Spurious Freemasonry

Use in the book

The Symbolism division calls the ancient Mysteries spurious while also treating them as bearers of important truths. The rules later pair spurious with clandestine when condemning removal of G. The first usage belongs to an older comparative scheme; the second judges institutional legitimacy. Reading both as a simple charge of fraud would distort the earlier passages.

Places to read

1. Masonic Symbolism · Block 37… “to other ancient mysteries, the appropriate name of Spurious Freemasonry. "*”
2. Masonic Symbolism · Block 38… “Freemasonry; for the pagan Mysteries were to the spurious Freemasonry of antiquity precisely what the Masters' lodge are to the Freemasonry of the present day. It is needless to offer any” …
3. Masonic Symbolism · Block 49… “of the influence that it exercised over the spurious Freemasonry of antiquity,”
4. Rules and Regulations · Block 14… “only un-Masonic but becomes, by that very act, Spurious or Clandestine Masonry. This is Masonic Law. It cannot be broken.*”

In this edition

The historical adjective is retained. It is not used here to label a current Masonic body.

Reading the argument

The difference is a useful example of why lexical occurrences cannot be counted as a single sense. Attend to the division, attribution, and object of the judgment each time the word appears.

Related texts

Mackey’s Symbolism of Freemasonry supplies the older distinction between pure and spurious streams in the comparative history of the Mysteries. That framework explains the favorable treatment of some teachings under the latter heading.¹⁷

Spurious Freemasonry

“Spurious Freemasonry” — 3 occurrences in 3 text blocks: S.37–38, 49.

spurious

“spurious” — 4 occurrences in 4 text blocks: S.37–38, 49; R.14.

Clandestine

“Clandestine” — 2 occurrences in 2 text blocks: R.14, 23.