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Rosicrucian and Masonic Origins
by Manly P. Hall
1901-1990
From Lectures on Ancient Philosophy—An Introduction to the Study and
Application of Rational Procedure:
The Hall Publishing Company, Los Angeles, First Edition 1929, Chapter 19
FREEMASONRY is a fraternity within a fraternity—an outer organization concealing
an inner brotherhood of the elect. Before it is possible to intelligently
discuss the origin of the Craft, it is necessary, therefore, to establish the
existence of these two separate yet interdependent orders, the one visible and
the other invisible. The visible society is a splendid camaraderie of "free and
accepted" men enjoined to devote themselves to ethical, educational, fraternal,
patriotic, and humanitarian concerns. The invisible society is a secret and most
august fraternity whose members are dedicated to the service of a mysterious
arcanum arcanorum. Those Brethren who have essayed to write the history of their
Craft have not included in their disquisitions the story of that truly secret
inner society which is to the body Freemasonic what the heart is to the body
human. In each generation only a few are accepted into the inner sanctuary of the
Work, but these are veritable Princes of the Truth and their sainted names shall
be remembered in future ages together with the seers and prophets of the elder
world. Though the great initiate-philosophers of Freemasonry can be counted upon
one's fingers, yet their power is not to be measured by the achievements of
ordinary men. They are dwellers upon the Threshold of the Innermost, Masters of
that secret doctrine which forms the invisible foundation of every great
theological and rational institution.
The outer history of the Masonic order is one of noble endeavor, altruism, and
splendid enterprise; the inner history, one of silent conquest, persecution, and
heroic martyrdom. The body of Masonry rose from the guilds of workmen who
wandered the face of medieval Europe, but the spirit of Masonry walked with God
before the universe was spread out or the scroll of the heavens unrolled. The
enthusiasm of the young Mason is the effervescence of a pardonable pride. Let
him extol the merits of his Craft, reciting its steady growth, its fraternal
spirit, and its worthy undertakings. Let him boast of splendid buildings and an
ever-increasing sphere of influence. These are the tangible evidence of power
and should rightly set a-flutter the heart of the Apprentice who does not fully
comprehend as yet that great strength which abides in silence or that
unutterable dignity to be sensed only by those who. have been ''raised'' into
the contemplation of the Inner Mystery.
An obstacle well-nigh insurmountable is to convince the Mason himself that the
secrets of his Craft are worthy of his profound consideration. As St. Paul, so
we are told, kicked against the "pricks" of conversion, so the rank and file of
present-day Masons strenuously oppose any effort put forth to interpret Masonic
symbols in the light of philosophy. They are seemingly obsessed by the fear that
from their ritualism may be extracted a meaning more profound than is actually
contained therein. For years it has been a mooted question whether Freemasonry
is actually a religious organization. "Masonry," writes Pike, however, in the
Legenda for the Nineteenth Degree, "has and always had a religious creed. It
teaches what it deems to be the truth in respect to the nature and attributes of
God." The more studiously-minded Mason regards the Craft as an aggregation of
thinkers concerned with the deeper mysteries of life. The all-too-prominent
younger members of the Fraternity, however, if not openly skeptical, are at
least indifferent to these weightier issues. The champions of philosophic
Masonry, alas, are a weak, small voice which grows weaker and smaller as time
goes by. In fact, there are actual blocs among the Brethren who would divorce
Masonry from both philosophy and religion at any and all cost. If, however, we
search the writings of eminent Masons, we find a unanimity of viewpoint: namely,
that Masonry is a religious and philosophic body. Every effort initiated to
elevate Masonic thought to its true position has thus invariably emphasized the
metaphysical and ethical aspects of the Craft.
But a superficial perusal of available documents will demonstrate that the
modern Masonic order is not united respecting the true purpose for its own
existence. Nor will this factor of doubt be dispelled until the origin of the
Craft is established beyond all quibbling. The elements of Masonic history are
strangely elusive; there are gaps which apparently cannot be bridged. "Who the
early Freemasons really were," states Gould in A Concise History of Freemasonry,
"and whence they came, may afford a tempting theme for inquiry to the
speculative antiquary. But it is enveloped in obscurity, and lies far outside
the domain of authentic history." Between modern Freemasonry with its vast body
of ancient symbolism and those original Mysteries which first employed these
symbols there is a dark interval of centuries. To the conservative Masonic
historian, the deductions of such writers as Higgins, Churchward, Vail, and
Waite—though ingenious and fascinating-actually prove nothing. That Masonry is a
body of ancient lore is self-evident, but the tangible "link" necessary to
convince the recalcitrant Brethren that their order is the direct successor of
the pagan Mysteries has unfortunately not been adduced to date. Of such problems
as these is composed the "angel" with which the Masonic Jacob must wrestle
throughout the night.
