I am carefully reading one of the treasured books of Masonry, "The Builders, A Story and Study of Freemasonry" by Joseph Fort Newton, and hope to submit a review of it in the near future.

In the meantime, I wanted very much to share a quote from the book's section on the interpretation and meaning of Freemasonry.  It comes from "Handbuch," a German encyclopedia of Freemasonry published in 1900:

"Masonry is an activity of closely united men who, employing symbolical forms borrowed principally from the mason's trade and from architecture, work for the welfare of all mankind, striving morally to ennoble themselves and others, and thereby to bring about a universal league of mankind, which they aspire to exhibit even now on a small scale."

I am proud and privileged to participate in this great undertaking with you.