Ernst and Falk: Dialogues for Freemasons

Falk.

Through deeds. — They allow good men and youths, whom they deem worthy of their closer association, to surmise, to guess — to see their deeds, as far as they are visible; these men find a liking for them, and perform similar deeds.

Ernst.

Deeds? Deeds of the Freemasons? — I know of no others than their speeches and songs, which for the most part are more beautifully printed than they are conceived or expressed. Ernst is being cynical here, suggesting that the public face of Freemasonry—its literature—is more about aesthetic presentation than intellectual or moral substance.

Falk.

They have that in common with many other speeches and songs. Falk dryly points out that the gap between style and substance is a general human failing, not one unique to the Masons.