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       Albert Gallatin Mackey

      The Symbolism of Freemasonry

       Illustrating and Explaining Its Science and Philosophy, Its Legends, Myths and Symbols

      e-artnow, 2020

       Contact: [email protected]

      EAN: 4064066399498

       Preface.

       I. Preliminary.

       II. The Noachidæ.

       III. The Primitive Freemasonry of Antiquity.

       IV. The Spurious Freemasonry of Antiquity.

       V. The Ancient Mysteries.

       VI. The Dionysiac Artificers.

       VII. The Union of Speculative and Operative Masonry at the Temple of Solomon.

       VIII. The Travelling Freemasons of the Middle Ages.

       IX. Disseverance of the Operative Element.

       X. The System of Symbolic Instuction.

       XI. The Speculative Science and the Operative Art.

       XII. He Symbolism of Solomon'S Temple.

       XIII. The Form of the Lodge.

       XIV. The Officers of a Lodge.

       XV. The Point Within a Circle.

       XVI. The Covering of the Lodge.

       XVII. Ritualistic Symbolism.

       XVIII. The Rite of Discalceation.

       XIX. The Rite of Investiture.

       XX. The Symbolism of the Gloves.

       XXI. The Rite of Circumambulation.

       XXII. The Rite of Intrusting, and the Symbolism of Light.

       XXIII. Symbolism of the Corner-Stone.

       XXIV. The Ineffable Name.

       XXV. The Legends of Freemasonry.

       XXVI. The Legend of the Winding Stairs.

       XXVII. The Legend of the Third Degree.

       XXVIII. The Sprig of Acacia.

       XXIX. The Symbolism of Labor.

       XXX. The Stone of Foundation.216

       XXXI. The Lost Word.

       Synoptical Index.

      "Ea enim quae scribuntur tria habere decent, utilitatem praesentem, certum finem, inexpugnabile fundamentum."

      Cardanus.

       To General John C. Fremont.

      My Dear Sir:

      While any American might be proud of associating his name with that of one who has done so much to increase the renown of his country, and to enlarge the sum of human knowledge, this book is dedicated to you as a slight testimonial of regard for your personal character, and in grateful recollection of acts of friendship.

      Yours very truly,

       A. G. Mackey.

      Preface.

       Table of Contents

      Of the various modes of communicating instruction to the uninformed, the masonic student is particularly interested in two; namely, the instruction by legends and that by symbols. It is to these two, almost exclusively, that he is indebted for all that he knows, and for all that he can know, of the philosophic system which is taught in the institution. All its mysteries and its dogmas, which constitute its philosophy, are intrusted for communication to the neophyte, sometimes to one, sometimes to the other of these two methods of instruction, and sometimes to both of them combined. The Freemason has no way of reaching any of the esoteric teachings of the Order except through the medium of a legend or a symbol.

      A legend differs from an historical narrative only in this—that it is without documentary evidence of authenticity. It is the offspring solely of tradition. Its details may be true in part or in whole. There may be no internal evidence to the contrary, or there may be internal evidence that they are altogether false. But neither the possibility of truth in the one case, nor the certainty of falsehood in the other, can remove the traditional narrative from the class of legends. It is a legend simply because it rests on no written foundation. It is oral, and therefore legendary.

      In grave problems of history, such as the establishment of empires, the discovery and settlement of countries, or the rise and fall of dynasties, the knowledge of the truth or falsity of the legendary narrative will be of importance, because the value of history is impaired by the imputation of doubt. But it is not so in Freemasonry. Here there need be no absolute question of the truth or falsity of the legend. The object of the masonic legends is not to establish historical facts, but to convey philosophical doctrines. They are a method by which esoteric instruction is communicated, and the student accepts them with reference to nothing else except their

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