

BOOK REVIEW

THE FOLGER MANUSCRIPT

The world of Masonic research saw the publication this year of a major
contribution to the history and study of rituals with the appearance of The
Folger Manuscript by S. Brent Morris.  The 1993 Issue of the Masonic Book Club,
it is at once a mystery story, a study in Masonic symbolism, and a glimpse into
a part of our Masonic heritage from the 19th century not often told.

S. Brent Morris, of course, was eminently suited to tackle the untangling of the
mystery behind the Folger Manuscript.  A careful and meticulous scholar, he has
dug deeply into his source material, and provided an interpretative framework
for the unraveling of this mystery.  And he demonstrates the intuitive insight
in dealing with his subject that marks the good historian.  The casual reader of
this book will not be disappointed, for Morris tells a good story.  And the
Masonic scholar will not be disappointed because he treats his facts with
respect, and lays out his arguments with careful reasoning.

The mystery lies first in the curious manuscript itself, and then in the life of
the man who produced it.  The Folger Manuscript was written by Robert B.
Folger, a Mason whose life spanned the depths of despair for American
Freemasonry in the 1820's and 1830's of the anti-Masonic era, and died as it was
rising to new heights after the Civil War.  He was active in the now-discredited
"Cerneau" Scottish Rite Masonry, although at the time it counted among its
adherents some of the leading Masons of their time.  And Folger protected what
he wrote in secret code, a cryptogram which was not "cracked" until the 1950's.
The intellectual energy required to create this secret code was enormous, and it
was probably the virulence of anti-Masonry that first determined him to encrypt
his manuscript.  We must remember that it was the threatened publication of our
rituals that provided the spark for the anti-Masonic Movement in the celebrated
Morgan Incident of 1826.  And the stock-in-trade of the movement was the
publication and ridicule of our rituals.  Folger was obviously determined to
avoid this, because what he placed in secret code was in fact a ritual of the
three degrees of Masonry according to the Scottish Rectified Rite.

American Masons are only vaguely aware that there are different rituals for the
first three degrees of Masonry.  Those who have traveled throughout the United
States, and sat in lodges in more than one jurisdiction, are aware that
differences exist from grand lodge to grand lodge.  But these rituals are only
variants of a basic type of ritual common to American grand lodges, and
inherited from lodges established on the Eastern seaboard in the 18th century
from England, Scotland and Ireland.  The more informed are aware that there is a
"Scottish Rite" ritual used by some lodges, especially in Louisiana.  And in
California, we are familiar with the "French First Degree" used by our two
"French lodges," which is markedly different from that used by all other
California lodges (it is in fact a "Scottish Rite" ritual inherited by these two
lodges from their earlier existence as lodges rounded by the Scottish Rite
Supreme Council of France).  But beyond that, few Americans know much about
other "blue lodge" rituals.


There are others, of course, and the Folger Manuscript is only one of many types
in use throughout the world.  These rituals are fascinating to study in their
own right if only for the symbolism that is so different from that with which we
are familiar in this country.  There is no space in this brief review to give
more than a hint of what the reader will find, but the present reviewer was
struck with the combination of deep spirituality and intellectual cohesiveness
of the rituals.

One is also struck with the way in which the rituals deal with our more familiar
symbols.  The rough and perfect ashlars are an example.  In the rituals with
which we are familiar they are only briefly alluded to in the lectures.  But in
the Rectified Scottish Rite rituals the candidate is actually asked to strike
the rough ashlar with a hammer, while the instructor is explaining the
symbolism.  I cannot help but think that the candidate must retain a much more
vivid memory of the symbolism of these two stones through this experience than
is the case in our own ritual.  American ritual is frequently contrasted with
the current English ritual, especially in its use of drama in the Third Degree.
But the Rectified Scottish Rite rituals have another type of drama, and draw the
candidate into the "feeling" of the symbolism through "hands-on" experience.

There is so much in this book that this review can only hint at a fraction of
what it contains.

Reviewed by John L. Cooper III, PM
Grand Secretary, Grand Lodge of California
Master in 1972, Southern California Research Lodge

From the Masonic Book Club:

The Masonic Book Club was organized as a non-profit organization with the intent
of publishing out-of-print Masonic classics and occasionally modern works of
current interest.  The club has a roster of 1600 members from thirty different
countries and prints only enough books to furnish to its members.  However,
approximately one-hundred new members are needed each year to fill the positions
opened by the death and resignation of members.  Currently eighty (80)
membership numbers are open.  Brother Masons are invited to fill those
Membership Numbers.  Dues are paid in advance and are currently $15 in the U.S.
and Canada and $20 for those who reside in other countries.  The first eighty
who apply will be sent Brent Morris' "THE FOLGER MANUSCRIPT" as a bonus
for joining.  Those who join after the supply is exhausted will receive a bonus
book from our supply of past issues.  Please send inquiries or a request for
membership to:  The Masonic Book Club, PO Box 1563, Bloomington, Illinois 61702-
1563 or to Robin Carr, 1811 Hoover Drive, Bloomington, Illinois 61761-2202.

Ralph A. Herbold add:

On a more personal note, this is no doubt the finest book investment I have ever
made.  Titles include:  The Regius Poem; The Constitutions Of the Freemasons,
Facsimile of the Benjamin Franklin edition of Anderson's Constitution; The
Sufferings of John Coustos; Prichard's Masonry Dissected; Biblical Characters in
Freemasonry, a bonus book; Masonic Concordance Of The Holy Bible; The Rise and
Development of Organised Freemasonry, a bonus book; and The Old Gothic
Constitutions.  Please note the ones designated as bonus books as in many years
a bonus book as well as the regular issue book is issued to members.  As an
original member I have over 30 books including the initial book in 1970.


