Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry
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Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, or simply Morals and Dogma, is a book of esoteric philosophy published by the Supreme Council, Thirty Third Degree, of the Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction of the United States. It was written by Albert Pike and first published in 1872. There have been several subsequent editions. While now out of print, copies are still widely available.
[edit] Contents
The book is composed of Pike's ruminations and essays on the Degrees of the Scottish Rite, from the 1st to the 32nd. It is intended as a guidebook for people entering the Scottish Rite, and explains Pike's understanding of the symbolism and allegory in the degrees he wrote. However, it is a truly imposing tome. There are 861 pages of text and a 218 page index; the book itself is over two inches thick. There are thirty-two chapters, each discussing the philosophical symbolism of a degree of Freemasonry in extensive detail. In the Preface to the 1950 Edition, the editors wrote about Pike thus:
| “ | In preparing this work, the Grand Commander has been about equally Author and Compiler; since he has extracted quite half of its contents from the works of the best writers and most philosophic or eloquent thinkers. Perhaps it would have been better and more acceptable if he had extracted more and written less. | ” |
The preface goes on to say:
| “ | Everyone is entirely free to reject and dissent from whatsoever herein may seem to him to be untrue or unsound. | ” |
Though it discusses the minutiae of Masonic ritual at length, it is written so as not to reveal the Masonic secrets. Ritual motions and objects are named and elaborated upon, but not described. Even so, in some older editions, the title page of the book declares in large, bold letters: ESOTERIC BOOK, FOR SCOTTISH RITE USE ONLY; TO BE RETURNED UPON WITHDRAWAL OR DEATH OF RECIPIENT.
A copy of Morals and Dogma was given to every new member of the Southern Jurisdiction until 1974, when it was deemed "too advanced to be helpful to the new Scottish Rite member."[citation needed] It was initially replaced by Clausen's Commentaries on Morals and Dogma, written by Henry C. Clausen, 33°, Sovereign Grand Commander, and later by A Bridge To Light, by Rex Hutchens, 33°, G.'.C.', which is the book a new initiate into the Scottish Rite in the Southern Jurisdiction receives today. The book was never used in the Northern Jurisdiction.
