tbm100.orgdalla straordinarieta degli effetti certo pud indursi 10.straordi-narleta, ia grandezza,...

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Dalla straordinarieta degli efFetti certo pud indursi 10. straordi-narleta, Ia grandezza, l' iosistenza delle cagioni; ma I' intreccio er alterno prevalere di queste, I' attrazione che esercitano, sfuggonoall' analisi. n mistero precinge 10.notturna fecondazione. Dai pi udisparati sentimenti trae vigore la setta. Le materie pill preziose edinsieme Ie meno elette concorrono a formare questo gigante, rifusioneciclopica e tetra di quanto s' agita, ribolle e schiuma nelle visceresociali.--G. DE CASTRO.

From the extraordinary nature of the effects we may infer theElktraordinary nature, grandeur, and permanency of the causes; buttheir connection, varying predominance, and mutual attraction, escapeall analysis. Mjrstery surrounds the obscure fecundation. Sectsdraw vigour from the most opposite sentiments. The most exaltedas well as the meanest elements concur in forming this giant, acyclopean and black fusion of all that seethes, boils, and ferments inthe social viscera.

THE SECRET SOCIETIESOF ALL'AGES AND

COUNTRIES.----LfjJ-:;-3

,BY

CHARLES WILLIAM ¥ECKETHORN.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

LONDON:

RICHARD BENTLEY AND SON,~ul1li'IJ"' in iDrlJilW!to ll}rr _ajf8t!,

NEW BURLINGTON STREET.

1875.

(All rights reserned.}

CHISWICK PRESS:- PRINTED BY WHITTINGHAM AND WILKIl':S,

TOOKS COURT, CHANCER\" LANE.

• O!" ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS.hi'\l~

f ~ The numbers refer to the §.

'"VOLUME I.

:REFACE. xiii

INTRODUCTION.Intelligibility and nature of Secret Societies.2. Classification of Secret Societies. 3. Re-

ligious Societies, 4. Political Societies. 6. Aims of Po-litical Societies. 6. Religious Secret Societies. 7. ~ostperfect human Type. 8. Causes of high mental Develop-ment. 9. Primitive Culture. 10. True Doctrines of N a- /ture and Being. 11. Fundamental Principles of true .Knowledge possessed by the Ancients; .the Seven Propertiesof Eternal Nature. 12. Key to Mystic Teaching. 13.Mystic Teaching summarized. 14. How true Knowledgecame to be lost. 16. Original Spirit of the Mysteries andResults of their Decay. 16. The Mysteries under their

. Astronomical Aspect. 17. Astronomical Aspects continued.18. Uniformity of Dogmas. 19. Secret Societies no lon-ger needed.

. vi Analytical Table of Contents.

BOOK I.

ANCIENT MYSTERIES.

I. MA.GI.-20. Derivation of term Magus-. 21. Antiquity ofthe Magi. 22. Zoroaster. ~3. Doctrine of Zoroaster. 24.The Light worshipped. 25. Origin of the word Deus.

U6.Mode ofInitiation. 27. Myth of Rustam.ITHBAIC8.-28. Mysteries of Mithras. 29. Origin ofithraic worship. 30. Dogmas. 31. Rites of Initiation.. Rites derived from Magism.BAHMIN8AND GYMNOSOPHJ8TS.-33. Vulgar cree of

India. 34. Secret Doctrines. 35. Brahms and Buddha.36. Asceticism. 37. Gymnosophists. 38. Places forCelebrating Mysteries. 39. Initiation. 39A. Brahm andBrahma. 40. Ineffable Name Aum. 41. The Lingam.42. The Lotos.

· IV. EGYPTIANMY8TEBIES.--43. Antiquity of Egyptian Civi-lization. 44. Temples of Ancient Egypt. 45. EgyptianPriests and Kings. 46. Exoteric and Esoteric Doctrines.47. Egyptian Mythology. 48. The Phoenix. 49. The"Cross. 50. Places of Initiation. 51. Process of Initia-tion. 52. Mysteries of Serapis. 63. Mysteries of Osiris.54. Isis.

V. METAMOBPHOSESOF THE LEGBND OF 18Is.-55. Spreadof Egyptian Mysteries. 56. Dionysiaca or Bacchic Mys-teries. 57. Saba.zian Mysteries. 68. Mysteries of theCabiri. 59. Eleusinian' Mysteries. 60. Doors of Hornand Ivory. 61. Soppression of Eleusinian Mysteries.62. Thesmophoria. 63. Aim of Grecian Mysteries moremoral than religious.

VI. CHINE8EA.NDJAPANESEMY8TERIEs.-64. Chinese Meta-physics. 65. Introduction of Chinese Mysteries. 66.Parallel between Buddhism and Roman Catholicism. 67.

J

II

Analytical Table of Contents. Vll

Lau-Tze. 68. Modern Chinese Societies. 69. Japanese -Mysteries. 70. Japanese Doctrines. 71. The Lama.

VII. MEXICAN AND PERUVIANMYSTEBIES.-72. American~borigine8. 73. Mexican Deities. 74. Cruelty of Mexi-can Worship. 75. Initiation into Mysteries. 76. TheGreater Mysteries. 77. Human Sacrifices. 78. Clothingin Bloody Skin.' 79. Peruvian Mysteries.

VIII. DRUIDS.-80. The Druids the Magi of the West ..81. Temples. 82. Places of Initiation. 83. Rites.84. Doctrines. 85. Political and Judicial Power. 86.Priestesses. 87. Abolition.

IX. ScANDINAVIANMYSTBRIES.-S'S. Drottes. 89. RituaL90. Astronomical Meaning.

BOOK II.

EMAN ATIONISTS.

I. CABALA.-91. Its Origin. 92. Its Progress. 93. Its Date..94. Book of the Creation. 95. Different Kinds of Cabala.96. Visions of Ezekiel. 97. The Creation out of Nothing.98. Diffusion of Cabalistic Ideas.

ll. THB GNOSTICS.-99. Character of Gnosticism. 100. Doc-trines. 101. Development of Gnosticism. 102. Spiritof Gnosticism.

BOOK IJI.

RELIGION OF LOVE.

I. SONS OF THE WlDow.-103. Origin of Religion of Love.104. Manes. 105. Manichmism. 106. Life of Manes.107. Progress of Manichmism. 108. Doctrines. 109.Spread of Religion of Love,

Vlll Analytical Table of Contents.

II. THE G.&"!' SClBlfCB.-110. Transition from Ancient toModern I,nitiations. 111. Spirit of Ancient Secret Socie-ties. 112. Spirit of Modem Secret Societies. 113. Cauleand Progress of Heresy. 114. EWorta and Influence ofHeretics. 115. The Albigenses. 116. Tenets of Albi-genses. 117. Aims of Albigenses. '118. Religion of theTroubadours. 119. Difficulty to understand the Trou-badours. 120. Poetry of Troubadours. 121. Degreesamong Troubadours. 122. Courts of Love.

III. THE CONsoLATloN.-123. Historical Notices. 124. Doc-trines and Tenets.

IV. CmvALRT.-125. Original Aim. 126. Knights the Mi ..litary Apostles of the Religion of Love. 127. Te~ets andDoctrines.

BOOK IV.

ISHMAELITES.

I. LODGE 01' WISDOM.-128. Various Sects sprung fromManichmism. 129. Secret Doctrines of Islamism. 130.Candidati. 131. Cruelty of Babeck the Gay. 132. Ish-maelites. 133. Teaching of the Lodge of Cairo. 134.Progress of Doctrines.

II. AS8ASSIN8.-135. Foundation of Order. 136. Inftuenceof Hassan. 137. Catech~m of the Order. 138. Devo-tion of Followers., 139. The Imaginary Paradise. 140.Sanguinary Character of Hassan. 141. Further Instancesof Devotion in Followers. 142. Christian Princes inLeague with Assassins. 143. Extinction of Sect.

III. DauIEI.-I". Origin of Sect. 145. Doctrines. 146Recent Events.

Analytical Table of Contents. ix

BOOK V.

KNIGHTS TEMPLARS.

147. Foundation of Order. 148. Its Progress. 149. Accountof Gommanderies. 150. Imputations against the Order.151. Plots against the Order. 152. Attentions paid to

, Grand Master Molay. 153. Charges against Templars.154. Burning of Knights. 155. James de Molay burnt.156. Mysteries of the Knights Templars. 157. TheTemple and the Church. 15-8. The Temple the Symbolof the Holy Spirit. 169. Doctrines. 160. Initiation.161. Cursing and Spitting on the Cross. 162. The Tem-plars the' Opponents of the Pope. 163. Baphomet. 164.Effects of the Downfall of the Knights of the Temple.165. Connexion with Freemasonry.

BOOK VI.FREE JUDGES.

I. HOLT VEHM.-16G. Origin and Objects of Institution •. 167. Officers and Organization. 168. Language and Rules

of Initiated. 169. Procedure. 170. Execution of Sen-tences. 171. Decay of the Institution. 172. Kissing theVirgin ..

ll. BEATIPAOLI.-173. Character 01 the Society. 174. Ten-dencies and Tenets. 175. Account of Sicilian writer.

BOOK VII.

ALCHYMISTS.

I. ALCHYMI8TS.-176. Astrology perhaps secret Heresy.177. Process by which Astrology' degenerated. 178. .1

x Analytical Table of Contents.

Scientific Value of Alchymy. 179. The Tincture. 180.Aims of Alchymy. . lSI. History of Alchymy. 182.Specimen of Alchymistic Language. 183. Personal Fateof the Alchymists.

IL ROSICRUCUNS.-184. Merits 'of the Rosicrucians. 185.Origin of Society doubtful. 186. Origin of Name, 187.Statements concerning themselves. 188. Poetical Fictionsof Rosicrucians. 189. Progress and Extinction of Rosi-crucians. 190. Transition to Freemasons.

BOOK VIII.

FREEMASONS.

I. LEGEND OF THE TEMPLl!I.-191. Ancestry of Hiram AbifF.192. Hiram, Solomon, and the Queen of Sheba.

II. ORIGIN.-TRADITIONS.-193. The First Masons. 194.Periods of Freemasonry. 196. Freemasonry derived frommany sources.

III. R"ITESANDCU8ToMs.-196. List of Rites. 197. MasonicCustoms. 19S. Masonic Alphabet. .

IV. THE LODGE.-199. Interior Arrangement of Lodge.200. Modern Lodge. 201. Officers. 202. Opening theLodge.

V. GENUINE AND SPURIOUS MASONRY.- 203. Distinctionbetween Genuine and Spurious l\.Iasonry. 204. SomeRites only deserve special mention ..

VI. CEREMONIESOF INITIATION.-205. The Apprentice. 206.Fellow-craft. 207. Master. Ceremony of Initiation andStory of Hiram's Murder. 20S. "I'he Legend Explained.209. The Raising of Osiris. 210. Blazing Star.

VIL HOLY ROYAL ARCH.-211. Officers. 212. Ceremonies.213. Passing the Veils,

VIII. GRANDELECTEDKNIGHTOF KADOSH.-214. The Term

r,I Analytical Table of Contents. xi

,Kadosh. 215. Reception into the Degree. 216. TheMysterious Ladder. 217. The Seven Steps.

IX. PRINCE OF ROS:B-CROIX.-218. Distinct from Rosicru-cian, and has various names. 219. Officers and Lodge.220. Reception in the First Apartment. 221. SecondApartment. 222. Reception in the Third Apartment.

X. RITES OF MISRAIM AND MBMPms.-223.' Anomalies ofRite of Misraim. 224. Organization. 225. History andConstitution. 226. Rites and Ceremonies. 227. Rite ofMemphis.

XI. MODER~ KNIGHTS TEMPLARS.-228. Origin. 229. Sup-posititious List of Grand Masters. 230. Revival of theOrder. 231. The Leviticon. 232. Ceremonies of Initia-tiona

XII. FRBEMASONRYIN ENGLAND AND •ScOTLAND.-238.Freemasonry in England. 234. Freemasonry in Scotland.235. Modem Freemasonry.

Xill. FREEMASONRYIN FRANCE.-236. Introduction of Free-ID880nry into France. 237. Chevalier Ramsay. 238.Philosophical Rites. 239. The Duke de Chartres.

XIV. CHAPTER OF CLERMONTANDTHE STBICT OBSERVANCE.- 240. Jesuitical Influence. 241. The Strict Observance.

XV. RELAXED OBSERVANCE.-242. Organization of Re-laxed Observance. 243. Disputes in German Lodges.244. Rite of Zinnendorf. 245. African Architects.

XVI. CONGRESS_oF WILHBLM8BAD.-246. Various Con-gresses. 247. Discussions at Wilhelmsbad. 248. Re-sult of Convention.

XVII. FREEMASONRY AND NAPOLEONI8J1.-249. Masonryprotected by Napoleon. 250. Spread of Masonry. 251.Obsequiousness of Freemasonry. 252. Anti-NapoleonicFreemasonry .

XVllI. FREEMASONRY,THE RESTORATIONOF THE SECONDEMPIRE.-253. The Society of "France Regenerated."254. Priestly Opposition to Masonry. 255. Political In-

xii Analytical Table of Contents.

significance of Masonry. 256. Freemasonry and Napo-leon III. 257 . Jesuitical Manreu vres.

XIX. FREEMASONRYIN ITALY.-258. Whimsical Societies.259. Illu~inati in Italy. 260. Freemasonry at Naples.261. Details of Document. 262. Freemasonry at Venice.263. Abasement of Masonry under Napoleon. 264. TheFreemasonry of the Present in Italy. 266. Reformneeded.

XX. CAGLIOSTBOAND EGY~TIAN MAlONRY.-266. Life orCagliostro. 267 .. Egyptian Rite. 268. Cagliostro'aH ydromancy.

XXI. ADOPTIVB MuOlfBY.-269. Historical Notice. 270.Organization. 271. Jesuit Degrees.

XXII. ANDROGYNOUSMASONBY.-272. Origin and Tendency.273. Earliest Androgynous Societies. 274. Other Andro-gynous Societies. 275. Vicious Androgynous Societies.276. Knights and Nymphs of the Rose. 277. Mason'sDaughter.

XXIII. PERSECUTIONS OJ' FBBEJIASONRY.-278. Cau~es 0'Persecution. 279. Instances of Persecution. 280. Anti-Masonic Publications.

XXIV. SCHISMATIC RITES AND SBCTS.~281. SchismaticRites and Sects. 282. Ludicrous Degree.

XXV. DII'J'USION OJ' THB ORD~B.-283. treemasonry inSpain and Portugal. 284. Freemasonry in Russia. 286.Freemasonry in Switzerland. 286. Freemasonry in Swe-den and Poland. 287. Freemasonry in Holland and Ger-many. 288. Freemasonry in Turkey, Asia, Africa, Oceania.289. Freemasonry in America.

XXVI. FUTILITY OJ' MODEBN FBEEMASONBY.-290. VainPretensions of Modern Masonry. 291. Vanity of MasonicCeremonial. 292. Masonry Di1Fuses no Knowledge. 293.Is unfitted for the Task. 294. Decay of Freemasonry.296. Masonic Literature.

e.

'1I

• j

'..

PREFACE .

•

OR many years the fascinating subject ofSecret Societies had engaged my atten-tion, and it had long been my intentionto collect in 8 comprehensive work all

the information that could be gathered from numer-ous, often remote, and sometimes almost inaccessiblesources, concerning one of the most curious phasesof the history of mankind-those secret organiza-tions, religious, political, and social, which haveexisted from the most remote ages down to thepresent time. Before, however, I had arranged anddigested my materials, a review in the " Athenmum"(No, 2196), directed my attention to the Italianwork "n Mondo Secrete,' by Signor De Castro,whom I have since then had the pleasure of meetingat Milan. I procured the book, and intended atfirst to give a translation of it, but though I beganas a translator, my labours speedily assumed a moreindependent form. Much, I found, had to be omitted

·XIV Preface.

from an original coloured by a, certain political bias,and somewhat too indulgent to various Italianpolitical sects, who, in many instances, were scarcelymore than hordes of brigands. Much, on the otherhand, had to be added from sources, chiefly Englishand German, unknown to the Italian author; muchhad to be placed on a different basis and in anotherlight; and again, many societies not mentioned bySignor De Castro had to be introduced to the reader,such as the Garduna, the Chauffeurs, Fenians, Inter-national, O-Kee-Pa, Ku-Klux, Inquisition, Waha-bees; so that, with these additions, and the amplifica-tions of sections in the original Italian, forming fre-quently entirely new articles, the.work, as it now ispresented to the English public, though in its frame-work retaining much of its foreign prototype, mayyet claim the merit of being not only essentiallyoriginal, but the most comprehensive account ofSecret Societies extant in English, French, German,or Italian, the leading languages of Europe; forwhatever has been written on the subject in anyoneof them has been consulted and put under contribu-tion. In English there is no work that can at allcompete with it, for the small book published in1836 by Charles Knight, and entitled, "Sec~etSocieties of the Middle Ages," embraces foursocieties only.

Anxious to utilize my latest memoranda, I havetaken advantage of the MS. having for some time

Preface. xv

been in the publisher's hands, before the secondvolume went to press, to insert several additionalsections, though at the expense of methodicalarrangement; or to give supplemental details frominformation collected during my recent twelvemonths' wanderings in Italy, the country pa". eeeel-lenee of secret societies.

The student who wishes for more ample informa-tion will have to consult the lists of authorities givenat the head of each Book, as it was thought bestnot to encumber the text with foot-notes, whichwould have swelled the work to at least twice itspresent extent. The reader may rest satisfied thatfew statements are made which could not be sup-ported by numerous and weighty authorities; thoughdealing as we do here with societies whose veryexistence depended on secrecy, and which, therefore,as a matter of policy, left behind them as littledocumentary evidence as possible, the old distichapplies with peculiar force :-

"What is.hita is history,And what is mist is mystery."

. Again, bearing in mind that the imperative com-pass or the work exacted a concise setting forth offacts-ranging as the subject does over a surface sovast-I have been careful to interrupt the narrativeonly by such comments and reflections as wouldseem almost indispensable for clearing up obscuritiesor supplying missing historical links.

XVI Preface.

It may at first appear as if some societies hadimproperly been inserted in this work as "secret"societies; the Freemasons, for instance. Membersof secret associations, it might be objected, are notin the habit of proclaiming their membership to theworld, but no Freemason is ashamed or afraid ofavowing himself such; nay, he is rather proud ofthe fact, and given to proclaim it somewhat obtru-sively; yet the most rabid Celt, who wishes to havea hand in the regeneration of his native land byjoining the Fenian brotherhood, has sense enough tokeep his affiliation a profound secret from the un-initiated. ,(But the rule I have followed in adoptingsocieties as " secret," was to include in my collectionall such as had or have" secret rites and ceremonies"kept from the outer world, though the existence ofthe society itself be no secret at all) In fact, noassociation of men can for any length of time re-main a secret, since however anxious the membersmay be to shroud themselves in darkness, andremain personally unknown, the purpose for whichthey band together must always betray itself bysome overt acta; and wherever there is an act, theworld surmises an agent; and if none that is visiblecan be found, a secret one is suspected. The Thugs,for instance, had every desire to remain unknown j

yet the fact of the existence of such a society wassuspected long before a:py of its members were dis-covered. On the principle also of their being the

'1

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Preface. ~vii

.propounders of secret doctrines, or doctrines clothedin language understood by the adepts alone, Alchy-mists and Mystics have found places in this work;

.and the Inquiaition, though a state tribunal, had itssecret agents and secret procedure, and may there-fore justly be included in the category of SecretSocieties.

Secret Societies, religious and political, are againspringing up on many sides: the religious may bedismissed. without comment, as they are generallywithout any novelty or significance, but those thathave political objects ought not to be disregarded aswithout importance. The International, Fenians,Communists, Nihilists, Wah8.bees, are secretly aim-ing at the overthrow of existing governments andthe present order of things. The murders ofEnglishmen perpetrated by native Indians pointto the machinations of secret societies in BritishIndia. Before the outbreak of the great Indianmutiny, English newspaper correspondents spokerather contemptuously of some religious ceremonyobserved throughout British India of carrying smallloaves from village to village, but this ceremonywas the .summona to the people to prepare for thegeneral rising; hence the proceedings of the native!should be closely watched.

The first volume and a portion of the secondhaving passed through the press while the authorwas in Italy, the revisal of the last proofs had to be

I. b

XVlll Preface.

confided to another hand; hence some B'f'fata willbe found in those portions of the work, an evilalmost unavoidable, under the circumstances, in atext 80 full of proper names, whose correct spellingfrequently is scarcely fixed, and containing numer-ous quotations which could only be verified by. .

reference to the originals whence they were taken,which in this case ~s clearly impossible. A listof the more important errata with their correctionshas been appended at the end of vol. ii.

For the sake of clearness and of facilitatingreference, the text has been divided throughoutinto short seotions with appropriate .headings, andnumbered continuously,

NOfJember, 1874.

1'.

-

INTRODUCTION.

" The caute which I knew Dot, I searched out."Job xxix, 16.

" Ignis uhique latet, naturam amplectitur omnem ;Cuncta parit, renovat, dividit, urit, alit."

B

~.

...

•

,

INTRODUCTION.

1.'.. NTELLIGIBILiTY andNatureof Secret

Societies.-For those true thinkers wholook upon history as a tissue of won-drous design, there is nothing accidental

in the life of the world. For them the appearanceand action of secret societies are no singular andinexplicable phenomenon, no transitory form, nounexpected and fugitive effect, but the intelligibleand foreseen result of known causes.

Secret societies once were as necessary as opensocieties; the tree presupposes a root. Beside theempire of Might, the idols of fortune, the fetishesof superstition, there must in every age 'and statehave existed a place where the empire of Might wasat an end', where the idols were no longer wor-shipped, where the fetishes were derided. Such 8,

place was the closet of the philosopher, the templeof the priest, the subterranean cave of the sectary.

4 Secret Societie«.

2. OlaS8ification of Secret Societies.-Secret so-cieties may be classed under the following heads:1. Religious: such as the Egyptian or EleusinianMysteries.-2. Military: Knights Templars.-3.«Tudiciary: Vehmgerichte.-4. Scientific: Alchy ..mists.-5. Civil: Freemasons.-6. Political: Car-bonari. But the line of division is not alwaysstrictly defined; some that had scientific objectscombined theological dogmas therewith-as theRosicrucians, for instance; and political societiesmust necessarily influence civil life. We maytherefore more conveniently range secret societiesin the two comprehensive divisions of religions andpolitical.

3. ReUgio'U8 Societies.-Religion. has had its secretsocieties from the most ancient times; they date"in fact, from the period when the true religious know-ledge-which, be it understood, consisted in theknowledge of the constitution of the universe andthe Eternal Power that had produced, and the lawsthat maintained it-possessed by the first men,began to decay among the general mass of man-kind. The' genuine knowledge was to a great ex-tent preserved in the ancient" Mysteries," thougheven these were already a degree removed from thefirst primeval native wisdom, since they repre-sented only the type, instead of the archetype;namely, the phenomena of outward temporal nature,instead of the realities of the inward eternal nature,

r

[

f,"

Introduction. 5

of which this visible universe is the outward mani-festation. Since the definition of this now recoveredgenuine knowledge is necessary for understandingmuch that was taught in the religious societies ofantiquity, we shall, further on, enter. into fullerdetails concerning it.

4. Pblitica,l Societies.-Politically secret societieswere the provident temperers and safety-valves ofthe present and the powerful levers of the future.Without them the monologue of absolutism alonewould occupy the drama of history, appearing more-over without an aim, and producingano effect, if ithad not exercised the will of man by inducing re-action and provoking resistance.lEvery secret society is an act of reflection, there-

fore of conscience. For reflection, accumulated andfixed.-is conscienoej In so far, secret societies arein a certain manner the expression of conscience inhistory. For every man has in himself a. Somethingwhich belongs to him, and which yet seems as if itwere not a thing within him, but, so to speak, with-out him. This obscure Something is stronger thanhe, and he cannot rebel against its dominion norwithdraw himself or fly from its search. This partof us is intangible; the assassin's steel, the execu-tioner's axe cannot reach it; allurements cannotseduce, prayers cannot soften, threats cannot terrifyit. It creates in us a dualism, which makes itselffelt as remorse. When man is virtuous, he feels

6 Secret Societies.

himself one, at peace with himself; ths,t obscureSomething does neither oppress, nor torture him ~just as in physical nature the powers of man's body,when working in harmony, are unfelt (11); butwhen his actions are evil; his better part rebels.Now secret societies are the expression of thisdualism reproduced on a grand scale in nations;they are that obscure Something of politics actingin the public conscience, and producing a remorse,which shows itself as "secret society," an avengingand purifying remorse. It regenerates throughdeath, and brings forth light through fire, out ofdarkness, according to eternal laws: No one discernsit, yet every man may feel it. It may be comparedto an invisible star, whose light, however, reachesus; to the heat coming from a region where nohuman foot will ever be placed, but which we feel,and can demonstrate with the thermometer.

-Indeed, one of the most obvious sentiments thatgives rise to secret societies is that of reyenge, butgood and wise revenge, different from personalrancour, unknown where popular interests are inquestion; that desires to punish institutions and notindividuals, to strike ideas and not men-the grandcollective revenge, the inheritance that fatherstransmit to their children, a pious legacy of love,th~t sanctifieshatred and enlarges the responsibilityand character of man. For there is a legitimateand necessary hatred, that of evil, which forms the

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Introduction. 7

salvation of nations. Woe to the people that -knowsnot how to hate, 'because evil is intolerance, hypo-crisy, superstition, slavery!

5. Aims of Political Societie8.-The aim of thesectaries is the erection of the ideal temple ofprogress; to fecundate in the bosom of sleeping orenslaved peoples the germs of a future liberty.This glorious edifice, it is .true, is not yet finished,and perhaps never will be, but the attempt· itselfinvests secret societies with a moral grandeur;whereas, without such aim, their struggle would bedebased into a paltry egotistical party-fight. Italso explains the existence of secret societies,though it does not perhaps justify it. For if Iam asked to give my honest opinion, I do notthink that secret societies will ever accomplishwhat they promise. As a lover of justice, I cannotbut approve of the theoretical striving after libertyand equality; but as a thinking being, judging bythe experience of the past and the nature of things,in which good and evil must exist for ever, andfor ever be at war, such striving must also forever remain without any adequate practical result.The cause of liberty, indeed, may be, and often hasbeen-e-nay, is daily being-benefited; but if uni-versal, social, and political equality were establishedto-day, it would scarcely last till to-morrow. It is un-deniable, that as long as men have unequal gifts andunequal passions, 80 long will equality among men

8 · Secret Societies.

remain a dream. And it would ·be difficult to nameany country that derived substantial and permanentbenefit from the operation of any secret politicalsociety. In fact, neither of the two states enjoying thegreatest freedom, political and social, viz. Englandand Switzerland, ever had any secret societies ofnational comprehensiveness or historical importance.It is true, when the Swiss in 1308 made themselvesfree from the Austrian yoke, thirty men had formeda pact to' effect that deliverance; they were con-spirators, and even then the~ plans were greatlymodified by the conduct and death of Gessler. AndTell did npt kill the latter because he (Tell) was amember of a secret society, and was bound to do so,but because the Austrian governor had done hima personal wrong, by aiming at his child's life.

6. Religious Secret Societies.-But the earliestsecret societies were not formed for political, so muchas for religious purposes, embracing every art andscience; wherefore religion has truly been called thearcheeology .of human knowledge, Comparativemythology reduces all the apparently contradictoryand opposite creeds to one primeval, fundamental,and true comprehension of nature and her laws;all the metamorphoses, appositions, and conver-sations of one or more gods, recorded in thesacred books of the Hindoos, Parseea, and other.nations, are indeed founded. on simple physicalfacts, disfigured and misrepresented, intentionally

1

,j

rI

r

1ntroduction. 9

or accidentally. The true comprehension of naturewas the prerogative of the most highly devel0I!edof all races of men (IO), viz. the Aryan races,whose seat was on the highest point of the moun-tain region of Asia, to the north of the Hima-layas. South of these lies the Vale of Cashmere,whose eternal spring, wonderful wealth of vege-tation, and general natural features, best adapt itto represent the earthly paradise and tha,bJ.is~fulresidence of the most highly favoured human"beings.

7. Most peT/eet human Type.- So highly favouredprecisely because nature in so favoured a spot couldonly produce a superior type; which being, as itwere, the quintessence of that copious nature, waaone with it, and therefore able to apprehend itand its fulness. For as the powers of nature havebrought forth plants and animals of differentdegrees of development and perfection, so theyhave produced various types of' men in variousstages of development; the most perfect being, asalready mentioned, the Aryan or Caucasian type,the only one that has a history, and the only onethat deserves our attention, when inquiring intothe mental history of mankind. For even wherethe C~uca~ian comes in contact and intermingleswith a dark race, as in India and Egypt, it is thewhite man with whom the higher and historicaldevelopment begins.

10 Secret Societies.

8. Iknuee of high Mental Development.-I havealready stated that climatic and other outwardcircumstances are .favourable to high development.This is universally known to be true of plants: butman is only a plant endowed with consciousnessand mobility, and therefore it must be true of him; "and, in fact, experience proves it. His organs, andespecially his brain, attain to the highest perfec-tion, and therefore he is most fully able to appre-hend nature and understand its working; hence hecan never be an ignorant barbarian, and hence hemust from the very first have possessed a know-ledge superior even to that he is now so proud of.For, as I have shown elsewhere,' all barbarismamong white races is only the sequel of a perishedcivilization. In the same publioation'' I have, alsodemonstrated what this knowledge was, and how itcame to be partly lost or perverted. But as this workwould be incomplete without at least a portion of theexplanations given in th~t publication, I must quoteso much' from those articles as will sufficeto showthat man once possessed a true knowledge of natureand her working, and ,that this is the reason why themysteries of the most distant nations had so muchin common dogmatically and ritually, and why in allso much importance was attached to certain figures

1 "Rectangular Review," vol. i. p. 404.~ Ibid. p. 446.

· Introduction. 11

and ideas, and why all were funereal. The sanctityattributed in all ages and all countries to the numberseven has not been correctly explained by any knownwriter; 1 the elucidations I shall offer on this pointwill show tha~the conformity with each other of thereligious and scientific doctrines of nations far apartmust be due to their transmission from one commonsource, though the enigmatical and mystical formsin which. this knowledge was preserved weregradually taken for the facts themselves.

The reader will now see that these remarks, theobject of which he may not have perceived at first,are not irrelevant; we cannot understand theorigin and meaning 'of what was taugh~ in themysteries without a clear apprehension of man'sprimitive culture and knowledge.

9. Pri'tnitive Oulture. - From what precedes itwill be evident that I am no disciple of the schoolthat holds that man has raised himself from a stateof barbarism to his present civilization. No, Ibelong to those who, at a distance of time whichstartles thought, discern the light of a high mentalculture and transcendent powers. As a rule, pre-historic ages seem obscure, and men fancy thatat every retrogressive step they must enter into"greater darkness: But if we proceed with our eyes

1 Except, of course, the one from whom I derive myinforIIULtion,Jacob Bohme, concerning whom, see post:


open, the darkness recedes like the horizon as weseem to approach it; new light is added to ourlight, new Buns are lit up, new auroras arise beforeus; the darkness, which is only light compacted,is dissolved into its original, viz. light; and asoutwardness implies multiplicity, and "inwardnessunity-s-there are many branches, but only one root-so all religious creeds, even those most disguisedin absurd and debasing rites and superstitions, thenearer we trace them to their source, appear ingreater and greater purity and nobility, with more"~xalted views, doctrines and aims. For as Tegnersays:

" ••• kanslan'e grnndton ar linda densamma,"The fundamental tone of feeling is ever the same.

And as the same poet expresses it, antiquity is

" •.. det Atlantis som gick underMed hdgre kraft, med iidlare begar,"... That Atlantis, that perishedWith higher powers and higher aims. .

Thus the ethic odes' of Buddha and Zoroasterhave been regarded as anticipations of the teachingof Christianity; so that even St. Augustin re-marked: "What is now called the Christian reli-gion existed among the ancients, and was notabsent from the beginning of the human race untilChrist came, from which time the true religion

Introduction. 13

which existed already began to be called Chris-tian."

Again, through all the more elevated creedsthere were certain fundamental ideas which, differ-ing and even sometimes distorted in form, may yetin a certain sense be regarded as common to all.Such were the belief in a Trinity; the dogma that the";Logos," or omnific Word, created all things bymaking the Nothing manifest; the woo-ship oflight; the doctrine of regeneration by passingthrough the fire, and others.

10. The true Doctrines of Nature and Being.-But what was the knowledge on which the teachingof the mysteries was founded? It was no lessthan that of the ground and geniture of all things;the whole state, the rise, the workings, and theprogress of all nature (16), together with the unitythat pervades heaven and earth. A few years agothis was proclaimed with great sound of trumpetsas B, new discovery, although so ancient an authoras Homer speaks, in the 8th book of the" Iliad,"of the golden chain connecting heaven and earth;the golden chain of sympathy, the occult, all-per-vading, all-uniting influence, called by a varietyof names, such as anima mund·i, mereurius philo-sophorum, Jacob's ladder, the vital magnetic series,the magician'8 fire, etc. This knowledge, in courseof time, and through man's love of change, wasgradually distorted by perverse interpretations,


and overlaid or embroidered, as it were, withfanciful creations of man's own brain; and' thusarose superstitious systems, which became thecreed of the unthinking crowd, and have not lost'their hold on the public mind, even, to this day,keeping in spiritual thraldom myriads who trembleat a thousand phantoms conjured up by priestcraftand their own ignorance, whilst

" Felix qui potuit rerum oognoscere csnsas ;Atque metus omnes et inexorabile fatumSubjecit pedibus, strepitumque Acherontis avari,"

11. Fundamental Principles of true Knowledgepossessed by the Anc-ients.-From what was taughtin the mysteries, we are justified in believing thatthe first men knew what follows; though the know-ledge is already dimmed and perverted in the mys-teries, the phenomena of outward nature only beingpresented in them, instead of the inward spiritualtruths symbolized.

i. All around us we behold the evidences of alife permeating all things; we must needs, there-fore, admit that there is a universal, all-powerful,all-sustaining life.

ii. Behind or above the primeval life which isthe basis of this system, may be beheld the" Un-moved Mover," the only supernatural ens, who, bythe Word, or " Logos," has spoken forth all thingsout of himself; which does not imply any pantheism,

1

Introduction. 15

for' the words of the speaker, though proceedingfrom him, are not the speaker himself.

iii. The universal life is eternal.iv. Matter is eternal.v. That matter is light.vi .. Whatsoever is outwardly manifest must have

existed ideally, from all eternity, in an archetypalfigure, reflected in what Indian mythology calls themirror Maja, whence are derived the terms "magus,""magia," "magic," "image," "imagination," allimplying the fixing of the primeval, structureless,living matter, in a form, figure, or creature. Inmodern theosophy, the mirror Maja is called theEternal Mirror of Wonders, the Virgin Sophia,ever bringing forth, yet ever a virgin-the analogueof the Virgin Mary.

vii. The eternal life which thus manifests itself inmatter is an intelligent life, and this visible universeis ruled by the same laws that rule the invisibleworld of forces.

viii. These laws, according to which the life mani-fests itself, are the seven properties of eternal

. nature, six working properties, and the seventh, inwhich the six, as it were, rest, or are combined intoperfect balance or harmony, i. e. paradise. ~he8eseven properties, the foundation of all the septenarynumbers running through natural phenomena andall ancient and modern knowledge, are-I. Attrac-tion; 2. Re-action or Repulsion; 3. Circulation;


4. Fire; 5. Light; 6. Sound; 7. Body, or comprisalof all.

ix. This septenary is divisible into two ternariesor poles, with the fire-symbolized by a cross-in the middle. These two poles constitute theeternal dualism or antagonism in nature-the firstthree forming matter or darkness, and producingpain and anguish, i. B. hell, cosmically winter; thelast three being filled with light and delight, i. e.paradise, cosmically summer.

x. The fire is the great chymist, or purifier andtransmuter of nature, turning darkness into light.Hence the excessive veneration and universal wor-ship paid to it by ancient nations; the priests ofZoroaster wearing a veil o~er their mouths for fearof polluting the fire with their breath. By the firehere of course is meant the empyrean, electric fire,whose existence and nature were tolerably wellknown to the ancients. They distinguished themoving principle from the thing moved, and calledthe former the igneous ether or spirit, the prin-ciple of life, the Deity, You-piter, Vulcan, Phtha,Kneph (18, 24).

xi. All light is born out of darkness, and mustpass through the fire to arrive at the light; there isno other way but through darkness, or death, or ..'hell-an idea which we find enunciated and repre-sented in all the mysteries. As little as a plantcan come forth into the beauty of blossoms, leaves,

,I

toI

, Introduction. ' 17

•

arid fruit,' without having passed through the darkstate of the seed and being buried in the earth,where it is chymically transmuted by the fire, solittle can the mind arrive at the fulness of know-ledge' and enlightenment without having passedthrough a stage of self-darkening and imprison..ment, in which it suffered torment, anguish-inwhich it was as in a furnace, in the throes ofgeneration.

12. Key to Mystic Teaching.-That the first menpossessed the knowledge of the foregoing facts iscertain, not only from the positive and .inferentialteachings of the mysteries, but also from the monu-menta of antiquity, which in grandeur of concep-tion and singleness of ideal aim, excel all that 'modern. art or ind~stry, or even faith, has accom-plished.. By bearing this in mind, the reader willget a deeper insight into the true meaning of the

"dogmas of initiation, than was attainable by theepopts themselves. He will also understand thatthe reason why there was so much uniformity inthe teaching of the mysteries, was the fact that thedogmas enunciated were explanations of universalnatural phenomena, alike in all parts of the earth.In describing the ceremonies of initiation, I shalltherefore abstain from appending to them a com-mentary or exegesis, but simply refer to the para-graphs of this introduction, as to a key.

13. Mystic Teaching summarized.-It was theo-o


logical, moral, and scientific. Theologically theinitiated were shown the error of vulgar poly..theism and taught the 'doctrine of the Unity andof B future state of reward and punishment;morally, the precepts were Bummedup in the wordsof Ohrist ; "Love thy neighbour as thyself," and inthose of Confucius: "If thou be doubtful whetheran action be right or wrong, abstain from it alto-gether ;" scientifically, the principles were such 88

we have detailed above (11), with their natural andnecessary deductions, consequences and results.

14 -. How true Knowledge came to be lod.-ThoughI have already on several occasions (e. g. 10),alluded to the fact that the true knowledge 'ofnature possessed by the first men had in course oftime become corrupted and intermixed' with error,it will not b~·amiss to show the process by whichthis 'came to pass. It is well known that theoldest religious rites of which we have any writtenrecords were Sabeean or Helio-Arkite. The sun,moon and stars, however, to the true originalepopts were merely the outward manifestationsand symbols of the inward, powers of the Etern.slLife. But such abstract truths could not be ren-dered intelligible to the vulgar mind of the increas-ing multitudes, necessarily more occupied with thesatisfaction of material wants; and hence arose thepersonification of the heavenly bodies and terrestrialseasons depending on them. Gradually, what in the

Introduction. 19

first instance had been a mere human figure of asymbol came to be looked upon as the representa-tion of an individual being that had actually livedon earth. Thus the sun to the primitive men was \the outward manifestation of the Eternal, all-sus-taining, all-saving Life; in different countries andages this power was personified under 'the names ofChrisna, Fo, Osiris, Hermes, Hercules, and 80 on;and eventually these latter were supposed to havebeen men that really existed, and had been 'deifiedon account of the benefits they had conferred onmankind. The tombs of these supposed gods wereshown, such as the Great Pyramid, said to be thetomb of Osiris; feasts were celebrated, the objectof which seemed to be to renew every year thegrief occasioned by their loss. The passing of thesun through the signs of the Zodiac gave rise tothe myths of the incantations of Vishnu, the laboursof. Hercules, &c., his apparent loss of power duringthe winter season, and the restoration thereof atthe winter solstice, to the story of' the death,descent into hell, and resurrection of Osiris, and ofMithras. In fact, what was pure nature-wisdomin one age became mythology in the next, andromance in the third, taking its characteristicsfrom the country where it prevailed. The numberseven being found everywhere, and the knowledgethat its prevalence was the necessary consequenceof the seven properties of nature being lost, it was


supposed to have reference only to the sevenplanets then known.

15. Original Spirit of the MY8terie8 and Besulie oftheir Decay.-In the mysteries all was astronomical,but a deeper meaning lay hid under the astro-mical symbols. While bewailing the loss of thesun the epopts were in reality mourning the loss ofthat light whose influence is life ; whilst the workingof the elements according to .the laws of electiveaffinity produces only phenomena of decay anddeath. The initiated strove to pass from underthe dominion of the bond-woman Night into theglorious liberty of the free-woman -Sophia ; to be.mentally absorbed into the Deity, i.e. I into theLight. The dogmas ·ofancient nature-wisdom wereset before the pupil, but their understandinghad to arise as inspiration in his soul. It was notthe dead body of science that was surrendered tothe epopt, leaving it to chance whether it quickenedor not, but the living spirit itself was infused intohim. .But for.this reason, because more had to beapprehended from within by inspiration than fromwithout by oral instruction, the Mysteries graduallydecayed; the ideal yielded to the realistic, and themerely physical elements-c-Sabeeism and Arkism-became their leading features. The frequentemblems and mementos in the sanctuary of deathand resurrection, pointing to the mystery that themoments of highest psychical enjoyment. are the

•

•

Introduction. 21

most destructive to bodily existence-i. e. that themost intense delight is a glimpse of paradise-theseemblems and mementos eventually were appliedto outward nathre only, and their misapprehensionled to all the creeds or superstitions that havefilled the earth with crime and woe, sanguinarywars, internecine cruelty, and persecution of everykind. Blood-thirsty fanatics, disputing about wordswhose meaning they did not understand, 'maintain-ing antagonistic dogmas, false on both sides, haveinvented the most fiendish tortures to compel theiropponents to adopt their own views. While the twoMahommedan sects of Omar and Ali will fight eachother to decide whether ablution ought to commenceat the wrist or the elbow, they will unite to slay orto convert the Christians. Nay, even these latter,divided into sects without number, have distin-guished themselves by persecutions as cruel as anyever practised by so-called pagan nations. Notsatisfied with attempting to exterminate by fire andsword Turks and Jews, one Christian sect esta-blished such a tribunal as the Inquisition; whilstits opponents, scarcely less cruel when they hadthe power, deprived the Roman Catholics of theircivil rights, and occasionally executed them, Theirmutual hatred even attends them in their mis-sionary efforts-e-very poor in their results, inspite of the sensational reports manufactured bythe societies at home for extracting money from the

2! Secret Societies.

public. To mention but one instance: 8 leadingmissionary endeavoured to prejudice the Polyne-sians in advance against some expected RomanCatholic missionaries by translating Foxe's "Bookof Martyrs" into their language, and illustrating itsscenes by the aid of a magic-lantern.

16. The Mysteries under their Astronomical Aspect.-But seeing that the mysteries, as they have comedown to us, and are still perpetuated, in a corruptedand aimless manner, in Freemasonry, have chieflyan astronomical bearing, a few general remarks onthe leading principles of all will save a deal ofneedless repetition in describing them separately.

In the most ancient Indi~n creed we have the storyof the fall of mankind by tasting of the fruit of the treeof knowledge and their consequent expulsion fromParadise. And, read in its mysterious and astrono-mical aspect, the narrative of the Fall, as given inthe Book of Genesis, would assume some such form8S the following. Adam, which does not mean anindividual, but the universal man, mankind, and hiscompanion Eve, which means life, having passedspring and summer in the Garden of Eden, neces-

.sarily reached the season when the serpent, Typhon(47), the symbol of winter, points out on the celestialsphere that the reign of Evil, of ~inter, is approach-ing. Allegorical science, which insinuated itselfeverywhere, caused malum, "evil," also to mean an"apple," the produce of autumn, which indicates that

Introduction. 23

the harvest is over, and that man in the sweat of hisbrow must again till the earth. The cold seasoncomes, and he must cover himself with the allegoricalfig-leaf. The sphere revolves, the man of the constel-lation Bootes, the same as Adam, preceded by thewoman, the Virgin, car-rying inher hand the autumnalbranch laden with fruit, seems to be allured or be-guiled by her. A sacred bough or plant is intro-duced into all the mysteries. We have the Indianand Egyptian lotus, the fig-tree of Atys, the myrtleof Venus, the mistletoe of the Druids, the goldenbough of Virgil, the rose-tree of Isis ;-in the"Golden Ass" Apuleius is restored to his naturalform by eating :t:0ses-the box of Palm-Sunday, andthe acacia of freemasonry. The bough in the opera"Roberto il Diavolo " is the Ieystic bough of themysteries.

17. Astronomical Aspects contin'Ued.-The Mys-teriesf'u,nereal.-In all the mysteries we encountera, god, a superior being, or an extraordinary mansuffering death to recommence a more gloriousexistence; everywhere the remembrance of a grandand mournful event plunges the nations into griefand mourning, immediately followed by the mostlively joy. Osiris is slain by Typhon, Uranus bySaturn, Sousarman by Sudra, Adonis by a, wildboar j Ormuzd is conquered by Ahrimanes; Atys andMithras and Hercules kill themselves; Abel is slainby Cain, Balder by Loke, Bacchus by the giants;


the Assyrians mourn the death of Thammnz, theScythians and Phoeniciansthat of Acmon, all naturethat of the great Pan, the ~reemasons that of Hiram,and so on. The origin of this universal belief hasalready been pointed out.

IS.". Uniformity of Dogmas.-The doctrine of theUnity and Trinity was inculcated in all the mys-teries. In many religious creeds we meet with akind of travesty of the Christian dogmay.in which a,

virgin is seen bringing forth a saviour: and yet everremaining a virgin (11). In the more outward sens~,that· virgin is the Virgo of the zodiac, and thesavi-our brought forth is the sun (17); in the most inwardsense, it is the eternal ideal, wherein the eternallife and intelligence, the power of electricity, andthe virtue of the tincture, the first the susbainer,the latter the beautifier of apprehensible existence,are, as it were, co.rporifiedin the countless creaturesthat fill this universe-yea, in the universe itself.And the virgin remains a 'virgin, and her own natureis not affected by it, just as the air brings forthBounds, the light colours, the mind ideas, withoutany of them being intrinsically altered by the pro-duction. We certainly do not find these principlesso fully and distinctly enunciated in the teaching ofthe ancient mystagogues, but a primitive know-ledge of them may be inferred from what they didteach.

In all the. mysteries, light was represented as

,~ .'I'

~

Introduction. 25

born out of darkness. Thus reappears the Deitycalled now Maja Bhawani, now KAli, Isis, Ceres,Proserpina; Persephone, the Queen of Heaven,is the night from whose bosom issues life, intowhich the life returns, a secret reunion of life anddeath. She is, moreover, called the Rosy, and inthe German myths the Rosy is called the restoringprinciple of life. She is not only the night, but, asmother of the sun, she is also the aurora, behindwhom the stars are shining. When she symbolizesthe earth as Ceres, she is represented with earsof corn: Like the sad Proserpine, she is .beau-tiful and lustrous, but also melancholy- and black.Thus she joins night with day, joy with sadness, thesun with the moon, heat with humidity, the divinewith the human. The ancient Egyptians often repre-sented the Deity by a black stone, and the black

.stone Ka8.bah,worshipped by the Arabs, and whichis described as having originally been whiter thansnow, and more brilliant than the SUD, embodiesthe same idea, with the additional hint that lightwas anterior to darkness. In all the mysteries wemeet with the cross (49) as a symbol of purificationand salvation j. the numbers three, four, and sevenwere sacred; in most of the mythologies we meetwith two pillars; mystic banquets were common toall, as also the trials by fire, water, and air; thecircle and triangle, single and double, everywhererepresented the dualism or polarity of nature; in


all the initiations, the aspirant represented the goodprinciple, the light, overcome by evil, the darkness;and his task was to regain his former supremacy, tobe born again or regenerated, by passing throughdeath and hell and their terrors, that were scenicallyenacted during the neophyte's passage throughseven caves, or ascent of seven steps. All this,in its deepest -meaning, represented the eternalstruggle of light to free itself. from the encum-brance of materiality it has put on ill its pas-sage through the seven properties of eternal na-ture (11); and in its secondary meaning, whenthe deeper one was lost to mankind, the progressof the sun through the seven signs of the zodiac,from Aries to Libra, as shown in Royal ArchMasonry, and also in the ladder with sevensteps of the Knight of KSdosh. In all the mys-teries the officers·were the same, and personifiedastronomical or cosmical phenomena; in all, theinitiated recognized each other by signs and pass-words; in all, the conditions for initiation were thesame-maturity of age and purity of conduct. Nero,on this account, did not dare, when in Greece, tooffer himself as a candidate for initiation into theEleusinian mysteries. In many,- the chief hiero-phant was compelled to lead a retired life of per-petual celibacy, that he might be entirely at libertyto devote himself to the study and contemplation ofcelestial things. And to accomplish this abstrac-

..l{iI

rIntroduction. 27

tion, it was customary for the priests, in the eerlierperiods of their history, to mortify the flesh by theuse of certain herbs, which were reputed to possessthe virtue of repelling all passionate excitements;to guard against which they even occasionallyadopted severer and more decided precautions.In all countries where mysteries existed, initia-tion came to be looked upon as much a necessityas afterwards baptism among Christians; whichceremony, indeed, is one that had been practised inall the mysteries. The initiated were called epopts,i.e. those that see things. as they are; whilstbefore they were caJ.led "mystes," meaning quitethe contrary. In all we find greater and less mys-teries, an exoteric and an esoteric doctrine, andthree degrees. To betray the mysteries was' every-where considered infamous, and the heaviest penal-ties were attached to it; hence also, in all initia-tions, the candidate had to take the most terribleoaths that he would keep the secrets entrusted tohim. Alcibiades was banished and consigned to theFuries for having revealed the mysteries of Ceres;Prometheus, Tantalus, (Edipus, Orpheus, sufferedvarious punishments for the same reason.

19. Secret Societies no longer needed.-Thanks tosecret societies themselves, they are now no longerneeded, at least not in the realms of thought. Inpolitics, however, circumstances will arise in everyage to call them into existence; and though they

.!

.1


seldom attain their direct object, yet are they notwithout influence on the relations between ruler andruled, advantageously for the latter in the long run,though not immedia.tely. But thought, religious,philosophical and political, is free-if not as yet inevery country, it is so certainly in the lands inhabitedby the Saxon races. And though the bigot and thefool would crush it, the former because it under-mines his absolutism, and the latter because it in-terferes with his ease, yet shall it only grow strongerby the opposition. Science becomes the strong bul-wark against the invasion of dogmatic absurdities;and there is growing up a scientific church, whereinknowledge, and not humility, labour, and not pen-ance and fasting, are,considered essentials. Variousphenomena in modern life are proofs of this. Butif man during ages of intellectual gloom annihilatedhimself in behalf of the great deified All, he willnot, in better times, deny God what he owes Him;in his homage to God he studies and respects him-self, destroys the fetishes, and combats for truth,which is the word of God. He could not deny thedivine without denying himself.

In ancient times the mind rose from religion tophilosophy; in our times, by a violent re-action, itwill ascend from philosophy to religion. And themen whose religion is so arrived at, whose universalsympathy has cast out fear-such men are the trueregenerators of mankind, and need neither secret

Introduction. 29

signs nor pass-words to recognize each other; infact they are opposed to all such devices, because theyknow that liberty consiats in publicity. Whereverliberty rules, secresy is no longer necessary to effectany good and useful work; once it needed secret so-cieties in order to triumph, now it wants open unionto maintain itself. Not that the time is come whenevery truth may be uttered without fear of calumnyand cavil and opposition, especially in religiousmatters; far from it, as some recent notable in-stances have shown. The words of Faust still havetheir application :-

" Who dare call the child by its right name PThe few that knew something of it,And foolishly opened their hearts,Revealing to the vulgar crowd their views,Wer~ ever crucified or burnt."

Oertes, bodily crucifying or burning are out of thequestion now, but statecraft, a~d especially priest-craft, still have a few thumbscrews and red-hot ironsto hold a man's hands or sear his reputation; where-fore, though I doubt the policy, and in most .casesthe success, of secret association, yet I cannot with-hold my tribute of admiration for those who haveacted or do act up to the words of the poet Lowell :

"They are slaves who dare not speakFo!' the fallen and the weak:;They are slaves who will not chooseHatred, scoffing, and abuse,

3.0 Secret Societies.

Bather than in silence shrinkFrom the truth they needs must think;They are the slaves who dare not beIn the right with two or three."

•.

BOOK I.

ANCIENT MYSTERIES.

or man's original relation to nature, whence we start, inorder to render the essentials of physical science and ns-ture comprehensible in their inmost depth, we find but ob-scure hints. In the mysteries and the holy initiations ofthose nations that as yet were nearest to the primeval people,the mind apprehends a few scarcely intelligible sounds,which, arising deep from the nature or our being, move itmightily. How our hearts are wrung by the mournfulsounds of the first human race and of nature; how theyare stirred by an exalted nature ..worship, and penetrated bythe breath of an eternal inspiration! We shall hear thatsuppressed sound from the temple of Isis, from the speakingpillars of Ihot, in the hymns of the Egyptian priests. Onthe lonely coast under the black rocks of Iceland the Eddawill convey to us a sound from the graves, and fancy shallbring us face to facewith those priests who by a stern silence . •have concealed from future ages the holy science of theirworship. Yea, the eye shall yet discover the lost featuresor the noble past in the altars of Mexico,and on the pyra-mid which saw the blood and tears of thousands of humanvictims.

83

AUTHORITIES.

Hyde. De Religione Veterum Persarum. Oxford, 1700..Anquetil. Zend-Avesta; ouvrage de Zoroastre traduit.

Paris, 1771.J. G. Rhode. Die heilige Sage. Frankfort on the Maine,

1820.Wullers. Fragmente fiber die Religion Zoroasters. Bonn,

1831.Oattaneo,' O. Le Origini Italiche illastrate coi Iibri saQri/'

dell' antica Persia. ,,'De Hammer, Mem. sur Ie Oulte de Mi~ .Paria, 1833.ueu«. Mithras. Wiesbaden,1833. /Eichhorn. De Deo Sole Invicto Mithra.Payne Knight. Inquiry. into the Ssmbol Language.071,. Lassen. Gymnosophista. Bonn, 1832•

. Windischmann. De Theologumenis Vedanticorum. Bonn,1833.

