Living the Enlightenment: Freemasonry and Politics in Eighteenth-Century Europe

by Margaret C. Jacob

Long recognized as more than the writings of a dozen or so philosophes, the Enlightenment created a new secular culture populated by the literate and the affluent. Enamoured of British institutions, Continental Europeans turned to the imported masonic lodges and found in them a new forum that was constitutionally constructed and logically egalitarian. Originating in the Middle Ages, when stone-masons joined together to preserve their professional secrets and to protect their wages, the English and Scottish lodges had by the eighteenth century discarded their guild origins and become an international phenomenon that gave men and eventually some women a place to vote, speak, discuss and debate. Margaret Jacob argues that the hundreds of masonic lodges founded in eighteenth-century Europe were among the most important enclaves in which modern civil society was formed. In France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Britain men and women freemasons sought to create a moral and social order based upon reason and virtue, and dedicated to the principles of liberty and equality. A forum where philosophers met with men of commerce, government, and the professions, the masonic lodge created new forms of self-government in microcosm, complete with constitutions and laws, elections, and representatives. This is the first comprehensive history of Enlightenment freemasonry, from the roots of the society's political philosophy and evolution in seventeenth-century England and Scotland to the French Revolution. Based on never-before-used archival sources, it will appeal to anyone interested in the birth of modernity in Europe or in the cultural milieu of the European Enlightenment.

Genres: History, 18th Century

320 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 1991

Reviews

[Kevin Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb scholarship and clear presentation

Jacob presents a deep wealth of scholarship supporting a consistent and logical theory, leading to an enhanced understanding of not only freemasonry's origins and development throughout Europe, but also it's contribution to the development of modern civic society. A balanced exposition of a complex but important aspect of the formation of modern society.

[Melvin E. Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for a serious Mason interested in the early history especially on the Continent of Europe.

Meticulously researched and footnoted it is very informative and thought provoking. Well written it requires some effort, but well worth it.

[David F. Riddick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent work. Well researched and well written. For serious students masonry and the enlightenment.

[Tyler Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book drawn heavily from primary sources as well as other serious & professional historians, it focuses on Freemasonry in France and the Low Countries in the mid to late 18th Century. Jacob works on digging into the actual ideas being discussed (by lodge Orators) in Masonic lodges, as well as the implications of antecedent and descendant streams of thought, coming from the English revolutions of the 1600s, their focus on constitutionality and the emergence of the citizen, through the other side and into the swells that led into the French Revolution.

The work is highly academic, which is what I was hoping for. At times I became rather aware that my total ignorance of the French language, and my general lack of knowledge beyond the casual of 18th Century European political concepts held me back in following some paths taken in the text. It was worth soldiering on, however, and certainly so.

I was particularly interested to garner a general outline of the relationships between the individual Lodges and the newly arising Grand Lodges in the various countries. The author, not herself belonging to any Masonic profession, may not realize how interesting these conflicts might be to the modern Mason! Her outlines of the politics surrounding legitimacy/legality, recognition, and subordination are highly instructive and illuminating. They also help to underline the line of thought that trails throughout the book, regarding the emergence of the importance of self-contained, un-beholden groups, lodges, of individuals bent on formulating their own microcosmic civic body, and the importance of that impulse to the emergence of modern civic and political society as we know it today in the West.

As it seems is a strong theme in other books by the author, she does take a good amount of time discussing the admission of women into some Continental lodges. I also found this particularly interesting. And again, as she is not a member of a Masonic union, she may not realize how powerfully interesting it is to a Masonic reader to consider purposeful irregularity, the whole-cloth tailoring of new degrees for women, and the impact that process might have on actions and purposes that were meant to be, kind-of, inclusive and universal. This is fascinating stuff, particularly to Masonic history and ritual nerds.

Recommended for people looking for an academic history of early European Freemasonry insofar as it locks into the puzzle of the Enlightenment Age. The casual reader, or those unused to weighty academic histories and historiographies may find this an impossible read. Those hoping for a glimpse inside the ritual as it existed in this era and place will not find what they are looking for, excepting for some notation on the rituals as they were redesigned in this earliest phase of co-Masonry.

[Samuel Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strong emphasis on politics and development of civil society with the typical sort of confused snarl about non-political intellectual content in esoteric traditions. Good, solid academic work but written in a dull style unless you're really into political history. In a pinch, reading the conclusion/epilogue will give you a good sense for the book. On adoption lodges, she actually did a better job with her re-tread for the Dan Brown book in 2006. Recommended for historians of European Enlightenment and especially political/organizational elements of European Freemasonry but not for non-specialists.