A Fremason in Clarksburg Virginia was a prominent Attorney in County offices. He passed away after attending to his daughter who as I recall had a case of Scarlet Fever.
The Clarksburg Masonic Lodge brothers took care of the Widow and Orphan of that Attorney (housing and food). The orphan boy never became a Mason, but went to work as an Apprentice at his Uncle's Flour Mill.
When a seat opened at West Point US Military Academy, that boy went on a train to fill that open seat a week after that year's school session started. That boy would later be known to become Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (not revered by all, but a faithful "son" of the State of Virginia)!
Today, people are too quick to tear down monuments and reputations. It normally takes 50 years for people to recognize their heroes. They collect money, find a good location, and then erect the statue to honor the person. In passionate rage, we lash out and destroy the marble and the memory seemingly overnight. History should be viewed in a wide perspective. We need to subdue our passions, including the fraternity that teaches us those lessons.
I agree. I find it deeply disturbing when I see monuments from the past defaced, destroyed, and removed. And undoubtedly it is counterproductive to whatever cause is believed to be being served by such actions, for history can't be learned from if it is not known.
You should have seen the KT magazine before 2008! A cover story every month about a long deceased baseball player. 🫣
Pike? If not for the shrine erected to him in Washington, DC, his name would be as obscure to the average Freemason today as is Preston, Krause, or Dermott.
Scottish Rite Masonry is in rapid and irreversible decline in the United States, and the only people who will remember Albert Pike in 25 years are the mentally weak anti-masons who have spasms over “Lucifer.”
Interesting because of how Jurisdictions seem to differ. Over here, in the land of Washington, the SRSJ seems to be going strong. My Valley is growing, our Orient wide charitable programs are thriving, and I feel like there is a lot of excitement for the Scottish Rite.
But looking at the York Rite in my State, I would guess that it is very close to collapse due to a lack of interest and membership.
Likewise I think with Pike, in this corner of the Country. Just a couple quick examples come to mind, we've got Washington Masons involved with a really serious study group of his Morals & Dogma, that spans Jurisdictions, his Esoterika seems very popular within the Craft, and one of our oldest Lodges makes a really big deal of the fact that he visited their Lodge, using it as a primary talking point.
Pike was brilliant. To ignore or chastise him because of his alligence to the Confederacy misses a point he made; we as Masons should tolerate intolerance. Think about it. Lincoln first asked a brilliant General to command the northern forces. He declined and took on the command of the army of VA - a Confederate State. So should Lincolns first choice be chastised as well? Like or dislike Pike, his writings and teaching are a part of Mason history and teachings. IMHO!
There's a lot of stories and evidence too of how Masons on both sides helped each other when on the battlefield or when captured. A testament to the idea that we really prefer to help one another rather than hurt.
I had not read any of Pike's work until very recently, and I have to thank the discussion right here on Emeth at our weekly Rummer and Grapes zoom sessions. I was recommended to read his Esoterika, so I bought a kindle version off Amazon (holy cow, $33 dollars?!?!?!?!).
Wow, right off the bat, he's asking some very important questions that I assume 99% of masons never think for themselves. I know I never did. I'm only on page 89, so less than 20% of the book, but so far I am impressed. I'm looking forward to his answers to the questions he's posed.
So, the entire issue of distancing ourselves from him as a person should have zero bearing on his masonic contributions - akin to tossing the baby out with the bath water.
I see that I will be able to mine more than a few rich veins of material for the lodge as educational pieces. Hopefully it will spark some brothers to delve more. I don't expect all, I know there are some brothers that are only patiently tolerating the educational portions of my meetings, having spent years where nothing masonic was discussed. But there are a few, mostly the younger (in masonic years) brothers that want to contribute as well, which is encouraging.
$33, holy smokes! The rather massive hardcover is only $55.
I do think that his writings have a tendency to expand our views about what Freemasonry is, and should be. They do for me anyway. He didn't seem to view our Craft as a limited thing, rather as something that should embrace and influence all aspects of life and society.
