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p. 197
The Mysteries and
Their Emissaries
DID that divine knowledge which
constituted the supreme possession of the pagan priestcrafts survive the
destruction of their temples? Is it yet accessible to mankind, or does it lie
buried beneath the rubbish of ages, entombed within the very sanctuaries that
were once illuminated by its splendor? "In Egypt," writes Origen, "the
philosophers have a sublime and secret knowledge respecting the nature of God.
What did Julian imply when he spoke of the secret initiations into the sacred
Mysteries of the Seven-Rayed God who lifted souls to salvation through His own
nature? Who were the blessed theurgists who understood them profundities
concerning which Julian dared not speak? If this inner doctrine were always
concealed from the masses, for whom a simpler code had been devised, is it not
highly probable that the exponents of every aspect of modern
civilization--philosophic, ethical, religious, and scientific-are ignorant of
the true meaning of the very theories and tenets on which their beliefs are
founded? Do the arts and sciences that the race has inherited from older
nations conceal beneath their fair exterior a mystery so great that
only the most illumined intellect can grasp its import? Such is undoubtedly
the case.
Albert Pike, who has gathered
ample evidence of the excellence of the doctrines promulgated by the
Mysteries, supports his assertions by quoting from the writings of Clement of
Alexandria, Plato, Epictetus, Proclus, Aristophanes, and Cicero, all of whom
unite in lauding the high ideals of these institutions. From the unqualified
testimony of such reputable authorities no reasonable doubt can exist that the
initiates of Greece, Egypt, and other ancient countries possessed the correct
solution to those great cultural, intellectual, moral, and social problems
which in an unsolved state confront the humanity of the twentieth century. The
reader must not interpret this statement to mean that antiquity had foreseen
and analyzed every complexity of this generation, but rather that the
Mysteries had evolved a method whereby the mind was so trained in the
fundamental verities of life that it was able to cope intelligently with any
emergency which might arise. Thus the reasoning faculties were organized by a
simple process of mental culture, for it was asserted that where reason reigns
supreme, inconsistency cannot exist. Wisdom, it was maintained, lifts man to
the condition of Godhood, a fact which explains the enigmatical statement that
the Mysteries transformed "roaring beasts into divinities."
The preeminence of any
philosophical system can be determined only by the excellence of its products.
The Mysteries have demonstrated the superiority of their culture by giving to
the world minds of such overwhelming greatness, souls of such beatific vision,
and lives of such outstanding impeccability that even after the lapse of ages
the teachings of these individuals constitute the present spiritual,
intellectual, and ethical standards of the race. The initiates of the various
Mystery schools of past ages form a veritable golden chain of supermen and
superwomen connecting heaven and earth. They are the links of that Homeric
"golden chain" with which Zeus boasted he could bind the several parts of the
universe to the pinnacle of Olympus. The sons and daughters of Isis are indeed
an illustrious line--founders of sciences and philosophies, patrons of arts
and crafts, supporting by the transcendency of their divinely given power the
structures of world religions erected to do them homage. Founders of doctrines
which have molded the lives of uncounted generations, these Initiate-Teachers
bear witness to that spiritual culture which has always existed--and always
will exist--as a divine institution in the world of men.
Those who represent an ideal
beyond the comprehension of the masses must face the persecution of the
unthinking multitude who are without that divine idealism which inspires
progress and those rational faculties which unerringly sift truth from
falsehood. The lot of the Initiate-Teacher is therefore almost invariably an
unhappy one. Pythagoras, crucified and his university burned; Hypatia, torn
from her chariot and rended limb from limb; Jacques de Molay, whose memory
survives the consuming flame; Savonarola, burned in the square of Florence;
Galileo, forced to recant upon bended knee; Giordano Bruno, burned by the
Inquisition; Roger Bacon, compelled to carry on his experiments in the secrecy
of his cell and leave his knowledge hidden under cipher; Dante Alighieri,
dying in exile from his beloved city; Francis Bacon, patient. under the burden
of persecution; Cagliostro, the most vilified man of modern times--all this
illustrious line bear unending witness of man's inhumanity to man. The world
has ever been prone to heap plaudits upon its fools and calumny upon its
thinkers. Here and there notable exceptions occur, as in the case of the Comte
de St.-Germain, a philosopher who survived his inquisitors and through the
sheer transcendency of his genius won a position of comparative immunity. But
even the illustrious Comte--whose illumined intellect merited the homage of
the world--could not escape being branded an impostor, a charlatan, and an
adventurer. From this long fist of immortal men and women who have represented
the Ancient Wisdom before the world, three have been chosen as outstanding
examples for more detailed consideration: the first the most eminent woman
philosopher of all ages; the second the most maligned and persecuted man since
the beginning of Christian Era; the third the most brilliant and the most
successful modern exponent of this Ancient Wisdom.