Oolebrooke. Essay on the Philosophy of India. 1853.Jone«. Extracts from the Vadas.Iamblichm. De Mysteriis lEgypt.Saint- Victor. Mysteries of Antiquity. Iapahan, 178~.Creuze». Symbolik. Leipsic.Pritchard. Analysis of Egyptian Mythology.Rlitter. History of Ancient Philosophy.Stuhr. Religions-Systeme der Hellenen.Taylor. Dissertation on Eleusinian and BaechleMysteries.

London, 1770.Schelling. Ueber die GBtter von Samothrace.Dioqenee Laerti'Us.Robin. Recherches sur les Initiations Anciennes et

Modernes. Paris, 1779.Ouwarof. Essais sur les Mysteres d'Eleusis. Paris, 1816.

D


Ma'l"cow Bt M01JUet. L'Hierophante, Paris, 1839.Barth. Ueber die Drniden. Erlau, 1826.Fricki'IU. Oommentatio de Druidis, "Ulm, 1744.F'orcito. Prose Letterarie, vol. ii.H'iggim. Celtic Druids. London, 1829.Lewis. Antiquities of the Hebrew Republic.

1724.JenninglJ. Jewish Antiquities. London, 1766.Meye,.. Der Tempel Solomons. Berlin, 1830.Fellows. The Mysteries of Freemasonry. London, 1860.Olive,.. Theocratic Philosophy. London, 1840.Olive,.. History of Initiation. London, 1829.Mackey. Lexiconor Freemasonry, 1867.Bredtn», Handbuch der alten Geschichte. Altona, 1837.Schubert. Nachtseite der Naturwissenschaft. Leipzig,

1850.Lesley. Man's Origin. Philadelphia, 1868.Faber. Mysteries of the Cabiri. Oxford, 1803.Fabe,.. Hone Mosaicm. Oxford, 1801.Bra~,e'Ull". Collection de Documents, &0. Paris, 1861.Volney. Ruins of Empires.Ragon. Cours Philosophique des Initiations Anciennes et

Modernes. Paris, 1841.F'ab,·e eous«. La Langue Hebraique Restituee. Paris,

1815.

London,

TtJ l0,.. Primitive Culture. London, 1871.

j

i

I.

THE MAGI.

20.

lIlERIVATION of the term Magus.-Magus is derived from Maja, the mirror(11) wherein Brahm, according to In-

•. • dian mythology, from all eternity be-holds himself and all his power and wonders. Hencealso our terms magia, magic, image, imagination, allimplying the fixing in a form, figure or creature-s-these words being synonymous-of the potenciesof the primeval, structureless, living matter. TheMagus therefore is one that makes the operations ofthe Eternal Life his study.

21. Antiquity of the Magi.-The Magi, as theancient priests of Persia were called, did not con-stitute a doctrine or religion only; they constituteda monarchy-their power truly was that of kings.And this fact is still commemorated by the circum-


stance that the Magi recorded to have been led .bythe star to the cradle of Jesus are just as fre-quently called kings as Magi. As sages, theywere kings in the sense of Horace:

"Ad summam, sapiens uno minor est Jove, dives,Liber, honoratus, pulcher, rex denique regum."

Their pontifical reign preceded the ascendancy of.Assyria, Media, and Persia. Aristotle asserts it tohave been more ancient than the foundation of thekingdom of Egypt; Plato, unable to reckon it byyears, computes it by myriads. At the present daymost writers agree in dating the rise of the reign ofthe Magi five thousand years before the Trojan war.

22. Zoroaste'f.-The founder of the order wasZoroaster, who was not, as some will have it, acontemporary of Darius, but lived nearly seventycenturies before our era. Nor was his home inIndia, but in Bactriana, which lies more to theeast, beyond the' Caspian Sea, close to the moun-,tains of India, along the great rivers Oxus andIaxartes; so that the Brahmins, or priests of India,may be called the descendants of the Magi.

23. Doctrine of Zoroaster.-His doctrine was themost perfect and rational of all those that in ancienttimes were the objects of initiation, and has more orless survived in all successive theosophies. Tracesof it may be found in the ancient Zendavesta-notthe book now passing by that name, which is merely

,,

Ancient Mysteries. 37

8, kind of breviary-e-which entered into all the de-tails of nature.

This doctrine is not the creed of the two opposite,but equally powerful principles, as has been asserted;for Ahrimanes, the principle of evil, is not equalwith Oromaaes, which is good. Evil is not uncreatedand eternal; it is rather transitory and limited inpower. And Plutarch records an opinion, which anonwe shall see confirmed, *at Ahrimanes and his angelsshall be annihilated-that dualism is not eternal;its life is in time, of which it constitutes thegrand drama, and in which it is the perennialcause"of motion and transformation. This is truephilosophy, and fully in accordance with the funda-mental principles of nature (11).

The Supreme Being, or Eternal Life, is elsewherecalled Time without limits, for no origin can beassigned to him; enshrined in his glory, and pos-sessing properties and attributes inapprehensible byour understanding, to him belongs silent adoration.

Creation had a beginning by means of emana-tion. The first emanation from the Eternal was thelight, whence issued the King of Light, Oromazes.By means of speech Oromazes created the pureworld, of which he is the preserver and judge.Oromazes is a holy and celestial being, ~ntelligenceand knowledge.. Oromazes, the first-born of Time without limits,

began by creating after his image and likeness,


six genii, called amshaspands, that. surround histhrone, and are his messengers to the inferior spiritsand to men, being also to the latter types of purityand perfection.

The second series of creations by Oromazes wasthat of the twenty-eight izads, that watch over thehappiness, innocence and preservation of the world;.modelaof virtue, interpreters of the prayers of men.

The third host of pure spirits is more numerous,and forms that of the farohare J the thoughts of Oro-mazes, or the ideas conceived by him before pro-ceeding to the creation of things. Not only the faro-hare of holy men and innocent infants stand beforeOromazes, but thia latter himself has his forohar,the personification of his wisdom and beneficent idea,his reason, his logos. These spirits hover over thehead of every man; and this idea passed over to theGreeks and Romans, and we meet with it again inthe familiar spirit of Socrates, the evil genius ofBrutus, and the genius comes of Horace.

The threefold creation of good spirits was thenecessary consequence of the contemporan~ous de-veiopment of the principle of evil. The second-born of the Eternal, Ahrimanes, emanated likeOromazes from the primitive light, and was purelike it, h':lt being ambitious and haughty, hebecame jealous. To punish him, the SupremeBeing condemned him to dwell for twelve thousandyears in the region of darkness, a time which was


to be sufficient to end the strife between· good .andevil; but Ahrimanes created countless evil ~iiJthat filled the earth with misery, disease and guilt.The evil spirits are impurity, violence, covetous-ness, cruelty; the demons of cold, hunger, poverty,leanness, sterility, ignorance; and the most per-verse of all, Peetaeh, the demon of calumny,'

Oromazes, after a reign of three thousand years,created the material world in six periods, in thesame order as they are found in Genesis, succes-sively calling into existence the terrestrial light(not to be confounded with the celestial), the water,the earth, plants, animals and man." Ahrimanesassisted in the formation of earth and water, be-cause the darkness had already invaded thoseelements, and Oromazes could not conceal them.Ahrimanes also took part in the creation and sub-sequent corruption and destruction of man, whomOromazes had produced by an act of his will andby the Word. Out of the seed of that beingOromazes afterwards drew the first human pair,Meshia and Meshiane; but Ahrimanes first seducedthe woman and then the man, leading them iJlto

'evil chiefly by the eating of certain fruits. And

1 All these traditions show already a very great de-parture f:rom, and decay of, the original knowledge pos-sessed by the primitive men. See" Introduction."

2 Or rather a being compounded of a man and a bull.

40 Secret Societies. .

not only did he alter the nature of man, but alsothat of animals, opposing insects, serpents, wolves,and all kinds of vermin to the good animals, thusspreading corruption over the face of the earth.But Ahrimanes and his evil spirits are eventuallyto be overcome and cast out from every place; andin the stem combat just and industrious men havenothing to fear; for according to Zoroaster, labouris the exterminator of evil, and that man best obeysthe righteous judge of all who' assiduously tills theearth and causes it to bring forth harvests andfruit-bearing trees. .At the end of twelve thousandyears, when the earth shall cease to be afflicted bythe evils brought upon it by the spirits of darkness,three prophets shall appear and assist man withtheir power and knowledge, restoring the earth toits pristine beauty, judging the good and the evil,and conducting the first into a region of ineffablebliss. Ahrimanes, and the captive demons andmen, shall be purified in a sea of liquid metal, and.the law of Oromazes shall rule everywhere.

It is 'scarcely necessary to point out to thereader the astronomical bearing of the theogony ofZoroaster. The six good genii represent the sixsummer months, while the evil.genii stand for thewinter months, The twenty-eight izads are thedays of a lunar month. But theosophically, the sixperiods during which the universe was createdrefer to the siX working properties of nature.

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24. The Light wo"shipped.-We have Been thatZoroaster taught light to be the first emanation of

. the Eternal Life; hence in the Parsee writings, 'light, the perennial flame, is the symbol of theDeity or uncreated Life. Hence the M~gi andParsees have been called fire-worshippers. But theformer saw and the latter see in the fire not adivinity, but simply the cause of heat- and motion,thus anticipating the most recent discoveries ofphysical science, or rather, remembering some ofthe lost knowledge. The Parsees did not formany God, to call him the one true God; they did

'not invoke any authority extrinsic to life; theydid not rely on any uncertain tradition; but amidstall the recondite forces of nature, they chose theone that governs them all, that reveals itself by themost tremendous effects.

25. Origin of the word Deus, God.-In this sensethe Magi, as well as the Chinese, had no theology,or they had one that is distinguished from allothers., Those Magi that gave their name to occult'science (magic) performed no sorcery and believedin no miracles. In the bosom of Asiatic immo-bility they did not condemn motion, but ratherconsidered it as the glorious symbol of the EternalCause. Other castes aimed at impoverishing thepeople and subjecting it to the yoke of ignoranceand superstition; but thanks to the Magi, theIndian Olympus, peopled with monstrous creatures,


gave place to the conception of the unity of God,which always indicates progress in the history ofthought. The text of the most ancient Zendliterature acknowledges but one creative ens of allthings, and his name, Dao, signifies "light" and" wisdom," and is explained by the root doer, "toshine," whence are derived all such words as deus,dies, &c. The conception of Deity indeed was pri-marily that of the "bright one," whence also theSanskrit dyaus, "sky," which led to so many mytho-logical fables. But the original idea was foundedon a correct perception of the origin and nature ofthings, for light is truly the substance of allthings; all matte~ is only a compaction of light.Thus the Magi founded a moral system and anempire; they had a literature, a science and apoetry. Five thousand years before the "Iliad,"they put forth the "Zendavesta," three grandpoems, the first ethical, the second military, andthe third scien1afic.

26. Mode of Initiation.-The candidate for initia-tion was prepared by numerous lustrations with fire,water, and honey. The number of probations he hadto pass through was very great, and ended with afast of fifty days' continuance. These trials had tobe endured in a subterranean cave, where he wascondemned to perpetual silence and total solitude.This novitiate in some instances was ·attended withfatal effects, in others the candidate became par-


bially or wholly deranged; those who surmountedthe trials were eligible to the highest honours. Atthe expiration of the novitiate, the candidate wasbrought forth into the cavern of initiation, wherehe was armed with enchanted armour by his guide,who was the representative of Simorgh, a monstrousgriffin (27), and an important agent in the ma-chinery of Persian mythology, and furnished withtalism~ns, that he might be ready to encounter allthe hideous monsters raised up by the evil spiritsto impede his progress. Introduced into an innerapartment, he was purified with fire and water, andput through the seven stages of initiation. First,he beheld a deep and dangerous vault from theprecipice where he stood, into which a single falsestep might throw him down to the "throne ofdreadful necessity,"-the first three properties ofnature. Groping his way through the mazes of thegloomy cavern, he soon beheld the sacred fire atintervals flash through its recesses and illuminatehis path; he also heard the distant yelling of ra-venous beasts-the roaring of lions, the howling ofwolves, the fierce and threatening bark of dogs.But his attendant, who maintained a profoun~silence, hurried him forward towards the quarterwhence these sounds proceeded, and at the suddenopening of a door he found himself in a den of wildbeasts, dimly lighted with a single lamp. He wasimmediately attacked by the initiated in the forms


of lions, tigers, 'Wolves,griffins, and other monstrousbeasts, ,from whom he seldom escaped unhurt.Thence he passed into another cavern, shrouded indarkness, where he heard the terrific roaring ofthunder and saw vivid and continuous flashes oflightning, which in streaming sheets of fire renderedvisible the flitting shades of avenging genii, re-senting his mtruaion into their chosen abodes.To restore the candidate a little, he was next -oon-ducted into another apartment, where his excitedfeelings were soothed with melodious music and theflavour of grateful perfumes. On his expressinghisreadiness to proceed through the remaining ceremo..nies, a signal was given by his conductor, and threepriests immediately :rpade their appearance, one ofwhom cast a living serpent into his bosom as a tokenof regeneration (57); and, a private door having beenopened, ·there issued forth such howlings and criesof lamentation and dismay,' as struck him withnew and indescribable emotions of terror. Onturning his eyes to the place whence these noisesproceeded, he beheld exhibited in every appallingform the torments of the wicked in Hades. Thushe was passed through the devious labyrinth con-sisting of seven spacious vaults, connected by wind..

. ing galleries, each opening with a narrow stone por-tal, the scene of some perilous adventure, until hereached the Sacellum, or Holy of Holies, whichwas brilliantly illuminated, and which sparkled

Ancient Mysteries. 45'

with gold and precious stones. A splendid sunand starry system moved in accordance with deli-cious music. The archimagus sat in the east ona throne of burnished gold, crowned with a richdiadem decorated with myrtle-boughs, and habitedin a tunic of bright cerulean hue; round him wereassembled.the preesules and dispensers of the mys-teries. By these the novice was received with con-gratulations, and after having entered into the usualengagements for keeping secret the rites of Zoro-aster, the sacred words were entrusted to him, ofwhich the Tetractys, or name of God,was the chief.The Tetractys of Pythagoras is analogous to theJewish Tetragrammaton, or name of the Deity.infour letters. The number four was considered themost perfect, because in the first. four propertiesof nature (11) are comprised and implied all therest; wherefore also the first four numbers summedup make up the decad, after which all is' only repe-tition.

27. Myth of Rustam.-This progress was deno-minated ascending the ladder of perfection, andfrom it has arisen the tale of Rustam, the PersianHercules, who, mounted on the monster Rakshi,which is the~Arabic name of Simorgh, undertakesthe conquest of Mazendaraun, celebrated as a per-fect earthly paradise. Having amidst many dangersfought his way along a road of seven stages, hereaches the cavern of the White Giant, who smites


all that assail him with blindness. But. Rustamovercomes him, and with three drops of the giant'sblood restores sight to all his captives. The sym-bolical three drops of blood had their counterpartsin all the mysteries of the ancient world. In Britainthe emblem was three drops of water; in Mexico,as in this legend, three drops of blood; in India, abelt composed of three triple threads; in China, thethree strokes of the letter Y, &c. The blindnesswith which those who seek the giant are smitten,of course refers to the emblematic mental blindnessof the aspirant to initiation.

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II.

THE MITHRAICS.

28.'BlYSTERIES of Mithras.-Upon the

trunk of a religion so spiritual andhostile to idolatry, which undertookiconoclastic expeditions into Babylonia,

Assyria, Syria, and Lybia, which vindicated the pureworship of God, destroying by means of the swordof Cambyses the Egyptian priesthood, which over-threw the temples and idols of Greece, which gaveto the Israelites the Pharisees, which appears sosimple and pure as to have bestowed on the Parsecsthe appellation of the Puritans of antiquity, and onCyrus that of the Anointed of the Lord-on thistrunk there were afterwards ingrafted idolatrousbranches, as perhaps the Brahminio, and certainlythe Mithraic worship, the origin of which latterDupuis places at 4,500 years before Christ.

.48 Secret Societies.

29. Origin of Mithraic W'orehip,- Mithras is 8

beneficent genius presiding over the sun, the mostpowerful izad, invoked together with the sun, andnot at fir-stconfounded with it; the chief mediatorand intercessor between Oromazes and man. Butin course of time the conception of this Mithras be-came perverted, and he usurped the attributes ofdivinity. Such usurpation of the rank of the supe-.rior Deity on the part of the inferior is of frequentoccurrence in mythology; it suffices to refer toSiva and Vishnu in India, Serapis in Egypt, Ju-piter in Greece. The perversion was rendered easyby confounding the symbol with the thing sym-bolized, the genius of the sun with the sun itself,which alone remained in the language, since themodern Persian name of the sun (mihr) representsthe regular modification of the Zend Mithras.

The Persian Mithras must not be confounded withthat of India, for it is undoubted that anotherMithras, different from the Zendic, from the mostancient times was the object of a special mysteriousworship, and that the initiated knew him as the SUD.

Taking the letters of the Greek word "Meithras"at their numerical value, we obtain the number 365,the days of the year. The same holds good of" Abraxas," the name which Basilides gave to theDeity, and further of "Belenos," the namevgivento the SUD in Gaul.

30. Dogmas, §-c.-On the Mithraio monuments


we find representations of the globe of the sun, theclub and bull, symbols of the highest truth, thehighest creative activity, the highest vital power.

~Such a trinity agrees with that of Plato, whichconsists of .the Supreme' Good, the Word, and theSoul of the World; with that of Hermes Trisme-gistus, consisting of Light, Intelligence, and Soul ;with' that of Porphyry, which consists of Father,Word, and Supreme Soul.

According to Herodotus, Mithras became the r'".Mylitta of Babylon, the Assyrian Venus, to whomwas paid an .2!>sceneworship as to the female prin-ciple of creation, the goddess of fecundity, of life;one perhaps with Anaitis, the Armenian goddess.

The worship of the Persian Mithras, or Apollo,'spread over Italy,1 Gaul, Germany, Britain; and ex-piring polytheism .opposed to the sun Christ, thesun Mithras.

31. Rites of Initiation.-The sanctuaries of thisworship were always subterranean, and in eachsanctuary was placed a ladder with seven steps,by which one ascended to the mansions of felicity.

1 Underneath the church of St. Clement, at Rome, asingularly well-preserved temple of Mithras was discoveredsome years ago. When the monk who had, on my visit toRome, shown me the church above, said that he would nowtake me down to the pagan temple of Mithras, I could nothelp saying to myself, "If you but knew it, Mithras isabove as well as below!".

1


The initiations into this degree were similar tothose detailed in the foregoing section, but, if pos-sible, more severe than into any other, and fewpassed through all the tests. The festival of the ~god was held towards the middle of the month ofMihr (October), and the probationer had to undergolong and severe trials before he was admitted tothe full knowledge of the mysteries.

The first degree was inaugurated with purifyinglustrations, and a sign was ijet on the neophyte'sbrow, whilst he offered to the god a loaf and a cupof water. A crown was presented to him on thepoint of a sword, and he put it on' his head saying," Mithras is my crown."

In the second degree the aspirant put on armourto meet giants and monsters, and a wild chase took'place in the subterranean caves. The Jtriests andofficers of the temple, disguised as lions, tigers,leopards, bears, wolves, and other wild beasts,attacked the candidate with fierce howlings. Inthese sham fights the aspirant ran great personaldanger, though sometimes the priests caught aTartar. Thus we are told that the Emperor Com-modus on his initiation carried the joke too far,and slew one of the priests who had assailed himin the form of a wild beast.

In the next degree he put on a, mantle on whichwere painted the signs of the zodiac. A curtainthen concealed him from the sight of all; but thisbeing withdrawn, he appeared surrounded by

Ancient M'!I8te~ie8.

frightful griffins. After passing through othertrials, if his courage did not fail him, he was hailedas a, "Lion of Mithras," in allusion to the zodiacalsign in which the sun attained his greatest power.We meet with the same idea in the degree-ofMaster Mason. The grand secret was then im-parted. What was it? At this distance of time itis difficult to decide, but we may assume that thepriests communicated to him the most authenticsacerdotal traditions, the best accredited theoriesconcerning the origin of the universe, and the attri-butes, perfections, and works of Oromazes. Infact, the Mithraic mysteries represent the progressof darkness to light. According to Guignault,Mithras is love; with regard to the Eternal, he isthe son of mercy; with regard to Oromazes andAhrimanes, the fire of love.

32. Rites derived from Magisn".-This was notthe sole heresy, the only secret society that issued Y'\,from the womb of Magism.; and its rites gradually -vl'became so corrupt as to serve as a cloak for themost licentious practices, which were at lengthsanctioned and even encouraged in the mysteries.Further, it became an axiom in .religion that th~oft'springof a son and a mother was the best caicu-)lated for th~ officeof a priest. Traces of Magismare also found in the speculations of Manes, theReligion of Love, and the secret history of theTemplars.

51

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III.

BRAHMINS AND GYMNOSOPHISTS.

33.

•

ULGAR Greed of India.-The Indian re-ligion, whether we look on it as an adul-teration of Magism, or as the commontrunk of all Asiatic theosophy, offers so

boundless a wealth of 'deities, that no other in thisrespect can approach it. This wealth is an infal-lible sign of the mental poverty and grossness ofthe people, who, ignorant of the laws of nature,and terrified at its phenomena, acknowledged as'many supernatural beings as there were mysteriesfor them. The Brahmins reckon up 300,000 gods-a frightful host, that have kept Indian life servileand stagnant, perpetuated the divisions of caste,upheld ignorance, and weighed like ~n incubus onthe breasts of their deluded dupes, and turnedexistence into a, nightmare of grief and servitude.

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f.


34. Secret Doctrines.-But in the secret sanctuarythese vain phantoms disappear, and the initiatedare taught to look upon them as countless accidentsand outward manifestations of the First Cause.The Brahmins did not consider the people fit toapprehend and preserve in its purity the religion ofthe spirit, he~ce they veiled it in these figures, andalso invented a language incomprehensible to thevulgar, but which the investigations of Orientalscholars have enabled us to read, and to perceivethat the creed of India is one of the purest everknown to man. Thus in the second chapter of thefirst part of the "Vishnu Purana," it is written:"God is without form, epithet, definition, or de-scription; free from defect, incapable of annihilation,change, grief, or pain. We can only say that he, thatis, the Eternal Being, is God. Vulgar men think thatGod is in the water; the more enlightened, in celes-tial bodies; the ignorant, inwood and stone; but thewise, in the universal mind." The" Mahanirvana,"says :-" Numerous figures, corresponding with thenature of divers powers and quality, ware inventedfor the benefit of those who are wanting in sufH...cient understanding." Again," We have nonotion of how the Eternal Being is to be described;he is above all the mind can apprehend, abovenature. . . . That Only One that was never definedby any language, and gave to language all itsmeaning, he is the Supreme Being . . and no


partial thing that man worships. This Beingextends over all things. He is mere spirit withoutcorporeal form; without. extension of any size, un-impressionable, and without any organs; he is pure,perfect, omniscient, omnipresent, the ruler of the in-tellect . . . he is the soul of the whole universe."

35. Brahma and Buddha.-The polytheism ofIndia branched off into two great sects,-Budd-hists and Brahminists,-each possessing distinctivecharacteristics. Allusions to this separation arefound in the Legend of the Temple; and there areother divisions in theological nomenclature whichrespectively refer to the traditions of those grandsections. The Indians, the Greeks (except Pyth-agoras, who was to some extent a Buddhist), andthe Britons, were Brahminists; whilst the Chinese,Japanese, Persians, and Saxons, were Buddhists.The Buddhists were Magians, the Brahminists'Sabeeans. The famous Buddhist doctrine of Nir-vana or Nihilism-so totally misapprehended, aslong as.it was supposed to mean total annihilation-is profoundly theosophical, and really means theperfect absorption into the I)eity, though Buddhadoes not allow of a personal god or creator. Bythe Deity he means the light, the eternal liberty,and therefore calls Nirvana the highest stage ofspiritual liberty and bliss. The individual soul, onleaving the body in which it was imprisoned, re-turns into the universal soul; just as the solar light,


imprisoned in a piece of wood, when this is burnt,returns into the universal ocean of light.. On thisdoctrine was afterwards engrafted the false belief inthe metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls, andthe misanthropic system of self-renunciation, which,in India, led to the self-torturings of fakirs and other

, fanatics; and which finds its analogies in Christiancommunities in the asceticism of fasts, penances,maceratidbs, solitude, flagellation, 'and all the madpractices of monks, anchorets, and other religiouszealots.

36• .Asceticism.-This asceticism, founded on theabove notion, -viz, that· the Absolute or All is thereal existence, and that individual phenomena, espe-cially matter in all its forms, are really nothing, i. 8.

mere phantasms, and to be avoided, as increasingthe distance from.the Absolute, and that absorptioninto the Deity is to be obtained, even in this life, bythe maceration of the body, was and even now isprevalent in India, where it was carried, in thou-sands of instances, further than m~re self-torture,even to death. When, at the festival of the dreadgoddess Bhovani, the wife of Siva, her ponder-ous image was borne on a oar, with cutting wheels,to the Ganges, a crowd of frantic beings, wreathed,with flowers, joyous 8S if they went to the nuptialaltar, would cast themselves under the wheels ofthe car, offering themselves, amidst the sounding oftrumpets, as voluntary sacrifices, to be cut to pieces


by the wheels. And in various sects'asc'eticism hasled to the.adoption of many strange practices. Inthe " Contes de Is Reine de Navarre" there is apassage which at some length refers to a, specialmode adopted by monks and other men for themortification of the flesh. Of such persons thequeen says: -" Il8 disent qu'il jaut s'habituer aLa chastete, ei POWl' eprouver leurs forces ile par lentauw plus belles, et a celles qu'ilB aiment le pl:Us, et enbaieaad. .ei iouehomi, ils Uprouvent qu'ils soni dansune entier.e mortification, Quand ils sentent que eeplaisir lee emeut, ils vivent dans la retraite, jeunentet Be discipltinent, et quand ile ont mate leur chair ensorie que ni la conversation 'fbi le baise'f leur cau-sent point d' emotion, ile e8SQ.yent la soiie tentation deeoueher ensemble, et de s'embrasser Bans aucun desVrde volupte."

.37. Gymnosophists.- We have very few noticesof the Gymnosophists, the Magi of Brahminism, themost severe custodians of the primitive law, andoriginally most free from imposture. They spreadover Africa; and in Ethiopia they lived as solitaires,and revived on the banks of the Nile many phasesof Asiatic theosophy ~ Priests-errant, they were re-

o ported to Qarry with them a s~cret doctrine, of whichthe B~plicity of their lives and the purity of theirmorals might be considered as the outward manifes-tation ; though in after times they became one ofthe most debauched and immoral sects in India.

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. They went almost naked (hence their name-'Yvpvoc, naked; aotp6t;, wise), and lived on herbs;but their own austerity did not render tliem harshtowards other men, nor unjust as regarded othercommon conditions of life. They believed in oneonly God, the immortality or the soul and its trans-migration, and when old age or disease prostratedthem, they ascended the funeral pile, deeming it.ignominiousto let years or evils afllict them. Alex-ander saw one of them close his life inthis manner.

The priestly colleges of Ethiopia and' Egypt\

maintained constant relations. Osiris is an Ethi-opian divinity. Every year the two families ofpriests met on the boundaries of the two countriesto offer common sacrifices to Ammon,-anothername for Jupiter,-and celebrate the festival whichthe Greeks called heliobrapeza, or Table of the Sun.A~dst the predominant fetishism of Africa, pro-duced partly by climate and partly by the same cir-cumstances that gave rise to Indian fetishism, wecannot help admiring that colony of thinkers whichlong resisted the progress of despotism, and whosedestruction was the revenge of intolerance andtyranny.

38. Places for celebrating Mysteries .-The mys-teries, as in other countries, were celebrated insubterranean caverns, here excavated in the solid.rock, and surpassing in grandeur of conception andfinish of execution anything to be seen elsewhere.

'58 Secret Societies.

The temples of Elephanta, Ellora, and Salsette, con-sisting of large halls and palaces, chapels, pagodas,cells for thousands of priests and pilgrims, adornedwith pillars and columns, obelisks, bas-reliefs,gigantic statues of deities, elephants and othersacred animals, all carved out of t~e living rock, areespecially noteworthy. In the sacellum, onlyacces-sible to the initiated, the supreme Deity was repre-sented by the lingam, which was used more or lessby all ancient nations to represent his creativepower, though in India it was also typified by thepetal and calyx of the lotus.

39. Initiation.-The periods of initiation wereregulated by the increase and decrease of the moon,and the mysteries were divided into four degrees,and the candidate might be initiated into the firstat the early age of eight years. He was thenprepared by a Brahmin, who became his spiritualguide for the second degree, the probationary cere-monies of which consisted in incessant occupationin prayers, fastings, ablutions; and the study of as-tronomy. In the hot season he sat exposed to fivefires, four blazing around him, with the sun above;in the rains he stood uncovered; in the cold seasonhe wore wet clothing. To participate in the hig:hprivileges which the mysteries were believed to con-fer, he was sanctified by the sign of the cross, and .subjected to the probation of the pastes, the tomb ofthe sun, the coffinof Hiram, darkness, hell, all sym-


bolical of the first three properties (11). His puri-fication being completed, he was led at night to thecavern of initiation. This was brilliantly illuminated,and there sat the three chief hierophants, in theeast, west and south, representing the goda Brahma,Vishnu, Siva, surrounded by attendant myst-agogues, dressed in appropriate vestments. Theinitiation was begun by an apostrophe to the sun,addressed by the name of Pooroosh, here meaningthe vital soul, or portion of the universal spirit ofBrahm; and the candidate, after some further pre-liminary ceremonies, was made to circumambulatethe cavern three times, and afterwards conductedthrough seven dark caverns, during which periodthe wailings of Mahadeva for the loss of Siva wererepresented by dismal howlings. The usual para-phernalia of flashes of light, of dismal sounds andhorrid phantoms were produced to terrify andconfuse the aspirant. Having arrived at the lastcavern, the sacred conch was blown, the foldingdoors thrown open, and the candidate was admittedinto an apartment filled with dazzling lights, orna-mented with statues and emblematic figures richlydecorated with gems, and scented with the mostfragrant perfumes. This sacellum was intended torepresent Paradise, and was actually so called inthe temple of Ellora. With eyes riveted on thealtar, the candidate was taught to expect thedescent of the Deity in the bright pyramidal fire


that blazed upon it; and in a moment of enthu-siasm, thus artificially produced, the candidatemight indeed persuade himself that he actually be-held Brahms; seated on the lotus, with his four headsand arms, representing the foul'elements and the fourquarters of the globe, and bearing in his hands theemblems of eternity and power, the circle and fire.

39a. Brahm and Brahma.-The reader will havenoticed in one case I BayBrahm and in the otherBrahms; the latter is the body of the former,which is the Eternal Life. The terms corrrespondwith those of Abyssal Deity and Virgin Sophia ofChristian theosophy.

40. The ineffable name Aum.-The candidatewas now supposed to be. regenerated, and was in-vested with the white robe, tiara, and the sacredbelt; a cI'OBSwas marked on his forehead and a tau(49) upon his breast; the salagram or marginalblack stone (18), to insure to him the perfectionof Vishnu, and the serpent stone, an antidoteagainst the bite of serpents, were delivered to him;and lastly, he was -intrusted with the sacred name,which signified the solar fire, and united in itscomprehensive meaning the great Trimurti, or com-bined principle on which the existence of all thingsis founded. This word was OM, or in a triliteralform AUM, to represent the creative" preserving,and destroying power of the Deity, personified in

_Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, the symbol of which:was

Ancient :J/ysteries. 61

an equilateral triangle. To this name, as' the RoyalArch Masons to that of Iabulon, they attributedthe most wonderful powers; and it c~uld only bethe subject of silent but pleasing contemplation,for its pronunciation was said to make earthand heaven tremble, and even the angels ofheaven to quake with fear. The emblems aroundand the aporreta of the mysteries were thenexplained, and the candidate instructed that by,means of the knowledge of OM he was to becomeone with the Deity. With the Persians the syllableHOM meant the tree of life, ,a tree and a man atthe same time, the dwelling-place of' the soul ofZoroaster; and with them also, as with the Indians,it was forbidden on pain of death to reveal it. Inthis secret name, involving the rejection of poly-theism, and comprising the knowledge of nature,

. we have the golden thread that unites ancient andmodern 'secret societies.

41. The Lingam.-· One of the emblems found inthe sacellum, a~d which in fact is found everywhereon the walls of Indian temples, was the !ingam,which represented the male principle, and whichpassed from India to Egypt, Greece and Scandi-navia. The worship of this symbol could not butlead to great abuses, especially as regarded thegymnosophists.

42. The Lotus.-The lotus, the lily of the Nile,held sacred also in Egypt, was the great vegetable


amulet of eastern nations. The Indian gods werealways represented as seated on it. It was anemblem of the soul's freedom when liberated fromits earthly tabernacle, the body; for it takes root inthe mud deposited at the bottom of a river, vege-tates from the germ to a perfect plant, and after-wards rising proudly above the waves, it floats inair, as if independent of any extraneous aid: It isplaced on a golden table, as the symbol of Siva, onthe top of Mount Menu, the holy mountain ofIndia, the centre of the earth, worshipped by Hin-doos, Tartars, Montchurians and Mongols. It issupposed to be in Northern India, to have threepeaks, composed of gold, silver and iron, on whichreposes the trine deity Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva.Geographically this mountain is evidently the table-land of Tartary, whose southern boundary is formedby the Himalayas. This custom of accounting athree-peaked mountain holy was not confined toIndia alone, but prevailed also among the Jews.Thus Olivet, near Jerusalem; had three peaks, whichwere accounted the residence of the Deity-Che-mosh, Milcom, Ashtoreth (2 Kings xxiii. 13). InZechariah (xiv. 4) the feet of the Almighty areplaced on' the two outer peaks of this mountainduring the threatened destruction of Jerusalem;while the mountain itself is made to split asunderat the centre peak from east to west, leaving a greatvalley between the divided parts.

•

• IV.

EGYPTIAN MYSTERIES.

43•

•

NTIQUITY of Egyptian Oivilization.-All Egypt is an initiation. A long andnarrow strip of land, watered by im-mense floods and surrounded by immense

solitudes-such is Egypt. Very high and steeprocks protected it from the incursions of the nomadictribes, and thus a valley, a river, and a race sufficedto create, if not the most ancient, at least one of themost ancient and illustrious cultures, a, world ofmarvels, at a, time when Europeans went naked,·and dyed their skins, as Cresar found the ancientBritons, and when the Greeks, armed with bowsand arrows, led a, nomadic existence. The Egyp-tians, many thousand years before the Trojan war,had invented writing, as is proved, for instance, bythe hieratic papyrus of the time of Rameses 11., fullof recipes and directions for the treatment of a great


variety of diseases, and now in the Berlin Museum.They also knew many comforts of life, which ourpride calls modern; and the Greek writers, whomthe Egyptian priests called children, are full ofrecollections of that mysterious land, recording thefather ·.Nile, Thebes with its hundred gates, thePyramids, Lake Meroe, the Labyrinth, the Sphinx,and the statue of Memnon saluting the rising sun.

44. Temples of Ancient Egypt.-Egyptian chron-ology, the reproof and paragon of all others, isgraven on imperishable monuments. But thoseobelisks, sacred to the sun, by their conical formlike that of the flame; those labyrinths, those human-headed birds, typifying the intelligent soul; thosescarabei, signifying creative power; those sphinxes,representing force, the lion or sun, and man; thoseserpents expressing life and eternity (57); thosestrange combinations of forms; those hieroglyphics-they long remained secrets for us, and perhapsalways were a secret for the Egyptian people thatin fear and silence erected the pyramids-all thesesymbols constituted the. language of one of the.vastest and most elaborate secret societies thatever existed. Penetrating into those gigantictemples which seem t~e work of an extinct race,different from ours, as fossil quadrupeds are dif-ferent from those' now living; traversing thosecloisters, which after many windings lead to theinnermost sanctuary, we are seized by a singular


thought--that of the silence and solitude whichever reigned within those edifices into which thepeople were not allowed to penetrate; only the fewwere admitted, and we moderns are the first pro-fane that have set foot within the hallowed pre-cincts. The temple of Luxor is the vastest onearth-six propyieea with long files of columns, andcolossi and obelisks and sphinxes; six cloisters-every new generation of kings for seventy centuriesadded some new portion and inscribed on the wallsthe history of its deeds, and every new additionremoved the faithful further from the seat of thegod; the marvel and mystery increased. The sixthpropylmum is not finished; it is a chapter of historybroken off in the middle, and will never be, com-pleted. The walls and pillars of the temples werecovered with religious and astronomical representa-tions, and from the fact of many of these picturesshowing human beings in various states of suf-fering and under torture, it has been assumed thatthe Egyptian ritual was cruel, like the Mexican (74,77); but such is not the case; the pictures are onlyrepresentations of the punishments said to be in-flicted on the wicked in another life.

45. Egyptian Prieeie and King8.-The priestlycaste, possessing all the learning, ruled first andalone; but in its own defence it armed a portion ofthe population; the rest it kept down by supersti-tion, or disarmed and weakened it by corruption.

:r

fJ

·66 Secret Societies.

To Plato, who saw it from a distance, this govern-ment seemed stupendous, and he idealized it ; it wasfor him the "city of God," the pattern republic.Nevertheless, as was inevitable, might rebelledagainst doctrine, the soldiery broke the rein of thepriesthood, and by the side of the pontiffs arose thekings, or to speak more correctly, the two seriesproceeded in parallels; that of the priests was notset aside, it had its palaces, the temples, stronglike fortresses, along the Nile, which were at thesame time splendid abodes, agricultural establish-ments, commercial depots, and caravan stations;its'members appointed and ruled the kings them-selves, regulating the most minute acts of theirdaily conduct; they were the depositaries of thehighest offices, and as the learned savans, magis-trates, and physicians; enjoyed the first honours.Their chief colleges were at Thebes, Memphis,Heliopolis, and Sals; they possessed a great por-tion of the land, which they caused to ·becultivated;paid no taxes, but collected tithes. They formedindeed the elect, privileged, and only free' portion ofthe nation.

46. Eeoterie and Esoteric Doctrine3.-The priestswere no followers of the idolatrous faith of thepeople; but to have undeceived the latter would havebeen dangerous for themselves. The true doctri~eof the unity of,God, therefore, which was their secret,was only imparted to those that after many trials


had been initiated into the mysteries. Their doc-trines, like those of all other priesthoods, weretherefore exoteric and esoteric; and the mysterieswere of two kinds, the greater and the less, theformer being the mysteries of Osiris and Serapis,the latter those of Isis. The mysteries of Osiriswere celebrated at the autumnal equinox; those GfSerapis at the summer solstice; and those of Isis atthe vernal equinox.

47. Egyptian Mythology.-Though want of spacedoes not allow me fully to enter upon the vast sub-ject of Egyptian mythology, yet a few words thereonare necessary to render its bearing on the mysteriesclear, and also to show its connection with many ofthe rites of modern freemasonry.

That all the symbols and ceremonies of all the .ancient creeds originally had a deep and universalcosmic meaning has already been shown (9,10), butat the time when the mysteries were most flourishingthat meaning was to a great extent lost, and amerely astronomical one substituted for it, as willbe seen from the following explanations:-

Osiris, represented in Egypt by a, sceptre sur-mounted by an eye, to signify him that rules andsees, symbolizes the sun. He is killed by Typhon,a serpent engendered by the mud of the Nile. ButTyphon is a transposition of Python, derived from theGreek word 7Tu9Cd, "to putrefy," and means nothingelse but the noxious vapom-s arising from steam-


ing mud, and thus concealing the sun; wherefore inthe Greek mythology Apollo-another name for thesun-is said to have slain Python with his arrows,that is to say, dispelled the vapours by his rays.Osiris having been killed by Python-to which,however, the wider meaning of the sun's imaginarydisappearance, or death, during the winter season,was attached-Isis, his wife, or the moon, goes insearch of him, and at last finds his body, cut intofourteen pieces, that is to say, into as many parts asthere are days between the full moon and the new';

. she collects all the pieces, with one important ex-ception, for which she made a substitution whichgave.rise to a worship resembling that of the lingamin India.

But although to the vulgar crowd Isis was onlythe moon, to the initiated she was the UniversalMo~her, the primordial harmony and beauty, calle~inEgyptian" Iophis," which the Greeks turned into" Sophia," 1 whence the Virgin Sophia of theosophy.Hence also the many names by which Isis wasknown (54), indicating the multifarious aspects shenecessarily assumed. Her image was worshippedat Sals under the emblem of "Isis veiled," with \.

1 By a transposition or consonants, common enough inthe formation of new words; Typhon from Python is aninstance already mentioned; forma, from JAoPfn'j, is another.


this inscription :-" I am all that has been, all thatis, and all that will be, and no mortal has drawnaside my veil."

Apis, or the Bull, was an object of worshipthroughout all the ancient world, because formerlythe zodiacal sign of the Bull opened the vernal,equinox (69).

48. The Phreniz.-The Egyptians began the yearwith the, rising of the dog-star or Sirius. Butmaking no allowance for the quarter of a day whichfinishes the year, the civil year every four yearsbegan one day too soon, and 80 the beginning ofthe year went successively "through everyone ofthe days of the natural year in the space of four

, 'times 365, which makes 1,460 years. They fanciedthey blessed and made all the seasons to prosper bymakingvthem thus to enjoy one after another thefeast of Isis, which was celebrated along with thatof Sirius, though it was frequently very remote fromthat constellation; wherefore they introduced theimage of dogs, or even the real and living animals, pre-ceding the-chariots of Isis. When in the 1461styearthe feast again coincided with the rising of the starSirius, they looked upon it as a, season of plenty, ·and symbolized it 'by a bird of singular beauty,which they called Phoenix (deliciis abundans), say-.ing ·that it came to die upon the altar of thesun, and that out of its ashes there arose a little


worm, that gave birth to a bird perfectly like thepreceding. (

49. The OroBs.-Among the astronomical sym-bols we must not omit the Cross. This sign reallysignifies the fire, as we have seen (11. ix.) , butin Egypt it was simply the Nilometer, consisting ofan upright pole with a cross-bar, that was raised orlowered according to the swelling or decrease ofthe river! It was frequently surmounted by a circle,typifyi~g the deity that governs this importantoperation. Now, the overflow of the Nile wasconsidered the salvation of Egypt, and hence thesign came to be looked upon with great venerationand to have occult virtues attributed to it, such asthe power of averting evil; wherefore the Egyptianshung small figures of the cross, or rather the letterT, with a ring attached to it, the crue ansata, roundthe necks of their children and of sick persons;they applied it to the string or fillets with whichthey wrapped up their mummies, where we stillfind it; it became in fact an amulet (amolitiQmalorum). ether nations adopted the custom, andhence the cross or the letter T, whereby it wassymbolized throughout the ancient world, wassupposed to be a sign or letter of more than ordi-nary significance. In the mysteries, the cruz

, ansata was the symbol of eternal life. But thecross was worshipped as an astronomical sign' inother countries. We have seen that in India the

Ancient Mystetries. 71

neophyte was sanctified by the sign of the cross(39), which in most ancient nations was a symbolof the universe, pointing as it does to the fourquarters of the compass; and the erection of templeson the cruciform principle is as old BS architectureitself. The two great pagodas of Benares andMathura are erected in the form of vast crosses, ofwhich each wing is equal in extent, as is also thepyramidal temple of New Grange in Ireland. Butthe older and deeper meaning of the cross is shownin (11) ; it refers to the fire, and the double qualityeverywhere observable in nature. The triple tau isthe Royal Arch Mason's badge.

50. Places of Initiati~n.-In Egypt and othercountries (India, Media, Persia, Mexico) th~ placeof initiation was a pyramid erected over subterra-nean caverns. The pyramids, in fact, may b~ lookedupon, considering their size, shape, and solidity, asartificial mountains, covering buried cities. Theirform not only symbolically represented the ascend-ing Harne,but also had a deeper origin in the conicalform, which is the primitive figure of all naturalproducts. And the Great Pyramid, the tomb ofOsiris, was erected in such a position and to such aheight, that at the spring and autumnal equinoxesthe sun would appear exactly at midday upon thesummit of the pyramid, seeming to rest upon thisimmense pedestal, when his worshippers, extendedat the base, would contemplate the grea~ Osiris as


well when he descended into the tomb as when hearose from it triumphant.

51. Process of Jnitiation.-'-The candidate, con-ducted by a guide, was led to a deep, dark well orshaft in the pyramid, and, provided with a torch, hedescended into it by means of a, ladder affixed tothe side. Arri~ed at the bottom, he saw two doors-o'ne of them barred, the other yielding to thetouch of his hand. Passing through it, he ·beheld awinding gallery., whilst the door behind him shutwith a clang that reverberated through the vaults.Inscriptions like the following met his eye: " Whososhall pass along this road alone, and without lookingback, shall be purified by' fire, water, and air; andovercoming the fear of death, shall issue from thebowels of the earth to the light of day, preparing hissoul to receive the mysteries of Isis." ,Proceedingonward, the candidate arrived at another iron gate,guarded by three armed men, whose shining helmetswere surmounted by emblematic animals, the Cer-berus of Orpheus. Here the candidate had offeredto him the last chance of returning, if so inclined.Electing to go forward, he underwent the trial byfire, by passing through a, hall filled with inflam-mable substances in a, state of combustion, andforming a bower of fire. The floor,wascovered witha grating of red-hot iron bars, leaving, however,narrow interstices where he might safely place hisfoot. Having surmounted this obstacle, he has to


encounter the trial by water. A wide and darkcanal, fed by the waters of the Nile, arrests his pro-gress. Placing the flickering lamp upon his head,he plunges into' the canal, and swims to the oppositebank, where the greatest trial, that by air, awaitshim. He lands upon a platform leading to an ivorydoor, bounded by two walls of brass, into each ofwhich is inserted an immense wheel of the samemetal. He in vain attempts to open the door,when, espying two large iron rings affixed to it" hetakes hold of them; but suddenly the platform sinksfrom under him, a chilling blast of wind extinguisheshis lamp, the two brazen wheels revolve with for-midable rapidity and stunning noise, whilst heremains suspended by the two rings over thefathomless abyss. But ere he is exhausted theplatform returns, the ivory door opens, and he seesbefore him a magnificent temple, brilliantly illumi-nated, and filled with the priests of Isis clothed inthe mystic insignia of their offices,the hierophant attheir head. But the ceremonies of initiation do notcease here. The. candidate is subject to a series offastings, which gradually increase for nine timesnine days. During this period a rigorous silenceis imposed upon him, 'which if he preserV-ein-violate, he is at length fully initiated into theesoteric doctrines of Isis. He is led before thetriple statue of Isis, Osiris, and. Horus,-anothersymbol of the sun,-where he swears never to


publish the things revealed to him in the sanctuary,and first drinks the water of Lethe presented tohim by the high priest, to forget all he ever heard inhis unregenerate state, and afterwards the water ofMnemosyne, to remember all the lessons of wisdomimparted to him in the mysteries. He is nextintroduced into the most secret part of the sacrededifice, where a priest instructs him in the appli-cation of the symbols found therein. He is thenpublicly announced as a person who has beeninitiated into the mysteries of Isis-the first degreeof the Egyptian rites.

52. Mysteries oj Serapis.-These constituted thesecond degree. We know but little of them, andApuleius only slightly touches upon them. WhenTheodosius destroyed the temple of Serapis therewere discovered subterraneous passages and engineswherein and wherewith the priests tried the candi-dates. Porphyry, in referring to the greater myste-ries, quotes a fragment of Cheremones, an Egyptianpriest, which imparts an astronomical meaning tothe whole Jegend of Osiris, thus confirming whathas been said 'above. And Herodotus, in describingthe temple of Minerva, where the rites of Osiriswere celebrated, and speaking of a tomb placed inthe most secret recess, as. in Christian churchesthere are calvaries behind the altar, says: "It isthe tomb of a god whose name I dare not mention."


Calvary is derivedfromthe Latin word CalVU8, "bald,"and figuratively" arid," "dried up ;" pointing to thedecay of nature"in the winter season.

53. Mysteries oj Osiris.-These formed the thirddegree, or summit of Egyptian initiation. In thesethe legend of the murder of Osiris by his brother

.. Typhon was represented, and the god was per-sonated by the candidate. (As we shall see here-after, the Freemasons exactly copy this pro-cedure in t~e master's degree, substituting forOsiris, Hiram Abiff, one of the three grand mastersat the building of Solomon's temple.) The per-fectly initiated candidate was called Al-om-jak, fromthe name of the Deity (40), and the dogma of theunity of God was the chief secret imparted to him.How great and how dangerous a secret it was mayeasily be seen when it is borne in mind that cen-turies after the institution of the mysteries, Socrateslost his life for promulgating the same doctrine.

54. lsis.-The many names assumed by Isis havealready been alluded to. She was also representedwi~ different emblems, all betokening her manifoldcharacteristics. The lucid round, the snake, theears of corn, and the sistrum represent the titulardeities of the Hecatman (Hecate, Qoddess of Night),Bacchio, Eleusinian, and Ionic mysteries, that is,the mystic rites in general for whose sake the alle-gory was invented. The black palla in which she is


wrapped, embroidered with a silver moon and stars,denotes the time in which the mysteries were cele-brated, namely, in the dead of night. Her names,to return to them, are given in the following words,put into her mouth by Apuleius in his "Golden.ABs,"whichis a description of the mysteries underthe guise of a fable :-" Behold, Lucius, I, movedby thy prayers, am present with thee; I who amnature, the parent of things, the queen of all theelements, the primordial progeny of the ages, thesupreme of divinities, the sovereign of the spirits ofthe dead, the first of the celestials, the first anduniversal substance, the uniform and multiformaspect of the uncreated essence; I who rule by mynod the luminous summits of the heavens, thebreezes of the sea, and the silence of the realmsbeneath, and whose one divinity the whole orb ofthe earth venerates under a manifold form, by dif-ferent rites, and a variety of appellations. Hencethe early Phrygians call me Pessinuntica, motherof the gods; the Attic aborigines, CecropianMinerva; the floating Cyprians, Paphian Venus;the arrow-bearing Cretans, Diana Dictynna; thethree-tongued Sicilians, Stygian Proserpine; andthe Eleusinians, the ancient goddess Ceres. Somealso call me Juno, others Bellona, others Hecate,and others Rhamnusia. The Ethiopians, the Am, andthe Egyptians, skilled in ancient learning, honour me

77

with rites peculiarly appropriate, a~d call me by mytrue name, Queen Isis." From this it is quite clearthat Isis was not simply the moon to-the initiated.In the sanctuary the multifarious forms are reducedto unity; the many idols are reduced to the onedivinity, i. 8. primeval power and intelligence.

V.

METAMORPHOSES OF THE LEGENDOF ISIS.

55.

•

PREAD of Egyptian Mysteries.-Theirradiations of tlie mysteries of Egyptshine through and animate the secretdoctrines of Phoenicia, Asia Minor,

Greece, and Italy. Cadmus and Inachus broughtthem into Greece at large, Orpheus into Thrace, Me-lampus into Argos, Trophonius into Boeotia, Minosinto Crete, Cinyras into Cyprus, and Erechtheus intoAthen~. AndasinEgyptthemysterieswerededicatedto Isis and Osiris, so in Samothrace they were sacredto the mother of the gods, in Beeotia to Bacchus, inCyprus to Venus, in Crete to Jupiter, in Athens toCeres and Proserpine, in Amphissa to Castor and Pol-lux, in Lemnos to Vulcan, and so to others in otherplaces; but their end, as well as nature, was the samein all-to teach monotheism and a future state.

Ancient Mysterj,es. 79

56. Dionysiac or Bacchio Mysteries.-These weredivided into the greater and the less. The latterwere celebrated every year at the autumnal equinox,and femal~s were admitted to them, wearing the crea-tive emblem suspended round 'their necks. Theyended with the sacrifice of an unclean animal, whichwas eaten by the worshippers. Then aspirants and

, initiated proceeded with sacred dances towards the \'temple. The Canephoroi, carrying golden vases full·of the choicest fruits, were followed by the bearers·of the creative emblem, who were furnished with·long poles, and were crowned with ivy, a herb.saored to Bacchus, or the sun personified. Now.oame other celebrants habited as women, but per-forming all the repulsive actions of drunken men.·The next night the ceremonies of initiation wereperformed, in which the fable of Bacchus slain by'the Titans was scenically represented, the aspirantacting the part of Bacchus.

The greater mysteries were celebrated every threeyears at the vernal' equinox, in the neighbourhoodof a marsh, like the festival of Sals, in Egypt. Onthe night preceding the initiation the spouse of thehierophant sacrificed a ram. She represented the.spouse of Bacchus, and when seated as such on thethrone, the priests and initiated of both sexes ex-.olaimed: "Hail, spouse, hail, new light!" The aspi-rant was purified by fire, water, and air, passingthrough trials similar to those described elsewhere


(e. g. 39), and finally, was introduced into the sane-tuary crowned with myrtle and dressed in the skinof a fawn.

57. Sabazian Mysterie8.-Sabazius was a nameof Bacchus, probably derived from Siva or somecognate form, whose astronomical meaning is theplanetary system of countless suns and stars. Themysteries were performed at night, and representedthe amours of Jupiter, in the form of a, serpent, andProserpina. A golden-others say a living-ser-pent was introduced into the bosom of the candi-date, who exclaimed, "Evoe! Sabai ! Bacchi! Anes!Attes! Hues!" Evoe or Eve. in most languagesof antiquity meant both serpent and life; a re-collection of the name of Adam's 'Wife, and theorigin of the serpent-worship of the ancient world.When Moses lifted up a brazen serpent in the Wil-derness, the afBicted Hebrews knew that it was asign of preservation. Ssbai has already been ex-plained; Hues and Attes were other names ofBacchus. These mysteries continued to be cele-brated to the last days of paganism, and in the 'daysof Domitian, 7,000 initiated were found in Rome 'alone.

