
with the philosophical, and the other with the
historical aspect of the subject—may fairly represent
the genius, or the Ideals and aims of Masonry.
How far short of this ideal Masonry may fall today,
it is no part of the object of this book to show.
No one, however, at all famihar with the subject,
will for a moment undertake to maintain that nothing
is left to be accomplished. It is, indeed, something
grand and sublime to have conceived such an
ideal, and to have striven in any measure toward its
realization ; and this, Masonry has done from its
earliest history.
There is a thread of tradition connecting modern
Masonry with the most ancient Mysteries of Antiquity.
The ancient landmarks may be discovered
in every nation and time. "Notwithstanding the
connection that so evidently exists," says Dr. Rebold,
"between the ancient Mysteries and the Freemasonry
of our day, the latter should be considered