Any Masons out there?

[The Grave Maurice]

I'm just finishing Thomas Toughill's The Ripper Code. On p. 225, he says:

Oscar Wilde, whose father was a Freemason, was initiated into the Apollo Lodge No. 357 in Oxford on 23 February 1875. He took his second degree on 24 April and his third degree (Master Mason) on 25 May. This lodge practiced the Scottish rite and Wilde was admitted to the 33rd degree of this on 27 November 1876.

Can this be right? My grandfather was a Mason, and I somehow got the idea that it took a considerable amount of reading, preparation, and time to attain the highest degree. Is it really possible that Wilde could have gone from newbie to 33rd degree in only a year and nine months?

[Dark Ali]

I found the following on a Masonic website, I hope it is of some use;

* "33° - Inspector General Honorary

The Thirty-third Degree is conferred by the Supreme Council upon members of the Rite in recognition of outstanding work in the Rite or in public life. At its biennial session the Supreme Council elects members of the Rite to receive the Degree. Members unanimously so elected become honorary members of the Supreme Council. The Thirty-third Degree may not be requested, and if requested must be refused. The Degree is granted solely out of recognition for outstanding services. These 33° Masons are Inspectors General Honorary and honorary members of the Supreme Council. The active members of the Supreme Council are chosen from among them. The cap for an Inspector General Honorary is white with a white band edged in gold, featuring the symbol for this honorary Degree, a red slanting Patriarchal Cross."

http://www.scottishrite.org/prospectives/aboutsr.html

Ali

[j.r-ahde]

Hello you all!

Cannot help asking this naive question again;

What's so intriguing in mason things?

This wearing funny aprons, repeating a b-class horror movie sounding nonsense, etc. ?!

doesn't really impress me, sorry!

Still,

All the best
Jukka

[The Grave Maurice]

Thanks, Ali. I had checked a few Masonic websites before posting. The descriptions and titles of the various degrees in Scottish Rite and Royal Arch Freemasonry simply confirmed my suspicion that it would be difficult to rack up a new degree every two or three weeks, as Wilde apparently did.

I assume that Toughill had a Masonic source for his statement but, if he did, he did not cite it.

[Magpie]

The idea that Wilde took 3 months to achieve the most basic of levels, then somehow managed to complete another 30 levels of increasing difficulty within 21 months of starting his Masonic career sounds ridiculous.

That's more than a level a month!

[Doctor X]

Hello you all!

Cannot help asking this naive question again;

What's so intriguing in mason things?

We could tell you . . . but then we would have to kill you. . . .

Seriously, any secret society--secret for whatever reason--will general conspiracy theories.

There was a very good documentary debunking the conspiracies with an allowed televised initiation. I believe one of Our Members was interviewed to debunk the Mason Ripper theories.

--J.D.

[Christine]

Wilde didn't progress through all those levels (if I'm reading Ali's quote correctly). He never achieved degrees 4 through 32 (if they even exist).

Thirty-third degree is just a title given to Masons who make great achievements outside of their Mason-ness, which Wilde certainly did. I think that the highest normal degree is thirty-second. So you can be any degree of normal from 1 to 32, and be a thirty-third also.

[The Grave Maurice]

Wilde didn't progress through all those levels (if I'm reading Ali's quote correctly). He never achieved degrees 4 through 32 (if they even exist).

Oh, they exist alright. Follow the link that Ali supplied and you can see them listed. Thirty-third degree is the highest and is reached by quite a few Masons (just read the obits in your local newspaper for the evidence). I just didn't think it could be achieved at lightening speed.

[JSchmidt]

Most of them are bestowed only in name. And a honorary 33° does not necessarily entail even the most basic restraints on titular advancement.

[The Grave Maurice]

OK, JSchmidt, you sound like a guy/gal who knows what he/she is talking about. Just what I was looking for. Now, could you explain to me what you mean by an "honorary 33° does not necessarily entail even the most basic restraints on titular advancement"?

[Dark Ali]

On further reading, it looks like anyone over a third degree Mason can be honorarily made up to a 33rd degree Mason - I would imagine it is akin to being awarded a honorary degree by a University for services to the country or community.

[The Grave Maurice]

It's beginning to look as though your explanation is correct, Ali. But why would Masonry's highest honorary award be given to an unknown, 22-year-old Oxford undergraduate who had been a member of the organization for less than two years?

[BillyE]

This thread seems to be centering on Oscar Wilde being a Free Mason, and what degree. Is this hinting at the Ripper being a Mason, and that's how Wilde gained knowledge of the Ripper's identity? Remember, legend says he peppered his "Picture of Dorian Gray" novel with clues and hints of the Ripper's identity. I thought he was pointing a crooked finger at former "intimate friend" Frank Miles. But then again, what do I know?! :-D

[Dark Ali]

There is lots of info and supposition on this website about Oscar Wilde and the Masons.

http://www.mqmagazine.co.uk/issue-4/p-07.php

[Magpie]

Hello you all!

Cannot help asking this naive question again;

What's so intriguing in mason things?

This wearing funny aprons, repeating a b-class horror movie sounding nonsense, etc. ?!

doesn't really impress me, sorry!

Still,

All the best
Jukka

You might not feel so complacent when we've acheived world domination--especially since I have dibs on Finland. I have BIG plans for Finland--starting with making Children of Bodom and Amorphis the official house bands