Secrecy

Without it, Masonry would cease to exist, or else become something so different from what it is as to be unrecognizable. For that reason, if no other, the very first lesson taught a candidate, and impressed upon him at every turn in unforgettable ways, is the duty of secrecy. Yet, strictly speaking, Masonry is not a secret society, if by that we mean a society whose very existence is hidden. Everybody knows that the Masonic Fraternity exists, and no effort is made to hide that fact. Its organization is known; its Temples stand in our cities; its members are proud to be know as Masons. Anyone may obtain from the records of a Grand Lodge, if not from the printed reports of Lodges, the names of the members of the Craft. Nor can it be said that Masonry has any secret truth to teach, unknown to the best wisdom of the race. Most of the talk about esoteric Masonry misses the mark. When the story is told the only secret turns out to be some odd theory, some fanciful philosophy, of no real importance. The wisdom of Masonry is hidden, not because it is subtle, but because it is simple. Its secret is profound, not obscure.