Notable Masonic Authors

by Shawn Eyer, P∴M∴

Thousands of individuals, within and outside of the Fraternity, have written about the Mason's Craft. This list features key authors whose work is exceptionally valuable for understanding Masonic culture, history, philosophy and symbolism.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Perhaps the quintessential German philosopher, Goethe became a Mason in 1780 at 31 years of age, and remained dedicated to the Order for the rest of his life. Bro∴ Goethe wrote several poems which reflected his profound sensitivity for the lessons of Freemasonry.

H.L. Haywood

A child prodigy, Harry Leroy Haywood became an accomplished minister before the age of 19. While he had some formal seminary training, he was predominantly self-educated. He became a Mason in Iowa in 1915. His first book, Christian Mysticism and Other Essays, appeared in 1917. During the same year, at the age of 31, he was appointed the editor of The Builder, the which would become the nation's most popular Masonic magazine. His qualified hand led the efforts of the National Masonic Research Society for many years. His Masonic books include: The Great Teachings of Masonry (1921), Symbolical Masonry (1923), The Newly-Made Mason (1948), and The Well-Springs of American Freemasonry (1953). Unfortunately, W∴Bro∴ Hawyood's death in 1956 inaugerated a long period of neglect for serious Masonic education within the fraternity.

Rex Hutchens

M∴W∴ Bro∴ Hutchens is most famous for A Bridge to Light (1988, revised 2004), a summary of the Scottish Rite degrees based on Albert Pike's classic Morals and Dogma.

Other books by Hutchens provide valuable tools for modern readers grappling with Pike's classics: The Bible in Albert Pike's Morals and Dogma (coauthored with D.W. Monson, 1992), A Glossary to Morals and Dogma (1993), and Pillars of Wisdom: The Writings of Albert Pike (1995).

Most recently, he has published a newly annotated edition of Albert Pike's Lecture on Masonic Symbolism and A Second Lecture on Symbolism: The Omkara and Other Ineffable Words (2007), one of Masonry's rarest books.

Rudyard Kipling

Kipling became a Mason at the age of 20 while working as a British civil servant in Lahore, India. He recollects: "I was made a Freemason by dispensation, being under age, because the Lodge hoped for a good Secretary. They did not get him, but I helped, and got the Father to advise, in decorating the bare walls of the Masonic Hall with hangings after the prescription of Solomon's Temple. Here I met Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, members of the Araya and Brahmo Samaj, and a Jew tyler, who was priest and butcher to his little community in the city. So yet another world opened to me which I needed." Bro∴ Kipling's early Masonic experience in this lodge is memorably treated in his poem, The Mother-Lodge.

He returned to England in 1889 as a very popular writer of short stories and poems_many of which convey Masonic themes and influences. Brother Kipling was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907. Afterward, he remained very active in the Craft, for example as a founding member of the Builders of Silent Cities Lodge № 4948 and Authors' Lodge № 3456 under the constitution of the United Grand Lodge of England.

Albert G. Mackey

Bro∴ Mackey was prominent ins both the York and Scottish Rite, but is best known for his tremendous contributions to Masonic scholarship. His 1852 Lexicon eventually evolved into his magnificent Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and Kindred Sciences. It formed the basis for similar works by Kenneth Mackenzie, A.F.A. Woodford, Robert Macoy and H.W. Coil. Mackey's two-volume Encyclopedia remains the best overall Masonic reference available, and is especially recommended.

Symbolism of Freemasonry (1869) provides an in-depth, cross-cultural analysis of Masonic symbolism. While some of its conclusions are considered doubtful today, overall the work remains sound as a sophisticated exposition of many Craft symbols. This work shjould be considered essential for anyone attempting to understand American Freemasonry of the nineteenth century, as it was considered authoritative from its first publication until the 1920s, and since then has remained a standard reference.

W. Kirk MacNulty

In The Way of the Craftsman (1988), MacNulty explains his model of the Craft as a "God-centered psychology," that is, from the perspective of archetypal and transpersonal psychology. Here, the Lodge is considered as a representation of the human psyche. In many ways MacNulty's work could be considered an updated version of Wilmshurst's, invigorated by the perspectives of kabbalah and psychology.

