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

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Mystic Masonry.
the convents. Coming now to the dawn of the i6th
century, and the great Protestant Reformation, we
find Johann Trithemius, Abbot of St. Jacob, at
Wurtzburg, celebrated as one of the greatest of
Alchemists and Adepts; and Cornelius Agrippi and
Paracelsus were his pupils. John Reuchlin, a
famous Kabalist of that time, and counted as one of
the most learned men in his day in Europe, was the
friend and perceptor of Luther, and Luther's first
public utterances were a course of lectures on the
philosophy of Aristotle. A strong effort was made
to revive the ancient wisdom, but the age was too
gross and superstilious, and the Reformation resulted
in centuries of blind belief, and the suppression of
the Secret Doctrine.
Modern Freemasonry honors as its ancient great
teachers Zoroaster, Pythagoras, Plato, and many
others, and in some of its degrees gives a brief
summary of their doctrines. Masonry, in a certain
sense, includes them all, and has adopted their
precepts. They were all initiates in the mysteries,
and fundamentally their doctrines were the same.
All taught the existence of the G. A. O. U., the
immortality of the soul, and the unqualified Brotherhood
of Man; and with these primitive and fundamental
truths Masonry is in full accord.