It is possible to trace Masonry back a few centuries with comparative ease, but
then the thread suddenly vanishes from sight in a maze of secret societies and
political enterprises. Dimly silhouetted in the mists that becloud these tangled
issues are such figures as Cagliostro, Comte de St.-Germain, and St. Martin, but
even the connection between these individuals and the Craft has never been
clearly defined. The writings of early Masonic history is involved in such
obvious hazard as to provoke the widespread conclusion that further search is
futile. The average Masonic student is content, therefore, to trace his Craft
back to the workmen's guilds who chipped and chiselled the cathedrals and public
buildings of medieval Europe. While such men as Albert Pike have realized this
attitude to be ridiculous, it is one thing to declare it insufficient and quite
another to prove the fallacy to an adamantine mind. So much has been lot and
forgotten, so much ruled in and out by those unfitted for such legislative
revision that the modern rituals do not in every case represent the original
rites of the Craft. In his Symbolism, Pike (who spent a lifetime in the quest
for Masonic secrets) declares that few of the original meanings of the symbols
are known to the modern order, nearly all the so-called interpretations now
given being superficial. Pike confessed that the original meanings of the very
symbols he himself was attempting to interpret were irretrievably—lost; that
even such familiar emblems as the apron and the pillars were locked mysteries,
whose "keys" had been thrown away by the uninformed. "The initiated," also
writes John Fellows, "as well as those without the pale of the order, are
equally ignorant of their derivation and import. (See The Mysteries of
Freemasonry.)
Preston, Gould, Mackey, Oliver, and Pike—in fact, nearly every great historian
of Freemasonry-have all admitted the possibility of the modern society being
connected, indirectly at least, with the ancient Mysteries, and their
descriptions of the modern society are prefaced by excerpts from ancient
writings descriptive of primitive ceremonials. These eminent Masonic scholars
have all recognized in the legend of Hiram Abiff an adaptation of the Osiris
myth; nor do they deny that the major part of the symbolism of the craft is
derived from the pagan institutions of antiquity when the gods were venerated in
secret places with strange figures and appropriate rituals. Though cognizant of
the exalted origin of their order, these historians-either through fear or
uncertainty-have failed, however, to drive home the one point necessary to
establish the true purpose of Freemasonry: They did not realize that the
Mysteries whose rituals Freemasonry perpetuates were the custodians of a secret
philosophy of life of such transcendent nature that it can only be entrusted to
an individual tested and proved beyond all peradventure of human frailty. The
secret schools of Greece and Egypt were neither fraternal nor political
fundamentally, nor were their ideals similar to those of the modern Craft. They
were essentially philosophic and religious institutions, and all admitted into
them were consecrated to the service of the sovereign good. Modern Freemasons,
however, regard their Craft primarily as neither philosophic nor religious, but
rather as ethical. Strange as it may seem, the majority openly ridicule the very
supernatural powers and agencies for which their symbols stand.
The secret doctrine that flows through Freemasonic symbols (and to whose
perpetuation the invisible Masonic body is consecrated) has its source in three
ancient and exalted orders. The first is the Dionysiac artificers, the second
the Roman collegia, and the third the Arabian Rosicrucians. The Dionysians were
the master builders of the ancient world. Originally founded to design and erect
the theaters of Dionysos wherein were enacted the tragic dramas of the rituals,
this order was repeatedly elevated by popular acclaim to greater dignity until
at last it was entrusted with the planning and construction of all public
edifices concerned with the commonwealth or the worship of the gods and heroes.
Hiram, King of Tyre, was the patron of the Dionysians, who flourished in Tyre
and Sidon, and Hiram Abiff (if we may believe the sacred account) was himself a
Grand Master of this most noble order of pagan builders. King Solomon in his
wisdom accepted the services of this famous craftsman, and thus at the
instigation of Hiram, King of Tyre, Hiram Abiff, though himself a member of a
different faith, journeyed from his own country to design and supervise the
erection of the Everlasting House to the true God on Mount Moriah. The tools of
the builders' craft were first employed by the Dionysians as symbols under which
to conceal the mysteries of the soul and the secrets of human regeneration. The
Dionysians also first likened man to a rough ashlar which, trued into a finished
block through the instrument of reason, could be fitted into the structure of
that living and eternal Temple built without the sound of hammer, the voice of
workmen or any tool of contention.
The Roman collegia was a branch of the Dionysiacs and to it belonged those
initiated artisans who fashioned the impressive monuments whose ruins still lend
their immortal glory to the Eternal City. In his Ten Books on Architecture,
Vitruvius, the initiate of the collegia, has revealed that which was permissible
concerning the secrets of his holy order. Of the inner mysteries, however, he
could not write, for these were reserved for such as had donned the leather
apron of the craft. In his consideration of the books now available concerning
the Mysteries, the thoughtful reader should note the following words appearing
in a twelfth-century volume entitled Artephil Liber Secretus: "Is not this an
art full of secrets? And believest thou, O fool! that we plainly teach this
Secret of Secrets, taking our words according to their literal interpretation?"
(See Sephar H' Debarim.) Into the stones they trued, the adepts of the collegia
deeply carved their Gnostic symbols. From earliest times, the initiated
stonecutters marked their perfected works with the secret emblems of their
crafts and degrees that unborn generations might realize that the master
builders of the first ages also labored for the same ends sought by men today.
The Mysteries of Egypt and Persia that had found a haven in the Arabian desert
reached Europe by way of the Knights Templars and the Rosicrucians. The Temple
of the Rose Cross at Damascus had preserved the secret philosophy of Sharon's
Rose; the Druses of the Lebanon still retain the mysticism of ancient Syria; and
the dervishes, as they lean on their carved and crotched sticks, still meditate
upon the secret instruction perpetuated from the days of the four Caliphs. From
the far places of Irak and the hidden retreats of the Sufi mystics, the Ancient
Wisdom thus found its way into Europe. Was Jacques de Molay burned by the Holy
Inquisition merely because he wore the red cross of the Templar? What were those
secrets to which he was true even in death? Did his companion Knights perish
with him merely because they had amassed a fortune and exercised an unusual
degree of temporal power? To the thoughtless, these may constitute ample
grounds, but to those who can pierce the film of the specious and the
superficial, they are assuredly insufficient. It was not the physical power of
the Templars but the knowledge which they had brought with them from the East
that the church feared. The Templars had discovered part of the Great Arcanum;
they had become wise in those mysteries which had been celebrated in Mecca
thousands of years before theadvent of Mohammed; they had read a few pages from
the dread book of the Anthropos, and for this knowledge they were doomed to die.
