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AS THE AUTHOR himself states in his Foreword, the series of essays collected under this title^[1] were intended to show that, at least in England, there are other subjects worthy of interest beyond the purely historical and archaeological studies that currently seem the almost exclusive focus of Masonic literature, and we believe he has succeeded. In this volume he proposes to address various questions raised almost daily concerning what could be called the 'periphery' of Freemasonry; and he begins with the question of the number of its degrees, a subject we have ourself dealt with in a previous issue of this journal.^[2]

According to the Book of Constitutions, 'there are only three degrees, including the Holy Royal Arch,^[3] and this is indeed the only answer that conforms to the strictest orthodoxy.^[4] From this it follows that 'Arch Masonry' is not really or originally distinct from 'Craft Masonry'. Within the latter, 'Arch Masonry' merely came to be superimposed upon 'Square Masonry' in order to serve as a complement to Mastery,^[5] without in any way constituting a special degree. Another consequence of there being only three degrees is that the various orders, rites, and systems known as high grades cannot be considered essentially Masonic, or even having any effective part in Masonry. In reality they are only 'peripheral' organizations that have been grafted over the course of more or less distant—but always relatively recent—periods of time onto the primitive Fraternity of 'Ancient Free and Accepted Masons',^[6] and more often than not have hardly any connection either with this Fraternity or with each other apart from the fact that they recruit their members exclusively from the possessors of such and such Masonic grade.^[7] 'Mark Masonry', which could in a certain sense be regarded as a continuation of the grade of companion (Fellow Craft)^[8], and which in turn serves as the basis for the organization of 'Royal Ark Mariners'^[9] is an example of such an organization. So also are the various orders of knighthood, most of which admit only 'Royal Arch Masons' as members; among which we could cite chiefly the 'United Orders of the Temple and of Malta' and the 'Order of the Red Cross of Rome and Constantinople'^[10]. Among the other systems of high grades practiced in England (aside from the 'Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite') we shall mention only the 'Royal Order of Scotland' (comprising the two grades of H. R.D.M. and R. S. Y.C.S.)^[11], the Rite of 'Royal and Select Masters' (or 'Cryptic Masonry'), and that of the 'Allied Masonic Degrees', to say nothing of the Order of the 'Secret Monitor'^[12], the 'Rosicrucians'^[13], etc.

We shall not speak here of the chapters that pertain only to specific aspects of English Masonry; of a much more general interest are those in which the author (who, let it be said in passing, shows himself somewhat severe with regard to the Grand Orient of France^[14]) considers various subjects of a symbolic and more properly specula- tive order, yielding reflections that might contribute, notably, to the elucidation of various questions relating to the explication of the symbolic grades and their value from the historical point of view. Unfortunately, lack of space constrains us to do little more than translate here the titles of the most important of these chapters: 'King Solomon, The Bible, and Ritual';^[15] 'The Two Saint Johns';^[16] 'The Tetragrammaton';^[17] 'The Perfect Ashlar';^[18] 'Jacob's Ladder';^[19] 'The Holy Land'; and 'The Branch of Acacia. We recommend this intriguing work to all who take an interest in Masonic studies.

Footnotes

[1]By The Rev. John T. Lawrence (P.A. G. C., Eng.) [This review was published in *La Gnose*, January 1912, under the initial 'P'] published by A. Lewis, 13, Paternoster Row, London, E. C.; and the author's residence, St Peter's Vicarage, Accrington. — The same author (former editor of _The Indian Masonic Review_) has already published various other works on Masonic subjects: _Masonic Jurisprudence and Symbolism_, _Sidelights on Freemasonry_, etc.

[2]'La Gnose et la Franc-Maçonnerie', 1st year, no. 5 [See 'Gnosis and Freemasonry', chap. 7 in present text].

[3]The degree of 'Holy Royal Arch Mason', as it is practiced in the English and American chapters of 'Arch Masonry', must not be confused with the 13th degree of the Scottish hierarchy, which also carries the title 'Royal Arch'.

