The Complex Art of Rosie

Who and what were the Rosicrucians?

The questions which present themselves on the threshold of this enquiry are:-Who and what were the Rosicrucians? When and where did they flourish, and what influence did any peculiar tenets they may have held, or practices they may have indulged in, exercise upon the world? We shall endeavour to answer these queries as distinctly as so mysterious and extravagant a subject will allow of, and illustrate the whole by copious extracts from the writings of recognized leaders and disciples.

Comparatively very little is known about these people; and, if we open any of our works of general reference, such as dictionaries and encyclop?dias, we find little more than a bare reminder that they were a mystic sect to be found in a few European countries about the middle of the fifteenth century. That such a sect did exist is beyond question, and the opinion that what is left of it exists at the present time in connection with modern Freemasonry, seems not altogether destitute of foundation.

They appear to have a close connection with the Alchemists; springing into existence as a distinct body when those enthusiastic seekers after the power of transmuting the baser into the nobler metals were creating unusual sensation. Somewhere about the end of the fifteenth century, a Dutch pilot named Haussen, had the misfortune to be shipwrecked off the coast of Scotland. The vessel was lost, but Haussen was saved by a Scotch gentleman, one Alexander Seton, who put off in a boat and brought the drowning mariner to land. A warm friendship sprang up between the two, and, about eighteen months after, Seton went to Holland, and paid a visit to the man whom he had rescued. During this visit he informed the Dutchman that he was in possession of the secret of the philosopher's stone, and report says that in his presence he actually transmuted large quantities of base metal into the finest gold, which he left with him as a present. Seton in due course took leave of his friend, and prosecuted his travels through various parts of the continent. He made no attempt to conceal the possession of his boasted secret, but openly talked of it wherever he went and performed certain experiments, which he persuaded the people were actual transmutations of base metal into gold. Unfortunately for him, the Duke of Saxony heard the report of these wonders, and immediately had him arrested and put to the torture of the rack to extract from him the precious secret, or to compel him at least to use it in his especial service. All was in vain, however, the secret, if such he really possessed, remained locked up in his own breast, and he lay for months in prison subjected to treatment which reduced him to mere skin and bone, and well nigh killed him. A Pole, named Sendivogius, also an alchemist, an enthusiast like the rest of the fraternity, who had spent time and fortune in the wild and profitless search, then came upon the scene. The sufferings of Seton aroused his sympathy, and he resolved to bring about, if possible, his escape from the tyrant. After experiencing a deal of difficulty he obtained permission to visit the prisoner, whom he found in a dark and filthy dungeon, in a condition well nigh verging upon absolute starvation. He immediately acquainted the unhappy man with his proposals, which were listened to with the greatest eagerness, and Seton declared that, if he succeeded in securing his liberation, he would make him one of the wealthiest of living men. Sendivogius then set about his really difficult task; and, with a view to its accomplishment, commenced a curious and artful series of movements. His first move was to procure some ready money, which he did by the sale of some property near Cracow. With this he began to lead a gay and somewhat dissipated life at Dresden; giving splendid banquets, to which he invited the officers of the guard, particularly selecting those who were on duty at the prison. In the course of time his hospitality had its expected effect; he entirely won the confidence of the officials, and pretending that he was endeavouring to overcome the obstinacy of the captive, and worm out his secret, was allowed free access to him. It was at last resolved upon a certain day to make the attempt at escape; and, having sent the guard to sleep by means of some drugged wine, he assisted Seton over a wall, and led him to a post-chaise, which he had conveniently waiting, to convey him into Poland. In the vehicle Seton found his wife awaiting him, having with her a packet of black powder, which was said to be the philosopher's stone by which iron and copper could be transmuted into gold. They all reached Cracow in safety, but Seton's sufferings had been so severe, and had so reduced his physical strength, that he did not survive many months. He died about 1603 or 1604, leaving behind him a number of works marked Cosmopolite. Soon after his death Sendivogius married the widow; and, according to the accounts which have come down to us, was soon initiated into the methods of turning the commoner metals into the finer. With the black powder, we are told, he converted great quantities of quicksilver into the purest gold, and that he did this in the presence of the Emperor Rudolph II. at Prague, who, in commemoration of the fact, caused a marble tablet with an inscription to be fixed in the wall of the room where the experiment was performed. Whether the experiment was a cheat or not, the tablet was really fixed in the said wall, and was seen and described by Desnoyens, secretary to the Princess Mary of Gonzaga, Queen of Poland, in 1651.

Rudolph, the Emperor, seems to have been perfectly satisfied with the success of the alchymist, and would have heaped the loftiest honours upon him had he been disposed to accept of them; this, however, did not accord with his inclination; he, it is said, preferred his liberty, and went to reside on his estate at Gravarna, where he kept open house for all who responded to his invitations. His biographer, Brodowski, who was also his steward, insists, contrary to other writers, that the magic powder was red and not black; that he kept it in a box of gold, and that with one grain of it he could make a hundred ducats, or a thousand rix dollars, generally using quicksilver as the basis of his operations. When travelling this box was carried by the steward, who hung it round his neck by a golden chain; the principal part of the powder, however, was hidden in a secret place cut in the step of his chariot; this being deemed a secure place in the event of being attacked by robbers. He appears to have lived in constant fear of being robbed, and resorted to all manner of precautions to secure his treasure when on a journey; for it is said that he was well known as the possessor of this philosopher's stone, and that many adventurers were on the watch for any opportunity to rob him.