58. Mysteries of the Oabiri.-The name of theOabiri was derived originally from Phmnicia; theword signifies" powerful." There were four gods-Aschieros, Achiochersus, Achiochersa, and Camillus.The last was slain by his three brothers, who carried


away with them the reproductive organs; and thisallegorical murder was celebrated in the secret rites.Camillus is the same as Osiris, Adonis, and others,

. all subject to the same mutilation, all symbolizingthe sun's loss of generative power during winter.

. The chief places for the celebration of these mys- .teries were the islands of Samothrace and Lemnos.The priests were called Corybantes. There is muchperplexity connected with this subject; since, be-sides what is mentioned above, the mysteries arealso said to have been instituted in honour of Atys,the son of Cybele. Atys means the sun, and themysteries were celebrated at the vernal equinox,and there cannot, therefore, be any doubt that, likeall the other mysteries in their period of decay, theyrepresented the enigmatical death of the sun inwinter and his regeneration in the spring. Theceremonies lasted three days. The first day was oneof sadness: a cruciform pine with the image of Atysattached to it was cut down, the mutilated body ofAtys having been discovered at the foot of such a,

tree; the second day waEJa day. of trumpets, whichwere blown to awaken the god from his deathlikesleep; and the third day, that of joy, was the dayof initiation and celebration of his return to life.

59. Eleusinian Mysterie8.-The Eleusinian mys-teries were celebrated in honour of Ceres, the Isisof Greece; whilst Osiris appears as Proserpine-for.the death of Osiris and the carrying offof Proserpine

G


to the infernal regions symbolize the same thing, viz.the sun's disappearance during the winter season.The mysteries were originally celebrated only atEleusis, a town of Attics, but eventually extended

· to Italy and even to Britain. Like all other mys-teries, they were divided into the greater and theless, and the latter, like the Baoohioand Cabiriorites;lasted nine days, and were merely preparatory, con-sisting of lnstrations and saorifioes. The cere-monies of initiation into the greater mysteries wereopened by the herald excla.im.ing: "Retire, 0 yeprofane." The aspirant was presented naked, tosignify his total helplessness and dependence onProvidence. He was clothed with the skin of acalf. An oath of secrecy was then administered,and he was asked: "Have·you eaten bread 7" Thereply was "No." Proserpine cannot return to theearth because she has eaten of the fruit of theinfernal regions; Adam falls when he tastes ofearthly fruit. "I have drunk the sacred mixture, Ihave been fed from the basket of Ceres; I havelaboured; I have entered into the bed." That is tosay, he had been placed in the pastos, in which theaspirant for initiation was immured during theperiod of his probation (39). He was then madeto pass through a series of trials, similar in characterto those adopted in other mysteries, after which hewas introduoed into the inner temple, where hebeheld the statue of the goddess Ceres, surrounded

J Ancient Mysteries. 83

by a, dazzling light. The candidate, who had hereto-fore been called a mystes, or novice, was now termedepopiee, or eye-witness, and the secret doctrine wasrevealed. The assembly was then closed with theSanscrit words," Konm om paz," the meaning ofwhich is uncertain. According to Captain Wilford,the words Candscha om Pacshs, of which the aboveis a Greek corruption, are still used at the religiousmeetings and ceremonies of the Brahmins-anotherproof, if it were needed, that the mysteries are ofEastern origin.

60. Doorsof Horn and Ivory.-The sixth book ofthe" lEeneid," and the" Golden Ass" of Apuleius,contain descriptions of what passed in the celebrationof the Eleusinian mysteries. In the former work,~neas and his guide, having finished their progressthrough the infernal regions, are dismissed throughthe ivory gate 'of dreams. But there was anothergate of hom through which the aspirant entered;for all caverns of initiation had two gates; onecalled the descent to hell, the other the ascent of thejust. The ancient poets said that through the gateof horn issued true visions, and 'through the gate ofivory, false. Now from this, and the fact that

. ~neas and his guide issue through it, it has beeninferred by some critics that Virgil meant to intimate,that all he had said concerning the infernal regionswas to be considered a fable. But such could not bethe poet's intention; what he really implied was


that a future state was a real state, whilst the re-preaentations thereof in the mysteries were onlyshadows. The ivory gate itself was no other thanthe sumptuous door of the temple through which theinitiated came out when the ceremony was over.

61. SwpprBssion of Ele'U8inian Mysteries.-Thesemysteries survived all others; they shone withgreat splendour when the secret worship of theCabiri, and even of Egypt, had already disappeared,and were not suppressed until the year 396 of ourera by the pitiless 'I'heodosius the Great, who, in hiszeal for the Christian religion, committed the greatestcruelties against unbelievers.

62. The ThBsmophoria.-The term signifies alegislative festival, and refers specially to the sym-bolic rites forming part of the festival consecratedto Ceres, who was said to have given to the Greekssound laws founded on agriculture and property,in memory of which, chosen women in the solemnprocessions of the Thesmophoria carried at Eleusisthe tablets on which the laws were written; hencethe name of the festival, which was on~ of legisla-tion and semination. ·We. have only fragmentarynotices concerning these festivals, though we derivesome information from Aristophanes' "Thesmopho-'riazusee," which, however, is very slight, as it wouldhave been dangerous for him, in alluding to thesemysteries, to employ more than general and simpledesignations. We discover, however, that they


were celebrated in the month of October, and lasted, three or four days. Females only ' took part in

them, and it was death for a man to. enter thetemple. Every tribe of Athens chose two femalesborn in wedlock and married; and distinguished forvirtue. The men who possessed a capital of threetalents were compelled to give their wives themoney necessary to defray the cost of the festivals.For nine days also there was to be total forbearancebetween married couples; for the 'I'hesmophoria notonly had reference to agriculture, but also to themore intimate relations between man and wife. &Ceres or the Earth mourned for the absence of Pro-serpine, or the Sun, so the Athenian women mournedduring the celebration for the absence of the light oflove; and as Ceres is at length, cheered up by thehomely beverage offered by Baubo, so a personagecalled Iambe, with absurd jokes and gross gestures,restores the attendants to a more joyous mood.

63. Aim of Grecian Mysteries more Moral thanReligio'lJ,s.-The object of the initiation into themysteries of Greece was more moral than religious,differing in this from the Indian and Egyptianmysteries, that were religious, scientific, and political,For at the time of their introduction into Greece

. science had ceased to be the prerogative of the few;the political life of that country had stirred up theenergy of the people and made it the architect of itsown greatness. We therein behold already the dawn


of a new era; the decay of the ancient nature-worship,and a tendency to, and endeavour on the part ofmankind after, inquiry and free striving, to overcomenature; which is diametrically opposed to the spiritof antiquity, which consisted in the total resignationand surrender of the individual to the influences ofthe All.

VI.

CHINESE AND JAPANESE MYSTERIES.

64.

•

HINESE Metaphysics.-In Chinese cos-mogony we discover traces of ·the onceuniversally prevailing knowledge of thepr~perties of eternal nature. Matter-

the first material principle-is assumed to act uponitself, and thus to evolve the dual powers. This mstmaterial principle is called Tai- Keik, and describedas the first link in the chain of causes; it is theutmost limit in the midst of illimitableness, thoughin the midst of nonentity there always existed aninfinite Le, or "principle of order." The Le iscalled infinite, because it is impossible to representit by ani figure, since it is the " Eternal Nothing."This undoubted fragmentary tradition of the mostancient metaphysical system in the world has beenridiculed by ~any modern writers; but any reader

88 Secret .Societies.

will s~e that, however imperfectly expressed, .if isthe theosophic doctrine (11).

65. Introduction of Ohinese Mysteries.-The Chi-nese practised Buddhism in its most simple form,and worshipped an invisible God, until a few cen-turies before the Christian era. From the teachingof Confucius, who lived five centuries before thatera, it appears that in his time there were no mys-teries ; they only became necessary when theChinese became an idolatrous nation. The chiefend of initiation then was an absorption into thedeity O-Mi-To Fo. Omito was derived from theSanscrit Armida, "immeasurable," and Eo was onlyanother name for Buddha. The letter Y repre-sented the triune God, and was mdeed the ineffablename of the .Deity, the Tetractys of Pythagoras, andthe Tetragrammaton of the Jews. The rainbow wasa celeb~ted symbol in the mysteries, fo~ it typifiedthe re-appearance of the S"Q,D.; and this not only inChina, but even in Mexico (73) ..

66. Parallel between Buddhism and RomanOatholicism.-The general resemblance betweenBuddhism and Romanism is 80 marked that it isacknowledged by the Romenists 'themselves, whoaccount for this fact by the supposition. that Satancounterfeited the true religion. This correspon-dence holds in minute particulars. Both have asupreme and infallible head, the celibacy of thepriesthood, monasteries and nunneries, prayers in an


unknown tongue, prayers to saints and intercessors,and especially, and principally too, a virgin with achild; also prayers for the dead, repetition of prayerswith the use of a rosary, ~orks of merit and super-erogation ; self-imposed austerities and bodily in-:Bictions; a formal daily service consisting of chants,burning of candles, sprinkling of holy water, bowings, I

prostrations; fast days and feas~ days, religious pro-.. cessions, images and pictures and fabulous legends,

the worship of relics, the sacrament of confession,purgatory, &c. In some respects their rites resem-ble those of the Jews; they propitiate the SupremeDeity with the blood of bulls 'and g<fats, and alsooffered holocausts. The resemblance is easily ac-counted for. Romanism and some other creeds areonly modernized Buddhism; and many religions arebut superstitious perversions of the knowledge ofnatural phenomena. The tradition about PresterJohn has its origin in this resemblance between Bud-dhism' and a corrupted Christianity, In the twelfthcentury there was in China a great Mongol tribe pro-fessing Buddhism, which by travellers was mistakenfor an Oriental Christian religion. The NestorianChristians, dwelling among the Mongols, called itshead Johsi.ihe Priest, and hence arose the traditionthat in the heart of Asia there was a ChristianChurch, whose popes bore the title of Preeier John.

67. Lau-Tze.-Confucius was the religious law-giver of China, but Lau-Tze was its philosopher.


He excelled the former in depth and independenceof thought. The word Lau, or Le, is difficult torender; the Chinese itself defines it as "a, thing in-definite, impalpable, and yet therein are forms."Lau-Tze himself seems to make it equivalent to" intelligence." His philosophy is peaceful andloving, and in this respect presents various com-mendable points of resemblance to Christian doc-trine.

68. Modern Ohinese 8ocietieB.-The most notedis that of 'I'hian-ti-we, or the Union of Heaven andEarth, which has for its leading dogma the equalityof mankind, and the duty of the rich to share theirsuperfluity with the poor. The candidate, havingsuccessfully passed through the most severe trials,is conducted before the master, two members of theorder cross their swords over his head, and draw -blood from both, which they pour into the samecup,-a sacramental drink, to which both put theirlips when the candidate has pronounced the oath.This association is spread through the southern pro-vinces of China and the island of Java. In centraland northern China there are two other societies,probably derived from the former, that of Pe-lian-kiso, or the Lotos, and that of Thian-li, orCelestial Reason. Henry Pottinger, in a despatch'to Lord Aberdeen (1843), alludes to a fourth, say-ing: "The song being finished, Ke-Ying, theChinese. commissioner, having taken from his arm


a gold bracelet, gave it to me, informing me, at thesame time, that he had received it in his tenderyouth from his father, and that it contained a mys-terious legend, and that, by merely showing it, itwould in all parts of China assure me a fraternal re-ception." Another society, formed at the beginningof this century, is tha~ of the "Triad," whose objectis to initiate the indolent and prejudiced Chineseinto Western civilization. The society of the" WhiteWaterlily," whose chief could not be discovered bythe Chinese government, caused many and disas-trous political disturbances.

69. Japanese Mysteries.-The Japanese held thatthe world was enclosed in an egg before the creation,which egg was broken by a bull-the ever-recurringastronomical allegory, alluding to the Bull of thezodiac, which in former times opened the seasons,the vernal equinox. It is the same bull Apis whichEgypt adored (47), and which the Jews in the wilder- ..ness worshipped as the golden calf; also the bullwhich, sacrificed in the mysteries of Mithras, pouredout its blood to fertilize the earth. The Japaneseworshipped a deity who was styled the Son of the Un-known God, considered the creator of sun and moon,.and called Tensio-Dai-Sin. The aspirants for initia-tion ·were conducted through artificial spheres,formed of movable circles, representing the revolu-tions of the planets. The mirror was a significantemblem of the all-seeing eye of their chief deity(ll).


In the closing oeremonyof preparation the candi-date was enclosed in the paatos, the door of whichwas said to be guarded by a terrible divinity, armedwith a drawn sword. During the course of his pro-bation the aspirant sometimes acquired so high adegree of enthusiasm as to refuse to quit his con-finement in the pastos, and to remain there untilhe literally perished of famine. To this voluntarymartyrdom was attached a promise of never-ending

· happiness hereafter. Their creed indeed is Buddh-ism, slightly modified. "Diabolo eeeleeiam« Ohristiimitante I " exclaimed XaVier on seeing how thepractices of the Japanese resembled those of theRomanists in Europe; and, as has been observed ofBuddhism in China and Thibet, all the practices ofthe Japanese ritual are so tinged with the colour ofRomanism, that they might well justify the exolama-tion of Xavier, who was neither a savant nor aphilosopher (66).

70. Japanese Doctrines.-The god Tensio-Dai-Sinhas twelve apostles, and the SUD, the planetary hero,fights with monsters and the elements. The minis-ters of the Temple of the Sun wear tunics of thecolour of fire, and annually celebrate four festivals,the third day of the third month, the fifth day ofthe fifth, the seventh day of th_? seventh, and theninth day of the ninth month respectively; and atone of.these festivals they represent a myth similarto that of Adonis, and nature is personified by a


priest dressed in many colours. The members ofthis society are called Jammabos, and the initiatedare enjoined a long time to abstain from meat andto prepare themselves by many purifications.

71. The Lam,a.-The Grand Lama, the God ofThibet, becomes incarnate in man; thus much thepriests reveal to the people. But the true -religion,which consists of the doctrine of the supposed originof the world, is only made known in the almostinaccessible mysteries. The man in whom theGrand Lama has for the time become incarnate,and who is the pontiff, is held in such veneration,that the people eat pastiles, accounted sacred, andmade from the unclean remains of the food whichhad contributed to the sustenance of his body.This disgusting practice, however, with them issimply the result of their belief ~ the metempsy-chosis-parallel with the Indian doctrine of corrup-tion and reproduction, symbolized by the use ofcowdung in the purification of the aspirant; andits real meaning is to show that all the parts ofthe universe are mcessantly absorbed, and pass intothe substance of each other. It is upon the modelof the serpent who devours his tail.

VII.

MEXICAN AND PERUVIAN MYSTERIES.

72.

aMERIOAN Aborigine8. - Ethnologistscan tell us as yet nothing as to theorigin of the earliest inhabitants of theAmerican continent; but if the reader

will accept the theory propounded in the introduc- .tion to this work (6-9), he will be at no loss toanswer the question. .As nature in .Asia broughtforth the Caucasian races, so in the western hemi-sphere it gave birth to the various races peopling it.That one of them was a highly civilized race in pre-historic times is proved by the ruins of beautifulcities discovered in Central America; and all theantiquarian remains showthat the religion of Mexicoand Peru was substantially the same as that prac-tised by the various nations of the East; and natu-rally so, for the moral and physical laws of the uni-


verse are everywhere the same, and, working in thesame manner, produce the same results, only modi-ned by climatic and local conditions.

73-. Meg;ican Deitie8.-The religious system of theMexicans bore a character of dark and gloomy aus-terity. They.worshipped many deities, the chief ofwhich were Teotl, the invisible and supreme being;Virococha, the creator; Vitzlipntzli or Heritzilo--pochtli, the god of mercy, to whom the most san-guinary rites were offered (which proves that theMexican priests were quite as inconsistent in thisrespect as the priestly bigots of Europe, who, inthe name of the God of mercy, tortured, racked andburnt millions that differed from whatever creed hadbeen set up as the orthodox and legalized one);"I'escalipnca, the god of vengea.nce; Quetzalcoatl,the Mexican Mercury, whose name signifies the-It serpent clothed with green feathers;" Mic-tlaneiheratl, the goddess of hell; Tlaloc-teatli, .orNeptune; and Ixciana, or Venus. To Vitzliputzliwas ascribed the renovation of the world, ~nd hisname referred to the SUD. He was said to be theoffspring of a virgin, who was impregnated by ,aplume of feathers, which descended from heavenintQ her bosom, invested with all the colours of therainbow (65). He was represented in the figure of aman,with a dread-inspiring aspect. He was seated ona globe over a lofty altar, which was borne in proces-.sion during the celebration of the mysteries. His


right hand grasped a snake, the symbol of life, andrepresentations of this .reptile are found on all thetemples of Mexico and Peru. Traces of the serpent-worship of the western world ~e also found in thestates of Ohio and Iowa, where serpent mounds,formed of earth, 1,000 feet long or more, are still tobe found. The office of Tescalipuca was to punishthe sins of men by the infliction of plagues, famine,and pestilence. His anger could only be appeasedby human sacrifices-thousands of men were fre-quently immolated to him in one single day.

74. Oruelty of MeZ'ican WOrship.-The temples orMexico were full of horrible idols, which were allbathed and washed with human blood. The chapelor VitZliputzli was decorated with the skulls of thewretches that had been slain in sacrifice; the wallsand floor were inches thick with blood, and beforethe image of the god might often be seen the stillpalpitating hearts of the human victims offered upto him, whose skins served the priests for garments,This revolting custom, as a legend says, arose fromthe fact that Tom, the "Grand Mother," was ofhuman extraction. Vitzliputzli procured her divinehonours by enjoining the Mexicans to demandher of her father for their queen; this being done,they also commanded him to put her to death, after-wards to flay her, and to cover a young man withher skin. It was in this manner she was strippedof her humanity, to be placed among the gods.


Another disgusting practice arising from this legendwill be mentioned hereafter.

75. [_nitiation into Mysteries.-The candidate hadto undergo all the terrors, sufferings, and penancespractised in the Eastern world. He was scourgedwith knotted cords, his flesh was cut with knives, andreeds put into the wounds, that the blood might beseen to trickle more freely, or they were cauterizedwith red-hot cinders. Many perished under thesetrial~. The lustrations were performed, not withwater, but with blood, and the candidate's habit wasnot white, but black, and before initiation he wasgiven a drink, which was said .to dispel fear, which,indeed, it may have done in some degree by disturb-ing the brain. The candidate was then led into thedark caverns ofinitiation, excavated beneath the foun-dations of the mighty pyramidal temple ofVitzliputzliin Mexico, and pass.ed through the mysteries whichsymbolically represented the wanderings of theirgods, i. 8. the course of the sun through the signsof the zodiac. The caverns were called "the pathof the dead." Everything that could appal theimagination and test his courage was made to appearbefore him. Now he heard shrieks of despair andthe groans of the dying; he was led past the dun-geons where the human victims, being fattened forsacrifice,were confined, and through caverns slipperywith half congealed. blood} anon he met with thequivering frame of the dying man, whose heart had

H


just been torn from his body and offered up totheir sanguinary god, and looking up he beheld inthe roof the orifice through which the victims hadbeen precipitated, for they were now immediatelyunder the altar of Vitzliputzli. At length, however,he arrived at a narrow chasm or stone fissure, at theend of this extensive range of caverns, throughwhich he was formally protruded, and received by &

shouting multitude as a person regenerated or bornagain. The females, divesting themselves of .theirlittle clothing, danced in a state of nudity like thefrantic Bacchantes, and, having repeated the dancethree times, they gave themselves up to unboundedlicentiousness.

76: The (heater Mysteries.-But as wi.thEa~temnations, the Mexicans had, besides the general reli-gious doctrines communicated to the initiated, anesoteric doctrine, only attainable by the priests, andnot even by them until they had qualifiedthemselvesfor it by the sacrifice of a human victim. The mostineft'able degrees of knowledge were imparted tothem at midnight and under severe obligations"whose disregard entailed death without remission.The real doctrine taught was astronomical, and, likethe Eastern nations, they at their great festivalslamented the disappearance of the sun, and rejoicedat its re-appearance at the festival of the new fire,as it was called. All fire, even the sacred fire of thetemple, having been extinguished, the population of

J

A.ncient Mysteries. 99

Mexico, with thepriesta at their head, marched to ahill near the city, where they waited till the Pleiadesascended the middle of the sky, when they sacrificeda human victim. The instrument made use of bythe priests to kindle the fire was placed on thewound made in the breast of the prisoner destinedto be sacrificed; and, when the fire was kindled, thebody was placed on an enormous pile ready pre-pared, and this latter set on fire. The new fire,received with joyful shouts, was carried from village.to village; where it was deposited in the temple,whence it was distributed to every private dwelling.When the sun appeared on the horizon ,the accla-mations were renewed. The priests were furthertaught the doctrine of immortality, of a triune deity,of the original population, who-led by the godVitzliputzli, holding in his hand a rod formed like aserpent, and seated in a square ark-.finally settledupon a lake, abounding with the lotus, where theyerected their tabernacle. This lake was the lake inthe midst of which the city of Mexico originallystood.

77. Human Sacrifices.-N 0 priest was to be fullyinitiate~ into the mysteries of the Mexican religionuntil he had sacrificed a human victim. This hor-rible rite, which the Spaniards, who conquered thecountry, often saw performed on their own captivecountrymen, was thus performed :-The chief priestcarried in his hand a large and sharp knife made of


:flint; another priest carried a collar of wood; theother four priests who assisted arranged themselvesadjoining ttJ.epyramidal stone, which had a convextop, so that the man to 1Je sacrificed, being laidthereon on his back, was bent in such a manner thatthe stomach separated upon the slightest incision ofthe knife. Two priests seized hold of his feet andtwo more of his hands, whilst the fifth fastenedround his neck the collar of wood. The high priestthen opened his stomach with the knife, and tearingout his heart, held it up to the ~un, and then threwit before the idol in one of the chapels on.the top ofthe great pyramid where the rite was performed.The body was finally cast down the steps that woundall round the building. Forty or fifty victims werethus sacrificed in a few hours. Prisoners of rankor approved courage might escape this horrid deathby fighting six Mexican warriors in succession.If they were successful their lives and liberty weregranted to them; but if they fell under the strokesof their adversaries they were dragged, .dead orliving, to the sacrificial stone, and their hearts tornout.

78. Olotking in Bloody Skins.-We'have alreadyseen that the priests were clothed in ~t~e bloodyskins of their victims. The same horrid customwas practised on other occasions. On certainfestivals they dressed a man in the bloody skin justreeking ,from the body of a victim. Kings and

,

A.ncient"' Mysteries. 101

grandees did not think it derogatory to their dignityto disguise themselves in this manner, and to runup and down the streets, soliciting aims, whichwere applied to pious purposes. This horriblemasquerade continued till the skin began to growputrid. On another festival they would slaya woman and clothe a man with her skin, who thusequipped, danced for two days together with therest of his fellow-citizens., 79. Peruvian Mysteries.-The Incas, or rulers ofPeru, boasted of their descent from the sun andmoon, which therefore were worshipped, as well ast.he great god Pacha-Camac, whose very name wasso sacred that it was only communicated to theinitiated, They also had an idol they termed Tanga...tango, meaning" One in three and three in one."Their secret mysteries, of w~ch we bow next tonothing, were celebrated on their great annualfestival, held on the first day of the Septembermoon, the people watching all night until the risingof the sun; and when he appeared the eastern doorsof the great temple of Casco were thrown open, sothat the sun's radiance could illuminate his image ingold placed opposite. The walls and ceiling of thistemple were all covered over with gold plates,and the figure of the sun, representing a roundface, surrounded with rays and flames, as modernpainters usually draw the sun, was of such a size 88

almost to cover one side of the wall. It was,


moreover, double the thickness of the platescovering the walls. The Virgins of the Sun, who,like the Vestals of ancient Rome, had the keepingof the sacred fire entrusted to them, and werevowed to perpetual celibacy, then walked round thealtar, whilst the priests expounded the mild andequitable laws of Peru; for, contrary to the practiceof their near neighbours, the Mexicans, the Peru-vians had no sanguinary rites whatever, thoughsome Spanish writers, who, of course, could see nogood in non-Catholics and. pagans, charged themwith sacrificing young children of from four to sixyears old" in prodigious numbers," and also withslaying virgins. The Spaniards, no doubt, alluded tosome ill-understood symbolical rite.

VIII.

THE DRUIDS.

80.

_

HE Druids, the Magi of t1le West.-Thesecret doctrines of the Druids weremuch the same as those of the Gymno..sophists and Brahmins of India, the

Magi of Persia, the priests of Egypt, and of all otherpriests of antiquity. Like them, they had two sets ofreligions doctrines, exoteric and esoteric. Their riteswere practised in Britain and Gaul, though they werebrought to a much greater perfection in the formercountry, where the Isle of Anglesea was consideredtheir chief seat. The word Druid is generally sup-posed to be derived from Ipu~, "an oak," which treewas particularly sacred among them, though itsetymology may also be found in the Gaelic wordDruidh, "a wise man" or "magician."

81. Temples.-Their temples, wherein the sacred

fire was preserved, were generally situate on emi-nences and in dense groves of oaks, and assumedvarious forms-circular, because a circle was an em-blem of the universe; oval, in allusion to the mun- ,dane egg, from which, according to the traditions ofmany nations, the universe, or according to others,our first parents, issued; serpentine, because a ser-pent was the symbol of Hu, the Druidic Osiris;cruciform, because a cross is an emblem of regenera-tion (49) ; or winged, to represent the motion of thedivine spirit. Their only canopy was the sky, andthey were constructed of unhewn stones, their num-bers having reference to astronomical calculations.In the centre was placed a stone of larger dimen--sions than the others, and worshipped as the repre·sentative of the Deity. The three principal templesof this description in Britain were undoubtedly thoseof Stonehenge and Abury in the south, and that ofShap in Cumberland. Where stone was scarce, rudebanks of earth were substituted, and the temple' wasformed of a high vallum and ditch. The most Hercu-lean labours were performed in their construction;Stukeley says that it would cost, at the presenttime, £20,000 to throw up such a mound as SilburyHill.

82.' Places of Initiation.-The adytum or ark orthe mysteries was called a cromlech, and was usedas the sacred pastos, or place of regeneration .. It·consisted of' three upright stones, as supporters of


_-'


a broad, :Batstone laid across them on the top, so asto form a small cell. Kit Cotey's House, in Kent,was such a pastos. Considerable space, however,

" was necessary for the machinery of initiation in itslargest and most comprehensive scale. Therefore~·the Coer Sidi, where the mysteries of Druidism wereperformed, consisted of a ra~ge of buildings, adjoin-ing the temple, containing apartments of all sizes;cells, vaults, baths, and long and artfully-contrivedpassages, with all the apparatus of terror used onthese occasions. Most frequently these places weresubterranean; and many of the caverns in thiscountry were the scenes of Druidical initiation. Thestupendous grotto at Castleton, in Derbyshire, calledby Stukeley the Stygian Cave, as well as the giants"caves at Luckington and Bedminster, in Wilts, cer-tainly were used for this purpose.

83.. Rites.-The system of Druidism embracedevery religious and philosophical pursuit then knownin these islands. The rites bore an undoubted refer-ence to astronomical facts. Their chief deities arereducible to two,-a male and a female, the greatfather and mother, Hu and Ceridwen, distinguishedby the same characteristics a~ belonied to Osirisand Isis, Bacchus and Ceres, or any other supremegod and goddess representing the two principles ofall being. The grand periods of initiation were·quarterly, and determined by the course of the sun"and his arrival at the equinoctial and solstitial points.


But the time of annual celebration was May-eve,when fires were kindled on all the cairns and crom-lechs throughout the island, which burned all nightto introduce the sports of May-day, whence all thenational sports formerly or still practised date theirorigin. Round these fires choral dances were per-formed in honour of the sun, who, at this season,was figuratively said to rise from his tomb. Thefestival was licentious, and continued till the luminaryhad attained his meridian height, when priests andattendants retired to the woods, where the most dis-graceful orgies were perpetrated. But the solemninitiations were performed at midnight, and con-tained three degrees, the first or lowest being theEubates, the second the Bards, and the third theDruids. The candidate was first placed in thepastos bed, or coffin, where his symbolical deathrepresented the death of Hu, or the sun; and hisrestoration in the third degree symbolized the resur-rection of the sun. He had to undergo trials andtests of courage similar to those practised in themysteries of other countries (e. g. 26), and whichtherefore need not be detailed here.

The festival of the 25th of December was cele-~brated with great fires lighted on the tops of the hills;to announce the birth-day of the god Sol. This-was the moment when, after the supposed wintersolstice,he began to increase.and gradually to ascend.This festival indeed was kept not by the Druids

I

I

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•,

,Ancient Mysteries. 107

only, but throughout the ancient world, from Indiato Ultima Thule. The fires, of course, we;'e typicalof the power and ardour of the sun, whilst the ever-

·greens used on the occasion foreshadowed the re-sults of the sun's renewed action on vegetation.The festival of the summer solstice was kept on the~4th of June. Both days are still kept as festivalsin the Christian church, the former as Christmas,the latter as St. John's Day; because the early

I

Christians judiciously adopted not only the festivaldays of the pagans, but also, so far as this could bedone with propriety, their mode of keeping .them ;substituting, however, a theological meaning forastronomical allusions. The use of evergreens inchurches at Christmas time is the Christian per-petuation of an ancient Drpidic custom.

84. Doctrine8.-The Druids taught the doctrineof one supreme being, a future state of rewards andpunishments, the immortality of the soul and ametempsychosis. It was a maxim with them thatwater was the first principle of all things, and ex-isted before the creation in unsullied' purity (11),which seems a contradiction to their other doctrinethat day was the offspring of night, because nightor chaos was inexistence before day was created.They taught that time was only an intercepted frag-ment of eternity, and that there was an endless suc-cession of worlds. In fact, their doctrines were

, chiefly those of Pythagoras. They entertained


great veneration for the numbers three, seven, nine-teen (the Metonic cycle), and one hundred and forty-seven, produced by multiplying the square of seven'by three. They also practised vaticination, pre-·tending to predict future events from the flightsof birds, human sacrifices, by white horses, the-agitation of water, and lots. They seem, however,.to have possessed considerable scientific knowledge ..

85. Political and Judicial Power.-Their authority-in many case's exceeded that of the monarch. Theywere, of course, the sole interpreters of religion, andconsequently superintended all sacrifices; for no-private person was allowed to offer a sacrifice with-out their sanction. . They possessed the power ofexcommunication, which was the most horrible pun-ishment that could be inflicted next to that of death"and from the effects of which the highest magistratewas not exempt. The great. council of the realm

, was not competent to declare war or conclude peacewithout their concurrence. They determined alldisputes by a final and unalterable decision, and hadthe power of inflicting the punishment of death.And, indeed, their altars streamed with the bloodof human victims. Holocausts of men, women, andchildren, inclosed in large towers of wicker-work,were sometimes sacrificed as a burnt-offering totheir superstitions, which were, at the same time, in-tended to enhance the consideration of the priests, whowere an ambitious race delighting in blood. The

. Ancient Mysteries. 109

Druids, it is said, preferred such as had been guilty-of theft, robbery, or other crimes, as most accept-.able to their gods; but when there was a scarcity of.criminals, they made no scruple to supply theirplace with innocent persons. These dreadful sacri-fices were offered by the Druids, for the public, on;the eve of a dangerous war, or in the time of anynational calamity; and also for particular persona.of high rank, when they were afflicted with any-dangerous disease.

86. Priestes888.-The priestesses, clothed in white,·and wearing a metal girdle, foretold the future from·the observation of natural phenomena, but moreespecially from human sacrifices. For them wasreserved the frightful task of putting to death theprisoners taken in war, and individuala condemnedby the Druids; and their auguries were drawn fromthe manner in which the blood issued from the manywounds inflicted, and also from the smoking entrails.Many of these priestesses maintained a perpetualvirginity, others gave themselves up to the most lux-urious excesses. They dwelt on lonely rocks, beatenby the waves of the ocean, which the mariners lookedupon as temples surrounded with unspeakable pro-

. ,digies. Thus the island of Sena or Liambis, TheSaints, near Ushant, was the residence of certain ofthese priestesses, who delivered oracles to sailors;and there was no power that was not attributed tothem. Others, living near the mouth of the Loire,


once a year destroyed their temple, scattered itsmaterials, and, having collected others, built a newone-of course a symbolical ceremony; and if oneof the priestesses dropped any of the sacred mate-rials, the others fell upon her with fierce yells, toreher to pieces, and scattered her bleeding limbs.

87. Abolition.-As the Romans gained ground inthese islands the power of the Druids grad uallydeclined; and they were finally assailed by Sue-tonius Psulinus, governor of Britain under Nero,A. D. 61, in their stronghold, the Isle of Anglesey,

. and entirely defeated, the conqueror consuming manyo~ them in the fires which they had kindled forburning the Roman prisoners they had expected tomake-a very just retaliation upon these sanguinarypriests. But though their dominion was thus de-stroyed, many of their religious practices continuedmuch longer; and so late as the eleventh century,in the reign of Canute, it was necessary to forbidthe people to worship the sun, moon, fires, etc.Certainly many of the practices of the Druids arestill adhered to in Freemasonry; and some writerson this order endeavour to show that it was esta-blished soon after the edict of Canute, and that asthereby the Druidical worship was prohibited intoto, the strongest oaths were required to bind theinitiated to seoresy.

IX.

SCANDINAVIAN MYSTERIES.

88.

lI1ROTTES.-The priests of Scandinaviawere named Drottes, ana instituted bySigge, a, Scythian prince, who is saidafterwards to have assumed the name of

Odin. Their number was twelve, who were aJikepriests and judges; and from this order proceededthe establishment of British juries. Their power wasextended to its utmost limits, by being allowed adiscretionary privilege of determining on the choiceof human victims for sacrifice, from which even themonarchwas not exempt- hence arose the necessity ofcultivating the goodwill of these sovereign pontiffs;and as this order, like the Israelitish priesthood,was restricted to one family, they became possessedof unbounded wealth, and at last became so tyran-nical as to be objects of terror to the whole com-


munity. Christianity, promising to relieve it fromthis yoke, was hailed with enthusiasm; and theinhabitants of Sc~ndinavia; inspired with a thirst forvengeance on account of accumulated and long-con-tinued suffering, retaliated with dreadful severity ontheir persecutors, overthrowing the palaces and tem-.ples, the statues of their gods, and all the .psrapher-nalia of Gothic superstition. Of this nothing re-mains but a few cromlechs; some stupendous monu-ments of rough stone, which human fury could notdestroy; certain .ranges of caverns hewn out of thesolid rock; and some natural grottos used for thepurpose of initiation.

89. Ritual.-The whole ritual had an astronomi-cal bearing. The places of initiation, as in othermysteries, were in caverns, natural or artificial, andthe candidate had to undergo trials as frightfulas the priests could render them. But insteador having to pass through seven caves or pas-sages, as in the Mithraic and other mysteries, hedescended through nine-the square of the mysticnumber three-subterranean pas~ages, and he wasinstructed to search for the body of Balder, theScandinavian Osiris, slain by Loke, the principle ofdarkness, and to use his utmost endeavours to raisehim to life. To enter into particulars of the pro-cess of initiation would involve the repetition ofwhat has been said before; it may therefore sufficeto observe that the candidate on arriving at the


saoellum had a solemn oath administered to him ona naked sword, and ratified it by drinking meadout of a human skull, The sacred sign of the crosswas impressed upon him, and a ring of magicvirtues, the gift of Balder the Good, delivered

. to him.90. Astronomical Meaning Demo'nstrated.-The

first canto of the Edda, which apparently contains adescription of the ceremonies performed on theinitiation of an aspirant, says that he seeks to knowthe sciences possessed by the .LEsasor gods. Hediscovers a palace, whose roof. of boundless dimen-sions is covered with golden shields. He en-counters a man engaged in launching upwardsseven flowers. Here we easily discover the astro-nomical meaning: the palace is the world, the roofthe sky; th~ golden shields are the stars, the seven-flowers the seven planets. The candidate is askedwhat is his name, and replies Gangler, that is, thewanderer, he that performs 8 revolution, distribut-ing necessaries to mankind; for the candidate per-sonates the sun. The palace is that of the king,the epithet the ancient Mystagognes gave to thehead of the planetary system. Then he discoversthree seats; on the lowest is the king called Bar, sub-lime; on the central one, Jafuhar, the equal of theSublime; on the highest Tredie, the number three.·These personages are those the neophyte beheld inthe Elensinian initiation (59), the hierophant, the

1


daduchus or torchbearer, and the epibomite or at..tendant on the altar; those he sees in Freemasonry,the master, and the senior and junior wardens, sym-bolical personifications of the sun, moon, andDemiurgus, or grand architect of the universe. Butthe Scandinavian triad is usually represented by.Odin, the chief deity; Thor, his first-born, the re-puted mediator between god and man, possessingunlimited power over the universe, wherefore hishead was surrounded by a circle of twelve stars;and Freya, a hermaphrodite, adorned with avariety of syinbols significant of dominion overlove and marriage. In the instructions given tothe neophyte, he is told that the greatest and mostancient of gods is called Alfader (the father of all),and has twelve epithets, which recall the twelveattributes of the sun, the twelve constellations, thetwelve superior gods of Egypt, Greeoe, and Rome.Among the gods of the Scandinavian theogonythere is Balder the Good, whose story, as alreadyhinted above, formed the object of the initiatoryceremonies. Balder is Mithras, the sun's love.He foresees the danger that threatens him; hedreams of it at night. The other gods of Val-halla, the Scandinavian Olympus, to whom hereveals his sad forebodings, reassure him, and toguard against any harm befalling him, exact anoath from every thing in nature in his behalf, exceptfrom the mistletoe, which was omitted on account


of its apparently inoffensive qualities. For an ex-periment, and in sport, the gods cast at Balder allkinds of missiles, without wounding him. Hoderthe blind (that is, Fate), takes no part in the diver-sion; but Loke (the principle of evil, darkness, theseason of winter) places a sprig in the hands ofHoder, and persuades him to cast it at the devotedvictim, who falls pierced with mortal wounds. Forthis reason it was. that this plant- was gathered atthe winter solstice by the Druids of Scandinavia,Gaul, and Britain, with a curved knife, whose formsymbolized the segment of the zodiacal circle dur-ing which the murder of Balde~ took place, Inthe Edda of Snorro we have another legend ofOdin and Freya, the Scandinavian Isis or Venus,giving ~n account of the wanderings of the latter insearch of the former, which, of course, have the sameastronomical meaning as the search of Isis for Osiris,of Ceres for Proserpine, etc. One of the chief fes-tivals in the year, aa with the Druids, was the win-ter solstice; and this being the longest night in theyear, the Scandinavians assigned to it the formationof the world from primeval darkness, and called it"Mother Night." This festival was denominated" Yule," and was a season of universal festivity.

-BOOK II.

EMANATIONISTS.

" A shameful strife,A glowing life,I weave on the whirring loom of Time,The living garment ofthe Deity."

GOETHE, Faust.

AUTHORITIES.

K'IKYIT. Cabala Denudate. 1677.F'reyriatlt. Caba1istische Philosophie. Konigsberg, 1830.lJ'rrank. La Cabala. Paris, 1843.MUMs,. Versuch fiber die Alterthiimer der Gnostiker.

Anspach, 1790.Schmidt. Ueber die Verwandtschaft der Gnoatisch-theo-

sophischen Lehren mit den Religions-systemen desOrients. Leipsic, 1828.

Matte,.. Histoire critique du Gnosticisme. Paris, 1847.

I.

THE CABALA.

91.

•

TS Origin.-The Cabala is the summaryof the labours of the sects of Judaism,and is occupied in the mystical inter-pretation of the Scriptures, and in meta-

physical speculations concerning the Deity and theworlds visible and invisible. The Jews say that itwas communicated to Moses by God Himself. Now,although it is not at all improbable that Mosesdid leave to his successors some secret doctrines,yet the fantastic doctrines of the Cabala con-cerning angels and demons are purely Chaldean; atBabylon the Jews ingrafted -on Monotheism thedoctrine of the Two Principles. Danie], the pontiffof the Magi and prophet of the Jews, may be con-sidered as the chief founder of the Cabala, which was

I

J


conceived at Babylon, and received as the forbiddenfruit of the strange woman.

92. Its Progress.-The ancient Jews, indeed,had some idea of angels, but did not ascribe to themany particular functions, though to each patriarchthey assigned a special familiar spirit. The Alex-andrian School made many additions to that foreignimportation; Philo supplemented Daniel. The spe-culative portion of the Cabala, whose foundationconsists in the doctrine of Emanation, was developedin that School; the philosophical systems of Pyth-agoras and Plato were combined with Oriental philo-sophy, and from these proceeded Gnosticism andNeo-platonism.

93. Date of Oabala.-The first documentarypromulgation of the Cabala may roughly be statedto have taken place within the century before andhalf a century after our era. The greater cultureof the Jewish people, the supreme tyranny of theletter of the law and rabbinical minuteness, furtheredthe spread of occult theology, whose chief text- booksare the " Sepher-yetzirah," or Book .of the Creation,probably by Akiba, and the "Zehar," the Book ofLight, by Simon-ben-Joachai, the St. Thomas of theCabala, whose work contains the sum of that obscureand strange system.

94. The Book of the Creatum, - In this workAdam considers the mystery of the universe. Inhis monologue he declares the forces and powers of

Emanationists. 121

reason, which attemp~s to discover the bond whichunites in a common principle all the elements ofthings; and in this investigation he adopts a methoddifferent from the 'Mosaic. He does not descendfrom God to the creation, but, studying the uni-verse, seeking the unity in variety and multiplicity,the law in the phenomenon, he ascends from thecreation to God-a prolific method, but which leadsthe Cabalists to seek fantastic analogies betweensuperior and inferior powers, between heaven andearth, between the things and the signs of thought.Hence arose all the arts of divination and conjura-tion, and the most absurd superstitions. Accordingto cabalistic conception, the universe, which to Pyth-agoras is a symbol of the mysterious virtues of num-bers, is only a marvellous page on which all existingthings' were written by the supreme artificer with.the first ten numbers and the twenty-two lettersof the Hebrew alphabet. The ten abstract numbersare the general forms of things, the "supreme cate-:gories of ideas." Thus, number one represents thespirit of the living God, the universal generativepower; number two is the breath of the animatingspirit; three is the aqueous, and four the igneousprinciple. The imprint of the letters on the uni-verse is indestructible, and is the only character,that can enable us to discover the Supreme Cause,to recompose the name of God, the Logos, writtenon the face of the world. Nor' are all the letters


of equal virtue; three, called the mothers havethe precedence, and refer to the triads found invarious physical and mental orders; seven othersare called double, because from them arise the thingsconstantly opposed to one another; the remainingtwelve are called simple, and refer to twelve attri-butes of man.

95. Di.fferen~Kinds, of Oabala.-It is of twokinds, theoretical and practical. The latter isengaged in the construction of talismans and amu-lets, and is therefore totally unworthy of our notice.The theoretical is divided into the literal and dog-matic. The dogmatic is the summary of the meta-physical doctrines taught by the Cabalistic doctors.The literal is a mystical mode of explaining sacredthings by a, peculiar use of the letters of words.This literal Cabala is again subdivided into threebranches, the first considering words according tothe numerical value of the letters composing them.This branch is called Gematria, and for an exampleof it the reader is referred to Mithras (29,) thename of the sun, whose letters make up the number365, the number of days during which the sunperforms his course. The second branch is calledNotaricon, and is a mode of constructing one wordout of the initials or finals of many. Thus, of thesentence in Deut. xxx. 12, "Who shall go up forus to heaven ?" in Hebrew "c'on," r:h ";»" 'o~ theinitial letters of each word are taken to form the

i• I

Emanationists . 123

word, M~'tO, cc circumcision." The third mode iscalled Temura, or permutation of letters, such as isfamiliarly known as an anagr~.

96. Vuions of Ezekiel. - Cabslistic terms andinventions, not destitute of poetic ideas, lent them-aelves to the requirements of the mystics, sectaries,and alchymists. It suffices to consider that portionof the system whose object is the study of thevisions of Ezekiel, to form an idea of the fantasticand mythological wealth of the CabaJa.

In the visions of Ezekiel God is seated on a,

throne, surrounded with strange winged figures-the man, the bull, the lion, and the eagle, four zodi-acal signs, like" the glory which he saw by the riverof Chebar," that is, among the Chaldeans, famousfor their astronomical knowledge. The rabbis callthe visions the description of the celestial car, anddiscover therein profound mysteries. Maimonidesreduced those visions to the astronomical ideas ofhis time; the Cabala surrounded them with its innu-merable hosts of angels. Besides the angels thatpreside over the stars, elements, virtues, vices,passions, the lower world is peopled by genii ofbothsexes, holding a position between angels and men-the elemental spirits of the Rosicrucians. Thegood angels are under the command of Metatron,also called Sar Happanim, the angel of the Divinecountenance. The evil angels are subject to Samuel,or Satan, the angel of death. Besides the Indian


metempsychosis the Cabalists admit another, whichthey call "impregnation," consisting in a union ofseveral souls in one body, which takes place whe~any soul needs the assistance of others to attain tothe beatific vision.

97. The Oreaium out oj Nothing.-The primitiveBeing is called the Ancient of Days, the ancientRing of Light, incomprehensible, infinite, eternal, aclosed eye. Before he manifested himself all thingswere in him, and he was called The Nothing, theZero-world (9). Before the creation of the worldthe primitive light of God, Nothing, filled all, so thatthere was no void; but when the Supreme Being

· determined to manifest His perfections, He withdrewinto Himself, and let go forth the first emanation, a,

ray of light, which is the cause and beginning of allthat exists, and combines the generative and con-ceptive forces. He commenced by forming an im-perceptible point, the point-world ; then with thatthought He constructed a holy .and mysteriousform, and finall~ covered it with a rich vestment-the universe. From the generative and conceptiveforces issued forth the first-born of God, the uni-versal form, the creator, preserver, and animatingprinciple of the world, Adam Kadmon, called themacrocosm; whilst man, born out of and living in it,and comprising, in fact, what the typical or celestialman comprises potentially, is called the microcosm.But before the Eusoph or Infinite revealed Himself

Em an ationis ts • 125

in that form of the primitive man, other emanations,other worlds, had succeeded each other, which werecalled " sparks," which grew fainter the more distantthey were from the centre of emanation. AroundAdam Ksdmon were formed the countless circles ofposterior emanations, which are not beings having8 life of their own, but attributes of God, vessels ofomnipotence, types of creation. The ten emana-tions from Adam Kadmon are called Sephiroth,the "powers" of Philo, and the "reons" of theGnostics.

98. Diifusion of Oabaz.isticldeas.-Cabalistic ideasspread far and wide. In the middle ages we meetwith them in a great number of strange practicesand ceremonies. I will here merely allude to one,because it explains a sign still in use in many partsof the Continent. The double triangle (18) wasregarded by the Jews as a, cabalistic figure, to whichthey attributed the power of averting fire. Hencethe German Jews in the middle ages placed it overthe entrances of all their workshops and factories.Its use was afterwards restricted to breweries. Nowit is the sign of beerhouses; whilst the pine branch,which is the ancient thyrsus, announces the sale of

. wme.Without' specifying how much the philosophic

systems of Spinoza and Schelling are indebted tothem, and without speaking of the Hebrew sectsstill exiating=-which may be considered as the.


sequels of the Cabalistic school, and which includethat of the "New Saints," founded by Israel, calledthe Thaumatnrgist, in Podolia, in 1740, and that ofthe "Zohariti," the Illuminated, founded by JacobFranck, who attempted, by a kind of philosophicalsyncretism, to reconcile the ancient and the modernrevelation,-we meet with Cabalistic ideas in themost lasting superstitions, in the Schools,Academies,and Masonic Lodges. The rituals of the Mystics,Freemasons, Illuminati, and Carbonari, aboundwith them, as I shall successively point out.

II.

THE GNOSTICS.

99.

•

HARAOTER of Gnosticism.-The lead-ing ideas of Platonism are also found inthe tenets of the Gnostics, and they con-tinued, during the second and third

centuries, the schools that raised a barrier betweenrecondite philosophy and vulgar superstition. Underthis aspect Gnosticism is the most universal heresy,the mother of many posterior heresies, even ofArianism, and reappears among the alchymists,mystics, and modern transcendentalists.

100. Doctrine8.-TheGnosticsassumedaninfinite,invisible Being, an abyss of darkness, who, unableto remain inactive, diffused himself in emanations,decreasing in perfection the further they were re-moved from the centre that produced them. Theyhad their grand triad, whose personifications,


"Matter, the Demiurgus, and the Saviour, comprisedand represented the history of mankind and of theworld. The superior emanations, partakers of theattributes of the Divine essence, "are the "~on8,"distributed in classes, according to symbolical num-bers. Their union forms the "pleroma," or the ful-ness of intelligence. I The last and ~ost imperfectemanation of the pleroma, according to one of thetwo grand divisions of Gnosticism, is the Demiurgus,a balance of light and darkness, of strength andweakness, who, without the concurrence of the un-known Father, produces this world, there imprison-ing the souls, for "heis the primary evil, opposed tothe primary good. .He encumbers the souls withmatter, from which they are redeemed by Christ, oneof the sublime powers of the pleroma, the Divinethought, intelligence, the spirit. For humanity isdestined to raise itself again from the material tothe spiritual life; to free itself from nature, and togovern it, and to live again in immortal beauty.

According to the other party of the Gnostics, theDemiur~us was the representative and, organ of thehighest God, who was placed by the Divine willespecially over the Jewish people, as their Jehovah.Men are divided into three classes: the terrestrialmen, of the earth earthy, tied and bound by matter;the spiritual men, the Pnenmatikoi, who attain tothe Divine light; the Psychikoi, 'who only rise. upto the Deminrgns. The Jews, subject to Jehovah,

·The Gnostics. 129

I

were Psychikoi; the Pagans were Terrestrial men;the true Christians or Gnostics, Pneumatikoi.

101. Development of Gn08tici8m.-SiI~:lOnMagus;,Menander, his successor; Cerinthus, the apostle ofthe Millennium, and some others who lived in the .first century, are looked upon as the founders of,Gnosticism, which soon divided into as many sectsas there arose apostles. This may be called theobscure period of Gnosticism. But at the begin-ning of the second century the sect of Basilides ofAlexandria arose, and with it various centres ofGnosticism in Egypt, Syria, Rome, Spain, &c.Basilides assumed 365 mons or cycles of creation,which were expressed by the word abraeas, whoseletters, according to their numerical value in Greek,produce the number 365. By " abraxas " was meant,in its deeper' sense, the Supreme God; but thereader will at once detect the' astronomical bearing,and remember the words Mithras and Belenus,which also severally represent that number, and theSupreme' G9d, viz. the sun. Valentinus also is0,' famous Gnostic, whose fundamental doctrine isthat all men shall be restored to their primev~state of perfection; that matter, the refuge of evil,shall be consumed by fire, which is also the doc-trine of Zoroaster, and that the spirits in perfectmaturity shall ascend into the pleroma, t4ere to \enjoy all the delights of a perfect union with theircompanions. From the Valeritinians sprang the

K


Ophites, calling themselves so after the serpent that·by tempting Eve brought into the world the bles-sings of knowledge ; and the Cainites, who main-tained that Cain had been.the first Gnostic in oppo-

. sition to the blind, unreasoning faith of Abel, andtherefore persecuted by the Demiurgus, Jehovah.The Antitacts (opponents to the law), like theIshmaelites at a later period, taught their adeptshatred against all positive religions and laws. TheAdamites looked upon marriage as the fruit of sin;they called their lascivious initiation "paradise;"held all indulgence in carnal delights lawful, andadvocated the abolition of dress. The Pepuziansvaried their initiations with the apparition of phan-tasms, among whom was a woman crowned with thesun and twelve stars, and having the moon underher feet-the Isis of Egypt and the Ceres of Greece.They found in the Apocalypse all their initiatoryterminology. A Gnostic stone, represented in thework of ChifBet, shows seven stars of equal sizewith a larger one above; these probably mean theseven planets and the sun. There 'are, moreover,

. figured on it a pair of compasses, a square, andother geometrical emblems. Thus all religiousinitiations are ever reducible to astronomy andnatural phenomena.

102. Spirit of Gnosticism.-The widely oppositeideas ~f polytheism, pantheism, monotheism, thephilosophical systems of Plato, Pythagoras, Hera-

The Gnostics. 131

clitus, together with the mysticism and demonologythat after the Jewish captivity created the Cabala-all these went towards forming Gnosticism. Andthe aristocracy of mind, powerful and numerous asnone had ever been before, that arose in ,the firstcenturies of our era, even when adopting the newfaith, could not but loathe the thought of sharing itcompletely with the crowd of freed and .unfreedslavJ3saround them-with the low and poor inspirit. The exclusiveness of Gnosticism was un-doubtedly, next to the attractiveness of its dogmas,one of the chief reasons of its rapid propagationand its lasting influence on modern religioussystems.

·-BOOK III.

RELIGION OF LOVE.

Lee croisee, pendant leur sejour en Orient, ont etudietoutes les varian tea qui caracteriaeren ties sectes chre-tiennes. Ils se sont attaches aux doctrines des gnosticienset des manicheens, qui leur paraissaien t moine altGrces quecelle des pretres de Rome.-RAGON .

•

AUTHORITIES.

Wolf. Manichmismus ante Manicbmos. Hamburg, 1707.Baur, Sur Ie Manicheisme des Cathares. Tiibingen, 1831.ltfillot. Vie des Troubadours.F'ab't6 d'oUv6t. Poesies occitaniques dn xmB sieole.

Paris, 1808.Dies. Die Poesie der 'lroubadours. Zwickau, 1826.Di'fl,(JfUZ. Les Trouveurs de 1& Flandre et du Toumaisan.

Paris, 1889.H auriel. Histoire de 1&Poesie provencale,Galvam. Osservazioni Bulla Poesia de' Trovatori. Mo-

dena, 1839.Schmidt. Geschichte der Albigenser.Billchimg. Ritterzeit und Ritterwesen. Leipsic, 1823.Milu. History of Chivalry. London, 1825.Aroux. Les Mysteres de 10, Chevalerie. Paris, 1858 .•

I.