HYPATIA
Sitting in the chair of
philosophy previously occupied by her father, Theon the mathematician, the
immortal Hypatia was for many years the central figure in the Alexandrian
School of Neo-Platonism. Famed alike for the depth of her learning and the
charm of her person, beloved by the citizens of Alexandria, and frequently
consulted by the magistrates of that city, this noble woman stands out from
the
THE TABLE OF CEBES.
From Vænius' Theatro Moral de
la Vida Humana.
There is legend to the effect
that the Tablet of Cebes, a dialogue between Cebes and Gerundio, was based
upon an ancient table set up in the Temple of Kronos at Athens or Thebes which
depicted the entire progress of human life. The author of the Tablet of
Cebes was a disciple of Socrates, and lived about 390 B.C. The world is
represented as a great mountain. Out of the earth at the base of it come he
myriads of human creatures who climb upward in search of truth and
immortality. Above the clouds which conceal the summit of the mountain is the
goal of human attainment--true happiness. The figures and groups are arranged
as follows: (1) the door of the wall of life; (2) the Genius or Intelligence;
(3) deceit (4) opinions, desires, and pleasures; (5) fortune; (6) the strong;
(7) venery, insatiability, flattery; (8) sorrow; (9) sadness; (10) misery;
(11) grief, (12) rage or despair; (13) the house of misfortune; (14)
penitence; (15) true opinion; (16) false opinion; (17) false doctrine; (18)
poets, orators, geometers, et. al.; (19) incontinence, sexual indulgence, and
opinion; (20) the road of the true doctrine (21) continence and patience; (22)
the true doctrine; (23) truth and persuasion; (24) science and the virtues;
(25) happiness, (26) the highest (first) pleasure of the wise man; (27) the
lazy and the strays.
p. 198
pages of history as the
greatest of the pagan martyrs. A personal disciple of the magician Plutarch,
and versed in the profundities of the Platonic School, Hypatia eclipsed in
argument and public esteem every proponent of the Christian doctrines in
Northern Egypt. While her writings perished at the time of the burning of the
library of Alexandria by the Mohammedans, some hint of their nature may be
gleaned from the statements of contemporaneous authors. Hypatia evidently
wrote a commentary on the Arithmetic of Diophantus, another on the
Astronomical Canon of Ptolemy, and a third on the Conics of
Apollonius of Perga. Synesius, Bishop of Ptolemais, her devoted friend, wrote
to Hypatia for assistance in the construction of an astrolabe and a
hydroscope. Recognizing the transcendency of her intellect, the learned of
many nations flocked to the academy where she lectured.
A number of writers have
credited the teachings of Hypatia with being Christian in spirit; in fact she
removed the veil of mystery in which the new cult had enshrouded itself,
discoursing with such clarity upon its most involved principles that many
newly converted to the Christian faith deserted it to become her disciples.
Hypatia not only proved conclusively the pagan origin of the Christian faith
but also exposed the purported miracles then advanced by the Christians as
tokens of divine preference by demonstrating the natural laws controlling the
phenomena.
