DiotimosReading Desk

Orders membership and government

College and academy

College; Colleges; Academy; Schools

College and academy name organized settings for instruction.

From the book

Ancient Mystic Oriental Masonry

R. Swinburne Clymer · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Orientation

At a Glance

  • The wordCollege and academy name organized settings for instruction.
  • In Ancient Mystic Oriental MasonryBuck anticipates schools and colleges that unfold the philosophy of nature and life.
  • In this editionThe terms are retained in the historical institutional sense.
  • A place to readI.27: … “Nature and of Life are unfolded in its Schools and Colleges as with the Magi of” …

Meaning

College and academy name organized settings for instruction. They express the book’s aspiration to make the lodge a school of spiritual and moral understanding.

Use in the book

Buck anticipates schools and colleges that unfold the philosophy of nature and life. The African Brothers’ organization is described as a Masonic academy. The rules call the lodge both church and academy and allow lodges to establish a college for secret instruction. Teaching, worship, and government are consequently joined rather than treated as separate functions.

Places to read

  1. Original Introduction · Block 27… “Nature and of Life are unfolded in its Schools and Colleges as with the Magi of old, and when with no fear of persecution from time-serving Potentate or Creed-ridden Priest, the” …
  2. Foundations of Mystic Masonry · Block 38… “same time take the place of a Masonic Academy. He made choice of a certain number of Masons capable of comprehending his ideas, and charged them with the organization of this” …
  3. Foundations of Mystic Masonry · Block 42… “vague and dreamy Mystic of popular representation; his Academy and Schools were the centers of the most brilliant intellects of the period, while the choice of his friends, literary, philosophical, and” …
  4. Rules and Regulations · Block 24… “Mystic Masonry combines both the Church and the Academy and the Brethren meet for instruction and worship, therefore, no inharmony can be allowed to prevail.”
  5. Rules and Regulations · Block 25… “Lodge, or several may combine, may form a College for secret instruction of its members.”

In this edition

The terms are retained in the historical institutional sense. They do not imply a modern accredited degree-granting institution.

Reading the argument

The educational language is a promise about the purpose of association. It should be tested against what the book actually makes public and what it reserves for higher instruction. Naming a college does not establish the content or effectiveness of its course.

College

“College” — 1 occurrence in 1 text block: R.25.

Colleges

“Colleges” — 1 occurrence in 1 text block: I.27.

Academy

“Academy” — 3 occurrences in 3 text blocks: F.38, 42; R.24.

Schools

“Schools” — 5 occurrences in 4 text blocks: I.27; F.41–42, 75.