Engaging with history in its full complexity, including its uncomfortable aspects, is considered essential for fostering an informed and critical society. Proper historians advocate for truth. Confronting past injustices and acknowledging the multifaceted nature of historical figures and events, rather than sanitizing or oversimplifying them is proper. Pike, like all of us, changed his view of society as he aged. Society, changed as well. historical negationism is just as dangerous as historical revisionism.
I say, let Pikes own well documented actions and words stand for it self. He was a influential man, and any one who was influential in the1860s had detractors and supporters. The American craft should be grateful for what he did as a Mason. Although he was a flawed man, we all are flawed. Society at the time was flawed as well. We should take a lesson from his growth as a man and mason, and should use it as a template for looking at our own flaws and perfecting our ashlar. I think that's the proper way for recognizing him, his influence and our own path forward.
More than likely If you lived in a state in the south you viewed that state as your home, and your community. One of my GG Grandfathers was conscripted to fight. Meaning it was not a mere choice for him. Another volunteered as he saw it as his duty as a citizen of NC according to the letters I've found. History is full of complexity, and we shouldn't look at it and paint people with a broad brush. The reality is that we would likely follow the same exact path they did if we were alive back then, presented with the same circumstances. Its a fallacy to think otherwise.
I recognize that I am an imperfect man, with imperfect knowledge, existing in an imperfect world. And I think that most people recognize the same about themselves and their surroundings.
That's why it is so odd to me when so many seem unwilling to understand those facts about historical figures, or if they do understand, fail to extend grace. It just doesn't make sense to me.
I personally think leaning in and learning requires emotional maturity. A fragile mind will resist change. Reading in to something and deciding for your self forces you to examine your own values, frameworks or morality and to confront your ego. Ergo, it's work. Our brain likes heuristical thinking. The shortest path to conclusion. Bias is based on that.
We often forget the time aspect of biographical data. People are allowed to change. They DO change. Pike changed his attitude about Prince Hall Freemasonry from "I won't sit with them" to being BFF with the head of Prince Hall Scottish Rite.
Regardless, Masons have been on every side of every issue, and some have taken a moral stand when others have not, even when it was the norm in attitude for a given time. And sometimes we ought to see the value in the message as more important than the messenger, being aware that we are all Imperfect Ashlars. This doesn't mean a free pass. This just means acknowledging the inevitably checkered pavement of the Craft.
>>>And sometimes we ought to see the value in the message as more important than the >>>messenger
I agree, absolutely. If we required a purity test for everyone whose ideas have advanced civilization before engaging with those ideas we would still be living in caves.
As I understand history, most of the men who fought for the south did so coming from a place of homeland defense. I completely understand that. The macro-political issues that drive human events are rarely pivotal to the majority of us who get swept up by the tides of those events.
As an aside, I picked up a couple of books relevant to this discussion at grand lodge a couple years ago. History of the Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction, 1801-1891, consecutively
He was a fascinating man and yes, complex in his relationship to Masonry. There was also the Morgan Affair of 1825 which some say fuelled the anti-Masonic spirit of the times. Then there's the mystery of the ties of Masonry to deaths in the Mormon church in the 19th century. As cultures evolve, they will often try to discount certain aspects and figures through acts of revisionism. I see this a lot in my work as a cultural (digital) anthropologist.
Undoubtedly the Morgan Affair harmed Freemasonry badly in the United States, and indeed, I tend to think that the harm continues to impact us to this day.
I suppose that you are correct, revisionism is likely inevitable over the march to time as values change.
A Fremason in Clarksburg Virginia was a prominent Attorney in County offices. He passed away after attending to his daughter who as I recall had a case of Scarlet Fever.
The Clarksburg Masonic Lodge brothers took care of the Widow and Orphan of that Attorney (housing and food). The orphan boy never became a Mason, but went to work as an Apprentice at his Uncle's Flour Mill.
When a seat opened at West Point US Military Academy, that boy went on a train to fill that open seat a week after that year's school session started. That boy would later be known to become Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (not revered by all, but a faithful "son" of the State of Virginia)!
Thank you for sharing this, I wasn't aware of that history!
