THE BUILDER JANUARY 1918

ROSICRUCIANS AND FREEMASONS
BY BRO. JOHN G. KEPLINGER, ILLINOIS


THERE is, perhaps, no more interesting theory of the origin of
Freemasonry than that given by DeQuincey, in his essay on
"Rosicrucians and Freemasons." This account is an expansion of a
Latin dissertation prepared by Prof. J. G. Buhle, logic professor
in a great German university and read by him before the Gottingen
Philosophical Society in the year 1803.

In this paper Prof. Buhle endeavors to do two things: First--to
show that the Rosicrucian cult was the miscarriage of a projected
secret society by means of which a young Lutheran theologian hoped
to correct the flagrant evils of his time, and-- 

Second--that Freemasonry was an outgrowth of Rosicrucianism. I will
briefly review the essay and leave it for you to decide whether or
not DeQuincey and the professor establish their case.

Towards the close of the sixteenth century the evils of Germany
were said to be enormous and the necessity for some great reform
was universally admitted. That the desire to institute such a
reform was in the mind of at least one writer of the period is
evident from three books of fiction which he produced and published
in or about the year 1610.

The first of these books is worthy of notice because it serves as
an introduction to the others. This book, entitled "Universal
Reformation of the Whole Wide World," is a tale of no
inconsiderable wit and humor. According to it the Seven Wise Men of
Greece, together with M. Cato and Seneca, were summoned to Delphi
by Apollo to deliberate on the best way of redressing human misery.

All sorts of strange schemes were proposed by these wise men.
Thales advised that a hole be cut in every man's breast, and a
little window placed in it so that vice and hypocrisy in the heart
could be detected and extinguished. Solon proposed an equal
partition of all possessions and wealth. Chilo thought the best way
to the end in view was to banish from the world those two infamous
and rascally metals--gold and silver.

Kleobulus came forward as the apologist of gold and silver. He
thought that if the use of iron was prohibited wars would be
discontinued among men. Pittacus insisted on the passing of more
rigorous laws which would make virtue and merit the sole passports
to honor. Periander objected to the suggestion of Pittacus because
he thought there never had been a scarcity of such laws, nor of
princes to execute them, but scarcity enough of subjects
conformable to good laws.

Bias thought that the nations should be kept apart. To confine each
to its own territory he advocated that bridges be demolished,
mountains rendered insurmountable and navigation totally forbidden.

Cato, said to be the wisest of the party, wished that God, in his
mercy, would wash all women from the earth by another deluge and at
the same time introduce a new arrangement for the continuance of
the excellent male sex without female help.

The whole assembly, however, deemed this proposal so abominable
that they unanimously prostrated themselves on the ground and
besought God that he would graciously vouchsafe to preserve the
lovely race of women and save the world from a second deluge.

After a long debate the counsel of Seneca prevailed. His proposal
was "that out of all ranks a society should be composed which would
have for its object the general welfare of mankind and that this
object should be pursued in secret."

In the second book the writer took advantage of the fact that
Cabbalism, Theosophy and Alchemy had overspread the whole of
Western Europe and hinged his plot on the tenets of these cults.
The title of this book was "Fama Fraternitatis of the meritorius
order of the Rosy Cross, addressed to the learned in general, and
the governors of Europe." Its object was to correct the evils of
the time by giving an account of a society such as Seneca proposed
as if it were already established. By the publication of this book
the author hoped to draw about him a body of enlightened and
forward looking men who would co-operate with him in his plans to
elevate the moral order of mankind.

According to this book, Christian Rosycross, a man of noble
descent, and living two centuries before this time, had traveled
extensively in the East and Africa. There he had learned great
mysteries from the Arabians and Chaldeans. Upon his return to
Germany he founded a secret society whose headquarters were in a
building called the House of The Holy Ghost.

This building was erected by Rosycross but its location was a
mystery to all but members of the order. Here, under a vow of
secrecy, Rosycross communicated his mysteries to his followers and
then sent them forth into the world.

