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

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Mystic Masonry.
CHAPTER III.
THE GENIUS OF FREEMASONRY.
The traditions, glyphs and ritual of Freemasonry
cluster around the building of the temple; the legend
of the widow's son, Hiram-abiff, who lost his
life in the defense of his integrity, and the search
for the Lost Word of the Master. As the candidate
progresses, degree after degree, he is furnished with
the working-tools suited to his degree of knowledge
and proficiency, given instruction as to their use;
the lesser and greater lights are revealed and explained;
and through all, each outer form, or material
thing, is shown to be a symbol of a deeper
mystery, a concealed potency.
This is, in brief, the language and the philosophy
of symbolism, or the exoteric and the esoteric garb
of Truth. The method itself, outside of all details
or applications, has a deeper scientific significance
than most persons are aware of. This method of
instruction is not fanciful or arbitrary, but conforms
to the process of Eternal Nature in building an