"As we know, the Masonic journey is an initiatory path, that is, a spiritual and consciential path, complex and individual, and therefore heterogeneous, which, precisely because of these characteristics, cannot be based exclusively on dissertations and in-depth studies of the mere Masonic symbolism. This would make this 'path' reductive and limited.

As I have repeatedly emphasized in my other writings, my conviction is that the ritual, with the symbols and allegories that compose it is, in fact, the means, the instrument, of this path, and as such it teaches and represents exclusively the 'method' which in turn must become operative following the capacities (the 'talents') and the nature of the individual person, that is, in the most varied and heterogeneous ways.

This 'method' being external and transmissible by means of certain forms, will always and only be a 'preparation' of the Freemason to receive the true initiatory teaching, interior, which will be achieved through the result of a necessarily personal work, and which, therefore, will be realized, as mentioned above, in the most varied forms.   Consequently, the 'method' will indicate the path to be followed, but it is not 'the path' itself, the plan to be implemented, its purpose being only to dispose the Initiate into acquiring the mental and intellectual aptitude necessary to understand the initiatory concepts.

These initiatory concepts, in my opinion and from my personal experience, can be identified, and thus acquired, not only in the 'Rituals' and in the so-called Masonic 'literary essays' (often of little value) but also, indeed above all, in the various activities of cultural forms that surround us.   It is precisely for this reason that in my writings and my speeches I have often touched on topics and fields of knowledge clearly heterogeneous.   In these areas I have tried to show the presence of some initiatory concepts, or esoteric 'motifs,' using them, subsequently, also for our peculiar Masonic journey.   I have identified and defined these concepts as 'contaminations,' that is to say, ideas 'foreign' to the known Masonic symbolism but which can also contribute to directing the one, who 'recognizes' them, towards that initiatory and esoteric understanding most appropriate to him: a channel that allows to develop one's inner life to the fullest, according precisely to the different individual predispositions.

For these reasons, I have dealt, obviously in addition to topics related to esotericism and its various representations (hermeticism, gnosticism, occultism etc.), also with topics of Jungian psychoanalysis (process of individuation), of biology (morphogenetic fields), of physics (Quantum physics), of mysticism and, above all, of the various forms of art.   Art that constantly surrounds us (privileged for being born in Italy), that surrounds us and fascinates us, but also inspires, as Claudio Magris reminds us: "It is both truth and destruction: it emerges from the depths of the unconscious and expresses the totality of the soul with a fullness unknown to the reasoning faculty of the conscious ego, yet escaping every rule and every restraint and overwhelming the precarious defensive mechanisms with the which rationality and conscience try to stem the disorder of life." ¹⁾

Among the 'arts' a prominent place is certainly occupied by music and architecture. For this reason my decision was born to found two research lodges, the Loggia Santa Cecilia (music) and the Loggia Antonello da Messina (art and architecture).   Today I would like to talk about the art form that I personally prefer, literature.

Why is reading essential for a man?   Thus replies the well-known literary critic Harold Bloom, "If individuals want to retain the ability to express opinions and independent judgments, it is important that they continue to read for themselves." ²⁾

Especially for those who have undertaken, like us, an initiatory journey, it is possible to find, through literary works, novels, stories, poems, themes, and elements that represent real 'spiritual and consciential paths,' which can contribute to interpret and better understand also our Masonic journey.   There are hundreds of examples on this subject; in this essay I had to, necessarily, make a choice, which is obviously personal, and which represents only a trace of what we might find while browsing, not on the internet or among the useless 'social sites', but among the books.

These works that I propose will lead you into a symbolic universe that goes from Esotericism to the Jewish Kabbalah, from Occultism to Gnosticism and to Alchemy.

My hope is that through the use of the principal instrument of one who aspires to reach initiation, that is, the intuitive knowledge, the reading of these works, can put into effect in those who will find them appropriate to their "nature" that active process of inner transformation, that 'change of state' typical of an 'initiatory journey'.   Farewell!"

1)   Claudio Magris, Behind the Words, Garzanti, Milano, 2002, pag. 30.

2)   Harold Bloom, How to read a Book, BUR, Milano, 2000, pag. 13.

"Come sappiamo il percorso liberomuratorio è un percorso iniziatico, ossia un cammino spirituale e coscienziale, complesso e individuale,e quindi eterogeneo, che proprio per queste caratteristiche non può basarsi esclusivamente su dissertazioni e approfondimenti della mera simbologia massonica.   Questo renderebbe tale 'percorso' riduttivo e limitato.

Come ho più volte sottolineato anche in altri miei scritti, la mia convinzione è che il rituale, con i simboli e le allegorie che lo compongono, è infatti il mezzo, lo strumento, di tale percorso, e in quanto tale esso insegna e rappresenta esclusivamente il 'metodo' che poi a sua volta deve rendersi operativo seguendo le capacità (i 'talenti') e la natura dei singoli soggetti, ossia nelle modalità più varie ed eterogenee.

Tale 'metodo' essendo esteriore e trasmissibile mediante delle forme, sarà sempre e soltanto una 'preparazione' del Libero Muratore a ricevere il vero insegnamento iniziatico, interior, che si raggiungerà tramite il risultato di un lavoro necessariamente personale, e che per questo si realizzerà,come detto, nelle forme più varie.   Conseguentemente, il 'metodo' indicherà la via da seguire, ma non è esso stesso 'la via', il piano da realizzare, il suo scopo essendo soltanto quello di disporre l'iniziato ad acquisire l'attitudine mentale ed intellettuale necessaria per comprendere dei concetti iniziatici.

Tali concetti iniziatici, a mio parere e per mia esperienza personale, possono essere individuati, e così acquisiti, non soltanto nei 'Rituali' e nella cosiddetta 'saggistica' massonica (spesso di scarso valore) ma anche, anzi soprattutto, nelle varie forme culturali che ci circondano.   E' appunto per questo motivo che nei miei scritti e nelle mie allocuzioni ho toccata spesso argomenti e campi della conoscenza decisamente eterogenei.   In tali ambiti ho cercato di mostrare la presenza di alcuni concetti iniziatici, o 'motivi' esoterici, utilizzandoli successivamente anche per il nostro peculiare percorso liberomuratorio.   Ho identificato e definito tali concetti come 'contaminazioni', ossia idee 'esterne' alla conosciuta simbologia liberomuratoria ma che possono anch'esse contribuire ad indirizzare colui che li 'riconosce' verso quella comprensione iniziatica ed esoterica a lui più consona: un canale che permetta di sviluppare al meglio la propria interiorità, appunto a seconda delle diverse predisposizioni individuali.

Per questi motivi ho trattato, oltre ovviamente ad argomenti inerenti all'esoterismo e alle sue più varie rappresentazioni (ermetismo, gnosticismo, occultismo ecc), anche di psicanalisi junghiana (processo di individuazione), di biologia (campi morfogenetici), di fisica (la fisica dei Quanti), di mistica e, soprattutto, delle varie forme di arte.   Arte che ruota costantemente intorno a noi (privilegiati per essere nati in Italia), che ci circonda e ci affascina, ma anche ispira, come ricorda Claudio Magris: "E' insieme verità e distruzione: affiora dalle profondità dell'inconscio ed esprime la totalità dell'anima con una pienezza ignota al raziocinio dell'io cosciente, sottraendosi tuttavia così ad ogni norma e ad ogni freno e travolgendo i precari meccanismi difensivi con i quali la razionalità e la coscienza cercano di arginare il disordine della vita" ¹⁾.

Tra le 'arti' un posto di primo piano è occupato certamente dalla musica e dall'architettura.   Per tale motivo nacque la mia decisione di fondare due Logge di Ricerca, la Loggia Santa Cecilia (musica) e la Loggia Antonello da Messina (arte e architettura).   Oggi vorrei parlavi della forma d'arte che personalmente prediligo, la letteratura.

Perché leggere per un uomo è imprescindibile?   Così risponde icasticamente il noto critico letterario Harold Bloom, "Se gli individui vogliono conservare la capacità di esprimere opinioni e giudizi autonomi, è importante che continuino a leggere per sé stessi" ²⁾.

Soprattutto per coloro che hanno intrapreso, come noi, un percorso iniziatico è possibile trovare, attraverso opere letterarie, romanzi, racconti, poesie, tematiche ed elementi che rappresentano dei veri e propri 'percorsi spirituali e coscienziali', che possono contribuire a interpretare e meglio comprendere anche il nostro cammino liberomuratorio.   Di esempi su tale tema ce ne sarebbero a centinaia; in questo saggio ho necessariamente dovuto fare una scelta, che è ovviamente personale, e che rappresenta solo una traccia di quello che potremmo trovare navigando, non su internet o tra gli inutili 'social', ma tra i libri.

