From the Quarries

William Hutchinson’s The Spirit of Masonry (1775) is one of the most influential works of eighteenth-century Freemasonry—an official, Grand Lodge-endorsed vision of the Craft as a moral and philosophical system. In this lecture, Hutchinson traces Masonry’s roots through the Essenes, the mysteries of Greece, medieval knighthood, and the philosophy of Pythagoras, showing how ancient wisdom was perfected by the Christian revelation. This reading brings to life a landmark text from the age of the Antients and Moderns, offering insight into how Masons understood their ceremonies on the eve of the 1799 Unlawful Societies Act.