New Feature: JP’s Knowledge Bank- “Morals & Dogma” By Albert Pike (PDF)

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This week we start a new feature to expand your knowledge base. Each week, JP will share a book from his vast PDF knowledge base of bboks and research papers, if you have requests, please leave them in the comments section- Enjoy!!-JP

Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, or simply Morals and Dogma, is a book ofesoteric philosophy published by the Supreme Council, Thirty Third Degree, of the Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction of the United States. It was compiled by Albert Pike, was first published in 1872 and was regularly reprinted thereafter until 1969. An upgraded official reprint was released in 2011, with the benefit of annotations by Arturo de Hoyos, 33°, G∴C∴, the Scottish Rite’s Grand Archivist and Grand Historian.

Morals and Dogma has been described as “a collection of thirty-two essays which provide a philosophical rationale for the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. The lectures provided a backdrop for the degrees by giving lessons in comparative religion, history and philosophy”.

The original printing had 861 pages of text, while a 218-page Digest-Index was added by Trevanion W. Hugo, 33°, G∴C∴, in 1909. Its thirty-two chapters discuss the philosophical symbolism of a degree of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in extensive detail. In Pike’s original Preface, he noted:

He continued:

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. In his allocution of 1947, Pike’s successor, Grand Commander John Henry Cowles, noted that some Masonic publications had used large extracts from the text, which practice he sought to curtail by adding the following words to the title page: ‘Esoteric Book, for Scottish Rite use only; to be Returned upon Withdrawal or Death of Recipient’ (Transactions of the Supreme Council, 33°, S.J. (1947), p. 38). Although Morals and Dogma is an esoteric book, it was not a secret one; Pike’s original preface was clear that any Mason could own the book, but only Scottish Rite Masons would be encouraged to own one.

There are 32 chapters (1 per degree in the masonic ranks of the southern jurisdiction, the 33° being the only exception), These chapters generally consist of Comparative Religion, Philosophy, Comparative Etymologies, Symbolism, And Numerology. The primary themes are the “Secrets” or the “Great Mysteries” and their symbolism & rituals. It is stated that nothing in the book is meant to reveal any of the secrets to freemasonry but to simply hint or shed light. An emphasis on religious and cultural tolerance is shown throughout the work, emphasizing that the root of all religion was the same. These common traits and symbols in all religions are explained in detailed, Beginning with the Orphic Egg or the Cosmic Egg, and then moving towards Ancient Egyptian, Phoenician, Buddhist, Hindu Texts, & The Abrahamic Religions.

Download the PDF HERE: [Albert Pike] Morals and Dogma