What was the black magic of which the Templars were accused? What was Baphomet,
the Goat of Mendes, whose mysteries they were declared to have celebrated? All
these are questions worthy of the thoughtful consideration of every studious
Mason.
Truth is eternal. The so-called revelations of Truth that come in different
religions are actually but a re-emphasis of an ever-existing doctrine. Thus
Moses did not originate a new religion for Israel; he simply adapted the
Mysteries of Egypt to the needs of Israel. The ark triumphantly borne by the
twelve tribes through the wilderness was copied after the Isiac ark which may
still be traced in faint has-relief upon the ruins of the Temple of Philae. Even
the two brooding cherubim over the mercy seat are visible in the
Egyptian·carving, furnishing indubitable evidence that the secret doctrine of
Egypt was the prototype of Israel's mystery religion. In his reformation of
Indian philosophy, Buddha likewise did not reject the esotericism of the
Brahmins, but rather adapted this esotericism to the needs of the masses in
India. The mystic secrets locked within the holy Vedas were thus disclosed in
order that all men, irrespective of castely distinction, might partake of wisdom
and share in a common heritage of good. Jesus was a Rabbin of the Jews, a
teacher of the Holy Law, who discoursed in the synagogue, interpreting the Torah
according to the teachings of His sect. He brought no new message nor were His
reformations radical. He merely tore away the veil from the temple in order that
not only Pharisee and Sadducee but also publican and sinner might together
behold the glory of an ageless faith.
In his cavern on Mount Hira, Mohammed prayed not for new truths but for old
truths to be restated in their original purity and simplicity in order that men
might understand again that primitive religion: God's clear revelation to the
first patriarchs. The Mysteries of Islam had been celebrated in the great black
cube of the Caaba centuries before the holy pilgrimage. The Prophet was but the
reformer of a decadent pagandom, the smasher of idols, the purifier of defiled
Mysteries. The dervishes, who patterned their garments·after those of the
Prophet, still preserve that inner teaching of the elect, and for them the Axis
of the Earth —thesupreme hierophant-still sits, visible only to the faithful, in
meditation upon the flat roof of the Caaba. Neither carpenter nor camel-driver,
as Abdul Baha might have said, can fashion a world religion from the substances
of his own mind. Neither prophet nor savior preached a doctrine which was his
own, but in language suitable to his time and race retold that Ancient Wisdom
preserved within the Mysteries since the dawning of human consciousness. So with
the Masonic Mysteries of today. Each Mason has at hand those lofty principles of
universal order upon whose certainties the faiths of mankind. have ever been
established. Each Mason has at hand those lofty principles of universal order
upon pregnant with life and hope to those millions who wander in the darkness of
unenlightenment.
Father C. R. C., the Master of the Rose Cross, was initiated into the Great Work
at Damcar. Later at Fez, further information was given him relating to the
sorcery of the Arabians. From these wizards of the desert C. R. C. also secured
the sacred book M, which is declared to have contained the accumulated knowledge
of the world. This volume was translated into Latin by C. R. C. for the
edification of his order, but only the initiates know the present hidden
repository of the Rosicrucian manuscripts, charters, and manifestos. From the
Arabians C. R. C. also learned of the elemental peoples and how, with their aid,
it was possible to gain admission to the ethereal world where dwelt the genii
and Nature spirits. C.R.C. thus discovered that the magical creatures of the
Arabian Nights Entertainment actually existed, though invisible to the ordinary
mortal. From astrologers living in the desert far from the concourse of the
market-place he was further instructed concerning the mysteries of the stars,
the virtues resident in the astral light, the rituals of magic and invocation,
the preparation of therapeutic talismans, and the binding of the genii. C. R. C.
became an adept n the gathering of medicinal herbs, the transmutation of metals,
and the manufacture of precious gems by artificial means. Even the secret of the
Elixir of Life and the Universal Panacea were communicated to him. Enriched thus
beyond the dreams of Croesus, the Holy Master returned to Europe and there
established a House of Wisdom which he called Domus Sancti Spiritus. This house
he enveloped in clouds, it is said, so that men could not discover it. What are
these "clouds," however, but the rituals and symbols under which is concealed
the Great Arcanum-that unspeakable mystery which every true Mason must seek if
he would become in reality a "Prince of the Royal Secret"?
Paracelsus, the Swiss Hermes, was initiated into the secrets of alchemy in
Constantinople and there beheld the consummation of the magnum opus. He is
consequently entitled to be mentioned among those initiated by the Arabians into
the Rosicrucian work. Cagliostro was also initiated by the Arabians and, because
of the knowledge he had thus secured, incurred the displeasure of the Holy See.
From the unprobed depths of Arabian Rosicrucianism also issued the illustrious
Comte de St.-Germain, over whose Masonic activities to this day hangs the veil
of impenetrable mystery. The exalted body of initiates whom he represented, as
well as the mission he came to accomplish, have both been concealed from the
members of the Craft at large and are apparent only to those few discerning
Masons who sense the supernal philosophic destiny of their Fraternity.
