It is with considerable diffidence that I have come here this evening to give this halting address, because my own Masonic career has been so short that I am painfully aware of my presumption in speaking to much older and more learned brethren than myself, especially as what I am about to say is by no means entirely original—a Mason as young as myself would have little right to air only his own views. Therefore, what I have done to string together into a necklace certain thoughts, and in many cases the actual words, gleaned from a considerable amount of reading, and I am deeply indebted to many eminent Masonic writers—far too numerous to mention all by name, but including Wilmhurst, Pike, Newton, Ward, and Castells.