At this time Cyril--later to be
renowned as the founder of the doctrine of the Christian Trinity and canonized
for his zeal--was Bishop of Alexandria. Seeing in Hypatia a continual menace
to the promulgation of the Christian faith, Cyril--indirectly at least--was
the cause of her tragic end. Despite every later effort to exonerate him from
the stigma of her murder, the incontrovertible fact remains that he made no
effort to avert the foul and brutal crime. The only shred of excuse which
might be offered in his defense is that, blinded by the spell of fanaticism,
Cyril considered Hypatia to be a sorceress in league with the Devil. In
contrast to the otherwise general excellence of the literary works of Charles
Kingsley maybe noted his puerile delineation of character of Hypatia in his
book by that name. Without exception, the meager historical references to this
virgin philosopher attest her virtue, integrity, and absolute devotion to the
principles of Truth and Right.
While it is true that the best
minds of the Christianity of that period may readily be absolved from the
charge of participes criminis, the implacable hatred of Cyril
unquestionably communicated itself to the more fanatical members of his faith,
particularly to a group of monks from the Nitrian desert. Led by Peter the
Reader, a savage and illiterate man, they attacked Hypatia on the open street
as she was passing from the academy to her home. Dragging the defenseless
woman from her chariot, they took her to the Cæsarean Church. Tearing away her
garments, they pounded her to death with clubs, after which they scraped the
flesh from her bones with oyster shells and carried the mutilated remains to a
place called Cindron, where they burned them to ashes.
Thus perished in A.D. 415 the
greatest woman initiate of the ancient world, and with her fell also the
Neo-Platonic School of Alexandria. The memory of Hypatia has probably been
perpetuated in the hagiolatry of the Roman Catholic Church in the person of
St. Catherine of Alexandria.
THE COMTE DI CAGLIOSTRO
The "divine" Cagliostro, one
moment the idol of Paris, the next a lonely prisoner in a dungeon of the
Inquisition, passed like a meteor across the face of France. According to his
memoirs written by him during his confinement in the Bastille, Alessandro
Cagliostro was born in Malta of a noble but unknown family. He was reared and
educated in Arabia under the tutelage of Altotas, a man well versed in several
branches of philosophy and science and also a master of the transcendental
arts. While Cagliostro's biographers generally ridicule this account, they
utterly fail to advance in its stead any logical solution for the source of
his magnificent store of arcane knowledge.
Branded as an impostor and a
charlatan, his miracles declared to be legerdemain, and his very generosity
suspected of an ulterior motive, the Comte di Cagliostro is undoubtedly the
most calumniated man in modem history. "The mistrust," writes W. H. K.
Trowbridge, "that mystery and magic always inspire made Cagliostro with his
fantastic personality an easy target for calumny. After having been riddled
with abuse till he was unrecognizable, prejudice, the foster child of calumny,
proceeded to lynch him, so to speak. For over one hundred years his character
has dangled on the gibbet of infamy, upon which the sbirri of tradition
have inscribed a curse on any one who shall attempt to cut him down. His fate
has been his fame. He is remembered in history, not so much for anything he
did, as for what was done to him." (See Cagliostro, the Splendour and
Misery of a Master of Magic.)
According to popular belief
Cagliostro's real name was Giuseppe Balsamo, and he was a Sicilian by birth.
Within recent years, however, doubts have arisen as to whether this belief is
in accord with the facts. It may yet be proved that in part, at least, the
tirades of abuse heaped upon the unfortunate Comte have been directed against
the wrong man. Giuseppe Balsamo was born in 1743 of honest but humble
parentage. From boyhood he exhibited selfish, worthless, and even criminal
tendencies, and after a series of escapades disappeared. Trowbridge(loc.
cit.) presents ample proof that Cagliostro was not Giuseppe Balsamo, thus
disposing of the worst accusation against him. After six months' imprisonment
in the Bastille, on his trial Cagliostro was exonerated from any implication
in the theft of the famous "Queen's Necklace," and later the fact was
established that he had actually warned Cardinal de Rohan of the intended
crime. Despite the fact, however, that he was discharged as innocent by the
French trial court, a deliberate effort to vilify Cagliostro was made by an
artist--more talented than intelligent--who painted a picture showing him
holding the fatal necklace in his hand. The trial of Cagliostro has been
called the prologue of the French Revolution. The smoldering animosity against
Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI engendered by this trial later burst forth as
the holocaust of the Reign of Terror. In his brochure, Cagliostro and His
Egyptian Rite of Freemasonry, Henry R. Evans also ably defends this much
persecuted man against the infamies so unjustly linked with his name.
