Freemasonry is the world's largest and oldest fraternity. Our traditions are more than three centuries in the making and are founded upon the virtues of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. These are traditions and values our country's founding fathers held dear when forming the foundation of this great country. Good men of every race, religion, and ethnic origin still live daily lives seeded in these values and as such whole societies are the better for them.
Goethe, a great Mason, said that talent may develop in solitude, but character is created in society. It is the fruit of fellowship. Genius may shine aloof and alone, like a star, but goodness is social, and it takes two men and God to make a Brother. We are tied together, seeking the truth which none may learn for another, and none may learn alone. Not one of us is strong enough to not need the companionship of good men and the consecrations of good ideas. Here lies, perhaps, the deepest meaning and value of Masonry, it is a fellowship of men seeking goodness, and to yield ourselves to the influence, to be drawn into its spirit and its quest, and is to be made better than ourselves. |