Today, people are too quick to tear down monuments and reputations. It normally takes 50 years for people to recognize their heroes. They collect money, find a good location, and then erect the statue to honor the person. In passionate rage, we lash out and destroy the marble and the memory seemingly overnight. History should be viewed in a wide perspective. We need to subdue our passions, including the fraternity that teaches us those lessons.
I agree. I find it deeply disturbing when I see monuments from the past defaced, destroyed, and removed. And undoubtedly it is counterproductive to whatever cause is believed to be being served by such actions, for history can't be learned from if it is not known.
You should have seen the KT magazine before 2008! A cover story every month about a long deceased baseball player. 🫣
Pike? If not for the shrine erected to him in Washington, DC, his name would be as obscure to the average Freemason today as is Preston, Krause, or Dermott.
Scottish Rite Masonry is in rapid and irreversible decline in the United States, and the only people who will remember Albert Pike in 25 years are the mentally weak anti-masons who have spasms over “Lucifer.”
Jay
Jay:
This is interesting stuff, thank you for it.
Interesting because of how Jurisdictions seem to differ. Over here, in the land of Washington, the SRSJ seems to be going strong. My Valley is growing, our Orient wide charitable programs are thriving, and I feel like there is a lot of excitement for the Scottish Rite.
But looking at the York Rite in my State, I would guess that it is very close to collapse due to a lack of interest and membership.
Likewise I think with Pike, in this corner of the Country. Just a couple quick examples come to mind, we've got Washington Masons involved with a really serious study group of his Morals & Dogma, that spans Jurisdictions, his Esoterika seems very popular within the Craft, and one of our oldest Lodges makes a really big deal of the fact that he visited their Lodge, using it as a primary talking point.
Pike was brilliant. To ignore or chastise him because of his alligence to the Confederacy misses a point he made; we as Masons should tolerate intolerance. Think about it. Lincoln first asked a brilliant General to command the northern forces. He declined and took on the command of the army of VA - a Confederate State. So should Lincolns first choice be chastised as well? Like or dislike Pike, his writings and teaching are a part of Mason history and teachings. IMHO!
Agreed. His contributions to American Masonry are, I think, beyond compare.
There's a lot of stories and evidence too of how Masons on both sides helped each other when on the battlefield or when captured. A testament to the idea that we really prefer to help one another rather than hurt.
I had not read any of Pike's work until very recently, and I have to thank the discussion right here on Emeth at our weekly Rummer and Grapes zoom sessions. I was recommended to read his Esoterika, so I bought a kindle version off Amazon (holy cow, $33 dollars?!?!?!?!).
Wow, right off the bat, he's asking some very important questions that I assume 99% of masons never think for themselves. I know I never did. I'm only on page 89, so less than 20% of the book, but so far I am impressed. I'm looking forward to his answers to the questions he's posed.
So, the entire issue of distancing ourselves from him as a person should have zero bearing on his masonic contributions - akin to tossing the baby out with the bath water.
I see that I will be able to mine more than a few rich veins of material for the lodge as educational pieces. Hopefully it will spark some brothers to delve more. I don't expect all, I know there are some brothers that are only patiently tolerating the educational portions of my meetings, having spent years where nothing masonic was discussed. But there are a few, mostly the younger (in masonic years) brothers that want to contribute as well, which is encouraging.
$33, holy smokes! The rather massive hardcover is only $55.
I do think that his writings have a tendency to expand our views about what Freemasonry is, and should be. They do for me anyway. He didn't seem to view our Craft as a limited thing, rather as something that should embrace and influence all aspects of life and society.
Engaging with history in its full complexity, including its uncomfortable aspects, is considered essential for fostering an informed and critical society. Proper historians advocate for truth. Confronting past injustices and acknowledging the multifaceted nature of historical figures and events, rather than sanitizing or oversimplifying them is proper. Pike, like all of us, changed his view of society as he aged. Society, changed as well. historical negationism is just as dangerous as historical revisionism.