SONS OF THE WIDOW.

103•

•

BIGIN oj Religion of Love.-. A ~ers~anslave, whose powerful imaginationbrought forth a desolating doctrine,but extraordinary by originality of in-

vention and variety of episodes, three centuriesafter the appearance of Christ, and when Orientalismwas on the point of disappearing from the West,founded a theogony and instituted a sect whichreviv:edEastern influence in Europe, and by meansof the Crusades spread schism and revolt through-out the Catholic world. The action of this rebel-lious disciple of Zoroaster, of this restorer of theancient faith of the Magi, mixed with Christianforms and Gnostic symbols, had an extension andduration which, though called in doubt by the past,modern criticism discovers in the intrinsic phi-


losophy of a, great part of the sects formed in thebosom of Catholicism. At the head of this giganticmovement of intelligence and conscience, whichdevoted itself to the most singular superstitions inorder to shake oft' the yoke of Rome, are Gnosticismand Manichreism, Oriental sects, the last and gloriousadvance of a theogony, which, seeing the rule of 80

large a portion of the earth pass away from itself,undertook to recover it wit~ mysteries and theevocation of poetic phantoms.

104. Manes.-Manes, redeemed from slavery bya rich Persian widow, whence he was called the" son of the widow,' and his disciples" sons of thewidow," of prepossessing aspect, learned in theAlexandrian philosophy, ~t_g __t_h_El}ditl!~iomysteries, traversed the ;egions of India, touchedon the confines of China, studied the evangelicaldoctrines, a~d so lived in the midst of manyreligious systems, deriving light from all, andsatisfied by none. .He was born at a propitiousmoment, and his temperament fitted him for ardu-ous and fantastic undertakings and schemes.Possessing great penetration and an inflexible will,he comprehended the expansive force of Chris-tianity, and resolved to profit thereby, maskingGnostic and Cabalistic ideas under Christian namesand rites. In order to establish this Christianrevelation, he called himself the Paraolete an-nounced by Christ to His disciples, attributing to

Sons of the Widow. 137

himself, in the Gnostic manner, a great superiorityover the Apostles, rejecting the Old 'I'estament,and-allowing to the sages of the pagans a philo-sophy superior to Judaism.

105. Manichreism.-The dismal conceptions of a,

dualism, pure and simple, the eternity and absoluteevil of matter, the non-resurrection of the body,the perpetuity of the principle of evil,-these presideover the compound that took its name from him, .and confound Mithras with Christ, the Gospel withthe Zend-Aveste Magism with Judaism. TheUnknown Father, the Infinite Being, of Zoroaster,is entirely rejected by Manes, who divides the uni-verse into two dominions, that of light, and that ofdarkness, irreconcilable, whereof one is superior tothe other; but, great difference, the first, insteadof conquering the latter into goodness, reduces itto impotence, conquers, but does not subdue orconvince it. The God of light has innumerablelegions of combatants (eeons},at whose head aretwelve superior angels, corresponding with thetwelve signs of the zodiac. Satanic matter is·surrounded by a similar host, which, having beencaptivated by the charms of the light, endeavoursto conquer it; wherefore the head of the celestialkingdom, in order to obviate this danger, infuseslife into a new power, and appoints it to watchthe frontiers of heaven. That power is called the"Mother of Life," 'and is the soul of the world,


the" Divine," the primitive thought of the SupremeEns, the heavenly" Sophia" of the Gnostics. Asa direct emanation of the Eternal it. is too pure tounite with matter, but a son is born unto it, thefirst man, who initiates the great struggle with thedemons. When the strength of 'the man fails him,the" Living Spirit" comes to his assistance, and,having led him back to the kingdom of light, raisesabove the world that part of the celestial soul notcontaminated by contact with the demons-a per-fectly pure soul, the Redeemer, the Christ, whoattracts to Himself and frees from matter the lightand soul of the first man. In these abstruse doctrineslies concealed the Mithraic worship of the sun. Thefollowers of Manes were divided into " Elect" and" Listeners;" the former had to renounce everycorporeal enjoyment, everything that can darken thecelestial light in us; the second were less vigorouslytreated. Both might attain immortality by meansof purification in an ample lake placed in the moon(the baptism of celestial water), and sanctificationin the solar fire (the baptism of celestial fire), wherereside the Redeemer and the blessed spirits.

106. Life of Manes.-The career of Manes waschequered and stormy, a foreshadowing of thetempests that were to arise against his sect. Afterhaving enjoyed the unstable favour of the Court,and acquired the fame of a great physician, he foundhimself unable to save the life of one of the sons of

SO'(1,8 of the Widow. 189

.the prince. He was consequently exiled, and roved,through Turkestan, Hindostan, and the Chineseempire. He dwelt for one year in a cave, living onherbs, during which time his followers, having re-ceived no news from him, said that he had ascendedto heaven, and were believed, not only by the" Listeners," but by the people. The new princerecalled him to court, showered honours on him,erected a sumptuous palace for him, and consultedhim on all state afl'airs. But the successor of thissecond prince made him pay dearly for this shorthappiness, for he put him to a cruel death.

107. Progress of Manichreism.-The governmentof the sect already existing with degrees, initiatoryrites, signs and pass-words, was continued by astutechiefs, who more and more attracted to themselvesthe Christians by the use of orthodox language,making them believe that their object was to recallChristianity to its first purity. But the sect wasodious to the Church of Rome, because it had issuedfrom rival Persia; and so for two hundred years itwas banished from the empire, and the TheodosianCodex is full of laws against it. Towards the endof the fourth century it spread in Africa and Spain.It had peace and flourished under the mother ofthe Emperor Anastasius (491-518); but Justinrenewed the persecution. Changing its name, seat,and figurative language, it spread.in Bulgaria, Lom-bardy (Patarini), Franoe (Cathari, Albigenses, &0.),


united with the Saracens and openly made war uponthe Emperor, and its followers perished by thou-sands in battle and at the stake; and from its seculartrunk sprang the so-called heresies of the Hussitesand Wyckliffites, which opened the way for Pro-testantism. In those gloomy middle ages, in fact,arose those countless legions of' sectaries, bound bya common pact, whose existence only then becomesmanifest when the sinister light of the burning pile

~ flashes through the darkness in which they concealthemselves. The Freemasons undoubtedly, throughthe 'I'emplars, inherited no small portion of theirritual from them; they were very numerous in allthe courts, and even in the dome of' St. Peter, andbaptized in blood with new denominations andordinances.

108. Doctrines.-The sacred language of Mani-chreism was most glowing, and founded on thatconcert of voices and ideas, called in Pythagoreanphraseologythe "harmony of the spheres," whichestablished a connection between the mystic degreesand the figured spheres by means of conventionalterms and images; and it is known that the Albi-genses and Patarini recognized each other by signs.A Provencal Patarino, who had Hed to Italy in1240, everywhere met with a friendly reception,revealing himself to the brethren by means of con-ventional phrases. He everywhere found the sectadmirably 'organized, with churches, bishops" and

Sons of the 141

apostles of the most active pro aganda, who over-ran France, Germany, and Eng and. The Mani ..cheean language, moreover, was ascetic, and loving,and Christian; but the neophyte, after having onceentered the sect, was carried beyond, and graduallyalienated from the Papal Church. The mysterieshad two chief objects in view-that of leading theneophyte, by first insensibly changing his formeropinions and dispositions, and then of graduallyinstructing him in the conventional language, which, .being complicated and varied, required much studyand much time. But not all were admitted to thehighest degrees. Those that turned back, .or couldnot renounce former ideas, remained always in theChurch, and were not introduced into the sanctuary .

.These were simple Christians and sincere listeners,who, out of zeal for reform, often encountereddeath, as, for instance, the canons of Orleans, whowere condemned to the stake by King Robert in1022. But those who did not turn back wereinitiated into all those things which it was im-portant should be known to the most faithful mem-bers of the sect. The destruction of Rome, and theestablishment of the heavenly Jerusalem spoken ofin the Apocalypse, were the chief objects aimed at.

109. Spread of Religio'!1' of LO'lJe.-The religionof love did not end with the massacre of the .Albi-genses, nor were its last echoes the songs of thetroubadours; for we meet with it in a German sect


which in 1550 pretended to receive a. supernaturallight from the Holy Spirit. In Holland, also; a sectof Christians arose in 1580, called the, "Family ofLove," which spread to England, where it publishedmany books, and flourished about the time ofCromwell, and seems to have had some connectionwith the Puritans. '

:,

I

1

II.

THE GAY SCIENCE.

110.

DRANSITION from Ancient to ModernInitiations. -An order of facts nowclaims our attention which in a certainmanner signalizes the transitio~ from

ancient to modern initiations. An extraordinaryphenomenon in social conditions becomes apparent,so strikingly different from what we meet with in

. antiquity as to present itself as a new startingpoint. Hitherto we have seen the secret organizingitself in the higher social classes, so as to deprivethe multitude of truths whose revelation could nothave taken place without injury and danger to thehierarchy. At the base we find polytheism, super-

. stition; at the summit deism, rationalism, the mostabstract philosophy. Truly those peoples were tobe pitied, who, slaves of ignorance and -corruption,


erected with their own hands the prisons of truthand the temples of imposture, who adored idolsand idolized form, superficiality, and appearance.

111. Spirit oj Ancient Sec'ret Societies.-Thesecret societies of antiquity were theological, andtheology frequently inculcated superstition; but inthe deepest recesses of the sanctuary there was aplace where it would la-ughat itself and the deludedpeople, and draw to itself the intelligences that re-belled against the servitude of fear, by initiatingthem into the only creed worthy of a free man. Tothat theology, therefore, otherwise very learned andnot cruel, and that promoted art and science, muchmay be forgiven, attributing perhaps not to basecalculation, but to sincere conviction and thought-ful prudence, the dissimulation with which it con-cealed the treasures of truth and knowledge, that-formed its power, glory, and, in a certain manner,its privilege. .

1] 2. Spirit of Modern Societies. - In moderntimes the high religious and political spheres haveno secrets, for they have no privilege of knowledge,nor initiations which confer on those higher inknowledge the right to sit on the seat of the mighty.

113. Cause and ~rogres8 oj Heresy.-But thepyramid was overthrown; the lofty summit fell, andthe ample massive base became visible, and no one,without being guilty of an anachronism and pre-paring for himself bitter disappointments, can seek

The Gay Science. 145

the truth where there is but a delusive show oftruth. Whoever persists in making any mends-

..cious height the object of his ambition, removes hiseyes from the horizon which, lit up by the dawn,casts light around his. feet, while his head. is yet indarkness. Henceforth secret societies are popularand religious, not in the sense of the constitutedand official church, but of a rebellious and sectarianchurch; and since at a period when the authorityof the church is paramount, and religion -eirculabesthrough all the veins of the state, no change can beeffected without heresy, so this must necessarily bethe first aspect of political and intellectual revolt.This heresy makes UBeof the denial and rej ectionof official dogmas in order to overthrow the hatedclerocracy, and to open for itself a road to civilfreedom.

114. Efforts and Influence of Heretics.- ThePapacy was necessarily the first cradle of the newconspirators, and from the heresies arose' the sects,of which none was more extensive and active thanthe Albigenses. This great fact of opposition andreaction has no parallel in antiquity, where thevery schools of philosophy adopted the forms of themysteries; and it is a fact which imparts an im-mense momentum to modern history, and surroundswith lustre popular movements and personalities.This great energy proceeded from heretical andsectarian schools, and struggled in the dark to

L

· 146 Secret Societies.

•

conquer in the light. The sect of the Albigenses,the offspring of M~nichmism, fructified in its turnthe germs of the Templars and Rosicrucians, and ofall those associations that continued the struggleand fought against ecclesiastical and civil oppression.

115. The AlbiglmBe8.-It is to be noticed thatthe object of the Albigenses in so far differed fromthat of aJl posterior sects, that its blows were i~-tended for Papal Rome alone; and wholly Papalwas the revenge taken through the civil arm,and with priestly rage. The .Albigenses were theGhibellines of France, and combined with all whowere opposed to Rome, especially with FrederickII. and the Arragonese, in maintaining the rights ofkings against the pretensions of the Papal See.Their doctrines had a special influence on the Um-versity of Bologna, wholly imperial; Dante was im-perialistic, tainted with that doctrine, and there-fore hated by the Guelphs.\ 116. TB'netBo! Albigense8.-Toulousewas the Romeof that church which had its pastors, bishops, pro-vincial and general councils, like the official church,and assembled under i~ banners the dissenters of agreat portion of Europe, all meditating the ruin ofRome \lind the restoration of the kingdom of Jerusa-lem. The rising in Provence gathered strengthfrom the circumstances in which it took place. TheCrusaders had revived eastern Manichmism, placingEurope in immediate contact with aophisticated :

I,The .Gay Science. 147

Greece, and Mahomedan and Pantheistic Asia.The East, moreover, contributed Aristotle and hisArab commentators, to which must be added thesubtleties of the cabala and the materialism of ideas.Philosophy, republicanism, and industry assailed theHoly See. Various isolated rebellions had revealedthe general spirit, and wholesale slaughter had notrepressed it; the rationalism of the Waldenses COD-

nected itself with the German mysticism of theRhine and the Netherlands, where the operativesrose against the counts and the bishops. Everyapostle that preached pure morality, the religion ofthe spirit, the restoration of the primitive church,found followers; the century of Saint Louis is theoentury of unbelief in the Church of Rome, and

, the Imp08sibilia of Sigero foreshadowed those ofStrauSs.

117. Aims 01 Al~igenses. -The heresy of theAlbigenses made such progress along the shoresof the Mediterranean that several countries seemed toseparate from Rome, whilst princes and, emperorsopenly favoured it. Not satisfied with already consi-dering impious Rome overthrown, the Albigensessuddenly turned towards the Crusaders, at firstlooked at with indifference, hoping to make Jeru-salem the glorious and powerful rival of Rome,there to establish the Beat of the Albigenses, torestore the religion of love in its first home, tofound OD earth the heavenly Jerusalem, of which

148 ·Secret Societies.

Godfrey of Bouillon was proclaimed king. Thiswas the man who had carried fire and sword intoRome, slain the ant~-Cmsar Rodoiphe, "the king ofthe priests," and ~U8t the Pope, out of the holycity, deserving thereby, and by the hopes entertainedof him.. the infinite praises for his piety, purity, andchastity, bestowed on him by the troubadours, whooriginally appeared in the first quarter of the twelfth .century, in the allegorical compositions known bythe name of the "Knight of the Swan." It was aproject which assigned an important part to the Tem-plars, who perhaps were aware of and sharers in it.

'118. Religion of the TToubadou'f8.-Troubadoursand Albigenses drew closer together in persecution:their friendship increased in the school of sorrow.They sang and fought for one another, and theirsongs expired on the blazing piles; wherefore itappears reasonable to consider the troubadours asthe organizers of that vast conspiracy directed againstthe Church of Rome, the champions of a revoltwhich had not for its guide ,and object materialinterests and vulgar ambition, but a religion and apolity of love. lHere love is considered, not as anaffection which all more or less experience and un-derstand, but as an art, a science, acquired bymeans of the study and practice of sectarian rites

# and laws; and the artists under various namesappear scattered throughout many p~s of Europe~It is difficult, indeed, to determine the boundaries


within which the Gay Science was diffused. Thesingers of love are met 'With as the troubadours ofthe Langue d'Oo and the Langue d'Otl, the minne-ssngera and minstrels. .

119. Difficulty to understand the Troubadours.-The singers of Provence-whose language was bythe Popes called the language of heresy-are nearly

•unintelligible to us, and we know not how to justifythe praises bestowed upon their poetry by suchmen as Dante, Petrarch, Chaucer; nor dare 'we,since we do not understand their verses, call theirinspiration madness,' nor deny them the successthey undoubtedly achieved. It appears more easyand natural to think that those free champions of aheresy who were not permitted clearly to express

- their ideas, preferred the obscure turns of poetry andlight forms that concealed their thoughts, aSI thesumptuous and festive courts of love perhaps con-cealed the "Lodges" of the Albigenses from theeyes' of the Papal Inquisition. The same was donefor political purposes at various periods. Thus wehave Gringore's La Chasse du Cerf des Cerfe (a pundesignating Pope Julius II., by allusion to the servu«servorum) ,in which ·that Pope is held up to ridicule.

120. Poetry of Trou,badouffl.-Arnaldo Daniellowas obscure even for his contemporaries; accordingto the Monk of Montaudon, "no one understandshis Bongs," and yet Dante and Petrarch praise himabove every other Provencal poet, Calling him. the


"great Master of Love," perhaps a title of secta-rian dignity, and extolling his style, which theywould not have done had they not been able todecipher his meaning. The effusions of the Trou-badours were always addressed to some lady, thoughthey dared not reveal her name; what Hugo deBrunet says applies to all: "If I be asked to whommy Bongs are addressed, I keep it a secret. I pre- •tend to such a one, but it is nothing of the kind."The mistress invoked, there can be no doubt, likeDante's Beatrice, was the purified religion of love,personified as the Virgin Sophia.

121. Degrees among Tro'Ubado'Ulrs.-There werefour degrees, but .the "Romance of the Rose"divides them into four and three, producing againthe mystic number seven. This poem describes acastle, surrounded with a sevenfold wall, which iscovered with emblematical figures, and no one wasadmitted into the castle that could not explain theirmysterious meaning. The troubadours also hadtheir secret signs of recognition, and the "minstrels"are supposed to have been so called because theywere the "ministers" of a secret worship.

122. OO'Urt8 of LO'IJe.-I have already alluded tothese; they probably gave rise to the Lodges ofAdoption, the Knights and Nymphs of the Rose&0. (which see), The decrees pronounced thereinwith pedantic proceedings, literally interpreted, arefrivolous or immoral; and therefore incompatible


with the morals and manners of the Albigenses,which were on the whole pure and austere. TheCourts of Love may therefore have concealed farsterner objects than the decision of questions of meregallantry; and it is noticeable that these courts, aswell as the race of troubadours, become extinct withthe extinction of the Albigenses by the sword of

· De Montfort and the fagots of the Inquisition.

III.

THE CONSOLATION.

123.

BISTORIOAL Notices.-Italy, though.watched by Rome, nay, because watched,supported the new doctrines. Milanwas one of the most active foci of the

Oathari; in 1166 that city was more hereticalthan catholic. In 1150 there were Cathari at Flo-rence, and the women especially were most energeticin the dissemination of the 'dogmas of the sectwhich became so powerful as to effect in the citya: revolution in favour of the Ghibellines. AtOrvieto Catharism prevailed in 112'5, and was per-secuted in 1163; the persecution was most fierce atVerona, Ferrara, Modena, &c. In 1224 a, greatnumber of these sectaries met in Calabria andNaples, and even Rome was full of them. ButLombardy and Tuscany were always the chief seatsof this revolt.

124. Doctrines and Tep,ets.-But we have only

1

I~

The Con8olation. 158

scanty notices of this sect, because, unlike otherheretical associations, it sought to conceal its opera-tions. It bore great resemblance to Manichooismand the dogmas of the Albigenses, like which latter,it concealed its doctrines not only from the worldat large, but even from its proselytes of inferiordegrees. They believed in the metempsychosis,assuming that to attain to the light, seven suchtransmigrations were required; but, as in othercases, this was probably ~ emblematic manner ofspeaking of the degrees of initiation. They hadcommunistic tendencies, and were averse to mar-riage; philanthropists, above all they led industriouslives, combined saving habits with charity, foundedschools and hospitals, crossed lands and seas tomake proselytes, denied to magistrates the rightof taking away life, did not disapprove of suicide,and preceded the Templars in their conte~pt of thecross. They could not understand how Christianscould adoretheinstruInent of the death of the Saviour;' .and said that the cross was the figure of the beast .mentioned in the Apocalypse and an abominationin 8 holy place. They performed their ceremoniesin woods, caverns, remote valleys; wherefore thosebelonging to this heresy and others deriving fromit could well answer the question: Where did our

. ancient brethren meet before there were ~y lodges'?In every place, They were accused of stranglingor starving the dying, and of burning ohildren;


charges also brought against the Mithraics, Christ-ians, Gnostics, Jewe, and quite recently againstthe Irish Roman Catholics. The accusation, as inthe other cases, probably arose from some symbolicalsacrifice, literally interpreted by their opponents.They hOOfour sacraments, and the consolation con-sisted in the imposition of hands, or baptism ofthe Holy Spirit; which, bestowed only on adults,remitted sins, imparted the consoling spirit, andsecured eternal salvation. During persecutions theceremonies were shortened and were held at nightand secretly; the lighted tapers symbolized thebaptism of fire. At the ceremony of initiation thepriest read the first eighteen verses of the gospelof St. John, a custom still practised in some masonicdegrees. In remembrance of his initiation thenovice received a garment made of fine linen andwool, which he wore under I his shirt; the women 8

girdle, which they also wore next to the skin justunder the bosom.

1II

[J

IV.

CHIVALRY.

-125.

tBRIGINAL Aim.-An idea of conserva-tion and propagandism produced theassociation of the San Gresl, whosemembers professed ~o be in .search of

the vase of truth, which once contained the bloodof the Redeemer; or, to leave metaphorical lan-guage, to bring back the Christian Church to apo-stolic times, to the true. observance of the precepts ofthe gospel. At the Round Table, a perfect figure,which admitted neither of first nor of last, sat theKnights, who did not attain to that rank and dis-tinction but after many severe trials. Their de-grees at first were three" which were afterwardsraised to seven, and finally, at the epoch of theirpresumed fusion with the Albigenses, Templars andGhibellines, to thirty-three. The chief grades, how-ever, may be said to have been-I, Page; 2, Squire;8, Knight.


126. K'nIl:ghtBthe Military Apostles of the Religionof Lo'Vs.-This association was above all a proudfamily of apostles and missionaries of the Religionof Love, military troubadours, who, under the stan-dards of justice and right, fought against the mon-strous abuses of the Theocratic regime, consoled theIt widow "-perhaps the Gnostic Church-protectedthe "sons of the widow"-the followers of Manes-and overthrew giants and dragons, inquisitorsand churchmen. The powerful voice of the furiousRoland, which made breaches in the granite rocksof the mountains, is the voice of that so-calledheresy Which found its wayinto Spain, thus antici-pating the saying of Louis XIV., "There are nolonger any Pyrenees." This may seem a startlingassertion, but it is nevertheless true. Of course Ido not now speak of the chivalry of feudal times,but of that which existed even before the eleventhcentury, that issued from the womb of Manichmismand Catharism, and was altogether hostile to Rome.But even at ·that period the Papal church acted onthe principle afterwards so fully carried out by theJesuits, of directing what they could not suppress;and having nothing more to fear than spiritualism,whether mystical, Platonic, or chivalric, Rome, in-stead of opposing its current, cunningly turned it I

into channels where, instead of being destructive tothe Papacy, it became of infinite advantage to it.

127. Tenets and DoctrineB.-Those who com-

•

Chivalry. 157

posed the romances of the Round Table and the SanGreal were well acquainted with the Gallic triads,the mysteries of the theological. doctrines of theBards and Celtic myths. These romances have theirorigin in the phenomena of the natural world, and.the San Greal is only a diminutive Noah's .Ark.From Chaucer's" Testament of Love," which seemsfounded on the " Consolation of Philosophy,' byBoethius, it has been supposed that the love ofchivalry was the love of woman, in its highest,noblest, and most spiritualized aspect, . But thelady-love of the knight in the early ·period of chi-valry was the Virgin Sophia, or philosophy personi-

. fied. The phraseology employed in the rites ofinitiation, the religious vows taken on that occasion,the tonsure to which the knights submitted, withmany other circumstances, sufficiently indicate thatthe love so constantly spoken of has no reference toearthly love. This applies especially to the knightswho may be caned Voluntary Knights, and whosecharter is the curious book called " Las Siete Parti-das," by Alfonso, King of Castile and Leon. Theirstatutes greatly resembled those of the Templarsand Hospitallers j they were more than any other areligious order, bound to very strict lives; theirclothes were of three colours, and-strange coinci-dence--analogous with those With which Dantebeheld Beatrice clothed, and the three circles hedescribes towards the end of" Paradise." They had

•


two meals a, day, and drank: only water, a regimenscarcely fit for a militia whose duties were notalways spiritual; for, besides their special duties,they were also subject to all the rules of chivalry,and bound to protect the weak against the strong,to restore peace where it had been disturbed, toserve their body (the Lodge), and protect the(evangelical) religion. They are said to havebranded their right arms in sign of their fraternity;but this is perhaps only a figure of the baptism offire and the Spirit, one of the most essential ritesof the Religion of Love.

BOOK IV.

ISHMAELITES.

And he will be a wild man; his hand will be againstevery man, and every man's hand against him.

Gen. xvi. 12.

AUTHORITIES.

Ma,kriz';'.· Description of Egypt and Cairo.Ba,ey. Chrestomathie Arabe.Pocooke. Spec. Hist. Arab. Edit. White.HQ/11II11U1I'. Origin, Power, and FaJ.l of the Assassins.Malcolm. History of Persia.Bouu8tw. Memoires Bur lea IsmaeIites.Silv. de SDA1!/. Expose de Is. Religion des Druses, Paris

1838.Wolf. Drusen und ihre Vorliiuf'er. London, 1856.

I.

THE LODGE OF WISDOM.

128.

BARlO US S.Bets sprung from Manichreism.-Manichwism was not the only secret.association that sprang from the initia-tions of the Magi. In the seventh

century of our era we meet with similar societies,possessing an influence not limited to the regions in.which they arose, variations of one single thought,which aimed at combining the venerable doctrinesof Zoroaster with Christian belief. Of thesesocieties or sects the following may be mentioned:the followers of Keyoumerz; the worshippers ofServan, infinite time, the creator and mover of allthings; disciples of Zoroaster properly so called ;Dualists; Gnostics, admitting two principles, theFather and the Son, at war and reconciled by a thirdcelestial power; and lastly the followers of Mastek, ·the most formidable and disastrous of all, preaching

){


universal equality and liberty, the irresponsibility ofman, and the community of property and women.

129. Secret Doctrines of 18"lamism.-The Arabshaving rendered themselves masters of Persia, thesects of that country set to work to spread them-selves among Islamism, in order to undermine itsbase. In Islamism even we:find indications of anexoteric and an esoteric doctrine. The punctuatedinitials which Mahomet put at the head of eachchapter, according to Mahomeden teachers, containa profound secret, which it is a great crime to reveal.The name mufti, which is equivalent to key, intimatesthat the priests of Islamism are the living keys ofa secret doctrine. But the conquered revengedthemselves on the conquerors. The Persian sectsexamined the Koran, pointed out its contradictions,and denied its divine origin. And 80 there arose inIslamism that movement, which attacks dogmas,destroys faith, and substitutes for blind belief freeinquiry. False systems are fruitful in schisms.' Agreat and enduring harmony is impossible in error ;truth alone is one, but error has many forms.

130. The Oandidati.-From among the manysects which ar.ose I will mention only one, that ofthe 8efidd-Schamegan, the Oandidati, or those clothedin white, whose habitat was the Caucasus, and atwhose head was the Veiled Prophet. Hakem-ben-Haschem wore a, golden mask, and taught that Godput on a human form from the day He commanded

The Lodge 0/ Wisdom. 163

the angels to adore the first man, and that from thesame day the divine nature was transmitted from pro-phet to prophet down to him; that after death evilmen would pass into beasts, whilst the good shouldbe received into God; and he, who considered him-self very good, in order that no trace should be foundof his body, and the people should think that, likeRomulus, he had ascended to heaven-threw himselfinto a pit filled with corrosive matter, which con-sumed him.

131. Oruelty. of Bobeck the Gay.-The fury withwhich the sects o~ Islam contested the governmentof conscience and political power has scarcely aparallel in the history of religion. ~xterminationhad no bounds. A revolutionary heresiaroh, whopreached communism, Babeck the Gay, for twentyyears filled the. caliphate of Bagdad with death andruin-a dismal gaiety I A million of men are saidto have perished through him, and one of the tenexecutioners he had in his pay boasted of havingslaughtered twenty thousand; and he himself diedlaughing by the hand of one of his colleagues. Butthese murders were not all due to hostile religiousviews; political ambition had as great a share inthem. The caliphate, whose power was growingfrom day to day, raised open and secret opponents,and a violent reaction set in.

182. The IBhmaelitBB.-Egypt especially seems asif predestined to be the birthplace of secret societies,


of priests, warriors, and fanatics. It is the regionof mysteries. The spreading light seems not toatrect it. Cairo has succeeded the ancient Memphis,the doctrine of the Lodge of Wisdom that of theAcademyofHeliopolis. J.A.bdallahdetermined secretlyto overthrow the caliphate and to uphold the rightsof Mahomet the son of Ishmael, the descendant ofthe prophet by Fatima. The new sect succeededin delivering from prison Obeidallah, the pretendeddescendant of Ishmael, and in placing him on ,thethrone of .Mahdia, and subsequently one of ~s suc-cessors on that of Cairo, thus subjecting Egypt tothe sway of the descendants of Fatima. The caliphsof Egypt, more grateful than princes usually are,favoured 'the doctrine that had gained them thethrone.

133. Teaching of the Lodge oj Oairo.-The Doial-Doai, or supreme missionary or judge, shared thepower with the prince. Meetings were held in theLodge of Cairo, which contained ma~y books andscientific instruments; science was the professed.object, but the real aim was very different. Thecourse of instruction was divided into nine degrees.The first sought to inspire the pupil with doubts, andwith confidence in his teach'er who was to solve them.For this purpose captious questions were to show himthe absurdity of the literal sense of the Koran, andobscure hints gave him to understand that underthat shell was hidden a sweet and nutritious kernel;

The Lodge of Wisdom. 165

but the instruction went no further unless the pupilbound himself by dreadful oaths to blind faithin, and absolute obedience to, his instructor. The

. second inculcated the recognition of the imanms, ordirectors, appointed by God as the fountains of everykind of knowledge. The third. informed him of thenumber of those blessed or holy imaums, and thatnumber was the mystical seven. The fourth informedhim that God had sent ~to the world seven legis-lators, each of whom had seven coadjutors, and whowere called 'mutes, whilst the legislators were calledspeakers. The fifth informed him that each of thesecoadjutors had twelve apostles. The sixth placedbefore the eyes of the adept, advanced so far, theprecepts of the Koran, and he was taught that allthe dogmas of religion ought to be subordinate to '.the rule of philosophy; he was also instructed in thesystems of Plato and Aristotle. The seventh degreeembraced mystical pantheism. The eighth againbrought before him the dogmatic precepts of theMahomedan law, estimating it at its just value.The ninth degree, finally, as the necessary result ofall the former, taught that nothing was to bebelieved, and that everything was lawful.

134. Proqreee oj Dootrine8.-These were the endsaimed at-human responsibility and dignity were tobe annihilated; the throne of the descendants ofFatima. was to be surrounded with an army ofassassins, a formidable body-guard; a mysterious


militia was to be raised, that should spread far andwide the fame and tenor of the caliphate of Cairo,and inflict fatal blows on the abhorred rule ofBagdad. The missionaries spread widely, and inArabia and Syria, partisans were won, to whom thedesigns of the order·were unknown, but who hadwith fearful solemnity sworn blind obedience.The nocturnal labours of the Lodge of Cairo lasteda century; and its doctrines, which ended withdenying all truth, morality, and justice, necessarilyproduced something very extraordinary. So ter-rible a shock to the human conscience led to oneof those phenomena. that leave a sanguinary andindelible trace o~ the page of history.

II.

THE ASSASSINS.

135.

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OUNDATION oj Order.-Only Arabiaand Syria could have been the theatreof the dismal deeds of the" Old Man,"or rather It Lord of the Mountain."

Hassan Sabbah was one of the days or missionariesof the School of Cairo, a man of adventurous spirit,who, having greatly distinguished himself, acquiredmuch influence at Cairo. This influence, however,excited the envy of others, who succeeded in.having him exiled. He had been put on board aship to take him out of the country, but a stormarising, all considered themselves lost. ButHassan, assuming an authoritative air, exclaimed,"The Lord has promised me that no evil shallbefal me." Suddenly the storm abated, and thesailors cried, H.A miracle!" and became his fol-lowers. Hassan traversed Persia, preaching andmaking proselytes, and having seized the fortress


of Alamut, on the borders of Irak and Dilem, whichhe called the" House of Fortune," he there estab-lished his rule.

136. Influenoe of Ha88an.-What kind of rule?The history of his time is full of his name. Kingsin the very centre of Europe trembled at it; hispowerful arm reached everywhere. Philip ~ugus-tus of France was so af'i.aidof him that he darednot stir without his guard around him; and perhapsthe otherwise implacable Lord of the Mountainforgave him because of his fear. At first heshowed no other intention but to increase thesway of the caliphate of Cairo, but was not longbefore throwing oft' the mask, because' his fiercecharacter submitted with difficulty to cunning andhypocrisy. He reduced the nine degrees intowhich the adherents of the Lodge of Cairo weredivided to seven, placing himself at the head,with the title of Seydna or Sidna, whence theSpanish Oid, and the Italian Signore. The termAssassins is a corruption of Hashi8him, derivedfrom hashieh. (the kemp plant), with which thechief intoxicated his followers when they enteredon some desperate enterprise.

137. Oaleohism of the O'1'der.-To regulate theseven degrees he composed the Catechism of theOrder. The first degree recommended to the mis-sionary attentively to watch the disposition of thecandidate, before admitting him to the order. The

The Assassins. 169

second impressed it upon him" to gain the con:'fidence of the candidate, by flattering his inclina-tions and passions; the third, to involve him indoubts and difficulties by showing him the absur-dity of the Koran; the fourth, to exact from him

I a, solemn oath of fidelitj; and obedience, with a pro-mise to lay his doubts before his instructor; andthe fifth, to show him that the most famous men ofChurch and State belonged to .the secret order.The sixth, called Ie Confirmation," enjoined on theinstructor to examine the proselyte concerning thewhole preceding course, and firmly to establish himin it. Th'e seventh finally, called the" Expositionof the Allegory," gave the keys of the sect.

138. Devotion of Follower8.-·The followers weredivided into two great hosts, " self-sacrificers " and"aspirants." The first, despising fatigues, dangers,and tortures, joyfully gave their lives whenever itpleased the great master, who required them eitherto protect himself or to carry out his mandates ofdeath. The victim having been pointed out, the-

· faithful, clothed in a white tunio with a red sash,the colours of innocence and blood, went on theirmission, without being deterred by distance ordanger. Having found the person they sought,they awaited the favourable moment for slayinghim; and their daggers seldom missed their aim.Conrad of Montferrat, having either quarrelledwith the Lord of the Mountain, or excited. the


jealousy of some Christian princes who wished forhis removal, was one of the first victims of the sect.Two Assassins allowed themselves to be baptized,and placing themselves beside him, seemed onlyintent on praying; but the favourable opportunitypresenting itself, they slew him, and one of themtook refuge in a church. But hearing that theprince had been carried oft' still alive, he againforced his way into Montferrat's presence, andstabbed him a second time; and then expired,without a complaint, amidst refined tortures.

139. The Imaginary Pa'radiBe.-How was suchdevotion secnred ? The story goes that wheneverthe chief had need of a man to carry out any par-ticularly dangerous enterprise, he had recourse tothe following stratagem :-In a province of Persia,DOW named Sigistan, was the famous valley Mule-bat, containing the palace of Alladin, another nameof the Lord of the Mountain. This valley was 8r

most delightful spot, and so protected by highmountains terminating in perpendicular cliffs, thatfrom them no one could enter the valley, and allthe ordinary approaches were guarded by strongfortresses. The valley was cultivated as the mostluxurious gardens, with pavilions splendidly fur...nished, their sole occupants being the most lovelyand charming women. The man selected by the lordto perform the dangerous exploit was first madedrunk, and in this state carried into the valley,

The Assassins. 171

where he was left to roam whithersoever he pleased.On coming to his senses sufficiently to appreciatethe beautiful scenery, and to enjoy the charms ofthe sylph-like creatures, that kept him engaged allthe time in amorous dalliance, he was made to

•believe that this was Elysium; but ere he weariedor became satiated with love and wine, he was oncemore made drunk, and in this state carried back tohis own home. When his services were .required,he was again sent for by the lord, who told himthat he had once permitted him to enjoy paradise,and if he would do his bidding he could luxuriatein the same delights for the rest of ~s life. Thedupe, believing that his master had the power to doall this, was ready to commit whatever crime was

required of him.140. Sanguinary Oharacter oj Hassan.-In that

inaccessible nest the vulture-soul of its master wasalone with his own ambition; and the very solitude,which constituted his power, must at times haveweighed heavy upon him. And so it is said that hecomposed theological works, and gave himself up tofrequent religious exercises, And this need not sur-.prise us; theological studies are no bar to ferocity,and mystical gentleness is often found united withsanguinary fury. But he killed with calculation, togain fame and power, to inspire fear and secure success.A Persian caliph thought of attacking and dispersingthe sect, and found on his pillow a dagger and a


letter from Hassan, saying, "What has been placedbesidethy head may be planted-in thy heart." Inspite of years he remained sanguinary to the last,With his own hand he killed his two sons: the onefor having slain a, day, and the other for havingtasted wine. He did not design to found a dynasty,or regular government, but an order, sect, or secretsociety; and perhaps his sons perished in conse-quence of badly disguising their desire to succeedhim,

141. Furth,(g Instances 0/ Devotion in Followers.-The obedience of the faithful did not cease with

. Hassan's death, as the following will show, Henry,Count of Champagne, had to pass close by theterritory of the Assassins; one of the successors ofHassan invited him to visit the fortress, which in-vitation the count accepted. On making the roundof the towers, two of the, "faithful," at a sign fromthe" Lord," stabbed themselves to the heart, andfell at the feet of the terrified count; whilst themaster coolly said, " Say but the word, and at a signfrom me you shall see them all thus on the ground,"The Sultan having sent an a:mbassador to summon .the rebellious Assassins to submission, the lord, inthe presence of the ambassador, said· to one ofthe faithful, " Kill thyself!" and he did it; and toanother, "Throw thyself from this tower I" and he.hurled himself down. Then turning to the am-bassador, he said, " Seventy thousand followers obey:

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The Assassins. 173

me in the same manner. This is my reply to yourmaster." The only exaggeration in this is probablyin the number, which by some writers is neverestimated above forty thousand, many of whommoreover were not "faithful ones," but only aspi-rants. . .'

142. Ohristian Prinee« in league with Assassins.-Several Christian princes w~re suspected of con-niving at the deeds of the Assassins. Richard ofEngland is one of them; and it has been the loyaltask of English writers to free him from the chargeof having instigated the murder of that Conrad ofMontferrat spoken of above. There also existed fora long time a rumour that Richard had attempted thelife of the King of France through Hassan and hisAssassins. The nephew of Barbarossa, Frederick II.,was excommunicated by Innocent II. for havingcaused the Duke of Bavaria to be slain by theAssassins; and Frederick II., in a, letter to the Kingof Bohemia, accuses the Duke of Austria of havingby similar agents attempted his life. Historiansalso mention an Arab who, in 1158, was discoveredin the imperial camp at the siege of Milan, and onthe point of stabbing the emperor. Who had armedthat Assassin? It is not known. Mutual distrust ..existed amongst the rulers of Europe, and the powerof Hassan and his successors increased in accordancewith it:

143. Eztinction of Sect.-There was a period when


a prior or lord, less corrupt or cruel than his prede-oessors, attempted to restore the Ishmaelite faith andto purge Ala.mat from the abominations that pollutedit; but it was either mere pretence, or he was un-successful. His successors became only more fero-cious. And it was only just that death should visitthose that sent forth decrees of death; that suspicion

.and treachery should pursue those who spread themamong men; .that crime should destroy what crimehad built up.. The rock which was the chief resi-dence of the Lords of the Mountain became the seatof hatred and plotting. The fathers looked. upontheir sons with jealous fear, and these impatientlyawaited the death of their parents. They avoidedone another, and, when obliged to meet, one wouldwear under his clothes a coat of mail, and the otherredouble his guards. Parricide was punished withpa.rricide; and this implacable Nemesis filled withhorror and remorse the descendants of Hassan. Thecup of poison avenged the dagger. But -the measurewas full; the Mongolians, led by Prince Hulagu in1256, attacked and overthrew the Assassins, and theworld was delivered from the reproach which theexistence of such a sect had brought upon it.

III.

THE DRUSES.

144.

_

BlGIN of Beet of Druses.-The Ishmael-itesofEgypt and Syria may be found evento this day in some of the sects of Islam.Their primitive physiognomy reveals

itself but faintly; but their profile is seen in thelineaments of some of the heretical families wander-ing in the wilderness or on Mount Lebanon; objectsof inquietude to the Turkish government, of wonderto travellers, and of study to science. Of these theDruses, living in northern Syria, and possessingabout forty towns and villages, are perhaps themost remarkable. Their sect may be said to date itsrise from the supposed incarnation of God inHakemBiamr.A.1.la.h,publicly announced at Cairo in l029.This Hakem was the sixth caliph of Egypt; andDarazi, his confessor, took an active part in pro-moting the imposture, whioh, however, was at first80 badly received that he was compelled to take


refuge in the deserts of Lebanon. Hamze, a Persianmystic and vizier of Hakem, was more successful, .and is considered. the real founder of the sect.

I45. Doctrines .-The Druses believe in the trans-migration of souls; but probably it is merely a figure,as it was to the Pythagoreans. Hskem is their pro-phet; and they have seven commandments, reli-gious and moral. The first of these is veracity, bywhich is understood faith in the unitarian religionthey profess, and the abhorrence of that lie which iscalled polytheism, incredulity, error. To a brotherperfect troth and confidence are due; but it is allow-able, nay, a duty, to be false towards men of anothercreed. The sect is divided into three degrees,Profanes, Aspirants, and Wise. A Druse who hasentered the second, may return to the first degree,but incurs death if he reveals whathe has learned.In their secret meetings they are supposed to worshipa calf's head j but as their religious books are full ofdenunciations against idolatry, and as they also com-pare Judaism, Christianity, and Mahomedanism to acalf, it is more probable t~at this effigy representsthe principle of falsehood and evil, Iblis, the rivaland enemy of Hakem. The Druses have also beenaccused of licentious orgies; but, according to theevidence of resident Christians, a young Druse, assoon as he is initiated, gives up all dissolute habits,and becomes, at least in appearance, quite anotherman, meriting, as in other initiatiolls, the title of

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The Druses. 177

"new born." They have a peculiar phraseology,and recognize each other by enigmatio sentences.They claim, in fact, some connection with the Free-masons, who have degrees called the "UnitedDruses," and" Commanders of Lebanon."

146. Recent EventB.-Besides the forty towns andvillages occupied by the Druses exclusively, theyalso divide possession of about four hundred townsand villages more with the Maronites, who m 1860provoked hostilities with the Druses, which ended inmuch bloodshed. Since then the latter have beenplaced under the protection of a governor appointedby the Porte.

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BOOK V.

KNIGHTS TEMPLARS.

The Templars were one of the most celebrated knightlyorders during the Crusades; their whole institution, acts,and triLgical fate, are attractive to the feelings and thefancy.-DE QUINCEY,

AUTHORITIES.

De Pwy. Documents relating to the Trial of the Templars.1650. .

Nicolo,;'. The Templars. 1780.Molde""hOlUe,.. Proces- Verbal. 1791.Do P'IlIY. Condemnation of 'I'emplars, Brussels, 1713.Recherches Historiques sur les Templiers. Paris, 1835.Afickelet. History of France. Vol. IV.Jame«. Dark Scenes of History. London, 1850.

THE TEMPLARS.

147.

mOUNDATION of Order.-The Order ofthe Knights of the T-emple arose outof the Crusades. In 1118 nine valiantand pions knights formed themselves

into an association which united the characters ofthe monk and the knight. They selected for theirpatroness "La douce mere de Dieu/' and boundthemselves to live according to the rules of St.Augustine, swearing to consecrate their swords,arms, strength, and lives, to the defence of themysteries of the Christian faith; to pay absoluteobedience to the Grand Master; to encounter thedangers of the seas and ofwar, whenever commanded,and for the love of Christ; and even when opposedsingly to three infidel foes not to reteeat, Theyalso took upon themselves the vows of chastity andpoverty, promised not to go over to any otherOrder, nor to surrender any wall or foot of land.King Baldwin II. assigned them a portion of his


palace, and, as it stood near the Church of theTemple, the abbo~ gave them a street leading fromit to the palace, and hence they styled themselves" Soldiery of the Temple" (militia' tempU). .

148. Progress oj the O'l'de'l'.-The first nine yearswhich elapsed after the institution of the Order, theTemplars lived in great poverty; Hugh des Payensand Godfrey of St. Omer, the founders, had but onewar-horse between them, a fact commemorated, onthe seal of the Order, which represents two knightsseated on one charger. Soon after, Pope Honoriusconfirmed the Orde~, and appointed 8 white mantle-to which Engenins III. affixed a red cross on thebreast-to be the distinguishing dress of the Tem-plars. The Order also assumed a banner formed ofcloth, striped white and black, called BeaU8eant (inold French a 'piebald horse), which word became thebattle-cry of the knights. The banner bore a, crossand the inscription, " Non nobis, Domine, sed no'1l1linituo da qloriam;" Thence~orthmanyknightsjoinedthe Order, and numerous powerful princes bestowedconsiderable possessions upon it. Alfonso, kingof Arragon and Navarre, even appointed the Temp-lars his heirs, though the country refused to ratifythe bequest. Thus they became the richest pro-prietors in Europe, until they possessed about ninethousand command eries, situated in varioas countriesof Europe and in Palestine, with an annual rental ofone hundred and twelve million francs.

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The Templars, 183

149. Account of Oomrnanderies.-" Their command-eries were situate in their eastern and western pro-vinces, the former embracing Jerusalem, Tripoli,Antioch, Cyprus; the latter, Portugal, Ca.stile andLeon, Arragon, France, including Flanders and theNetherlands, England, Ireland, Germany, ItaJy,andSicily. Whilst Jerusalem was in the hands of theChristians, the chief seat of the Templars was in thatcity; afterwards it was transferred to Paris, whereth'ey erected the large building until lately knownas the Temple. It was in this building that Philipthe Fair took refuge on the occasion of a riot whichtook place in 1306, where the Templars protectedhim.until the fury of the people had calmed down.The Knights, it is said, incautiously displayed tothe royal cupidity their immense treasures. On asubsequent, but far more momentous rising, thepile which served an ungrateful King for an asylum,became the prison of an unfortunate successor; re-cently this memento' of royal perfidy, and of anavenging fate that struck the innocent, has beenlevelled to the ground.

150. Imputations Q.ga,:nst the Order.-Towards theend of the twelfth century the Order counted aboutthirty thousand members, mostly French, and theGrand Master was generally chosen from among theFrench. Through the great number of their affiliatedmembers they could raise a large army in any partof the Eastern world; and their fleet monopolized


the commerce of the Levant. Hence they departedfrO'm their original humility and piety. Palestinewas lost, and they made no effort to recover it ;' butfrequently drew the sword-which was only to beused in the service of God, as they understood thephrase--in the feuds and warfares of the countriesthey inhabited, They became proud and arrogant.When dying, Richard Coeur de Lion said, " I leaveavarice to the Cistercian monks, luxuriousness to thebegging friars, pride to the '1;emplars;" and yetperhaps they only felt their own, power. TheEnglish Templars had dared to say to Henry III.," You shall be king as long as you are just;" por-tentous words which supplied matter for medita-tion to that Philip of France who, like many otherprinces" wished to be unjust with impunity. InCaatile, the Templars, Hospitallers, and Knights ofSt. John, combined against the King himself.Perhaps they aimed at universaJ. dominion, or at theestablishment ~f a Western sovereignty, like theTeutonio Knights of Prussia, the Hospitallers inMalta, or the Jesuits in Paraguay? But there isscarcely any ground for these imputations, especiallythe first, considering that the members of the Orderwere scattered all over the earth, and might at theutmo~t have attempted to seize the government ofsome individual state, as that of Arragon for in-stance; but not to carry out a scheme. for whicheven the forces of Charlemagne had been inadequate.

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,The' Templars. 185

Accusations better founded were, that they haddisturbed the kingdom of Palestine by their rivalrywith the Hospitallers; had concluded leagues withthe infidels; had made war npon Cyprus andAntiochia; had,dethroned the King of Jerusalem,Henry II.; had devastated Greece and Thrace ; hadrefused to contribute to the ransom of Saint Louis;had declared for Arragon against Anjou-an un-pardonable crime in the eyes of France-with manyother accusations. But their greatest crime wasthat or' being exceedingly wealthy; their downfallwas therefore determined upon.

151. Plots against the Order.-Philip the Fairhad spent his last sou. The victory of Mons, worsethan a defeat, had ruined him. He was bound torestore Guyenne, and was on the point of losingFlanders. Normandy had risen against a taxwhich he had been obliged to withdraw. Thepeople of the capital were so opposed to the govern-ment, that it had been found necessary to prohibitmeetings of more than five persons. How wasmoney to be obtained under these circumstances?The Jews could give no more, because all they hadhad been extorted from them by fines, imprison-ment, and torture. It was necessary to have re-course to some grand confiscation, without dis-gusting the classes on whom the royal power relied,and leading them t~ believe, not that booty wasaimed at, but the punishment of evil doers, to the

...

186 Sec-ret Societies.

greater glory of religion and the triumph of thelaw. At the bJ.stigation of Philip the Fair libelswere published against the Order of the KnightsTemplars, in which the most absurd charges weremade against the members, accusin~them of heresy,impiety, and worse crimes. Great weight wasattached to the statements made against theTemplars by two renegades of. the Order, theFlorentine Rom Dei, and the prior ~f Montfaucon,

. which latter, having been condemned by the GrandMaster to imprisonment for life for his many crimes,made his escape, and became the accuser of hisformer brethren.. 152. AttenUo'lU1 paid to Grand Master.-Bertrandde Got, who by the influence of the French Kinghad become Pope under the, title of Clement V.,was now urged by the former to fulfil the last ofthe five conditions on which the King had enabledhim to ascend the chair of St. Peter. The first fourconditions had been named, but Philip had reservedthe naming of the fifth till the fit moment shouldarrive; and from his subsequent conduct there canbe no doubt that the destruction of the Order ofthe Temple was the condition that was in the King'smind when he thus alluded to it. The first stepwas to get the Grand Master, James de Molay, intohis power. At the request ,of the Pope that hewould come to France to concert measures for therecovery of the Holy Land, he left Oyprus an~'

·The Templars. 187

came to Paris in 1307, accompanied by sixtyknights, and bringing with him 150,000 florins 'ofgold, and BO much silver that it formed the ladingof twelve horses, which he deposited in the Templein that city. To lull him into false security,the King, whose plan was not yet quite ripe forexecution, treated the Grand Master with thegreatest consideration, made him the godfather ofone of his sons, and chose him with some o.f themost distinguished persons to carry the pall at thefuneral of his sister-in-law. The following day hewas arrested with all his suite, and letters havingin the meantime been sent to the King's officers inthe provinces on the 13th of October, 1307, to seizeupon all the Templars, their houses and propertythroughout the kingdom, many thousand membersof the Order, knights and serving .brothers, werethus made prisoners, ,

153. OhQ/1'ges against the Templars" - TheTemplars were accused of denying Christ, theVirgin, and the Saints, and of spitting andtrampling on the cross j of worshipping in a darkcave an idol in the figure of a man covered with anold human skin, and having two bright and lustrouscarbuncles for eyes; of anointing it with the fat ofyoung children roasted, of looking upon it as theirsovereign God; of worshipping the devil in theform of a, cat; of burning the bodies of deadTemplars and giving the ashes to the younger


brethren to eat "and drink mingled with then: food.They were charged with various unnatural crimes,frightful debaucheries, and superstitious abomina-tions, such as only madmen could have been guiltyof. To make them confess these crimes they were ~put to the torture, not only in France, but also inEngland, for Edward II. leagued with Philip todestroy the Order. Many knights in the agoniesof the torture confessed to the crimes they were,charged with, hundreds expired under it withoutmaking any confession, many starved or killedthemselves in other ways in prison. The trial wasprotracted for years; the persecution extended toother countries; in Germany and Spain and Cyprusthe Order was acquitted of all guilt; in Italy,England, and France, however, their doom wassealed, though for a moment there seemed a chanceof their escaping, for the Pope seeing that Philipand Edward had seized all the money and estatesof the Templars, and seemed inclined to deprivehim of his share of the spoil, began to side with theOrder. But on some concessions being made tohim by the two Kings, he again supported them;though in the end we find him complaining of thesmall share of the booty that came into his hands.

154. Burning of Knight8.-~rhe tedious progressof the sham trial was occasionally enlivened by thepublic execution of knights who refused to acknow-ledge crimes of which they were not guilty. Fifty-

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Tlte Temp~ar8. 189

nine gallant knights were led forth in one day to thefields at the back of the nunnery of St. Antoine,where stakes had been driven into the ground, andfagots and charcoal collected. The knights wereoffered pardon if they would confess; but they allrefused and were burned by slow fires. At Senlisnine were burned, and plany more in other places.On all these occasions, as well as in the awful scenesof the torture-chamber, the Dominican friars werethe mocking witnesses.

155. Jamee de Molay.-The Grand Master re-mained in prison five years and a half; and there isno doubt that he was repeatedly put to the torture.The confession he was said to have made was pro-bably a forgery. Finally, on the 18th March, 1313,he and Guy, the Grand Preceptor of the Order, wereburnt by a slow fire on a small island in the Seine,between the royal gardens and the church of theHermit Brethren, where afterwards the statue ofHenry IV. was erected, both to the last momentasserting the innocence of the. Order.

156~ Mysteries of the Knights Templars.- With-out laying too much stress on confessions extortedby violence, or denunciations proceeding from re-venge, cupidity, and servility, it is manifest that theTempla.rs, in their ordinances, oreed, and rites, hadsomething which was peculiar and secret, and totallydifferent from the statutes, opinions, and ceremo-nies of other religio-military aseociations, Their

190 ~ecret ~ocieties.

long sojourn in the East, in that dangerous Palestinewhich overflowed with schismatic Greeks and here-tics, who, driven from Constantinople, took refugewith the Arabs; their rivalry with the Hospitallers ;their contact with the Saracen element; finally, thelOBS of the Holy Land, which injured them in theopinion of the world, and rendered their lives idle-all these and many other circumstances would act onthis institution in .an unforeseen manner, differingfrom the tendencies of the. original constitution, andmix up therewith ideas and practices little in accord-ance with, nay, in total antagonism to, the orthodoxthought that had originated, animated, and strength-ened this military brotherhood.