Sincere investigators of the
facts surrounding the life and mysterious "death" of Cagliostro are of the
opinion that the stories circulated against him may be traced to the
machinations of the Inquisition, which in this manner sought to justify his
persecution. The basic charge against Cagliostro was that he had attempted to
found a Masonic lodge in Rome--nothing more. All other accusations are of
subsequent date. For some reason undisclosed, the Pope commuted Cagliostro's
sentence of death to perpetual imprisonment. This act in itself showed the
regard in which Cagliostro was held even by his enemies. While his death is
believed to have occurred several years later in an Inquisitional dungeon in
the castle of San Leo, it is highly improbable that such was the case. There
are rumors that he escaped, and according to one very significant story
Cagliostro fled to India, where his talents received the appreciation denied
them in politics-ridden Europe.
After creating his Egyptian
Rite, Cagliostro declared that since women had been admitted into the ancient
Mysteries there was no reason why they should be excluded from the modem
orders. The Princesse de Lamballe graciously accepted the dignity of Mistress
of Honor in his secret society, and on the evening of her initiation the most
important members of the French court were present. The brilliance of the
affair attracted the attention of the Masonic lodges in Paris. Their
representatives, in a sincere desire to understand the Masonic Mysteries,
chose the learned orientalist Court de Gébelin as their spokesman, and invited
Comte di Cagliostro to attend a conference to assist in clearing up a number
of important questions concerning Masonic philosophy. The Comte accepted the
invitation.
On May 10, 1785, Cagliostro
attended the conference called for that purpose, and his power and simplicity
immediately won for him the favorable opinion of the entire gathering. It took
but a few words for the Court de Gébelin to discover that he was talking nor
only to a fellow scholar but to a man infinitely his superior. Cagliostro
immediately presented an address, which was so unexpected, so totally
different from anything ever heard before by those assembled, that all were
speechless with amazement. Cagliostro declared the Rose-Cross to be the
ancient and true symbol of the Mysteries and, after a brief description of its
original symbolism, branched out into a consideration of the symbolic meaning
of letters, predicting to the assembly the future of France in a graphic
manner that left no room for doubt that the speaker was a man of insight and
supernatural power. With a curious arrangement of the letters of the alphabet,
Cagliostro foretold in detail the horrors of the coming revolution and the
fall of the monarchy, describing minutely the fate of the various members of
the royal family. He also prophesied the advent of Napoleon and the rise of
the First Empire. All this he did to demonstrate that which can be
accomplished by superior knowledge.
Later when arrested and sent to
the Bastille, Cagliostro wrote on the wall of his cell the following cryptic
message which, when interpreted, reads: "In 1789 the besieged Bastille will on
July 14th be pulled down by you from top to bottom." Cagliostro was the
mysterious agent of the Knights Templars, the Rosicrucian initiate whose
magnificent store of learning is attested by the profundity of the Egyptian
Rite of Freemasonry. Thus Comte di Cagliostro remains one of the strangest
characters in history--believed by his friends to have lived forever and to
have taken part in the marriage feast of Cana, and accused by his enemies of
being the Devil incarnate! His powers of prophecy are ably described by
Alexandre Dumas in The Queen's Necklace. The world he sought to serve
in his own
p. 199
strange way received him not,
but has followed with relentless persecution down through the centuries even
the very memory of this illustrious adept who, unable to accomplish the great
labor at hand, stepped aside in favor of his more successful compatriot, the
Comte de St-Germain.
