Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry

The Great Albert Pike's literary tour de force; his magnum opus. Morals and Dogma is by no means, your typical Freemason's monitor. It is a Freemason's cardinal esoteric challenge--an erudite gauntlet for those who truly endeavor to be ambassadors of the institution. It is not something to be merely read; it's something to be lived! Its lessons are not intended to be fully comprehended by the intellect, but by the heart; the veritable object of Masonic instruction. (If you can stand it, read and devote deep contemplation to what Pike writes about Force and Intellect in the book.) And any Freemason with a heart will surely embrace the palpitant moral plasma the book's lessons will cause to course throughout his entire being. To pike's credit and literary genius, Morals and Dogma, ironically, often provokes a posture of deference in even non-masons (called the profane by Freemasons, for having never cast a shadow in a lodge). And as expected, it provokes a similarity in Freemasons because it is preceded by its reputation worldwide. So often do Freemason and profane alike obtain a copy of the book only to glean the first ten pages, maybe, and then rest it on the shelf to collect dust, or place it in the sitting room as a centerpiece, where it does the same. And they'll boast about their copy to audiences who don't really care (or know to) one way or another. This is not an easy read. In fact, it is a difficult one. Not for everybody. I'm not kidding, when I say that this book is a Freemason's convention in parchment, a marvelous aggregate of the world's finest teachers on pure morality in one tome. The "philosophies" of all the great classical masters from Hermes and Quetzalcoatl, to Buddha and Zoroaster, to Christ and Muhammad, etc., are eloquently canonized here. And I am of the firm opinion that Albert Pike intended this work to smudge the illusionary lines between the ancient system of moral philosophy and contemporary Freemasonic philosophy, and thereby, supplement the sacred mores he developed in his revision of the Scottish Rite ritual. Morals and Dogma is no mere book; it is a beast of books. And beasts must be conquered for heroes to emerge. Albert Pike was well versed in mythology, and he knew what he was doing when he penned this one! To be sure, there won't be another; this is the one. And finally, a direct salute to the man: Not only was Albert Pike a physical giant in his day (standing nearly six-five and weighing over three hundred pounds), but more significantly, he was a literary and moral giant as well. And he is still a giant today, for after all; his work still towers above the rest.

Morals and Dogma by Albert Pike no longer has the prominence among Scottish Rite Masons as it once held. Most likely because the majority of people it was presented to throughout the years never bothered to read it, but possibly because it is such a daunting task to try and understand what he is referring to. I usually finish a book of 900 pages in about 4 days; I've been reading this book since Thanksgiving, four months for roughly 865 pages. It's not that Pike writes above the head of any reader, it's just if you want to be thorough when your reading something as reflective as Morals and Dogma, it's good to cross reference many of the works alluded to by the author and tries to get a broader understanding of what he is talking about. I'll go ahead and make the standard disclaimer here, this book has nothing to do with establishing a religious creed for anyone reading it, and it is not the book I would recommend for the beginner who is researching Masonic lore. What Pike does, and in a masterful way, is take each of the 32 degrees of the Scottish Rite, and lifts the veils (reveals) of the allegories hidden behind each of the ceremonies (ritual is more correct, but it denotes too many ties with religion in our current lexicon). Each chapter is a degree of the Scottish Rite, and each one attempts to show the reader where the symbolism originally came from, and then cross references it with all of the religious and philosophical systems that had existed at the time of its writing. From the Kabala to the early orders of Knighthood, each piece of symbolism that Masonry had required is broken down and analyzed in the most painstaking manner, leaving the reader to decide if the symbolism holds any weight within his own moral or dogmatic code, just like the actual degree work that is performed during the various stages of initiation. Pike never said, "You must believe in all of these religions in order to be a good Mason," and even went so far as to proclaim Christianity as the most likely candidate for the one true legacy of all the early religions stemming back to the origin of the human race's belief systems as we know it. If people want to denounce the various moral codes of other belief systems, then they are free to do so, but I do think they should review the books that proclaim those codes, and not one that merely compares the various aspects of said religions so that the reader can come to an appreciation of all the various "morals and dogmas" represented. I think this is a fine work for anyone interested in comparative religion, or just wants to see that man from one background is not so much different in his beliefs from another, and that very likely they had a common root. This should also still be required reading for anyone interested in truly appreciating their Masonic heritage and wants to delve deeper than just putting on the regalia and performing the scripts.

What is the philosophy inculcated by the Masonic Fraternity? Why have so many renowned men such as George Washington, Mozart, Benjamin Franklin, Harry S. Truman, and Sir Winston Churchill found in Masonic membership keys to leading enlightened lives? 'Morals and Dogma', written by poet, philosopher, frontiersman, soldier, humanitarian and philanthropist Albert Pike, explores in this volume answers to these questions, along with commentaries on religious and philosophical beliefs throughout history. Recommended to everyone who is interested in philosophy and comparative religion, but more especially to the Mason who desires a more thorough understanding of his fraternity.