157. The Temple and the Ohurch.-. The' veryname may in 8 certain manner point to a rebelliousambition. Temple is a more august, a vaster andmore comprehensive denomination than that ofChurch. The Temple is above the Church j thislatter has a date of its foundation, a local habits....tion j the former h~s always existed. ChurchesfaJl; the Temple remains as a symbol of the parent-age of religions, and the perpetuity of their spirit.The Templars might thus consider themselvesas the priests of that religion, not transitory, butpermanent; and the aspirants could believe thatthe Order constituting them the defenders of theTemple, intended to initiate them into a second andbetter Christianity, into a purer religion. Whilst

·The Templars. 191

the Temple meant for the Christian the Holy Sepul ..chre, it recalled to the Mussulman the Temple of

. Solomon; and the legend which referred to thislatter served as a bond to the rituals of the Free-masons and other secret societies.

158. The Temple the Symbol of the Holy Spirit.-In another sense, the Church may be called thehouse of Christ; but the Temple is the house of theHoly Spirit. It is that religion of the Spirit whichthe Templars inherited from the Manicheeans, fromthe Albigenses, from the sectarian chivalry that hadpreceded them. Defenders of the Sepulchre ofChrist, they remained faithful to their trust, butconsidered that He had come on earth only to preachin the nam~ of the Eternal Spirit, to whom theirprincipal worship was addressed; and, like the Gnos-tica and Maaicheeans, they celebrated Pentecost ratherthan Easter, because in. the former the Divine Spirititself had descended and spread itself over the faceof the earth. This, in a certain sense, was an am- .plification, and in another a denial, of the Catholic .dogma. The Holy Spirit is the universal con-science.

159. Doeirinee of Templar8.-The initiatory prab-tices, the monuments, even the trial, show this pre-valence. of the religion of the Spirit in the secretdoctrines of the Temple. The Templars drew a greatportion of their sectarian and heterodox tendenciesfrom the last epic-cycle of the middle ages-from that

.. _


period in which chivalry, purified and organized,became a pilgrimage in search of the San Greil, themystic cup that received the blood of the Saviour;from. that epoch in which the East, in invasions,armed and unarmed, with the science of the Ara,bs,with poetry and heresies, had turned upon the'West.

160. Irvitiation.-Much has been said about themode of initiation-that it took place at night in thechapel, in the presence of the chapter, all strangersbeing strictly excluded; that licentious rites attendedit, and that the candidate was compelled to deny,curse, and spit upon the cross-that cross for whichthey had shed so much of their own blood, sacrificedso many of their own lives. We have seen that thiswas one of the chief accusations brought against theOrder. Was there any truth in it f It seems mostprobable there was; but the practice may be ex-.plained as in the following paragraph.

161. Our8ing and Spitting on the Or088 Ezplained.-Such 8 practice need not surprise us in an agein which churches were turned into theatres, inwhich sacred things were profaned by grotesquerepresentations, in which the ancient mysterieswere reproduced to do honour, in their way, toChrist and the saints. The reader may also bearin mind the extraordinai-y scenes afterwards repre-sented in the Miracle Plays. Now the aspirant tothe Templar degree was ~t first introduced as &

Tlte TemplaT$. 193

sinner, a bad Christian, a renegado. He denied, infact, after the manner of St. Peter; and the renuncia-tion was frequently expressed by the odious act

14 of spitting on the cross. The fraternity under-took to restore this renegado, to raise him allthe higher the greater his fall had been. Thusat the Festival of the Idiots, the candidate pre-sented himself as it 'were in a state of imbecilityand ofdegradation, to be regenerated by the Church.These comedies, rightly understood at first, were incourse of. time falsely interpreted, scandalizing thefaithful, who had lost the key of the enigma. The'I'emplars had adopted similar ceremonies. Theywere scions of the Cathari (123) and Manicheeans.Now the Cathari despised the cross (124); and con-sidered it meritorious to tread it under foot. Butwith the Templars this ceremony was symbolical,as was abundantly proved during their trial; andhad indeed reference to Peter's thrice-repeateddenial of Christ.

162. The Templare the Opponents of the Pope.-But there may have been another and special reasonfor introducing this ceremony, and ever keeping thetreachery of Peter before the mind of the members ofthe Order . We have seen that the Templars, duringand in consequence of their sojourn in the East,attached themselves to the doctrines of the Gnosticsand M~ichooans,-aB is sufficiently attested, wereother proofs wanting, by the Gnostic and caba-

o


listie symbols discovered in and on the tombs ofKnights Templars,-which appeared to them less,perverted than those of the priests of Rome. Theyalso knew the bad success the proclamation ofChrist's death on the cross had had at Athens, inconsequenoe of -LEschylus' tragedy, "PrometheusVinctus," wherein Oceanus denied his friend, whenGod made him the. sacrifice for the sins of man-kind, just as Peter, who lived by the ocean, didwith regard to Christ. The Templars, therefore,came to the conclusion that all these gods, de-scended from the same origin, were only religiousand poetic figures of the sun; and, seeing the baduse made of the doctrines connected therewith bythe clergy, they renounced St. Peter, and becameJohannites, or followers of St. John. There wasthus a secret schism, and according to some writers,it was this, together with the opposition to RomanCatholicism which it implied, as well as their greatweaith, which was among the causes of their con-demnation by the court of Rome.

163. Baphomei. - The above explanation mayalso afford a clue to the meaning and name of theidol the Templars were accused of worshipping.This idol represented a man with a long whitebeard, and the name given to it was Baphomei, aname which has exercised the ingenuity of manycritics, but the only conclusions arrived at by anyof them as to its origin and meaning, and deserving

I

The Templars. 195

....

consideration, are those of Nicolai, whoassumes thatit was derived from (3Of,qJ," ~~T'O~, the "baptism ofwisdom," and that the image, which sometimes hadthree heads, represented God, the universal Father;and that of De Quincey, to which latter I myselfincline, that the figure, sometimes representedwith two heads only, meant the two chiefs againstwhom the Templars directed their hostility, Viz.the Pope 'and ·Mahomet, and in the name Baphometthey intertwisted the names of both, by cutting oft'the first two letters of Mahomet, and substitutingBap or Pap, the first syllable of Papa. Thus bythis figure the Templars expressed their independ-ence of the Church and the Church creed; and aninitiated member was called a "friend of God, whocould speak with God, if he chose j" that is, withoutthe intermediation of the Pope and the Church.Hence it becomes sufficiently plain why the secretwas looked upon as inviolable, and was so well keptthat we can only conjecture its import.

164. Effect8 of the Downjal oj the Knights of theTemple. - With the Templars perished a world;chivalry, the crusades, ended with them. Even thePapacy received a tremendous shock. Symbolismwas deeply affected by it. A greedy and aridtrading spirit rose up. Mysticism, that had Bentsuch a glow through past generations, found thesouls of men cold, incredulous. The reaction wasviolent, and the Templars were the first to fall

...


under the rude blows of the West, that longed torebel against the ~t, by which ithad hitherto beenin so many ways permeated, ruled, and oppressed.

J65. Oo'lll1l8l:lion with FremnaBo'vry.-The Free-masons assert a connexion with the Templars; andthere is a society calling themselves Templarswhose chief seat is at Paris, and whose branchesextend into England and other countries. Theysay that James de Moulay before his death appointeda successor, and that since then there has been anunbroken line of Grand Masters down to the pre-sent time, a list of whichlis given by the Order ofthe Temple at Paris. But true Freemasonry, ofwhich Freemasons, as a, rule, know nothing, existedbefore the Templars, as I shall show when speakingof the Masonic Orders. A simple allusion to thealleged connexion therefore is all that is neededhere.

BOOK VL

FREE JUDGES.

AUTHORITIES.

Be,.ek. Geschichte der westphiilischen Vehmgcrichto.Bremen, 1814.

KonZif4ulcn. Deutsche Geschichte.Wigam. Das Vehmgericht. Ham. 1825.Koop. Verfassung dar heimlichen Gerichte. Gottingen,

1794. I

Hilttwr. Das Vehmgericht. Leipzig, 1798.TroD,. Sammlung merkwiirdiger Urknnden fUr die

Geschichte des Vehmgerichts. 1826.Usener, Die freien und heimliohen Gerichte Westphalens.

Frankfort, 1832.De Bock. Histoire dn Tribunal Secret. Metz, 1801.Memoirs of the Seoret Societies of Italy. London, 1821.

I.

THE HOLY VEHY.

I

~

166 .

•

RIGIN and object oj Institution.-Inthis book we are introduced to an orderof secret' societies altogether differentfrom preceding ones. Hitherto they

were religious or military in their leading features;but those we are now about to give an account ofwere judicial in their operations, and arose duringthe period of violence and anarchy that distractedthe German empire after the outlawry of Henry theLion, somewhere about the middle of the thirteenthcentury. The most- important of the~e were thesecret tribunals of Westphalia, known by the nameof Vehm-Gerichte, or the Holy Vehm. 'I'he supremeauthority of the emperor had lost all influence in thecountry; the imperial assizes were no longer held;might and violence took the place of right and'justice; the feudal lordetyrannized over the people;whosoever dared, could. To seize the guilty, who-

l

200 Secret Societies.. .

ever they might be, to punish them before they wereaware of the blow with which they were threatened,and thus to secure the chastisement of crime-suchwas the object of the WestphaJian judges, and thusthe existence of this secret society, the instrumentof public vengeance, is amply justified; and' thepopular respect it enjoyed, and on which alone restedits authority, explained.

167. Officer8 and Organization.-The Westphaliaof that period comprehended the country betweenthe Rhine and the Weser; its southern boundary wasformed by the mountains of Hesse, its northern, byFriesland. Vehm or Fehm is according to Leibnitzderive~ from lama, as the law founded on commonfame. But fem is an old German word, signifyingcondemnation, which may be the proper radix: ofVehm. These courts were also called Fehrnding,Freistuhle, "free courts," heimliche Geriehie, heim-liche Achien, heimliche beschloesene Achien, "secretcourts," '"free bann," and uerbotene Gerichte, "prohi-bited courts." No rank of life excluded a person fromthe right of being initiated, and in a Vehmic code dis-covered at Dortmund, and whose reading was forbid-den to the profane under pain of death, three degreesare mentioned; the· affiliated of the first were calledStuhlherren, "lords justices;" those of the second,SchOppen (8cabini, echevins); those of the third,Erobnboton, "messengers." Two courts were held,an offenbare« Ding, "open court," and the heimliche

I'

,"

