A secret society that everyone knew about; a closed community that anyone could join; an order that declared itself outside of politics and took an active part in all court intrigues, revolutions and coups - the brotherhood of “free masons” became a mirror of a contradictory era in which enlightenment was combined with ignorance, scientific progress with charlatanism, liberalism with inertia, ideas of equality - with class prejudices, and the desire for freedom - with slavery. Tracing the development of Freemasonry in Europe and America in the 18th century, the author recreates against a political and social background a picture of the daily life of members of the fraternity, from initiation rites, classes and ritual meals to persecution by the authorities, talks about the most prominent representatives of the Masonic community and the contributions that they contributed to the material and spiritual life of their time.