A Stroll Through the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences

Richard Marcus's "A Stroll Through the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences" explores the historical and symbolic significance of the seven liberal arts—grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy—within Freemasonry. The text connects these arts to the three Masonic degrees, framing learning as a journey up a winding stair. It examines the contributions of Pythagoras, Plato, and St. Augustine to the development of this intellectual framework, emphasizing the order and interconnectedness of these disciplines. The essay further divides the seven arts into the Trivium (grammar, rhetoric, logic) and the Quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy), highlighting their practical and symbolic applications within the Masonic tradition and beyond. Ultimately, the work promotes lifelong learning as a means of moral and intellectual growth.