The Road – a review

The Road
The Road

Some time back I fell prey to an episode of Oprah that had an interview with Cormick McCarthy, who is the author of several books, most recently the novel The Road.  In the interview, the awkwardness between them was pronounced, but informative, especially as the guest talked about his new book and some of its over arching themes.  At the time, I made a mental note to read it and filed it away in my head.  Some months later, I ran across it in a bookstore and it ended up on my Christmas list.  Now, having just finished reading it, I’m glad I did and thought that it would make for an interesting “off-topic” review, but soon realized that it was very much on subject to post here.

The story in the book (and soon to be released movie) is about the existential survival of a father and son in a post apoplectic world where daily subsistence consists of finding safe tins of food to eat in the ash and wastes, all the while dodging and fighting off cannibals, The Road agents, and starvation.  But that is the overt story.  Beneath the long passages of subsistence living is the message that the father constantly works to instill to his son, that they ware the “good guys” and that the reason for their going on was to continue carrying the fire (light) of humanity.

Now this sounds like a lofty exclamation of the lone ranger against the heathens of the wasteland and in some instances that seems to spill into the fore, but the real message comes as a gradual realization that the only thing they can do is continue on, to strive day after day to do right rather than succumb to the evil and terror or simply commit suicide from the futility of the future.

A pivotal point comes late in the text when the father and son, despite their own misgivings, give the act of charity to a lone traveler on The Road. The interaction could just as easily be a decoy for some malfeasance or another plot to take their meager rations and end their existence.  During the exchange a dialog takes place over the existence of God, doing the right thing despite god’s existence (or not) and the very act of charity being their reason enough for existence.  Ultimately, it is not a preachy message of “we do it because god said to”, but rather a “we did it because we did”.  It was the act of being good versus the reason to be.

At its close the story has a Hemingway-esque ending like For Whom the Bell Tolls but in this instance, it was less the introspective why and more the “now I understand” discovery.  As a Freemason, it resonated with my sympathies of why we do what we do and why those things are important more specifically.  That we carry the fire, each one of us, and its in that light that we do good.  And that in that charity we are at some level showing our love.

I highly recommend The Road, and even in its fictional nature, it paints a modern parable for our existence in a pre-apocalyptic world.

The Secret Temple-Masons, Mysteries, and the Founding of America

the_secret_temple

Historian and author Peter Levenda is the latest contender in the burgeoning market of Masonic histories.  His new book (published in April 09) titled “The Secret Temple: Masons, Mysteries, and the Founding of America” engages the reader in its short outline that attempts to chronicle the fraternity from its mythological pre-history to its 20th century diabolic conspiracies.  Through out, it weaves a tale that meanders from one instance of infamy to another, starting from the biblical history of King Solomon, to the Templers of Western Europe and to the criminal agency of the secretive P2 lodge in Italy.  To a quick observer, it would be an easy conclusion that the book is yet another anti-Masonic tract, but to my delight, its not.

Assembled as a linear chronology, what Levenda has culled together the key points of public perception of the Masonic fraternity and then questioned them as a non Mason would.  His approach comes from a sociological stand point, interpreting the ideas as the general public would but with the research to develop and understanding of what those discoveries mean.  Also, important to mention is that Levenda is not a Freemason, so his work is uncolored with the bias of being a member.

In the sociological exploration, Levenda covers the Masonic connections to the Knights Templar (real or imagined), the possible history rooted in Rosicrucian movement, the Masonic pre-history (pre-1717) going as far back as ancient Egyptian mystery traditions. Once he’s moved through the history, he brings his analysis to the modern day and the Masonic connection to the founding of the Mormons.  But, even as he builds the arguments of these connections, he in turn debunks the obvious overt conspiratorial conclusions; rather he breaks the idea down to its connecting elements and analyzes how the theories could have been assembled.  In some instances the analysis is good, in others it seems an unnecessary inclusion.  One area that I didn’t like was the depth that Mormonism was studied, only to conclude that the Masonic root is a smaller piece to a broader occult origin, but perhaps to understand the small parts, you need to understand the whole.

What Levenda does in “The Secret Temple“, is put to word the questions we often encounter in the public arena.  And, for every conspiracy, he debunks the theory to what it really is, which is a collection of ideas to give a slant to a particular story.

The contrast to this work, perhaps, would be Jasper Ridley’s “The Freemasons” which measures the fraternity from one personality to another.  In the case of Levenda’s “The Secret Temple“, he follows the history socially from idea to idea, and measures to some degree the genesis of the ideation and its consequences.  It does become a bit anecdotal at times, relying on the populist view rather than a deeper delving to what some of the implications may be to the theories, but even in this light, Levenda takes a positive approach to the fraternity, saying that “Freemasonry is a valuable avenue for anyone who believes that Human organization can be improved”.  And in this same thought crediting Freemasonry as a social movement whose degrees can be juxtaposed to the very development of Western society itself, in both its triumphs and its foibles.  And it is through the analysis of the anecdotal history that we can connect the Masonic dots to construct the sociological History of Freemasonry.

