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From Art de Hoyos....

** The Race to Become a Masonic Scholar ** Scholarship isn’t something that happens overnight, or within a week, month, or even a year or two. It’s a slow, arduous process. In my Morals and Dogma: Annotated Edition (first ed., 2011) I explained – not complained – that it took me about 20 years (in libraries, in pre-Google days) to reverse-engineer Pike’s text, in order to track down and catalog the hundreds of sources he used. As I noted, even if Google had existed it couldn’t have helped me find the French and Latin sources he translated and used. But, the end result was that we now know paragraph-for-paragraph, where Pike got most of his information. I sometimes think about the years of labor on that, and my other books, when I see some of the things that are being passed around today as “Masonic scholarship.” The ease of self-publication and the many newer Masonic magazines are offered as “proof” that we are experiencing a revival, and it seems that every wannabe scholar is making a “discovery” about a “hidden” or “esoteric” aspect of the Fraternity, never noticed by the older, bona fide scholars of yesteryear. Well, would you like to know why? Because most of the stuff published today isn’t really scholarship at all. Most of these articles and books are filled with a smattering of random, neat-sounding data bits and fluffery. Am I being too harsh? Am I discouraging research? Not at all. I am demanding that Masonic authors assume the responsibility for their work, and write articles worth something more than a flash-in-the-pan accolade, or a gold star on their forehead that says “Masonic scholar.” Let me cite a recent example: There’s a Masonic website on which an author asserts that Masonic Due Guards (symbolic signs) have secret Kabbalistic meanings influenced by Samaritan or Hebrew letters. No evidence is provided in the article; there’s no theory as to how and when this happened. There’s no discussion about the historical evolution of the Due Guards, or even a hint as to where it could be researched. Well, this isn’t just irresponsible, it’s embarrassing to the fraternity. The saddest thing about the article? I’m willing to bet the author doesn’t know his shortcomings. And THAT is the problem. My word of advice? QUIT seeking the novel, secret, hidden, and esoteric until you have a firm and clear grasp about what is real, and what we know. That will give you a solid foundation upon which to stand. Programs like the Scottish Rite’s “Master Craftsman” Education course are a good place to start. Read AQC, Heredom, Bernard E. Jones, Harry Carr, Knoop, Jones & Hamer, Alain Bernheim, el al., before you launch off into the cosmos looking for ET. If you can’t handle dense scholarship, well – as harsh as it sounds – you may not have what it takes to be a real scholar. But, don’t despair. The fraternity has room for all good men. As we know, some Masons were hewers of stones, some were bearers of burdens, and only the smallest number were Masters. We need all of you. Find your true place, but don’t take up the tools of a Master until you are “duly and truly prepared.” Take Due Notice Thereof and Govern Yourselves Accordingly.