Long recognized as more than the writings of a dozen or so philosophes, the Enlightenment created a new secular culture populated by the literate and the affluent. Enamoured of British institutions, Continental Europeans turned to the imported masonic lodges and found in them a new forum that was constitutionally constructed and logically egalitarian. Originating in the Middle Ages, when stone-masons joined together to preserve their professional secrets and to protect their wages, the English and Scottish lodges had by the eighteenth century discarded their guild origins and become an international phenomenon that gave men and eventually some women a place to vote, speak, discuss and debate. Margaret Jacob argues that the hundreds of masonic lodges founded in eighteenth-century Europe were among the most important enclaves in which modern civil society was formed. In France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Britain men and women freemasons sought to create a moral and social order based upon reason and virtue, and dedicated to the principles of liberty and equality. A forum where philosophers met with men of commerce, government, and the professions, the masonic lodge created new forms of self-government in microcosm, complete with constitutions and laws, elections, and representatives. This is the first comprehensive history of Enlightenment freemasonry, from the roots of the society's political philosophy and evolution in seventeenth-century England and Scotland to the French Revolution. Based on never-before-used archival sources, it will appeal to anyone interested in the birth of modernity in Europe or in the cultural milieu of the European Enlightenment.
Living the Enlightenment
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Review
"This is one of the most outstanding contributions to the social interpretation of the Enlightenment in recent years. It should serve as a model for younger historians (it will for me) of how to go about tackling a historical problem."--William Connell, Rutgers University
"Margaret C. Jacob has now carried forward the frontiers again....The book is...a major step towards an account of masonry which satisfactorily integrates it with other sides of the eighteenth century...Professor Jacob ought to be widely read."--The English Historical Review
"What [Jacob] does do very well is to take us behind the scenes to listen to little groups of people, in one or two eighteenth-century European cities, as they lived their social and intellectual lives in the muddle of ideas, ideals, prejudices, assumptions and social aspirations that make up life as people live it. For that we can all be grateful to her."--French History
"A model of the new intellectual history. There have been many calls for a 'social history' of the Enlightenment, but few have actually achieved one, and none in such grand fashion. Jacob gets beyond the symbolism and ritual to place Freemasonry squarely within the social and political contexts of eighteenth-century Europe, and the unique breadth of her archival work gives the book a genuine comparative core. This pioneering study--bold, comprehensive, and vivid--is likely to be the standard work on the subject for years to come."--Gary Kates, Trinity University
"[Jacob's argument] is both elegant and seductive, and she makes an interesting contribution to our knowledge of the period....What she does...very well is to take us behind the scenes to listen to little groups of people, in one or two eighteenth-century European cities, as they lived their social and intellectual lives in the muddle of ideas, ideals, prejudices, assumptions and social aspirations that make up life as people live it. For this we can all be grateful to her."--TLS
"Jacob offers a very informative, innovative, useful, ambitious study."--American Historical Review
"A more timely book than Living the Enlightenment would be hard to imagine. Margaret Jacob has constructed a chain of richly documented case studies... Living the Enlightenment ... has no rival in the breadth and depth of its research and in its lucidity on the political import of its subject... Will have a salutary impact on the study of 18th century Freemasonry and on efforts to recover the social and political meaning of the Enlightenment for years to come."--Journal of Modern History
"A valuable contribution to the scholarship about the Enlightenment and Freemasonry... This study is highly recommended reading"--Journal of Social History
"A valuable contribution to the social history of the Enlightenment ... Historians of the Enlightenment owe a considerable debt of gratitude to Jacob ... A major contribution to our understanding of a seminal period."--The Historian
"Margaret C. Jacob has now carried forward the frontiers again....The book is...a major step towards an account of masonry which satisfactorily integrates it with other sides of the eighteenth century...Professor Jacob ought to be widely read."--The English Historical Review
"What [Jacob] does do very well is to take us behind the scenes to listen to little groups of people, in one or two eighteenth-century European cities, as they lived their social and intellectual lives in the muddle of ideas, ideals, prejudices, assumptions and social aspirations that make up life as people live it. For that we can all be grateful to her."--French History