The modern Masonic order can be traced back to a period in European history
famous for its intrigue both political and sociological. Between the years 1600
and 1800, mysterious agents moved across the face of the Continent. The
forerunner of modern thought was beginning to make its appearance and all Europe
was passing through the throes of internal dissension and reconstruction.
Democracy was in its infancy, yet its potential power was already being felt.
Thrones were beginning to totter. The aristocracy of Europe was like the old man
on Sinbad's back: it was becoming more unbearable with every passing day.
Although upon the surface national governments were seemingly able to cope with
the situation, there was a definite undercurrent of impending change; and out of
the masses, long patient under the yoke of oppression, were rising up the
champions of religious, philosophic, and political liberty. These led the
factions of the dissatisfied: people with legitimate grievances against the
intolerance of the church and the oppression of the crown. Out of this struggle
for expression materialized certain definite ideals, the same which have now
come to be considered peculiarly Masonic.
The divine prerogatives of humanity were being crushed out by the three great
powers of ignorance, superstition, and fear—ignorance, the power of the mob;
fear, the power of the despot; and superstition, the power of the church.
Between the thinker and personal liberty loomed the three "ruffians" or
personifications of impediment-the torch, the crown, and the tiara. Brute force,
kingly power, and ecclesiastical persuasion became the agents of a great
oppression, the motive of a deep unrest, the deterrent to all progress. It was
unlawful to think, well-nigh fatal to philosophize, rank heresy to doubt. To
question the infallibility of the existing order was to invite the persecution
of the church and the state. These together incited the populace, which
thereupon played the r6le of executioner for these arch-enemies of human
liberty. Thus the ideal of democracy assumed a definite form during these stormy
periods of European history. This democracy was not only a vision but a
retrospection, not only a looking forward but a gazing backward upon better days
and the effort to project those better days into the unborn tomorrow. The
ethical, political, and philosophical institutions of antiquity with their
constructive effect upon the whole structure of the state were noble examples of
possible conditions. It became the dream of the oppressed, consequently, to
re-establish a golden age upon the earth, an age where the thinker could think
in safety and the dreamer dream in peace; when the wise should lead and the
simple follow, yet all dwell together in fraternity and industry.
During this period several books were in circulation which, to a certain degree,
registered the pulse of the time. One of these documents—More's Utopia—was the
picture of a new age when heavenly conditions should prevail upon the earth.
This ideal of establishing good in the world savored of blasphemy, however, for
in that day heaven alone it was assumed could be good. Men did not seek to
establish heavenly conditions upon earth, but rather earthly conditions in
heaven. According to popular concept, the more the individual suffered the
torments of the damned upon earth, the more he would enjoy the blessedness of
heaven. Life was a period of chastisement and earthly happiness an unattainable
mirage. More's Utopia thus came as a definite blow to autocratic pretensions and
attitudes, giving impulse to the material emphasis which was to follow in
succeeding centuries.
Another prominent figure of this period was Sir Walter Raleigh, who paid with
his life for high treason against the crown. Raleigh was tried and, though the
charge was never proved, was executed. Before Raleigh went to trial, it was
known that he must die and that no defense could save him. His treason against
the crown was of a character very different, however, from that which history
records. Raleigh was a member of a secret society or body of men who were
already moving irresistibly forward under the banner of democracy, and for that
affiliation he died a felon's death. The actual reason for Raleigh's death
sentence was his refusal to reveal the identity either of that great political
organization of which he was a member or his confreres who were fighting the
dogma of faith and the divine right of kings. On the title page of the first
edition of Raleigh's History of the World, we accordingly find a mass of
intricate emblems framed between two great columns. When the executioner sealed
his lips forever, Raleigh's silence, while it added to the discomfiture of his
persecutors, assured the safety of his colleagues.
One of the truly great minds of that secret fraternity—in fact, the moving
spirit of the whole enterprise-was Sir Francis Bacon, whose prophecy of the
coming age forms the theme of his New Atlantis and whose vision of the
reformation of knowledge finds expression in the Novum Organum Scientiarum, the
new organ of science or thought. In the engraving at the beginning of the latter
volume may be seen the little ship of progressivism sailing out between the
Pillars of Galen and Avicenna, venturing forth beyond the imaginary pillars of
church and state upon the unknown sea of human liberty. It is significant that
Bacon was appointed by the British Crown to protect its interests in the new
American Colonies beyond the sea. We find him writing of this new land, dreaming
of the day when a new world and a new government of the philosophic elect should
be established there, and scheming to consummate that end when the time should
be ripe. Upon the title page of the 1640 edition of Bacon's Advancement of
Learning is a Latin motto to the effect that he was the third great mind since
Plato. Bacon was a member of the same group to which Sir Walter Raleigh
belonged, but Bacon's position as Lord High Chancellor protected him from
Raleigh's fate. Every effort was made, however, to humiliate and discredit him.
At last, in the sixty-sixth year of his life, having completed the work which
held him in England, Bacon feigned death and passed over into Germany, there to
guide the destinies of his philosophic and political fraternity for nearly
twenty-five years before his actual demise.
