Guardian reported. The result of this price war is that ‘the trade as a whole makes very little money on its most valued assets.’ [253]
In an article by Richard Booth, writing in The Guardian , it was stated that the first announced title of the book was The Solomon Key , and the biblical story of the building of King Solomon’s Temple in 1000 BC is central to Freemasonry’s ritual ceremonies and mythical origins.
While some of Freemasons may be unhappy with Brown’s novel, it did not generate the widespread condemnation that The Da Vinci Code did. Indeed, the Freemasons’ reaction was largely one of nervousness ‘that I might focus on the macabre side of their rituals,’ Brown said. ‘There is some very potent philosophical material and some amazing science that I am hoping will spark debate.’ [254]
Debate was exactly what happened across the internet, with some people seeing the Freemasons as the antagonists. ‘This is not the case,’ said Cox. ‘Brown makes a good case for Freemasonry being a tolerant and enlightened movement with some interesting and forward-thinking ideas.’ [255]
Does he? Since the publication of The Lost Symbol , the Masons have had to respond to some of the book’s claims by creating a website to address them. ‘For three centuries, almost immediately after its modern formation in 1717 in London, the fraternity of Freemasonry has been the subject of wild accusations and disinformation,’ the website states. It goes on to say that the site has been created ‘in cooperation with the Masonic Service Association of North America, and the George Washington Masonic Memorial as an ongoing project to address the subjects concerning Freemasonry that are found in Brown’s The Lost Symbol , as well as to explain its references to the history, practices, ceremonies, philosophy and symbolism of Masonry.’ [256]
Brown’s great gift is his ability to blend fact and fiction, and he has gone on record to say that the science, societies and organisations in his books are real. In both The Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol he has put in a Fact page at the beginning. ‘While groups like the 18th-century Bavarian Illuminati and the modern Catholic organisation Opus Dei have indeed existed in fact, they bear little resemblance to Brown’s fictional universe,’ the Masonic website states. ‘Unfortunately, readers are not always aware of the difference between fact and fiction.’
The Masonic Society’s web pages devoted to Brown’s novel state that he has treated Freemasonry in ‘an overwhelmingly positive’ light. However, ‘he does engage in some dramatic licence for the sake of his plot.’ The ritual of drinking from a skull is one of those areas. The skull has appeared in Masonic rituals over the centuries but it is not unique to Freemasonry. It represents mortality and can be found in many other organisations, ‘The Latin term, memento mori , means “remember, you will die” and is often accompanied by a depiction of a skull as a reminder of the end of physical life. Such specific images have appeared as early as Pompeii in the first century AD.’
The Masons’ web pages say that the ceremony in the beginning of the book, where the initiate drinks blood red wine from a hollow skull, is an adaptation from a ‘sensationalised exposé, Scotch Rite Masonry Illustrated , published in 1887 by the Reverend John Blanchard. Blanchard’s description of the 33rd degree has been repeated by many anti-Masonic authors over the years, even though it is not accurate.’
Brown also includes a pyramid that Langdon carries around with him as he searches for clues that will free his friend Peter Solomon. While the pyramid is central to the book, it is not a Masonic symbol, according to the website. ‘The pyramid does not appear in the symbolism of regular, accepted Freemasonry or its appendant groups, the Scottish Rite or the York Rite. This is a longstanding myth,’ it states. ‘Neither
In an article by Richard Booth, writing in The Guardian , it was stated that the first announced title of the book was The Solomon Key , and the biblical story of the building of King Solomon’s Temple in 1000 BC is central to Freemasonry’s ritual ceremonies and mythical origins.
While some of Freemasons may be unhappy with Brown’s novel, it did not generate the widespread condemnation that The Da Vinci Code did. Indeed, the Freemasons’ reaction was largely one of nervousness ‘that I might focus on the macabre side of their rituals,’ Brown said. ‘There is some very potent philosophical material and some amazing science that I am hoping will spark debate.’ [254]
Debate was exactly what happened across the internet, with some people seeing the Freemasons as the antagonists. ‘This is not the case,’ said Cox. ‘Brown makes a good case for Freemasonry being a tolerant and enlightened movement with some interesting and forward-thinking ideas.’ [255]
Does he? Since the publication of The Lost Symbol , the Masons have had to respond to some of the book’s claims by creating a website to address them. ‘For three centuries, almost immediately after its modern formation in 1717 in London, the fraternity of Freemasonry has been the subject of wild accusations and disinformation,’ the website states. It goes on to say that the site has been created ‘in cooperation with the Masonic Service Association of North America, and the George Washington Masonic Memorial as an ongoing project to address the subjects concerning Freemasonry that are found in Brown’s The Lost Symbol , as well as to explain its references to the history, practices, ceremonies, philosophy and symbolism of Masonry.’ [256]
Brown’s great gift is his ability to blend fact and fiction, and he has gone on record to say that the science, societies and organisations in his books are real. In both The Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol he has put in a Fact page at the beginning. ‘While groups like the 18th-century Bavarian Illuminati and the modern Catholic organisation Opus Dei have indeed existed in fact, they bear little resemblance to Brown’s fictional universe,’ the Masonic website states. ‘Unfortunately, readers are not always aware of the difference between fact and fiction.’
The Masonic Society’s web pages devoted to Brown’s novel state that he has treated Freemasonry in ‘an overwhelmingly positive’ light. However, ‘he does engage in some dramatic licence for the sake of his plot.’ The ritual of drinking from a skull is one of those areas. The skull has appeared in Masonic rituals over the centuries but it is not unique to Freemasonry. It represents mortality and can be found in many other organisations, ‘The Latin term, memento mori , means “remember, you will die” and is often accompanied by a depiction of a skull as a reminder of the end of physical life. Such specific images have appeared as early as Pompeii in the first century AD.’
The Masons’ web pages say that the ceremony in the beginning of the book, where the initiate drinks blood red wine from a hollow skull, is an adaptation from a ‘sensationalised exposé, Scotch Rite Masonry Illustrated , published in 1887 by the Reverend John Blanchard. Blanchard’s description of the 33rd degree has been repeated by many anti-Masonic authors over the years, even though it is not accurate.’
Brown also includes a pyramid that Langdon carries around with him as he searches for clues that will free his friend Peter Solomon. While the pyramid is central to the book, it is not a Masonic symbol, according to the website. ‘The pyramid does not appear in the symbolism of regular, accepted Freemasonry or its appendant groups, the Scottish Rite or the York Rite. This is a longstanding myth,’ it states. ‘Neither
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