The Builders

A new member's wish for a clear introduction to Freemasonry gives Joseph Fort Newton the purpose of this study. Written at the request of the Grand Lodge of Iowa and first printed in 1914, it explains the order's origins, development, teachings and aims. Newton arranges his account in three parts, moving from early traditions and building symbols to Masonic history, then to the meaning he finds in its philosophy and religious ideals.

The historical discussion brings together lodge records, old constitutions and earlier scholarship. In the passage on Ashmole, Newton tests claims about outside influences against diary entries and evidence of accepted members in English lodges. His loyalty to Masonry accompanies an insistence on separating documented history from elaborate legends. Readers interested in fraternal institutions can use the book to explore how one committed member understood the relationship between historical research, shared symbols and the formation of character.