Other notable characters of the period are Montaigne, Ben Jonson, Marlowe, and
the great Franz Joseph of Transylvania—the latter one of the most important as
well as active figures in all this drama, a man who ceased fighting Austria to
retire into a monastery in Transylvania from which to direct the activities of
his secret society. One political upheaval followed another, the grand climax of
this political unrest culminating in the French Revolution, which was directly
precipitated by the attacks upon the person of Alessandro Cagliostro. The
"divine" Cagliostro, by far the most picturesque character of the time, has the
distinction of being more maligned than any other person of history. Tried by
the Inquisition for founding a Masonic lodge in the city of Rome, Cagliostro was
sentenced to die, a sentence later commuted by the Pope to life imprisonment in
the old castle of San Leo. Shortly after his incarceration, Cagliostro
disappeared and the story was circulated that he had been strangled in an
attempt to escape from prison. In reality, however, he was liberated and
returned to his Masters in the East. But Cagliostro—the idol of France, surnamed
"the Father of the Poor," who never received anything from anyone and gave
everything to everyone—was most adequately revenged. Though the people little
understood this inexhaustible pitcher of bounty which poured forth benefits and
never required replenishment, they remembered him in the day of their power.
Cagliostro founded the Egyptian Rite of Freemasonry, which received into its
mysteries many of the French nobility and was regarded favorably by the most
learned minds of Europe. Having established the Egyptian Rite, Cagliostro
declared himself to be an agent of the order of the Knights Templars and to have
received initiation from them on the Isle of Malta. (See Morals and Dogma, in
which Albert Pike quotes Eliphas Levi on Cagliostro's affiliation with the
Templars.) Called upon the carpet by the Supreme Council of France, it was
demanded of Cagliostro that he prove by what authority he had founded a Masonic
lodge in Paris independent of the Grand Orient. Of such surpassing mentality was
Cagliostro that the Supreme Council found it difficult to secure an advocate
qualified to discuss with Cagliostro philosophic Masonry and the ancient
Mysteries he claimed to represent. The Court de Gebelin—the greatest
Egyptologist of his day and an authority on ancient philosophies-was chosen as
the outstanding scholar. A time was set and the Brethren convened. Attired in an
Oriental coat and a pair of violet-colored breeches, Cagliostro was haled before
this council of his peers. The Court de Gebelin asked three questions and then
sat down, admitting himself disqualified to interrogate a man so much his
superior in every branch of learning. Cagliostro then took the floor, revealing
to the assembled Masons not only his personal qualifications, but prophesying
the future of France. He foretold the fall of the French throne, the Reign of
Terror, and the fall of the Bastille. At a later time he revealed the dates of
the death of Marie Antoinette and the King, and also the advent of Napoleon.
Having finished his address, Cagliostro made a spectacular exit, leaving the
French Masonic lodge in consternation and utterly incapable of coping with the
profundity of his reasoning. Though no longer regarded as a ritual in
Freemasonry, the Egyptian Rite is available and all who read it will recognize
its author to have been no more a charlatan than was Plato.
Then appears that charming "first American gentleman," Dr. Benjamin Franklin,
who together with the Marquis de Lafayette, played an important role in this
drama of empires. While in France, Dr. Franklin was privileged to receive
definite esoteric instruction. It is noteworthy that Franklin was the first in
America to reprint Anderson's Constitutions of the Free-Masons, which is a most
prized work on the subject, though its accuracy is disputed. Through all this
stormy period, these impressive figures come and go, part of a definite
organization of political and religious thought—a functioning body of
philosophers represented in Spain by no less an individual than Cervantes, in
France by Cagliostro and St.-Germain, in Germany by Gichtel and Andreae, in
England by Bacon, More, and Raleigh, and in America by Washington and Franklin.
Coincident with the Baconian agitation in England, the Fama Fraternitatis and
Confessio Fraternitatis appeared in Germany, both of these works being
contributions to the establishment of a philosophic government upon the earth.
One of the outstanding links between the Rosicrucian Mysteries of the Middle
Ages and modern Masonry is Elias Ashmole, the historian of the Order of the
Garter and the first Englishman to compile the alchemical writings of the
English chemists.
The foregoing may seem to be a useless recital of inanities, but its purpose is
to impress upon the reader's mind the philosophical and political situation in
Europe at the time of the inception of the Masonic order. A philosophic clan, as
it were, which had moved across the face of Europe under such names as the
"Illuminati" and the "Rosicrucians," had undermined in a subtle manner the
entire structure of regal and sacerdotal supremacy. The founders of Freemasonry
were all men who were more or less identified with the progressive tendencies of
their day. Mystics, philosophers, and alchemists were all bound together with a
secret tie and dedicated to the emancipation of humanity from ignorance and
oppression. In my researches among ancient books and manuscripts, I have pieced
together a little story of probabilities which has a direct bearing upon the
subject. Long before the establishment of Freemasonry as a fraternity, a group
of mystics founded in Europe what was called the "Society of Unknown
Philosophers." Prominent among the profound thinkers who formed the membership
of this society were the alchemists, who were engaged in transmuting the
political and religious "base metal" of Europe into ethical and spiritual
"gold"; the Qabbalists who, as investigators of the superior orders of Nature,
sought to discover a stable foundation for human government; and lastly the
astrologers who, from a study of the procession of the heavenly bodies, hoped to
find therein the rational archetype for all mundane procedure. Here and there is
to be found a character who contacted this society. By some it is believed that
both Martin Luther and also that great mystic, Philip Melanchthon, were
connected with it. The first edition of the King James Bible, Bible, which was
edited by Francis Bacon and prepared under Masonic supervision, bears more
Mason's marks than the Cathedral of Strasburg. The same is true respecting the
Masonic symbolism found in the first English edition of Josephus' History of the
Jews.
