An air of profound mystery surrounds the fraternal order of Free and Accepted Masons, or Freemasons. Built on three pillars of brotherly love, charity, and truth, the order ranks among the world's oldest and most renowned societies. This classic study explores Freemasonry's history and traditions, both legendary and documented, and chronicles the society's influence on the Western world, particularly in regard to American culture and government.
Author Albert Gallatin Mackey, a renowned historian of the society who held many high positions in the order, traces the rise of Freemasonry from its roots in the ages of Biblical patriarchs and ancient Rome to the eighteenth-century involvement of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He also explores the associations of the Freemasons with the Knights Templars of the Crusades, the Druids, the Rosicrucians, and a secret Muslim sect known as the Assassins. In addition, he discusses the significance of the Stone of Philosophers, Euclidean geometry, and a variety of forms of architecture. This complete survey of the mythical and allegorical narrative of Freemasonry offers novices and experts alike a revealing look at the society's philosophical and ritual foundations.

Introduction

1. Tradition and History in Masonry

2. The Legendary History of Freemasonry

3. The Old Manuscripts

4. The Legend of the Craft

5. The Halliwell Poem and the Legend

6. The Origin of the Halliwell Poem

7. The Legend, the Germ of History

8. The Origin of Geometry

9. The Legend of Lamech's Sons and the Pillars

10. The Legend of Hermes

11. The Tower of Babel

12. The Legend of Nimrod

13. The Legend of Euclid

14. The Legendn of the Temple

15. The Extension of the Art into Other Countries

16. The Legend of Charles Martel and Namus Grecus

17. The Legend of St. Alban

18. The York Legend

19. Summary of the Legend of the Craft

20. The Andersonian Theory

21. The Prestonian Theory

22. The Hutchinsonian Theory

23. The Oliverian Theory

24. The Temple Legend

25. Legend of the Dionysiac Artificers

26. Freemasonry and the Ancient Mysteries

27. Druidism and Freemasonry

28. Freemasonry and the Crusades

29. The Story of the Scottish Templars

30. Freemasonry and the House of Stuart

31. The Jesuits in Freemasonry

32. Oliver Cromwell and Freemasonry

33. The Royal Society and Freemasonry

34. The Astrologers and the Freemasons

35. The Rosicrucians and the Freemasons

36. The Rosicrucianism of the High Degrees

37. The Pythagoreans and Freemasonry

38. Freemasonry and the Gnostics

39. The Socinians and Freemasonry

40. Freemasonry and the Essenes

41. The Legend of Enoch

42. Noah and the Noachites

43. The Legend of Hiram Abif

44. The Leland Manuscript