Freemasonry and sincerity Archieven

Open book of Montaigne's Essays beside Masonic square and compasses symbolizing sincerity

Montaigne on Vain Stratagems and the Power of Connection

Imagine you’re in a conversation and you notice the other person putting a clever spin on their words. They’re not outright lying, but they’re bending the truth just enough to tilt things in their favor. You feel it instantly: distance creeps in, and trust begins to crack. This exact mechanism fascinated Michel de Montaigne in his essay “On Vain Stratagems,” where he demonstrates that artificial cleverness doesn’t connect people — it isolates them. And it’s precisely here that his thinking touches something Freemasons have cherished for centuries: genuine connection can only flourish where sincerity reigns. The Illusion of the Clever Trick In Essay 54 of the first book of his celebrated Essays, Michel de Montaigne examines a series of historical military stratagems and diplomatic ruses. He describes how generals and statesmen attempted to outsmart their opponents with elaborate schemes. At first glance, these stories seem to be about tactics and strategy. But Montaigne digs deeper. His real question is: what happens to a person who constantly resorts to cunning? What becomes of the relationship between people when craftiness replaces honesty? Montaigne arrives at a surprisingly clear answer. Most stratagems are vain — not only because they often fail, but because […]

Plumb line and rough ashlar symbolizing Masonic sincerity and honest speech

Montaigne, Caesar, and the Masonic Art of Honest Speech

You’ve been there before: a meeting where someone delivers an eloquent speech, yet afterward you wonder — what was actually said? Or a conversation where someone uses just a few words and hits the mark perfectly. Michel de Montaigne recognized this difference back in the sixteenth century. In his essay “On a Saying of Caesar’s,” he dissects the gap between eloquence and authenticity. For Freemasons, this touches something essential: how do you build real connection — not through rhetoric, but through sincerity? This article translates Montaigne’s insights into concrete steps you can put into practice starting tomorrow. When Words Block Rather Than Build Connection Picture this: you’re sitting in a meeting, a lodge evening, or even a dinner with friends. Someone launches into a lengthy speech. The sentences are polished, the arguments sound convincing. But when the conversation ends, you feel a strange emptiness. Much was said, but nothing truly landed. Montaigne describes exactly this phenomenon when he reflects on the way Julius Caesar expressed himself. Caesar was renowned for his direct, spare style. No embellishment, no rhetorical tricks. What he wrote, he meant — and what he meant, he wrote without preamble. Montaigne poses an uncomfortable question: do we […]