Queste opere che vi propongo vi condurranno in un universo simbolico che va dall'Esoterismo alla Cabbalà ebraica, dall'Occultismo allo Gnosticismo e all'Alchimia.

La mia speranza è che tramite l'utilizzo dello strumento principale di colui che aspira a raggiungere l'iniziazione, ossia la conoscenza intuitive, la lettura di queste opere, in coloro che le troveranno consone alla loro 'natura', possa operare quell processo attivo di trasformazione interiore, quel 'mutamento di stato', tipico di un 'cammino iniziatico'.   Buon viaggio."

1)   Claudio Magris, Dietro le parole, Garzanti, Milano, 2002, pag. 30.

2)   Harold Bloom, Come si legge un libro, BUR, Milano, 2000, pag. 13.

" … if we ask freemasons what Freemasonry is, we get a motley bunch of answers, because there are very different perceptions.   And these perceptions are also shaped by the question of what each individual seeks to find in Freemasonry or believes to find."

"We read on the homepage of the Grand Lodge A.F.u.A.M.v.D.: "As members of an ethical association, the Freemasons stand for humanity, brotherhood, tolerance, love of peace and social justice." We have, indeed, important values, they convey a humanistic view of people and of the world. …"

"Even within our association, we realize how difficult it can be, occasionally, to live those values.   That is why we practice it permanently in our rituals.   And if these values are really important to us, then we also have to defend them where they seem to be in danger.   This applies not only within the lodge, this applies especially in the outside world."

The homepage continues: "As a community of fraternally connected people, the lodge is a place of practice for these values."

"In the Loge room, for example, a different computation of time applies, with which it seems possible, at least for the duration one is in attendance, to experience deceleration; a calming time away from the frantic life in the outside world. For a moment, even if only brief, we withdraw from the dictates of the ever-faster-better-further-principle.
We withdraw from the exhausting competition in professional and private life, we get rid of the often exhausting functioning "must-dos."  Members of the lodge not only have the chance, nay, they have the duty to take enough time for their own maturation process. We typically accompany this process, which we call the "working on the rough stone", with the prompts: "Look inside yourself! Look around you! Look over you! "How does the location of the lodge, in particular, contribute to this maturing process? If one understands the lodge as a heterotopic space, then freemasonry becomes quasi a real utopia, announcing a reality that neither existed nor exists until now.
The utopian peculiarity, however, is characterized by the fact that it gains the character of the expectable and the possible, and that the unfinished construction could one day become reality. But what does this real utopia look like? At the beginning, I already tried to clarify that in the description of "objects" (society, freemasonry) we use individual perception filters and thus each draws a different "picture" of the "object".
If that's true, and I'm just going to assume that, then the question arises of how to connect so that we can talk about one thing about which we all have a different perception of.  In other words, how can we talk about the same thing despite different perceptions? We use metaphors and symbols.
We call this utopia an "unfinished construction" […]. Or: we are building the temple of humanity. Again, the metaphor "building" is very interesting. Building means you are dealing with something that is not finished yet, that can still be changed during construction.
Building is a verb, we used to call it "do-word", which means we brothers have to act. The Freemason proves himself in doing. The Temple of Humanity is not a done deal, we will never complete its construction. The process of building is more important than reaching the final state. Our work will never stop.  And just because we have not agreed on a concrete, detailed picture of this temple, we can talk about the Temple of Humanity despite all the different perceptions.  Although this building or temple may not be fully described, it is not arbitrary. By the way, there is also room for the respective zeitgeist over the centuries. Therefore, stability is combined with change."

"Even if we do not know exactly where we want to go, we notice (by looking back, returning into the world) [after lodge] whether we have strayed off course or if we are moving in the desired direction.

And how do we Freemasons act in the outside world? This question was asked by Klaus-Jürgen Grün, my predecessor in the office of the QC chairman and myself, in an article in "Humanity."   There we write:

"In the ritual we encounter a person who works on himself, the Mason is an observer and, at the same time, the observed. On the whole, the rituals live a life that lives itself.
No one in the ritual is an outside observer who can remain untouched by what is happening. Masons stage the process of life that lives itself. One cannot stand outside the ritual and watch it as an observer. Either you are in the temple, or you are left out. [...]
This scene develops ethics in a very different way than our traditional ethics do. Anyone who is part of the scene he observes is partly responsible for everything that happens there. If we transfer the scene of the temple work to the everyday world, then the requirement for one arises to always consider himself as part of the world that one has before oneself.
Through our actions in the world we change ourselves and, with it, the world." …

"Our temple transforms the distributed intelligence of individuals into the networked intelligence of the hewn stones. For a successful temple work, all brothers must make their contribution equally. Everyone must organize themselves as a whole. It does not work well, if everyone has only his role in mind. …"

"We recognize also that as individuals we are always dependent on others, and we transform the metaphor of zero-sum game, where there must always be a winner and a loser, into the metaphor of a win-win situation where everyone can win, if maybe not always the same. The result is the wisdom of the many who we identify and value as a social community.
Properly and seriously executed, our rituals allow us to feel what the right measure is when we practice our values together. Through permanent practice, the moral choice becomes a virtuous disposition. Therefore, the concept of "practice ethics" seems justified here as well."

"Based on Peter Sloterdijk's book "You have to change your life," you can imagine the Mason as a practitioner, as a self-generating being through exercises. His activities are incessantly acting back upon him: as the work on the worker and Freemasonry on the Freemason. We do not change the world, we change and return as changed people into the world, in which we then act differently and then we experience differently. What works well, works, what does not work, does not work. This test is also the testing of Freemasonry. Granted, it will only be a modest little contribution to improving the world, but it is one."

" … und wenn wir Freimaurer befragen, was denn nun Freimaurerei sei, so bekommen wir einen bunten Strauß an Antworten, weil es eben unterschiedlichste Wahrnehmungen gibt. Und diese Wahrnehmungen werden auch geprägt durch die Fragestellung, was jeder Einzelne in der Freimaurerei sucht oder zu finden glaubt."

"Auf der Homepage der Großloge A.F.u.A.M.v.D. ist zu lesen: "Als Glieder eines ethischen Bundes treten die Freimaurer für Menschlichkeit, Brüderlichkeit, Toleranz, Friedensliebe und soziale Gerechtigkeit ein." Fürwahr, wir haben wichtige Werte, sie transportieren ein humanistisches Menschen- und Weltbild."

"Auch im Inneren unseres Bundes merken wir, wie schwierig es gelegentlich sein kann, diese Werte zu leben. Deshalb üben wir uns darin auch permanent in unseren Ritualen. Und wenn uns diese Werte wirklich wichtig sind, dann müssen wir sie auch verteidigen, wo sie in Gefahr scheinen. Dies gilt nicht nur innerhalb der Loge, dies gilt insbesondere in der Außenwelt."
Auf der Homepage heißt es weiter: "Als Gemeinschaft brüderlich verbundener Menschen ist die Loge übungsstätte dieser Werte."

