Study
Initiation and Responsibility
In Masonic teaching initiation marks a beginning rather than an arrival, and it makes the new member answerable for his promises and for how he treats others.
In Masonic teaching initiation is a beginning rather than an arrival. The candidate is admitted to a path of study, and from that point he is answerable for the promises he has made and for the way he treats others.
Responsibility here is practical. It is not a claim to special knowledge but a duty to act in line with what was learned. Initiation gives a member access to the work; it does not spare him from doing it, and it does not exempt him from the ordinary standards of honesty that apply to everyone.
Example: a newly initiated member is asked to vouch for a candidate he barely knows. His initiation does not oblige him to say yes. He checks what he actually knows, and if he cannot vouch, he says so plainly, which is the responsibility the initiation taught him.