For some time, the Society of Unknown Philosophers moved extraneous to the
church. Among the fathers of the church, however, were a great number of
scholarly and intelligent men who were keenly interested in philosophy and
ethics, prominent among them being the Jesuit Father, Athanasius Kircher, who is
recognized as one of the great scholars of his day. Both a Rosicrucian and also
a member of the Society of Unknown Philosophers, as revealed by the cryptograms
in his writings, Kircher was in harmony with this program of philosophic
reconstruction. Since learning was largely limited to churchmen, this body of
philosophers soon developed an overwhelming preponderance of ecclesiastics in
its membership. The original anti-ecclesiastical ideals of the society were thus
speedily reduced to an innocuous state and the organization gradually converted
into an actual auxiliary of the church. A small portion of the membership,
however, ever maintained an aloofness from the literati of the faith, for it
represented an unorthodox class—the alchemists, Rosicrucians, Qabbalists, and
magicians. This latter group accordingly retired from the outer body of the
society that had thus come to be known as the "Order of the Golden and Rose
Cross" and whose adepts were elevated to the dignity of Knights of the Golden
Stone. Upon the withdrawal of these initiated adepts, a powerful clerical body
remained which possessed considerable of the ancient lore but in many instances
lacked the "keys" by which this symbolism could be interpreted. As this body
continued to increase in temporal power, its philosophical power grew
correspondingly less.
The smaller group of adepts that had withdrawn from the order remained inactive
apparently, having retired to what they termed the "House of the Holy Spirit,"
where they were enveloped by certain "mists" impenetrable to the eyes of the
profane. Among these reclusive adepts must be included such well-known
Rosicrucians as Robert Fludd, Eugenius Philalethes, John Heydon, Michael Maier,
and Henri Khunrath. These adepts in their retirement constituted a loosely
organized society which, though lacking the solidarity of a definite fraternity,
occasionally initiated a candidate and met annually at a specified place. It was
the Comte de Chazal, an initiate of this order, who "raised" Dr. Sigismund
Bacstrom while the latter was on the Isle of Mauritius. In due time, the
original members of the order passed on, after first entrusting their secrets to
carefully chosen successors. In the meantime, a group of men in England, under
the leadership of such mystics as Ashmole and Fludd, had resolved upon
repopularizing the ancient learning and reclassifying philosophy in accordance
with Bacon's plan for a world encyclopedia. These men had undertaken to
reconstruct ancient Platonic and Gnostic mysticism, but were unable to attain
their objective for lack of information. Elias Ashmole may have been a member of
the European order of Rosicrucians and as such evidently knew that in various
parts of Europe there were isolated individuals who were in possession of the
secret doctrine handed down in unbroken line from the ancient Greeks and
Egyptians through Boetius, the early Christian Church, and the Arabians.
The efforts of the English group to contact such individuals were evidently
successful. Several initiated Rosicrucians were brought from the mainland to
England, where they remained for a considerable time designing the symbolism of
Freemasonry and incorporating into the rituals of the order the same divine
principles and philosophy that had formed the inner doctrine of all great secret
societies from the time of the Eleusinia in Greece. In fact, the Eleusinian
Mysteries themselves continued in Christendom until the sixth century after
Christ, after which they passed into the custody of the Arabians, as attested by
the presence of Masonic symbols and figures upon early Mohammedan monuments. The
adepts brought over from the Continent to sit in council with the English
philosophers were initiates of the Arabian rites and thus through them the
Mysteries were ultimately returned to Christendom. Upon completion of the
by-laws of the new fraternity, the initiates retired again into Central Europe,
leaving a group of disciples to develop the outer organization, which was to
function as a sort of screen to conceal the activities of the esoteric order.
Such, in brief, is the story to be pieced together from the fragmentary bits of
evidence available. The whole structure of Freemasonry is founded upon the
activities of this secret society of Central European adepts; whom the studious
Mason will find to be the definite "link" between the modern Craft and the
Ancient Wisdom. The outer body of Masonic philosophy was merely the veil of this
qabbalistic order whose members were the custodians of the true Arcanum. Does
this inner and secret brotherhood of initiates still exist independent of the
Freemasonic order? Evidence points to the fact that it does, for these august
adepts are the actual preservers of those secret operative processes of the
Greeks whereby the illumination and completion of the individual is effected.
They are the veritable guardians of the "Lost Word"—the Keepers of the inner
Mystery-and the Mason who searches for and discovers them is rewarded beyond all
mortal estimation.
In the preface to a book entitled Long-Livers, published in 1772, Eugenius
Philalethes, the Rosicrucian initiate, thus addresses his Brethren of the Most
Ancient and Most Honorable Fraternity of the Free Masons: "Remember that you are
the Salt of the Earth, the Light of the World, and the Fire of the Universe. You
are living Stones, built up a Spiritual House, who believe and rely on the chief
Lapis Angularis which the refractory and disobedient Builders disallowed. You
are called from Darkness to Light; you are a chosen Generation, a royal
Priesthood. This makes you, my dear Brethren, fit Companions for the greatest
Kings; and no wonder, since the King of Kings hath condescended to make you so
to himself, compared to whom the mightiest and most haughty Princes of the Earth
are but as Worms, and that not so much as we are all Sons of the same One
Eternal Father, by whom all Things were made; but inasmuch as we do the Will of
his and our Father which is in Heaven. You see now your high Dignity; you see
what you are; act accordingly, and show yourselves (what you are) MEN, and walk
worthy the high Profession to which you are called. * * * . Remember, then, what
the great End we all aim at is: Is it not to be happy here and hereafter? For
they both depend on each other. The Seeds of that eternal Peace and Tranquillity
and everlasting Repose must be sown in this Life; and he that would glorify and
enjoy the Sovereign Good then must learn to do it now, and from contemplating
the Creature gradually ascend to adore the Creator."
