Several Masonic Assembly Speeches

ourselves, or our fellow humans. FreemasonryMaurerei—the principles and practices of the Masonic fraternity. cannot determine duties more important than those of Christian moralitychristliche Moral—the ethical framework based on Christian teachings which served as the primary moral standard for European society during this period., or if it does determine such duties, they are superfluous and useless; therefore, the whole of Freemasonry is something superfluous and useless.

Here, nothing has yet been proven to me. The duties toward one’s neighbor and oneself are very extensive; and granted that Freemasonry provides one with a more certain and better-grounded knowledge of one’s own worth in regard to our present and future vocationBestimmung—the philosophical concept of a divinely intended purpose or destiny for a human life., and provides the means by which a physical and moral benefit arises for our fellow humansNebenmenschen—literally "near-people," referring to those around us or our neighbors in a moral and social sense., through which one perfects oneself and thereby glorifies the CreatorSchöpfer—referring to God as the architect or maker of the universe.; then Freemasonry would indeed always be a laudable and highly useful object of our occupation. Besides this, however, morality limits itself merely to the determination of those duties necessary for a person to help achieve their blissGlückseligkeit—a state of supreme happiness and spiritual fulfillment, often cited in Enlightenment philosophy as the ultimate goal of human existence., and provides rules for the application of these to the various circumstances of each individual. Consequently, we not only value it immensely, but it is the foundation of all our teachings. Since, however, our pursuits are not merely focused on the knowledge of our duties—