THE COMTE DE ST.-GERMAIN
During the early part of the
eighteenth century there appeared in the diplomatic circles of Europe the most
baffling personality of history--a man whose life was so near a synonym of
mystery that the enigma of his true identity was as insolvable to his
contemporaries as it has been to later investigators. The Comte de St.-Germain
was recognized as the outstanding scholar and linguist of his day. His
versatile accomplishments extended from chemistry and history to poetry and
music. He played several musical instruments with great skill and among his
numerous compositions was a short opera. He was also an artist of rare ability
and the remarkably luminous effects which he created on canvas are believed to
have been the result of his mixing powdered mother-of-pearl with his pigments.
He gained worldwide distinction for his ability to reproduce in his paintings
the original luster of the precious stones appearing upon the costumes of his
subjects. His linguistic proficiency verged on the supernatural. He spoke
German, English, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French with a Piedmontese
accent, Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Arabic, and Chinese with such fluency that in
every land he visited he was accepted as a native. He was ambidextrous to such
a degree that: he could write the same article with both hands simultaneously.
When the two pieces of paper were afterwards placed together with a light
behind them, the writing on one sheet exactly covered, letter for letter, the
writing on the other.
As a historian, the Comte de
St.-Germain possessed uncanny knowledge of every occurrence of the preceding
two thousand years, and in his reminiscences he described in intimate detail
events of previous centuries in which he had played important rôles. He
assisted Mesmer in developing the theory of mesmerism, and in all probability
was the actual discoverer of that science. His knowledge of chemistry was so
profound that he could remove flaws from diamonds and other precious stones--a
feat which he actually performed at the request of Louis XV in 1757. He was
also recognized as an art critic without a peer and was often consulted
regarding paintings accredited to the great masters. His claim to the
possession of the fabled elixir of life was home witness to by Madame
de Pompadour, who discovered, she declared, that he had presented a lady of
the court with a certain priceless liquid which had had the effect of
preserving her youthful vivacity and beauty for over twenty-five years beyond
the normal term.
The startling accuracy of his
prophetic utterances gained for him no small degree of fame. To Marie
Antoinette he predicted the fall of the French monarchy, and he was also aware
of the unhappy fate of the royal family years before the Revolution actually
took place. The crowning evidence, however, of the Comte's genius was his
penetrating grasp of the political situation of Europe and the consummate
skill with which he parried the thrusts of his diplomatic adversaries. He was
employed by a number of European governments, including the French, as a
secret agent, and at all times bore credentials which gave him entrée
to the most exclusive circles.
In her excellent monograph,
The Comte de St.-Germain, the Secret of Kings, Mrs. Cooper-Oakley lists
the most important names under which this amazing person masqueraded between
the years 1710 and 1822. "During this time," she writes, "we have M. de St.-Germain
as the Marquis de Montferrat, Comte Bellamarre or Aymar at Venice, Chevalier
Schoening at Pisa, Chevalier Weldon at Milan and Leipzig, Comte Soltikoff at
Genoa and Leghorn, Graf Tzarogy at Schwalbach and Triesdorf, Prinz Ragoczy at
Dresden, and Comte de St.-Germain at Paris, The Hague, London, and St.
Petersburg." It is evident that M. de St.-Germain adopted these various names
in the interests of the political secret service work which historians have
presumed to be the major mission of his life.
The Comte de St.-Germain has
been described as of medium height, well proportioned in body, and of regular
and pleasing features. His complexion was somewhat swarthy and his hair dark,
though often shown powdered. He dressed simply, usually in black, but his
clothes were well fitting and of the best quality. He had apparently a mania
for diamonds, which he wore not only in rings but also in his watch and chain,
his snuff box, and upon his buckles. A jeweler once estimated the value of his
shoe buckles at 200,000 francs. The Comte is generally depicted as a man in
middle life, entirely devoid of wrinkles and free from any physical infirmity.
