Do you seriously declare, upon your honor, that, unbiased by the improper solicitation of friends, and uninfluenced by mercenary motives, you freely and voluntarily offer yourself a candidate for the mysteries of Freemasonry?
Do you seriously declare, upon your honor, that you are prompted to solicit the privileges of Freemasonry by a favorable opinion conceived of the institution, a desire for knowledge, and a sincere wish of being serviceable to your fellow-creatures?
Do you seriously declare, upon your honor, that you will cheerfully conform to all the ancient usages and established customs of the Fraternity?
(Let there be no levity—but dignity and decorum.)
FIRST SECTION.
The preparation to which the candidate must submit before entering the Lodge serves allegorically to teach him, as well as to remind the brethren who are present, that it is the man alone, divested of all the outward recommendations of rank, state, or riches, that Masonry accepts, and that it is his spiritual and moral worth alone which can open for him the door of the Masonic Temple.
Reception.
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Let no man enter upon any great or important undertaking without first invoking the aid of Deity.