"Im Raum Loge gilt beispielsweise eine andere Zeitrechnung, mit der es möglich scheint, zumindest für die Dauer der Anwesenheit, Entschleunigung zu erfahren. Für einen — wenn auch nur kurzen — Moment, entziehen wir uns dem Diktat des Immer-Schneller-Besser-Weiter-Prinzips. Wir entziehen uns dem kräftezehrenden Wettbewerb im Berufs- wie Privatleben, entledigen uns des oftmals anstrengenden Funktionieren-Müssens. Mitglieder der Loge haben nicht nur die Chance, nein, sie haben die Pflicht, sich ausreichend Zeit für den eigenen Reifungsprozess zu nehmen. Wir begleiten typischerweise diesen Prozess, den wir die "Arbeit am rauen Stein" nennen, gerne mit den Aufforderungen: "Schau in Dich! Schau um Dich! Schau über Dich!" Wie trägt nun der Ort der Loge im Besonderen zu diesem Reifungsprozess bei? Versteht man die Loge als einen heterotopischen Raum, dann wird Freimaurerei quasi zu einer realen Utopie, indem sie von einer Wirklichkeit kündet, die es weder gab noch bisher gibt. Die utopische Besonderheit zeichnet sich aber dadurch aus, dass sie den Charakter des Erwartbaren und des Möglichen gewinnt und der unvollendete Bau dereinst einmal Wirklichkeit werden könnte. Aber wie sieht diese reale Utopie aus? Ich hatte zu Beginn bereits versucht zu verdeutlichen, dass wir bei der Beschreibung von "Objekten" (Gesellschaft, Freimaurerei) individuelle Wahrnehmungsfilter anwenden und somit jeder ein anderes "Bild" vom "Objekt" zeichnet. Wenn dies stimmt, und das setze ich jetzt einfach einmal voraus, stellt sich die Frage, wie wir denn die Anschlussfähigkeit herstellen, um über eine Sache gemeinsam zu reden, von der wir im Grunde alle ein anderes Bild haben. Anders gesagt: Wie können wir trotz unterschiedlicher Wahrnehmungen über dasselbe reden? Wir nutzen Metaphern und Symbole. Wir bezeichnen diese Utopie als "unvollendeten Bau" […]. Oder: Wir bauen am Tempel der Humanität. Auch hier ist die Metapher "Bauen" sehr interessant. Bauen heißt, man hat es mit etwas zu tun, das noch nicht fertig ist, das während des Bauens auch immer noch geändert werden kann. Bauen ist ein Verb, wir nannten es früher "Tu-Wort", was zum Ausdruck bringen will, wir Brüder müssen tätig werden. Der Freimaurer beweist sich im Tun. Der Tempel der Humanität ist kein Zustand, wir werden auch den Bau nie vollenden. Der Prozess des Bauens ist wichtiger als das Erreichen des Endzustandes. Unsere Arbeit wird nie aufhören.
Und gerade weil wir uns auf kein konkretes, detailliertes Bild dieses Tempels geeinigt haben, können wir trotz aller verschiedenen Wahrnehmungen über den Tempel der Humanität reden. Auch wenn dieser Bau bzw. dieser Tempel vielleicht nicht final beschrieben ist, ist er dennoch nicht beliebig. So bleibt im übrigen auch Platz für den jeweiligen Zeitgeist über die Jahrhunderte hinweg. Es verbindet sich also Stabilität mit Wandel."

"Auch wenn wir nicht ganz genau wissen, wo wir hinwollen, so bemerken wir doch (durch die Rückschau, durch das Zurückkehren in die Welt), ob wir vom Kurs abgekommen sind oder ob wir uns in die gewünschte Richtung bewegen.

Und wie wirken wir Freimaurer in der Außenwelt? Diese Frage haben Klaus-Jürgen Grün, mein Vorgänger im Amt des QC-Vorsitzenden und ich versucht, in einem Beitrag in der "Humanität" zu beantworten. Dort schreiben wir:

"Im Ritual begegnen wir einem Menschen, der an sich selbst arbeitet, der Freimaurer ist Beobachter und zugleich das Beobachtete. Im Ganzen vollführen die Rituale ein Leben, das sich selber lebt. Niemand ist im Ritual ein außenstehender Beobachter, der durch das Geschehen unberührt bleiben kann. Freimaurer inszenieren den Prozess des Lebens, das sich selber lebt. Man kann sich nicht außerhalb des Rituals stellen und es von außen beobachten. Entweder man ist im Tempel dabei oder man bleibt außen vor. […] Diese Szene entwickelt Ethik auf eine ganz andere Weise, als es unsere traditionellen Ethiken tun. Wer selbst ein Bestandteil der Szene ist, die er beobachtet, ist mitverantwortlich für alles, was dort geschieht. Übertragen wir die Szene der Tempelarbeit auf die alltägliche Welt, so entsteht die Anforderung an sich selbst, sich stets als Bestandteil derjenigen Welt zu betrachten, die man vor sich hat. Durch unser Handeln in der Welt verändern wir uns selbst und damit auch die Welt. …"

"Unser Tempel verwandelt die verteilte Intelligenz der Individuen in die vernetzte Intelligenz der behauenen Steine. Zu einer gelungenen Tempelarbeit müssen alle Brüder gleichermaßen ihren Beitrag leisten. Alle müssen sich zu einem Ganzen organisieren. Es wird keine gelungene Arbeit, wenn jeder nur seine Rolle im Auge hat. …"

"Wir erkennen also, dass wir als Individuen immer auch von anderen abhängig sind und wandeln die Metapher des Nullsummenspiels, bei dem es immer einen Gewinner und einen Verlierer geben muss, in die Metapher einer Win-win-Situation ab, bei der alle gewinnen können, wenn vielleicht auch nicht immer in gleichem Maße. Es entsteht so die Weisheit der Vielen, die wir als soziale Gemeinschaft identifizieren und wertschätzen.
Richtig und ernsthaft ausgeführt, lassen uns unsere Rituale spüren, wie sich das rechte Maß anfühlt, wenn wir im Miteinander unsere Werte üben. Durch permanentes Üben wird aus der moralischen Mittelwahl ein tugendhafter Habitus. Deshalb scheint auch hier der Begriff der "Einübungsethik" gerechtfertigt."

"In Anlehnung an Peter Sloterdijks Buch "Du musst dein Leben ändern" kann man den Freimaurer als übenden, als ein sich durch übungen selbst erzeugendes Wesen vorstellen. Seine Aktivitäten wirken unablässig auf ihn zurück: die Arbeit auf den Arbeiter und die Freimaurerei auf den Freimaurer. Wir verändern nicht die Welt, wir verändern uns und kehren als veränderte Menschen in die Welt zurück, auf die wir dann anders einwirken und die wir dann anders erleben. Was sich bewährt, funktioniert, was sich nicht bewährt, funktioniert nicht. Diese Bewährung ist auch die Bewährung der Freimaurerei. Zugegeben, es wird nur ein bescheidener kleiner Beitrag zur Verbesserung der Welt sein, aber es ist einer."

" … Now the picture of Freemasonry, as it is in and of itself, or uniquely can and should be standing before your mind. — I draw this picture as yet with few strokes.
Here men of all walks of life come freely together and bring into a hoard what each, according to his individual character, has been able to acquire in his profession.   Each brings and gives what he has: the thinking man definite and clear conceptions, the man of business readiness and ease in the art of living, the religious man his religious sense, the artist his artistic enthusiasm.   But none imparts it in the same way in which he received it in his calling and would propagate it within his profession.
Each one, as it were, leaves behind the individual and special and brings out what it has worked out within himself as a result; he strives to give his contribution so that he can reach every member of the association, and the whole association exerts itself to assist this endeavor and in this way to give his former one-sided training a general usefulness and all-sidedness.
In this connection everyone receives in the same measure as he gives; it is precisely because he gives, that he is given, namely, the ability to give."

"Keep this picture firmly in your mind, Constant! and there will be delightful prospects for the effectiveness of such a society.   Farewell."

IN THE SIXTH LETTER, Fichte hints at what Bro. Thomas Forwe 200 years later defines as a "win-win" situation:

" … Our first question will be this: What does the order bring about in the Mason?   and the second: What does it bring about in the world? I will express myself briefly and be content with fruitful hints.

If the organization is not wholly fruitless and ineffectual, without doubt one who belongs to it, of whatever level of culture he may be in possession of, must come nearer to ripeness [maturity] than the same individual would have come outside of it. This is true of the alert man with respect to every new relation into which he enters.

In this connection I take ripeness and general human development to be synonymous; and rightly so. One-sided development is always unripe; even if on one side there was over-ripeness, because of this on the other sides there is certainly bitter, sour immaturity.

The principal sign of ripeness is: strength, mitigated by gracefulness. — All those violent excitements, all those extended confrontations and assaults are the first, and indeed necessary wrenchings and stirrings of developing strength; but they are no longer present, when development is complete and the beautiful spiritual form is rounded off in itself. Or, if I may say it in the scholarly word fashions: As ripeness ensues, gracious poetry is joined to clearness of head and righteousness of the heart, and Beauty comes into union with Wisdom and Strength.

This, as I think, is the picture of the ripe, developed man:

His mind is free from prejudices of every kind. He is a master in the realm of concepts and looks out over the region of human truth as widely as possible. But truth is for him only one — a single indivisible whole, and he puts no side of it before another.
To him the development of the spirit is only a part of the whole development, and it does not come into his mind to have entirely completed it, even so little as it comes into his mind to wish to be deprived of it. He sees very well and does not hesitate to acknowledge how much others are behind him in this respect; but he is not overzealous about this, since he knows, how much in this also depends upon luck.   He imposes his light [knowledge], and much less the full shine of his light, upon no one; although he is always ready to give to everyone who desires it as much as he can carry, and to give it to him in such guise as is most agreeable to him, but he does not mind if no one asks enlightenment of him.
He is righteous throughout, scrupulous, strict towards himself within himself, without externally making the slightest fuss about his virtue, and without imposing it upon others through assertion of his integrity, of great conspicuous sacrifices, or affectation of high seriousness.   His virtue is as natural and, I might say, as modest as his wisdom; the prevailing sentiment as to the weaknesses of his fellow men is good-hearted commiseration; in no wise angry indignation.   He lives in faith in a better world already here below, and this faith in his eyes alone, gives value, meaning and beauty to his life in this world; but he does not press this faith upon others. Instead, he carries it within himself as a private treasure.

