The Rationale Of Free Masonry An Oration Delivered At The Consecration Of The Mason Lodge Barton Upon Humber Etc

A biting lecture read at the request of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, by Albert Pike in 1858. The lecture was subtitled, "The Evil Consequences of Schisms and Disputes for Power in Masonry, and of Jealousies and Dissensions Between Masonic Rites" and is a fascinating look at Pike's interpretation of the "Masonic wars" of the mid 1800's in Louisiana.

The five essays contained in this book are offered in the best spirit of fraternity and goodwill and with the wish to render to the Order some small return for the profit the author has received from his association with it extending over thirty-two years. They have been written with a view to promoting the deeper understanding of the meaning of Masonry; to providing the explanation of it that one constantly hears called for and that becomes all the more necessary in view of the unprecedented increase of interest in, and membership of, the Order at the present day.