A Brother recently gifted me a wonderful Masonic book that I hadn’t encountered before.
The Point Within The Circle: Bounded By Two Parallel Lines
by Matthew Ridgley Clark
The author is a member of my neighboring Grand Lodge, British Columbia and the Yukon.
The author’s website is Here. Copies can be purchased directly there, in various formats. It is also available from Macoy. And those in Europe can get a copy of the UK edition from Lewis Masonic.
Our Monitorial Work here in Washington says of this symbol:
“Our ancient brethren dedicated their Lodges to K.S. because he was our first M.E.G.M.; but
Masons in modern times dedicate their Lodges to St. John the Baptist and St. John the
Evangelist, who were two eminent patrons of Masonry; and since their time there is
represented, in every regular and well-governed Lodge, a certain Point within a
Circle—embordered by two perpendicular parallel lines, representing St. J. the B.
and St. J. the E.; and upon the top rests the Holy Scriptures. The point represents an
individual Brother; the Circle is the boundary line, beyond which he is never to
suffer his passions, prejudices or interests to betray him. In going round this circle, we
necessarily touch upon these two lines as well as upon the Holy Scriptures; and while a
Mason keeps himself circumscribed within these due bounds it is impossible that he
materially err.”
That’s it, the entirety of the explanation within Washington’s Preston-Webb or Ancient Work.
We do, in the notes upon the work, which no candidate ever hears, mention just how truly Ancient the (unadulterated) symbol is and how predominant it has been throughout time.
Frankly, that’s a pretty disappointing explanation for a symbol prominently displayed in all of our Lodge Rooms.
And of course the addition of the Saints, and the Volume of Sacred Law are clearly modern innovations.
But, Brother Clark has us covered.
He has written a very substantial work, exploring the importance of this symbol within Freemasonry, its use in other traditions, and its possible meanings. There is a great deal of meat to this book, plenty to contemplate, and lots to learn.
It’s also, and I think this is important, enjoyable to read. It is written well, published beautifully, and it doesn’t bog down. It moves us from point to point, concept to concept easily and quickly.
It certainly held my interest from the first page to the last.
The book begins with Operative not Speculative Masonry by teaching us how the ancients built their monolithic stone circles. What these circles were used for, and how we could build and operate one today.
I’ve got to admit that it would be super cool to do such a thing, but alas, my yard is just too small!
We then leave the Operative for Speculative Masonry. We explore our Lodge’s similarities to Solar Temples, the Kabbalah, Alchemy, the Supports of the Lodge, and the design of the institution.
The book ends with a very inspiring essay in which the author explores his ideas for the revitalization of our Lodges and our Craft. There is much wisdom contained within his contemplations.
If you have ever wondered what this symbol could mean, and why it is considered such an important symbol within the Craft, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. I found it fascinating.
It will certainly stand all of us in much better stead than the brief and superficial explanation provided in our ritualistic Work.
Now that I’m done talking about our Brother’s book, I’ve got to climb up on my soapbox for just a moment…
I have no idea why, but for whatever reason most Mason’s don’t read many books about Masonry. That seems to hold true today, and even Dr. Mackey was writing about that fact way back in his day.
No one ever got rich writing a Masonic book. I’d venture to guess that very, very few Masonic authors ever have made a small fraction of minimum wage writing a Masonic book. Such books just don’t have a large enough market to actually make sense financially. They are written as labors of love.
But, no one can do all of that work for free. So if we hope to see books important to our Craft published, we have to buy them. Otherwise, writers can’t write and publishers can’t publish.
If you can, please support our Masonic authors by buying their books.
OK, let me get off my soapbox…
And let me say:
Thank You for your support of me, and of Emeth! It means more to me than you can ever know!
Ugh I do t have time for another book… but your review obliged me to order a copy.
Had a nice chat with WB Clark, looking forward to reading his thoughts.
Monad? I was looking for that reference; anyhoo, I look forward to reading this book. I wrote a little essay on the Monad on my Substack but with most the things I write here, I view it as an outline for bigger things to come.