lodge fellowship Archieven - De Vrijmetselaar

Two intertwined hands symbolizing deep friendship and Masonic brotherhood

Montaigne on Friendship: When Two Souls Become One

Can friendship truly exist without two souls dissolving into one another? Michel de Montaigne argued in his celebrated essay On Friendship that genuine connection reaches far beyond companionship, utility, or even love. It is a merging in which the boundaries between “I” and “you” cease to exist. This idea raises an uncomfortable question for anyone who reflects on the meaning of brotherhood: is true friendship even possible with more than one person at a time? The Paradox of a Singular Bond Montaigne describes his friendship with Étienne de La Boétie as something that transcended every other relationship in his life. When asked why this bond was so extraordinary, he offered his famous reply: “Because it was he, because it was I.” No explanation, no reason, no utility could justify this friendship. It simply was. The formulation suggests that authentic friendship cannot be reproduced or multiplied. By its very nature, it is singular and unrepeatable. This is where a tension emerges with the Masonic ideal of brotherhood. The Lodge presents itself as a community of brethren who meet as equals, regardless of social standing. But how does this collective ideal relate to Montaigne’s conviction that the deepest friendship is inherently exclusive? […]

Cyclist climbing a mountain road symbolizing Masonic perseverance and brotherhood

Fifteen Seconds Behind: On Perseverance and Brotherhood

The sun beats down on the asphalt of the final mountain stage. A cyclist stares at the back of her rival, fifteen seconds up the road. Her legs scream for rest, her lungs burn, but somewhere deep inside a voice speaks: we never give up. Not for herself alone, but for the teammates who sacrificed themselves all day to bring her here. This moment of perseverance — carried by a collective — touches something Freemasons have known for centuries: the power of brotherhood in times of trial. The Final Kilometers: When Giving Up Becomes Tempting In professional cycling, the final kilometers of a grueling mountain stage are the moment of truth. All the training, all the preparation, all the strategy converge into a single question: do you hold on, or do you give in to the temptation to ease off the pace? The difference between victory and defeat can be measured in mere seconds. Fifteen seconds sounds like nothing, but on a gradient of ten percent, every meter feels like an eternity. What keeps riders upright in those moments is rarely pure physical strength. It is the awareness that they are not riding alone. Behind them lie miles in which […]