THE ARCANE SCHOOLS - Fort Myers Beach Masonic Lodge No. 362

the blue. Some day the writer hopes to tell that story, or a part of
it, and then men will understand what Masonry is, what it means, and
what it can do to heal the hurts of humanity.[160]
Even so it has been, all through our national history, and today
Masonry is worth more for the sanctity and safety of this republic
than both its army and its navy. At every turn of events, when the
rights of man have been threatened by enemies obvious or insidious, it
has stood guard--its altar lights like signal fires along the heights
of liberty, keeping watch. Not only in our own land, but everywhere
over the broad earth, when men have thrown off the yoke of tyranny,
whether political or spiritual, and demanded the rights that belong to
manhood, they have found a friend in the Masonic order--as did Mazzini
and Garibaldi in Italy. Nor must we be less alert and vigilant today
when, free of danger of foes from without, our republic is imperiled
by the negligence of indifference, the seduction of luxury, the
machinations of politicians, and the shadow of a passion-clouded,
impatient discontent, whose end is madness and folly; lest the most
hallowed of all liberties be lost.
/P
Love thou thy land, with love far-brought
From out the storied past, and used
Within the present, but transfused
Through future time by power of thought.
P/
V
Truly, the very existence of such a great historic fellowship in the
quest and service of the Ideal is a fact eloquent beyond all words,
and to be counted among the precious assets of humanity. Forming one
vast society of free men, held together by voluntary obligations, it
covers the whole globe from Egypt to India, from Italy to England,
from America to Australia, and the isles of the sea; from London to
Sidney, from Chicago to Calcutta. In all civilized lands, and among
folk of every creed worthy of the name, Masonry is found--and
everywhere it upholds all the redeeming ideals of humanity, making all
good things better by its presence, like a stream underflowing a
meadow.[161] Also, wherever Masonry flourishes and is allowed to build
freely after its divine design, liberty, justice, education, and true
religion flourish; and where it is hindered, they suffer. Indeed, he
who would reckon the spiritual possessions of the race, and estimate
the forces that make for social beauty, national greatness, and human
welfare, must take account of the genius of Masonry and its ministry
to the higher life of the race.
Small wonder that such an order has won to its fellowship men of the
first order of intellect, men of thought and action in many lands, and
every walk and work of life: soldiers like Wellington, Bluecher, and
Garibaldi; philosophers like Krause, Fichte, and John Locke; patriots
like Washington and Mazzini; writers like Walter Scott, Voltaire,
Steele, Lessing, Tolstoi; poets like Goethe, Burns, Byron, Kipling,
Pike; musicians like Haydn and Mozart--whose opera, _The Magic Flute_,
has a Masonic motif; masters of drama like Forrest and Edwin Booth;
editors such as Bowles, Prentice, Childs, Grady; ministers of many