This is the picture of the perfected man; this is the ideal of the Mason.   He will not ask nor boast a higher perfection than the human being can attain anywhere;   his perfection can be none other than a human and, the human perfection.   Each man must be busied continually in approximation to this goal.   If the Order has to have any efficacy, every member must visibly and consciously occupy himself with this approximation; he must keep this picture before his mind as an ideal set up and laid next to his heart; it must be present to him wherever his eye strikes; it must be, as it were, the nature in which he lives and breathes.

It is very likely that not all, yes perhaps no one, of those who call themselves Masons will reach this perfection.   But who has ever measured the goodness of an ideal or only an institution by what the individuals actually attain?   It depends on what they can achieve under the given circumstances; on what the institution, through all given means, wills and points out to that which its members should attain.

Moreover, I do not say that Masons are necessarily better than other men, nor that one cannot reach the same perfection outside of the Order.   It is quite possible that a man who had never been taken into the society of Freemasons could resemble the picture set forth above, and there actually comes to mind at this moment the picture of a man in whom I find it eminently realized; and he knows the Order only by name, at most.
But the same man, if he had become in the order and through it what he has become by himself in the greater human society, would be better able to make others what he is, and his whole formation would be more social, more communicable, and therefore also essentially modified in its inner self.
What comes into being in society has in practice more life and power than what is produced in seclusion.

These are the hints that I wished to give you as to the working of the Society of Freemasons upon its members. Either it must effect a happy approximation to the ideal set forth above, or nothing at all; more than that cannot be achieved; what is less can be achieved everywhere.
It is needless to say that the members must be susceptible to its salutary influence, and likewise that the institutions must be of such a nature that the most and the least susceptible yet gains in his proper relation in it, and progresses.

And now the next question will be whether this organization has any effect upon the world."

Fichte covers this question in the SEVENTH LETTER:

"Can, indeed, this question be put forth seriously as a doubtful one?   Can one still really ask: whether the Order has an effect upon the world, upon the great human society?

Does the man so trained in the inner sanctuary of the Order not remain as before [unchanged] in the world and keep his place therein?   Does he not remain, as before, husband, father of a family, companion, member of the profession to which he belongs in the world?   Can his training acquired in the Order, which has now become thoroughly his own, which constitutes an integral part of his personality, which he cannot take off at will when he leaves the lodge, — fail to be visible in all these relationships?   And so, does the Order not work most beneficially upon the world through its members?

I remind you of something that will help you in your own considerations:

No one occupies his place in the greater society more suitably than he who is able to see beyond his place, who sees through and over not only his place but the fine boundary lines which he disregards or sees through and intervenes upon in the greater society; so that he is the greater and clearer scholar who looks out over not only his own branch of learning but also those adjoining it and even the whole field of knowledge.  Only the one who is like him in this way conducts himself intelligently and consciously for the world; the other is a blind instrument, which perhaps works quite rightly in its place, but whose effectiveness is directed to the true goal through the whole.   The former knows, at the right time, when to let go of the demands and rules of his vocation, when to strictly adhere to them, when to sharpen them; the latter does not understand this, but he goes, like a machine, day after day firmly upon the accustomed path.   But it is Masonry which raises all men above their vocation; in that it trains men, concurrently the most suitable members of the larger society: the amiable and popular learned and wise men, not only the skillful but also the men of affairs possessed of judgment, the humane warriors, the good heads of households, and the wise educators of their children. — Whatever human relation one may think of, Masonry has the most beneficial influence upon it."

"Nun wird das Bild der Maurerei, wie sie an und für sich selbst ist, oder einzig seyn kann und soll, vor Deiner Seele stehen. — Ich zeichne dies Bild noch mit einigen Zügen. Hier treten Männer aus allen Ständen frei zusammen und bringen die Bildung, die jeder nach seiner Individualität, in seinem Stande, erwerben konnte, auf einen Haufen. Jeder bringt und gibt, was er hat: der denkende Kopf, bestimmte und klare Begriffe, der handelnde Mann Fertigkeit und Leichtigkeit in der Kunst des Lebens, der Religiöse seinen religiösen Sinn, der Künstler seinen künstlerischen Enthusiasmus. Aber keiner gibt es auf dieselbe Weise, wie er es in seinem Stande erhalten hat und in seinem Stande fortpflanzen würde. Jeder läßt gleichsam das Einzelne und Spezielle liegen, und holt das heraus, was es als Resultat in seinem Inneren gewirkt hat; er bestrebt sich, seinen Beitrag so zu geben, daß er an jedes Mitglied der Gesellschaft gelangen könne; und die ganze Gesellschaft bemüht sich, dieses sein Bestreben zu unterstützen und eben dadurch seiner bisher einseitigen Bildung allgemeine Brauchbarkeit und Allseitigkeit zu geben. In dieser Verbindung empfängt jeder in demselben Maaße, als er gibt; gerade dadurch, daß er gibt, wird ihm gegeben, nämlich die Fertigkeit, geben zu können."

"Halte dies Bild fest in Deiner Seele, Konstant! und es werden sich Dir entzückende Aussichten über die Wirksamkeit einer solchen Gesellschaft eröffnen.   Lebe wohl."

"… Unsere erste Frage wird sonach sein: Was wirkt der Orden im Maurer?   und die zweite: Was wirkt er auf die Welt? — Ich werde mich kurz fassen, und mich mit fruchtbaren Winken begnügen können.

Ist die Verbindung nicht völlig vergebens und unwirksam, so muß doch ohne Zweifel derjenige, der sich in ihr befindet, er stehe auf einer Stufe der Kultur, auf welcher er wolle, der Reifenäher kommen, als dasselbe Individuum, =4= außer der Verbindung, ihr gekommen sein würde. Dies gilt bei dem wachen Menschen sogar von jedem neuen Verhältnisse, in welches er eintritt.

Ich nehme hier Reife und gemeinmenschliche Ausbildung für gleichbedeutend, und zwar mit Recht. Einseitige Bildung ist immer Unreife; wenn auch an einer Seite Überreife sein sollte, so ist doch dafür gewiß an anderen Seiten herbe, saure Unreife.

Das Hauptkennzeichen der Reife ist: Kraft, durch Anmut gemildert. — Alle jene gewaltsamen Ereiferungen, jene weiten Anläufe und Ausholungen sind die ersten, auch notwendigen Renkungen und Regungen der sich entwickelnden Kraft; aber sie sind nicht mehr vorhanden, nachdem die Entwicklung vollendet, und die schöne geistige Form in sich selbst gerundet ist. Oder daß ich es mit den Kunstwörtern der Schule sage: So wie die Reife erfolgt, vermählt holde Poesie sich mit der Klarheit des Kopfes und der Rechtschaffenheit des Herzens, und die Schönheit tritt in den Bund mit der Weisheit und Stärke.

