The Secrets of Freemasonry

by Robert Lomas

Many people are curious about the existence of secret societies which claim to hold arcane religious or esoteric knowledge and pass it down through the generations via selected adepts. Classic Masonic writers including William Preston, Robert Gould, JSM Ward, AE Waite and WL Wilmshurst have written about secret traditions connected to the Temple of Sion. Each has different ideas about how mystical knowledge came into Freemasonry. Some say that the Charter of Larmenius reveals an underground line of Knight Templar Grand Masters who survived down to the nineteenth century. All agree there is a Secret Lodge or House of Adepts who continue to teach "true" knowledge of the ancient mysteries and that The Craft transmits beliefs linked to the Earls of Rosslyn, the Knights Templar, and Lodge Mother Kilwinning. Masonic expert Robert Lomas has collected together this thread of belief from old Masonic writers and rewritten it in modern English to make the ideas accessible to modern readers.

Genres: Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[L.D.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you pick this up for ten dollars at HPB expecting to magically learn all the deepest secrets of the most ancient of orders from one book like I did, you're surely mistaken. But on it's own, as an outline of several alternative histories of masonry contrary to the ironclad doctrine of the UGLE, it's wonderful. Some parts are a little tedious and drag on, but I had no trouble following along. I highly recommend and I advise looking into the sources Lomas cites, especially JSM Ward, my personal favorite.

[Steven]

A good, thorough is somewhat speculative history of Freemasonry in Great Britain and Europe. A tad preach in the style of some lesser writers on English history. The author has several more volumes on the same subject, but I am not sure that I would read them. I'll know when I finish this one.

[Manuel Araujo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Supone una vista diferente sobre la creación de la Masoeria. Se supine que procede desde los Druidas, templarios, etc. pero la UGLE no comparte esta visión y ataca y menosprecia a cualquiera contrario a sus ideas.

[Melissbian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third-level source material--Lomas is summing up ("modernizing") other authors who are summing up (paraphrasing) first-level sources. For all that, it's a provoking read...if you can get through the first 100 pages.