Their mission can be gathered from a few rules of the order: The
members were to cure the sick without fee or reward. None was to
wear a peculiar habit but was to dress after the fashion of the
country in which he lived or traveled. On a certain day in every
year all the brethren were to assemble in the House of The Holy
Ghost or to account for their absence. The word "Rosycross" was to
be their seal, watchword and characteristic mark. The association
was to be kept unrevealed for a hundred years. To perpetuate it
during this time each member, at his death, was to select some
individual with proper qualifications to be his successor in the
order.

Christian Rosycross died at the age of one hundred and six years
and, while his death was known to the society, the location of his
grave was unknown to the members. One hundred and twenty years
after the death-of Rosycross the brethren discovered a secret door
in the House of The Holy Ghost upon which was this inscription:
"One hundred and twenty years hence I shall open." Opening the door
they found it to be the entrance to a sepulchral vault which was
illuminated by an artificial sun. This vault was in the shape of a
heptagon and every side was five feet broad and eight feet high. In
the center was a circular altar on which was an engraved brass
plate with this inscription: "This grave, an abstract of the whole
world, I made for myself while yet living." About the margin of the
plate an inscription read, "To me Jesus is all in all." In the
center of the altar were four figures enclosed in a circle by this
revolving legend: "The empty yoke of the law is made void. The
liberty of the gospel. The unsullied glory of God."

Having observed these things with wonder the brethren next
discovered that each of the seven sides of the vault had a door
opening into a chest. In this chest they found secret books of the
order and, chief among them, the Vocabularium of Paracelsus. In
addition they found an assortment of mirrors, lamps, little bells
and marvelous musical mechanisms, all so arranged that even after
the lapse of many centuries the whole order could be re-established
even though all the members had perished.

Under the altar the brethren found the body of Rosycross. It was
without taint or corruption. In the right hand he held a vellum
book inscribed with letters of gold. This book the brethren called
T, and after the Bible it became the most precious jewel of the
society. In two separate circles near the end of the book were
found the names of the eight initiates who had been the immediate
followers of Rosycross. Then follows a declaration of the
principles of the order which was addressed to the society of the
whole world. According to this declaration the followers of
Rosycross professed to be of the Protestant faith--that they
honored the emperor and observed the laws of the empire--and that
the art of gold making was but a slight object with them. The whole
declaration ended with these words: "Our House of The Holy Ghost,
though a hundred thousand men should have looked upon it, is yet
destined to remain untouched, imperturbable, out of sight and
unrevealed to the godless world forever."

The third book appeared in Latin and contained general explanations
upon the object and spirit of the order of Rosycross. It explained
that the order had different degrees; that not only princes, men of
rank, rich men and learned men, but also mean and inconsiderable
persons were admitted to its communion provided they had pure and
disinterested motives and were able and willing to exert themselves
for the ends of the institution. It was claimed that the order had
a peculiar language; that it possessed more gold and silver than
the whole world but that it was not this but rather true philosophy
which was the object of their labors.

Who was the author of these books ?

Although there has been considerable discussion pro and con on this
subject, both DeQuincey and Prof. Buhle maintain that he was none
other than John Valentine Andrea, a celebrated theologian of
Wutemberg and known as a satirist and a poet. Andrea was born at
Herrenberg in 1586. His grandfather was the Chancellor Jacob Andrea
who was celebrated for his services to the church of Wurtemberg.
Andrea's father was the Abbot of Konigsbronn and from him he
received an excellent education. Besides, Hebrew, Greek, Latin,
French, Italian and Spanish, Andrea was well versed in mathematics,
natural and civil history, geography and historical genealogy
without in the least neglecting his professional study of divinity.

Very early in life he seems to have had a deep sense of the evils
and abuses of his time--not so much in the realm of politics as in
the realms of philosophy, morals and religion. These, we learn from
manuscripts found among his papers, he sought to correct by means
of societies acting in secret.

DeQuincey made a close review of his life and opinions of Andrea
and as a result of it writes: "I am not only satisfied that Andrea
wrote the three works which laid the foundation of Rosicrucianism,
but I clearly see why he wrote them." This he ascribes to the great
evils existing in Germany and to Andrea's overwhelming desire to
redress them.

