by John Yarker Jr. (Author)
A rare reprint of a masterpiece which demonstrates the antiquity of the Masonic mysteries and their relation to other schools of antiquity by attempting to trace the development of Masonic Ritual back to the medieval stonemasons, and from there to other schools. In his review of this book in the EQUINOX, Aleister Crowley commented that Brother Yarker seems to have read every old Masonic manuscript ever written. This book is the sole source for some obscure bits of Masonic history. Yarker was the head of the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Freemasonry in England, and may have possessed more first-hand knowledge of Masonic rituals than anyone else of his time, including A.E. Waite. A Review of their Origin and Antiquity with a General History of Freemasonry and its relation to the Theosophic, Scientific, and Philosophic Mysteries. Contents: Archaic Legends; Proto-Aryan and Aryan Civilization and Mysteries; Mysteries in Relation to Philosophy; Philosophy in Relation to Masonic Rites; Mystic and Hermetic Schools in Christian Times; Recapitulated Proofs of Ancient Masonry; Masonry in Britain and Saxon England; Masonry in Norman Times and Modern Times; Origin of the system Termed High-Grade; Freemasonry in the Grand Lodge Era; Series of Constitutional Charges.