Book Description

"Freemasonry is a science of symbols, in which, by their proper study, a search is instituted after truth, that truth consisting in the knowledge of the divine and human nature of God and the human Soul." -Albert G. Mackey "Freemasonry is a science. The great principles it unfolds are beautifully clothed in allegories and symbols, and the true student of its sublime doctrines, who will submit to their influences, cannot miss a noble life. Few, however, comparatively, of the fraternity, deeply investigate the internal character of Masonry. They are content with a slight knowledge of the more routine of labor - the beautiful ceremonial of a virtuous craftsman - and pause not to read the sublime truths deeply hidden beneath the drapery of rites and ceremonies. They are content to know that the science they profess teaches the great doctrines of the unity of God and the immortality of the soul, but have little appreciation of the exquisitely beautiful and graduated links in the chain of evidence and demonstration. The book before us is invaluable as a guide and teacher. It unlocks the deep recesses of Masonic mystery, and ably simplifies it's most difficult and obscure symbols. "It contains thirty one chapters, and a very elaborate synoptical index, which greatly enhances the utility and value of the work. While every chapter furnishes evidence of great research and ability, that on the 'symbolism of labor' we consider the gem of the book. It is a beautiful production, and reflects honor upon the writer. The book, of course, commends itself to the brotherhood, but we have no hesitation in recommending it to every household, and to every young man in the land. It is a gallery of ancient pictures whose excellencies grow upon the student with every moment devoted to them." -The XIX Century, Volume 1, 1869 Contents. Preliminary The Noachidae The Primitive Freemasonry of Antiquity The Spurious Freemasonry of Antiquity The Ancient Mysteries The Dionysiac Artificers The Union of Speculative and Operative Masonry at the Temple of Solomon The Travelling Freemasons of the Middle Ages Disseverance of the Operative Element The System of Symbolic Instruction The Speculative Science and the Operative Art The Symbolism of Solomon's Temple The Form of the Lodge The Officers of a Lodge The Point within a Circle The Covering of the Lodge Ritualistic Symbolism The Rite of Discalceation The Rite of Investiture The Symbolism of the Gloves The Rite of Circumambulation The Rite of Intrusting, and the Symbolism of Light Symbolism of the Corner-stone The Ineffable Name The Legends of Freemasonry The Legend of the Winding Stairs The Legend of the Third Degree The Sprig of Acacia The Symbolism of Labor The Stone of Foundation The Lost Word Synoptical Index