As a young man without experience Andrea imagined that this would
be easy of accomplishment. Had he not the example of Luther before
him and was not a similar effort necessary in the existing
generation? It was to the mind of Andrea and to organize these
efforts and direct them to the proper object he projected a society
composed of the noble, the intellectual, the enlightened and the
learned--which he hoped to see moving as under the influence of one
soul towards the end he had in view. Young as he was, Andrea knew 
that men of various tempers and characters could be brought to
co-operate steadily for an object so purely disinterested as the
elevation of human nature. In an age, then, of Theosophy, Cabbalism
and Alchemy he knew the popular ear would be quickly caught by an
account, issuing nobody knew whence, of a secret society which
professed to be a depositary of Oriental mysteries and to have
lasted two centuries. Many, naturally, would seek to connect
themselves with such a society and from these he hoped he might
gradually select the members of the real society which he had in
mind. The pretensions of the society as projected were indeed
illusions; but, he hoped that before these were detected as such by
the proselytes, they would become connected with himself and be
moulded to his nobler aspirations. On this view of Andrea's real
intentions, we understand his contradictory statements regarding
astrology and the transmutation of metals. 

From his satirical works we see that he looked through the follies
of his age with a penetrating eye--that he tolerated these follies
as an exoteric concession to the age in which he lived while he
condemned them in his own esoteric character of a religious
philosopher. Wishing to conciliate prejudices he does not forbear
to bait his scheme with these delusions; but in doing so he was
careful to let us know that they were mere collateral pursuits with
his society--the direct and main one being true philosophy and
religion.

That Andrea was the formulator of the foregoing ideas and the
producer of the three books, DeQuincey conclusively proves to
himself by the further fact that, "The armorial bearings of
Andrea's family were a St. Andrew's cross and four roses. By the
order of Rosy Cross, Andrea therefore, means an order founded by
himself."

DeQuincey, in a foot-note, refers to Bishop Myles Coverdale's
translation of the third "boke of the Kynges," the eighth chapter,
part of section C and all of D, which I quote in full.

"And Kynge Salomon sent to fetch one Hiram of Tyre a wedowes sonne,
of the trybe of Nephtali, and his father had bene a man of Tyre,
which was a connynge man in metall, full of wyszdome,
vnderstondinge and knowledge to worke all manner of metall worke.
When he came to Kynge Salomon, he made all his worke, and made two
brasen pilers, ether of them eightene cubites hye; and a threde of
xij cubites was the measure aboute both of ye pilers; and he made
two knoppes of brasse molten, to set above vpon the pilers: and
every knoppe was fyve cubytes hye; and on every knoppe above vpon
ye pilers seue wrythen ropes like cheynes. And vpon every knoppe he
made two rowes of pomgranates rounde aboute on one rope, wherwith
ye knoppe was covered. And the knoppes were like roses before ye
porche foure cubites greate. And the pomgranates in the rowes
rounde aboute were two hudreth aboue and beneth vpon the rope,
which wete rounde aboute the thickness of the knoppe, on euery
knoppe vpon both the pilers. And set vp the pilers before the
porche of the temple. And that which he set on the right hande,
called he Iachin: and that which he set on the lefte hande, called
he Boos. And so stode it aboue vpon the pilers euen like roses.
Thus was the worke of ye pilers fynished."

A comparison of this translation with part of our Fellow Craft
lecture should prove interesting.

The sensation which was produced throughout Germany by the works in
question is not only evidenced by the repeated editions of them
which appeared between 1614 and 1617, but still more by the
prodigious commotion which followed in the literary world. In the
library at Gottingen there is a collection of letters written
between these dates and addressed to the imaginary order of Father
Rosycross by persons offering themselves as members. These letters
are filled with complimentary expressions of the highest respect
and are all printed--the writers alleging that, being unacquainted
with the address of the society, they could not send them through
any other than the public channel.

