Encyclopedia Masonica

When the Elu Degrees were first invented, the legend referred to an unknown person, a tiller of the soil, to whom King Solomon was indebted for the information which led to the discovery of the craftsmen who had committed the crime recorded in the Third Degree. This mysterious person, at first designated as L'Inconnu, French, meaning The Unknown, afterwards received the name of Perignan, and a Degree between the Elu of Nine and the Elu of Fifteen was instituted, which was called the Elu of Perignan, and which became the Sixth Degree of the Adonhiramite Rite. The derivation or radical meaning of the word is unknown, but it may contain, as do many other words in the advanced Degrees, a reference to the adherents, or to the enemies, of the exiled House of Stuart, for whose sake several of these Degrees were established (see Elect of Perignan, also Perfection, and Clermont).

* PERFECT UNION, OF VIENNA

One of the very few Lodges in the world that can be compared with the famous Neuf Soeur's Lodge in Paris for the scope of its work, the brilliancy of its membership, and its national influence, was the Perfect Union Lodge of Vienna, which under the Mastership of Ignaz von Born in 1781 and afterwards, became a Masonic Society of Science and Art. Born had been made a Mason in Prague. Under his leadership there entered the portals of Perfect Union such men as: Ratschky, librettist for Mozart; Michaeler, Rector of Innsbruck University; Sauter, a professor of philosophy; Barth, the anatomist; Ecknel, founder of numismatics; Krakowsky, Minister of State; Reinhold, the philosopher, Schiller's friend, and Wieland's son-inlaw; Watteroth, the historian; Forster, who circumnavigated the earth; Zainer, one of the great sculptors of the century; the Abbe Denis, bibliographers; Leber, physician to the Empress; Joseph Haydn, the composer; and some 200 others of scarcely less eminence. The Lodge supported two periodicals.

It amassed a huge library and museum. For the botanical garden it established, its members made an expedition to (of all places !) South Carolina (did they visit Lodges while there?). It was a Lodge lecture by Born which gave Mozart the material and the inspiration for his opera "The Magic Flute." Mozart was a visitor at the time of Haydn's initiation; and one of the latter's friends and colleagues was the composer of the Austrian national anthem, Hoschka, also a Mason. Schikaneder, who wrote the libretto for "The Magic Flute" and Giesecke, his assistant, were Masons. The character, Sarastro, in the opera, was Born; and it is said that it was at the time of Born's death that Mozart, deeply moved, decided to write the "Flute." It was the very success of this Lodge that moved the Roman Church to launch its crusade against Austrian Masonry, for reasons understandably enough to any man who knows how deadly free and genuine enlightenment is to the Vatican's program.

Two interesting sources on the Lodge, on Born, and on Mozart are: Transactions: The American Lodge of Research; Vol. III, No. 2; New York; Masonic Hall; 1941-1942; page 493 ff. The Freemasons, by Eugen Lennhoff; Oxford University Press; New York; 1934; page 121 ff.

The Encyclopedia Masonica exists to preserve the wealth of information that has been generated over the centuries by numerous Masonic authors. As Freemasonry is now Speculative and not Operative, the work of a Mason is now conducted in the quarries of symbolism, literature, history and scholasticism. Freemasonry encourages intellectual exploration and academic achievement in its members and many Masons over the years have taken up this calling. The result has been that an incredible amount of philosophy, symbolic speculation and academic insights have been created. However, as Freemasonry teaches, human knowledge is frail and fragile. It is easily lost in the turnings of the ages and unforeseen catastrophes can result in great setbacks to human knowledge.

For too long these great works have sat on forgotten shelves, gathering dust and concealing the light that could be shed on the darkness of our ignorance. The Encyclopedia Masonica has been created to act as an ark, sailing through time, to ensure that future generations of Freemasons have access to the same knowledge that inspired the Brethren that came before them. It will contain the works of such Masonic Luminaries as Albert G. Mackey, Manly Palmer Hall, G.S.M. Ward, Albert Pike and many others. The Encyclopedia Masonica is a living work and the volunteers of Universal Co-Masonry will continue to labor until the most comprehensive Masonic reference work the world has ever seen has been created. The Encyclopedia Masonica is open to any who wish to use it and will remain open so that the treasures contained within may increase the wealth of all those who seek its wisdom.