"A model of the new intellectual history. There have been many calls for a 'social history' of the Enlightenment, but few have actually achieved one, and none in such grand fashion. Jacob gets beyond the symbolism and ritual to place Freemasonry squarely within the social and political contexts of eighteenth-century Europe, and the unique breadth of her archival work gives the book a genuine comparative core. This pioneering study--bold, comprehensive, and vivid--is likely to be the standard work on the subject for years to come."--Gary Kates, Trinity University
"[Jacob's argument] is both elegant and seductive, and she makes an interesting contribution to our knowledge of the period....What she does...very well is to take us behind the scenes to listen to little groups of people, in one or two eighteenth-century European cities, as they lived their social and intellectual lives in the muddle of ideas, ideals, prejudices, assumptions and social aspirations that make up life as people live it. For this we can all be grateful to her."--TLS
"Jacob offers a very informative, innovative, useful, ambitious study."--American Historical Review
"A more timely book than Living the Enlightenment would be hard to imagine. Margaret Jacob has constructed a chain of richly documented case studies... Living the Enlightenment ... has no rival in the breadth and depth of its research and in its lucidity on the political import of its subject... Will have a salutary impact on the study of 18th century Freemasonry and on efforts to recover the social and political meaning of the Enlightenment for years to come."--Journal of Modern History
"A valuable contribution to the scholarship about the Enlightenment and Freemasonry... This study is highly recommended reading"--Journal of Social History
"A valuable contribution to the social history of the Enlightenment ... Historians of the Enlightenment owe a considerable debt of gratitude to Jacob ... A major contribution to our understanding of a seminal period."--The Historian
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From early in its European history freemasonry was accused of possessing democratic and republican intentions, if not communistic ones. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
From early in its European history freemasonry was accused of possessing democratic and republican intentions, if not communistic ones. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent History of Freemasonry's Influence on the Development of Modern Western Government
Mar 21 2012
By Mark Anderson
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
This is an excellent history of the influence of Freemasonry and Freemasons on the development of modern western political theory and political institutions during the 18th century. As far as I'm aware, Jacobs is the only academic historian who has published a book detailing Freemasonry's influence on western political thought.
Apart from its obvious appeal to Freemasons, this book is worth the attention of anyone interested in the development of modern western political theory and government institutions. It's no accident that many of the leading figures in 18th century political thought were Freemasons. French Freemasons included Montesquieu and Voltaire; American Freemasons included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and approximately one third of those who signed the Declaration of Independence. The membership of British Masonic Lodges reads like a Who's Who of 18th century British history. Their influence on the development of modern western political institutions and political thought cannot be understated or underestimated.
In short, this is a fascinating book. It should be essential reading for all Freemasons and for anyone interested in the development of modern western government.
Apart from its obvious appeal to Freemasons, this book is worth the attention of anyone interested in the development of modern western political theory and government institutions. It's no accident that many of the leading figures in 18th century political thought were Freemasons. French Freemasons included Montesquieu and Voltaire; American Freemasons included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and approximately one third of those who signed the Declaration of Independence. The membership of British Masonic Lodges reads like a Who's Who of 18th century British history. Their influence on the development of modern western political institutions and political thought cannot be understated or underestimated.
In short, this is a fascinating book. It should be essential reading for all Freemasons and for anyone interested in the development of modern western government.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars
4 reviews
22 of 25 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Disagree with the Prior Review
April 3 2006
By Montaigne
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Ms. Jacob has done a wonderful job showing how the essentially non-mystic, scientific and artistic Enlightenment was "translated" into a political movement by the 18th century Masons. It is extremely well done.
The Mason's historic opposition to the Catholic Church - and to other authoritarian and non-democratic institutions of all kinds (including "Holy" Russia, as the prior reviewer chooses to call it) - political as well as religious, is well established historic fact and, as such, was critical to the development of modern western governments' tenants of religious toleration. THAT is history and THAT is Ms. Jacob's theme. Whether you approve of the Mason's or not, she clearly presents their critical role in history.
