What are the philosophical origins of the elements in Freemasonry?

Inventors of advanced degrees drew directly upon the esoteric philosophy of Philo when constructing their systems 1. Nicolai argued that Francis Bacon's The New Atlantis provided a major impulse toward the formation of speculative Masonry, introducing allegorical concepts such as the House of Solomon, the columns of Hermes, and a checkered floor through secret philosophical societies like the Society of Astrologers 1.

Albert Pike, alongside other scholars, advanced the theory that Freemasonry acts as a successor to ancient Egyptian and Samothracian Mystery rites, adopting their manner of symbolic initiation to impart moral duties, self-restraint, and the hope of a future life 3.

Wilmshurst rejects any direct historical continuity with the ancient Egyptians or the builders of King Solomon's Temple 2. He maintains instead that Masonry conceals an ancient, universal spiritual doctrine within architectural phraseology 2—one taught in secret schools by thinkers such as Pythagoras 2 and fundamentally based on the philosophical doctrine of the Fall of Man and the restoration of lost human nature 2.