Quotation and authority · Lexicon

From the book

Ancient Mystic Oriental Masonry

R. Swinburne Clymer · Diotimos Editions · 2026

Orientation

At a Glance

The wordQuotation is the book’s principal method of assembling witnesses; authority is the standing the author gives those witnesses and the teachers behind them.
In Ancient Mystic Oriental MasonryThe introduction promises the highest authorities and credit for quotations, with an exception for changed wording.
In this editionThe headword is editorial; the listed forms are attested.
A place to readI.2: … “contains, and this for the reason that I quote from the highest Masonic authorities in the” …

Meaning

Quotation is the book’s principal method of assembling witnesses; authority is the standing the author gives those witnesses and the teachers behind them.

Use in the book

The introduction promises the highest authorities and credit for quotations, with an exception for changed wording. Throughout the book, long passages, brief attributions, nested quotations, and original footnotes create a composite argument. A writer opposed to mysticism can even be used as an unwitting witness. Authority therefore depends partly on named sources and partly on the interpretation that makes them agree.

Places to read

Original Introduction · Block 2… “contains, and this for the reason that I quote from the highest Masonic authorities in the world, and that which concerns Mystic Masonry comes direct from him who knows and who” …
Original Introduction · Block 3… “reason that I give credit for every single quotation, unless it was changed. With these facts before me I can feel well satisfied to let it go forward.”
Original Introduction · Block 8“As regard to the true Initiation, I would quote from the work of that Master Mason, Dr. J. D. Buck, in which he says:”
Foundations of Mystic Masonry · Block 48… “it is of value to these researches to quote his testimony in full, illustrating, as it unwittingly does, the hypothesis put forward, namely, that all the Societies similar to the African” …
Rules and Regulations · Block 13… “this respect Albert G. Mackey, the Highest Masonic authority on the Continent of America, in his Masonic Jurisprudence, says: "Within the past few years an attempt has been made by some” …

In this edition

The headword is editorial; the listed forms are attested. Original source notes are included in the lexical corpus, while the new lexicon commentary is excluded.

Reading the argument

Track who is speaking, who is quoting whom, and whether the cited work has been independently checked. Shared wording may reveal dependence rather than independent corroboration. The passage key and original-note locators make these layers easier to examine.

authorities

“authorities” — 6 occurrences in 6 text blocks: I.2, 4, 7; M.4; S.114; N.65.

authority

“authority” — 9 occurrences in 8 text blocks: I.24; F.154; S.106; R.13, 17–18, 27, 29.

quote

“quote” — 5 occurrences in 5 text blocks: I.2, 8; F.48, 87, 146.

quotation

“quotation” — 1 occurrence in 1 text block: I.3.