General Rules of the Freemasons, with a Discourse on the Purpose of Masonry

This is where the true freedom in the thinking of those who possess it before their admission into the Order consists; these are essentially the freeborn original: "Freygebohrnen"; historically, Masonic ritual required a candidate to be "free born," but Enlightenment-era lodges often interpreted this as being "born free" from the mental chains of ignorance or prejudice, who are deemed worthy to enter the sanctuary.

Masonry original: "Maurerey" has chosen for itself certain symbols original: "Sinnbilder"; literally "meaning-images." Masonry uses architectural tools and specific words as allegories for moral lessons, such as: Freedom, Beauty, Equality, Strength; words with which it connects important concepts.

A true Brother must, as it were, surrender each of these to his way of thinking and incorporate them into his very being.

He who is without prejudice—that is, he who thinks freely—can boast of a strength of spirit, an equality of sentiments, and a beautiful soul original: "schönen Seele"; an 18th-century philosophical ideal where a person's natural inclinations are in perfect harmony with their moral duties.

For the sake of this purpose, a genuine Brother must pay attention to himself and the innermost part of his thoughts. To observe an object while caught in a rising passion original: "Leidenschaft"; here meaning an uncontrolled emotion or irrational impulse is the same as thinking with prejudice; and where this exists, freedom is lacking.