Universal Masonic Library - Softcover

Robert Macoy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0371412862 ISBN 13: 9780371412862

Publisher: HardPress, 2019

Synopsis

Universal Masonic Library by Robert Macoy. This work presents a dialogic, fictional voyage through Freemasonry, weaving anecdote, legend, and didactic instruction inside English Masonic Lodges from the late 18th to early 19th centuries. The narrator, The Square, guides conversations with Brethren as they recount symbol-rich lore, discuss the meaning of rituals, secrecy, and the aims of Masonry, and explore the relationship between ancient legend and practical Masonry. The narrative expands from lodge talks to a broader, quasi-scholarly introduction to Masonry’s purpose, the liberal arts, and the universal, benevolent project the order aspires to advance. Central figures include Desaguliers, Anderson, Manningham, and a spectrum of officers and reformers, whose debates touch on Adoptive Lodges, gender issues, and the long-running Athol (Ancients) versus Moderns controversy culminating in union in 1813. The text blends historical anecdotes, ceremonial detail, and moral exhortation, while surveying lectures on grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, geography, architecture, and music as educational pillars. It presents Masonry as a durable, universal discipline rooted in virtue, charity, and civil loyalty, with secrecy defended as a valued tradition rather than a vice.

Edition details

• Publisher: HardPress
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0371412862
• ISBN 13: 9780371412862
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 444