Page 89 - Amo Amass A-muse is some of the fruit of a lifetimes love of Freemasonry - the Lodge of Nine Muses No. 235

A DAily ADvANCE iN mASONiC kNOWlEDGE
OR
AN uNOFFiCiAl TAlk TO NEWly mADE FREEmASONS

HIS IS AN INTRODUCTORY TALK to those Brethren who have recently
been made Freemasons, which I hope will be useful to them at the start of their
TMasonic careers.
At your initiation, you were exhorted to make a daily advance in Masonic knowledge
and your fixed aim should now, be to become Master of your Lodge. This is achieved
by learning the ritual, regularly attending rehearsals of your Lodge and accepting Office
when one is offered to you. The learning and understanding of our beautiful ritual will
enable it to sink into your heart and remind you to practise outside the Lodge what
you have been taught within it. However, there is much other useful and interesting
information to be gained besides learning the ritual.
Although the Ritual which our Lodge uses is perfectly correct for our Lodge, every
Lodge has its differences and the reasons for these differences are often interesting.
Several have now been printed and, when you have been raised to the 3rd Degree, you
can obtain from our Secretary a copy of Emulation Ritual, which is the basis of ours.
You are encouraged to visit other Lodges and so make new Masonic friendships. It
is this Masonic Visiting which binds Masonry together all over the world and broadens
our knowledge. You will then be able to compare our work with that of other Lodges. If
you visit you must have your Grand Lodge Certificate with you for inspection as well as
being prepared to undergo examination, giving the answers that you have been taught
in Lodge. Only if there is a well known brother present who has actually attended a
Lodge with you, should you be vouched for in lieu of examination.
You may think that Freemasonry is a Secret Society. Regular Free-masonry is not. True
it is that it has secret means of identification and Secret Ceremonies, with vows of fidelity
to preserve them, but all its Aims and Organisations are published and anyone can obtain a
copy. The retention of our Secrets between us is, I think, a great bond of union and a true
characteristic of brotherhood. We must, however, always be careful whom we recommend to
be made a Mason. Even one member of the wrong sort in a Lodge, however popular or well
known he may be, may completely upset the harmony in a Lodge and spoil its good name.