[4]It should be noted that the three 'degrees' in question here are exactly the same as what are elsewhere called the 'initiatic grades', which are then distinguished

[5]from 'degrees of initiation' properly speaking, 'the multiplicity of which is necessarily indefinite' (cf. _L'Initiation Maçonnique_, by F.. Oswald Wirth). By 'Square Masonry' is meant Masonry of a purely rectilinear symbolism, while 'Arch Masonry' refers to Masonry of a curvilinear symbolism (having the circle as its mother-form, as is particularly evident in the shape of the ogive), the geometric figures borrowed from ancient operative Masonry naturally having no more than a symbolic character for speculative Masonry, as they (like the tools of construction) had already for the ancient Hermeticists (see _La Hierarchie Operative et le Grade de Royale Arche_, by F.. Oswald Wirth, and also _Le Livre de l'Apprenti_, pp 24 -29). - In ancient French Masonry the expression 'to pass from the triangle to the circle' was used to describe passage from the 'symbolic grades' to the 'grades of perfection', as can be seen, notably, in the _Catechism of the Elect Cohens_ (on this subject, see further 'A Propos du Grand Architecte de l'Univers', 2nd year, no. 8, p215, n1 [see 'The Great Architect of the Universe, chap. 2 in present text]; and on the solution to the Hermetic problem of 'squaring the circle, see 'Remarques sur la production des Nombres, 1st year, no. 8, p156 [pt. 1, chap. 7 of Guénon's *Miscellanea*].

[6]In American Masonry, the 'Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons' is still the distinctive title of every order rigorously bound to the practice of the three symbolic grades and officially recognizing no other; although it is true that for its part the Scottish Rite also declares itself 'Ancient and Accepted', and that there are other systems of multiple degrees of an even more recent origin that proclaim themselves 'Ancient and Primitive, or even 'Primitive and Original', in spite of all historical evidence.

[7]Often, too, their rituals are hardly anything other than more or less successful developments of those of symbolic Masonry (see 'Les Hauts Grades Maçonniques', 1st year, no.7 ['The Masonic High Grades, chap. 8 in present text]).

[8]The 'Mark Degree,' which is subdivided into 'Mark Man' and 'Mark Master', is founded on this verse of Scripture: 'The very stone which the builders refused is become the head of the corner.' (Ps. 118:22), cited in the Gospel (Luke 20:17). — Among the emblems characteristic of this degree, the keystone plays a role analogous to that of the T-square in 'Craft Masonry'.

[9]This additional degree, rather unimportant in itself, is connected with the Biblical Flood, as its name indicates.

[10]The cross in one or another of its diverse forms is the principal emblem of all of these orders of chivalry, the rituals of which are essentially 'Christian and Trinitarian.'

[11]Abbreviations of _Heredom_ (or _Harodim_, the derivation of which is highly disputed) and _Rose-Cross_.

[12]The rituals of this order (which appears to have originated in Holland) rest upon the history of the friendship of David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:18 ff.). — Onto the order of the 'Secret Monitor' is superimposed that of the 'Scarlet Cord', which is founded on Josh. 2:18.

[13]The object of the Rosicrucian Order, which comprises nine degrees, is entirely literary and archaeological, and despite its title it has nothing in common with the 'Rose-Cross, the 18th degree of the Scottish hierarchy.

[14]In this regard, see '_L'Orthodoxie Maçonnique_, 1st year, no. 6 [chap. 6 in present text]; '_A propos du Grand Architecte de l'Univers_', 2nd year, nos. 7-8 [chap. 2 in

[15]Let us make just one remark on this subject: for us, the Hebrew Bible constitutes in reality only a portion of the 'Volume of Sacred Law', which, in its universality, must necessarily embrace the Sacred Scriptures of every people.

[16]The author's strictly 'evangelical' point of view differs markedly from that of F.. Ragon, who dealt with this question in _La Messe et ses Mystères_, chap. 21 (see _L'Archéomètre_, 1st year, no. 11, pp 244-245).

[17]At the beginning of this chapter there seems to be some confusion between the two divine names אהיה (signifying 'I am') and יהוה, which are both four-letter words, and which are both derived from the root היה to be.

[18]It is regrettable, from our point of view, that the author should have restricted himself to an exclusively moral interpretation of this and several other symbols.

[19]In regard to this symbol, see _L'Archéomètre_, 2nd year, no. 12, pp 311-313. — The author remarks, with reason, that the Ladder (of seven rungs, formed respectively from the metals corresponding to the different planets) figures equally in the Mysteries of Mithra (8th grade); on these Mysteries and their connection to Masonry, see _Discours sur l'Origine des Initiations_, by F.. Jules Doinel (1st year, no. 6).

REVIEW OF BY-WAYS OF FREEMASONRY

Footnotes