The Symbolism of Freemasonry
(Illustrated Edition)
by Albert G. Mackey

Freemasonry is a fraternal organization. Arising from obscure origins (theorized to be anywhere from the time of the building of King Solomon's Temple to the mid-1600s), it now exists in various forms all over the world, and claims millions of members. All of these various forms share moral and metaphysical ideals, which include in most cases a constitutional declaration of belief in a Supreme Being. The fraternity is administratively organized into Grand Lodges (or sometimes Orients) that each govern their own jurisdiction, which consists of subordinate (or constituent) Lodges. Grand Lodges recognize each other through a process of landmarks and regularity. Freemasonry uses the metaphors of operative stonemasons' tools and implements, against the allegorical backdrop of the building of King Solomon's Temple, to convey what is most generally defined as "a system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols."

About the Author:
Albert Gallatin Mackey (March 12, 1807 – June 20, 1881) was an American medical doctor, and is best known for his authorship of many books and articles about freemasonry, particularly Masonic Landmarks. He served as Grand Lecturer and Grand Secretary of The Grand Lodge of South Carolina; Secretary General of the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Rite for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States.

Contents:
Preface
I. Preliminary. The Origin and Progress of Freemasonry
II. The Noachidæ
III. The Primitive Freemasonry of Antiquity
IV. The Spurious Freemasonry of Antiquity
V. The Ancient Mysteries
VI. The Dionysiac Artificers
VII. The Union of Speculative and Operative Masonry at the Temple of Solomon
VIII. The Travelling Freemasons of the Middle Ages
IX. Disseverance of the Operative Element
X. The System of Symbolic Instuction
XI. The Speculative Science and the Operative Art
XII. The Symbolism of Solomon's Temple
XIII. The Form of the Lodge
XIV. The Officers of a Lodge
XV. The Point Within a Circle
XVI. The Covering of the Lodge
XVII. Ritualistic Symbolism
XVIII. The Rite of Discalceation
XIX. The Rite of Investiture
XX. The Symbolism of the Gloves
XXI. The Rite of Circumambulation
XXII. The Rite of Intrusting, and the Symbolism of Light
XXIII. Symbolism of the Corner-Stone
XXIV. The Ineffable Name
XXV. The Legends of Freemasonry
XXVI. The Legend of the Winding Stairs
XXVII. The Legend of the Third Degree
XXVIII. The Sprig of Acacia
XXIX. The Symbolism of Labor
XXX. The Stone of Foundation
XXXI. The Lost Word