--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The founders of Freemasonry—whoever they…" description: "\"“The founders of Freemasonry—whoever they were—were certainly aware of the history of the Templars, and they were clearly inspired by Templar ideals: d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/mark-e-kolko-rivera-260185_absolute-monarchy_the-founders-of-freemasonry-whoever-they_1505038.jpg" --- # The founders of Freemasonry—whoever they were—were… ![“The founders of Freemasonry—whoever they were—were certainly aware of the history of the Templars, and they were clearly inspired by Templar ideals: devotion to God, a focus on the temple in Jerusalem, dedication and discipline. These founders also remembered the lessons of Templar history: the…” quote by Mark E. Kolko-Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/mark-e-kolko-rivera-260185_absolute-monarchy_the-founders-of-freemasonry-whoever-they_1505038.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/mark-e-kolko-rivera-260185_absolute-monarchy_the-founders-of-freemasonry-whoever-they_1505038.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/mark-e-kolko-rivera-260185_absolute-monarchy_the-founders-of-freemasonry-whoever-they_1505038.jpg) > ““The founders of Freemasonry—whoever they were—were certainly aware of the history of the Templars, and they were clearly inspired by Templar ideals: devotion to God, a focus on the temple in Jerusalem, dedication and discipline. These founders also remembered the lessons of Templar history: the dangers of both absolute monarchy and the union of church and state.”” Mark E. Kolko-Rivera ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freemasonry founders drew inspiration from Templar ideals and warned against absolute power and church‑state union. **In simple terms:** Freemasons admired Templars and cautioned against tyranny and clerical dominance. Key Takeaway Study historical lessons to balance authority and spirituality. Themes History Religion Power Freemasonry Templars Mood reflective critical Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - Masonic rituals - Historical research - Political analysis Key Concepts Ideology Institutional balance Moral caution Questions to Reflect On - How can modern institutions prevent concentration of power? - What role does spirituality play in governance? A Different Perspective Absolute power can still arise without vigilance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolute monarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-monarchy/) [Church and state](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church-and-state/) [Devotion to god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devotion-to-god/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Templars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/templars/) ## Related quotes > [So basically America, they are the Knights Templars of, and they've taken us into, perpetual war - that's their game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bez/so-basically-america-they-are-the-knights-templars-of-and-they-ve/) [Bez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bez/) > [“All members of the order were obliged to wear white habits of surcoats and cloaks, and these soon evolved into the distinctive white mantle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-baigent/all-members-of-the-order-were-obliged-to-wear-white-habits-of/) [Michael Baigent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-baigent/) > [Ergo, it is not St. George who is the patron saint of England, but Set of the Hyksos. In general terms whenever the code…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tsarion/ergo-it-is-not-st-george-who-is-the-patron-saint-of-england-but-set/) [Michael Tsarion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tsarion/) > [“in 1522 the Templars’ Prussian progeny, the Teutonic Knights, secularized themselves, repudiated their allegiance to Rome, and threw their support behind an upstart rebel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-baigent/in-1522-the-templars-prussian-progeny-the-teutonic-knights/) [Michael Baigent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-baigent/) > [ They \[the Templars\] had read Avicenna, and they were not ignorant, like the Europeans. How could you live alongside a tolerant, mystical, libertine culture… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/they-the-templars-had-read-avicenna-and-they-were-not-ignorant-like/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“The Templars realized that the secret lay not only in possessing the global map of the currents, but also in knowing the critical point,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-templars-realized-that-the-secret-lay-not-only-in-possessing-the/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“The Templars were sworn to poverty, chastity, and obedience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-baigent/the-templars-were-sworn-to-poverty-chastity-and-obedience/) [Michael Baigent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-baigent/) > [“The Jesuits’ strategy became clear to us when we discovered Father Barruel. Between 1797 and 1798, in response to the French Revolution, he writes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-jesuits-strategy-became-clear-to-us-when-we-discovered-father/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [I think I'm probably an assassin and not a Templar, but no doubt we're probably run by people with Templar mentalities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-irons/i-think-i-m-probably-an-assassin-and-not-a-templar-but-no-doubt-we-re/) [Jeremy Irons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-irons/) > [“the first historical information on the Templars is provided by a Frankish historian, Guillaume de Tyre, who wrote between 1175 and 1185.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-baigent/the-first-historical-information-on-the-templars-is-provided-by-a/) [Michael Baigent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-baigent/) > [“People's imaginations have continued to work, right up to our own day; hence the incredible crop of fanciful allegations attributing to the Templars every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-gine-pernoud/people-s-imaginations-have-continued-to-work-right-up-to-our-own-day/) Régine Pernoud > [A sure sign of a lunatic is that sooner or later, he brings up the Templars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/a-sure-sign-of-a-lunatic-is-that-sooner-or-later-he-brings-up-the/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [When the Saracens came to attack him, they threw Greek fire onto the barrier he had made; and the fire caught easily, And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-joinville/when-the-saracens-came-to-attack-him-they-threw-greek-fire-onto-the/) Jean de Joinville > [“One misspoken word and the world will no longer know you. Mark Andrew Ramsay”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-carroll/one-misspoken-word-and-the-world-will-no-longer-know-you-mark-andrew/) Brendan Carroll > [And in this battle, Brother William (Guillaume), Master of the Templars, lost an eye; and he had lost the other on the previous Shrove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-joinville/and-in-this-battle-brother-william-guillaume-master-of-the-templars/) Jean de Joinville ## More Absolute monarchy quotes > [The Emperor Napoleon, ascending gradually from his post of national magistrate to seat himself upon a throne without limits, seems to have wished to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-lafayette/the-emperor-napoleon-ascending-gradually-from-his-post-of-national/) [Marquis de Lafayette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-lafayette/) > [“Atheism leaves a man to sense, to philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation; all of which may be guides to an outward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-francis-bacon/atheism-leaves-a-man-to-sense-to-philosophy-to-natural-piety-to-laws/) [Sir Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-francis-bacon/) > [“There is no difference between the principles, policies and practical results of socialism—and those of any historical or prehistorical tyranny. Socialism is merely democratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-is-no-difference-between-the-principles-policies-and-practical/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Wealth held by a class and used ambitiously becomes as despotic as an absolute monarchy, and has in its hands manners, customs, laws, institutions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/wealth-held-by-a-class-and-used-ambitiously-becomes-as-despotic-as-an/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Man is born free but is everywhere in chains,” wrote Jean-Jacques Rousseau in The Social Contract in 1762. A generation of crusading lawyers put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-reiss/man-is-born-free-but-is-everywhere-in-chains-wrote-jean-jacques/) [Tom Reiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-reiss/) > [“With France as she is, poor and unarmed, war means defeat. Defeat means either a military dictator who will salvage what he can and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/with-france-as-she-is-poor-and-unarmed-war-means-defeat-defeat-means/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [Atheism leaves a man to sense, to philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation, all which may be guides to an outward moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/atheism-leaves-a-man-to-sense-to-philosophy-to-natural-piety-to-laws-2/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [“All power has its derivation from God; the Russian Czar, however, was granted a special significance distinguishing him from the rest of the world's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-nikiforovich-katkov/all-power-has-its-derivation-from-god-the-russian-czar-however-was/) Mikhail Nikiforovich Katkov > [I cannot help concurring with the opinion that an absolute democracy, no more than absolute monarchy, is to be reckoned among the legitimate forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/i-cannot-help-concurring-with-the-opinion-that-an-absolute-democracy/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“bitch power is the juice, the sweat, the blood that keeps pop music going. Rick James helped me understand the lesson of the eighth-grade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/bitch-power-is-the-juice-the-sweat-the-blood-that-keeps-pop-music/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“When you set aside mere names & come down to realities, you find that we are ruled by a King just as other absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-l-scott/when-you-set-aside-mere-names-come-down-to-realities-you-find-that-we/) Arthur L. Scott > [“Atheism leaves a man to sense, to philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation; all which may be guides to an outward moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/atheism-leaves-a-man-to-sense-to-philosophy-to-natural-piety-to-laws-3/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [To resume, in a few words, the system of the Imperial government, as it was instituted by Augustus, and maintained by those princes who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/to-resume-in-a-few-words-the-system-of-the-imperial-government-as-it/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“Wherever, therefore, any number of men so unite into one society, as to quit everyone his executive power of the law of Nature, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/wherever-therefore-any-number-of-men-so-unite-into-one-society-as-to/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [Absolute monarchy,... is the easiest death, the true Euthanasia of the BRITISH constitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/absolute-monarchy-is-the-easiest-death-the-true-euthanasia-of-the/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) [Browse all 22 Absolute monarchy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-monarchy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The founders of Freemasonry—whoever they were—were certainly aware of the history of the Templars, and they were clearly inspired by Templar ideals: devotion to God, a focus on the temple in Jerusalem, dedication and discipline. These founders also remembered the lessons of Templar history: the dangers of both absolute monarchy and the union of church and state.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark E. Kolko-Rivera" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-e-kolko-rivera/the-founders-of-freemasonry-whoever-they-were-were-certainly-aware-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absolute monarchy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-e-kolko-rivera/the-founders-of-freemasonry-whoever-they-were-were-certainly-aware-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/mark-e-kolko-rivera-260185_absolute-monarchy_the-founders-of-freemasonry-whoever-they_1505038.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/mark-e-kolko-rivera-260185_absolute-monarchy_the-founders-of-freemasonry-whoever-they_1505038.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf8/mark-e-kolko-rivera-260185_absolute-monarchy_the-founders-of-freemasonry-whoever-they_1505038.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The founders of Freemasonry—whoever they were—were certainly aware of the history of the Templars, and they…” — Mark E. Kolko-Rivera", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mark E. Kolko-Rivera", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-e-kolko-rivera/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The founders of Freemasonry—whoever they were—were...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-e-kolko-rivera/the-founders-of-freemasonry-whoever-they-were-were-certainly-aware-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-e-kolko-rivera/the-founders-of-freemasonry-whoever-they-were-were-certainly-aware-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```