Other literary persons forebore to write letters to the society but
threw out small pamphlets containing their opinions of the order
and its place of residence. Each successive writer pretended to be
better informed on that point than all his predecessors. Quarrels
arose; partisans started up on all sides; the uproar and confusion
became indescribable; cries of heresy and atheism resounded from
every side; some were calling for the secular power; and the more
coyly the invisible society retreated from the public advances, so
much the more eager and amorous were its admirers--and so much the
more bloodthirsty its antagonists.

Meantime there were some who, from the beginning, had escaped the
general delusion, and there were many who had gradually recovered
from it. It was also generally observed, that of the many printed
letters to the society, none had been answered, and all attempts to
penetrate the darkness in which the order was shrouded by its
unknown memorialist were successfully baffled. Naturally a
suspicion arose that some bad designs lurked under the ostensible
purposes of these mysterious publications. These suspicions were
strengthened by the many impostors who arose and advertised
themselves as Rosicrucians.

Upon the credit which they obtained by their pretended knowledge of
Alchemy they cheated great numbers of their money and others of
their health by panaceas. Three, in particular, made a great noise
at Wetzlar, at Nuremberg and at Augsburg. All were punished by the
magistracy, one lost his ears in running the gantlet and one was
hanged.

At this crisis a powerful writer came forward and attacked the
supposed order with much scorn and homely good sense. This man was
Andrew Libau. He exposed the impracticability of the meditated
reformation, the incredibility of the legend of Father Rosycross,
and the hollowness of the pretended science which they professed.
These writings might have led to the suppression of the Rosicrucian
books and pretensions; but this termination of the mania was
defeated by two circumstances: The first was the conduct of the
Paracelsists who, after vainly trying to press into the order,
proclaimed themselves the Rosicrucians. This distracted the public
and the uproar became greater than ever. The other circumstance was
the conduct of Andrea and his friends.

It is clear that Andrea enjoyed the confusion until he became
sensible that he had called up an apparition he could not lay. Well
knowing that in all the great crowd of aspirants, who were
clamorously knocking for admittance into the airy college of Father
Rosycross-- though one and all pretended to be enamoured of that
- mystic wisdom he had promised, yet by far the majority were
enamoured of that gold he had hinted at-- it is evident that his
satirical propensities were violently tickled. He, therefore, kept
up the hubbub of delusion by flinging out a couple of pamphlets
amongst the hungry crowd, which he thought ten(led to amuse them.

But in a few years Andrea was shocked to find that the further
delusion had taken root in the public mind.

There were other writers, too, who wrote with a sincere design to
countenance the notion of a pretended Rosicrucian society. Of these
there were four notables, namely: Julianas a Campis, Julius
Sperber, Radlich Brotoffer and most important of all--Michael
Maier. It was Maier who first transplanted Rosicrucianism into
England, where its effects were more lasting than in Germany. This
man was an extensive traveler and on his return to Germany became
acquainted with the fierce controversy on the Rosicrucian sect.
Unable to introduce himself into the society he set himself to
establish such an order by his own efforts and to do so published
a work in which DeQuincey claims to find the first traces of
Freemasonry. In the same year Maier published another book written
by Robert Fludd, a friend living in England. These books convinced
Andrea that his romance had succeeded in a way which he had never
designed. The public had accredited the charlatanerie of his books,
but gave no welcome to that for the sake of which the charlatanerie
was adopted as a vehicle. The alchemy had been approved, the moral
and religious scheme slighted. And societies were forming even
amongst the learned upon the basis of all that was false in the
system to the exclusion of all that was true. This was a spectacle
which he could no longer view in the light of a joke. The folly was
becoming too serious and Andrea set himself to counteract it with
all his powers.

For this purpose he published his Chemical Nuptials of Christian
Rosycross. This was a comic romance of extraordinary talent in
which the Paracelsists were invested with cap and bells.
Unfortunately for the purpose of Andrea this romance, too, was
swallowed by the public as a true and serious history. Upon this he
published a series of satirical dialogues in which he more openly
unveiled his true design. In this his efforts were seconded by
those of his friends, especially Irenaeus, Agnostus and John Val.
Alberti under the name of Menapius.