Dies ist das Bild des reifen, ausgebildeten Mannes, wie ich mir ihn denke:

Sein Kopf ist durchaus klar und von Vorurteilen aller Art frei. Er herrscht im Reiche der Begriffe und übersieht das Gebiet der menschlichen Wahrheit so weit als möglich. Aber die =5= Wahrheit ist ihm durchaus nur Eine, nur ein Einziges, unteilbares Ganzes, und er zieht keine Seite derselben einer anderen vor. Geistesbildung selbst aber ist ihm auch nur ein Teil der ganzen Bildung, und es fällt ihm nicht ein, lediglich durch sie vollendet zu haben; eben so wenig, als es ihm einfallen wird, sie entbehren zu wollen. Er sieht sehr gut, und scheut sich nicht, es zu gestehen, wie sehr andere hierin hinter ihm zurück sind; aber er ereifert sich darüber nicht, weil er weiß, wie viel auch hierin vom Glücke abhänge. Er drängt sein Licht, noch weniger den bloßen Schein seines Lichts, keinem auf; wiewohl er immer bereit ist, jedem, der da begehrt, soviel zu geben, als er tragen kann, und es ihm in jedem Gewande zu geben, das ihm das gefälligste ist, läßt er es doch auch gut sein, wenn niemand seine Leuchte begehrt. Er ist durchaus rechtschaffen, gewissenhaft, streng gegen sich selbst in seinem Inneren, ohne äußerlich das geringste Wesen mit seiner Tugend zu machen, und den Anblick derselben anderen, durch Versicherungen über seine Ehrlichkeit, durch stark hervorspringende Aufopferungen, durch Affektation eines hohen Ernstes aufzudringen. Seine Tugend ist eben so kunstlos und, ich dürfte sagen, schamhaft, als seine Weisheit; die herrschende Empfindung beiden =6= Schwachheiten seiner Mitmenschen ist gutmütiges Bedauern, keineswegs zürnende Entrüstung. Er lebt im Glauben schon hienieden in einer besseren Welt, und dieser Glaube allein gibt in seinen Augen seinem Leben hienieden Wert, Bedeutung und Schönheit; aber er dringt am wenigsten diesen Glauben irgend einem auf, sondern trägt ihn in sich, als einen verborgenen Schatz. —

Dies ist das Bild des vollendeten Menschen, dies ist das Ideal des Maurers. Eine höhere Vollkommenheit, als der Mensch überall erreichen kann, wird auch dieser nicht begehren oder sich ihrer rühmen; seine Vollkommenheit kann keine andere, als eine menschliche und die menschliche sein. Jeder Mensch muß in steter Annäherung zu diesem Ziele begriffen sein; wenn der O. Nur einige Wirksamkeit hat, muß jedes Glied sichtbarer und mit Bewußtsein in dieser Annäherung begriffen sein; als aufgestelltes und seinem Herzen nahgelegtes Ideal muß ihm dies Bild vorschweben; wohin sein Auge trifft, muß es sich ihm darstellen; es muß gleichsam die Natur sein, in der er lebt und atmet.

Wohl möglich, daß nicht alle, ja daß vielleicht kein einziger von denen, welche sich Maurer nennen, diese Vollendung erreichen. Aber wer hat je die Güte eines Ideals oder nur einer Anstalt, nach dem, was die Individuen wirklich erreichen, abgemessen? Darauf kommt es an, was diese unter =7= den gegebenen Bedingungen erreichen können; was die Anstalt durch alle gegebenen Mittel will und andeutet, daß ihre Glieder erreichen sollen.

Auch sage ich nicht, daß die Maurer notwendig besser sind, als andere Menschen, eben so wenig, daß man dieselbe Vollkommenheit nicht auch außer dem Orden erreichen könnte. Wohl wäre es möglich, daß ein Mann, der nie in der Frei-Maurer-Gesellschaft aufgenommen wäre, dem oben aufgestellten Bilde gliche; und es schwebt in diesem Augenblicke wirklich vor den Augen meines Geistes das Bild eines Mannes, in welchem ich es vorzüglich realisiert finde und der den Orden höchstens dem Namen nach kennt. Aber derselbe Mann, wenn er in dem Orden und durch denselben das geworden wäre, was er durch sich in der großen menschlichen Gesellschaft geworden ist, würde fähiger sein, auch andere zu demselben zu machen, was er ist, und seine ganze Bildung würde gesellschaftlicher, mitteilbarer und sonach auch im Inneren wesentlich anders modisicirt sein. Was in der Gesellschaft entsteht, hat für die Praxis mehr Leben und Kraft, als das, was in der Abgeschiedenheit erzeugt wird.

Dies sind die Winke, die ich Dir über die Wirksamkeit der Frei-Maurer-Gesellschaft auf ihre Mitglieder geben wollte. Entweder muß sie die glückliche Annäherung zu dem oben aufgestellten Ideale wirken, oder gar nichts; was darüber ist, kann überall nicht gewirkt, was darunter ist, kann überall gewirkt werden. Daß die Mitglieder =8= aber für ihren wohltätigen Einfluß empfänglich sein müssen, versteht sich wohl von selbst; eben so, daß die Anstalten von einer solchen Natur sein müssen, daß der am meisten und der am wenigsten Empfängliche dennoch in seinem richtigen Verhältnis in ihr gewinnet und fortschreitet.

Und nun wird noch die Frage sein: Ob diese Verbindung auch auf die Welt wirke."

"Könnte wohl diese Frage im Ernst zweifelnd aufgeworfen werden, könnte man wirklich nun noch fragen: Ob der Orden auch auf die Welt, auf die größere menschliche Gesellschaft wirke?

Dieser im inneren Heiligtume des Ordens so gebildete Mann, bleibt er denn nicht nach wie vor in der Welt, und behält in derselben seinen Platz? Bleibt er nicht, nach wie vor, Gatte, Hausvater, Gesellschafter, Mitglied des Standes, den er in der Welt bekleidet? Kann es fehlen, daß seine im Orden erlangte Bildung, die nun ihm durchaus eigen geworden ist, die ein Bestandteil seiner Persönlichkeit ausmacht, und die er nicht so willkürlich ablegen kann, wenn er die Loge verläßt, — kann es fehlen, daß diese Bildung nicht in allen diesen Verhältnissen sichtbar werde? Und wirkt so =9= der Orden durch seine Mitglieder nicht höchst wohltätig auf die Welt?

Ich mache Dich auf einiges aufmerksam, was Dich in Deinen eigenen Erwägungen unterstützen wird.

Niemand bekleidet seine Stelle in der größeren Gesellschaft zweckmäßiger, als der, welcher vermag, über seine Stelle hinaus zu sehen, der nicht nur sie, sondern der auch die feine Grenzlinie, wo sie in die größere Gesellschaft übergeht und eingreift, durchschaut und überblickt; so wie der der größere und hellere Gelehrte ist, der nicht nur seine Disziplin, sondern auch die angrenzenden, sondern auch das ganze Feld des Wissens überschaut. Nur der so auf seiner Stelle steht, handelt sehend und seiner sich sehr wohl bewußt, für die Welt; der andere ist ein blindes Werkzeug, das an seinem Platze vielleicht ganz richtig wirkt, dessen Wirksamkeit aber erst durch das Ganze zum wahren Ziele hingelenkt wird. Der erstere weiß zu rechter Zeit hier von den Forderungen und Regeln seines Standes nachzulassen, hier streng auf sie zu halten, hier sie zu schärfen; dies versteht der letztere nicht, sondern er geht, wie eine Maschine, heute und morgen den fest angewöhnten Gang. Nun aber ist es die Maurerei, die alle Menschen über ihren Stand erhebt; sie bildet sonach, indem sie Menschen bildet, zugleich die tauglichsten Mitglieder der größeren Gesellschaft: liebenswürdige und populäre Gelehrte und Weise, nicht bloß fertige, =10= sondern auch mit Urteil begabte Geschäftsmänner, menschliche Krieger, gute Hausväter und weise Erzieher ihrer Kinder. — Welches menschliche Verhältnis man sich auch denken möge, die Maurerei hat den vorteilhaftesten Einfluß darauf."

Freemasonry — The Sacred Science

I have often heard this expression, which however I do not agree with for the reasons I present below.

By science, in the common meaning, we mean a system of knowledge obtained mainly through an activity of organized research and with methodical and rigorous procedures, with the aim of arriving, through experimental tests, at a plausible description and with predictive character, of reality and the laws that regulate the occurrence of phenomena.

The sacred, as a supra-human phenomenon, cannot be the object of scientific study.   His existence can only be intuited, so we have an imperfect knowledge of it, through a glass and in the dark, as the apostle Paul said.   Therefore, Freemasonry can be neither a science nor sacred; it is not a doctrine, but a method which allows us to approach the sacred through the practice of rituals and meditation upon symbols.

The purpose of Freemasonry is to lead man to perfection and exaltation; with the first term we mean the improvement under the moral and intellectual profile, with the second term, instead, appears the concept of a quid, a something that must be searched first and then found.

*    *     *

To be admitted into the Order, one must declare that one believes in the Supreme Being.   How can this obligation be reconciled with the non-dogmatic nature of the institution?   Masonic religiosity is heuristic, it is the search for the imprint of the Creator in every creature, in this case, man.   The object of research is, therefore, the true nature of man, the Self, the divine spark that lies within us: in our heart, which Dante calls the very secret chamber in which the spirit of life dwells. ¹⁾   Do not go outside, the truth dwells in the inner man, said St. Augustine.   Echoed by the Sufis: "The fool worships at the mosque and ignores the true temple he has in his heart."   Introspection means therefore to go in search of the Self.

Hewing the stone takes on the meaning of correcting the defects of the ego, the complex of physical and psychic desires that anchor us to materiality, causing us suffering and frustration.

