Customer Reviews

Freemasonry and the Birth of Modern Science

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Robert Lomas, who I first came across when I read the Hiram Key, has tackled a fascinating subject in this book. He tells the story of a little known founder of the Royal Society of London, which is one of the most important scientific organisation in the world. The man Lomas decribes is Sir Robert Moray.

Moray started life as French spy, served in the Scots Rebel Army during the English Civil War, helped negotiate the surrender of King Charles the First, got sent to prision for trying to murder King Charles the Second and then founded the Royal Society. What a man. Lomas has pieced together Moray's story from a whole raft of different sources and then retold it in very readable way.

When I read this book I felt that I understood the politics of the English Civil War for the very first time, and I certainly learned a lot more about the contribution Freemasonry has made to modern society. Dr Lomas is a scientist and it shows in the very clear way he explains the experiments and ideas of these founders of modern science. The review of the Civil War is honest and impartial but the enuthusiasm for the enigmatic Sir Robert Moray shows through in part. A great read.

I heard Lomas being interviewed on Ron Hawk's Mind Body and Spirit Show earlier this week and he talked a lot of sense.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in either science, the English Civil War or Freemasonry.

A worthy successor to the Hiram Key. Keep up the good work Robert!

Lomas is anxious to establish that the Royal Society for the Advancement of Learning was founded largely by (Jacobite) Masons. His arguments are a little stretched, but by and large persuasive. Along the way there are some great tidbits about Oliver Cromwell and the Restoration, especially about Charles II and the major Scotsmen of the era. EXCELLENT. Also, the very last part of the book does a plausible job of linking Masonic "philosophy" with the naissance of "scientific thinking." Finally, the last chapter has an excellent summary of what freemasonry is really about. As Masonic history it does a good job of pushing the origins back to about 1500 A.D. Worth noting is that there is a short, interesting and free book available online to purchasers of this book. Your copy will have a passcode to the website. Very good reading if you're interested in the development of our scientific outlook and related institutions.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and commend the author for presenting his research in such an accessible form. I've incidentally come to a better understanding of the abiding interest in Jacobean politics by present-day descendants of the Scottish families involved. Perhaps I've also come to an appreciation of the self-identification, stemming from this fascinating history, of some Protestant neighbours from my childhood.

Lomas has included an extensive bibliography but apparently at the time of writing was oblivious to the even more far-reaching account of the principle actors' philosophical roots, as detailed in M. Baigent and R. Leigh's The Elixir and the Stone (Penquin 1998; available at Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk)

In summary, the book lives up to all of its claims and is excellent value, particularly in the paperback Fair Winds Press edition or the Headline Mass Market edition, the latter available through Amazon.ca as "The Invisible College.

Before readiung this book I was inclined to think that Freemasonry was just a slightly spooky charitable dinning club. Lomas's study of the formation of the Royal Society of London made me realise just how important a society freeemasonry is.
This book shows Sir Robert Moray. Charles I and II and Oliver Cromwell in a new light for me. I hadn't realised how Freemasonic ideas had influenced both the growth of science and of American democracy.

Keep up the good work Robert. I'll be looking out for your next book to learn more about Freemasonry

I have recommended this book to people who are interested in the latest attempt to popularize and combine some of the current theories on where Freemasonry came from and how it connected with the change-over from a feudal society to an industrial society. It has much information that other books suggest or imply, and it presents it in a very readable fashion. Of course, as with most of the books of this sort (from Holy Blood, Holy Grail, right on through other books by Lomas and Knight), the logic of their arguments is not very strong in places. They will sometimes state something is so without giving any basis for making such a claim, or suppose it is so and then later claim it was shown or proven to be so. They also fall into the trap of assuming any symbol has only one meaning, so if 2 groups use the same symbol or symbols, they must be somehow connected. In fact, history shows that certain symbols keep getting reborn and redefined by new groups, many of which are unaware of earlier groups (or even groups that are around at the same time but in different places) that used the same symbols. They are also less than forthcoming in stating that some of those men whom they claim to be Masons are believed by other researchers to not be Masons. Having stated my quibbles, I still believe this is an important book that should be read by all those interested in its subject (Freemasonry and Science) -- just remember, as with all things having to do with Freemasonry, there is no way to know the truth of much that is assumed or claimed, because there were no records of much of this. In other words, take it with a grain of salt, compare it to other books that you trust, and see what light it can shed on your search for truth.

While Lomas's previous books have tended to stretch speculation almost to breaking point, this book is built on much firmer foundations.

Not long after Sir Francis Bacon wrote, around the year 1600, that knowledge (of Nature) is power (to help humanity), natural philosophers started taking up the quest for this knowledge. Mason-Scientists like Moray, Hooke, Desaguliers, and Franklin, led the way toward the collaborative and systematic form of research we take for granted as science and technology.

The investigation of Nature was a dangerous business in the early days. It was only natural that it developed in the bosom of the already secretive Freemasonry of the day. The "Invisible College" were not exclusively masons, but they certainly formed the backbone of the push toward the Enlightenment ideal. The aim was a society of greater freedom, tolerance, and equality, based on rationality, and supported by an understanding of natural forces. This endeavour has been more successful than any of them could have imagined.

We tend to think that the World was destined to develop the way it has, but things could have been much different. Civilisation can be fragile, and knowledge can be lost. Tyranny can prevail. We owe our modern comforts, security, and freedoms, such as they are, to the Freemasons and those they influenced around the World. The process continues. Where it goes from here is up to all of us.

This book, also published under the title "The Invisible College", brings some of the early and less publicly known history of the modern world into focus.

I found this introduction into the world of Freemasonry an enjoyable tale. It is a recounting of the English Civil War and the Restoration of the throne after Oliver Cromwell the lord protector. I was not that familiar with this part of history except seeing the movie Cromwell with Richard Harris and not understanding all the factions so I thought it was quite fascinating.

It tells the story of men whom where on both sides of the conflict in the English Civil War but came together to try to build a scientific society where pure science was the goal and politics and religion were not involved. This began the free exchange of ideas and the idea and publication of scientific journals. This allowed the scientist in the society concentrate on experimentation and the others their monetary assets to fund the experiments instead of the government. The entire membership was interested in science and all tried to contribute their part.

The story has a tendency to be pedantic by the fact that he tells the tale through the lives of several of the first members and it becomes repetitive. I don't know if this is a mansonic thing because they have to do great deal of memorization.

The book goes into the effect of the society up to the present day. The appendix was quite good in the fact that it gave a much better idea of what freemasonry is all about.
Overall, I thought it was a good read for the interesting history and learning more about Freemasonry. I would like to learn more about the subject.