By SirBacon.org
“Bacon-Masonry” by George. V. Tudhope (1954)
https://SirBacon.org/tudhope.htm
Listen to the discussion based excerpts from the book Bacon Masonry (1954) and the article “That Masonic Lost Word” in Baconiana (1957), George V. Tudhope’s central message is that Francis Bacon was the secret “original designer” and “Father” of Speculative Freemasonry.
Tudhope argues that Bacon created the fraternity as a vehicle to preserve and advance human learning, concealing profound truths within its rituals and symbols. His specific arguments include:
1. The “Lost Word” is Light (Knowledge) Tudhope claims to reveal the “name and meaning” of the Masonic Lost Word, which he identifies as “Light”. Meaning: He interprets “Light” not merely as physical illumination, but as knowledge, memory, and wisdom.
Origin: He links this to the biblical creation (“Let there be light”), arguing that this command planted the “seeds of memory” and marked the birth of the first “temple of the mind”. Purpose: The search for this “Light” represents the quest to discover all the arts and sciences concealed in Universal Nature.
2. Freemasonry Imitates the “Divine Plan” Tudhope asserts that Bacon designed Freemasonry to imitate God’s method of hiding truth to encourage human discovery. He cites King Solomon’s Proverb (Prov. 25:2): “The Glory of God is to conceal a thing, but the Glory of a King is to find it out”.
Just as the Creator concealed secrets in nature, Bacon “cunningly lost or hidden” a Word within Freemasonry to stimulate men to search for knowledge. Tudhope draws parallels between Freemasonry and Bacon’s interpretation of the ancient fable of “Pan,” arguing that the “Fraternity of Pan” (seekers of nature) was the prototype for Bacon’s Freemasonry.
3. The “Great Instauration” as Masonic Ritual Tudhope connects Bacon’s philosophical life work, the Great Instauration (defined as a “restoration after decay”), directly to Masonic ritual.
He argues that the Masonic allegory of “raising the Master” is synonymous with Bacon’s Instauration: both represent the restoration of knowledge that has been lost or buried.
4. Bacon’s Royal Lineage Tudhope also claims that Bacon concealed his identity as a Prince of England within his works.
Analyzing the title page of the 1624 Paris edition of Bacon’s De Augmentis, Tudhope interprets the letters “IM” and accompanying symbols (a Mason’s mark, a fleur-de-lis, and a coronet) to mean: “I am an Operative Mason” and “I am a Prince”.
He concludes that Bacon was the secret son of Queen Elizabeth. In summary, Tudhope’s message is that Francis Bacon founded Freemasonry to guide humanity “from darkness into light” and that the fraternity’s ultimate goal is the retrieval of all knowledge concealed in the universe.
