Masonry Defined

The five essays contained in this book are offered in the best spirit of fraternity and goodwill and with the wish to render to the Order some small return for the profit the author has received from his association with it extending over thirty-two years. They have been written with a view to promoting the deeper understanding of the meaning of Masonry; to providing the explanation of it that one constantly hears called for and that becomes all the more necessary in view of the unprecedented increase of interest in, and membership of, the Order at the present day.

This is a set of essays which discuss the esoteric side of Masonry. The author attempts to demonstrate that Masonry has a deeper meaning, specifically the striving for human perfection, and that the teachings of the Freemasons are firmly in the mainstream of traditional mystery teachings. Chapters include; The Position And Possibilities Of The Masonic Order; The Deeper Symbolism Of Freemasonry; Masonry As A Philosophy; Further Notes On Craft Symbolism; The Holy Royal Arch Of Jerusalem; and Freemasonry In Relation To The Ancient Mysteries.

"THE papers here collected are written solely for members of the Masonic Order, constituted under the United Grand Lodge of England. (...) They have been written with a view to promoting the deeper understanding of the meaning of Masonry"

This most interesting and illuminative work is worthy a place on every Mason's bookshelf. '' It seems taken for granted," says the author, "that reception into the Order will automatically be accompanied by an ability to appreciate forthwith and at its full value all that one there finds. The contrary is the case, for Masonry is a veiled and cryptic expression of the difficult science of spiritual life, and the understanding of it calls for special and informed guidance on the one hand, and on the other a genuine and earnest desire for knowledge and no small capacity for spiritual perception on the part of those seeking to be instructed." In Freemasonry, as in all phases of life, many are called but few are chosen. Masonry is not a mere formalism but a life to be lived. If you do not live the life you cannot know the doctrine. Masonry is an effort to perpetuate the essential doctrines of the Ancient Mysteries, but, alas, it does so in a very perfunctory manner. So veiled are its allegories and symbols that it is almost impossible to penetrate into the Holy of Holies.