WITHIN THE COMPASS. A COLLECTION OF MASONIC WRITINGS Richard Tydemen, Provincial Grand Lodge of Suffolk, Ipswich, 2004. Paperback, 161 pages, £10.00. Available from Provincial Office, Freemasons’ Hall, Soane Street, Ipswich, Suffolk IP4 2BG

Readers of Freemasonry Today will already know Richard Tydeman’s wide range of interests and gentle, but critical, writing style. He has lectured widely and over the years has written much, both humorous and serious. The Provincial Grand Lodge of Suffolk has collected many of his writings together for this small volume, profits of which will go towards the 2009 Festival in aid of the New Masonic Samaritan Fund. A number of his Freemasonry Today contributions - sadly, unacknowledged - are also included.
    By virtue of its eclectic nature this book is both diverting and informative. We find such gems as one poem ostensibly in praise of the Board of General Purposes which nonetheless notes the lack of any general vote for the members of this executive body, adding that,

…by sublime coincidence the number who are willing Invariably coincides with vacancies for filling.

His opening essay, ‘Freemasonry and the Church’ makes the point that while Freemasonry is not a religion its members must be men of religion - any religion. A second essay on this theme deals with the compatibility of Freemasonry and Christianity. Others include his Prestonian Lecture on the Third Degree.
    The last section concerns the Royal Arch. Of interest is that Richard Tydeman was a prime mover of the changes of the words which had been used in the Royal Arch ritual up to 1989 but which had caused considerable controversy. His closing speech to the debate over the changes reveals his reasoning behind those alterations he advocated: ‘the genuine secret of Solomon’s Master Masons was the knowledge of the One True God; and it is the restoration of this knowledge that we celebrate in the Royal Arch.’
    These essays by and large take a simple approach to most of the subjects pursued for Richard Tydeman is not writing for academics. He is writing for those who have simple questions and who wish to receive simple answers. Of course, not all answers are simple and those whose curiosity has been triggered and who want to burrow deeper will need to look elsewhere. But a daily advancement in knowledge must involve personal effort; to spark off such a search is a mark of success.
    Michael Baigent