.__J

~~~--~------.------- --_-- -

,..

The £{oly Veltm. 201

Acht, "secret court." The members were calledWissende, "the knowing ones," or the initiated.The clergy, women and children, Jews and heathens,and as it would appear the higher nobility, wereexempt from its jurisdiction. The courts took cog-nizance of all offences against the Christian faith, theGospel, and the Ten Commandments.

168. Language and Rules of Initiated.-Theinitiated had a secret language; at least we may'infer so from the initials S. S. S. G. G., found in \Vehmic writings preserved in the archives ofHerfort, in Westphalia, that have puzzled thelearned, and by tlome are explain-ed as meaning,Stock, Stein, Strick, Gras, Grein, stick, stone, cord,grass, ~oe. At meals the members are said to haverecognized each other by turning the points 'of theirknives towards the edge, and the points of theirforks towards the centre, of the table. A horribledeath was prepared for a false brother, and the oathsto be taken were as fearful as some prescribed inthe higher degrees of Freemasonry. The affiliatedpromised, among other things, to serve the secretVehm before anything that is illumined by the

r Bun or bathed by rain, or to be found betweenheaven and earth; not to inform anyone of the sen-tence passed against him; and to denounce, ifneces-sary, his parents and relations, calling down uponhimself, in case of perjury, the malediction of all, andthe punishment of being hanged seven feet higher


than all others. One form of oath, contained in thearchives of Dortmund, and which the candidate had topronounce kneeling, his head uncovered, and hold-ing .the forefinger and the middle finger of his righthand upon the sword of the president, runs thus :" I swear perpetual devotion to the secret tribunal ;to defend it against myself, against water, sun, moonand stars, the leaves of the trees, all living beings;to uphold its judgments and promote their execution.I promise moreover that neither pain, nor money,nor parents, nor anything created by God, shallrender me perjured." .

169. Proced'lJlfe.-The first act of the procedureof the Vehm was the accusation, made by a Frei-8.choppe. The person was then cited to appear; ifnot initiated, before the open court, and woe to thedisobedient I The accused that belonged to theorder was at once condemned; and the case of theunaffiliated was transferred to the secret tribunal.

. A summons was to be written on parchment andsealed with at least seven seals; six weeks and threedays were allowed for the first, six weeks for thesecond, and six weeks and three days for the third.When the residence of the accused was not known,the summons was exhibited at a cross-road of hissupposed county, or placed at the foot of the statueof some saint or affixed to the poor-box, not far fromsome crucifix or humble wayside chapel. If theaccused was a, knight, dwelling in hill fortified

The Holy' Vehm. 203

castle, the SchOppen were to introduce themselvesat night, under any pretence, into the most secretchamber of the building and do their errand. Butsometimes it was - considered sufficient to affix thesummons, and the coin that always accompanied it,to the gate, to inform the sentinel of the fact thatthe citation had been left, and to cut three chipsfrom the gate, to be taken to the FreigTaf, as proofs.If the accused appeared to none of the summonaee,he was sentenced in contumacia, according to thelaws laid down in the "Mirror of Saxony; " the ac-euser had to bring forward seven witnesses, not tothe fact charged against the absent person, but totestify to the well-known veracity of the accuser,whereupon the charge was considered as proved, andthe Imperial ban was pronounced against the accused,which was followed by speedy execution. The

. sentence was one of outlawry, degradation, anddeath; the neck of the convict was condemned tothe halter, and his body to the birds and wild beasts;his goods and estates were declared forfeited, hiswife a widow, and his children orphans. He wasdeclaredfehmbar, i. e. punishable by the ~ehm, andany three initiated that met with him were at liberty,nay, enjoined, to hang him on the nearest tree. Ifthe accused appeared before the court, which waspresided over by a count, who had on the tablebefore him a naked sword and a withy halter, he, aswell as his accuser, could each bring thirty friends

204 Secret 'Societies.

as witnesses, and be represented by their attorneys,and also had the right of appeal to the generalchapter of the secret closed tribunal of the Imperialchamber, generally held at Dortmund. When sen-tence was once definitively spoken for death, theculprit was hanged immediately.

170. E~ecution of Sentences.-Those condemnedin their absence, and who were pursued by at least ahundred thousand persons, were generally unaware ofthe fact. Every information thereof conveyed to himwas high treason, punishable by death; the emperoralone was excepted from the law of secresy; merelyto hint th~t "good bread might be eaten elsewhere,"rendered the speaker liable to death for betrayingthe secret. After the condemnation of the accuseda document bearing the seal of the count was givento the accuser, to be used by him when claiming theassistance of other members to carry out the sen-tence; and all the initiated were bound to granthim theirs, were it even against their own parents.A knife was stuck in the tree on which the personhad been hanged, to indicate that he had suffereddeath at the hands .of the Holy Vehm. If thevictim resisted, he was slain with daggers; but theslayer left his weapon in the wound to convey thesame information.

171. Decay of the Institution.-These secret tri-bunals inspired such terror that the citation by aWestphalian free count was even more dreaded

The Holy Vehm. 205

than that of the emperor. In 1470 three free count~summoned the. emperor himself to appear beforethem, threatening. him with the usual course in caseof contumacy ; the emperor did not appear, butpocketed the affront. By the admission of improperpersons, and the abuse of the right of citation, theinstitution-which in its time had been a correctiveof public injustice-gradually degenerated. Thetribunals were, indeed, reformed by Rupert; andthe Arensberg reformation and Osnaburgh regula-tions modified some of the greatest abuses, and re-stricted the power of the Vehm. Still it continued toexist, and was never formally abolished. But theexcellent civil institutions of Maximilian and ofCharles V., the consequent decrease of the turbulentand anarchic spirit, the introduction of the Romanlaw, the spread of the Protestant religion, conspiredto give men an aversion for what appeared now tobe a barbarous jurisdiction. Some of the courtswere abolished, exemptions and privileges againstthem multiplied, and they were prohibited all sum-mary proceedings. But a shadow of them remained,and it was not till French legislation, in 1811, abol-ished the last free court in the county of Miinster,that they may be said to have ceased to exist. Butit is not many years since that certain citizens inthat locality assembled secretly every year, boastingof their descent from the ancient free judges,

172. Kissing the Virgin.-There IS a tradition


that one of the methods of putting to death personscondemned to that fate by the secret tribunals wasthe following :-The victim was told to go and kissthe statue of the Virgin which s~ood in a subterra-nean vault. The statue was of bronze and of giganticsize. On approaching it, so as to touch it, its frontopened with folding doors and displayed its interiorset full with sharp and long spikes and pointed blades.The doors were similarly armed, and on each, aboutthe height of a man's head, was a spike longer thanthe rest, the two spikes being intended when thedoors were shut to enter the eyes and destroy them.The doors having thus opened, the victim by a secretmechanism was drawn or pushed into the dreadfulstatue, and the doors closed upon him. There hewas cut and hacked by the knives and spikes,and in about half a minute the floor on which hestood-which was in reality a trap-door-opened,and allowed him to fall through. But more horribletorture awaited him; for underneath the trap-doorwere six large wooden cylinders, disposed in pairsone below the other. There were thus three pairs.

. The cylinders were furnished all round with sharpblades; the distance between the uppermost pair ofparallel cylinders was such that a human body couldjust lie between them; the middle pair was closertogether, and the lowest very close. Beneath thishorrible apparatus was an opening in which couldbe heard the rushing of water. The mechanism

•

-I

The Holy Vehm. 207

that opened the doors of the statue also set in motionthe cylinders, which turned' towards the inside.Hence when the victim, already fearfully mangledand blinded, fell through the trap-door he fell be-tween the upper pair of cylinders and was thus drawnin between them, his body being cut on all sides bythe knives set round the cylinders. In this muti-lated condition, the quivering mass fell between thesecond and more closely approaching pair of cylin-ders, and was now actually hacked through and

'through and thrown on the lowest and closest pair,where it was reduced to small pieces which fell intothe brook below, and were carried away; thusleaving no trace of the awful deed that had beenaccomplished.

II.

THE BEAT! PAOLI.

173.

•

HARAOTER oj the Society.-The noticesof this sect, which· existed for manyyea:t;s in Sicily, are so scanty, that we

• • may form a high idea of the mystery inwhich it shrouded itself. It had spread not only overthe island, where it created traditional terror, butalso over Calabria, where it was first discovered,and cruelly repressed and punished by the feuda~tories, who saw their power assailed by it. Apopular institution, in opposition to the daily arro-gance of baronial or kingly power, it knew not howto restrain itself within the prescribed limits, andmade itself guilty of reprehensible acts, so that itwas spoken of in various ways by its contemporaries.

174. Tendencies and Tenets.-We have alr.ead.yseen that it had connections with the Holy Vehm,and its statutes were somewhat similar to thistribunal; but it is to be observed that it proceeded

The Beati Paoli. 209

from that spiritual movement which produced thereaction of the Albigenses, the propaganda of theFranciscans, and the reformatory asceticism ofthe many heretics who roamed through Italy and therest of Europe, preaching opposition to Rome, andorganizing a crusade against the fastuous and cor-rupt clerocraey. Among these heretics we mustremember the abbot Gioachimo, whose propheciesand strange sayings reappear in the Evangelium.lEtern'l(,m of John of Parma, a book which was oneof the text-books of the Sicilian judges. TheEvangelium ..lEtern um, a tissue of cabalistic andGnostic eccentricities, was, by the Beati Paoli, pre-ferred to the Old and New Testaments; they re-nounced belief in dualism, and made God thecreator of evil and death-of evil, because he placedthe mystical apple in the mystical garden; of death,because he ordained the deluge, and destroyedSodom and Gomorrah.

175. Account of a ·SiciUan Writer.-Amidst thegeneral silence of historians, the account of a Sici-lian writer, which was published only in 18~O,andis still generally unknown, may be considered theonly document concerning this family of Avengers,who at the extreme end of Italy reproduced thestruggles and terrors of the Westphalian tribunals.This writer says :-" In the year 1185, at the nup-,tials of the Princess Constance, daughter of thefirst King Roger of Sicily, with Henry, afterwards

p

I210 .Secret Societies.

Henry VI., Emperor of Germany, there w~s dis-covered the existence of a new and impious. sect,who called themselves the Avengers, and in 'theirnocturnal assemblies declared every crime lawfulcommitted on pretence of promoting the public-good. Of this we find an account in an ancientwriter, who does not enter into further details. TheKing ordered strict inquiry to be made, and theirchief, Arinulfo di Ponte Corvo, having been arrested,he was sentenced to be hanged with some of hismost guilty accomplices; the less guilty werebranded with a red-hot iron, The belief existsamong the vulgar that this secret society of Aven-gers still exists in Sicily and elsewhere, and isknown by the name of the Beati Paoli. Someworthless persons even go so far as to commend theimpious institution. Its members abounded espe-cially at Palermo, and Joseph Amatore, who washanged on Dec. 17, 1704, was one of them. Giro~lamo Ammirata, comptroller of accounts, also be-longed to this society, and suffered death on 27th ,April, 1725. Most came to a bad end, if not bythe hands of justice, by the daggers of their asso-ciates. The famous vetturino, Vito Vituzzct ofPalermo, was the last of -the wretches forming thesociety of the Beati Paoli. He escaped the gallows,because he turned in time from his evil courses;and thenceforward he passed all day in St. Mat-thew's Church, whence he came to be known by the

The Beati Paoli. 211

surname of the church mouse. The preceptors andmasters of these vile men were heretics and ape-states from the Minor Brethren of St. Francis, whopretended that the power of the pontiff and thepriesthood had been bestowed on them by an angelicrevelation. The house where they held their meet-ings is still in existence in the street de' OOJnceddi,and I paid it a visit. Through a gateway you passinto a courtyard, under which is the vault where themembers met, and which receives its light througha grating in the stone pavement. At the bottom ofthe stairs is a stone altar, and at the side a smalldark chamber, with a stone. table, on which werewritten the acts and sentences of these murderousjudges. The principal cave is pretty large, sur-rounded with stone seats, and furnished with nichesand recesses where the arms were kept. The meet-ings were held at night by candle light. The de-rivation of the name, the Beati Paoli (Blessed Pauls) ,is unknown; but I surmise that it was adopted bythe sect, because either the founder's name wasPaul, or that he assumed it as that of a saint who,before his conversion, was a man of the sword, and,imitating him, was, during the day, a Blessed Paul,and at night at the head of a band of assassins, likePaul persecuting the Christians." Such is theauthor's' account, which I have greatly abbre-viated, omitting nearly all his invectives againstthe sect, of which very little is .known, and whose


existence evidently, in its day, was to some extentbeneficial; for Sicilians, on suffering any injury orloss, for which they cannot apply to justice, areoften heard to exclaim :-" Ah, if the Beati Paoliwere still in being I"

BOOK YII.

ALCHYMISTS.

In our day men are only too much disposed to regardthe views of the disciples and followers of the Arabianschool, and of the late Alchymists, respecting transmuta-tion of metals, as a mere hallucination of the human mind,and, strangely enough, to lament it. But the idea of thevariable and changeable corresponds with universal ex-perience, and always precedes tha.t of the unchangeable.

L:ooUG.

The alchymist he had his gorgeous visionOf boundless wealth and everlasting youth;

He strove untiringly, with firm decision,To turn his fancies into glorious truth,

Undaunted by the rabble's loud derision,Condemning without reason, without ruth,

And though he never found the pearl he sought,Yet many a secret gem to light he brought. ·

AUTHORITIES.

Ledo'UZ. Diotionna.irehermetique, Paris, 1695.Clef du Grand <Euvre. Paris, 1776.Goldenjalck. Aneodotes alohimiques. Lyons, 1783.Bchmliedef'. Gesohiohteder Alchemie. Halle, 1832.Kopp. Geschiohte der Chemie. Leipsic, 1844.:Jf't6guie,. L'Alohimie et les Alchimistes. Paris, 1855.Levi. La Clef des Grands Mysteres. Paris, 1861.LengZet au J!'tremoy. Histoire de la Philosophie herme-

tique. Paris, 1742.Sugges~ve Inquiry into the Hermetio Mystery. London,

1850.BoNme. Works pastim.Flood. Tractatus Theologo-Philosophicus. Oppenheim,

1617.Neuh'MiIuI. De Fratribus Bosee-Omcie,Semler. The Rosicruoians.Mackey. Lexicon of Freema.sonry.De Q'IJIlmey. Works. Supplemental vol. London, 1871.

•

THE ALCHYMISTS.

176.aSTROLOGY perhaps Secret Here8y.-Themystic astronomy of ancient nationsproduced judicial astrology, which,

•• considered from this point of view, willappear less absurd. It was the principal study of themiddle ages; and Rome was so violently opposed toit because, perhaps, it was not only heresy, but awide-spread reaction against the Church of Rome.It was chiefly cultivated by the Jews, and protectedby princes opposed to the papal aupremacy. TheChurch was not satisfied with burning the books,but burned the writers; and the poor astrologers, whospent their lives in the contemplation of the heavens,mostly perished at the stake.

177. Proeese by which Astrology degenerated.-As it often happens that the latest disciples attach

· .


themselves to the letter, understanding literallywhat in the first instance was only a fiction, takingthe mask for a real face, so we may suppose astro-logy to have degenerated and become false andpuerile. Hermes, the legislator of Egypt, who wasrevealed in the Samothracian mysteries, and oftenrepresented with a ram by his side-a constellationinitiating the new course of the equinoctial SUD, theconqueror of darkness-was revived in astrologicalpractice; and a great number of astrological works,the writings of Christian Gnostics and Neo-Plato-nists, were attributed to him, and he was consideredthe father of the art from him called hermetic, andembracing astrology and alchymy, the rudimentaryefforts of two sciences, which at first overawed igno-rance by imposture, hut, after labouring for centu-ries in the dark, conquered for themselves gloriousthrones in human knowledge.

178. Scientifie Value of Alchymy.-Though al-chymy is no longer believed in as .a true science, inspite of the prophecy of Dr. Girtanner, of Gottingen,that in the nineteenth century the transmutation ofmetals will be generally known and pr~ctised~ it willnever lose its power of awakening curiosity andseducing the imagination. The aspect of the mar-vellous which its doctrines assume, the strange re-nown attaching to the memory of the adepts, andthe mixture of reality and illusion, of truths andchimeras which it presents, will always exercise a

The '.A..lchymists. 211

powerful fascination upon many .minds. And weought also to remember that every delusion that hashad a wide and enduring influence must have beenfounded, not on falsehood, but on misapprehendedtruth. This aphorism is especially. applicable toAlchymy, which, in its origin, and even in its name,is identical with chemistry, the syllable al beingmerely the definite article of the Arabs. The re-searches of the .A.lchymists for the discovery of themeans by which transmutation might be effectedwere naturally suggested by the simplest experi-ments . in metallurgy and the amalgamation ofmetals; it is very probable that the first man whomade brass thought that he had produced imperfectgold.

179. The Tinct'Ure.-The· transmutation of thebase metal was to be effected by means of the trans-muting tincture, which, however, was never found.But it exists for all that; it is the power that turns agreen stalk into a golden ear of corn, that fills thesour unripe apple with sweetness and aroma, thathas turned the lump of charcoal into a diamond. 'All these are natural processes, which, being allowedto go on, produce the above results. Now, all basemetals may be said to be imperfect metals, whoseprogress towards perfection has been arrested, theactive power of the tincture being shut up in themin the first property of nature (11). If a man couldtake hold of the tincture. universally diffused in


nature, and by ita help assist the imprisoned tincturein the metal to stir and become active, then thetransmutation into gold, or rather the manifestation(11) of the hidden life, could be effected. Butthis power or tincture is so subtle that it cannotpossibly be apprehended; yet the Alchymistsdid not seek the non-existing, but only the unat-tainable.

180. Aims oj Alckymy.-The three great endspursued by Alchymy were the transmutation of basemetals into gold by means of the philosopher'sstone; the discovery of the panacea, or universalmedicine, the elixir of life, and the universal solvent,which, being applied to any seed, should increaseits fecundity. .All these three objects are attain-able by means of the tincture-a vital force, whosebody is electricity, by which the two latter aimshave to some extent been reached, for electricitywill both cure disease and promote the growth ofplants. Alchymy was then in the beginning thesearch after means to raise matter up to its firststate, whence it was supposed to have fallen. Goldwas considered, as to matter, what the ether of theighth heaven was as to souls; and the seven metals,

each called by the name of one of the seven planets,the knowledge of the seven properties really impliedbeing lost-the Sun, gold; Moon, silver , Saturn,lead; Venus, tin; Mercury, iron j Mars, mixed'

The Alch'!lmist8~ 219

metal; Jupiter, copper, I-formed the ascendingscale of purification, corresponding with the trialsof the seven caverns or steps. Alchymy was thuseither a bodily initiation, or an initiation into themysteries, a spiritual .Alchymy ; the one formed aveil of the other, wherefore it often happened thatin workshops where the vulgar thought the adeptsoccupied with handicraft operations; and nothingsought but the metals of the golden age, in reality,no other philosopher's stone was searched for thanthe cubical stone of the temple of philosophy; infine, nothing was purified but the passions, men,and not metals, being passed through the crucible.Bohme, the greatest of mystics, has written largelyon the perfect analogy between the philosophicalwork and spiritual regeneration.

181. Hi8tor,!! 01 Alchymy.-Alchymy flourishedin Egypt at a very early age, and Solomon was saidto have practised it. Its golden age began withthe conquests of the Arabs in Asia and Africa, aboutthe time of the destruction of the AlexandrianLibrary. The Saracens, credulous, and intimatewith the fables of talismans and celestial influences,eagerly admitted the wonders of Alchymy. In thesplendid courts of Almansor and Haronn al Raschid,

1 New arrangement: Venus, copper; Mercury, mixedmetal; Mars, iron; Jupiter, tin.

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the professors of the hermetic art found patronage,disciples, and emolument. Nevertheless, from theabove period until the eleventh century the onlyalchymist or note is the Arabian Geber, whose propername was Abu Mussah Djafar 0,1Sofi. His attemptsto transmute the base metals into gold led him toseveral discoveries in chymistry and medicine. Hewas also a famous astronomer, but-sic transit gloria'mundi I-he has descended to our times as thefounder of that jargon known by the name of gib-:berish! The Crusaders brought the art to Europe,and about the thirteenth century Albertus Magnus,Roger Bacon, and Raymond Lully 'appeared as itsrevivers. .Henry VI. of England engaged lords,nobles, doctors, professors, and priests to pursuethe search after the. philosopher's stone; especiallythe priests, who, says the king- (ironically 7)-havingthe power to convert bread and wine into the bodyand blood of Christ, may well convert an impureinto a perfect metal. The next man of note thatpretended to the possession of the lapis philoso-phorwm. was Paracelsus, whose proper name wasPhilip -Aureolus Theophrastus Paracelsus Bom-baatus, of Hohenheim, and whom his followers called"Prince of Physicians, Philosopher of· Fire, theTrismegistus of Switzerland, Reformer of Alchymis-tical Philosophy, Nature's faithful Secretary, Masterof the Elixir of Life and Philosopher's Stone, GreatMonarch of Chymical Secrets." He introduced the

The Alchymists. 221

term aleahest (probably a, corruption of the Germanwords "all geist," "all spirit"), to express theuniversal solvent. The Rosicrucians (184), of whomDr. Dee was the herald, next laid claim to alchy-mistical secrets, and were, in fact, the descendantsof the Alohymists ; and it is for this reason chieflythat these latter have been introduced into thiswork, though they cannot strictly be said to haveformed a secret society. The last of' the English.Alchymists seems to have been a gentleman of' thename of Kellerman, who as lately as 1828 was livingat Lilley, a village between Luton and Hitchin.There are, no doubt, at the present moment menengaged in the search after the philosopher's "stone;we patiently wait for their discoveries.

182. Specimen of Alchymistic Language.-AfterPeracelsus the .A.lchymistsdivided into two classes:those that pursued useful studies, and those thattook up the visionary fantastical side of Alchymy,writing books of mystical trash which they fatheredon Hermes, Aristotle, Albertus Magnus, and others.Their language is now unintelligible. One briefspecimen may suffice. The power of transmutation,called the Green Lion, was to be obtained in thefollowing manner :-~' In the Green Lion's bed thesun and moon are born, they are married and begeta king; the king feeds on the lion's blood, which isthe king's father and mother, who are at the sametime his brother and sister. I fear I betray the

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~22 Secret Societies.

secret, which I promised my master to conceal indark speech from everyone who does not know howto rule the philosopher's fire." Our ancestors musthave had a great talent for finding out enigmas ifthey were able to elicit a meaning from these mys-terious directions; still the language was under-stood by the adepts, and was only intended for them.Many statements of mathematical formulm mustalways appear pure gibberish to the uninitiated intothe higher science of numbers; still, these state-ments enunciate truths well understood by themathematician. Thus, to give but one instance,when Hermes Trismegistus, in.one of the. treatisesattributed to him, directs the adept to catch theflying bird and to drown it, so that it :8y no more,the fixation of quicksilver .by a oombination withgold is meant.

183. Personal Fate of theAlchymi8ts.-The .A.lchy-mists, though chemistry is greatly indebted to them,and in their researches they stumbled on many avaluable discovery, as a rule led but sad and chequeredlives, and most of them died in the utmost poverty,if no worse fate befell them. Thus one of the mostfamous Alchymists, Bragadino, who lived in the lastquarter of the sixteenth century, who obtained largesums of money for his pretended secret from theEmperor of. Germany, the Doge of Venice, andother potentates, who boasted that Satan was hisslave-two ferocious black dogs that always 00-

The Alchymist8. 228

companied him being demons-was at last hangedat Munich, the cheat with which he performed thepretended transmutation having been discovered.The two dogs were shot under the gallows. Buteven the honest .Alohymistswere doomed-

To lose good days that might be better spent,To waste long nights in pensive discontent;To speed to-day, to be put back to-morrow,To feed on hope, to pine with fear and sorrow;To fret their souls with crosses and with cares,To eat their hearts through comfortless despairs.Unhappy wights, born to disastrous end,That do their lives in tedious tendance spend!

II.

ROSICRUCIANS.

184.

fIIERITS of the ROBicrucia'l1s.-A halo ofpoetic splendour surrounds the Orderof the Rosieruciana ; the magic lightsof fancy play around their graceful day-

dreams, while the mystery in which they shroudedthemselves lends an additional charm 'to theirhistory. But their brilliancy was that of a meteor.It just flashed across the realms of imagination andintellect, and vanished for ever; not, however,without leaving behind some permanent and lovelytraces of its hasty passage, just as the momentaryray of the sun, caught on the artist's lens, leaves alasting image on the sensitive paper. Poetry andromance are deeply indebted to the Rosicruciansfor many a fascinating creation. The literature ofevery European country contains hundreds of pleas-ing fictions, whose machinery has been borrowedfrom their system of philosophy, though that itself

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Rosicrucians . 225

has passed away; and it must be admitted thatmany of their ideas are highly ingenious, and attainto such heights of intellectual speculation as wefind to have been reached by the sophists of India.Before their time, alchymy had sunk down; as arule, to a grovelling delusion, seeking but temporaladvantages and occupying itself with earthly drossonly; the Rosicrucians spiritualized and refined itby giving the chimerical search after the philoso-

-pher's stone 8 nobler aim than the attainment of'wealth, namely, the opening of the spiritual eyes,whereby man should be able to see the supernalworld, and be filled with an inward light to illuminehis mind with true knowledge.

185. Origin of Society do'Ubtf'Ul.-The society isef very uncertain origin. It is affirmed by somewriters that from the fourteenth century thereexisted a society of physicists and alchymists who

· laboured in the search after the philosopher's stone;and a certain Nicolo Barnaud undertook journeysthrough Germany and France for the purpose ofestablishing a hermetic society. From the prefaceof the work, "Echo of- the Society of the RosyCross," it moreover follows that in 1597 meetingswere held to institute a secret society for the promo-tion of alchymy. Another indication of the actualexistence of such a society is found in 1610, whenthe notary Haselmeyer pretended to have read in aMS. the F'ama lJ'ratemitatis, comprising all the

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laws of'the Order. Four years afterwards appeared8 small work, entitled "General Reformation ofthe World," which in fact contains the F'am,a, F'ra-ternitatis, where it is' related that a German,Christian Rosenkrenz, founded such 8, society inthe fourteenth century, 8.fterhaving learnt the sub-lime science in the East. Of him it is related, thatwhen, in 1378, he was travelling in Arabia, he wascalled by name and greeted by some philosophers,who had never before seen him; from them he learnedmany secrets, among others that of prolonging life.On his return he made many disciples, and died atthe age of 150 years, not because his strengthfailed him, but because he was tired of life. In1604.one of his disciples had his tomb opened, andthere found strange inscriptions and a MS. inletters of gold. The grotto in which this tomb was-found, by the description given of it, strongly re--minds us of the Mithraio Cave. Another work, the"Confessio Fraternitatis Roam Crucis," contains anaccount of the object and spirit of the Order. It i.a mixture of absurdity and fanaticism, and the mostplausible solution is that the work is a satire on thephilosophical follies of the time. It was written byValentine Andrea of Herrenberg. But as thearmorial bearings of the Andrea family were a St.Andrew' B crOBB and fotvr r0888, he may also havemeant to intimate that the Order of the Rosy Crosswas an Order founded by himself.

Rosicrucians . 227

186. Origin of Name.-The name is generallyderived from the supposed founder of the Order,Rosenkreuz, Rose Cross; but according to othersit is the compound of roe, dew, and C'rUJD, the cross.Oruw is supposed mystically to represent LUX, orlight, because the figure X exhibits the three lettersLVX; and light,. in the opinion of the Rosicrucians,iB that which produces gold, whilst dew (ros) withthe alchymists was the most powerful solvent ofgold. Others Bay that .the Order took its namefrom the rose, and the epopt was called Rosa,whilst their ritual affirmed that the rose is theemblem of the Son of God, who by the Evangelistis compared to that flower. Butwe have alreadyBeen in the account of the Eleusinian Mysterieswhat importance was attached to the rose, and thatApuleius makes Lucius to be restored to his primitiveform by eating roses; and the "Romance of theR08e'~ was considered by the Rosicrucians as one ofthe most perfect specimens of Proveneal Iiterature,and as the allegorical chef d' oeuvre of their sect.It is undeniable that this was coeval with: chivalry,and had from thenceforth a literature rioh in works,in whose titles the word Rosa is incorporated; asthe Rosa Philosophorum, of which no less than tenoccur in' the Artis A'IlIriferre quam Ohenniam'lJOOOlnt(Basilea, 1610). The connection of the Rosicru-cians with chivalry, the Troubadours, and the Albi-genses,cannot be denied. Like these, they swore the


same hatred to Rome, like these they called Catholi-cism the religion of hate. They solemnly declaredthat the Pope was Antichrist, and rejected pontificaland Mahomedan dogmas, styling them the beastsof the East and West.

187. Statements conceTrving ihemeeloee. - Theypretended to feel neither hunger nor thirst, nor tobe subject to age or disease; to possess the p<?werofcommanding spirits and attracting pearls and pre-cious stones, and of rendering themselves mvisible.They stated the aim of their society to be the resto-ration of all the sciences and especially of medicine;and by occult artifices to procure treasures andriches sufficient .to supply the rulers and kings withthe necessary means for promoting the great re-forms of society then needed. They were bound toconform to five fundamental laws: 1. Gratuitouslyto heal the sick. 2. To dress in the costume ofthe country in which they lived. 3. To attendevery year the meeting of the Order. 4. Whendying to choose a successor. 5. To preserve thesecret one hundred years.

188. Poetical Pictions of ROBicrucians.-These arebest known from the work of Joseph Francis Born,a native of Milan. Having preached against theabuses of' the Papacy, and promulgated opinionswhich were deemed heretical, he was seized byorder of the Inquisition and condemned to perpetualimprisonment. r He died in the Castle of St.

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Rosicrucians . 229

Angelo in 1695. The work referred to is entitled" The Key of the Cabinet of Signor Borri," and isin substance nothing but the cabalistic romanceentitled "The Count de Gabalis," published in1670 by the Abbe de Villars. What we gatherfrom this work is, that the Rosicrucians discardedfor ever all the old tales of sorcery and witchcraft'and communion with the devil. They denied theexistence of incubi and succubi, and of all thegrotesque imps monkish brains had hatched andsuperstitious nations 0 believed in. Man, they said,was surrounded by myriads of beautiful and bene-ficent beings, all anxious to do him service. Thesebeings were the elemental spirits; the air waspeopled with sylphs, the water with undines ornaiads, the earth with gnomes, and the fire withsalamanders. These the Rosicrucian could bind tohis service and imprison in a ring, a mirror, or astone, and compel to appear when called, and renderanswers to such questions as he chose to put. Allthese beings possessed great powers, and were un-restrained by the barriers of space or matter. Butman was in one respect their superior: he had animmortal soul, they had not. They could, however,

. become sharers in man's immortality, if they couldinspire one of that race with the passion of lovetowards them. On this notion is founded thecharming story of "Undine ;0" Shakespeare's Arielis a sylph; the "Rape of the Lock," the Masque


of "Comus," the poem of "Saiamandrine," allowe their machinery to the poetic fancies of theRosicrucians. Among other things "they taughtconcerning the elemental spirits, they asserted thatthey were composed of the purest particles of theelement they inhabited, and that in consequence ofhaving within them no antagonistic qualities, beingmade of but one element (11) they could live forthousands of years. The Rosicrucians further heldthe doctrine of the 8ignatura rerum, by which theymeant that everything in this visible world has.outwardly impressed on it its inward spiritual oha-racter. Moreover they said that by the practice ofvirtue man could even on earth obtain a glimpse ofthe spiritual world, and above aU things discoverthe philosopher's stone, which however could notbe found except by the regenerate, for " it is in C10S8

communion with the heavenly essence." Accordingto them the letters INRI,' the sacred word of theOrder of Rose Croix, signified Igne Natwra, Be-qeneromdo Integrat.'

189. Proqrese and Eztinction of R08icruci(JJ1l,8.-After having excited much attention· throughoutGermany, the Rosicrucians endeavoured .to spreadtheir doctrines in France, but with little success.In order to attract attention they secretly postedcertain notices in the streets of Paris, to this effect:" We, the deputies of the College of the Rosy Cross,visibly and invisibly dwell in the city. We teach \

Rosicrucians. 231

without books or signs every language that candraw men from mortal error," &c. &0. A work byGabriel. Rande gave them the final blow. PeterMormio, not having succeeded in reviving thesociety in Holland, where it existed in 1622, pub-lished at Leyden, in 1630, a work entitled AralJf'UJNatuTm Secreti88i;;,,~, wherein he reduced the secretsof the brethren to three, viz. perpetual motion, thetransmutation of metals, and the universal medicine.The German Rosicrucians always called themselvesthe 'depositories and preservers of the Masonio .dogma which they asserted to have been confidedto them by the English in the time of King Arthur.Faithful to the Johannite tradition they called theirgrand masters John I., John II., and so on. .Atfirst they had. only three degrees besides the threesymbolio degrees of freemasonry. The sect waaalso known in Sweden and Scotland, where it hadits own traditions, oleiming to be descended fromthe Alexandrian priesthood of Ormuzd, that. em-braced Christianity in conseqnence of the preachingof St. Mark, founding the society of Ormuzd, or ofthe " Sages of Light." This tradition is foundedon the Manichmism preserved among the Coptiopriests, and explains the seal impressed on theancient parchments of the Order, representing alion placing his paw on a paper, on whioh is writtenthe famous sentence, "Paz Ubi, MarC8 Evangelistame1I8 :" from which we might infer that Venice had

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some connection with the spreading of that tradition.In fact, Nicolai tells us that at Venice and Mantuathere were Rosicrucians, connected with those ofErfurt, Leipsic, and Amsterdam. An4 we alsoknow that at Venice congresses of alchymists wereheld; and the connection: between these latter andthe Rosicrucians has already been pointed out.Nevertheless the Scotch and Swedish Rosicrucianscalled themselves the most ancient, and assertedEdward, the son ofHenry III., to have been initiatedinto the Order in 1196, by Raymond Lully, thealchymist. The Fraternity of the Rosy Cross isstill flourishing in England, the members being

, selected from the Masonic body; it has a governingSenate in London, with a Metropolitan College,while Provincial Colleges are established at Bristol,M&nchester, Cambridge, Oxford, Edinburgh andGlasgow.

190. TTamition to FTeernQ,8O'f1,8 .-From the Tem-plars and Rosicrucians the transition to the Free-masons is easy. With these latter alchymy receivesa wholly symbolical explanation; the philosopher'satone is a, figure of human perfectibility. In theMasonic degree called the "Key of Masonry," orIt Knight of the Sun," and the work " The BlazingStar," by Tschudi, we discover the parallel aims ofthe two societies. From the "Blazing Star" Iextract the following portion of the ritual: "Whenthe hermetic philosophers speak: of gold and

Rosicrucians . 233

silver, do they meen common gold and silver 7,,_· " No, because common gold and silver are dead,whilst the gold and silver of the philosophers arefull of !#'e."_1t What is the object of Masonic in-quiries ?"_It The art of knowing how to renderperfect what nature has left imperfect in man."-It What is the object of philosophic inquiry? ,,-'It The art of knowing how to render perfect whatnature has left imperfect in minerals, and to in-crease the power of the philosopher's stone."-" Isit the same stone whose symbol distinguishes ourfirst degrees? "-" Yes, it is the same stone whichthe Freemasons seek to polish." So also thePhcenix is common to hermetic and Masonic initia-tion, and the emblem of the new birth of theneophyte. Now we have already seen the meaningof this figure, and its connection with the sun.We might multiply comparisons to strengthen theparallelism between hidden arts and secret societie~,and trace back the hermetic art to the mysteries ofMithras, where man is said to ascend to heaventhrough seven steps or gates of lead, brass, copper,iron, bronze, silver, and gold.

BOOK VIII.

FREEMASONS.

What mote it be PKilng H6'IW'!I VI. 01 EngZolAtJ.

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AUTHORITIES.

8a,imt-.AllWn. Les Francs-MaCjons. Paris, 1862.Preston: Illustrations of Masonry.Gadicke. Freimaurer Lexicon.Mackey. Lexicon of Freemasonry.Beghellilrvi,. Esprit du Dogme de la Franc-MaQonnerie.Basruel. ffistoire du Jaoobiniame.Bobiao'n. Proofs of a Conspiracy. London, 1799.La/uwie. History of Freemasonry.HsZtllmanm. Les trois plus anciens Monuments de la Con-

fraternite maconnique allemande.LemWn,g. Encyclopmdie der Freimanrerei.BagOft. Cours philosophique des Initiations anciennes

et modernes. Paris, 1841.Dermott. The Ahlman Rezon.OZWe,.. Theocratic Philosophy of Freemasonry. London,

1840.Pocket Companion of History of Freemasonry. London,

1764.OZWer. History of Initiations. London, 1829.Hutc"lvimlOft. Spirit of Freemasonry.OMUle. Manual of Freemasonry. London.Fellow.. Mysteries of Freemasonry. London, 1860.Le'lKYi8. La Frano-Ma<;onnerie rendue ~ sa veritable

Origine.Olavel. Histoire pittoresque de la Franc-MaQonnerie.

Paris, 1844.Bagon. Le Tullier General. Paris, 1861.BeilaJre.. Etudes sur les Trois Grades de la MaQonnerie.

Paris, 1859.JjJrJcetrt. Die Freimaurerei in ihrer wahren Bedeutung.

Liege, 1854.

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Authorities. 237

Kl1IUf'lnlllfm et Ohetp'6n. Histoire philosophique de laFrano-M~onnerie. Lyons, 1850.

De la, Tie,.ce. Histoire des Franc-MaQons. 1745.De Widskintl. Geschichte der Freimaurerei in Deutsch-

land.IAM'Mf'. Mao-Benach. Leipsic, 1819.Bods. Einfiuss der Freimaurer. Leipsic, 1788.RegIe maconnique ~ l'U sage des Loges reunies et recti-

flees de Convent-General de Wilhelmsbad. Paris,1829.

La Vente sur les Societes secretes en Allemagne. Paris,1819.

IJ'Of'gOJms. De l'Influence de l'Esprit philosophique et decelIe des Societas secretes. Paris, 1858.

Moume,.. De l'Infiuence attribuee aux Philosophes, auxFrancs-MaQons et anx Illumines sur la Revolution deFrance. Paria, 1801.

Vie de Joseph Balsamo. Paris, 1791.Memoires authentiques pour servir ~ I'Histoire de Cagli-

ostro. Strasburg, 1786.8a1i66t-FeliIlJ. Aventuras de Cagliostro. Paris, 18M.L'Adoption de la MaQonnerie des Femmes. 1775.80Ji,"'t- Victof'. La Vraie MaQonnerie d'Adoption. London,

1779.Bago",. Manuel Complet de la MaQonnerie des Dames.

Paris, 1860.Procedures de l'Inquisition de Portugal contra les Francs-

MaQons. 174D.Egbert. Les Martyrs de 1a Frano-MaQonnerie en Espagne.

Paris, 18M.·Ltm_qU8. Aperqu general des principales Bootes m&<jon-

niques. Paris, 1821.Dulw6'UliZ. Histoire des Franos-MaQons. Brussels, 1838.Bet1,a,rritH. De l'Ordre m&<jonniquede Misraim. Paris,

184.5.

· ..


Vemle.. Defense de l'Ordre de Misraim.BMgiMt. Disconrs sur l'Histoire de l'Ordre du Temple.

1833.VaI.aZ. Oours complet de Ma'ionnerie. Paris, 1882•.Abralam. Miroir de la Verite •.A0tXJIfY. La Ma'ionnerie dn Grand Orient de France.

Paris, 1857.Bruot. Tableau historique, philosophiqne, et moral de 181

Ma<;onnerieen France.La, Madre loggia Dante Alighieri. Turin, 1863.Programma Massonioo adottato dalla Ma880neria ItaJiana

Ricostituta. 1863.Organisation du Travail par l'Initiation mac;onnique.

Paris, 1844.Ma,.ootaV. Table de 1& Loi des Francs.Ma(jons. Paris, 1862.Freemason·s' Quarterly Review. London.Mo,.el1lU. L'Univers maeonnique. Paris, 1837.DupZOIia. La Vraie Lumiere; Journal des FranOS.M.a(jonB.

Versailles, 1851.2.Ole'rpin.. Revue maconniqne, Lyons.Peig'll£. Revue maeonnique. Paris.Juge. Le Globe; Archives genera.Ies des Somata secretes,

non politiques. Paris.The Secrets of Freemasonry Revealed. London, 1759.A Master.Key to Freemasonry. London, 1760.L'Ordre des. Fra.ncs-Ma<;onstrahi. Amsterdam, 1771.Les plus secrets Mysteres de Ia Franc.MaQonnerie. Jem.

salem (Paris), 1774.Fatti ed Argomenti intorno aIla MU8oneria. Genova,

1862. .Masonry the same all over the World. Boston, 1880.

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THE LEGEND OF THE TEMPLE.

191.

BNOESTRY of HiTam Abiff.-Solomon,having determined on the erection ofthe Temple, collected artificers, di-

• vided them into companies, and putthem under the command of Adoniram or HiramAbiff, the architect sent to him by his friend andally Hiram, King of Tyre. According to mythicaltradition, the ancestry of the builders of the mysticaltemple was as follows: One of the Elohim, or primi-tive genii, married Eve and had a son called Cain;whilst Jehovah or Adonai, another of the Elohim,created Adam and united him with Eve to bringforth the family of Abel, to whom were subjectedthe sons of Cain, as a punishment for the trans-gression of Eve. Cain, though industriously cul-tivating the soil, yet derived little produce from it,whilst Abel leisurely tended his Hocks. Adonairqjected the ·gifts and sacrifices of Cain, and

t


stirred up strife between the sons of the Elohim,generated out of fire, and the sons formed out ofthe earth only. Cain killed Abel, and Adonai pur-suing his sons, subjected: to the sons of Abel thenoble family that invented the arts and diffusedscience. Enoch, a son of Cain, taught men tohew stones, construct edifices, and form civil socie-ties. Irad and Mehujael,. his son and grandson,set boundaries to the waters and fashioned cedarsinto beams. Methusael, another of his descen-dants, invented the sacred characters, the books ofTau and the symbolic T, by which the workersdescended from the genii of fire recognized eachother. Lamech, whose prophecies are inexplicableto the profane, was the father of Jabal, who firsttaught men how to dress camels' skins; of Jubal,who discovered the harp; ofN aamah, who discoveredthe arts of spinning and weaving; of Tubal-Cain,who first constructed a furnace, worked in metals,and dug subterranean caves in the mountains toseve his race during the deluge; but it perishednevertheless, and only Tubal-Cain and his son, thesole survivors of the glorious and gigantic family,came out alive. The wife of Ham, second son ofNoah, thought the son of Tubal-Cein handsomerthan the sons of men, and he became progenitor ofNimrod, who taught his brethren the art of hunting,and founded Babylon. Adoniram, the descendantof Tubal-Cain, seemed called by God to lead the

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The Leqend of the Temple. 241

militia of the free men, connecting the sons of firewith the sons of thought, progress, and' truth .:

192. Hiram, So~omon, and the Queen 0/ Sheba.-By Hiram was erected a marvellous building,.the Temple of Solomon. . He raised the goldenthrone of Solomon, most beautifully wrought, andbuilt many other glorious edifices. But, melancholyamidst all his greatness, he lived alone, understood'and loved by few, hated by many, and among' othersby Solomon, envious of his genius and glory. Nowthe fame of the wisdom of Solomon spread to theremotest ends of the earth; and Balkis, the Queenof Sheba, came to Jerusalem, to greet the great kingand behold the marvels of his reign. She foundSolomon seated on a throne of gilt cedar wood,s,1T&yedin cloth of gold, so that at first she seemedto behold a statue of gold with hands of ivory.Solomon received her with. every kind. of festivepreparation, and led her to behold his palace andthen the grand works of the temple; and the queenwas lost in admiration. The king was captivatedby her beauty, and in a short' time offered her hishand, which the queen, pleased at having conqueredthis proud heart, a~p~pted. But on again visiting.the temple, she repeatedly desired to see the archi-tect who had wrought such wondrous things.Solomon delayed as long as possible presentingHiram Abiff to the queen, but at lasthe was oblig~dto do 80. The mysterious artifioer was brought before

B


her, and cast on the queen a look that penetratedher very heart. Having recovered her composure,she questioned and defended him against the illwilland rising jealousy of the king. When she wished toBee the countless host of workmen that wrought at 'the temple, Solomon protested the impossibility ofassembling them all at once; but Hiram, leaping on astone to be better seen, with his right hand describedin the air the symbolical Tau, and immediately themen hastened from all parts of the works 'into thepresence of their master; at this the queen won-dered greatly, and secretly repented of the promiseshe had given the king, for she felt herself in lovewith the mighty architect. Solomon set himself todestroy this affection, and to prepare his rival'shumiliation and ruin. For this purpose, he employedthree fellow-crafts, envious of Hiram, because hehad refused to raise them to the degree of masters, onaccount of their want of knowledge and their idleness.They were Fanor, a Syrian and a mason; Amru, aPhoonician and a carpenter; and Metusael, a He-brew and a. miner. The black envy of these threeprojected that the casting of the brazen sea, whichwas to raise the glory of Hiram to its utmost height,should turn out a failure. A young workman"Benoni, discovered the plot and revealed it toSolomon, thinking that sufficient. The day for thecasting arrived, and Balkis was present. The doorsthat restrained the molten metal were opened, and

· -~

The Legend of the Temple. 243

torrents of liquid fire poured into the vast mouldwherein the brazen sea was to assume its form. Butthe burning mass ran over the edges of the mould,and flowed like lava over the adjacent places. Theterrified crowd fled from the advancing stream of .fire. Hiram, calm, like a god, endeavoured to arrestits advance with ponderous columns of water, butwithout success. The water and the fire mixed, andthe struggle ·was teITible; the water rose in densesteam and fell down in the shape of fiery rain,spreading terror and. death.' The dishonouredartificer needed the sympathy of a faithful heart; hesought Benoni, but in vain; the proud youth perishedin endeavouring to prevent the horrible catastrophewhen he found that Solomon had done nothing tohinder it.

Hiram could not withdraw himself from the sceneof his discomfiture. Oppressed with grief, he heedednot the danger, he remembered not that this ocean offire might speedily engulph him; he thought of theQueen of Sheba, who came to admire and congratu-late him on a great triumph, and who saw nothingbut a 'terrible disaster. Suddenly he heard astrange voice coming from above, and crying," Hiram, Hiram; Hiram I " He raised his eyes andbeheld 8r gigantic human figure. The apparitioncontinued: "Come, my son, be without fear, I haverendered thee incombustible; cast thyself into theflames." Hiram threw himself into the furnace,

1


and where others would have found death, he tastedineffable delights; nor could he, drawn by an irresis-tible force, leave it, and asked him that drew him-into the abyss:. "Whither do you take me ?" " Intothe centre of the earth, into the soul of the world,into the kingdom of great Cain, where liberty reignswith him. There the tyrannous envy of Adonaiceases; there can we, despising his anger, taste thefruit of the tree of knowledge; there is the home ofthy fathers." "Who t~en am I, and who art thou? ""I am the father of thy fathers, I am the son ofLamech, I am Tubal-Cain."

Tubal-Cain introduced Hiram into the sanctuary offire, where he expounded to him the weakness ofAdonai and the base passions of that god, the enemyof his own creature whom he condemned to theinexorable law of death, to avenge the benefits the l'genii offire had bestowed on him. Hiram was led intothe presence of the author of his race, Cain. Th~angel of light that beg~t Cain was reflected in thebeauty of this son of love, whose noble and generousmind roused the envy of Adonai. Cain related toHiram' his experiences, sufferings, and misfortunes,brought upon him by the implacable Adonai.Presently he heard the voice of him who was theoffspring of Tubal-Cain and his sisterNaamah : "A SOD

shall be born unto thee whom thou shalt indeed notsee, but whose numerous descendants shall perpe-tuate thy race, which, superior to that of Adam, shall

.,

~I

It

The Legend of the. Temple. 245

acquire the empire of the world; for many centuriesthey shall consecrate their courage and genius to the.aervice of the ever ungratefulrace of Adam, but at lastthe best shall become the strongest,andrestoreon theearth the worship of fire. Thy sons, invincible inthyname, shall destroy the power. of kings, the ministersof the Adona~'s tyranny. Go, my son, the genii offire are with thee t'" Hiram was restored to the earth.Tubal-Cain before quitting him gave him the hammerwith which he himself had wrought great things,and said to him: "Thanks to this hammer and thehelp of the ge~ of fire, thou shalt speedily accomplishthe work left unfinished through man's stupidityand malignity." Hiram did not hesitate to testthe wonderful efficacy of the precious instrument,and the dawn saw the great mass of bronze cast.The artist felt the most lively joy, the queen exulted .The people came running up, astounded at this secretpower which in one night had repaired everything.

One day the queen, accompanied by her maids,went beyond Jerusalem, and there encounteredHiram, alone and thoughtful. The encounter wasdecisive, they mutually confessed 'their love. Had-Had, the bird who :6lled with the queen the officeof messenger of the genii of fire, seeing Hiram- inthe air make the sign of the mystic 'r, flew aroundhis head and settled on his wrist. At this Sarahil,the nurse of the queen, exclaimed r "The oracle isfulfilled. Had-Had recognizes the husband which


the genii of fire destined for Balkis, whose love aloneshe dare accept!" They hesitated no longer, butmutually pledged their vows, and deliberated howBalkis could retract the promise given to the king.Hiram was to be the first to quit Jerusalem; thequeen, impatient to rejoin him in Arabia, was to eludethe vigilance of the king, which she accomplished bywithdrawing from his finger, while he was overcomewith wine, the ring wherewith she had plighted hertroth to him. Solomon hinted to the fellow-craftsthat the removal of his rival, who refused to givethem the master's word, would be acceptable untohimself; so when the architect came into the templehe was assailed and slain by them. Before hisdeath, however, he had time to throw the goldentriangle which he wore round his neck, and on whichwas engraven the master's word, into a deep. well.They wrapped up his body, carried it to a solitaryhill and buried it, planting over the grave 8. sprigof acacia.

Hiram not having made his appearance for sevendays, Solomon, against his inclination, but to satisfythe clamour of the people, was forced to have himsearched for. The body was found by three masters,and they, suspecting that he had been slain by thethree fellow-crafts for refusing them the master'sword, determined nevertheless for greater securityto change the word, and that the first word acci-dentally uttered on raising the body should thence-

The Legend of the Temple. 247

forth be the word. In the act of raising it, the skincame off the body, so that one of the masters ex-claimed" Macbenach 1" (the flesh is off the bones I)and this word became the sacred word of the master'sdegree. The three fellow-crafts were traced, butrather than fall into the hands of their pursuers, theycommitted suicide and their heads were brought toSolomon. The triangle not having been found onthe body of Hiram it was sought for and at last dis-covered in the well into whioh the architect had oastit. The king caused it to be placed on a, triangularaltar erected in a seore! vault, built under the mostretired part of the temple. The triangle was furtherconcealed by a cubical stone, on whioh had beeninscribed the sacred law. The vault, the existenceof whioh was only known to the twenty-seven elect,was then walled up.

1

II.

ORIGIN. TRADITIONS.

193.·

_

HE If'VrstMa8om.-All nations, all states,all corporations, to increase their powerand deduce from above their 'raisoo

d' eilre, attribute to themselves ':L veryancient origin. This wish must be all the strongerin a society altogether ideal and moral, living the lifeof principles.which needs rather to seem to be, notcoeval with, but anterior and superior to all others.Henoe the claim set up by Freemasonry of being,not contemporary with the creation of man, butwith that of the world; because light was beforeman, .and prepared for him a suitable habitation,ap.d light is the scope and symbol of Freemasonry.Now in the Introduotion (6., 7) I have stated thatthere was from the very :first appearance of man onthe earth a, highly favoured and oivilized race,possessing a, full knowledge of the laws and proper-ties of nature, and whioh knowledge was embodied

.:.

-Origin. Traditions. 249

in mystical figures and sohemes, suoh as weredeemed appropriate emblems for its preservationand propagation. These figures and schemes arepreserved in Masonry, though their meaning is nolonger understood by the fraternity .. I shall en-deavour in these pages as much 8B possible to teachmasons the real truths hidden under the symbols

I and enigmatioa.l forms, whioh without a key appearbut as absurd and debasing rites and ceremonies.The aim of all the seoret s~cieties of whioh accountshave been as yet or will be given in this work,except of those which were purely political, was topreserve such knowledge as still survived, or Itoreoover what had been lost. And since Free-masonry is, 80 to speak, the r88'U/111,6 of the teachingsof all those societies, dogmas in acoordance withone or more of those taught in the a.noientmysteriesand other associations are to be found in Masonry;hence also it is impossible to attribute its origin toone or other specific society preoeding it. Free-masonry is-or rather ought to be-the compen-dium of all primitive and aooumuleted humanknowledge.

194. Periods of FreemasO'fIIf'g.-Masonio writersgenerally divide the history of the Order into twoperiods, the first comprising the time from itsassumed foundation to the beginning of the lastcentury, during' which the Order admitted onlymasons, i. e. operative masons and artifioers in


some way oonneoted with architecture. The seoondor present period, they denominate the period ofSpeculative Masonry, when the Order no· longerchooses its members only amongst men engaged inthe raising of material structures, but receives intoits ranks all who are willing to assist in building aspiritual temple, the temple of universal harmonyand knowledge. Yet persons not working masonshad ere then been admitted, for the records of aLodge at Warrington, as old as 1648, note theadmission of Colonel Mainwaring and the greatantiquary Ashmole. Charles I., Charles II., 'andJames II. also were initiated. But from what hasbeen said above, it follows that true Masonry alwayswas 8peculative, and that to deduce its origin fromthe ancient Dionysiac or any other kindred oollegeis sheer nonsense. The name "masonio " wasadopted by the sooiety on its reconstruction in thelast oentury, because the. brotherhood of builderswho erected the magnificent cathedrals and otherbuildings that arose during the middle ages, hadlodges, degrees, landmarks, secret signs, and pass-words, such as the builders of the temple of Solomonare said to have made use of. The Freemasons havealso frequently been said to be descended from ·theKnights Templars, and thus to have for their objectto avenge the destruction of that Order, and 80 tobe dangerous to Church and State; yet this asser-tion was repudiated as early as 1535 in the" Charter

iI

Origin. Traditions. 251

of Cologne," wherein the Masons call themselvesthe Brethren of St. John, because St. John theBaptist was the forerunner of the Light. .Accordingto the same document the name of Freemasons wasfirst given to the Brethren chiefly in Flanders,because some of them had been instrumental inerecting in the province of Hainault hospitals forpersqns suffering from St. Vitus's dance. Andthough some etymologists pretend the name to bederived from masea, a club, with which the door-keeper was armed to drive away uninitiated in-truders, we can only grant this etymology on theprinciple enunciated by Voltaire, that in etymologyvowels go for very little, and consonants for nothingat all.

195. lJ'reemasO'1I/r,y derived from many SO'lJ/fces.-But considering"that Freemasonry is a tree the roots.ofwhich spread through so many soils, it followsthattraces thereof must be found in its fruit; that itslanguage and ritual should retain much of thevarious sects and institutions it has passed throughbefore arriving at their present state, and inMasonry we meet with Indian, Egyptian, Jewish,and Christian ideas, terms, and symbols.

\

m.

RITES AND CUSTOMS.

196.

BISTof Rtites.-Anciently, that is, beforethe rise of modern Masonry at the be-ginning of the last century, there wasbut one rite, that of the " Ancient, Free

and Accepted Masons," or blue or symbolic Ma-sonry; but vanity, fancy or interest·soon led to theintroduction of many new rites or modifications ofthe three ancient degrees. The following are thenames of the rites now practised in Europe andAmerioa:-

I. York Rite, or Craft Masonry, of which anaocount will be given (205). - In America itconsists of seven degrees :-The first three as in.thiscountry; 4. Mark. Master; 5. Past Master; 6.Most Excellent Master; 7. Holy Royal Arch. AD.these also obtain in this co~try; the Royal. Arch,being the most important, will be treated of infull (211).

Rites and (luetoms. 253

II. French or Modern Rite.-It consists of sevendegrees :-The first threethe sameas in Craft Ma-sonry; 4. Elect; 5. Scotch Master; 6. Knight ofthe East; 7 . Rose Croix. They are all astro-nomical.

1lI. Ancient and Accepted Scotch Rite.-It wasorganized in its present form in France early inthe last century, though it' derives its title fromthe claim of its founders, that it was originally in-stituted in Scotland. It is, next to the York rite,the most widely diffused throughout the masonicworld. The administrative power is -vested in, ,

Supreme Grand Councils, and the rite c<?Rsistsofthirty-three degrees, of which the 30th, Grlftd ElectKnight of Ksdosh, is the most interesting, and par-ticulars of which will be given under a separatehead (214).

IV. The Ancient and Primitive Rite of Masonryor Order of Memphis: Privileges, Principles, andPrerogatives.-The An:cient and Primitive Rite ofMasonry works thirty-three degrees, divided intothree sections, embracing modern, chivalric, andEgyptian Masonry, as the latter was worked on thecontinent last century. The first section teachesmorality, symbols, and philosophical research; andcontains the degrees to Rose Croix (11-18°). Thesecond section teaches science, philosophy, andpolitical myth, and developes the sympathetio senses;it contains the degrees of a senate of hermetic phi-

,

losophers to grand inspector (18-33°). The thirdsection contains the Egyptian degrees, and occupiesitselfwith high philosophy and religious myth. TheOrder rewards merit by six decorations :-lst, TheGrand Star of Sirius; 2nd, the Decoration of .Alidee;3rd, the Decoration of the Grand Commander of thethird series; 4th, the Lybic Chain; 5th, the Deco-ration of Eleusis; 6th, the Star of Merit in bronze,for the reward of literary merit and presence of mindand bravery either in Masons or non-Masons. Theseorders of chivalry, and all other high degrees ofMasonry, are specially authorized by the laws of theGrand Lodge of England in the" Articles of Union"of 181. The Order recognizes the degrees of allother rites, when legitimately obtained, so that abrother who has the ROBeCroix" Kadosh, or GrandInspector, or any other degree analogous to thisrite under any other authority, may Visit and par-ticipate in the same degrees of ancient and primitiveMasonry.

It admits brethren of every and all political andreligious creeds, for by the American revision of1865, the Hindoo, the Parsee, the Jew, the Trini-tarian and Unitarian Christian, the Mahommedan,&c" may attend its sublime ceremonies and lectures I

without any sacrifice of principle or of private con- Jvction, the rite breathing only pure Masonry- ~charity, love, and mutual tolerance-whilst adoringthe Sublime Architect of the Universe, inculcating


Rites and Customs. 255

the immortality of the soul, and endless happinessfor the good brother.

It embraces a far more extensive ritual of work-able degrees than any other rite, every one of itsthirty-three degrees having its appropriate andelaborate ceremonial easily arranged for conferment,and its titles are purged of ridiculous pretensions.

Its government is striotly representative, as inour own political constitution. The 32° and 31°are the Ist, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th officersof the Ohaptur,Senate, and Oouncil, and form the MY8tic Templeand Judicial Tribunal, the presiding officer, orGrand Master of Light, having the thirty-third de-gree to enable him to represent the provinoe in theSov. Sano. (33-95°) or ruling body.

The Order relies more fully upon masonic worth,ability, and learning, than social standing andmere monetary qualifications, and seeks to extendmasonic knowledge, justice, and morality. Itlevies only a, small capitation fee upon each memberadmitted, to be hereafter devoted to oharity andgood works.

It admits Master Masons only in good standingunder some constitutional Grand Lodge, and pro-hibits all interferenoe with Craft Masonry, uponwhioh its own thirty ceremonies form, and are in-tended to constitute, the most valuable and learnedsystem of lectures extant; oultivating charity, toler-ance, and brotherly love in the Masonio Order, and

1

256 Secret Societies. .

entering into no entangling allienoes whioh too oftenprove their destruction.

Its watchword-Defenoe, not Defianee-e-mein-taining the individual right of any brother to joinany outside organization of Masonry suited to hisreligious or political opinions, and protesting againstall interferenoe of sectarian organizationa.

v. Philosophio Sootch rite.VI. Primitive Scotch rite, practised in Belgium,VII. Ancient Reformed rite.

I

vm. Fessler's rite.IX. Rite of the Grand Lodge of the Three Globes

at Berlin.x. Rite of Perfection.XI. Rite of Misraim (223).XII. Rite pf the Order of the Temple.XIn. Swedish rite.XIV. Reformed rite.xv. Sohroeder's rite.XVI. Rite of Swedenborg (see Book ix.).xvn, Rite of Zinnendorf. Count Zinnendorf,

physician of the emperor Charles VI., invented thisrite, whioh was a modifioation of the Illuminism ofAvignon, adding to it the mysteries of Sweden-borg. His system consisted of seven degrees,divided into three seotions: 1. Blue Masonry; 2~Red Masonry; 3. Capitular Masonry. The ritewas never introduoed· into this country,

lCJ7. MaBO'1IIic Oustoms.-Some masonic peouliari-ties may oonveniently be mentioned here. Free-


masons frequently attend in great state at thelaying of the foundation stones of public buildings;they follow a master to the grave, clothed with allthe paraphernalia of their respective degrees; theydate from the year of light. The Knights of theSun, the 28th degree of the Scotch rite, acknow-ledge no era, but always write their date with sevennoughts,O,OOO,OOO. No one can be admitted intothe masonic order before the age of 21, but an ex-ception is made in this country and in France infavour of the .sons of Masons, who may be initiatedat the age of eighteen. Suoh a person is called aLewis in England, and a Louoeteas» in France. Thislatter word signifies a young wolf; and the readerwill remember that in the mysteries of Isis thecandidate was made to wear the mask of a wolf'shead. Hence a wolf and a candidate in thesemysteries were synonymous. Macrobius, in his" Saturnalia," s~ys that the ancients perceived a rela-tionship between the sun, the great symbol of thosemysteries, and a wolf; for as the flocks of sheep andcattle disperse at the sight of the wolf, so the flooksof stars disappear at the approach of the sun's light.And in Greek AOXO, means both the sun and awolf. There is a, family of fellow-orafts that stillderive their name from this idea. The adoptionof the lO'U'lJetea'U into the lodge takes place witha ceremony resembling that of baptism. The

B

,

258 SSfJI'et Societies.

temple is eovered with flowers, incense is burnt,and the godfather is enjoined not only to providefor the bodily wants of the new-born member, butalso to bring him up in the school of tnith andjustice. The child receives a new name, generallythat of a virtue, such a8 Veracity, Devotion, Bene-fieenoe , the godfather pronounces for him the oathof apprentice, in which degree he is received intothe Order, whioh, in oase he should become anorphan, supports and esta.blishes him in life.

198. Ma80nie Aphabel .......The masonic alphabetpreserves th~ angular character of primitive alpha-bets. Thirteen oharacters (9 + 4) compose themsaonic system ofwriting', Henoe all the soundscan only be represented by means of points, in thefollowing maIUler :-

J...

a.~ tJ.tZ e;f

,.1& e.t 7113'1.-

DJ 'L.T a:t

~,

AThe letter a is written J ; the same sign with

a -dot in it, ..:J, means h. The sign > means u,

and with a dot », '0. Masonic: abbreviationsare always indicated by three dots, placed trian-gularly; thus, brother is abbreviated B-.·. Lodgeis written L .... or E1:.; in the plural LL c, or

@:. Our oommon alphabet has_an equally simple


origin, as well as the Arabic numerals j they are allcontained in the figure-

A, bin'S, C d°tn-D,6, F, C, H, I,~IK~oM,N,D,~ q,R,S, ~U, V, X, Y, Z, D~ I, Z, ~, LJ, ~,£,7, X, ~.

IV.

THE LODGE.

199.NTERIO~ Arrangement of Lodge.-Thearrangement of the lodge varies andwill vary acoording to periods anddegrees, but certain general rules are

always followed in its oonstruotion. In an ancientFrenoh catechism the lodge is thus described: Thelodge must have a vaulted oeiling, painted blue andcovered with golden stars, to represent the heavens.The floor is called a mosaic floor ; the term "mosaic"being derived from Moses; i,e. "drawn from thewater," because by its variegated colours it repre-sents the earth as covered with flowers again afterthe withdrawal of the waters of the Nile. There arethree windows,-one east, one west, and a thirdsouth. There must also be two or three ante-chambers, so that the profane may catch no glimpseof what is going on in the lodge; and if somestranger should nevertheless intrude, the master

, _ 4 SL2!&£ W

The Lodge. 261

exclaims, "It rains!" and the lodge is ipso laotodissolved. The lodge .should be always hung withblack; the brethren take their places according totheir rank:; the grand master in the east, the masterin the south, and the novices at the north. Whenan apprentice is made, the lodge is brightly illumi-nated. The grand master, seated in his place, wearson his neck, appended to a large ribbon, a smallsquare and compasses; before him stands a tableon which lie the Gospel of St. John and a smallhammer. At his side are the two stewards, the firstof whom wears 8 level and the second a plumb ofgold or silver. The masters and fellow-crafts standaround with the apprentices, allwearing white apronsof lamb's skin, and each carrying a naked sword.On the floor are designed figures, representing thesteps that led to Solomon's temple, and the twopillars Jachin and Boas, but which in reality sym-bolize the summer and winter solstices, the pillarsof Hercules, the two pillaes-of Seth. Above areseen the sun, moon, and a large starJ In the midstof the floor is a coffin,in which lies a man apparentlydead, with his face turned upward and covered withhis white apron smeared with blood, one hand restingon his breast, and the other extended towards theknee. In the corners of the room are substanceseasily combustible, such as sulphur, to kindle a fireinstantaneously. This apparatus is somewhat alteredwhen a fellow-craft 'or a master is to be made.


200. ModemLodge.-The modern lodge is a largesquare hall, always, if possible, situated due east andwest. Upon a dais ascended by three steps, oppositeto the door of ingress, is seated the worshipfulmaster; the altar is placed in the centre on foursteps •. A sky-blue Canopy, dotted with stars, andhaving above it the shining triangle with the sacredname inscribed therein, covers the throne. To theleft of the canopy is seen the aun.end to the rightthe moon. Another ornament is the blazing star,and the point within a circle, symbolizing the sunor the universe. A chest or ark also forms part of·the masonic furniture. It represents the ark thatwas carr.i.edin the processions of ancient Egypt, andcontained seeds of various plants, a winnowing fan,and Owilridis p'Udtmd'lllm. To the west, at the sidesof the door of ingress, stand two pillars of bronze,whose capitals represent pomegranates, and bearingon their fronts the initials J. and B. (Jachin andBoaz) . The senior and junior wardens sit near thetwo columns, having before them a triangular table,covered with masonic emblems. Around the lodgethere are. ten other pillars connected by an architravewith the two pillars above mentioned. On the altarare placed a Bible, a square, a pair of compasses, andswords; three candelabra with long tapers are placed,one at the east at the foot of the steps, the secondat the west, near the first warden, and the third atthe south. The room is surrounded with benches

The Lodge. 263

for the members. In the lodges called Scotch, andin EngliBh and Amerioa,n lodges, t~e canopy thatcovers the master's throne is of crimson silk. Inthe United States, the worshipf'ul master wears a capadorned with black feathers and a large cockade of'the same colour. The senior a.nd junior warden!are seated in niches with fringed drapery, andwear, like heraJd8, staves of ebony soulptured likepillars.

201. Oificwrs.-Besides the master and thewardens, who are figuratively oalled the three lightB,the lodge has other ofBcers-· the orator, secretary,treasurer, master of' the ceremonies, keeper of the.saaJ.s,arohitect, steward, captain of' the host, princi ..pal sojourner, inner and outer guard or tyler, andothers. Every offioial occupies a place assigned f;o

him, and has his proper jewels and badges, like theEgyptian, Hebrew, and Greek priests. ThuB besidethe jewels already mentioned, the treasurer wearscross keys; the 8eoretary, cross pens; the" seniordeacon, a square and oompass, with 8 sun in the·centre; the junior deacon, a square and compsss,with a, moon in the centre; the steward, a cornu--copia; the tyler, cross swords, &0. The names of'most of the officers suffleiently indicate their duties;those that do Dot will be explained 88 they ooour.

202. Ope'fllim,g the Lodge.-The meetings aregenerally held at _night. The worshipful master,.striking the altar with his mallet, 't opens the


labours," and after having ascertained that thelodge is tyled, he turns to the junior warden andsays: "Brother junior warden, your constant placein the lodge 1 '~ "In the south." " Why are youplaced there?" "To mark the sun at its meridian,to call the brethren from labour to refreshment, andfrom refreshment to labour, that profit and pleasure·may be the result." " Brother senior warden, yourconstant place in the lodge?" "In the west.""Why are you placed there 1" " To mark the settingSUD ; to close the lodge by the command of theworshipful master, after seeing that everyone hashisjust dues." "Why is the master placed in theeast ? " " As the sun rises in the east to open andenliven the day, so the worshipful master is placedin the eest to open and enlighten his lodge, toemploy and ~truct the brethren." " At what hour·are masons accustomed to begin their labours P""At mid-day." "What hour is it, brother juniorwarden? " "It is mid-day." "Sinoe this is thehour, and all is proved right and just, I declare thelodge open." The purely astronomical bearing ofall this is self-evident, but will be more fully dis-cussed hereafter.

v.GENUINE AND SPURIOUS MASONRY.

203.

IIlISTINOTION between Genwine and Spu-rious Masonry. -Modern Freemasonryis divided into genuine and spurious. Theformer embraces the degrees of Entered

Apprentice, Fellow-Craft, and Master Mason, whichare known by the comprehensive name of Sym-bolio, and also of Blue Masonry, because the de-corations are of that colour, whioh Blue Masonryis the only Masonry acknowledged by the GrandLodge of England; the latter term is applied toall other degrees. Without the Royal Arch degreeBlue Masonry is incomplete, for we have seen inthe Legend of the Temple that, through the murderof Hiram, the master's word was lost; that word isnot recovered in the master's degree, its substituteonly being given; hence that lost word is recoveredin the Royal Arch degree. Blue Masonry, in fact,answers to the lesser mysteries of the ancients,