Soon after this a learned foreigner placed the Rosicrucians in a
still more ludicrous light by showing that the first of the
Rosicrucian books (the Universal Reformation) was nothing more than
a literal translation, word for word, of the Parnasso of Boccalini.
As a result of this ridicule and satire, no regular lodge of
Rosicrucians was ever believed to have been established in Germany.
Thus DeQuincey claims to have traced Rosicrucianism from its birth
in Germany and then undertakes to prove that it was transplanted to
England where, in a modified form, it has since flourished under
the name of Freemasonry.

At the beginning of the seventeenth century many learned heads in
England were occupied with Theosophy, Cabbalism and Alchemy. Among
these was Robert Fludd. It was he, no doubt, who in 1629 wrote
"Summum Bonum" and must be considered as the immediate father of
Freemasonry as Andrea was its remote father.

It is not recorded how Fludd secured his first acquaintance with
Rosicrucianism but it is probable that he acquired it from his
friend Maier with whom he corresponded after the latter left
England. At all events he must have been interested in
Rosicrucianism at an early period for he published an apology for
it in 1617.

The first question which naturally arises is why Fludd dropped the
name of Rosicrucian. The reason in brief was this. His apology for
the Rosicrucians was attacked by the celebrated Father Mersenne. To
this Fludd replied in two witty but coarse books entitled "Summum
Bonum" and "Sophiae cum Moria certamen." In answer to the question,
"Where the Rosicrucians resided," Fludd replied: "In the house of
God, where Christ is the corner stone." Then he explained the
symbols of the Rose and the Cross in a new sense, as meaning the
cross sprinkled with the rosy blood of Christ.

Mersenne, being no match for Fludd, Gassendi, in 1630, published a
rejoinder in which he analyzed and ridiculed Fludd's principles in
general and in particular reproached him for his belief in the
highly romantic legend of the Rosicrucians.

Fludd was hard pressed under his conscious inability to assign
their place of abode and in 1633, in his answer to Gassendi, evaded
the question by formally withdrawing the name Rosicrucian.

Here, then, we have the negative question answered--why and when
they ceased to be called Rosicrucians. But now comes the second of
affirmative question--why and when did they become known as
Freemasons? We have seen how in 1633 the old name was abolished,
but as yet no new name was substituted. In default of such a name
they were known under the general term of wise men. This, however,
was too vague and the immediate hint for the name "Masons" was
derived from the legend contained in the Fama Fraternitatis, of the
House of The Holy Ghost.

"Where and what was that house?" This had been a subject of much
speculation in Germany; and many had been simple enough to
understand the expression to mean a literal house and had inquired
of it up and down the empire. Andrea, however, had made it
impossible to understand it in any other than an allegorical sense
by describing it as a building which would remain invisible to the
godless world forever. This building, in fact, represented the
purpose or object of the Rosicrucians. And what was that ?

To know the secret wisdom, or, in their language, magic--that is:
first, Philosophy of nature or occult knowledge of the works of
God; second, Theology, or the occult knowledge of God himself;
third, Religion, or God's occult intercourse with the spirit of
man, which they imagined to have been handed down from Adam through
the Cabbalists to themselves. The Rosicrucians distinguished
between a carnal and a spiritual knowledge of this magic. The
spiritual knowledge was the business of Christianity and was
symbolized by Christ himself as a rock and as a building of which
he is the head and foundation.


What rock and what building ?" says Fludd.

"A spiritual rock, and a building of human nature in which men are
the stones and Christ the corner stone."

"But how shall stones move and arrange themselves into a building?"

"They must become living stones," says Fludd.

"But what is a living stone ?"

"A living stone is a Mason who builds himself up into the wall as
a part of the temple of human nature."

In these passages we see the rise of the allegorical name of
Masons. The society was, therefore, a Masonic society in order to
represent typically that temple of the Holy Ghost which it was
their business to erect in the spirit of man.

This temple was the abstract of the doctrine of Christ, who was the
Grand Master--hence the light from the East, of which so much is
said in Rosicrucian and Masonic books. St. John was the beloved
disciple of Christ--hence the solemn celebration of his festival.