I say, let Pikes own well documented actions and words stand for it self. He was a influential man, and any one who was influential in the1860s had detractors and supporters. The American craft should be grateful for what he did as a Mason. Although he was a flawed man, we all are flawed. Society at the time was flawed as well. We should take a lesson from his growth as a man and mason, and should use it as a template for looking at our own flaws and perfecting our ashlar. I think that's the proper way for recognizing him, his influence and our own path forward.
More than likely If you lived in a state in the south you viewed that state as your home, and your community. One of my GG Grandfathers was conscripted to fight. Meaning it was not a mere choice for him. Another volunteered as he saw it as his duty as a citizen of NC according to the letters I've found. History is full of complexity, and we shouldn't look at it and paint people with a broad brush. The reality is that we would likely follow the same exact path they did if we were alive back then, presented with the same circumstances. Its a fallacy to think otherwise.
Very well said, thank you Brother.
I recognize that I am an imperfect man, with imperfect knowledge, existing in an imperfect world. And I think that most people recognize the same about themselves and their surroundings.
That's why it is so odd to me when so many seem unwilling to understand those facts about historical figures, or if they do understand, fail to extend grace. It just doesn't make sense to me.
It's like the meme for Land O' Lakes margarine, they removed the Native American from the packaging and kept the land. How stupid.
I personally think leaning in and learning requires emotional maturity. A fragile mind will resist change. Reading in to something and deciding for your self forces you to examine your own values, frameworks or morality and to confront your ego. Ergo, it's work. Our brain likes heuristical thinking. The shortest path to conclusion. Bias is based on that.
As with any masonic documentation, regardless of who wrote it, each have to be put down to close examination.
We cannot just accept everything as face value. Remember that those writings were made at a moment in history, with the knowledge of the time.
Some may be wrong or need correction and clarification, others may still resonates today.
>>>We cannot just accept everything as face value. Remember that those writings were >>>made at a moment in history, with the knowledge of the time.
This is exactly right. Thank you for it!
We often forget the time aspect of biographical data. People are allowed to change. They DO change. Pike changed his attitude about Prince Hall Freemasonry from "I won't sit with them" to being BFF with the head of Prince Hall Scottish Rite.
Regardless, Masons have been on every side of every issue, and some have taken a moral stand when others have not, even when it was the norm in attitude for a given time. And sometimes we ought to see the value in the message as more important than the messenger, being aware that we are all Imperfect Ashlars. This doesn't mean a free pass. This just means acknowledging the inevitably checkered pavement of the Craft.
>>>And sometimes we ought to see the value in the message as more important than the >>>messenger
I agree, absolutely. If we required a purity test for everyone whose ideas have advanced civilization before engaging with those ideas we would still be living in caves.
As I understand history, most of the men who fought for the south did so coming from a place of homeland defense. I completely understand that. The macro-political issues that drive human events are rarely pivotal to the majority of us who get swept up by the tides of those events.
As an aside, I picked up a couple of books relevant to this discussion at grand lodge a couple years ago. History of the Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction, 1801-1891, consecutively
Very dry but interesting reading
Thanks for letting us know about those books. I'll have to look around for a copy of them.
I can't figure out how to post a picture! 🤣 I'm new to substack
Unfortunately, Substack doesn't allow images posted into the comments. It's a software limitation that hasn't been fixed yet.
Images can be posted to Notes and Chat.
>>>The macro-political issues that drive human events are rarely pivotal to the majority of us >>>who get swept up by the tides of those events.
This is a solid point, thank you for making it. The men on the battlefield are not the men making decisions of war and peace.
He was a fascinating man and yes, complex in his relationship to Masonry. There was also the Morgan Affair of 1825 which some say fuelled the anti-Masonic spirit of the times. Then there's the mystery of the ties of Masonry to deaths in the Mormon church in the 19th century. As cultures evolve, they will often try to discount certain aspects and figures through acts of revisionism. I see this a lot in my work as a cultural (digital) anthropologist.
Undoubtedly the Morgan Affair harmed Freemasonry badly in the United States, and indeed, I tend to think that the harm continues to impact us to this day.
I suppose that you are correct, revisionism is likely inevitable over the march to time as values change.