Rosicrucian and Masonic 5

Rosicrucian and Masonic 5

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, [p 412]

 

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 aU 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 transcendentaUsts 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, EUphas Levi, one of the greatest ranscendentaUsts

of modem times. Levi was an occultist, a metaphysician, a Platonic philosopher, who by the rituals

of magic invoked even the spirit of ApoUonius 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 powerfril 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,

[pp 413-414]

 

 

 

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 retumed 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 Legendafor the Twenty -eighth

Degree.) [pp 414-415]

 

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 retumed 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."