Killing the ego, however, is, at least I believe, not possible.   It is part of our nature.   Observe the painting of Saint George and the Dragon, by Paolo Uccello:

The beast is placed in front of the cave, our inner self, as if to prevent entrance to it, kept on a leash by the girl, which symbolizes Nature.   Saint George strikes the beast with a spear, a phallic symbol, so his action is virile, inspired by will and guided by rationality.   And though it hurts it, but does not kill him.

This is what Freemasonry teaches us: gradually, through the practice of rituals and meditation upon symbols, the ego is humbled and, at the same time, the Self, of which the body is only the outer envelope, is awakened and exalted.

Einstein said that "the true value of a man is determined above all by the way in which he has come to free himself from the ego", ²⁾ and this liberation is the great and only secret of Freemasonry, that which all Masons should know and which the profane cannot understand.

1)   The New Life, chap. II

2)   Albert Einstein, Thoughts of a curious [inquisitive] man

La Massoneria Scienza Sacra

Ho spesso udito questa espressione, che tuttavia non condivido per le ragioni che di seguito espongo.

Per scienza, nell'accezione comune, si intende un sistema di conoscenze ottenute attraverso un'attività di ricerca prevalentemente organizzata e con procedimenti metodici e rigorosi, avente lo scopo di giungere, attraverso dei test sperimentali, a una descrizione verosimile e con carattere predittivo, della realtà e delle leggi che regolano l'occorrenza dei fenomeni.

Il sacro, in quanto fenomeno sovra-umano, non può essere oggetto di studio scientifico. La sua esistenza può solo essere intuita, ne abbiamo perciò una conoscenza imperfetta, per speculum et in ænigmate, come diceva l'apostolo Paolo. Perciò la Massoneria non può essere né scienza né sacra; essa non è dottrina, ma metodo che attraverso la pratica dei rituali e la meditazione sui simboli ci permette di accostarci al sacro.

Lo scopo della Massoneria è condurre l'uomo al perfezionamento e all'elevazione; con il primo termine si intende il miglioramento sotto il profilo morale e intellettuale, col secondo, invece, si affaccia l'idea di un quid che deve essere ricercato prima e trovato poi.

*    *    *

Per essere ammessi nell'Ordine bisogna dichiarare di credere nell'Ente Supremo.   Come si concilia quest'obbligo con l'adogmaticità dell'istituzione? La religiosità massonica è euristica, è la ricerca dell'impronta del Creatore in ogni sua creatura, in questo caso, l'uomo. L'oggetto della ricerca è perciò la vera natura dell'uomo, il Sé, la scintilla divina che giace al nostro interno: nel nostro cuore, che Dante chiama la secretissima camera nella quale dimora lo spirito di vita. ¹⁾   Noli foras ire, in interiore hominis habitat veritas, disse Agostino.   Gli fanno eco i sufi: "Lo stolto adora alla moschea ed ignora il vero tempio che ha nel cuore".   Viaggiare al proprio interno significa perciò andare alla ricerca del Sé.

Sgrezzare la pietra assume il significato di correggere i difetti dell'ego, il complesso dei desideri fisici e psichici che ci ancorano alla materialità, causandoci sofferenze e frustrazioni.

Uccidere l'ego, tuttavia, non è possibile, almeno io credo.   Esso fa parte della nostra natura.   Si osservi il quadro di San Giorgio e il drago, dipinto da Paolo Uccello.

La bestia è posta davanti alla caverna, la nostra interiorità, quasi a impedirne l'ingresso, tenuta al guinzaglio dalla fanciulla, che simboleggia la Natura.   San Giorgio lo colpisce con una lancia, simbolo fallico, dunque la sua azione è virile, ispirata dalla volontà e guidata dalla razionalità.   E però lo ferisce, ma non lo uccide.

La Massoneria ci insegna proprio questo: gradualmente, attraverso la pratica dei rituali e la meditazione sui simboli, l'ego è abbassato e, correlatamente, risvegliato e innalzato il Sé, del quale il corpo è solo l'involucro esteriore.

Ha detto Einstein che "Il vero valore di un uomo si determina soprattutto dal modo in cui è giunto a liberarsi dall'io", ²⁾ ed è questa liberazione il grande e unico segreto della Massoneria, quello che tutti i massoni dovrebbero conoscere e che i profane non possono comprendere.

1)   Vita Nuova, chap. II

2)   Albert Einstein, Pensieri di un uomo curioso

Modern Freemasonry arose at a tipping point of European civilization where four lodges in London considered it useful to federate.

•   During the Renaissance, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Europe rediscovered the powerful ancient Greco-Roman culture.

•   The technological leap in maritime transport makes it possible to connect continents and discover new territories.   At the same time, exchanges between Europeans are developing thanks to postal services, created in the fifteenth century for administrative and military mail, and then extended to private citizens.   The invention of the printing press enriches the minds and circulates ideas.

•   At the same time, many sciences are undergoing radical development and new disciplines are emerging.   They make it possible to study the evolution of life on earth, to discover the history of humanity since its birth, to compare different civilizations, etc.   Research gets rid of a lot of prejudices, its methods become more reliable, its results verifiable.   The acquisition of this knowledge led, among other things, to the creation of the Encyclopedia.

•   All these advances deepen the knowledge of most past and present world civilizations, and lay the foundations for a better understanding between individuals and distant societies.

This wealth of information and experience, both personal and collective, unparalleled until then, has caused a leap in the study of man, his place in the universe and the universe itself.   It laid the foundations for a new stage in the development of mankind.

Birth of a global civilization

Till then divided into families, clans, tribes, villages, countries, and various other groups, limited in time and space, humans began to perceive themselves as stakeholders in sustainable, economic, political and cultural global entities.   This did not dissolve the aforementioned subsets, but made it clear that men and women, as subgroups, were also parts of mankind, a sort of organism made up of all humans.

The authors of the Andersonian Constitutions seem to have been convinced that the pooling of the potential of mankind in its diversity could be the indispensable condition for the success of the "globalization" that was to come.

To make the bonds uniting all humans palpable and "to gather what is scattered," the fathers of modern Freemasonry have forged the notion of a universal brotherhood.   They wanted the Freemasons to be the point of departure and the center of the union of this new mankind.

These men were really admirable.   Considering all humans as brothers, after so many never-ending wars, and wanting to dialogue with them without prejudice was an overwhelming idea.

It is true, many religions are based on the idea of fraternity, but they differ in many ways from the fraternity of the Freemasons:

•   The religious fraternity is always a "vertical" [a top-down structure] because it connects humans as children of a superior being, their father.

•   To be all from the same father almighty is reassuring.

•   The resulting fraternity is based on submission to this father and those who represent him.

•   It is synonymous with love which, like families of the same blood, should prevail among all the church members.

•   This fraternity [and love] is almost always confined to the followers of each religion.

•   Some churches have tried to impose their belief even on unbelievers by fire and sword, means not really appropriate to spread brotherhood and love …

•   The Masonic fraternity is "horizontal".   It results from an individual decision to perceive others as brothers and, in turn, to be recognized by them as their brother.

•   By instinct, man is distrustful of all those who differ from him. A great effort is required for a man, by a voluntary choice, directly, without intermediary, to consider the others, all the others, as brothers. The "masonic method" prepares the "initiates" to receive, and offers them, the necessary tools for it.

•   The resulting fraternity is based on freedom and equality. It involves the respect of others — whom the scholars and philosophers of the Royal Academy needed to review their research and opinions without prejudice or fear.


•   More than love, the Masonic fraternity expresses a connection. It's about understanding and feeling how interdependent humans are with each other and with everything around them. The visceral nature of this connection could have been assumed a long time before, thanks to the observation of nature. In the nineteenth century, the strength of this connection was proven by Darwin, then confirmed even more firmly a century later by genetics and ecology.

•   Present scientific observations prove that diversity is the indispensable condition for the development and maintenance of life on earth. The founders of modern Freemasonry have intuited the vital importance of diversity. Their concept of universal brotherhood teaches understanding of all worldviews and, given what has been said above about evolution, respect for all forms of life.


•   Freemasons have never wanted to forcibly compel adherence to their movement. All "honest people" can be part of it, of their own free will.

Beginning in the Renaissance, accentuated in the seventeenth century, confirmed in the eighteenth, the unification of the world continues to this day and will continue tomorrow.

Today states hesitate between conquest and association. They try to collaborate peacefully, but arm themselves to the point of being able to destroy the whole humanity. Some think they can impose their domination by intimidation, without reaching the extreme of a world war, but they walk on the tightrope, risking to plunge the whole humanity, including themselves, into the abyss.

