Harvey Spencer Lewis
The Magic of Secrecy
“Those who refuse to affiliate with anything that is of a secret nature do so because they feel that knowledge, if it is worthwhile, should be given freely to the world. They ask, “If the knowledge taught is good and will uplift humanity, why then is it kept secret from all except those who are initiated?” In my answer lies the positive proof that such a question is asked only by those who are not willing to make some conscious effort for what they would receive.
The answer is simple: The majority of people will not take the time, thought, and conscious effort necessary to pierce the veil and disclose the great truths. “There is a Key,” they cry; “a Key we must first have before we may understand.” Even so, there are many books readily obtainable which contain the keys, but where are the multitudes who thereby obtain the keys? Lecture after lecture is written on the Bible, delivered, and published, but how many seekers attend or read such lectures?
Take that secret organization known as Freemasonry, for example. It is claimed that Masonry contains many laws and principles which are kept secret and revealed only to its initiates. Not being a member of this august fraternity, I do not know just what it contains or what it reveals, but it is evident that it must hold and reveal something worthwhile, else it would not be the powerful organization we know it to be. However, if Masonry held every law and principle, if it revealed ways and means whereby its members could use such knowledge so as to perform so-called miracles, and so on, it would be of no avail to scatter its knowledge to the world; for in such case the multitudes would listen, expecting something very wonderful, and not being prepared to receive the great truths in their simplicity they would turn aside.
Take, again, the Rosicrucians—known to possess and teach so many of the secret laws and principles which, once known and put into practice, enable people to live as their Creator intended. What if this great fraternity should scatter its teachings broadcast, give them openly and freely to all the world? Few, indeed, would listen; fewer would understand; and fewer yet would put them into practice and thus reap their benefits. Yet the Rosicrucian teachings are not hidden; they are accessible to all who ask with a sincere heart. Why, then, do not the majority who seek truth take advantage of these teachings? Simply because they must give of their time and energy in order to absorb and understand such teaching, and that is what they will not do.
[Harvey Spencer Lewis, FRC, “The Magic of Secrecy” in Master of the Rose Cross (2009)]
Manly Palmer Hall
From Manly P. Hall’s small book Magic: A Treatise on Natural Occultism (also issued under the title Magic: A Treatise on Esoteric Ethics)
The Path Of Human Progress And The Forking Of The Ways.
"The diagram accompanying this paragraph opposite shows the Y of choice passing upward through the four creations of Brahma. The line passing through the circle shows the path of evolution through those kingdoms of nature where there is no conscious reason--therefore, no revolt against the laws of God. The small ring where the three lines meet shows the present position of the human ego dwelling in the mind of Brahma. From it, the path branches. Man must now choose his own way instead of depending upon nature. He has in spirit and in truth reached the point where the scales of Libra have been inserted by cutting the sign of Scorpio-Virgo in two and thus dividing the way of unfoldment."
"Motive is the key to the problem of magic. Even the greatest of white magicians can become a degenerate in an instant if his motive becomes unworthy. The white magician serves humanity; the black magician seeks to serve himself.
The black magic of the past, the darkness that sank Atlantis when man made slaves of the demons of the elements and chained them to do his bidding, still survives to this day ... In its false shadows hide the furies of hell and the vampires of the astral plane."
"The black magician is one who learns to manipulate these forces for selfish and destructive purposes, his own aggrandize- nt of the fulfillment of desire, while the white magician prays that he may learn to manipulate them as God would have them manipulated—for the salvation of the divine creation. The powers are in the hands of those capable of invoking them; it makes no difference whether for good or ill. For this reason, the schools of white magic conceal these powers from man until, through growth, purification, and unfoldment, he gains the proper incentive for using them."