Freemasonry: A Journey through Ritual and Symbol (1991) was a welcome addition, as it not only featured a wealth of Masonic artwork, much of it never seen before, but it also presented a sophisticated and philosophical perspective on the process of Masonic initiation.

Freemasonry: Symbols, Secrets, Significance (2006), MacNulty's finest work to date, provides a more in-depth survey of the visual arts in Freemasonry, through hundreds of color photographs.

Albert Pike

Pike's great work, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, first appeared in 1871. Since then, it has become one of the most ubiquitous books on Freemasonry. Revolutionary in its day, Morals and Dogma interprets the degrees of Scottish Rite Masonry in light of comparative philosophy, kabbalah, and hermeticism.

Some of Pike's books, which have been preserved unpublished in manuscript form, are now being edited and published under the auspices of the Scottish Rite Research Society: e.g., Esoterika (edited by Art de Hoyos, 2005) and Lectures on Masonic Symbolism (edited by Rex Hutchens, 2007). Rex Hutchens has also provided three other books to make Morals and Dogma more accessible.

William Preston

Preston's Illustrations of Masonry, which first appeared in 1772 and was reissued in many revised and expanded editions, is the most influential book in all of Masonry. In Illustrations, Preston offers monitorial "remarks" upon his degree lectures. Note: For many years, most were under the impression that the contents of this book were Preston's lectures themselves. The actual Preston degree lectures were in a cipher format, of which few copies survive.

David Stevenson

In the last 25 years, no scholar's research on Freemasonry as been as important as that of Prof. David Stevenson of the University of St. Andrews. In The Origins of Freemasonry: Scotland's Century, 1590-1710 (Cambridge University Press, 1988), Prof. Stevenson documents dozens of ties between early speculative Masonry and the philosophical traditions of the late Renaissance. He is also the author of The First Freemasons: Scotland's Early Lodges and their Members (1988; Second Edition, Grand Lodge of Scotland, 2001).

James T. Tresner iii

From Sacrifice to Symbol: The Story of Cornerstones and Stability Rites (2003), is an excellent history of a subject that is touched upon only briefly in the well-known Masonic ritual of the laying of a cornerstone. This contains a transcript of the Masonic cornerstone ritual performed on Sept. 21, 1793 for the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

Vested in Glory (2000). A lavishly illustrated book featuring full-color plates of Robert White's paintings of the Scottish Rite regalia of every degree from 1° to 33°, along with short but enlightening commentary by W∴ Bro&there; Tresner. For those just getting started in esoteric studies, the back of the book contains a handy 37-page dictionary of symbols used in the Scottish Rite.

In Albert Pike: The Man Behind the Monument (1995), he presents an excellent and sympathetic biography of Albert Pike, the great Masonic leader and ritualist. If you've read some Pike and find yourself hitting a wall, it might be useful to read about his life.

Further Light (2008), The Craft and Its Noyse (2000) and A Shared Spirit (2001, co-edited with Robert G. Davis) are shorter works, in booklet form, and available only from The Masonic Service Association of North America.

A.E. Waite

A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry (1921). One of several Masonic encyclopedias that is still available, this classic presents a wealth of information. There are some faults. Due to the age of the book, some of the research is dated. Although the topics are alphabetized, they seem oddly-organized because of the fairly arbitrary selection of topic headings. Despite these limitations, this book is a worthwhile reference and offers weighty commentary on hundreds of Masonic topics. Its current availability in an inexpensive hardcover edition makes it an especially recommended landmark in any Mason's library.

W.L. Wilmshurst

W∴Bro∴ Wilmshurst wrote many books, among them two that might be among the best Masonic classics: The Meaning of Masonry (1922), and its sequel, The Masonic Initiation (1924). These works, with their powerfully spiritual vision of Freemasonry as a "sacramental system" have been an inspiration to Masons for nearly a century. They were also the impulse behind a new lodge, The Lodge of Living Stones № 4957 (UGLE)—an important precursor to the traditional observance lodge model.