The creation of a global civilization faces a double difficulty. On the one hand, the amount of "objective" data to take into account to organize a coexistence of all humans exceeds the capabilities of any individual or group of individuals, regardless of the tools at their disposal. On the other hand, imposing on humanity an indistinct equality would be suicidal because the incredible diversity of humans allows them to adapt and survive as such in virtually any condition. It resonates with the vital instinct of our species, and it is also for this reason that each group defends its particularity with such energy which no uniformizing empire can resist.

If for the survival of mankind the diversity of cultures is as important as biodiversity, then Freemasonry is still relevant. Are we sufficiently aware of it? Are we worthy of this heritage? Was it not squandered or betrayed?

The founders of modern Freemasonry have created a tool that promotes, through the initiation and the use of symbols, the knowledge of oneself and of others — of all "others" throughout time and space. This knowledge inevitably leads to the understanding of the deep bonds between all beings, and therefore to respect. Thus, Freemasonry provides a great way to accept the incredible diversity of humans and value it through brotherhood. It can enable us to be inspired by all this wealth and thus participate in the formation of a new peaceful world civilization.

Unfortunately, even if these principles work inside the lodges, outside they face the conflicts between Masonic Jurisdictions which, basically, are often nothing but a quest for domination by one over another. Without overcoming them, Freemasonry will continue to wither.

(Excerpt from the book "Freemasonry tramples in the middle of the ford.")

La franc-maçonnerie moderne a surgi à un moment de basculement de civilisation européenne où quatre loges de Londres ont considéré utile de se fédérer.

•   A la Renaissance, au XVe et XVIe siècles, l'Europe redécouvre la puissante culture antique gréco-romaine.


•   Le saut technologique des transports maritimes permet de relier les continents et de découvrir de nouveaux territoires. En même temps, les échanges entre les Européens se développent grâce aux relais postaux, créés au XVe siècle pour les courriers administratifs et militaires, puis ouverts aux privés. L'invention de l'imprimerie enrichit les esprits et fait circuler les idées.


•   Parallèlement, de nombreuses sciences connaissent un développement radical et de nouvelles disciplines naissent. Elles permettent d'étudier l'évolution de la vie sur terre, de découvrir l'histoire de l'humanité depuis sa naissance, de comparer différentes civilisations, etc. La recherche s'affranchit d'un bon nombre de préjugés, ses méthodes deviennent plus fiables, ses résultats vérifiables. L'acquisition de ces savoirs a abouti, entre autres, à la création de l'Encyclopédie.

•   Toutes ces avancées approfondissent la connaissance de la plupart des civilisations du monde, passées et présentes, et posent les prémices d'une meilleure compréhension entre les individus et les sociétés éloignées.

Cette richesse d'informations et d'expériences, à la fois personnelles et collectives, sans équivalent jusqu'alors, a provoqué un bond dans l'étude de l'homme, de sa place dans l'univers et de l'univers lui-même. Elle a posé les fondements d'une nouvelle étape du développement de l'humanité.

Naissance d'une civilisation planétaire

Divisés jusque-là en familles, clans, tribus, villages, pays et divers autres groupements, limités dans le temps et l'espace, les humains ont commencé à se percevoir comme parties prenantes d'entités planétaires durables, économiques, politiques et culturelles. Cela n'a pas dissout les sous-ensembles précités, mais a fait comprendre que les hommes et les femmes étaient aussi des parcelles de l'humanité, sorte d'organisme composé de tous les humains.

Les auteurs des Constitutions d'Anderson semblent avoir été convaincus que la mise en commun du potentiel de l'humanité dans sa diversité pourrait être la condition indispensable de réussite de la "mondialisation" qui s'annonçait.

Pour rendre palpables les liens unissant tous les humains et "rassembler ce qui est épars", les pères de la franc-maçonnerie moderne ont forgé la notion de fraternité universelle. Ils voulaient que les francs-maçons soient le point de départ et le centre de l'union de cette nouvelle humanité.

Ces hommes étaient vraiment admirables. Considérer, après tant de guerres interminables, tous les humains comme frères et vouloir dialoguer avec eux sans préjugés était une idée bouleversante.

Certes, de nombreuses religions sont fondées sur l'idée de fraternité, mais elle diffère en plusieurs points de la fraternité des francs-maçons:

•   La fraternité religieuse est toujours "verticale" car elle relie les humains en tant qu'enfants d'un être supérieur, leur Père.

•   Être issus tous du même père tout puissant est rassurant.

•   La fraternité qui en résulte est fondée sur la soumission à ce père et à ceux qui le représentent.

•   Elle est synonyme de l'amour qui, à l'instar des familles de même sang, devrait régner entre les membres des églises.

•   Cette fraternité se limite presque toujours aux seuls adeptes de chaque religion.

•   Certaines églises ont tenté d'imposer leur croyance même aux non-croyants par le feu et l'épée, moyens pas vraiment appropriés pour répandre fraternité et amour...

•   La fraternité maçonnique est "horizontale". Elle résulte d'une décision individuelle de percevoir les autres comme ses frères et d'être reconnu à son tour comme leur frère.

•   A priori, l'homme se méfie de tous ceux qui diffèrent de lui. Considérer par un choix volontaire, directement, sans intermédiaire, les autres, tous les autres, comme frères demande un grand effort. La "méthode maçonnique" prépare les "initiés" à le fournir et leur offre les outils nécessaires.


•   La fraternité qui en résulte est fondée sur la liberté et l'égalité. Elle implique le respect des autres - dont les savants et philosophes de l'Académie Royale avaient besoin pour confronter sans préjugés ni craintes leurs recherches et opinions.

•   Plus que l'amour, la fraternité maçonnique exprime un lien. Il s'agit de comprendre et de ressentir à quel point les humains sont interdépendants à la fois entre eux et avec tout ce qui les entoure. Le caractère viscéral de ce lien pouvait être supposé depuis longtemps, grâce à l'observation de la nature. Au XIXe siècle, la force de ce lien a été prouvée par Darwin, puis confirmée encore plus fermement un siècle plus tard par la génétique et l'écologie.


•   Les observations scientifiques actuelles prouvent que la diversité est la condition indispensable du développement et du maintien de la vie sur la terre. Les fondateurs de la franc-maçonnerie moderne ont eu l'intuition de l'importance vitale de la diversité. Leur concept de fraternité universelle enseigne la compréhension de toutes les visions du monde et, compte-tenu de ce qui précède sur l'évolution, le respect de toutes les formes de vie.

•   Les francs-maçons n'ont jamais voulu imposer par force l'adhésion à leur mouvement. Tous les " honnêtes gens " peuvent en faire partie, en suivant leurs libre-arbitre.

Commencée à la Renaissance, accentuée au XVIIe siècle, confirmée au XVIIIe, l'unification du monde se poursuit jusqu'à maintenant et continuera demain.

Aujourd'hui les états hésitent entre la conquête et l'association. Ils tentent de collaborer pacifiquement, mais s'arment au point de pouvoir détruire l'humanité entière. Certains pensent être en mesure d'imposer leur domination par intimidation, sans arriver à l'extrémité d'une guerre mondiale, mais ils marchent sur la corde raide, risquant de précipiter dans l'abîme avec eux toute l'humanité, y compris eux-mêmes.

La création d'une civilisation planétaire se heurte à une double difficulté. D'une part, la quantité de données "objectives" à prendre en compte pour organiser une coexistence de tous les humains dépasse les capacités de n'importe quel individu ou groupe d'individus, peu importent les outils à leur disposition. D'autre part, imposer à l'humanité un nivellement serait suicidaire car l'incroyable diversité des humains leur permet de s'adapter et de survivre dans pratiquement n'importe quelles conditions. Elle résonne avec l'instinct vital de notre espèce et c'est aussi pour cette raison que chaque groupe défend sa particularité avec énergie à laquelle ne résiste aucun empire uniformisant.

Si pour la survie de l'humanité la diversité des cultures est aussi importante que la biodiversité, alors la franc-maçonnerie est toujours d'actualité. En sommes-nous suffisamment conscients? Sommes-nous dignes de cet héritage? N'a-t-il pas été dilapidé ou trahi?

Les fondateurs de la franc-maçonnerie moderne ont créé un outil favorisant, par l'initiation et l'utilisation des symboles, la connaissance de soi-même et des autres — de tous les "autres" à travers le temps et l'espace. Cette connaissance aboutit inévitablement à la compréhension des liens profonds entre tous les êtres, et donc au respect. Ainsi, la franc-maçonnerie fournit-elle un excellent moyen d'accepter l'incroyable diversité des humains et de la valoriser par la fraternité. Elle peut nous permettre de nous inspirer de toute cette richesse pour participer à la formation d'une nouvelle civilisation planétaire apaisée.

