On occasion, someone will cite Manley Palmer Hall, Albert Pike, Albert Mackey, Henry Wilson Coil, or John J. Robinson as a Masonic Authority or an Authority in Masonry. Depending on your point of view or your definition of "Authority," you may be inclined to agree with them. But here's the closest thing to the "correct" idea of Masonic Authority I've found so far:

"Of course, he would be naive indeed who would declare that what Masonry meant to him it would necessarily mean to every other Mason. The author does not know it all, or anywhere near the all of Masonry; his book might well be called 'What Masonry Means To Me'."
"However, he claims to possess no 'authority' because of such studies; if he is right in his conclusions, they are completely valid to him alone."
"I AND I ALONE, am responsible for my own interpretations of masonic teachings. Masonry does not proclaim any particular techniques whereby the Builder shall construct his spiritual edifice."
"The writer knows that the masonic reader should not and will not take what he has said 'on authority';...."

Lyn Perkins
Masonic writer