merely hypothetical , since Le Nouveau Catéchisme des Francs-maçons , contenant tous les mystères de la maçonnerie , an exposé from the 1740s , makes explicit reference to the episode ( long note on pages 31 and 32 ) and refers to Abbé Fleury ’ s work .
The origin of this central Masonic legend of a “ secret vault ”— a hidden , mysterious place , but one open to the divine presence — therefore has deep roots in the oldest “ esoteric ” ideas of Judaism and Christianity . Furthermore , these important religious sources could have been well known to scholarly Masons in the eighteenth century .
Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society
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