After reading and completely enjoying the book's scholarship and perspective, I wanted to let other readers know that, in my opinion, the prior review is simply a strong pro-Catholic and anti-Masonic view of history, and is not a review of the book, which is excellent.
The Mason's historic opposition to the Catholic Church - and to other authoritarian and non-democratic institutions of all kinds (including "Holy" Russia, as the prior reviewer chooses to call it) - political as well as religious, is well established historic fact and, as such, was critical to the development of modern western governments' tenants of religious toleration. THAT is history and THAT is Ms. Jacob's theme. Whether you approve of the Mason's or not, she clearly presents their critical role in history.
After reading and completely enjoying the book's scholarship and perspective, I wanted to let other readers know that, in my opinion, the prior review is simply a strong pro-Catholic and anti-Masonic view of history, and is not a review of the book, which is excellent.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Important Scholarly Contribution to Freemasonry
Aug 13 2009
By Eric W. Vogt, Ph.D., Author of The Spanish Subjunctive Up Close, Spanish Pronouns Up Close and Spanish Past Tenses Up Close
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This work is intellectually accessible to the educated, general reader who is willing to spend the time to read her notes and follow her arguments. She directs her scholarly attention to the charges against, or boasts of, some Freemasons, that the Craft was responsible for the French and American Revolutions. She answers both sides of the controversy with a qualified "yes", hastening to show that it was the already long-standing practice (in every sense) of self-government in masonic lodges that provided a blueprint for the rise of our respective constitutional governments, based on utopian ideas about the perfectability of man and society (at least as goals to strive toward). Any educated Freemason could have told Prof. Jacob that, but it is wonderful to have such distinguished academic testimony of this fact. On the other hand, a careful scrutiny of Benjamin Franklin's travels and contacts (even in Catholic Spain!) that led to foreign support of the Revolution might push her argument more in support of the commonly held belief.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent History of Freemasonry's Influence on Modern Western Political Theory and Government Institutions
Mar 21 2012
By Mark Anderson
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This is an excellent history of the influence of Freemasonry and Freemasons on the development of modern western political theory and political institutions during the 18th century. As far as I'm aware, Jacobs is the only academic historian who has published a book detailing Freemasonry's influence on western political thought.
Apart from its obvious appeal to Freemasons, this book is worth the attention of anyone interested in the development of modern western political theory and government institutions. It's no accident that many of the leading figures in 18th century political thought were Freemasons. French Freemasons included Montesquieu, Danton, Diderot and Voltaire; American Freemasons included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin (who was a member of the same Lodge as Voltaire and Danton during Franklin's time in Paris as US emissary) and approximately one third of those who signed the Declaration of Independence. The membership of British Masonic Lodges reads like a Who's Who of 18th century British history. The influence of Freemasons and Freemasonry on the development of modern western political institutions and political thought cannot be understated or underestimated.
In short, this is a fascinating book. It should be essential reading for all Freemasons and for anyone interested in the development of modern western government and political theory.
Apart from its obvious appeal to Freemasons, this book is worth the attention of anyone interested in the development of modern western political theory and government institutions. It's no accident that many of the leading figures in 18th century political thought were Freemasons. French Freemasons included Montesquieu, Danton, Diderot and Voltaire; American Freemasons included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin (who was a member of the same Lodge as Voltaire and Danton during Franklin's time in Paris as US emissary) and approximately one third of those who signed the Declaration of Independence. The membership of British Masonic Lodges reads like a Who's Who of 18th century British history. The influence of Freemasons and Freemasonry on the development of modern western political institutions and political thought cannot be understated or underestimated.
In short, this is a fascinating book. It should be essential reading for all Freemasons and for anyone interested in the development of modern western government and political theory.
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Go to Amazon.com to see all 4 reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
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