He ate no meat and drank no wine, in fact seldom dined in the presence of any
second person. Although he was looked upon as a charlatan and impostor by a
few nobles at the French court, Louis XV severely reprimanded a courtier who
made a disparaging remark concerning him. The grace and dignity that
characterized his conduct, together with his perfect control of every
situation, attested the innate refinement and culture of one "to the manner
born." This remarkable person also had the surprising and impressive ability
to divine, even to the most minute details, the questions of his inquisitors
before they were asked. By something akin to telepathy he was also able to
feel when his presence was needed in some distant city or state, and it has
even been recorded of him that he had the astonishing habit not only of
appearing in his own apartment and in those of friends without resorting to
the conventionality of the door but also of departing therefrom in a similar
manner.
M. de St.-Germain's travels
covered many countries. During the reign of Peter III he was in Russia and
between the years 1737 and 1742 in the court of the Shah of Persia as an
honored guest. On the subject: of his wanderings Una Birch writes: "The
travels of the Comte de Saint-Germain covered a long period of years and a
great range of countries. From Persia to France and from Calcutta to Rome he
was known and respected. Horace Walpole spoke with him in London in 1745;
Clive knew him in India in 1756; Madame d'Adhémar alleges that she met him in
Paris in 1789, five years after his supposed death; while other persons
pretend to have held conversations with him in the early nineteenth century.
He was on familiar and intimate terms with the crowned heads of Europe and the
honoured friend of many distinguished persons of all nationalities. He is even
mentioned in the memoirs and letters of the day, and always as a man of
mystery. Frederick the Great, Voltaire, Madame de Pompadour, Rousseau,
Chatham, and Walpole, all of whom knew him personally, rivalled each other in
curiosity as to his origin. During the many decades in which he was before the
world, however, no one succeeded in discovering why he appeared as a Jacobite
agent in London, as a conspirator in Petersburg, as an alchemist and
connoisseur of pictures in Paris, or as a Russian general at Naples. * * * Now
and again the curtain which shrouds his actions is drawn aside, and we are
permitted to see him fiddling in the music room at Versailles, gossiping with
Horace Walpole in London, sitting in Frederick the Great's library at Berlin,
or conducting illuminist meetings in caverns by the Rhine." (See The
Nineteenth Century, January, 1908.)
The Comte de St.-Germain has
been generally regarded as an important figure in early activities of the
Freemasons. Repeated efforts, however, probably with an ulterior motive, have
been made to discredit his Masonic affiliations. An example of this is the
account appearing in The Secret Tradition in Freemasonry, by Arthur
Edward
THE ''DIVINE'' CAGLIOSTRO.
From Houdon's Bust of Cagliostro.
The Comte di Cagliostro is
described as a man not overly tall, but square shouldered and deep of chest.
His head, which was large, was abundantly covered with black hair combed back
from his broad and noble forehead. His eyes were black and very brilliant, and
when he spoke with great feeling upon some profound subject the pupils
dilated, his eyebrows rose, and he shook his head like a maned lion. His hands
and feet were small--an indication of noble birth--and his whole bearing was
one of dignity and studiousness. He was filled with energy, and could
accomplish a prodigious amount of work. He dressed somewhat fantastically,
gave so freely from an inexhaustible purse that he received the title of
"Father of the Poor," accepted nothing from anyone, and maintained himself in
magnificence in a combined temple and palace in the Rue d, la Sourdière.
According to his own statement he was initiated into the Mysteries by none
other than the Comte de St.-Germain. He had traveled through all parts of the
world, and in the ruins of ancient Babylon and Nineveh had discovered wise men
who understood all the secrets of human life.
p. 200
[paragraph
continues] Waite. This author, after making several
rather disparaging remarks on the subject, amplifies his article by
reproducing an engraving of the wrong Comte de St.-Germain, apparently being
unable to distinguish between the great illuminist and the French general. It
will yet be established beyond all doubt that the Comte de St.-Germain was
both a Mason and a Templar; in fact the memoirs of Cagliostro contain a direct
statement of his initiation into the order of the Knights Templars at the
hands of St.-Germain. Many of the illustrious personages with whom the Comte
de St.-Germain associated were high Masons, and sufficient memoranda have been
preserved concerning the discussions which they held to prove that he was a
master of Freemasonic lore. It is also reasonably certain that he was
connected with the Rosicrucians--possibly having been the actual head of that
order.
