And of all illumination which human reason can give, none is comparable to the discovery of what we are, our nature, our obligations, what happiness we are capable of, and what are the means of attaining it.

The great strength of our Order lies in its concealment; let it never appear in any place in its own name but always covered by another name and another occupation. None is fitter than the three lower degrees of Freemasonry; the public is accustomed to it, expects little from it and therefore takes little notice of it.

The tenor of my life has been the opposite of everything that is vile, and no man can lay any such thing to my charge.

Let this circumstance of our constitution therefore be directed to this noble purpose, and then all the objections urged against it by jealous tyranny and affrighted superstition will vanish.

Illuminate the opposition.

Of all the means I know to lead men, the most effectual is a concealed mystery.

Who would imagine that I was to be the founder of a new religion.