,

,


wherein in reality nothing but the exoteric doctrineswere revealed; whilst spurious Masonry, or all sub-sequent degrees-for no one can be initiated intothem who h38 not passed through the first threedegrees-answers to the greater mysteries.

204. Some Rites only deserve Special Mentioo.-It would be an useless and unprofitable task to fullydetail all the ceremonies practised in the lodges ofBlne Masonry; and I shall, therefore, confine mYlelfto giving such particulars of the three degrees asare most characteristic of the institution. As tospurious ~asonry, its almost countless degreesform an incoherent medley of opposite principles,founded chiefly on Christian traditions and institu-tions, orders of knighthood, contested theologicalopinions, historical events; :in fact, every importantevent or institution has afforded models for masoniemmncry. elf such a8 have been distinguishedeither by a philosophical spirit or influential actionon the progress of mankind I shall speak at SO~8

length. The reader will, however, bear in mindthat the ceremonies vary in different lodges aDddifferent oountries, and that much that follows m1l8the taken as typioal, being modified accordiDg tolocal 8Ild other conditions 8lld circumstances.

\

VI.,

CEREMONIES OF INITIATION.

THE APPRENTICE, PELLOW-CRA1'T, AND .ASTER 1lA.80lf_

205.

iliBBEMONIEB of I'TIIitiatioo. The App"tm-tioo.-The novice that is to be initiated'into the first or. apprentice degree isled into the lodge building by a stranger,

and introduced into a remote chamber, where he isleft alone for a, few minutes. He is then deprived ofall metal he h~s about him; his right knee, andsometimes his left side, are uncovered, and theheel of his left shoe is trodden down. His eyes arebandaged, and he is led iD:to the. closet of' reflec-tion, where he is told to stay without taking oft'the bandage, until he hears three knocks. At thesignal, on uncovering his eyes he beholds on thewalls hung with black inscriptions like the following:-" If idle curiosity draw thee hither, depart !." "Ifthou be afraid of being enlightened concerning thy


errors, it profits thee not to stay here." 'c If thouvalue human distinctions, go hence; here they arenot known." After a deal of palaver between thebrother who introduoes the novice and the master,the candidate, having his eyes again bandaged anda cord passed round his neck, is introduced intothe middle of the brethren, his guide pointing anaked sword to his breast. He is then questioned

-88 to his object in coming hither, and on answeringthat he comes to be initiated into the secrets ofMasonry, he is led ont of the lodge and back againto confuse him. A large square frame coveredwith paper, such as circus-riders use, is then broughtforward and held by two brethren. The guide thenasks the master: "What shall we do with the pro-fane 7", To which the master replies: "Shut him upin the cave." Two brethren seize the postulant andthrow him through the paper-screen into the armsof two other brethren who stand ready to receivehim. The folding doors, hitherto left open, arethen shut with great noise, and by means of an ironring and bar the closing with massive locks isimitated, 80 that the candidate fancies himself shutup in a dungeon. Some time then elapses in sepul-chral silenoe. All at once the master strikes 8

smart blow, and orders the candidate to be placedbeside the junior warden, and to be made to kneel.The master then addresses several questions to him,and instructs him on his duties towards the Order.

I

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Ceremonies of Initiation, 269M

The candidate is then offered a beverage, with theintimation that if any treason lurks in his heart,the drink will turn to poison. T~e cup containingit has two compartments, the one holding sweet,the other bitter water; the candidate is then taughtto say: "I bind myself to the strict and rigorousobservance of the duties prescribed to Freemasons;and if ever I violate my oath" - (here his guideputs the sweet water to his lips, and havingdrunk some, the candidate continues) -" I consentthat the sweetness of this drink be turned intobitterness, and that its salutary effect become forme that of a subtle poison." The candidate is thenmade to drink of the bitter water, whereupon themaster exclaims: "What do I see ? What meansthe sudden alteration of your features? Perhapsyour conscience belies your words? Has the sweetdrink already turned bitter? Away with the pro-fane I This oath is only a test; the true one comesafter." The candidate persisting nevertheless in hisdetermination, he is led three times round thelodge; then he is dragged over broken chairs,stools, and blocks of wood; this trial over, he is toldto mount the "endless stairs," and having, as hesupposes, attained a. great height, to cast himselfdown, when he only falls a few feet. This trialis accompanied by great noise, the brethren strikingon the attributes of the order they carry in theirhands, and uttering all kinds of dismal shouts. As

270 Secret Societies•

a further trial, he is then passed through fire,rendered harmless by well-known conjuring trioks ;his arm is slightly pricked, and a gurgling noisebeing produeed by one of the brethren, the candi-date fancies that he is losing much blood. Finally,he takes the oath, the brethren standing aroundhim with drawn swords. The candidate is then ledbetween the two pillars, and the brethren placetheir swords against his breast. The master of theceremonies loosens the bandage without taking iiioff. Another brother holds before him a lamp thatsheds a brilliant light. The master resumes:"Brother senior warden, deem you the candidatewort~y of forming part of our society ?" " Yes.""What do you ask for him f" "Light." " Thenlet there be light I" The master gives three blowswith the mallet, and at the third the bandage istaken oft', and the candidate beholds the light,which is to symbolize that which is to fill his under-standing. The brethren drop their swords, andthe candidate is led to the altar, where he kneels,whilst the master says: " In the name of the GrandArchitect of the universe, and by virtue of thepowers vested in me, I create and constitute theemasonic apprentice and member of this lodge."Then B~ three blows with his mallet on theblade of the sword,'he raises the new brother, girdshim with the apron of white lamb's skin, gives hima pair of w.hite gloves to be worn in the lodge, and-

•

another to be given to the lady he esteems best.He. is then again led between the two pillars, andreoeived by the brethren as one of them.

206. Oeremonies of Initiation. The lJ'ellow-O"ajt"-The second degree of symbolio Freemasonry

i . is that of fellow-craft. The apprentice, who asksfor an increase of salary, is not conducted to thelodge like the profane by an unknown brother,nor are his eyes bandaged, because the light wasmade for him, but moves towards the lodge hold ..ing in his hand a rule, one of. whose ends herests on the left shoulder. Having reached thedoor, he gives the apprentioe's knook, and havingbeen admitted and declared the purpose for whichhe comes, he five times perambulates the lodge,whereupon he is told by the master to perform hislast apprentioe's work. He then pretends to squarethe rough ashlar. . After a deal of instruction, veryuseless and pointless, he takes the oath, in whichhe swears to keep the secrets entrusted to him .

. Then there follows some more lecturing on the partof the master, ohiefly on geometry, for whichMasons profess a. great regard, and to which theletter G seen in the lodge within an irradiation orstar is said to refer.

207. Oeremony of I",iMUon and BtO'1''!} of Hiram' 8

Mwrd8T. The MasteT Ma30n.-At the receptionof a master, the lodge or "middle chamber"is draped with black, with death'. heads, skele ..

Ceremonies of Initiation. 271

272 Secret Societies:

tons, and cross bones painted on the walls. Ataper of yellow wax, placed in the east, anda dark lantern, formed of a skull having a lightwithin, which shines forth through the eye-holes,placed on the altar of the most worshipful master,give just sufficient light to reveal a coffin, whereinthe corpse is represented either by a lay-figure,a serving brother, or the brother last made a,

master. On the coffin is placed a sprig of acacia,at its head is a square, and at its foot, towards theeast, an open compass. The masters are clothed inblack, and wear large azure sashes, on which arerepresented masonic emblems, the Bun, moon, andseven stars. The object of the meeting is said tobe the finding of the word of the master that wasslain. The postulant for admission is introducedafter some preliminary ceremonies, having his twoarms, breasts, and knees bare, and both heels slip-shod. He is told that the brethren assembled aremourning the death of their grand master, andasked whether perhaps he was one of the mur-derers; at the same time he is shown the body or:figure in the ooffin. Having declared his innocenceo£ any share in that crime, he is informed that hewill on this occasion have to enact the part ofHiram (192), who was slain at the building ofSolomon's temple, and whose history he is about tobe told. The brother or figure in the coffin has inthe meantime been removed, so that when the

I

The Master Mason. 273

aspirant looks at it again, he finds it empty. Thestory of the murder of Hiram is then related. Butthe deed is not, as in the Legend of the Temple(192), attributed to Solomon's jealousy, but simplyto Hiram's refusal t~. communicate the master'sword to three fellow-crafts. The various incidentsof the story are scenically enacted on the postulant."Hiram," the master continues, "having entered thetemple at noon, the three assassins placed them-selves at the east, west, and south doors, and Hiramrefusing to reveal the word, he who stood at the eastdoor cut Hiram across the throat with a twenty-four-inch gauge. Hiram flew to the south door, wherehe received similar treatment, and thence to thewest door, where he was struck on the .head with agavel, which occasioned his death." The applicant,at this part of the recital, is informed that he toomust undergo trials, and is not to sink: under theinfluence of terror, though the hand of death beupon him. He is then struck on the forehead andthrown down, and shams a dead man. The mastercontinues: "The ruffians carried the body out at thewest door, and buried it at the side of a hill"-herethe postulant is placed in the coffin-"·in a grave,on which they stuck a sprig of acacia. to mark thespot. Hiram not making his appearance as usual,Solomon caused .seerch to be made for him bytwelve trusty fellow-crafts that were sent out, threeeast, three west, three south, and three north. or

T


the three who went east, one being weary, sat downon the. brow of a hill, to rest himself, and in risingcaught hold of a twig "-here a twig of that plant is

. put into the hand of the aspirant lying in the ooffin_" which coming up easily, showed that ·the groundhad been recently disturbed, and on digging he andhis companions found the body of Hiram. It wasin a mangled condition, having lain fourteen days,whereupon one of thole present exclaimed Mac-

--t benach I which means 'the· flesh is oft' the bones,', or ' the brother is smitten,' and became the

master's word, as the former one was lost throughHiram's death; for though the other two masters,Solomon, .and Hiram king of Tyre, knew it, itcould only be communicated by the three grandmasters conjointly. The oovering of the gravebeing green moss and turf, other bystanders ex-olaimed, MmC'IJ,8 dO'11llUB,Dei gratia! which accord-ing to Masonry is, "Thanks be unto God, ourmaster has got a mossy house I" The exclamationshows that the Hehrew builders of Solomon'stemple possessed a familiar knowledge of the Latintongue I The body of Hiram could not be raisedby the apprentice's or fellow-craft's grip, but onlyby the master's, or the lion's grip, as it is called ..All this is then imitated by the master raising theaspirant \in the coffin, who is th~n told the word;

_ signs, .and grips, and takes the oath.208. The Lege",,~ ezplained.-Take~ literally, the


story of Hiram would offer nothing so. extraordi-nary as to deserve to be commemorated after threethousand years- throughout the world by solemn

. rites and ceremonies. The death of an architect isnot so important a matter as to have more honourpaid to it than is shown to the memory of so manyphilosophers and learned men who have lost theirlives in the cause of human progress. But historyknows nothing of him. His name is only mentionedin the Bible, and it is simply said of him that hewas a man of understanding and cunning in workingin brass. Tradition is equally silent concerninghim. He is remembered nowhere except in Free--masonry; the legend, in fact, is purely allegorical,and may bear a, twofold interpretation, cosmologicaland astronomical.

Cosmologically, we find represented therein thedualism of the two antagonistic powers, which isthe leading feature of all Eastern initiations. Thedramatic portion of the mysteries of antiquity isalways sustained by a deity or man who perishes 88the victim of an evil power, and rises again into amore glorious existence. In the ancient mysteries,we constantly meet with the record of a sad event,a crime which plunges nations into strife and grief,succeeded by joy and exultation.

Astronomically, again, the parallel is perfect, andis in fact only another version of the legend ofOsiris. Hiram represents Osiris, i: e., the sun. The

•276 Secret Societies.

assassins place themselves at the west, south, andeast doors, that is, the regions illuminated by thesun; they bury the body-and mark the spot witha sprig of acacia. Twelve persons play an im-portant part in the tragedy, viz. the three murder-ers (fellow-crafts), and nine masters. This num-ber is a, plain allusion to the twelve signs of thezodiac, and the three murderers are the three inferiorsigns of winter, Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittariu8.Hiram is slain at the west door, the sun descendsin the west. The acacia of Freemasonry is theplant found in all the ancient solar allegories, andsymbolizing the new vegetation to be anticipatedby the sun's resurrection. The acacia beinglooked upon by the ancients as incorruptible, itstwigs were -preferred for covering the body of thegod-men to the myrtle, laurel, and other plantsmentioned in the ancient mysteries. Hiram's bodyis in a state of decay, having lain fourteen days;the body of Osiris was cut into fourteen pieces (47).But according to other statements, the body wasfound on the seventh day; this would allude to theresurrection of the sun, which actually takes placein the seventh month after his yassage through theinferior signs, that passage which is called his descentinto hell. Hiram can only be raised by the lion'sgrip. It is through the instrumentality of Leothat Osiris is raised j it is when the sun re-entersthat sign that he regains his former strength, that

The Master J.lfason. 277

his restoration to life takes place. Masons in thisdegree call themselves the" children of the widow,"the sun on descending into his tomb Ieaving nature-of which Masons consider themselves the pupils-a, widow; but the appellation may also have its

-origin in the Manichman sect, whose followerswereknown as the" sons of the widow" (103).

209. The Raising of Osiris.-A painting found-on an Egyptian mummy, now in Paris, representsthe death and resurrection of Osiris, and the be-ginning, progress, and end of the inundation of theNile. The sign of the Lion is transformed into acouch, upon which Osiris is laid out as dead; underthe couch are four canopi or jars of various capaci-ties, indicating the state of the Nile at differentperiods. The first is terminated by the head of-Sirius,or the Dog-Star, which gives warning of theapproach of the overflow of the river; the second-bythe head of the Hawk, the symbol of the Etesianwind, which tends to swell the waters; the thirdby the head of a Heron, the sign of the southwind, which contributes to propel the water intothe Mediterranean; and the fourth by that of theVirgin, which indicates that when the sun hadpassed that sign the inundation would have nearly.subsided. To the above is superadded a largeAnubis, who with an emphatic gesture, turningtowards Isis, who has an empty throne on her head,-intimates that the sun, by the aid of the Lion, had


cleared the difficult pass of the tropic of Cancer,and was DOW in the sign of the latter; and, althoughin a state of exhaustion, would soon be in a con- ..dition to proceed on his way to the south. Theempty throne is indicative of its being vacated bythe supposed death of Osiris. The reason why thehawk represents the north wind is, because aboutthe Bummer solstice, when the wind blows fromnorth to south, the bird flies with the wind towardsthe south. (Job xxxix. 26.) The heron signifies thesouth wind, because this bird, living on the wormshatched in the mud of the Nile, follows the courseof the river down·.to the sea, just as the south winddoes. To know the state of the Nile, and there-fore their own 'personal prospects, the Egyptianswatched the birds;' hence among other nations, whodid not know the principle by which the Egyptians.went, arose divination by the flight of birds.'

210. The Blazing Star.-The representation of a,.

1 Hamlet says, "I am but mad north-north-west; whenthe wind is southerly I know a hawk from a hand-saw."Thomas Capell, the editor of the Oxford edition of Shuke-speare, changes "hand-saw" to "hernshaw," which rendersthe passage intelligible; for hernshaw is only another name-for the heron; and Hamlet, though feigning madness, yetclaims sufficient sanity to distinguish a hawk from a hern-shaw, when the wind is southerly-that is, in the time or"the migration of the latter to the north-and when theformer is not to be seen.


blazing star found in every masonic lodge, andwhich'Masons declare to signify prudence-thoughwhy a star should have such a meaning theywould be at a loss to tell-is the star Sirius, thedog-star; mentioned above, ,the inundation of theNile occurring when the sun was und~r the starsof the Lion. Near the stars of the Cancer, thoughpretty far from the band of the Zodiao towards thesouth, and a few weeks after their rising, the Egyp-tians saw in the morning one 'of the most brilliantstars" in the whole heavens ascending the horizon.It appeared a little before the rising of the sun;they therefore pitched upon this star as the infalli-bl~ sign of the sun's passing under the stars ofLeo, and the beginning of the inundation'.' As itthus seemed to be on the watch and give warning,they called it "Barker," It Anubis," It Thot," allmeaning the" dog." Its Hebrew name" Sihor" inGreek became "Seirios," and in Latin "Sirius."It taught the Egyptians the prudence of retiringinto the higher grounds] and thus Masons, ignorantof the origin of the symbols, yet give it its originalemblematic signification.

,

VII.

THE HOLY ROYAL ARCH.

211.

BFFIOERS.-The members of this degreeare denominated" companions." Thereare nine officers, the 'chief of whom (inEngland) is Zerubbabel, a compound

word, meaning Ie the bright lord, the sun." Herebuilds the temple, and therefore represents the Bunrisen again. The next officer is Jeshua, the highpriest; the third, Haggai, the prophet. These threecompose the grand council. Principals and seniorand junior BOj ourners form the base; Ezra and N e-hemiah, senior and junior scribes, one on each side;janitor,tor tyler without the door. The compa-nions assembled make up the sides of the arch,representing the pillars Jachin and Boaz. In frontof the principals stands an altar, inscribed withthe names of Solomon, Hiram, King of Tire, andHiram Abiff.

210. OeTemonies.-On entering the chapter, the

r- i

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The Holy Royal Arch. 281

companions give the sign of sorrow, in imitation ofthe ancients mourning for the loss of Osiris. Ninecompanions must be present at the opening of aroyal arch chapter; not more nor less than threeare permitted to take this degree at the same time,the two numbers making up the twelve, the numberof zodiacal signs. The candidates are prepared bytying a bandage over their eyes, and coiling a, ropeseven times round the body or each, which unitesthem together, with three feet of slack rope betweenthem. They then pass under the living arch, whichis made by the companions either joining theirhands and holding them up, or by holding theirrods or swords so as to resemble a gothic arch.This part of the ceremony used to be attended insome lodges with a, deal of tomfoolery and roughhorse-play. The companions would drop down on.the candidates, who were obliged to support them-selves on their hands and knees; and if they went tooslowly, it was not unusual for one or more of thecompanions to apply a sharp point to their bodiesto urge them on. Trials, such as the candidatesfor initiation into the ancient mysteries had to gothrough, were also imitated in the royal arch.But few if any lodges now practise these tricks,fit only for Christmas pantomimes. The candidates,after taking the oath, declare that they come inorder to assist at the rebuilding of Solomon's temple,whereupon they are furnished with pickaxes, shovels,and crowbars, and retire. After a while, during

282 Secret Soeieties.

which they are supposed to haTe been at work andto have made a discovery, they return, and statethat on digging for the new foundation they dis-covered an underground vault, into wmch one ofthem was let down, and found a scroll, which onexamination turns out to be the long-lost book ofthe law. They set to work again, and discoveranother vault, and under that a third. The sunhaving now gained his meridian height, darts his :rays to the centre, and shines on a. white marblepedestal, on which is a plate of gold. On this plateis & double triangle, and within the triangles somewords they cannot understand; they therefore takethe plate to Zerubbabel. There the whole mysteryof Masonry-as far aa known to Masons-is un-veiled; what the Masons had long been in searchof is found, for the mysterious writing in a trian-gular form is the long lost sacred word of the,Master Mason which Solomon' and King Hiramdeposited there, as we have seen in the master'sdegree (207). This word is the loqoe of Plato andSt. John, the omnific word; but another compoundname, intended to bear the same import, is substi-tuted by modern Masons. It is communicated tothe candidates in this way :-The three principalsand each three companions form. the triangles, andeach of, the three takes his left-hand companion bythe right-hand wrist, and his right-hand companionby the left ..hand wrist, forming two distinct triangleswith the hands, and a triangle with their right feet, •

The Holy Royal Arch: 283

amounting to a, triple ,triangle, and· then pronouncethe following' words, each taking a, linein turn :-'

As we·three did agree,In pesce, love, and unity,The sacred word to keep,

. So we three do agree,In peace, love, and unity,The sacred word to search,Until we three,Or three such as"we, shall agreeThis royal arch chapter to close.

The ~ght hands, still joined as a triangle, areraised as high as possible, and the word given atlow breath in.syllables, so that eaoh companion hasto pronounce the whole word.. It is not permitted to"utter this omnific word above the breath; like the\name " Jehovah" or "O~/' it wo~d shake heaven andearth if pronounced aloud. Zerubbabel next makes'the new companions acquainted with the five" signsused in this degree, and investa them with the badgesof Royal Arch Masonry-the apron, sash, eadjewel,The character on the apron is the triple Tau, one ofthe most ancient of emblems, and Masons "callit theemblem of emblems, "with a depth' that reaches tothe creation of the world and all that is therein."This triple Tau is a compound figure of three T's,called Tau in Greek. Now this Tau or T is thefigure of "the old Egyptian Nilometer, used to ascer-tain the hei~ht of the inundation. It was ~ polecrossed with one or more transverse pieces. As onthe inundation depended the subsistence, the life


of the inhabitants, the Nilometer became the sym-bol of life, health, and prosperity, and was thoughtto have the power of averting evil. It thencebecame an amulet, and in this manner was intro-duced among masonic symbols. .'

213. Passing the Veil8.-In some chapters theceremony called" passing- the veils" is omitted, butto make the account of Royal Arch Masonry com-plete I append it here. The candidate is intro-duced blindfold, his knees bare, and his feet slip-shod, with a cable-tow round his waist. The high-priest reads Exod. iii. 1-6, and 13, 14, and thecandidate is informed that "I am that I am" is thepass-word from the first to the second veil. He isalso shown a bush on fire. He is then led to thesecond veil, which, on giving the pass-word, hepasses, and beholds the figure of a serpent andAaron's rod. The high-priest reads Exod. iv.1-5, and the candidate is told to pick up the rodcast down before him, that the act is the sign ofpassing the second veil, and that the pass-wordsa.re "Moses, Aaron, and Eleazar." He then passesthe guard of the third veil. The high-priest readsExod. iv. 6-9, and the candidate is informed thatthe leprous hand and the pouring out of the waterare the signs of the third veil, and that "Holiness to 'Ithe Lord" are the pass-words to the sanctum sancto- 1

rum. He is shown the ark of the covenant, thetable of shew-bread, the burning incense, andthe candlestick with seven branches. Then follow

Il,

The Holy Royal Arch. 285

long lectures to explain the words and symbols, butthen. puerility may be inferred from the followingspecimen :-" This triangle is also an emblem ofgeometry. And here we find the most perfectemblem of the science of agriculture; not a partialone like the Basilidean, calculated for.one particularclime, but universal; pointed out by a pair of com-passes .issuing from the centre of the sun, and sus-pending a globe denoting the earth, and therebyrepresenting the influence of that luminary overthe creation, admonishing us to be careful to per-form every operation in its proper season, that welose not the fruits of our labour." What a, farmerwould say to, or what profit he could derive from,this "universal science of agriculture," or whether'he needs the" admonishing" symbol, I am at a,.

loss to imagine. The triple Tau, according to thelecture, means templum Hierosolymre, also clavis adthesaurum, res ipsa pTet~osa, and several otherthings equally true. "But," continues the lec-turer, "these are all symbolical definitions of thesymbol, which is to be simply solved into aD.

emblem of science in the human mind, and isthe most ancient symbol of that kind, the proto-type of the cross, and the first object in everyreligion or human system of worship. This isthe grand secret of Masonry, which passes bysymbols from superstition to science." How farall this is from the true meaning of the cross andtriple Tau may be seen by reference to (49).

VIII.

GRAND ELECT KNIGHT OF KADOSH.

214.

OHE Term Kadosh.-This degree, thethirtieth of the ancient and acceptedScotch rite, contains a, beautiful astro-nomical allegory, and is probably de-

rived from Egypt. The term Kadoel, means "holy"or "elect." (Every person in the East, preferredto a post of honour, carried a staff, to indicate thathe was KadoBh, or elect, or that his person wassacred; whence eventually the name came to beapplied to the staff itself, and hence the derivationof caduceus, the staff of Mercury, the messengerof the gods.)

215. Reception into the DegTee.-There are fouraparbments j the initiation takes place in the fourth.They symbolize the seasons. The first 'apartmentis hung with black,' lit up by a solitary lamp oftriangular form. and suspended to the vaulted ceil-ing. It communicates with a kind of cave or closet

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Grand Elect Knight of Kadoslt. 287

of reflection, containing symbols of destruction anddeath. The candidate, after having been left theresome time, passes into the second apartment, whichis draped with white; two altars occupy the centre;on one is an urn filled with burning spirits 'of wine,on the other a brazier with live coal and' incensebeside it. The candidate now faces the sacrificingpriest, who addresses some words of admonition tohim, and having' burnt some incense, directs himto the \ third .apaetment. It is hung with blue,and the vaulted ceiling covered with stars. Threeyellow tapers light up this room. This is theareopagus. The candidate, having here given therequisite explanation as to the sincerity of his in-tentions and promises of secrecy, is introduced intothe fourth apartment, hung with 'red. At the eastis a throne surmounted by a, double eagle,"crowned,with outspread wings and holding a sword in hisclaw. In this room, lighted up with twelve yellowtapers, the chapter takes the title of" senate;" thebrethren are called" knights." In this room alsostands the mysterious ladder,

216. TkeMysteri0'U8 Ladder:-It has seven steps,which symboliZ'e the sun's progress through theseven' signs of the zodiac from .Aries to Libra bothinclusive. This the candidate ascends, receiving atevery step the explanation of its meaning from ahierophant, who remains invisible to the candidate,just as in the ancient mysteries the initiating priest


remained concealed, and as Pythagoras deliveredhis instructions from behind a veil. When the-candidate has ascended the ladder, and is on thel&ststep, the ladder is lowered and he passes overit, because he cannot retire the same way, as theBundoes not retrograde. He then reads the wordsat the bottom of the ladder, Ne plus ultra. Thelast degree manufactured is always the ne plu» ultra,.till somebody concocts one still more sublime, whichthen is the ne plu« ultra, till it is superseded byanother. What sublimity masonic degrees willyet attain, and where they will stop, no one oantell.

217. The Seven Steps.-The name of the firststep is. Isedakah, which is defined "righteousness,"alluding to the sun in the vernal equinox in themonth of March, when the days and nights areequal all over the world, and the sun dispenses hisfavours equally to all. .

The second step is Shor-lobam, " white ox" figu-ratively. This is the only step the definition ofwhich is literally true, which, as it might lead to aclue to the meaning of the mysterious ladder, is thusfalsely denominated figurative. Taurus, the bull,is the second sign of the zodiac, into which the sunenters on the 21st April. His entry into this signis marked by the setting of Orion, who in mytho-logical language is said to be in love with thePleiades; and by the rising of the latter.

Grand Elect Knight of Kadosk. 289

The third step is called Mathok, "sweetness." Thethird sign is Gemini, into which the sun enters inthe pleasant month of May. "Canst thou hinderthe sweet influences of the Pleiades, or loose thebands of Orion?" (Job.) Now, the Pleiades 1Veredenominated by the Romans VeTgilim, from theirformerly rising when the spring commenced, andtheir sweet influences blessed the year by the be-ginning of spring.

The fourth step is Em'Unah, ''-truth in disguise."The fourth sign is Cameer, into which the sun entersin June. Egypt at this period is enveloped in cloudsand dust, by which means the sun, which figura-tively may be called truth, is obscured or dis-guised.

The fifth step is Hamalsaggi, " great labour." Thefifth sign is Leo. The great labour and difficultiesto which the sun was supposed to be subject inpassing this sign have already been alluded to(209). .

The sixth step is 8abbal, "burden or patience:"The sixth sign through which the sun passes isViTgo, marked by the total disappearance of thecelestial Hydra, called the Hydra, of Lerna, fromwhose head spring np the Great Dog and theCrab. Hercules destroys the Hydra of Lerna,but is annoyed by a sea-crab, which bites him inthe foot. Whenever Hercules lopped ~ft' one of themonster's heads two others sprang up, so that his

u:

."1-

Secret Societies.

,W>our would have been endless, had he not orderedjps companion Iolas to Bear the blood with fire.

The seventh step is named GemlUllUlh, BinaJI"J 6Mah, ct retribution, intelligence, prudence." Theaeventh sign is Libra, into which the sun enters attile commencement of autumn, indicated by therising of the celestial Centaur, the same that treatedHercules with hospitality. Thls constellation is re-presented in the heavena with a flask full of wineand a thyrsus, ornamented with leaves and grapes,the symbols of the products of the seasons. TheSDD has now arrived at the autumnal equinox,bringing in his train the fruits of the earth; andrecompense is made to the husbandman in propor-tion to his prudence and intelligence.

The ladder will remind the reader of the ladderof the Indian mysteries, of the ladder' seen byJacob in his dream; the pyramids with seven steps)and the seven caverns of various nations.

IX.

PRINCE OF ROSE-CROIX.

2]8.

lIlISTINOT from Rosicrucian, am,d has'Vario'UB Names.-This, the eighteenthdegree of the ancient and accepted

• Scotch rite, is one of the most gene-rally diffused of the higher degrees of Masonry.It is often confounded with the cabalistic andalchemistic sect of the Rosicrucians; but there isa great distinction between the two. The nameis derived from the rose and the cross, and has DO

connection with alchemy] the import of the rose hasbeen given in another place. The origin of thedegree is involved in the greatest mystery, asalready pointed out. The degree is known byvarious names, such as It Sovereign Princes of Rose-Croix," "Princes of Rose-Croix de Heroden," andsometimes "Knight,l of the Eagle and Pelican."It is considered the 'M plm ""lUra of Masonry, whichhowever is the case with several other degrees.


219. Officer' and Lodge8.-The presiding officeris called the It Ever Most Perfect Sovereign," andthe two wardens are styled "Most Excellent andPerfect Brothers." The degree is conferred by abody called a "Chapter of the Sovereign Princesof Rose-Croix," and in three apartments, the firstrepresenting Mount Calvary, the second the site andscene of the Resurrection, and the third Hell. Itwill therefore be seen that it is a purely Christiandegree, and therefore not genuine Masonry, but anattempt to christianize Freemasonry. The firstapartment is hung with black, and lighted wl~hthirty-three lights upon three candlesticks of elevenbranches. Each light is enclosed in a small tinbox, and issues its light through a hole of an inchdiameter. These lights denote the age of Christ.In three angles of the room, north-east, south-east,and south-west, are three pillars of the height of aman, on the several chapitera of which are inscribedthe names of Faith, Hope, and Charity. Every lodgehas its picture descriptive of its form, and of theproper place of its officers and emblems. On theeast, at the south and north angles, the sun andmoon and a sky studded with stars are painted;the clouds very dark. An eagle is Been beatingthe air with his wings, as an emblem of the supremepower. Besides other allegorical paintings, thereis also one of a cubic stone, sweating 'blood andwater. On the stone is a rose, and the letter J,

Prince of Bose-Oroie. 293

which means the expiring Word. The space roundthe picture, representing the square of the lodge, isfilled with darkness, to represent what happened atthe crucifixion. Below it are all the ancient toolsof masonry, with the columns divided and brokeninto many parts. Lower down is the veil of thetemple rent in twain. Before the master is a littletable, lighted by three lights, upon which the Gospel,compasses, square, and triangle are placed. All thebrethren are clothed in black, with a black scarffrom the left shoulder to the right side. An apron,white, bordered with black; on the flap are a skulland cross-bones, between three red roses; on theapron is a globe surmounted by a serpent, and abovethe letter J. The master and the other officerswear on the neck a wide ribbon of black mohair,from which hangs the jewel, a golden compass, sur-mounted by a triple crown, with a cross betweenthe legs, its .centre being occupied by a full-blownrose; at the foot of the cross is a pelican feedingits young from its breast; on the other side is aneagle with wings displayed. The eagle is theemblem of the sun, the" sun of righteousness;"the pelican of course alludes to Christ shedding Hisblood for the human race; the cross and the roseexplain themselves.

220. Reception in the lJ'i"8t ApOlrtmtmt.-Thecandidate is clothed in black, decorated with a redribbon, an apron doubled with the same colour, and


a sword and scarf. Mter much preliminary oere-mony, he is introduced .into ,the apartment, andtold by the master that the word that is lost andwhich he seeks cannot be given, because confusionreigns among them, the veil of the temple is rent,darkness covers the earth, the tools are broken, &c.;but that he need not despair, as they will find out thenew law, 'that thereby they may recover the word.He is then told to travel for thirty-three years.The junior warden thereupon conducts him thirty-three times round the lodge, pointing out to himthe three columns, telling him their names, Faith,Hope, and Charity, and bidding him rememberthem, as henceforth they must be his guides. Aftera little more talk, he is mafie to kneel with his rightknee upon the Gospel and take the following oath':" I promise by the same obligations I have takenin the former degrees of Masonry never to revealthe secrets of the Knight of the Eagle, under thepenalty of being for ever deprived of the true word;

, that a river of blood and water shall issue conti-nually from my body, and under the penalty ofsuffering anguish of soul, of being steeped in vine-gar and gall, of having on my head the most piercingthorns, and of dying upon the cross; so help methe Grand Architect of the Universe." The candi-date then receives the apron and sash, both symbolsof sorrow for the loss of the word. A dialogueensues, wherein the hope of finding the word is'

Prince of Rose-Oroi». 295

foreshadowed; whereupon the master and brethrenproceed to the second apartment, _:here they ex-change their black aprons and gashes to take redones.

221. Second ApMtment ..:.-This apartment is nu~gwith tapestry; three .chandeliers, with' thirty-threelights, but Without the boxes, illuminate it. Int1t.e east there is a cross surrounded with a gloryand a cloud; upon the cross is a rose of paradise,in the middle of which is the letter G. Below arethee squares, in which are three circles, havingthree triangles, to form the summit; which is alle-gOJ;icaJof Mount Calvary, upon ~hich the GrandArchitect of the Universe expired. Upon thissummit is a blazing star with seven rays,. and inthe middle of it the letter G again. The eagle andpelican also re-eppear here. Below is the tomb.In the lower part of the square are the compasses,drawing-board, crow, trowel, and square. The eubiestone, hammer, and other tools are also repre-sented.

222. Reception, in the Thilrd Apfllrlmtmt.-But thesecond point of reception takes place in a thirdapartment, which is made as terrifying as possible,to represent the torments of hell, It has sevenchandeliers with grey burning flambeaux, whosemouths represent death's heads and cross-bones.The walls are hung with tapestry, painted with

\ :flames and figures of the damned. The candidate,


on presenting himself &8 a searcher of the lostword, has his sash and apron taken from him, asnot humble enough to qualify him for the task, andis covered with a black cloth strewn with dirtyashes, so that he can see nothing, and informedthat he will be led to the darkest of places, fromwhich the word must come forth triumphant to theglory and advantage of Masonry. In this con-dition he is led to a steep descent, up and downwhich he is directed to travel, after which he isconducted to the door, and has the black clothremoved. Before him stand three figures dressedas devils. He then parades the room three times,without pronouncing a word, in memory of thedescent into the dark places, which lasted threedays. He is then led to the door of the apartment,covered with black cloth, and told that the horrorsthrough which he has passed are as nothing incomparison with those through which he has yetto pass; therefore he is cautioned to summon allhis fortitude. But in reality all the terrible trialsare over, for he is presently brought before themaster, who asks: "Whence come you 7" "FromJud~a."-"Which waydid you come7" "By Naza-reth."-" Of what tribe are you des~ende'd7""Judah."-" Giveme the four initials 7" "LN. R.I."-" What do these letters lignify 7" " Jesus ofNazareth, King of the Jews." -" Brother, theword is found; let him be restored to light."

Prince of Rose-Croim. 297

The junior, warden quickly takes oft' the cloth,and at the signal of the master all the brethrenclap their hands three times and give threehuzzas. The candidate is then taught the signs,grips, and. pass-word. The master then proceedsto the instruction of the 'newly made Knight of theEagle or Prince Rose-Croix, which amounts to this,that after the erection of Solomon's ~mple' masonsbegan to neglect their labours, that then the cubicalstone, the corner-stone, began to sweat blood andwater; and was torn from the building and thrownamong the ruins of the decaying temple, and themystic rose sacrificed on a cross. Then masonrywas destroyed, the earth covered with darkness,the tools of masonry broken. Then the blazingstar disappeared, and the word was lost. Butmasons having learnt the three words, Faith, Hope,and Charity, and following the new law, masonrywas restored, though masons no longer built mate-rial edifices, but occupied themselves in spiritualbuildings. The mystic rose and blazing star wererestored to their former beauty and splendour.

x.

THE RITES OF MISRAIM ANDMEMPmS.

223.

_

NOMALIES of the Rite of MisTaim.-Another of those diversities, which may \be called the constant attendants ofthe life of vast associations, is the rite

bf "Misraim." What chiefly distinguishes it fromother rites, and renders it totally different frommasonic institutions, is the supreme power givento the heads, whose irremovability we have seenabolished, in order to open the lodges to the formsof genuine democracy. This rite is essentiallyautocratic. One man, with the title of " AbsoluteSovereign Grand Master," rules the lodges, and 'isirresponsible - an extraordinary anomaly in thebosom of a liberal society to behold a memberclaiming that very absolute power against whichFreemasonry has been fighting for centuries I

Rites of Misrai'f!J and- Memphis. 299

224. Orgam,ization.-The rite of Misraim wtUJfounded at a time whe~ there was already a questionof reducing the number of the Scotch rite of thirty-three degrees, practically reduced to five. Thenarose the rite of Misraim with ninety degrees,arranged in four sections, viz. 1. Symbolic, 2.Philosophic, 3. Mystical, 4. Cabalistic; which weredivided into seventeen classes. The rites are a

medley of Scotch rites, Martinism, and Templar-.ism, and the absolute grand masters arrogate tothemselves the right of governing all masoniclodges throughout the world. The foundstiona of

. this system were laid at Milan in 1805, by severalMasons who had been refused admission into theSupreme Grand Council. During the first yearand for some time after postulants were only ad-mitted as far as the eighty-seventh degree; theother three, complementing the system, embracedthe wnknO'llJ'n superiors. Thus masonic degreesoften served as a mask for the most opposed indivi-dualities, and unconsciously favoured the views andschemes of astute diplomatists and. ambitiousprinces.

225. History am,d Oonstitutitm.-From Milan theorder spread into Dalmatia, the Ionian Islands, andthe Neapolitan territory, where it produced a totalreform in a chapter of Rosicrucians, the "Con-

· cordia," established in the Abruz~. It was nottill 1814 that the rite of Misraim was introduced


into France, where the pompous denominations ofits endless hierarchy met with no slight succ.esfi1.Never had such titles been heard of in Masonry:Supreme Commander of the Stars,. Sovereign ofSovereigns, Most High and Most Powerful Knightof the Rainbow, Sovereign Grand Prince Hiram,Sovereign Grand Princes, &c., these were some ofthe titles assumed by the members. The trials ofinitiation were long and difficult, and founded onwhat is reoorded of the Egyptian and Eleusinianmysteries. In the first two sections the foundersof the rite seem to have attempted to bring to-gether all the creeds and practices of ScotchMasonry combined with the mysteries of Egypt;and in the last two sections all the chemical andcabaJistic knowledge professed by the priests of thatcountry, reserving for the last. three degrees thesupreme direction of the Order. Attempts weremade to introduce it into Belgium, Sweden, andSwitzerland, and also into Ireland, and latterly intoEngland; but everywhere it is in a languishingcondition. The Grand Orient of France has neverrecognized the rite as a part of Masonry, thoughit has three lodges in Paris. .

226. Bites and Oeremonie8.-The Order celebratestwo equinoctial festivals, the one called "The Re-awakening of Nature," and the other, " The Reposeof Nature." In the sixty-ninth degree, designatedas "Knight ofKhanuka, calledHynaroth," partioular

Rites of Misraim and Memphis. 301

instructions are given as to man's relation to theDeity, and the oabalistio mediation of angels.' Inthe ninetieth and last degree, the lodge is openedwith the words "Peace to Men," and the wishthat all men might become proselytes of reason andtrue light. In this rite, altogether modern, wemeet with gnostic and cabalistic words and conceits-a 'phenomenon which were impossible did notgnostic ideas permeate all the veins of the masonic

• body.227. Rite 0/ Mempkis.-It is a copy of the rite

of Misraim, and was founded at Paris in 1889, andafterwards extended to Brussels and Marseilles.It W88 composed of ninety-one degrees, arrangedin three sections and seven classes. A largevolume printed at Paris, with the ambitious title of" The Sanctuary," gives an account of all thesections and their scope. The first section teachesmorality and explains the symbols; the second in-structs in physical science, the philosophy of history,and explains the poetical myths of antiquity, itsscope being to promote the study of causes andorigins. The third and last section exhausts thestory of the Order, and is occupied with highphilosophy, studying the religious myth at thedifferent epochs of mankind.

If

XI.

MODERN KNIGHTS TEMPLARS.

228•

•

BlGIN.-we read that severaJ.lords ofthe Court of Louis XIV., including theDuke de Gramont, the Marquis ofBiran, and Count Tallard, formed a

secret society, whose object was pleasure. The8O~ietyincreased. Louis XIV., having been madeacquainted with its statutes, banished the membersof the Order, whose denomination was, "A slightBesnrreotion of the Templars."

229. Supp08ititious Li8t of {}rand Ma8ter8.-In ~705, .Philip Duke of Orleans collected the re-maining members of the society that had renouncedits first scope to cultivate politics. A Jesuit father,Bonanni, a learned rogue, fabricated, the, famous listof supposititious Grand Masters of the Templesince M~lay, beginning with his immediate suc-cessor, Larmenius. No imposture was ever sus-

Modern Knight8 Templars. 808

tained with greater B.QgaQity. 'The documentp~ereq all the requisite characteristics of authen-, I

ticity,. ~p.d was calculated to deceive tlie most ex-perienoed paleeologist, Its object w.as to connectthe new jnstitution with the ancient Templars. Torender the deception more perfect, the volume eon-~inip.g the false list I was filled with minutes ofdeliberations at fictitious me~~g8 under false~tes. Two members were even sent to LisQon,to 0btain if possible a document of Iegitimaoj; frQJllthe "Knights of Christ," an Order. supposed tohave been founded on the ruins of the Order ofthe Temple. But the deputies were unmasked andvery badly received: one had to take refuge inEngland, the other was transported to Africa, wherehe died.

230. Revival of the OTder.-But the society wasnot discouraged; it grew, and was probably thesame that concealed itself before the outbreak of

. the revolution under the vulgar name of the Societyof the Bull's Head, and whose members were dis-persed in 1792. At that period the Duke of Cosse-Brissao was grand master. When on his way toVersailles witli other prisoners, there to undergotheir ~rial, he was massacred, and Ledru, hisphysician, 0btained possession of the charter' of

. Larmenius and the MS. statutes of 1705. Thesedocuments suggested to him the idea of revivingthe order; Fq,bre-PaJapmt, a Freemason, was chosen

I/,


grand master. Every effort was made to create abelief in the genuineness of the Order. The brothersFabre, Arnal, and Leblond hunted np relics. Theshops of "antiquaries. supplied the sword, mitre, andhelmet of Molay, and' the faithful were shown hisbones withdrawn from the funeral pyre on whichhe had been burned. As in the middle ages, thesociety exacted that aspirants should be of noblebirth; "such as were not were ennobled by thesociety. Fourteen honest citizens of Troyes on oneoocasion received patents of nobility and convincingcoats of arms.

281. The Leviticofl,. - The sooiety was at firstcatholic, apostolic, Roman, and rejected Protestants;but Fabre suddenly gave it an opposite tendency.Having acquired a Greek MS. of the fifteenth cen-tury, containing the Gospel of St. John, with read-ings somewhat differing from the received version,preceded by a kind of introduction or commentary,called" Leviticon," he determined, towards 1815,to apply its doctrines to the society governed byhim, and thus to transform an association, hithertoquite orthodox, into a schismatic sect. This Levi-ticon is nothing but the well-known work with thesame title by the Greek monk, Nicephorns. He,having been initiated into the mysteries of theSu:.6.tes,who to thifJ day, in the bosom of Mo-hamedaniam preserve the dismal doctrines of theIshmaelites of the lodge of Oairo (133), attempted

I

Modern Knights Templars. 305

to introduce these ideas into Christianity, and forthat purpose wrote the «. Leviticon," which becamethe Bible of a small number of sectaries; but perse-cution put an end to them. This. singular. MS. wastranslated into French in 1822, and printed, withmodifications and interpolations, by .Palapraf him-self. This publication WaB; the cause- of a schismin the Order of the. Temple. . Those knights thatadopted its doctrines made them the basis of 8

new liturgy, which, they rendered public in 1833 ina.kind of Johannite church; but people only laughedat it.

'232. Oeremonie« of lnitiation.-. The lodges inthis degree are called encampments, and the officerstake their names from those that .raanaged theoriginal institution. of· the Knights Templars. Thepenal signs are ,the chin' and beard sign- and thesaw sign. The grand sign is indicative ·of the'death of Christ· on the cross. There is. a word, agrip; and pass-words, which vary.. . The' knights;who are' always. addressed as. " Sir .Knights," wearknightly costume, not omitting 'the' sword. .. Thecandidate for installa.tion is " got· up " ~s'a pilgrim,with sandals, mantle, staff, cross, scrip, and wallet,a belt or cord round his waist, and in lome encamp- .menta a burden on his back, which is made to fall offat the sight of the cross. On his approach, an alarmis sounded with a trnmpet, and after a ~al of pseudo-military parley he is admitted, and a saw is applied

X

iI,

(


to his forehead by the second captain, whilst all theSir Knights are under arms. The candidate, beingprompted by the master of the ceremonies, declaresthat he is a weary pilgrim, prepared to devote hislife to the service of the poor and sick, and to pro-tect the holy sepulchre. After perambulating theencampment seven times he repeats the oath, havingfirst put away the pilgrim's staff and cross andtaken up a sword. In this oath he swears to defendthe sepulchre of our Lord Jesus Christ against allJews, Turks, infidels, heathens, and other opposersof the Gospel. " If ever I wilfully violate this mysolemn compact,' 1 he continues, tt as a BrotherKnight Templar, may my skull be sawn asunderwith a rough saw, my brains taken out and put ina charger to be consumed by the scorching SUD,

and my skull in another charger, in commemorationof St. John of Jerusalem, that first faithful soldierand martyr of our Lord and Saviour. Furthermore,may the soul that once inhabited this skull appearagainst me in the day of judgment. So help meGod." A lighted taper is afterwards put into hishand, and he circumambulates the encampment fivetimes "in solemn meditation;" and then kneelingdown is dubbed knight by the grand commander,who I&YS, "I hereby instal you a masonic knighthospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem, Palestine,Rhodes, and Malta, and also a Knight Templar."The grand commander next clothes him with the

Modern Knights Templars. 307

mantle, and invests him with the apron, sash, andjewel, and presents him with sword and shield. Hethen teaches him the so-called Mediterranean pass-word and sign. The motto of the Knight Templaris, In hoc eiqno vince«. In some of the' encampmentsthe following is the concluding part of the cere-mony:-One of the equerries dressed as a cook,with a white nightcap and' apron and a large kitchenknife in his hand, suddenly rushes in, and, kneelingon one knee before the new Sir Knight, says, " SirKnight, I admonish you to be just, honourable, andfaithful to the Order, or I, the cook, will hack yourspurs from off your heels with my kitchen knife."He then retires. Sometimes the spurs are hackedoff by another personage, namely the Commissionerin Bankruptcy. Some few years ago an ufortu.nateencampment pitched in Bedford Row, London.Though the knights, no doubt, were very braveagainst Turks, infidels, and all that sort of gentry,they could not facetheir creditors, whothereupon com-pelled the Order to make its last stand in BasinghaJlStreet-rather all inglorious end; but, as one of thecounsel observed, the Sir Knights were probably allaway in the Holy Land fighting for the recovery ofthe Holy Sepulchre, and so their affairs at home fellslightly into disorder.

XII.

FREEMASONRY IN ENGLAND ANDSCOTLAND.

·233.

IIREEMABONBYin EnglaM.-Theauthentic history of Freemasonry, i. B.

operative Masonry, in England datesfrom Athelstan, from whom his brother

Edwin obtained a royal charter for the Masons, bywhich they, were empowered to meet annually in ageneral assembly; and to have the right to regulatetheir own Order. ~nd, according to this charter,the first Grand Lodge of England met at York in926, when all the writings and records extant, inGreek, Latin, French, and other languages, werecollected; and constitutions and charges in con-formity with ancient usages, so far as they could be .gathered therefrom, were drawn up and adopted.The Old York Masons were on that account held inespecial respect, and Blue or genuine Masonry isstill distinguished by the title of the York Rite.

Freemasonry -in England and Scotland. 309

¥ter the decease of Edwin, Athelstan himself pre- 'sided over the lodges; and after his death, theMasons in' England were governed by Dunstan,Archbishop of Canterbury in 960, and Edward theConfessor in 1041. Down to the 'present time thegrand masters have been persons of royal blood,sometimes the king himself. Till the beginning ofthe last century, as already stated (194), they wereoperative masons, and the monuments of theiractivity are still found all over the land in abbeys,monasteries, cathedrals, hospitals, and other build-ings of note. There were, indeed, periods whenthe Order was persecuted by the state, but thesewere neither so frequent nor so long as in othercountries.

234.. Free'TfUUonryin Beotland.-Tradition saysthat on the destruction of the Order of Templars,many of its members took refuge in Scotland, wherethey incorporated themselves with the Freemasons,under the protection of Robert Bruce, who estab-lished the. chief seat of the order at Kilwinning ..There is a degree of Prince of Rose-Croix de Hero- .den, or Heredom, as it is called in French. ThisHeroden, says an old MS. of the ancient ScotchRite, is a mountain situated in the north-west ofScotland, where the fugitive Knights Templarsfounda safe retreat; and the modern Order of Rose-Croixclaims the kingdom of Scotland and Abbey of Kil- .winning as having once been its chief seat of govern-

.I


mente By some writers, however, it is asserted thatthe word Heredom is simply. a corruption of theLatin expression krerediwm, signifying·" an heri-tage," and alludes to the castle of St. Germain, theresidence of Charles Stuart the Pretender, to fur-ther whose restoration the Order of Rose-Croix wasinvented. The subject is in a state of inextricableconfusion, but scarcely worth the trouble of elucida-tion. King Robert Bruce endeavoured, like otherprinces before and after him, to secure for himselfthe supreme direction of those associations, which,though not hostile to the reigning power, couldby their organization become the fotJi of danger.It is the common opinion that this king reservedfor himself and his successors the rank of grandmaster of the whole Order, and especially of thelodge of Heredom, which was afterwards transferredto Edinburgh.

235. Modem lJ'reem,Q,8Of1/fy.-At the beginningof the last century the operative period of Masonrymay be .said to have come to .an end. In 1716, there.being then onlyfour lodges existing inLondon, a pro-position was made and agreed to that the privilegeof Masonry should no longer be restricted to opera-tive masons-we have seen that it had ere then beenbroken through (194)-but should extend to men ofvarious professions, provided they were regularlyinitiated into the Order. Thus began the present eraof Masonry, retaining the original constitutions, the

II:

[ .

Freemasonry in England .and Scotland. 311

ancient landmarks, symbols, and ceremonies. Thesociety, proclaiming brotherly love, relief, and truth,as their guiding principles, obtained a wider fieldfor their operations, and more freedom in theirmode of action. But to what does this actionamount? To eating, drinking, and mummery.There is nothing in the history of modern Masonry,in this country at least, that deserves to be re-corded. The petty squabbles between Lodges andOrders may help to :fill masonic newspapers, butfor the world at large they have no interest; andas to any useful knowledge to be prcpagated byMasons, that is pure delusion. Yet, consideringthat the Order reckons its members by hundredsof thousands, its pretensions and present conditionand prospects merit some consideration; and itmust be admitted that its charities are administered .on a somewhat munificent scale. In that respecthonour is due to the craft.

f_,

XIII.

FREEMASONRY IN FRANCE ..

236.TBODUOTION into France.-Free-ma onry was introduced into France,by the partisans of James and thePretender, as a possible means of re-

. seating the Btuart family on the English. throne,Not satisfied with turning masonic rites to un-foreseen and. illegitimate uses, new degrees wereadded ·to those alreadyexisting, such as those of"Irish Master," .« Perfect Irish Master," and" Puissant Irish Master," and by promises of therevelation of great secrets and leading them tobelieve that Freemasons were the successors of theKnights Templars, the nobility of the kingdomwere attracted towards the Order and liberallysupported it with their means and influence. Thefirst lodge established in France was that of Dun-kirk (1721),'under the title of "Friendship and

.Fraternity." The second, whose name has not

I •~

Freemasonry in France. 313

been handed down, was founded in Paris in 1725by Lord Derwentwater. Other followers of thePretender established other lodges, of all whichLord Derwentwater was the grand" master, untilthat nobleman lost his life for his devotion to thecause of the Stuarts.

237. OhevalJier Ramsay.-The Chevalier Ramsay,also a devoted adherent of the house of Stuart,endeavoured more effectually to carry outtheviewsof his predecessors, and in 1728 attempted in Lon-don to lay the basis of a masonic reform, accordingto which the masonic legend referredto the violentdeath of Charles I., while Cromwell and his partisansrepresented the assassins to be condemned in thelodge. He therefore proposed to the Grand Lodgeof Englalid to substitute in the place of the firstthree degrees those of Scotch Mason, Novice, andKnight of the Temple, which he pretended' to bethe only true and ancient ones, having their ad-ministrative centre in the Lodge of .St..Andrew atEdinburgh. But the Grand Lodge at once ,rejeotedhis views, whose objects it perceived. Ramsay.we!ltto Paris, where he met with great success. Hissystem gave rise to those higher degrees which havesince then been known by the name of the AncientScotoh Rite. Many of these innovations made upfor their want of consistency with masonic I traditionsby splendour of external decorations and' gorgeous-.ess of ceremonies. But the hauie« grades of the


French, and the philosophic degrees of the AncientScotch Rite, are not innovations, but illustrations ofpure symbolic Masonry. I

288. Philo8ophical Rites. - Philosophy indeedbegan to insinuate itself into Masonry, simplifyingthe rites and purifying its doctrines. Among thephilosophic degrees then introduced, that of the"Knights of the Sun" is noteworthy. Its declaredscope was to advocate natural, in opposition to re-vealed, religion. There is but one light in the lodge,which shines from behind agio be of water, to repre-sent the sun. It has Borne resemblanoe to the" Sublime Knight Elected." But on the other hand,by these innovations systems multiplied, and theOrder served as a pretext and defence of institu-tions having no connection with Masonry. Cabala,magic, conjuration, divination, alchemy, and demon-ology, were taught in the lodges. These abuses ledto the establishment of an administrative centre atArras in 1747. Another was founded at Marseillesin 1751. Three years afterwards the Chevalier deBonneville founded in Paris a chapter of the high.degrees, with the title, afterwards become famous,of, the "Chapter of Clermont," and lodged it in asumptuous palace built by him in a suburb of Paris.The 'system adopted was to some extent that ofRamsay. Another' chapter, in opposition to' his,was founded in 1762, with the title of "Councilof the Knights of the East." In 1766, the Baron

Freemasonry in France. 315

Tschudy founded the Order of the" Blazing Star,"in which ideas derived from the Temple and theJesuits were strangely intermingled.

289. The Duke de OhOlftres.-Freemasonry inFrance was not without influence on the Revolu-tion. The Duke de Chartres having been electedgrand master, all the lodges were united under'the Grand Orient; hence the immense influence heafterwards wielded. The mode of his initiation isthus related :-Before becoming grand master hewas received into the degree of Knight of Kadosh.Five brethren introduced him into a hall, repre-senting a grotto strewn with human bones, andlighted up with sepulchral lamps. In one of theangles was a lay figure covered with royal insignia.The introducers bade him lie down on the groundlike one dead, naming. the degrees through whichhe had already passed, and repeating the formeroaths. Afterwards, they extolled the degree intowhich he was about to be received. Having biddenhim to rise, he was made to ascend a high ladder, andto throw himself from the top. Having then armedhim with a dagger, they commended him to strikethe crowned figure, and a liquid, resembling blood,spurted from the wound over his hands and clothes.He was then told to cut oft' the head of the figure.Finally, he was informed that the bones with whichthe cave was strewn came from the body of JamesMolay, Grand Master of the Order of the Temple,


and that the man whom he had stabbed was Philipthe Fair, King of France. The Grand Orient wasestablished in a mansion formerly belonging to theJesuits in Paris, and became a revolutionary centre. ,The share the Grand Orient, the tool of the Dukede Chartres, took in the events of the Frexi.chRevo-lution is matter of history. ,

XIV.

THE CHAPTER OF CLERMONT AND THE

STRICT OBSERVANCE.

240.

mESUITIOAL Influence. -Catholic cere-monies, unknown in ancient Freema-

, sonry, were introduced from 1735 to1740, in the Chapter of Clermont, so

called in honour of Louis of Bourbon, Prince ofClermont, at the time grand master of the Orderin France.' From that time, the influence of theJesuits on the fraternity made itself more and morefelt. The candidate was no longer reoeived in ,alodge, but in .the city of Jerusalem; not the idealJerusalem, but ~ clerical Jerusalem, typifying Rome.The meetings were called Oopitula OQll'l,()l1l,i,corwm,and a monkish language and asceticism prevailedtherein. In the statutes is seen the hand of JamesLainez, the second general of the Jesuits, and theaim at universal empire betrays itself, for a~ the


reception of the sublime knights the last twochapters of the Apocalypse are read to the eandi-date-e, glowing picture of that universal monarchywhich the Jesuits hoped to establish. The sectspread. very rapidly, for when Baron Runde cameto Paris in 1742, and was received into the highestJesuit degrees, he found on his return to Germanythat those degrees w~re already established inSaxony and Thuringia, under the government ofMarshaJI, whose labours he undertook to promote.

241. The Strict Observance.-From the exertionsof these two men arose the "Rite of Strict Ob-servance," which seemed also for a time mtendedto favour the tragic hopes of the House of Stuart;for Marshall, having visited Paris in 1741, thereentered into close connection with Ramsay and theother adherents of the exiled family. To furtherthis object, Hunde mixed up with the rites of Cler-mont what was known or supposed to be known ofthe statutes of the Templars, and acting in concertwith Marshall, overran Germany with a sect of newTemplars, not to be confounded with the Templarsthat afterwards joined the masonic fraternity.But Runde seems after all to have rendered noreal services to the Stuarts; though when CharlesEdward visited Germany, the sectaries received himin the most gallant manner, promising him the mostextensive support, and asking of him 'titles andesta.tea in a kingdom whioh he had yet to conquer.

The Chapter of Clermont. 319

'I'hua he was brought to that state of men~ in-toxication which afterwa.rds led him. to make anabsurd entry into Rome, preceded by heralds whoproclaimed him king. Runde seems, in the sadstory of the Stuarts, to have acted the part of aspeculator; and the zite of the Strict Observance,permeated by the Jesnitical leaven, had probablyan aim very different from the re-establishment ofthe proscribed dynasty. It is certain that at onetime the power of the New Templars was verygreat, and prepared the way ~or the illuminati.

xv.

THE RELAXED OBSERVANCE.

242 .

•

RGANIZATION of Relazed Observam,ee.-In 1767, there arose at Vienna aschism of the Strict Observance; thedissentients, who called themselves

"Clerks of the Relaxed Observance," declaringthat they alone possessed the secrets of the associa-tion, and knew the place where were deposited thesplendid treasures of the Templars. They ...alsoclaimed precedence not only over the rite of StrictObservance, but also over all Masonry. Theirpromises and instructions revolved around thephilosopher's stone, the government of spirits, andthe millennium. To be .initiated it was necessaryto be a Roman Catholic, and to have passed throughall the degrees of the Strict Observance. Themembers knew only their immediate heads; butDoctor Stark, of Konigsberg, a famous preacher"

lI

The Relaxed Observance. 321

and Baron Raven, of Mecklenburg, were· well-known chiefs of the association.

243. Disputes in German Lodges.-Before theestablishment of the Strict Observance variousGerman lodges had already introduced the Templarsystem; hence disputes of all kinds arose, and aconvention was held at Brunswick on May 22nd~1775, to arrange the differences. Dr. Stark pre-sented himself; he was a disciple of Schroepferand of Gugumos, who called himself high priest,knight, prince, possessor of the philosopher's stone,of the secret to evoke the spirits of the dead,&c. Stark declared to the members of the con-vention that he was called Archimedee ab aquila/ulva, that he was chancellor of the Grand Chapterof Scotland, and had been invited by the brethrenof that supreme body to instruct them in the trueprinciples of the order. But when he was askedto produce his credentials, he refused. The Bruns-wickers, however, thinking that the brethren ofAberdeen might possess some secrets, sent a depu-tation thither; but the good folks of Aberdeenknew even less than their German friends, for theyknew only the first three degrees. Stark, thoughfound out, was not to be put down, but wrote abook, entitled "The Coping Stone," in which herepresented the Strict Observance as hostile to re-ligion, society, and the state.

244. Bite of Zi1l,nendOlf!.-Thiswas not the firsty


attaek made on the system of Hunde. In 1766,Count Zinnendorf, chief physician in the. Pmssianarmy, who had been received into the StrictObservance, was struck from the list of membersof the lodge of the Three Globes. In revenge, hefounded at Berlin and Potsdam lodges on the

.Templar system, which, however, he soon aban-doned, and composed a new rite, invented by him-self, and consisting of seven degrees, which wasprotected by Frederick the Great. The new ordermade fierce and successful war both on the Strictand the Relaxed Observance.

245. Afriea;n, Arekiteets.-About 1765, BrotherVon Kopper instituted in Prussia, under theauspices of Frederick II., the order of " AfricanArchitects," who occupied themselves with historicalresearches, mixing up therewith masonry and chi-valry. The order was divided into eleven degrees,They erected a vast building, which contained alarge library, a museum of natural history, anda chemical laboratory. Until 1786, when it wasdissolved, the society awarded every year a goldmedal with fifty ducats to the author of the bestmemoir on the history of Masonry. This was one'of the few 'rational masonic societies. The AfrioanArchitects did not esteem decorations, aprons, col-lars, jewels, &c.. In their assemblies they read.essays, and communicated the results of their re-searches. At their simple and decorous banquets

The Rela:xed Observance. 323

. instruotive and scientific discourses were delivered.While" their initiations were gratuitous, they gaveliberal assistance to zealous but needy brethren.They published many important works on Free-masonry.

XVI.

THE CONGRESS OF WILHELMSBAD.

246.

B.ARIOUB OongreBBe8.-To put an endto the numerous disputes raging amongmasonic bodies, various congresses wereheld. In 1778, a congress was convened

at Lyons; it lasted a month, but was without result.In 1785, another was held at Paris, but the timewas wasted in idle disputes with Cagliostro. The.last and most important was that which assembledat Wilhelmsbad in 1782, under the presidency ofthe Duke of Brunswick, who was anxious to endthe discord reigning among German Freemasons.Itwas attended by masons from Europe, America,and Asia. From an approximative estimate itappears that there were then upwards of threemillions of masons in the different parts of theglobe.

247 . Discu88ions at WilhelmBbad.-The state-ments contained in Dr. Stark's book, "The Coping

The Congress of Wilhelmsbad. 325

Stone" (241), concerning the influence of theJesuits in the masonic body, formed one of theohief topics discussed. Some of the chiefs of theStriot Observance produced considerable confusionby being unable to give information concerning thesecrets of the high degrees, which they had pro-fessed to .know ; or to render an account of largesums they had received on behalf of the order. "I'hemain point was to settle whether Masonry was tobe considered as a continuation of the order of theTemplars, and whether the secrets of the sect wereto be Bought for in the modern Templar degrees.After thirty sittings, the answer was in the negative;the chiefs of the Strict Observance were defeated,and the Duke of Brunswiok suspended the order forthree years, from which blow it never recovered.The Swedes professed to possess all the secrets;the Duke of Brunswick hastened to Upsala to learnthem, but found that the Swedes knew no morethan the Germans; whence new dissensions arosebetween the masons of the two nations.

248. Result of Oonvefl,tion.-The only result ofthe convention of Wilhelmsbad. was the retentionof the three symbolical degrees, with the additionof a new degree, that of the "Knight of Bene-ficence." The Duke of Brunswick representedthe aristocratic element, and was thus opposed toMasonry, whioh in its spirit is democratic. Theresult of the congress strengthened the influence

326 Secret Societies.~of the duke; henoe the opposition of Germany tothe principles of the French Revolution, which brokeout soon after-an opposition which was like dis-oharging a rooket against a thunderbolt, but whiohwas carried to ita height by the manifesto of theDuke of Brunswick, 80 loudly praised by oourtlyhistorians, and of which the German princes madesuch good use as to induoe the German oonfederacyto surround France with a fiery line of deludedpatriotism. Freemasonry had been made the tooland fool of prince- and priest-craft.

\

XVII.

MASONRY AND NAPOLEONISM.

249.

BlASONRY protected by Napoleon.-Withrenewed court frivolities and militarypomp, the theatrical spirit of Masonryrevived. The institution, so active"be-

fore and during the Revolution, because it wasgoverned by men who rightly understood andworthily represented its principles, during theempire fell into academic puerilities, servile com-pliance, and endless squabbles. That period, whichmasonic writers, attached to the latter and pleasedwith its apparent splendour, call the most flourishingof French Masonry, in the eyes of independentjudges appears as the least important and the leasthonourable for the masonic order. Napoleon at firstintended to suppress Freemasonry, in which thedreaded ideologists might easily find a refuge. Therepresentative system of the Grand Orient clashedwith his monarchical principles, and the oligarchy of


the Scotch rite aroused his suspicions. The Parisianlodges, however, practised in the art of flattery,prostrated themselves before the First Consul, pro-strated themselves before the Emperor, and sued forgrace. The suspicions of Napoleon were not dis-sipated; but he perceived the policy of avoidingviolent measures, and of disciplining 8 body tha.tmight turn against him. After considerable hesi-tation, he declared in favour of the Grand Orient,and the Scotch rite had to assume the second place.A single word of Napoleon had done more to estab-lish peace between them than all former machina-tions. The Grand Orient became a court office,and Masonry an army of employes. The GrandMastership was offered to Joseph Napoleon, whoaccepted it, though never initiated into Freemasonry,with the consent of his brother, who, however, forgreater security, insisted on having his trustyarch-chanoellor Cambaoeres appointed Grand MasterAdjunct, to be in reality the only head of the order.Gradually all the rites existing in France gave intheir adhesion to the imperial policy, eleoting Cam-baceres as their chief dignitary, so that he eventuallypossessed more masonic titles than any other manbefore or after him. In 1805, he was made GrandMaster Adjunct of the Grand Orient; in 1806, Sove-reign Grand Master of the Supreme Grand Council;in the same year, Grand Master of the rite of Hero-den of Kilwinning; in 1807, Supreme Head of the

Masonry and Napoleoniem. 329

French rite; in the same year, Grand Master of thePhilosophic Scotch rite; in 1808, Grand Master ofthe order of Christ; in 1809, National Grand Masterof the Knights of the Holy City; in the same year,Protector of the High Philosophio Degrees.

250. Spread of Preemasorvry.-But masonic dis-putes soon again ran high. The arch-chancellor,accustomed and attached to the usages and pompsof courts, secretly gave the preference to theScotch rite with its high-sounding titles and gor-geous ceremonies. The Grand Orient carried its