The Comte de St.-Germain was
thoroughly conversant with the principles of Oriental esotericism. He
practiced the Eastern system of meditation and concentration, upon several
occasions having been seen seated with his feet crossed and hands folded in
the posture of a Hindu Buddha. He had a retreat in the heart of the Himalayas
to which he retired periodically from the world. On one occasion he declared
that he would remain in India for eighty-five years and then would return to
the scene of his European labors. At various times he admitted that he was
obeying the orders of a power higher and greater than himself. What he did not
say was that this superior power was the Mystery school which had sent him
into the world to accomplish a definite mission. The Comte de St.-Germain and
Sir Francis Bacon are the two greatest emissaries sent into the world by the
Secret Brotherhood in the last thousand years.
E. Francis Udny, a Theosophical
writer, is of the belief that the Comte de St.-Germain was not the son of
Prince Rákóczy of Transylvania, but because of his age could have been none
other than the prince himself, who was known to be of a deep philosophic and
mystic nature. The same writer believes the Comte de St.-Germain passed
through the "philosophic death" as Francis Bacon in 1626, as François Rákóczy
in 1735, and as Comte de St.-Germain in 1784. He also feels that the Comte de
St.-Germain was the famous Comte de Gabalis, and as Count Hompesch was the
last Grand Master of the Knights of Malta. It is well known that many members
of the European secret societies have feigned death for various purposes.
Marshal Ney, a member of the Society of Unknown Philosophers, escaped the
firing squad and under the name of Peter Stuart Ney lived and taught school
for over thirty years in North Carolina. On his deathbed, P. S. Ney told
Doctor Locke, the attending physician, that he was Marshal Ney of France.
In concluding an article on the
identity of the inscrutable Comte de St.-Germain, Andrew Lang writes: "Did
Saint-Germain really die in the palace of Prince Charles of Hesse about
1780-85? Did he, on the other hand, escape from the French prison where
Grosley thought he saw him, during the French Revolution? Was he known to Lord
Lytton about 1860? * * * Is he the mysterious Muscovite adviser of the Dalai
Lama? Who knows? He is a will-o'-the-wisp of the memoir-writers of the
eighteenth century. " (See Historical Mysteries.)
EPISODES FROM AMERICAN
HISTORY
Many times the question has
been asked, Was Francis Bacon's vision of the "New Atlantis" a prophetic dream
of the great civilization which was so soon to rise upon the soil of the New
World? It cannot be doubted that the secret societies of Europe conspired to
establish upon the American continent "a new nation, conceived in liberty and
dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." Two incidents in
the early history of the United States evidence the influence of that
silent body which has so long guided the destinies of peoples and
religions. By them nations are created as vehicles for the promulgation of
ideals, and while nations are true to these ideals they survive; when they
vary from them they vanish like the Atlantis of old which had ceased to "know
the gods."
In his admirable little
treatise, Our Flag, Robert Allen Campbell revives the details of an
obscure, but most important, episode of American history--the designing of the
Colonial flag of 1775. The account involves a mysterious man concerning whom
no information is available other than that he was on familiar terms with both
General George Washington and Dr. Benjamin Franklin. The following description
of him is taken from Campbell's treatise:
"Little seems to have been
known concerning this old gentleman; and in the materials from which this
account is compiled his name is not even once mentioned, for he is uniformly
spoken of or referred to as 'the Professor.' He was evidently far beyond his
threescore and ten years; and he often referred to historical events of more
than a century previous just as if he had been a living witness of their
occurrence; still he was erect, vigorous and active--hale, hearty, and
clear-minded--as strong and energetic every way as in the prime of his life He
was tall, of fine figure, perfectly easy, and very dignified in his manners;
being at once courteous, gracious and commanding. He was, for those times and
considering the customs of the Colonists, very peculiar in his method of
living; for he ate no flesh, fowl or fish; he never used for food any 'green
thing,' any roots or anything unripe; he drank no liquor, wine or ale; but
confined his diet to cereals and their products, fruits that were ripened on
the stem in the sun, nuts, mild tea and the sweets of honey, sugar or
molasses.