Having, moreover, adopted the attributes of Masonry as the
figurative expression of their objects the Freemasons were led to
attend more minutely to the legends and history of the building
art. In these again they found an occult analogy with their own
relations to the Christian wisdom.

The first great event in the art of Masonry was the building of the
Tower of Babel. This figuratively expressed the attempt of some
unknown Mason to build the temple of the Holy Ghost in anticipation
of Christianity. This attempt, however, had been confounded by the
vanity of the builders.

The building of King Solomon's Temple was the second great incident
in the art and this had an obvious meaning as a prefiguration of
Christianity.

Hiram--which name was understood by the elder Freemasons as an
anagram: H.I.R.A.M., meant Homo Jesus Redemptor Animarum--was
simply the architect of this building to the real professors of the
art of building. To the English Rosicrucians or Freemasons he was
a type of Christ, and the legend of the Masons, which represented
this Hiram as having been murdered by his fellow workmen, made the
type still more striking.

The two pillars, Jachin and Boaz (strength and power) also, which
were among the memorable singularities of Solomon's temple, had a
symbolic interest to the English Rosicrucians in the attributes,
incidents and legends of the art exercised by the literal Masons
and enabled them to realize the symbols of their own allegories.
Then, too, the same building which accommodated the gild of
builders in their professional meetings, offered a desirable means
for holding the secret assemblies of the early Freemasons. An
assortment of implements and utensils such as were presented in the
fabulous sepulchre of Father Rosycross were here actually brought
together.

Accordingly it is upon record that the first formal and solemn
lodge of Freemasons on occasion of which the name of Freemasons was
first publicly made known, was held in Mason's Hall, Mason's Alley,
Basinghall Street in London in the year 1646. Into this lodge it
was that Ashmole, the antiquary, was admitted, and Ashmole, from
his writings, appears to have been a zealous Rosicrucian.

DeQuincey then sums up the results of his inquiry into the origin
and nature of Freemasonry, as follows:

First: The original Freemasons were a society that arose out of the
Rosicrucian mania, certainly within the thirteen years from 1633 to
1646 and probably between 1633 and 1640. Their object was magic in
the cabbalistic sense--that is--the occult wisdom transmitted from
the beginning of the world and matured in Christ; to communicate
this when they had it--to search for it when they had it not; and
both under an oath of secrecy.

Second: This object of Freemasonry was represented under the form
of Solomon's Temple--as a type of the true church whose cornerstone
was Christ.

This temple was to be built of men, or living stones, and the true
method and art of building with men it is the province of magic to
teach.

Hence it is that all the Masonic symbols either refer to Solomon's
Temple, or are figurative modes of expressing the ideas and
doctrines of magic in the sense of the Rosicrucians and their
mystical predecessors in general.

Third: The Freemasons having once adopted symbols, etc., from the
art of masonry, to which they were led by the language of
Scripture, went on to connect themselves in a certain degree with
the order of handicraft masons and adopted their distribution of
members into apprentices, journeymen and masters. Christ, to them,
was the Grand Master who was put to death whilst laying the
foundation of the temple of human nature.

IF ALL THE WORLD WERE SMILING

If all the world were smiling, wouldn't everything be fine?
Wouldn't you and I just drop that frown and try to get in line ?
Hate, envy, fear and trouble would have to go away,
Because if everyone were smiling, they simply couldn't stay.
The next time you walk down the street, just simply wear a smile,
For frowns are bad, they make you sad,
And smiles are good, they make you glad, 
The only thing worth while.

Whenever you have a thing to do, do it with a smile, 
For after all we're only here for just a little while. 
And while we're here let's make the world just look at us and say:
"If everyone would work that way, wouldn't this old world be gay,
And everyone be satisfied, and trouble pass away?"

If all the world were smiling, and trying to be gay,
It would get to be a fashion, and a fashion that would stay.
When you whistle and smile trouble moves along,
For it simply can't remain where everything's a song.
So everything you have to do, just do it with a smile.
Just make this world a pleasure park, a place to live worthwhile.
--Eugene Littlefield.
