Morals and Dogma

Morals and Dogma, also known as Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, is a work of esoteric philosophy compiled by Albert Pike and first published in 1871 by the Supreme Council, Thirty-Third Degree, of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.

Morals and Dogma comprises thirty-two philosophical lectures, one associated with each degree, addressing subjects such as religion, history, and philosophy.

A copy was given to new members of the Scottish Rite’s Southern Jurisdiction until 1974.

The work was written for initiates and does not set out to reveal Masonic secrets. Many symbols are mentioned without being fully described, and the book was intended to be read in the context of Scottish Rite degrees. It is an esoteric work, but not a secret one. It was accessible to Freemasons, although it was aimed primarily at members of the Scottish Rite.

Force, unregulated or ill-regulated, is not only wasted in the void, like that of gunpowder burned in the open air, and steam unconfined by science; but, striking in the dark, and its blows meeting only the air, they recoil and bruise itself.