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

dogma is of any worth; lacking which, the best laid plans of social
seers "gang aft aglee." Let us look at things as they are. That we
must press forward towards righteousness--that we must hunger and
thirst after a social life that is true and pure, just and
merciful--all will agree; but they are blind who do not see that the
way is long and the process slow. What is it that so tragically delays
the march of man toward the better and wiser social order whereof our
prophets dream? Our age, like the ages gone before, is full of schemes
of every kind for the reform and betterment of mankind. Why do they
not succeed? Some fail, perhaps, because they are imprudent and
ill-considered, in that they expect too much of human nature and do
not take into account the stubborn facts of life. But why does not the
wisest and noblest plan do more than half what its advocates hope and
pray and labor so heroically to bring about? Because there are not
enough men fine enough of soul, large enough of sympathy, sweet enough
of spirit, and noble enough of nature to make the dream come true!
There are no valid arguments against a great-spirited social justice
but this--that men will not. Indolence, impurity, greed, injustice,
meanness of spirit, the aggressiveness of authority, and above all
jealousy--these are the real obstacles that thwart the nobler social
aspiration of humanity. There are too many men like _The
Master-Builder_ who tried to build higher than any one else, without
regard to others, all for his own selfish glory. Ibsen has shown us
how _The Pillars of Society_, resting on rotten foundations, came
crashing down, wounding the innocent in their wreck. Long ago it was
said that "through wisdom is an house builded, and by understanding it
is established; and by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with
pleasant and precious riches."[169] Time has shown that the House of
Wisdom must be founded upon righteousness, justice, purity, character,
faith in God and love of man, else it will fall when the floods
descend and the winds beat upon it. What we need to make our social
dreams come true is not more laws, not more dogmas, not less liberty,
but better men, cleaner minded, more faithful, with loftier ideals and
more heroic integrity; men who love the right, honor the truth,
worship purity, and prize liberty--upright men who meet all
horizontals at a perfect angle, assuring the virtue and stability of
the social order.
Therefore, when Masonry, instead of identifying itself with particular
schemes of reform, and thus becoming involved in endless turmoil and
dispute, estranging men whom she seeks to bless, devotes all her
benign energy and influence to _ennobling the souls of men_, she is
doing fundamental work in behalf of all high enterprises. By as much
as she succeeds, every noble cause succeeds; by as much as she fails,
everything fails! By its ministry to the individual man--drawing him
into the circle of a great friendship, exalting his faith, refining
his ideals, enlarging his sympathies, and setting his feet in the long
white path--Masonry best serves society and the state.[170] While it
is not a reformatory, it is a center of moral and spiritual power, and
its power is used, not only to protect the widow and orphan, but also,
and still more important, to remove the cause of their woe and need by
making men just, gentle, and generous to all their fellow mortals. Who
can measure such a silent, persistent, unresting labor; who can
describe its worth in a world of feud, of bitterness, of sorrow!
No one needs to be told that we are on the eve, if not in the midst,