. complaints even to Napoleon, who grew weary ofthese paltry farces-he who planned grand dramas;and at one time he had determined on abolishingthe order altogether, but Ca.mba,cer~ssucceeded inarresting his purpose, showing him the dangers thatmight ensue from its suppression-dangers whichmust have appeared great, since Napoleon,who neverhesitated, hesitated then, and allowedanother to alterhis views. Perhaps he recognized the necessity inFrench society of a body of men who were free atleast in appearance, of a kind of political safety-valve. The French had taken a liking to theirlodges, where they found a phantom of indepen-dence, and might consider themselves on neutral.ground, so that a masonic writer could say: "Inthe bosom of Masonry there circulates a little ofthat vital air so necessary to generous minds."The Scotch rite, secretly protected, spread through-

Bao Secret Societies.

out the French departments and foreign countries,and whilst the Grand Orient tried to suppress it,and, to prevent innovations, elected a "Directorof Rites," the Supreme Grand Council establisheditself at Milan, and elected Prince Eugene GrandMaster of the Grand Orient of Italy. The twohighest masonic authorities, which yet had thesame master in Cambeceres, and the same patronin Napoleon, continued to combat each other withas much fury as was shown in the struggle betweenFrance and England. But having no public life, noparliamentary debates, no opposition journals, thegreater part of the population took refuge in thelodges, and every small town had its own. In1812,there existed one thousand and eighty-nine lodges,all depending on the Grand Orient; the aNny hadsixty-nine, and the lodge was opened and closedwith the cry, Vive l'EmpeTB'Ur I

251. Obseqwio'UBnessof FreemasonTY.-Napoleon,unable and unwilling to suppress Freemasonry, em-ployed it in the army, in the newly-occupied terri-tories, and in such as he intended to occupy. Im-perial proselytism turned the lodges into schools ofNapoleonism. But one section of Masonry, underthe shadow of that protection, became the very con-trary, anti-Napoleonic; and not all the lodges closedtheir accustomed labours with the cry of Viv6l'EmpeTeur! It is, however, quite certain thatNapoleon by means of the masonic society faoili-

Masonry and Napoleonism. 331

tated or secured his conquests. Spain, Germany,and Italy were covered with lodges-antechambers,more than any others, of prefectures and military ·command-presided over and governed by soldiers.The highest dignitaries of masonry at that periodwere marshals, knights of the Legion of Honour,nobles of ancient descent, senators, councillors, allsafe and trusty persons; a state that obeyed theorders of Cembeoeres, as he obeyed the ordersof Napoleon. Obsequiousness came near to theridiculous. The half-yearly words of commandof the Grand Orient .retrace the history of Napo-leonio progress. In'1800," Science and Peace;"in 1802, after Marengo, "Unity and Success;" in1804, after the coronation, "Contentment andGreatness;" after the battle of Friedland, "Em-peror and Confidence;" after the suppression ofthe tribune, "Fidelity j" at the birth of the Kingof Rome, "Posterity and Joy;" at the departureof the army of Russia, "Victory and Return."-Terrible victory and unfortunate return !

252. Anti-Napoleonic Freemasonry.-Napoleon,we have seen, made a league with Freemasonry, toobtain its support, He is also said to have madecertain promises to i~ j but, as he failed to keep them,the masons turned against him, and had. a largeshare in his fall. This, however, is not very pro-bable, and is attributing too much influence to anorder which had only recently recovered itself. Still


the anti-Napoleonic leaven fermented in the mesonic,society. Savary, the minister of police, was awareof it in 1810, and wanted to apply to the secretmeetings of Freemasons the article of the penal code,forbidding them; but Cambaceres once more savedthe institution, which saved neither him nor hispatron. Freemasonry, if not by overt acts, at leastby its indifference, helped on the downfall of Napo-leon. But it was not altogether inactive, for evenwhilst the Napoleonic star illumined almost alonethe political heavens of Europe, a masonic lodgewas formed whose object was the restoration of theBourbons, whose action may be proved by officialdocuments to have extended through the Frencharmy, and led to the seditious movements of 1813.

XVIII.

FREEMASONRY, THE RESTORATION ANDTHE SECOND EMPIRE.

253•

•

HE Society 01 "lJ'rOlMe RegeneTated."-The Restoration, whose blindness wasonly equalled by its mediocrity-which,unable to create, proposed to itself to

destroy what even time respects, the memories andglories of a people-could not please Freemasonrymuch. Hostile to Napoleon in his last years, itcould not approve of the c~nduct of the new govern-ment. At all events, the Freemasons held aloof,though cynics might suggest that this was donewith a view of exacting better terms. In the mean-while, a society was formed in Paris, which, 8S-

suming masonic forms and the title of "FranceRegenerated," became an instrument of espionageand revenge in the hands of the new despot. Butthe very government in whose favour it acted, found

334 Secret Societies,

it neoessary within a year from its foundation si-lently to suppress it; for it found the rabid zeal ofthese adherents to be more injurious to its intereststhan the open opposition of its avowed enemies ..

254. Priestly Oppositioo to Ma8oory.-The ma-sonic propaganda, however, was actively carried on.The priests, on their part, considered the momentoome for inaugurating an anti-masonic crusade.Under Napoleon the priesthood could not breathe;the court was closed against it, except on grandoccasions, when its presence was needed to addoutward pomp to imperial successes. As the masters .of ceremonies, the priests had ceased in France tobe the councillors and confessors of its rulers; butnow they re-assumed those functions, and the masonswere at onc~ recommended to the hatred of the kingand the mistrust of the public. They were repre-sented as abettors of rationalism and regioide j theconsequence was, that a great many lodges wereclosed, though on the other hand the rite of Mis-raim was established in Paris in 1816, whose motherlodge was called the "Rainbow," a presage ofserenity and calm, which, however, did not save thesociety from police persecution. In 1821, this lodgewas closed, and not re-opened till 1830. Towardsthe lame time was founded the lodge of It Trino-sophists." In 1821, the Supreme Grand Councilrose to the surface again, and with it the disputesbetween it and the Grand Orient. To enter .into

Freemasonru and the Second Empire. 335

their squabbles would be a sad waste of time, and Itherefore pass them over.

255. PoUtical Insignificance of Masonry.-TheFreemasons are said to have brought about theJuly revolution of 1830, but proofs are wanting,and I think they may be absolved from that charge.Modern Freemasonry is a very tame a:fiair; and,though very fond of being dressed up as knights,masons, as a rule, are mere carpet-knights. Louis-Philippe, who was placed on the throne by that revo-lution, took the order under his protection and ~appointed his son, the Duke of Orleans, GrandMaster. On the duke's death, in 1842, his brother,the Duke de Nemours, succeeded him in the dig-nity. In this latter year, the disputes between theGrand Orient and the Supreme Grand Council wereamicably settled. Again we .are told that at amasonic congress held at Strasburg the founda-tions of the revolution of 1848 were laid. It iscertain that Cavaignac, Lamartine, Ledrn-Rollin,Prudhon, Louis Blanc, Marrsst, Vilain, Pyat, and agreat number of German republicans, attended thatcongress; but for this reason it cannot strictly becalled a masonic, it was rather a republican, meeting.On the establishment of the Provisional Govern-ment after the revolution of 1848, the Freemasonsgave in their adhesion to that government; on whichoccasion some high-flown speeches about liberty',equality, and fraternity were made, and everybody


congratulated his neighbour that now the reignof universal brotherhood had begun. But therestoration of the empire, which followed soonafter, showed how idle all this oratory had been,and how the influence of Masonry in the greataffairs of the world really is nil.

256. Freemasonry and Napoleon IlL-Againthe Napoleonic air waves around the Grand Orient.The nephew showed himself from the first as hostileto Freemasonry 88 his uncle had been; but thedecree prohibiting the French lodges from occu-pying themselves with political questions, underpain of the dissolution of the order, did not appearuntil the 7th Sept., 1850. In January, 1852, somesuperior members of the order proposed to offerthe dignity of Grand Master to Lucien Murat, thePresident's cousin. The proposal was unanimouslyagreed to; and on the 19th of the same month thenew Grand Master was acknowledged by all thelodges. He held the office till 1861, when he wasobliged to resign, in consequence of the masonicbody having passed a vote of censure upon him forhis expressions in favour of the temporal power ofthe pope, uttered in the stormy discussion of theFrench senate in the month of June of that year.The Grand Orient was again all in confusion. Na,-

poleon III. now interfered, especially as PrinceNapoleon was proposed for the office of Grand-Master; which excited the jealousy of the Mu-

Freemasonry and the Second Empire. 887 I

ratists, who published pamphlets of the mostvituperative character against their adversaries, whoon their side replied with corresponding bitterness.Napoleon imposed silence on the litigants, prohibitedattendance at lodges, promised that he himselfwould appoint a Grand Master, and advised hiscousin to undertake a long voyage to the UnitedStates. Deprived of the right of electing its ownchief, the autonomy of Freemasonry became an illu-sion, its programme useless, and its mystery a farce.In. the meanwhile, the quarrels of the partizans ofthe different candidates calmed down; . Prince Na-poleon returned from America; Murat resignedhimself to this defeat, as to others, and the emperorforgot all about Freemasonry. At last, in January,1862, there appeared a decree, appointing MarshalMagnan to be Grand Master. A Marshall Thenephew, in this instance, as in many others, hadtaken a leaf out of his uncle's book.

257. Jesuitical MQIYI,(BIJIlJ'r8B.-NapoleonicFree-masonry, not entirely to lose its peculiar physi-ognomy, ventured to change its institutions. Je-suitism cast loving eyes on it, and drew it towardsitself, as in the days of the Strict Observance.Murat threw out his net, but was removed just whenit was most important for the interest of the Jesuitsthat he should have remained. He proposed to.transform the French lodges-of which in 1852 therewere 825, whilst in 1861, only 269 could be found-

z


into societies of mutual. succour, and to abandon orsubmit the higher masonic sphere of morality andhumanity to the society, which in these last sixtyyears has already overcome and incorporated thewhole Roman clergy, once its rivals, and by obliquepaths also many of the conservative sects of othercreeds. Murat did aot succeed, but others may;and though the masons say that Jesuitism shall. notsucceed, yet, how is Freemasonry, that professes tomeddle neither with politics nor religion, to coun-teract the political and religious machinations of theJesuits? .And even if Freemasonry had the sameweapons, are there men amQng the order able towield them with the ability and fearlessness thatdistinguish the followers of Loyola? I fear not.

XIX.

FREEMASONRY IN ITALY.

258 .

•

HIMSIOAL Masonic Soeieiiee, -We. have but few. notices of the early state

of Freemasonry in Italy. Weare toldthat in 1512 there was founded at

Florence a, Society under the name of "TheTrowel," composed of learned and literary men,who indulged in all kinds of whimsical freaks, andwho may have served as prototypes to the order of" The Monks of the Screw," established towardsthe end of the last century in Ireland. Thus atone time they would meet in the lodge, dressed asmasons and labourers, and begin to erect an edificewith trays full of macaroni and cheese, using spicesand bonbons for mortar, and rolls and cakes for •stones, and building up the whole with all kinds ofcomestibles. And thus they went on, until a pre- .tended rain put an end to their labours. Atanother time it was Ceres, who, in search of Proser-


•

pine, invited the Brethren of the Trowel to accom-pany her to the infernal regions. They followedher through the mouth of a serpent into a. darkroom, and~ on Pluto inviting them to the feast,lights appeared, and the table was Been to becovered with black, whilst the dishes on it werefoul and obscene animals, and bones of dead men,served by devils carrying shovels. Finally ell thisvanished, and a choice banquet followed. ThisSociety of the Trowel was in existence in \1737.The clergy endeavoured to suppress it; and wouldno doubt have succeeded, but for the accessionof Francis, Duke of Tuscany, who, as we haveseen, had been initiated in Holland, and whoset free all the Freemasons that had been incar-cerated, and protected the order.· But the remem-brance of that persecution is preserved' in therituals, and in the degree of " Magus," the costumeis that of the Holy Office, as other degrees com-memorate the inquisitors of Portugal and Spain.

259. Rl'Uminati in Italy.-The sect of the illu-minati, of whom Count Filippo Strozzi was a warmpartisan, soon after spread through IWy, 8.8 wellas another order, affiliated with the illuminati, mys-tical and alchymisticaJ, and in opposition to theRosicrucians, caJled the "Initiated Brethren ofAsia," which had been founded at Vienna. Itonlyaccepted candidates who had passed through thefirst three degrees of the York rite. Like Egyptian

Freemasonry in Italy. 341

Masonry, it I worshipped the Tetragrammaton, andcombined the deepest and most philosophical ideaswith the most childish superstitions.

260. Freemasonry at Naples.-In the ~gdomof Naples the masons amounted to many thousands.An edict of Charles III. (1751), and another ofFerdinand IV. (1759), closed the lodges, but in ashort time they became 8dead letter, and in vain didthe minister, Tanucoi, hostile to the institution,seek to revive them. The incident of a neophytedying a few days after his initiation gave a pretextfor fresh persecution, The masons, assemb~ed ata banquet, were arrested; and in vain did Levy, alawyer, undertake their defence. He was expelledthe kingdom; his book in favour of the order waspublicly burnt by the executioner. But QueenCaroline, having dismissed Tanucci, again sane-tioned masonic meetings, for which"she received thethanks of the Grand Orient of France. It wouldseem, however, that in 8 very few years, Freema-sonry again had to hide its head, for in 1767 wehear of it as a "secret" society, whose existencehas just been discovered. Th~ document which re-cords this discovery puts the number of Free-masons at 64,000, which probably is an exaggera-tion; still, among so excitable a, population as thatof southern Italy, secret societies at all times foundplenty of proselytes.

261. Deiaile of Document.-The document re-


terred to says :-At last the great mine or theFreemasons of Naples is discovered" of whom thename, but not the secret, was known. Two cir-cumstances are alleged by which the disoovery wasbrought about :-a dying man revealed all to hisconfessor, that he should inform the king thereof;a knight, who had been kept in great state by thesociety, having had his pension withheld, betrayedthe Grand Master of the order to th~ king. ThisGrand Master was the Duke of San Severo. The kingsecretly sent a confidential officer with three .dra-goons to the duke's mansion, with orders to seizehim before he had time to speak to anyone, andbring him to the palace, The order was carriedout; but a few minutes after a fire broke Qut in theduke's mansion, destroying his library, the real ob-ject being, as is supposed, to burn all writingshavin.g reference ·to Freemasonry. The fire wasextinguished, and the house guarded by troops.The duke having been bro~ght before the king,openly declared the objects, system, seals, govern-ment, and possessions of the order .. He was sentback to his palace, and there guarded by troops,lest. he should be killed by his formes colleagues.Freemasons have also been discovered at Florence,and the Pope and the Emperor have sent thithertwenty-four theologians to put a stop to the disorder.The king acts with the greatest mercy towardsall implicated, to avoid the great dangers that might

Frepmasonry in Italy. 34'3

ensue from a. contrary course. He has also ap-pointed four persons of great standing to use thebest means to destroy so abominable a sect; andhas given notice to all the other sovereigns of Europeof his discovery, and the abominable maxims of thesect, calling upon them to assist in its suppression,which it will be folly in them to refuse to do. Forthe order does not count its members by thousands,but by millions, especially among Jews and Pro-testants. Their frightful maxims are only knownto the members of the :fifth, sixth, and seventhlodges, whilst those of the first three know nothing,and those of the fourth act without knowing whatthey do. They derive. their origin from England,and the founder of the sect was that infamousCromwell, first bishop, and then lover of AnneBoleyn, and then beheaded for his crimes, called inhis day" the scourge of rulers." He left the orderan annual income of £10,000 sterling. It is dividedinto seven lodges: the members of the seventh arecalled Assessors; of the sixth, Grand Masters; ofthe fifth, .Architects; of· the fourth, Executors(here the secret ends); of the third, Ruricori (I); ofthe second and first, Novices and Proselytes. Theirinfamous idea is based on the ~egory of the templeof Solomon, considered in its first splendour, and,then overthrown by the tyranny of the Assyrians,and finally restored-thereby to signify the liberty.ofman after the creation of the world, the 'tyranny


of the priesthood, kings, and laws, and the re-estab-lishment of that liberty. Then follow twelvemaxims, in which these opinions and aims are morefully expounded, from which it appears that theywere not very different from those of all other re-publican and advanced politicians.

262. F're8'masO'IIIf'!Jat Venlice.-The Freemasonswere at first tolerated at Venice, but in 1686 the go-vernment suddenly took the alarm, and ordered theclosing of all lodges, and banished the members ';but the decree was very leniently executed, and a.lodge of nobles having refused to obey, the magis-trates entered it at a time when they knew no oneto be there. The furniture, ornaments, and jewelswere carried out and publicly burnt or dispersed,but none of the brethren were in any way molested.A lodge was re-established afterwards, which wasdiscovered in 1785, when all its contents were againburnt or otherwise destroyed. From the ritual,whioh was found among the other effects, it appearsthat the candidate for initiation was led, his eyesbeing bandaged, from street to street, or canal tocanal, so as to prevent his tracing the locality, tothe Rio Marino, where he was first conducted into aroom hung with black, and illumined by a singlelight; there he was clothed in a long garment likea winding sheet, but black; he put on a cap aome-thing like a turban, and his hair was drawn overhis face, and in this elegant figure he was placed

Freemasonry in Italy. 345 ..

before a looking-glass, covered with 8 black cur-tain, under which were written the words, " If thouhast true courage, and an honest desire to enter intothe order, draw aside the curtain, and learn to knowthyself." He might then remove the bandage andlook at himself. He was then again blindfolded,and placed in the middle of the room, while thirtyor forty members. entered and began to fight withswords. This was to try the candidate's courage,who was himself slightly wounded. The bandagewas once more removed, and the wound dressed.Then it was replaced, and .the candidate taken to 8,

second apartment, hung with black and white, andhaving in the middle 8 bed covered with a blackcloth, on the centre of which was a white cross, whilston either side was represented a white skeleton. Thecandidate W8S laid on the bed, the bandage beingremoved, and he was there lefp with two tapers,the one white, the other yellow. After having beenleft there for some time, the brethren entered in 8

boisterous manner beating discordant drums. Thecandidate was to show no sign of trepidation amidstall these solemn (1) ceremonies; and then the mem-bers embraced him as a brother, and gave him thename by which he was henceforth to be known inthe society.

263 • .Abatement 'lJlTl,(jer Napoleon.-During thereign of Napoleon I., numerous lodges were foundedthroughout Italy; and it cannot be denied by the

346 Secret &ci~ties.

greatest friends of the order that during that periodFreemasonry cut a most pitiful figure. For a so-ciety that always boasted of its independence of,and superiority to, all other earthly governments, toforward addresses such as the following to Napo-leon, seems something like self-abasement andself-stultification :-" 0 Napoleon I thy philosophyguarantees the toleration of our natural and divinereligion. We render thee honour worthy' of theefor it, and thou shalt find in us nothing but faithfulsubjects, ever devoted to thy augnst person I"

264. The li'reema80rvry of the Present in ltaly.-Very little need or can be said ~ regards the activeproceedings of Italian Masonic lodges of the pre-sent day, though they have been reconstituted andunited under one or two heads. But their programmedeserves attention, as pointing out those reforms,needed not only in Italy, but everywhere whereFreemasonry exists. The declared object, then, ofItalian :Freemasonry is, the highest development ofuniversal philanthropy; the independence and unityof single nations, and fraternity among each other;the toleration of every religion, and absolute equalityof worship j the moral and material progress of themasses. It moreover declares jtself independent ofevery government, affirming that Italian Free-masonry will not recognize ~y other sovereignpower on earth but right reason and universal con-science, It further declares-and thiJI deserves

k_"

FreemqAonry in Italy. 341 1I

particular attention-that Freemasonry is not toconsist in a mysterious symbolism, vain ceremonies,or indefinite aspirations, which cover the order withridicule. Again, Masonry being universal, essen-tially human, it does not occupy itself with forms ofgovernment, nor with transitory questions, but withsuch as are permanent and general. In social re-forms abstract theories, founded on mystical aspi-rations, Me to be avoided. The duty of labourbeing the most \ essential in civil society, Free-masonry is opposed to idleness. Religious ques-tions are r,eyond the pale of Freemasonry. Humanconscience is in itself inviolable; it has no concernwith any positive religion, but represents religionitself in its essence. Devoted to the principle offraternity, it preaches universal toleration; oompre-hends in its ritual many of the symbols 'of variousreligions, as in its syncretism it chooses the puresttroths. Its creed consists in the worship of theDivine, whose highest conception, withdrawn fromevery priestly speculation, is that of the Great Archi-teet of the Universe; and in faith in humanity, thesole interpreter of the Divine in the world. .AB toextrinsic modes of worship, Freemasonry neitherimposes nor recommends 'any, leaving to everyonehis free choice, until the day, perhaps not :far dis-tant, when all men will be capable of worshippingthe Infinite in spirit and in truth, without inter-mediaries and outward fonp.s. And whilst man in


his secret relations to the Infinite fecundates thereligious thought, he in his relations to the Uni-verse fecundates the soientific thought. Scienceis truth, and the most ancient cultus of Free-masonry.

In determining the relations of the individual tohis equals, Freemasonry does not restrict itself to-recommending to do unto others what we wishothers would do unto us; but inculcates to do good,oppose evil, and not to submit to injustice in what-soever form it presents itself. Freemasonry looksforward to the day when .the iron plates of the~,Monitor" and the "Merrimac" will be beateninto steam-ploughs; when ma~, redeemed by libertyand science, shall enjoy the pure pleasures of intel-ligenoe; when peace, fertilised by the wealth andstrength now devoted to war, shall bring forth themost beautiful fruit of the tree of life.

265. Befo'l"m '1IIeeded.-Greatly therefore is theacademic .puerility of rites to be regretted, whichdrags back into the past an institution that oughtto launch forward into the future. It is self-evidentthat Freemasonry in this state cannot last-that areform is necessary; and .as De Castro, from whomthe above is taken, thinkg that it would be anhonour to Italy to be the leader in such a reform,it would be an honour to any country that initiatedit. Masonry ought not to be an ambulance, but avanguard. It is embarrassed by its excessive bag-

Freemasonry in Ita!y. 849

gage, its superfluous symbols. Guarding secretsuniversally known, it cannot entertain secreta ofgreater account. Forcing itself to believe itselfto be the sole depositary of widely-spread truths,it deprives itself and the world of other truths. Inthis perplexity and alternative of committing suicideor being born anew, what will Masonry decide on?

xx.

CAGLIOSTRO AND EGYPTIAN MASONRY ..

266.

BIlf'Eof OagUoBwo.-Joseph Balsamo, thedisciple and successor of St. Germain,who pretended at the court of LouisX;V. to have been the contemporary

of Charles V., Francis I., and' Christ, and to possessthe elixir of life and many other secrets, had vasterdesigns and a, loftier ambition than his teacher, andwas one of the most active agents of FreemasonrymFrance and the rest of Europe. He was born atPalermo in 1743, and' educated at two convents inthat city, where he acquired some chemical know-ledge. As a, young man, he fell in with ~n Arme-nian, or Greek, or Spaniard, called Althotas, a kindof adventurer, who professed to possess the philo-sopher's stone, with whom he led a roving life fora number of years. What became of .Althotas at lastis not positively known. Balsamo at last found hisway to Rome, where he married . the beautiful

Cagliostro and Egyptian Masonry. 351

. Lorenza Feliciani, whom he treated 80 badly, thatshe escaped from him; but he recovered her, andacquired great influence over her by magneticallyoperating upon her. There is no doubt that hewas a, powerful magnetizer. Visiting Germany, hewas initiated into Freemasonry, in ~hich he soonbegan to take a prominent part. He also assumeddifferent titles, such as that of Marquis of Pelle-grini, but the one he is best known by is that of~ount Cagliostro; and by his astuteness, impudence,and some lucky hits at prophesying, he acquired aEuropean notoriety and made many dupes, includingpersons of the highest rank, especially in France,where he founded many new Masonic lodges. Hewas ,the author of a, book called "The Rite ofEgyptian Masonry," which rite he established firstin Courland, and afterwards in Germany, France,and England. After having been banished fromFrance, in consequence of his implication in the affairof the queen's necklace, and driven from England byhis creditors, he was induced by his wife, who wasweary of her wandering life, and anxious once moreto see her relations, to visit Rome, where he was,arrested on the ehaege of attempting to found 8

Masonic lodge, against which a papal bull had re-cently been promulgated, and thrown into the castleof St. Angelo, in 1789. He was condemned todeath, but the punishment was commuted to, per-petual imprisonment. His wife was shut up in a


convent, and died soon after. Having been trans-ferred to the Castle of S&n Leo, he attempted tostrangle the monk sent to confess him, in the hopeof escaping in his gown; but the attempt failed, andit is supposed that he died, a prisoner, in 1795.

267. The Egyptian Rite.-The Egyptian riteinvented by Cagliostro is a mixture of th.e sacredand profane, of the serious and laughable; oharla-tanism is its prevailing feature. Having discovereda MS. of George Cofton, in which was propoundeda singular scheme for the reform of Freemasonry inan alchymistic and fantastic sense, Cagliostro foundedthereon the bases of his masonic system, takingadvantage of human credulity, enriching himself,and at the same time seconding the action of othersecret societies. If there were not now believersin spirit-rapping and table-turning, it would bedifficult to understand how Cagliostro succeededin gaining so many followers and 80 much wealth,rionsidering his vulgar tricks and shallow pretences.He gave his dupes to understand that the scope ofEgyptian Masonry was to conduct men to perfectionby means of physical and moral regeneration; assert-ing that the former was infallible through the primamatB'fia and the philosophers stone, which assuredto man the strength of youth and immortality, andthat the second was to be achieved by the discoveryof a pentagon that would restore man to his primi-

. tive innocence. This rite indeed is a tissue of fa-

Caglwstro and Egyptian Masonry. 853•tuities it would not be wo~th whileto allude to, -did

it not offer matter for study to the philosopher andmoralist. Cagliostro pretended that the rite hadbeen first founded by Enoch, remodelled by Elias,and finally restored by the Grand Copt. Both menand women were admitted into the lodges, thoughthe ceremonies for each were slightly different, andthe lodges for their reception entirely distinct, Inthe reception of women, among other formalitissthere was that of breathing into the face of theneophyte, saying, "I breathe upon you this breathto cause to germinate in you and grow in yourheart the truth we possess; I breathe it into you tostrengthen in you good intentions, and to confirmyou in the faith of your brothers and sistera, Weconstitute you a legitimate daughter of true Egyp-tian adoption and of this worshipful lodge." Oneof the lodges was called " Sinai," where the mostsecret rites were performed; another" Ararat," tosymbolize the rest reserved for masons only. Oon-cerning the pentagon, Cagliostro taught that it wouldbe given to the masters after forty days of inter-course with the seven primitive angels, and that itspossessors would enjoy a physical regeneration for5557 years, after which they would thro~gh gentlesleep pass into heaven. The pentagon had as muchsuccess with the upper ten thousand of London,Paris, and St. Petersburg, as the philosopher's stoneever enjoyed; and large sums were. given for a few

AA

854 Secret Societies.•gi-ains of the rejuvenating prim,a, materia. There

exists yet between. Basle and Strasburg a sumptu-ous Chinese temple, where the famous pentagonwas worshipped; and the lodge " Sinai" at Lyonswas as gorgeous as a palace.

268. OagUo8tro'8Hydromancy.-But beside ma-sonic delusions, Cagliostro made use of the thenlittle understood wonders of magnetism to attractadherenta; and as many persons are seduced by thewine-cup, so he made dupes of many by means ofthe water-bottle, which trick, as might be shown, wasvery ancient, and consisted in divination by hydro-mancy. A child, generally a little girl, was made tolook into a bottle of water, and see therein events,past, present, and to come, the child having of coursebeen well tutored beforehand; and as Cagliostrowas reaJ.ly a man of observation, he made manyshrewd guesses as to the future, and sometimesfortune favoured him-as in the case of Schieffort,

. one of the leaders of the llluminati, who refused tojoin the Egyptian rite, at which Cagliostro was 80

incensed, that he caused the little girl to see in thedecanter the exterminating angel, who declared thatin less than a month Schieffort would be punished.Now it so happened that within that period Sohief-fort committed suicide, which of course gave animmense lift to Cagliostro and his bottle. In thisres~ect indeed Cagliostro was a forerunner of ourmodern spiritualists; and as he did not keep his

Cagliostro and Egyptian Masonry. 355

occult power a secret :trom all, but freely communi-cated it, magical practices were thus introducedinto the lodges, which well served the purposes ofthe astute, but brought discredit on the institntdon.And all this occurred at the period of the Encyclo-pedists, and on the eve of mighty events!

XXI.

ADOPTIVE MASONRY.

269.

ElISTORIOAL Notice.-According to oneof the fundamental laws of Masonry-and a, rule prevailing in the greatermysteries of antiquity-women cannot

be received into the order. Women cannot keepsecrets, at least so Milton says, through the mouthof Dalila :-

" Granting, as I do, it was a weaknessIn me, but incident to all our sex,Curiosity, inquisitive, importuneOf secrets; then with like infirmityTo publish them; both common female fanlts."

But we have already seen that Cagliostro admittedwomen to the Egyptian rite; and when at the be-ginning of the eighteenth century s~veral associa-tions sprang up in France, which in their externala.sp~ct resembled Freemasonry, but did not excludewomen, the ladies naturally were loud in their praise

Adoptive Masonry., "

857

of such institutions,. 'so that· the masonic brother-hood, seeing it. W8B becoming unpopular, had re-course to the stratagem of establishing" adoptive"lodges of women, so called because every such lodgehad finally to be adopted by' some regular masoniclodge. The Grand Orient of France framed laws fortheir government, and the first lodge of ;w,option wasopened in Paris in 1775, in which the Duchess ofBourbon presided, and was initiated as Grand Mis-tress of the rite. The Revolution checked, the pro-gress of this rite, but itwaa revived in 1805, whenthe Empress Josephine presided over the "LogeImperiale d'Adoption des Francs-Chevaliers" atStrasburg. Similar lodges spread over Europe,Great Britain excepted; but they ~oon declined,and are at present confined to the place of theirorigin.

270. Organi8ation.-The rite consists of the samedegrees as those of genuine Masonry. Every sister,being a dignitary, has beside her, a masonic brotherholding the corresponding rank. Hence the officersare a Grand Master and a Grand Mistress, an In-'Spector and an Inspeotress, a Depositor and a De-positrix, a Conductor and a Conductress. The busi-ness of the lodge is conducted by the sisterhood,the brethren only acting as their assista.nts; but theGrand Mistress has very little to say or to do, shebeing only an honorary companion to the GrandMaster. The first, or apprentice's degree, is only


introduotory; in the second, or oompanion, thescene of the temptation in Eden is emblematioaJlyreprbsented; the building of the tower of Babel is .the subject of the mistress's degree; and in thefourth, or that of perfeot mistress, the ofJj.oers re-present Moses, Aaron, and their wives, and theceremonies refer to the passage of the Israelitesthrough the wilderness, as a symbol of the pessageof men and women through this to another andbetter life. The lodge room is tastefully decorated,and divided by curtains into four compartments,each representing' one of the four quarters of theglobe, the eastern, or furthermost, representingAsia, where there are two splendid thrones, de-corated with gold fringe, for the Grand Master andthe Grand Mistress. The members sit on each sidein straight lines, the sisters in front and the bro-thers behind them, the latter having swords in theirhands. All this pretty playing at masonry is na-turally followed by a banquet, and on many occa-sions by a ball. And a very proper sequel to pri-vate theatricals I At the banquets the members usea symbolical language; thus the lodge-room iscalled "Eden," the doors "barriers," a glass iscalled a "lamp," water "white oil," wine "redoil s" to:6.ll your glass is " to trim your lamp," &c.

271. Jesuit DegrBBs.-The Jesuits, qui vontpas8e'rleur nez panout, soon -poked it into Adoptive Ma-sonry-for to get hold of the women is to get hold

Adoptive Masonry. 859

of the better half of mankind-and founded newlodges, or modified existing ones of that rite tofurther their own purposes. ~hus it is that 3' trulymonkish asceticism was introduced into some ofthem, by the Jesuits divided into ten degrees; andwe find such passages in the catechism as these:"Are you prepared, sister, to sacrifice life for- the

.. good of the catholic, apoatolic Roman Church 7"The tenth or last degree was called the "Princessof the Crown," and a great portion of the ritualtreats of the Queen of Sheba. This rite wasestablished in Saxony in 1779.

XXIJ.

ANDROGYNOUS MASONRY.

272.

•

BIGIN and TBM8'MY. - Gallantry al-ready makes its appearance in AdoptiveMasonry; and this gaJIantry, which forso ~any ages was the study of France,

and was there reduced to an ingenious art, manu-factured on its own account rites and degrees thatwere masonic in name only. Politics were de-throned by amorous intrigues; and the enumeratorsof great effects sprung from trifling causes might inthis chapter of history find proofs of what a super-ficial and accidental thing politics are, when notgoverned by motives of high morality, nor watchedby the incorruptible national conscience. AndAndrogynous Masonry did not always confine itselfto an interchange of compliments and the pursuit ofpleasure; still, as a rule, its lodges for the initiationof males and females-defended by some of theiradvocates as founded on Exod. :xxxviii. a-are a

1Androgynous Masonry. 861

whimsical form of that court life which in Franoe andI~lyhad its poets and romancers; and which"rose tosuch a degree of impudence and scandal as to outragethe modesty of citizens and popular virtue. It is apage of tha.t history of princely corruption, whichthe French people at first read of with laughter,then with astonishment, finally with indignation;

. and which inspired it with those feelings which atlast found their vent in the excesses of the greatRevolution. Every Revolution is a puritanicalmovement, and the simple and neglected virtue ofthe lowly-born avenges itself upon the pompousvices of their superiors. .

273. Earliest Androgyno'U8 Societies.-Some ofthese were foundedin France and elsewhere by anidle, daring, and conquering soldiery. AB theirtype we may take the order of the "Knights andLadies of Joy," founded with extraordinary successat Paris in 1696, under the protection of Bacchusand Venus, and whose printed statutes are still inexistence; and that of the " Ladies of St. John ofJerusaTem," and the " Ladies of St. James of theSword and Calatrava." They, as it were, served asmodels to the canonesses who till the end of thelast century brought oourtly pomp and mundanepleasures into the very cloisters of France, andcompelled austere moralists to excuse it by sayingthat it was dam le gout de la nation. I

274. OthtYrAndrogYfto'UBSocietie8.-In the order


of the It Companions of Penelope, or. th~ Palladiumof Ladies," whose statutes are said to have beendrawn up by Fenelon (with how much truth is easilyimagined) , the trials consist in showing the candi-date that work is the palladium of women; whencewe may assume the pursuits of this society to havebeen very difFerent from the equivocal occupationsof other orders. The order of the " Mopses" owed .its origin to a religious scruple. Pope Clement XII.having issued, in 1738, a Bull, condemning" Free-masonry, the Roman Catholics, not wishing to de-prive themselves of their fraternal meetings, insti-tuted, under the above name (derived from theGerman word MlYpB, 8 young mastiff, the symbol ofmutual fidelity), what was pretended to be a newassociation, but what was in fact only Freemasonryunder another name. In 1776 the" Mopses" be-came an androgynous order, admitting' females toall the offices, except that of Grand Master. Therewas, however, a Grand Mistress also. In 1777 therewas established in Denmark the androgynous orderof the " Society of the Chain,' to which belongsthe honour of having founded and of maintaining atits own expense the Asylum for the Blind at Copen-hagen, the largest and best managed of similarinstitutions in Europe. The order of "Perse-verance," the date of whose foundation is unknown,but which existed in Paris in 1777, and was sup-ported by the most distinguished persons, had a

Androgynous Masonry. 868

laudable 'custom, which might be imitated by othersocieties, vis., to inscribe in a book, one of which isstill extant, the praiseworthy actions of the male andfemale members of the association. But one of themost deserving masonic androgynous inStitutiODSwas that of the " Sovereign Chapter of the Scotch'Ladies of France," founded in 1810, and dividedinto lesser and greater mysteries, and whose in-structions aimed chiefly at leading the neophyteback to the occupations to which the state of societycalled him or her. To provide food and work forthose wanting either, to afford them advice andhelp, and save them from the cruel alternative ofcrime-such was the scope of this society, whichlasted till the year 1828. .

275. Vicious Androgynou8 BoC'ieti68.- The So-ciety of the " Wood-store of the Globe and Glory"was founded in 1747 by the Chevalier de Beauchene,a lively boon companion, who was generally to befound at an inn, where for very little money he con-ferred all the masonic degrees of that time; a manwhose worship would have shone by the great tunof Heidelberg, or at the drinking bouts of Germanstudents. The Wood-store was supposed to be.in aforest, and the meetings, which were much in vogue,took place in 8, garden outside Paris, called "NewFrance," where assembled lords and clowns, ladies -and grisettes, indulging in the easy costumes andmanners of the country. Towards the middle of

\ '


the eighteenth century, there was established inBritanny the order of the It Defoliators."

In the order of Ie Felicity," instituted in Parisin 1742, and divided into the four degrees of mid-shipman, captain, chief of a squadron, and vice-admiral, the emblems and terms were nautical:sailors were its founders, and it excited 80 muchattention, that in 1746 a satire, entitled, "TheMeans of reaching the highest Rank in the Navywithout getting Wet," was published against it.Its field of action was the field of love. A GrandOrient was called the offing, the lodge the squadron,and the sisters performed the fictitious voyage to theisland of Felicity 8O'UB la 'Voile des /1"eres et piloteespar eue ; and the candidate promised "never toreceive a foreign ship into her port as long as aship of the order was anchored there."

The order of the "Lovers of Pleasure" was amilitary institution, a pale revival of the cere-monies of chivalry and the courts of love, impro-vised in the French camp in Gallicia. From thediscourse of one of the orators we select the fol-lowing passage: "Our scope is to embellish ourexistence, always taking for our guide the words:'Honour, Joy, and Delicacy.' Our scope, moreover,is to be faithful to our country and the augustsovereign who fills the universe with his gloriousname, to serve a cause which ought to be grateful toevery gentle soul, that of protecting youth and inno-

i.Lndrogynou8 j(ason~. 365

oence, and of establishing between the ladies andourselves an eternal alliance, cemented by the purestfriendship." This society, it is said, was muchfavoured by Napoleon I., and hence we may inferthat its aim was not purely pleasure; at all eventsit is remarkable, that a society, .having masonicrites, should have given its services to the " augustsovereign" who had just withdrawn his supportfrom genuine Freemasonry.

276. Knights and Nymphs oj the Bose. - Thisorder was founded in Paris in 1778 by Chaumont,private secretary to Louis-Philippe d'OrIeans, toplease that prince. The chief lodge' was held inone of the famous petites maieon« of that epoch.The great lords had lodges in their own houses.The Hierophant, assisted by a deacon called" Senti-ment," initiated the men, and the Grand Priestess,assisted by the deaconess called " Discretion,"initiated the women. The age of admission forknights was" the age to love," that of ladies, "theage to.please and to be loved." Love and mysterywere the programme of the order; the lodge wascalled the Temple of Love, which was beautifullyadorned with garlands of flowers and amorousemblems and devices. The knights wore a crownof myrtle, the nymphs a crown of roses. Duringthe time of initiation a dark lantern, held by the

. nymph of Discretion, shed a dim light, but after-wards the lodge was illuminated with numerous


wax: candles. The aspirants, laden with chains, tosymbolize the prejudices that kept them prisoners,were asked, "What seek you here?" To whichthey replied, "Happiness." They were thenquestioned as to their private opinion and conductin matters of gaJIantry, and made twice to traversethe lodge over a path covered with love-knots,whereupon the iron chains were taken off, andgarlands of flowers, called "chains of love," sub-stituted. The candidates were then conductedto the altar, where they took the oath of secresy;and thence to the mysterious groves in the neigh-bourhood of the Temple of Love, where incensewas offered up to Venus and her son. If it was aknight who bad been initiated, he exchanged hiscrown of myrtle for the rose of the last initiatednymph; and if a nymph, she exchanged her rosefor the myrtle crown of Brother Sentiment. Thehorrors of 'the Revolution scattered these knightsand nymphs, who, like thoughtless children, wereplaying on a volcano.

277. Mason's Daughter. - This is an androgy-nous degree invented in the Western States ofAmerica, and given to master masons, their wives,and unmarried sisters and da.ughters. It refers tocircumstances recorded in chapters xi. and xii. ofSt. John's Gospel.

XXIII.

PERSECUTIONS OF FREEMASONRY.

278.

tIt,AUSES oJ PeTBBC'Ution. - The secresywi~ which the masonic brotherhoodhas always surrounded its proceedings is '.no doubt highly grateful to the mem-

bers, but it has its drawbacks. The outside world,who cannot believe that masonic meetings, whichare so jealously guarded against the intrusion ofnon-masons, have no other purpose than the re-hearsal of a now totally useless and pointless ritual,followed by conviviality, naturally assume that theremust be something more behind; and what seemsto fear the light is usually supposed to be evil ..Hence all governments, as long as they did notknow what modern Freemasonry reaJly is, perse-cuted and endeavoured to suppress it. But as soonas they discovered its real scope and character, theygaTe it their support, feeling quite convinced thatmen who could find entertainment in the doings of

- ",


the lodges, would never, as it is popularly called,set the Thames on fire. Thus one of the first per-secutions against :Freemasonry arose in Holland in1734. A crowd of ignorant fanatics, ineited theretoby the clergy, broke into a lodge at Amsterdamand destroyed all its furniture and ornaments; butthe town clerk having at the suggestion of theorder been initiated, the States-General, upon hisreport, sanctioned the sooiety, many of the chiefpersons becoming members. Of course when lodgeswere turned into political clubs, and the real busi-ness of Masonry was cast aside for something moreserious, the matter assumed a very di1ferent aspect.The persecutions here to be mentioned will there-fore be such only as took place against Freemaaonry,legitimately 80 called.

279. ImtanceB oJ PerBBcutitm.-Pope ClementXI!., in 1737, issued a decree against the order,which was followed by a more severe edict nextyear, the punishment therein awarded for beingfound guilty of practising Freemasonry being con-fiscation and death, without hope of mercy. This wasa signal of persecution in the countries connectedwith Rome. The parliament of Paris, however, re-fused to register the papal Bull ; and an apology forthe order was published at Dublin. But Philip V. ofSpain declared the galleys for life, or punishment ofdeath with torture to be the doom of Freemasons j avery large number of whom he caused to be arrested

1II

Persecutions 0/ Freemasonry. 869

and sentenced. Peter Torrubia, Grand Inquisitorof Spain, having first made confession and receivedabsolution, entered the order for. the express pur-pose ofbetmying it. He joined in 1751, and madehimself 'acquainted with the entire ramifications ofthe craft; and in consequence members of ninety-seven lodges were seized and tortured on the rack.Ferdinand VI. declared Freemasonry to be hightreason, and punishable with death. When theFrench became masters of Spain, Freemasonry was~vived and openly practised, the members of theGrand Lodge of Madrid meeting in the hall previ-ously occupied by their arch-enemy the Inquisition.With the return of Ferdinand VII., who re-esta-blished the Inquisition, the exterminating processrecommenced. In 1814, twenty-five persons sus-pected of Freemasonry were dragged in chains toconfinement; but the subsequent arrests were sonumerous that no correct account is obtainable, norcan the ultimate fate of the accused be recorded.In 1824, a law was promulgated, commanding allmasons to declare themselves, and deliver up allthe~ papers and documents, under the penalty ofbeing declared traitors. The M~ter of War, inthe same year, issued a proclamation, outlawingevery member of the craft, and in 1827 sevenmembers of a lodge in Granada were executed;while in 1828, the tribunals of the same citycondemned the Marquis of Lavrillana and Cap-

BB

370 Secret Soeietiee.

tain Alvarez to be beheaded for having founded a,

lodge.In 1735, several noble Portuguese instituted a,

lodge at Lisbon, under the Grand Lodge of England,of which George Gordon was Master; but the priestsimmediately determined on putting it down. Oneof the best known victims of the Inquisition wasJohn Coustos, a native of Switzerland, who wasarrested in 1743, and thrown into a subterraneandungeon, where he was racked nine times in threemonths for not revealing the secrets of Masonry.He had, however, to appear in~an OIUto-da-fe, andwas sentenced to five years' work as a galley slave; 'Ibut the British Government claiming him as a sub-ject, he was released before the term of his punish-ment expired. Thirty-three years passed with-out anything more being heard of Freemasonry inPortugal'; but in 1776, two. members of the craftwere arrested" and remained. upwards of fourteenmonths in prison. .In 1792, Queen EliZabeth or-dered all Freemasons to be delivered .over to theInquisition; a very few families escaped to NewYork, where they landed With the words, Asylumqurerimvus. Among their American brethren theyfound not only an asylum, but a, new home. TheFrench empire ushered in better days; but with therestoration of the old 'regime came the former preju-dices and persecutions. In 1818, John VI. pro-mulgated from the Brazils an edict against all secret

Persecutions of Freemasonry. 371

'societies, including Freemasonry; and again in1823, a similar though more stringent proclamationappeared in Lisbon. The punishment of deaththerein awarded has been reduced to fine and trans-portation to Africa.

InAustria, the papal bulls provoked persecutionsand seizures; hence arose the order of the Mopses(274), which spread through Holland, Belgium, andFrance. In 1747, thirty masons were arrested andimprisoned at Vienna. Maria Theresa, having beenunable to discover the secrets of the order, issued adecree to arrest all masons, but the measure wasfrustrated by the good sense of the Emperor Joseph I.,who was himself a mason, and therefore knew thatthe pursuits of the order were innocent enough.Francis II., at the Diet of Ratisbon in 1794, de-manded the suppression of all masonic societiesthroughout Germany; but Hanover, Brunswick, andPrussia united with the smaller states in refusingth~ir assent.

The history of Freemasonry in Central Italy dur-ing the last century and this, as may be supposed,is a mere repetition of sufferings, persecutions, andmisfortunes; the members of the craft being con-tinually under punishment, through the intoleranceof the priesthood and the interference of the civilpower.

But persecution was not confined to Catholiccountries. Even in Switzerland, the masons at one


time were persecuted. The Council of Berne, in1745, passed a law with certain degrees of punish-ment for members of lodges; which law was re-newed in 1782. It is now abrogated. Frederick I..,King of Sweden, a very few years after the intro-duction (1736) of Freemasonry, forbade it underpenalty of death. At present the king is at thehead of the Swedi$ craft. The King FrederickAugustus III. of Poland caused, in 1739, enact-ments' to be published, forbidding, under pain ofsevere punishment, the practice of Freemasonry inhis kingdom. In 1757, the Synod of Stirlingadopted a resolution debarring all Freemasons fromthe ordinances of religion. In 1799, Lord Radnorproposed in the English Parliament a bill againstsecret societies, and especiaJly against Freemasonry;and a similar but equally frnitleSB attempt againstthe order was made in 1814 by Lord Liverpool.The Society is now acknowledged by law; thePrince of Wales is one of its members, and is nowone of its Past Grand Masters.

280. Anti-Masonic Publicatiom.-One of theearliest English publications against Freemasonryis "The Freemasons; an Hudibrastio Poem," Lon-don, 1723. It is written in the coarsest style ofinvective, -describing the masons I;IS a drnnken setof revellers, practising all kinds of filthy rites.Several .works of no -literary merit appeared .atvarious intervals between 1726 and 1760, profess-ing to reveal the masonic secrets, but their authors

Persecutions of Freemasonry. 373

evidently knew nothingof the craft. In 1768, arabid parson published a sermon, entitled "Ma-sonry, the Way to Hell.'" It is beneath criticism.Numerous works of 8 similar tendency, -or pro-fessing to reveal what masonry was, thenceforth

I

appeared at short intervals in England, France,Germany, and Italy, such as ." Les Plus SecretsMysteres de la Ma~onnerie;" "Le MaschereStrappate" (The Masks torn oft); "The Veil Re-moved, or the S~cret of the Revolutions fosteredby Freemasom-y;" Robison's '~Proofs of a Conspi-racy against all the Religions and Governments ofEurope carried on in the Secret Meetings of Free-masons, illuminati, and Reading Societies," a workwhich must have astonished the masons not a little,and for which they were no doubt in their heartsvery grateful to the author, for he makes the masonsout to be very terrible fellows indeed. Good easymen, who only thought of enjoying their "beerand 'baccy," and of going through a little mum-mery, to find that they. were, "unbeknown" tothemselves, very near upsetting all the thrones ofEurope I The work of the Abbe Barruel is of thesame stamp J it is entitled.: "Memoires pour servira I'Histoire du Jacobinisme," and is noteworthy fornothing but absence of critical power and honestyof statement. A great deal i~ now written againstFreemasqnry; but the writers in most instancesknow neither what Freemasonry is, nor what itpretends to be.

XXIV.

scmSMATIC RITES AND SECTS.

281.

•

OHISMAT~O Rites and Beots.-The pre-tended derivation of Freemasonry fromthe Knights Templars has already beenreferred to; but Masonry, the system,

not the name, existed before the Order of the Tem-ple, and the Templars themselves had masonic ritesand degrees three hundred years before theirdownfall. Those who, however, maintain theabove view say that the three assassins symbolizethe three betrayers of the order, and Hiram theGrand Master Molay; and according to the ritualof the Grand Lodge of the Three Globes, a Ger-man degree, the lights around the coffin signifythe flames of the pile on which Molay was burnt.To the Rosicrucians and to certain German lodgesHiram is Christ, and the three assassins, Judas thatbetrays, Peter that denies Him, and Thomas thatdisbelieves His resurrection. The anci~nt Scotchrite had its origin in other false accounts of ~e

Schismatic Rites and Sects. . 875

rise of the order. In the last century schismswithout number arose in the masonic body. Itwould be impossible in a work like this to namethem all; a few only can be referred to. Out ofthe non-masonic society of the Rosicrucians wasformed in 1777 an association, calling itself the"Brothers of the Golden Rosy Cross." It was

.very numerous in Germany, the N etherlands, andSweden. A second schism from the Rosicruoianswas the "Society of the Initiated Brothers ofAsia," which was originated in 1780, and whosepursuits were those of alchemy. Its existence wasbut brief. Rolling, a member, in 1787 publishedin print its laughable secrets. A lodge was foundedin 1768 by one Schroopfer in his own house, wherehe conjured up ghosts I The King of Saxony,being incredulous, had him flogged as an impostor.The charlatan disguised himself, assumed the titleof Count de Steinville, went to the Court of Dres-den and frightened the king with horrible appari-tions. This was his revenge, but the Frenchambassador discovered the cheat. Sohreepferescaped to Leipsic and began afresh his mum-meries.' But having promised his dupes more thanhe could accomplish, he shot himself in the wood ofRosenthal, near Leipzig. The" Moravian Brothersof the Order of Religious Freemasons, or Order ofthe Mustard-Seed," was another German rite,founded in 1739. Its mysteries were founded on


the passage in St. Mark iv., in which Christ com-pares the kingdom of heaven to a grain of mustard-seed. The brethren .recognized each other by 8

ring inscribed with the words :-" Noone of uslives for himself." The jewel was a cross of gold,surmounted by a, mustard-plant with the words :-"What was it before'? Nothing." Nearly all thedegrees of the Scotch rite are schismatic. In likemanner all the English and American orders of chi-valry, and their conclaves and' encampments, areridiculous parodies of ancient chivalry.

In 1758, Lacorne, a dancing master, and Pirlet,a tailor, invented the degree of the " Council of theEmperors of the East and West," whose membersassumed the titles of " Sovereign Prince Masons,Substitutes General of the Royal Art, Grand Super-intendents and Officers of the Grand and SovereignLodge of St. John of Jerusalem." The ritualconsisted of twenty-five degrees, and as it was cal-culated by its sounding titles and splendour ofritual to Hatter the vanity of the frivolous, it was atfirst very successful; and Lacome conferred on oneof his creatures, a Hebrew, the degree of Inspector,and sent him to America to spread the order there.In 1797, other Jews added eight new degrees,giving to this agglomeration of thirty-three pom-pous degrees, the title of "Ancient and AcceptedScotch Rite." The Grand Orient of France, seeingits own influence declining, proposed advantageous

Schismatic Rites and Sects. 377

and honourable terms to the Supreme Grand Coun-cil, which was at the head of the Scotch rite, andan agreement was come to in 1804. The GrandOrient retaining the I first name, received into itsbosom the Supreme Grand Council and the richAmerican symbolism. But the conneotion did notprosper, and was dissolved in 1805. Again, whatis called Mark-Masonry in England is consideredspurious; .whilst in Scotland and Ireland it is heldto be an essential portion of Freemasonry. Theseare curious anomalies.

282. Ludicro'U8 Degree.-The following lodgewas actually established about 1717. Some joyouscompanions, having passed the degree of craft,resolved to form a lodge for themselves. As noneof them knew the Master's part, they at once in-vented and adopted a ritual which suited everyman's humour. Hence it was ordered that everyperson during initiation should wear boots, spurs,a sword, and spectacles. The apron was turnedupside down. To simplify the work of the lodge, theyabolished the practice of studying geometry-whichwas sheer pretence, for the only geometry a mason"studies in the lodge is that mentioned by Hudibras :

" For he, by geometric scale,Could ta.ke the size of pots of ale ;Resolve by sines and tangents straight,If bread or butter wanted weight."

Some of the members proved that a good knife


and fork in the hands of a dexterous brother, overproper materials, would give greater satisfactionand add more to the rotundity of the lodge thanthe best scale and compass in Europe; adding thata line, a square, a parallelogram, a rhombus, a, rhom-boid, s, triangle, a trapezium, a circle, a, semi-circle,a quadrant, a parabola, a hyperbola, 's, cube, apa.raJlelepipedon, a, prism, s, prismoid, a, pyramid, acylinder, a curve, a cylindroid, a sphere, a, spheroid,a, paraboloid, s, cycloid, a paracentric, frustums,segments, sectors, gnomons, pentagons, hexagons,polygons, ellipses, and irregular figures of all sorts,might be drawn and represented upon bread, beef,mutton, ham, fowls, pies, etc., as demonstrativelyas upon sheets of paper or the tracing .board, andthat the use of the globes might be taught and ex-plained as olearly and briefly upon two bottles asupon any twenty-eight inch spheres.

xxv.DIFFUSION OF THE ORDER. /

283•

•

REEMASONRY in Spain and Po'rtu--gal.-In 1726, the Grand Lodge ofEngland granted a patent for the esta-blishment of a lodge at Gibraltar;

another was founded in the following year at Ma-drid, which, declaring itself independent of foreignsupervision, established lodges at Cadiz, Barcelona,Valladolid, and other places. The Inquisition,seeing the danger that threatened the Church,persecuted the order; hence the mystery thatsurrounds the labours of the brotherhood in theIberian peninsula. ~

In Portugal, the first lodges were founded, notunder English, but under French auspices; butEnglish influence soon made itself felt in the esta-blishment of additional lodges, though in greatsecresy; which, however, did not save many :Free-

880 Secret Societiee.

masons from becoming the victims of the Inqui-sition.

284. F'reemaBO'I&'I"!J in R'U8sia.-In 1731, Free-ma.sonrydared to oppose itself to Russian despotism,which, not fearing and probably despising it, didnot molest it. The times were unpropitious. Thesanguinary Biren ruled the Empress Anne, whomby means of the amorous fascination he exercisedupon her, he easily persuaded to commit all kindsof folly and cruelty; and Masonry, though it knewitself to be tolerated, yet did not feel secure, andcautiously kept itself in the background. In 1740,England founded a lodge at St. Petersburg, andsent thither a, Grand Master. The order spread inthe provinces, and in 1763 the lodge" Clio" wasopened at Moscow. Catherine II. wished to knowits statutes, perceiving the advantage or injury theymight. bring to her government as she either pro-moted or persecuted the association. In the endshe determined to protect the order; and in acountry where the court leada opinion, lodges soonbecome the fashion. But Masonry thus becomingthe amusement of a wealthy nobility, it soon lostsight of its primitive objects. In no other countryprobably did the brotherhood possess such gorgeoustemples; but, deprived of the vivifying and invigo-rating air of liberty, its splendour could not save itfrom a, death of inanition.

285. lJ'rS8'1YIJaBo'1llf1Jin Bwitzerland.-English pro-

Diffusion of the Order. 381

..

selytism, always the most active, established a lodgeat Geneva in 1737, whose first Grand Master wasGeorge Hamilton. Two years .afterwards, theforeigners dwelling at Lausanne united and foundedthe lodge called the" Perfect Union of Foreigners."Lodges were also 1 opened at Berne,; but themanceuvres of the Grand Lodges of the states sur-rounding Switzerland introduced long and fiercedissensions. In 1765; the Strict Observance foundedat Basle the lodge "Liberty," which became themother-lodge of many others, and, calling itselfthe " German Helvetic Directory," chose for its chiefthe celebrated Lavater. Then followed suppres-sions; but the order revived, and in 1844 thedifferent territorial Grand Lodges united into onefederal Grand Lodge, called "Alpina," which re-vised the ancient statutes. The Swiss Freemasonsintend to erect a grand temple, which perhaps couldnowhere find a more fitting site than in a countrywhere four nations of diverse languages· and racesdwell in perfect liberty.

286. 1Jlreemasonry in Sweden a;n,d Polam,d.-In1748, Sweden already had many and flourishinglodges. In 1754, was instituted the Grand Lodgeof Sweden, under a patent from the Grand Lodgeof Scotland; it afterwards declared its autonomy,which has been recognized by all the masonicbodies of Europe.

Freemasonry, a.t first suppressed in Poland, was

382 Secret Societie«.

revived under Stanislaus Augustus, and the auspicesor the Grand 6rient of France, who establishedlodges' in various towns of that country. Theseunited in 1784 to form a Grand Orient,' haviJig itsseat at Warsaw.

287. FreemaBO'II/ry in Holland am,d Genn,am,y.-InHolland the Freemasons opened a lodge in 1781,under the warrant of the Grand Lodge of England;it was, however, only what is called a lodge of emer-gency, having been called to initiate the Duke ofTuscany, afterWards Francis I., Emperor of Ger-many. The first regular lodge was established atthe Hague in 1784, which, five years after, took thename of e'e' Mother-lodge." Numerous lodges wereopened throughout the country, and also in theDutch colonies; and the Freemasons founded manyschools, with the avowed ..object of withdrawinginstruction from clerical influence.

In Germany lodges were numerous as early asthe middle of last century, so that in the presentone we have witnessed the centenaries of many ofthem-as for instance, in 1837, of that of Hamburg;in 1840, of that of Berlin; in 1841, of those of Bres-lan, Baireuth, Leipzig, and many more.

288. F'reemasorwy in Turkey, Asia, .Africa, andOeeania.-The order also spread. into Turkey, where, .however, as may be supposed, for a long time itled but a hara.ssed existence. Lodges were esta-blished at Constantinople, Smyrna, and Aleppo; and

Diffusion of the Order. 883

it may be mentioned, as a fact in favour of Free-masonry, that the Turkish Freemasons are in amore advanced state of civilization than is usualamong Orientals generaJ.ly. They reject polygamy,and at the Masoni~ banquets the women appearunveiled; so that whatever their western sistersmay have to say against Masonry, the women ofthe East certainly are gainers by the introductionof the order.

The most important masonic lodges of Asia arein India; they are under the jurisdiction of theGrand Lodges of England and Scotland.

Freemasonry was introduced into Africa by theestablishment of a lodge at Cape Coast Castle in1735. There are now lodges at the Cap~ of GoodHope; in the islands of Mauritius, Madagascar andSt. Helena; and ·at Algiers, Tunis, Morocco, Cairo,and Alexandria.

Lodges have existed since 1828 at Sydney, Mel-bourne, Paramatta, and other places; in all abouttwo hundred.

289. lJ'reemasorvry in America.-The first lodgeestablished in Canada was at Cape Breton, in theyear 1745. Lodges existed from as early a period inthe West Indian Islands. On the establishment ofthe Brazilian empire, a Grand Lodge was initiated; .and in 1825 Don Pedro I. was elected its GrandMaster. In 1825, the Grand Lodge of Mexico wasinstituted, where the Liberals and Federalists joined


the York rite, whilst the Clerios, Monarchists, andCentralizers adopted the Scotch rite; the two par-ties carrying on a relentless war. Texas, Venezuela,and the turbulent republics of South America, allhad their masonic lodges, which were in many casespoliticaJ. clubs in disguise.

The lodges in the territory now forming theUnited.States date as far back as 1729. Until theclose of the revolutionary war these were under thejurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of England; putalmost eve_ry state of the Union now has its ownGrand Lodge, independent' of all foreign power.

XXVI.

FUTILITY OF MODERN FREEMASONRY.

290 .

•

AIN Preteneions of Modern Freemasonry.-After this necessarily brief accountof Freemasonry, past and present, thequestion naturally suggests itself, What

is its present use? Is it not an institution thathas outlived the object of its foundation? Are itspretensions not groundless, and its existence adelusion and anachronism? The answers to allthese questions must be unfavourable to- Free-masonry. Its present use is confined to that of anyother benefit society. Itwas founded in ages whenthe possession of true religious and scientific know-ledge was the privilege of the few, who made thecultivation and propagation of such knowledge theoccupation of their li~es. But now th~lknowledge isthe birthright of all, and may openly raise its head,

co \


a society that professes to keep science for the fewis but a retrograde institution.

291. Vanity 0/ Masorvic OeremoniaZ.-There arethousands of excellent men who have never seenthe inside of a lodge, and yet are genuine Free-masons, i, B. liberal-minded and enlightened men,devoted to the study of nature and the progress ofmankind, moral and intellectual; men devoid of allpolitical and religious prejudices, true cosmopolitans.And there are thousands who have ~assed throughevery masonic degree, and yet are not masons;men who take appearances for realities, the meansfor the end, the. ceremonies of the lodge for Free-

. masonry. But the lodge with all its symbols isonly the form of the masonic thougM. In the pre-sent age, however, this form, which was very suit-able, nay, necessary, for the time when it was insti-tuted, becomes an anachronism. The affectationof possessing a, secret is a childish and mischievousweakness. The objects ~modernmasons profess topursue are brotherly love, relief, and truth; surelythe pursuit of these objects cannot need any secretrites, traditions, and ceremonies. In spite of thegreat parade made in masonic publications' aboutthe science.and learning peculiar to the craft, whatdiscovery of new scientific facts or principles canmasons claim for the order? Nay, are well-knownand long-established truths familiar to them, and

Futility of Modern Freemasonry. 387

made the objects of study in the lodges? Nothingof tHe' kind.

292. Masonry diffu88s no knowledge.- We getneither science nor learning from a mason, ae amason. The order, in fact, abjures religious and poli-tical discussion; and,yet it pretends that to it man-kind is indebted for its progress, and that, were itabolished; mental darkness would again overshadowthe 'world. But how is this progress to be effected,if the chronic diseases in the existing religiousand political systems of the world are not to bemeddled with f As well might an association forthe advancement of learning abjure inquiry intochemical and mechanical problems, and then boastof the benefits it conferred on science! It is Hamletwith the part of Hamlet omitted. If then Masonrywishes to live on, and be something'more than asociety of Odd Fellows or Druids, new lodges mustbe formed by educated men-not by the merepublicans and other tradesmen that no:w found

_ lodges to create a market for their goods-who,might do some good by teaching moral and naturalphilosophy from a deeper ground than the scholasticand grossly material basis on which all teaching atpresent is founded, and by rescuing science from thedegraded position of handmaiden to mere physicalcomfort, into which modern materialism has forcedit. They might found Masonic Colleges, where the


night-side of physics and metaphysics, which isthe very mother of all luz 8 tenebris, as the Masonicmotto has it, would' be revealed to the properlyqualified student, who would thus be enabled to Beenot only how a thing is, but why it is so.

293. Masonry is 'Unfitted for the task.-That is tosay, let such masonic societies be formed, if Masonrycan be shown to be a necessary institution, andsocieties the best means for promoting the discoveryof truth, and the spread. of knowledge.

But are societies the most suitable means for thediscovery of scientific or any other truths? Learnedsocieties as a rule are merely mutual admirationsocieties, diversified by occasional junketings underpretence of the pursuit of knowledge. Discoveriesare made by private individuals, whilst societiessimply seek to guide all the rills of knowledge intotheir reservoir, to proclaim themselves the pos-sessors of the treasures, the search after which, hadthey been consulted beforehand, they would probablyhave condemned or ridiculed.' N0 invention or dis-covery of any note can be named that owes itsexistence to any society. Hence masonic societieswould do very little good. Besides the Free-masons who are men of talent, are not such be-cause they belong to the brotherhood, but in spiteof it. If the highest knowledge now possessed bymen were taught in the lodge, it would still beknowledge not confined to masons, but diffused


among all studious men. Of course, if Masonryhad the practical meaning which I theoretically.ascribe to it, then the case would be altered; butmodern Masonry will never reach that standardneeded to make it really the instructor of man-kind.

294. Decay of ..liYeema8onry.~Selfishnes8, an eyeto business, vanity, frivolity, gluttony, and a loveof mystery-mongering, concealed under the speciouspretence of brotherly love and a longing for instruc-tion-these are the motives that lead men into thelodge. The facility and frequency with whichworthless' characters are received into the order;the manner in which all its statutes are disregarded ;the dislike with which every brother who insists onreform is looked upon by the rest; the difficulty ofexpelling obnoxious members; the introduction ofmany spurious rites, and the deceptiveness of therites themselves, designed to excite curiosity withoutever satisfying it; the puerility of the symbolism j

the paltriness of the secret when revealed to thecandidate, and his ill...concealed disgust when atlast he gets behind the scenes and sees through therotten canvas that forms so beautiful a landscape infront-aU these too plainly show that the lodge hasbanished Freemasonry. And like monasticism orchivalry, it is no longer wanted. Having no politicalinfluence and no political aspirations, or, when ithas such aspirations revealing them by insane


excesses, such as the late citation before masonictribunals of Napoleon III., the Emperor of Germany,the Crown Prince, the Pope, and :MarshalPrim, byFrench, Italian, and Spanish masons respectively,and under the Grand Masterships of Cremieux,Garibaldi, and others of the same revolutionary andviolent principles, and after a' farcical sham trial,condemning the accused so cited-to which sum-mons of course they paid no attention-to death,or in plain English, to assassination, a crime reallyperpetrated on the person of Marshal Prim; beingno longer even a secret society-for a society sanc-tioned by the State, as Freemasonry is, cannotbe called a secret society; having no industrial orintellectual rallying-point-it must eventually diefrom sheer inanition. It may prolong its existenceby getting rid of all the rites and ceremonies whichare neither simple nor grand, nor founded on anyauthority or symbolic meaning, and by renouncingthe silly pretence of secrets, and undertaking toteach what I have sketched in various portions ofthis work, concerning the origin and meaning ofMasonry and its symbols, illustrating its teachingby the ornaments and practice of the lodges. Thisseems to be the only ground on which Free-masonry could claim to have its lease of existence,as Freemasonry, renewed.

295. Masonic Literature.-It is almost absurdto talk of .maaonic literature; it scarcely exists.

.., -


Exoept the works written by Oliver, Mackay, Findel,and Ragon, there is scarcely anything worth readingabout Freemasonry, of which a Freemason is theauthor. The countless lectures by brethren, witha few exceptions, consist of mere truisms and plati-tudes, very much like twaddling sermons, publishedby request. Its periodical literature-e-in this countryat all events-is essentially of the Grub Street kind,consisting of mere brade-circulars, supported bypuffing masonic tradesmen and vain officials, wholike to have their working in 'the lodge trumpetedforth in this fashion: "The way in which he hadworked the ceremonies that evening was a greattreat to the lodge." "The W. M -. proceeded toinstal him in that fluent. and impressive manner forwhich he is known," &c. &c.-or by brethren wholike to have their speeches or attempted speechesrecorded, in this style: "Brother W. felt a littlenervous, 'but hoped to be an ornament to thelodge " (I) "Brother D. had presided at a dish,and it had afforded him much satisfaction, inasmuchas he had had it in his power to make some brethrencomfortable," &c. I am not inventing, but actuallyoopying from a masonic, newspaper, and might fillpages with similar stuff. All attempts permanentlyto establish masonic periodicals of a higher orderhave hitherto failed from want of encouragement.The fact is, men of education take very little interestin Masonry, for it has nothing to offer them in an


intellectual point of view j because' even masons whohave attained .to every ne plu« 'Ultra of the institu-tion, know nothing of its origin and' meaning. .Asto masonic poetry, the poet laureate to Moses andthe Profits would not acknowledge one line of it;the bard Close would indignantly repudiate it.

END OF VOL. I.

CU1S\v1CI\ PRl:SS :-PRINTBD BY WHITTINOIJ..AM AND WJLKINS,

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