"He was well educated, highly
cultivated, of extensive as well as varied information, and very studious. He
spent considerable of his time in the patient and persistent conning of a
number of very rare old books and ancient manuscripts which he seemed to be
deciphering, translating or rewriting. These books and manuscripts, together
with his own writings, he never showed to anyone; and he did not even mention
them in his conversations with the family, except in the most casual way; and
he always locked them up carefully in a large, old-fashioned, cubically
shaped, iron-bound, heavy, oaken chest, whenever he left his room, even for
his meals. He took long and frequent walks alone, sat on the brows of the
neighboring hills, or mused in the midst of the green and flower-gemmed
meadows. He was fairly liberal--but in no way lavish--in spending his money,
with which he was well supplied. He was a quiet, though a very genial and very
interesting, member of the family; and be was seemingly at home upon any and
every topic coming up in conversation. He was, in short, one whom everyone
would notice and respect, whom few would feel well acquainted with, and whom
no one would presume to question concerning himself--as to whence he came, why
he tarried, or whither he journeyed. "
By something more than a mere
coincidence the committee appointed by the Colonial Congress to design a flag
accepted an invitation to be guests, while in Cambridge, of the same family
with which the Professor was staying. It was here that General Washington
joined them for the purpose of deciding upon a fitting emblem. By the signs
which passed between them it was evident that both General Washington and
Doctor Franklin recognized the Professor, and by unanimous approval he was
invited to become an active member of the committee. During the proceedings
which followed, the Professor was treated with the most profound respect and
all of his suggestions immediately acted upon. He submitted a pattern which he
considered symbolically appropriate for the new flag, and this was
unhesitatingly accepted by the other six members of the committee, who voted
that the arrangement suggested by the Professor be forthwith adopted. After
the episode of the flag the Professor quietly vanished, and nothing further is
known concerning him.
Did General Washington and
Doctor Franklin recognize the Professor as an emissary of the Mystery school
which has so long controlled the political destinies of this planet? Benjamin
Franklin was a philosopher and a Freemason--possibly a Rosicrucian initiate.
He and the Marquis de Lafayette--also a man of mystery--constitute two of the
most important links in the chain of circumstance that culminated in the
establishment of the original thirteen American Colonies as a free and
independent nation. Doctor Franklin's philosophic attainments are well
attested in Poor Richard's Almanac, published by him for many years
under the name of Richard Saunders. His interest in the cause of Freemasonry
is also shown by his republication of Anderson's Constitutions of
Freemasonry, a rare and much disputed work on the subject.
It was during the evening of
July 4, 1776, that the second of these mysterious episodes occurred. In the
old State House in Philadelphia a group of men were gathered for the momentous
task of severing the last tie between the old country and the new. It was a
grave moment and not a few of those present feared that their lives would be
the forfeit for their audacity. In the midst of the debate a fierce voice rang
out. The debaters stopped and turned to look upon the stranger. Who was this
man who had suddenly appeared in their midst and transfixed them with his
oratory? They had never seen him before, none knew when he had entered, but
his tall form and pale face filled them with awe. His voice ringing with a
holy zeal, the stranger stirred them to their very souls. His closing words
rang through the building: "God has given America to be free!" As the
stranger sank into a chair exhausted, a wild enthusiasm burst forth. Name
after name was placed upon the parchment: the Declaration of Independence was
signed. But where was the man who had precipitated the accomplishment of this
immortal task--who had lifted for a moment the veil from the eyes of the
assemblage and revealed to them a part at least of the great purpose for which
the new nation was conceived? He had disappeared, nor was he ever seen again
or his identity established. This episode parallels others of a similar kind
recorded by ancient historians attendant upon the founding of every new
nation. Are they coincidences, or do they demonstrate that the divine wisdom
of the ancient Mysteries still is present in the world, serving mankind as it
did of old?
Next:
Conclusion