Featured Religious book in shorthand?

Discussion in 'Books' started by Jeff Drum, Feb 3, 2020.

  1. Jeff Drum

    Jeff Drum Well-Known Member

    I doubt this is worth anything, but it was too strange to discard without figuring out what it is. The best I could do to decipher the script was that it could be a form of shorthand, though I couldn't find it online. What were they thinking and who is this for?
    P2022094.JPG P2022093.JPG P2022095.JPG P2022096.JPG P2022097.JPG P2022098.JPG
     
  2. shallow_ocean_spectre

    shallow_ocean_spectre fine.books' bumping squirrel

  3. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    look who's back.....Hey SOS......how ya bin ????
     
  4. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    I think it's an abbreviated, aide memoire, ritual book with the arrows indicating directions to face or turn, etc. & abbreviations of the wording. Maybe used by someone in a prompter position. Officers do stumble sometimes.
     
    Jeff Drum, Bakersgma and Christmasjoy like this.
  5. blooey

    blooey Well-Known Member

  6. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    Some of it resembles 'Speed Writing'.
     
    Christmasjoy likes this.
  7. blooey

    blooey Well-Known Member

    According to Amazon, Masonic cipher book for memorizing and reciting rites and rituals. Still in print!
     
    Jeff Drum, Fid and Bronwen like this.
  8. Frank

    Frank Well-Known Member

    Masonic ritual guide, written in cipher so that the mysteries of Masonry may not be revealed to the uninitiated. These little books are not terribly common.

    Incidentally, the "Mass." on the title page is the abbreviation of Massachusetts. It's not referring to mass in the religious sense.
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2020
    Jeff Drum, Fid and Bronwen like this.
  9. Frank

    Frank Well-Known Member

    Rituals vary slightly in the different Grand Lodges, but basically it's the same just about anywhere a Freemason might wish to attend a lodge. The greater part of the rituals are taught orally, and many Masons may not every see one of these.

    That being said, it's all available online, now.
     
    Jeff Drum, Ghopper1924 and Bronwen like this.
  10. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    How it is 'Strictly in accordance with the latest authors' is the mystery to me. Makes it sound like the latest biology textbook.
     
  11. Frank

    Frank Well-Known Member

    At the time it was written, there was a good bit of scholarly discussion and research into the origins of the ritual and how lodges were conducted, as well as the philosophic aspects. For a long time, very little of it was written down.
     
  12. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    So they're claiming orthodoxy?
     
    Jeff Drum and Ghopper1924 like this.
  13. Frank

    Frank Well-Known Member

    Well, at least in the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.
     
    Ghopper1924 and Bronwen like this.
  14. Jeff Drum

    Jeff Drum Well-Known Member

    Yes, the "Mass." definitely threw me off. Even though that was the only way the state was abbreviated until the postal code MA took over.
     
    Bronwen likes this.
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page