Of all obstacles to surmount in matters of rationality, the most difficult is
that of prejudice. Even the casual observer must realize that the true wealth of
Freemasonry lies in its mysticism. The average Masonic scholar, however, is
fundamentally opposed to a mystical interpretation of his symbols, for he shares
the attitude of the modern mind in its general antipathy towards
transcendentalism. A most significant fact, however, is that those Masons who
have won signal honors for their contributions to the Craft have been
transcendentalists almost without exception. It is quite incredible, moreover,
that any initiated Brother, when presented with a copy of Morals and Dogma upon
the conferment of his fourteenth degree, can read that volume and yet maintain
that his order is not identical with the Mystery Schools of the first ages. Much
of the writings of Albert Pike are extracted from the books of the French
magician, Eliphas Levi, one of the greatest transcendentalists of modern times.
Levi was an occultist, a metaphysician, a Platonic philosopher, who by the
rituals of magic invoked even the spirit of Apollonius of Tyana, and yet Pike
has inserted in his Morals and Dogma whole pages, and even chapters, practically
verbatim. To Pike the following remarkable tribute was paid by Stirling Kerr,
Jr., 33? Deputy for the Inspector-General for the District of Columbia, upon
crowning with laurel the bust of Pike in the House of the Temple: "Pike was an
oracle greater than that of Delphi. He was Truth's minister and priest. His
victories were those of peace. Long may his memory live in the hearts of the
Brethren." Affectionately termed "Albertus Magnus" by his admirers, Pike wrote
of Hermeticism and alchemy and hinted at the Mysteries of the Temple. Through
his zeal and unflagging energy, American Freemasonry was raised from comparative
obscurity to become the most powerful organization in the land. Though Pike, a
transcendental thinker, was the recipient of every honor that the Freemasonic
bodies of the world could confer, the modern Mason is loath to admit that
transcendentalism has any place in Freemasonry. This is an attitude filled with
embarrassment and inconsistency, for whichever way the Mason turns he is
confronted by these inescapable issues of philosophy and the Mysteries. Yet
withal he dismisses the entire subject as being more or less a survival of
primitive superstitions.
The Mason who would discover the Lost Word must remember, however, that in the
first ages—every neophyte was a man of profound learning and unimpeachable
character, who for the sake of wisdom and virtue had faced death unafraid and
had triumphed over those limitations of the flesh which bind most mortals to the
sphere of mediocrity. In those days the rituals were not put on by degree teams
who handled candidates as though they were perishable commodities, but by
priests deeply versed in the lore of their cults. Not one Freemason out of a
thousand could have survived the initiations of the pagan rites, for the tests
were given in those strenuous days when men were men and death the reward of
failure. The neophyte of the Druid Mysteries was set adrift in a small boat to
battle with the stormy sea, and unless his knowledge of natural law enabled him
to quell the storm as did Jesus upon the Sea of Galilee, he returned no more. In
the Egyptian rites of Serapis, it was required of the neophyte that he cross an
unbridged chasm in the temple floor. In other words, if unable by magic to
sustain himself in the air without visible support, he fell headlong into a
volcanic crevice, there to die of heat and suffocation. In one part of the
Mithraic rites, the candidate seeking admission to the inner sanctuary was
required to pass through a closed door by dematerialization. The philosopher who
has authenticated the reality of ordeals such as these no longer entertains the
popular error that the performance of "miracles" is confined solely to Biblical
characters. "Do you still ask," writes Pike, "if it has its secrets and
mysteries? It is certain that something in the Ancient Initiations was regarded
as of immense value, by such Intellects as Herodotus, Plutarch and Cicero. The
Magicians of Egypt were able to imitate several of the miracles wrought by
Moses; and the Science of the Hierophants of the mysteries produced effects that
to the Initiated seemed Mysterious and supernatural." (See Legenda for the
Twenty-eighth Degree.)
It becomes self-evident that he who passed successfully through these arduous
tests involving both natural and also supernatural hazards was a man apart in
his community. Such an initiate was deemed to be more than human, for he had
achieved where countless ordinary mortals, having failed, had returned no more.
Let us hear the words of Apuleius when admitted into the Temple of Isis, as
recorded in The Metamorphosis, or Golden Ass: "Then also the priest, all the
profane being removed, taking hold of me by the hand, brought me to the
penetralia of the temple, clothed in a new linen garment. Perhaps, inquisitive
reader, you will very anxiously ask me what was then said and done? I would tell
you, if it could be lawfully told; you should know it, if it was lawful for you
to hear it. But both ears and the tongue are guilty of rash curiosity.