Malheureusement, si ces principes fonctionnent à l'intérieur des loges, ils se heurtent à l'extérieur aux conflits entre les obédiences maçonniques qui, au fond, ne sont souvent qu'une quête de domination des unes par les autres. Sans les dépasser, la franc-maçonnerie continuera à s'étioler.

(Extrait du livre "La franc-maçonnerie piétine au milieu du gué".)

"The nature of Freemasonry comprises all that is human as a whole existence: therefore, it is intended for all times, classes and nations, for women and men, for children, adults and the aged."

"… that Freemasonry is and will be of the essence to every individual person and to all humanity jointly, and that therefore will be one day openly taught to all men and should be practiced socially 'in One global Lodge' of all men."

"… This transformation and re-creation of the Masonic fraternity, in the spirit of the now greater revived humanity, is in itself and historically legitimate, morally necessary and inevitable. It is a duty to act with all might towards it, and it is wrong and unjust to oppose this transformation; the brethren and lodges that bring it about will be benefactors of mankind, contemporaries and posterity will love and bless them."

This is what Bro. Forwe in 2019 defines as "Utopia."

Der Freimaurerei, seinem Wesen nach alles Menschliche, als Ganzleben, umfaßt: so ist er für alle Zeiten, Stände und Völker, für Weiber und Männer, für Kinder, Erwachsene und Greise bestimmt.

"… daß die Freimaurerei allen einzelnen Menschen und der ganzen Menschheit gemeinsam wesenlich sei, und daß sie daher einst allen Menschen offen gelehret, und von allen Menschen "in Einer allgemeinen Loge", gesellschaftlich ausgeübt werden solle."

…Diese Umbildung und Neuschöpfung der Freimaurerbrüderschaft im Geiste der jetzt höher aufgelebten Menschheit ist an sich selbst und geschichtlich rechtmäßig, sittlich geboten und unvermeidlich. Es ist Pflicht, dahin aus allen Kräften zu wirken, und es ist Irthum und Unrecht, dieser Umwandlung zu widerstreben; die Brüder und Logen, welche sie bewirken, werden Wohlthäter der Menschheit sein; Mitwelt und Nachwelt werden sie lieben und segnen."

O voi che siete due dentro ad un foco,
s'io meritai di voi mentre ch'io vissi,
s'io meritai di voi assai o poco

quando nel mondo li alti versi scrissi,
non vi movete; ma l'un di voi dica
dove, per lui, perduto a morir gissi.

Lo maggior corno de la fiamma antica
cominciò a crollarsi mormorando,
pur come quella cui vento affatica;

indi la cima qua e là menando,
come fosse la lingua che parlasse,
gittò voce di fuori e disse: "Quando

mi diparti' da Circe, che sottrasse
me più d'un anno là presso a Gaeta,
prima che sì Enëa la nomasse,

né dolcezza di figlio, né la pieta
del vecchio padre, né 'l debito amore
lo qual dovea Penelopé far lieta,

vincer potero dentro a me l'ardore
ch'i' ebbi a divenir del mondo esperto,^(*)
e de li vizi umani e del valore;

Hey you, who are two within one flame,
if I was worthy of you while I was living,
if I was worthy of you a lot or a little

when in the world I wrote the sublime verses,
do not move; but one of you please tell
where, how, by what was your death caused.

The greater horn of that one ancient flame
began to shake itself, while murmuring,
like does the one tormented by the wind;

then wagging the top to and fro,
like it was a tongue proffering words,
threw out its voice, and said: "When

I escaped from Circe, who kept me away
more than a year there near Caieta,
before the time Aeneas would call it thus,

neither fondness for my son, nor reverence
for my old father, nor the duly owed love
which would have filled Penelope with joy,

could overcome within me the passion
I had to become of the world an expert,^(*)
both of the vices and virtues of mankind;

ma misi me per l'alto mare aperto
sol con un legno e con quella compagna
picciola da la qual non fui diserto.

L'un lito e l'altro vidi infin la Spagna,
fin nel Morrocco, e l'isola d'i Sardi,
e l'altre che quel mare intorno bagna.

Io e ' compagni eravam vecchi e tardi
quando venimmo a quella foce stretta
dov' Ercule segnò li suoi riguardi,

acciò che l'uom più oltre non si metta;
da la man destra mi lasciai Sibilia,
da l'altra già m'avea lasciata Setta.

'O frati,' dissi, 'che per cento milia
perigli siete giunti a l'occidente,
a questa tanto picciola vigilia

d'i nostri sensi ch'è del rimanente
non vogliate negar l'esperïenza
di retro al sol, del mondo sanza gente.

Considerate la vostra semenza:
fatti non foste a viver come bruti,
ma per seguir virtute e canoscenza.

Li miei compagni fec' io sì aguti,
con questa orazion picciola, al cammino,
che a pena poscia li avrei ritenuti;

e volta nostra poppa nel mattino,
de' remi facemmo ali al folle volo,
sempre acquistando dal lato mancino.^*)

instead I set myself over the open seas
only with one ship and with that small
company by which I had not been abandoned.

I saw all the shores as far as Spain,
even Morocco, and the Sardinians' island,
and all the others islands bathed by that sea.

Tardy with age were my companion and I
when we came upon that narrow strait,
where Hercules marked his boundaries,

so that man would not go any further;
on the right hand I left Seville,
on the other I had already past Ceuta.

Brethren, I said, by hundred thousand
perils you have arrived to the west,
to this so very short a time

that is remaining of our lives to live
deny not yourselves the knowledge
following the sun, of the world without people.

Reflect upon your very nature:
you were not made to live like brutes,
but to pursue virtue and knowledge.

So eager made I my companions,
with this short speech, for the voyage,
that I could then scarcely hold them back;

and, turned the stern toward the morning (East),
we made of the oars wings to the witless flight,
steadily gaining toward the left side.^*)

Tutte le stelle già de l'altro polo
vedea la notte, e 'l nostro tanto basso,
che non surgëa fuor del marin suolo.

Cinque volte racceso e tante casso
lo lume era di sotto da la luna,
poi che 'ntrati eravam ne l'alto passo,

quando n'apparve una montagna, bruna
per la distanza, e parvemi alta tanto
quanto veduta non avëa alcuna.

Noi ci allegrammo, e tosto tornò in pianto;
ché de la nova terra un turbo nacque
e percosse del legno il primo canto.

Tre volte il fé girar con tutte l'acque;
a la quarta levar la poppa in suso
e la prora ire in giù, com' altrui piacque,

infin che 'l mar fu sovra noi richiuso."

Already all the stars of the other pole
beheld the night, and ours was so low,
that could not be seen above the marine floor.

Five time [five months] had lit and vanished
the light from underneath the moon,
since we had taken this fateful decision,

when it appeared to us a mountain, dim
for the distance, and so high
as none I had ever seen before.

We burst in joy, and soon fell into sorrow:
for from the new land a turbulent storm arose
and battered the ship from the bow.

Three times it whirl'd her around with all the waves;
and at the fourth it lifted the stern up high
and sank the prow, as fate had wanted,

until the sea above us was again closed."

And all drowned.

"One who in viewing the deficiency in human relations, the unserviceableness, the perverseness, the corruption among men, drops his hands and passes on and complains of evil times, is no man.   Just in this that you are capable of seeing men as deficient, lies upon you a holy calling to make them better.   If everything was already what it ought to be, there would be no need of you in the world and you would as well have remained in the womb of nothingness.   Rejoice that all is not yet as it ought to be, so that you may find work and can be useful toward something.

Farewell."

"Wer bei Erblickung der Mängel in den menschlichen Verhältnissen, der Untauglichkeit, der Verkehrtheit, des Verderbens unter den Menschen die Hände sinken läßt, und hin geht, und über die bösen Zeiten klagt, der ist kein Mann. Grade darin, daß Du fähig bist, die Menschen als mangelhaft =60= zu erblicken, liegt ein heiliger Beruf, sie besser zu machen. Wäre es schon alles, wie es sein sollte, so bedürfte man Deiner eben nicht in der Welt, und Du wärest eben so gut in dem Schoße des Nichts geblieben. Freue Dich, daß noch nicht alles ist, wie es sein sollte, daß Du Arbeit findest, und zu etwas nütze sein kannst.

Lebe wohl."