The book, “The Secret Temple: Masons, Mysteries, and the Founding of America” from Continuum Press is available now on Amazon, and I recommend you pick up a copy to get an outsiders view on on the questions put to us on the fraternity of Freemasonry.

Nobly Born and The Compasses and the Cross by Stephen Dafoe

Nobly Born by Stephen Dafoe
Nobly Born by Stephen Dafoe

Note: Stephen Dafoe is a contributor to this site, but this review was conducted independently. In fact, the author of this review has no personal relationship with Bro. Dafoe. Therefore, this critique is that of an unbiased reader.

Stephen Dafoe has two recent releases on the Knights Templar: Nobly Born and The Compasses and the Cross.  The former was released in 2007, the latter in 2008. Nobly Born is a book which gives an unromantic account of the medieval order of the Knights Templar. It is a book based strictly on documented historical evidence and serves to debunk many of the myths surrounding that order.

The author of this review admittedly has very little prior knowledge of the Knights Templar, beyond the documentaries shown about the order on the History  Channel which appear to encourage the viewer to create suspicions about the secret nature of the Templars. Therefore, it was great to discover that Nobly Born is written in a way so that the Templar novice can truly grasp the history of the order. The book gives an excellent brief history of the crusades and explains the society in which the Templars existed. Perhaps the most impressive part of this book is the look into the lives of the Templars, which was more monastic that chivalric. Many common myths which have surfaced concerning the Templars are specifically rebutted with historical evidence. If you currently believe that the Templars discovered some great treasure beneath King Solomon’s Temple and escaped with the goods to Scotland or the New World, this book is a panacea for your ailment.

The Compasses and the Cross by Stephen Dafoe
The Compasses and the Cross by Stephen Dafoe

The Compasses and the Cross gives a detailed history of the modern day fraternal order of the Knights Templar. This book discusses many of the works of invented history which have misled many Masons to believe that the modern day organization somehow is the descendant of the Templars of old. However, like in Nobly Born, Dafoe refutes these claims with historical evidence. A large amount of the book is a summary of the information found in Nobly Bor

n.  It serves as a great refresher on medieval Templar history, but if you read the books back to back (like the author of this review) it can seem repetitive. Nevertheless, this account of Templar history is absolutely necessary for the reader who is unfamiliar with the order’s story. The Compasses and the Cross also gives a detailed account of the reception of new Knights in the medieval order to show the separation of modern day ceremonies from the rituals of the original Templars. The best quality of The Compasses and the Cross is that it devotes a chapter to the fraternity of the Knights Templar in Britain, the United States, and Canada. This focus on the fraternity’s history in each of these countries shows how each locale developed its particular flavor.

My only complaint with these two works is their format. The books are large (10×8 in) which makes them inconvenient for packing them in a bag to read on the airplane or a park bench while on break. However, these books are illustrated histories and the photos and art work provided in them are needed.  The illustrations play an important part in visualizing the regalia and equipment of both the medieval and modern day Templars and the books without them would doubtlessly be less informative. The size of the books is the unfortunate form of their function.

I highly recommend both of these works to any Mason who is interested in the Templars of old and their connection with Freemasonry or the modern day Templars and the history of that fraternal organization. They will provide the reader with an excellent education on both subjects. You can find ways to purchase these books on Stephen Dafoe’s website.

Further Light, a Review

Jim Tresner book

This work is a little informational book subtitled Helpful Information for New Master Masons, by Jim Tresner, and is intended for those Masons just beginning their journey in the fraternity. It is published by the Masonic Service Association and contains a general summary of the basic fraternal knowledge.

One of the book’s triumphs is that it gives a small discussion for most of the symbols found in each degree. However, unlike most pamphlets created for similar purposes as this, it does actually mention some very esoteric Masonic concepts. These include a brief mention of some Jewish mystical concepts such as the Tree of Life. The book also includes a section pertaining to the Landmarks of Freemasonry which are so often ignored in these types of publications. While this discussion only lists Mackey’s list of Landmarks, it is still better than no mention of the Landmarks. It also contains a few points about lodge protocol such as not walking between the Master and the altar, how to address the lodge, and the attitude of prayer. These customs are rarely mentioned in text.

The book has some shortcomings as well. The information on the symbolism of the degrees found in this booklet is already printed in some sort of introductory Grand Lodge publication in most states. This leads to yet another iteration of the processed and formed definitions of Masonic symbolism to which young members have already been exposed. The brief Masonic history given is also a rather romantic account of the fraternity’s development. It includes the possibility that the Knights Templar somehow influenced Freemasonry and covers Masonic history at at period of time which offers only speculative history at best. Also, 19 and a half pages of the book’s 49 pages deal with nearly ever single Masonic affiliated body, including some of the most obscure of Masonic organizations. It would seem that a little more time on the symbolism of the Blue Lodge and a little less on the subject of other bodies would be more useful to the new initiate.

Overall, the book is a decent resource for those Masons who have not been provided with any information about the degrees. However, there are a number of better resources available through the Grand Lodges as well as the Internet for those looking for a cursory knowledge of the fraternity.

Brother James Tracey Tresner II laid up his working tools on July 12, 2018.