Moral virtues

The Craft inculcates both the four cardinal virtues—temperance, fortitude, prudence, and justice—and the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity 1. Within lodge symbolism, these seven virtues are represented as the steps of Jacob's ladder 1.

In addition to these core virtues, Masonic instruction places primary emphasis on the three tenets of brotherly love, relief, and truth 12. The moral doctrines of the Order require members to observe the Golden Rule, give good counsel to the erring, speak well of the absent, and act with honor, probity, and fidelity 13. These duties were preserved from the ancient manuscript charges of the operative lodges into modern speculative Masonry 1.

While the practice of these social virtues is required of every Mason, Walter Leslie Wilmshurst argues that inculcating elementary morality common to all human society is not the ultimate end of the Craft; rather, these virtues serve as a necessary foundation for a deeper spiritual instruction and soul-building 2.