Quote#Science & Reason
Force, unregulated or ill-regulated, is not only wasted in the void,…
Quote byAlbert Pike · 1809–1891
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (1871), Ch. I : Apprentice, The Twelve-Inch Rule and Common Gavel, p. 1.
English (original)
Force, unregulated or ill-regulated, is not only wasted in the void, like that of gunpowder burned in the open air, and steam unconfined by science; but, striking in the dark, and its blows meeting only the air, they recoil, and bruise itself.
— Albert Pike
More from Albert Pike
The unknown is an ocean, of which conscience is the compass. Thought, meditation, prayer, are the great mysterious pointings of the needle.
The two great motors are Truth and Love.
Though Masonry neither usurps the place of, nor apes religion, prayer is an essential part of our ceremonies.
Less glory is more liberty. When the drum is silent, reason sometimes speaks.
To attack the citadels built up on all sides against the human race by superstitions, despotisms, and prejudices, the Force must have a brain and a law. Then its deeds of daring produce permanent results, and there is real progress.
If the effort also is predestined, it is not the less our effort, made of our free will.