Nevertheless, I will not keep you in suspense with religious desire, nor torment
you with long-continued anxiety. Hear, therefore, but believe what is true. I
approached to the confines of death, and having trod on the threshold of
Proserpine, I returned from it, being carried through all the elements. At
midnight I saw the sun shining with a splendid light; and I manifestly drew near
to the Gods beneath, and the Gods above, and proximately adored them. Behold, I
have narrated to you things, of which, though heard, it is nevertheless
necessary that you should be ignorant. I will, therefore, only relate that which
may be enunciated to the understanding of the profane without a crime."
Kings and princes paid homage to the initiate—the "newborn" man, the favorite of
the gods. The initiate had actually entered into the presence of the divine
beings. He had "died" and been "raised" again into the radiant sphere of
everlasting light. Seekers after wisdom journeyed across great continents to
hear his words and his sayings were treasured with the revelations of oracles.
It was even esteemed an honor to receive from such a one an inclination of the
head, a kindly smile or a gesture of approbation. Disciples gladly paid with
their lives for the Master's word of praise and died of a broken heart at his
rebuke. On one occasion, Pythagoras became momentarily irritated because of the
seeming stupidity of one of his students. The Master's displeasure so preyed
upon the mind of the humiliated youth that, drawing a knife from the folds of
his garment, he committed suicide. So greatly moved was Pythagoras by the
incident that never from that time on was he known to lose patience with any of
his followers regardless of the provocation.
With a smile of paternal indulgence the venerable Master, who senses the true
dignity of the mystic tie, should gravely incline the minds of the Brethren
towards the sublimer issues of the Craft. The officer who would serve his lodge
most effectively must realize that he is of an order apart from other men, that
he is the keeper of an awful secret, that the chair upon which he sits is the
seat of immortals, and that if he would be a worthy successor to those Master
Masons of other ages, his thoughts must be measured by the profundity of
Pythagoras and the lucidity of Plato. Enthroned in the radiant East, the
Worshipful Master is the "Light" of his lodge—the representative of the gods,
one of that long line of hierophants who, through the blending of their rational
powers with the reason of the Ineffable, have been accepted into the Great
School. This high priest after an ancient order must realize that those before
him are not merely a gathering of properly tested men, but the custodians of an
eternal lore, the guardians of a sacred truth, the perpetuators of an ageless
wisdom, the consecrated servants of a living God, the wardens of a Supreme
Mystery.
A new day is dawning for Freemasonry. From the insufficiency of theology and the
hopelessness of materialism, men are turning to seek the God of philosophy. In
this new era wherein the old order of things is breaking down and the individual
is rising triumphant above the monotony of the masses, there is much work to be
accomplished. The "Temple Builder" is needed as never before. A great
reconstruction period is at hand; the debris of a fallen culture must be cleared
away; the old footings must be found again that a new Temple significant of a
new revelation of Law may be raised thereon. This is the peculiar work of the
Builder; this is the high duty for which he was called out of the world; this is
the noble enterprise for which he was "raised" and given the tools of his Craft.
By thus doing his part in the reorganization of society, the workman may earn
his "wages" as all good Masons should. A new light is breaking in the East, a
more glorious day is at hand. The rule of the philosophic elect-the dream of the
ages-will yet be realized and is not far distant. To her loyal sons, Freemasonry
sends this clarion call: "Arise ye, the day of labor is at band; the Great Work
awaits completion, and the days of man's life are few." Like the singing
guildsman of bygone days, the Craft of the Builders marches victoriously down
the broad avenues of Time. Their song is of labor and glorious endeavor; their
anthem is of toil and industry; they rejoice in their noble destiny, for they
are the Builders of cities, the Hewers of worlds, the Master Craftsmen of the
universe!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Manly P. Hall Founder of the Philosophical Research Society in
1934, dedicated to dissemination of useful knowledge in the fields of
philosophy, comparative religion, and psychology. In his long career, spanning
more than sixty years of dynamic public activity, Mr. Hall has delivered over
8,000 lectures in the United States and abroad, has authored over 150 books and
essays, and has written countless magazine articles.
LECTURES ON ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY Complete in itself, this volume originated as a
commentary and expansion of Manly P. Hall's masterpiece on symbolical
philosophy, The Secret Teachings of All Ages. Toward an understanding of those
laws by which the wise of every age have regulated their lives, here is a sane
and precise exposition of the Ancient Wisdom, defining divine and natural law,
further clarified with diagrams and illustrations.
THE PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH SOCIETY,INC., locatedat Los Angeles, California, is
non-sectarian, dedicated to an idealistic approach to the solution of human
problems, and is enterely free from educational, political, ecclesiastical
control. Its program stresses the need for the integration of philosophy,
religion, and the science of psychology into one system of instruction. One of
the important features of the Society is its research library, an outstanding
public facility devoted to source materials in obscure fields. Assembled by Mr.
Hall over a period of sixty years, the PRS library contains many rare and scarce
items, now impossible to obtain in the original. For further information on the
Society, and its programs, please write:
THE PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH SOCIETY, INC.
3910 LOS FELIZ BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES, CA, 90027-2399
www.prs.org (philosophical research society, founded by Manly Palmer Hall
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Elias note: Two films listed in the Bibliography, Documentary Films section give thorough data about Manly P. Hall. The two films are:
Secret Mysteries of America's Beginnings: Volume One: The New Atlantis by Antiquities Research Films; produced by David E. Bay.
Secret Mysteries of America's Beginnings: Volume Two: Riddles In Stone: The Secret Architecture of Washington DC by Antiquities Research Films; produced by David E. Bay.
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