Notes to the Translation of twelve Lectures given by Karl Christian Friedrich Krause in 1809

Karl Christian Friedrich Krause

Höhere Vergeistigung der echt überlieferten Grundsymbole der Freimaurerei

(Higher Spiritualization of the True Traditional Fundamental Symbols of Freemasonry)

Twelve Lodge Lectures, given in Dresden from 1808 to 1810

(Translated by Brother Vincent Lombardo)

From the Translator

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We Apologize to Our Readers

We anticipate this translation will not be as accurate as one may wish. We have looked all over for an English version of this book, with no success. Bro. Lombardo was raised in the Italian language, has a rudimentary knowledge of German, and is just modestly proficient in English. It can be said that he can barely read or write. However, we appreciate his determination to bring to light Krause's Masonic works, for the benefit of our members and the English-speaking public.

We are satisfied his translation is a "good start". But we invite any and all readers to correct us wherever they find us in error and help in making it better. Their contribution will not be for our glory, but for the good of Humanity. Help us out:

To that end, we have structured our pages in two columns, with the English and German texts side by side, in manageable short portions. This was done in order to facilitate both the reader and those who may be able to better our work, by having to chew on small morsels, instead of having to contend with long paragraphs, as they are so often found in the original work.

Where long paragraphs are divided into small portions, we have entered four dashes ---- at the end of those portions, to indicate the original paragraph is continued below.

We have also entered the page numbers, as they are found in the book, by writing them in this fashion: ---2--- . By clicking on the number, the page in the book will appear on your screen.

We have maintained the original spelling as it is found in the book, except when misprints (Druckfehler) were found, and we have corrected them, in order to alleviate the task of reading, which is difficult enough, even without the errors.

We have also tried to maintain the original structure of Krause's writing, whenever possible, in order not to take away any of Krause's eloquence.

We had considerable difficulty in translating certain words into English, especially those wrought by Krause himself, perfect in German, but which never made it to common usage, and consequently not found in any dictionary known to us. In these cases, we have used the English words which, in our view, and in the contest, better reflect Krause's intent. But, we could be wrong.

In some instances, where we couldn't make out the intended meaning of the German text, or not satisfied with our translation, we have highlighted both the German text and our translation – in the hope someone out there, out of sympathy, or disgust, may bring to our attention our shortcomings.

In some instances, where the intent and meaning are clear in German, but not as clear or even puzzling when translated into English, we have taken the liberty to add [few words in explanation] and beg your forgiveness for having done so.

Well, that's about all. If we missed anything – use your imagination!