Brodowski relates that a German prince once served him a scurvy trick, which ever afterwards put him on his guard. The prince was so anxious to see the wonderful experiments, of which he had heard so much, that he actually fell upon his knees before the alchymist, when entreating him to perform in his presence. Sendivogius, after much pressing, allowed his objections to be overcome; and, upon the promise of secrecy by the prince, showed him what he was so anxious to witness. No sooner, however, had the alchymist left, than the prince entered into a conspiracy with another alchymist, named Muhlenfels, for robbing Sendivogius of the powder he used in his operations. Accompanied by twelve armed attendants, Muhlenfels hastened after Sendivogius, and overtaking him at a lonely inn, where he had stopped to dine, forcibly took from him his golden box containing a little of the powder; a manuscript book on the philosopher's stone; a golden medal, with its chain, presented to him by the Emperor Rudolph; and a rich cap, ornamented with diamonds, of the value of one hundred thousand rix-dollars.

Sendivogius was not at all disposed to put up with such treatment without an effort to obtain redress, so he went at once to Prague, and laid his complaint before the Emperor. The Emperor at once sent an express to the prince, ordering him to deliver up Muhlenfels and his plunder. Alarmed at the aspect that things were now assuming, the prince, treacherous to one man as he had been to the other, erected gallows in his courtyard and hanged Muhlenfels with a thief on either side of him. He sent back the jewelled hat, the medal and chain, and the book in manuscript; the powder, he said, he knew nothing of.

Sendivogius now adopted a different mode of living altogether to that which he had formerly been addicted to; he pretended to be excessively poor, and would sometimes keep his bed for weeks together, to make the people conclude it was impossible for him to be the owner of the philosopher's stone. He died in the year 1636, upwards of eighty, and was buried at Gravarna.

Now, it is commonly held by most people, who have studied the subject, that there is a close and intimate connection between the Alchymists and the Rosicrucians; probably this is true, and a perusal of the works of John Heydon, and others of a similar character, will deepen the impression. It was, indeed, during the life of Sendivogius that the Rosicrucians first began to make a mark in Europe, and cause anything approaching to a sensation. A modern writer says:-"The influence which they exercised upon opinion during their brief career, and the permanent impression which they have left upon European literature, claim for them especial notice. Before their time alchemy was but a grovelling delusion; and theirs is the merit of having spiritualised and refined it. They also enlarged its sphere, and supposed the possession of the philosopher's stone to be, not only the means of wealth, but of health and happiness, and the instrument by which man could command the services of superior beings, control the elements to his will, defy the obstructions of time and space, and acquire the most intimate knowledge of all the secrets of the universe."[1]

It is a fact well known to all well-informed readers, that at this time the European continent was saturated with the most degrading superstitions. Devils were supposed to walk the earth, and to mingle in the affairs of men; evil spirits, in the opinion even of the wise and learned, were thought to be at the call of any one who would summon them with the proper formalities; and witches were daily burned in all the capitals of Europe. The new sect taught a doctrine less repulsive. They sprang up in Germany, extended with some success to France and England, and excited many angry controversies. Though as far astray in their notions as the Demonologists and witch believers, the creed was more graceful. They taught that the elements swarmed not with hideous, foul and revengeful spirits, but with beautiful creatures, more ready to do man service than to inflict injury. They taught that the earth was inhabited by Gnomes, the air by Sylphs, the fire by Salamanders, and the water by Nymphs or Undines; and that man, by his communication with them, might learn the secrets of nature, and discover all those things which had puzzled philosophers for ages-Perpetual Motion, the Elixir of Life, the Philosopher's Stone, and the Essence of Invisibility.

Respecting the origin and signification of the term Rosicrucian different opinions have been held and expressed. Some have thought it was made up of rosa and crux (a rose and a cross) but it is maintained by others upon apparently good authority, that it is a compound of ros (dew) and crux (cross). Mosheim contends that it is abundantly attested that the title of Rosicrucians was given to the chemists who united the study of religion with the search after chemical secrets, the term itself being chemical, and not to be understood without a knowledge of the style used by the chemists. We shall give some extracts from very old Rosicrucian works presently which will enlighten our readers in such matters.

A cross in the language of the fire philosophers is the same as Lux (light), because the figure of a + exhibits all the three letters of the word Lux at one view. Moreover, this sect applied the term Lux to the seed or menstruum of the Red Dragon, or to that crude and corporeal light which, being properly concocted and digested, produces gold. A Rosicrucian, therefore, is a philosopher who, by means of dew seeks for light-that is, for the substance of the philosopher's stone.

Mosheim declares the other interpretations of this name to be false and deceptive, being the inventions of the chemists themselves, who were exceedingly fond of concealment, for the sake of imposing on others who were hostile to their religious views. The true import of this title, he says, was perceived by the sagacity of Peter Gassendi, Examen Philosophi? Fluddan?, sec. 15, in his Opp. iii, 261; though it was more lucidly explained by the celebrated French physician Eusebius Renaudot, Conférences Publiques, iv. 87.

In 1619 Dr. Jo. Valentine Andre?, a celebrated Lutheran divine, published his Tower of Babel, or Chaos of Opinions respecting the Fraternity of the Rosy-Cross, in which he represents the whole history as a farce, and gave intimations that he was himself concerned in getting it up.

Brucker says to the class of Theosophists has been commonly referred the entire society of Rosicrucians, which, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, made so much noise in the ecclesiastical and literary world. The history of this society, which is attended with some obscurity, seems to be as follows:-"Its origin is referred to a certain German, whose name was Rosencreuz who, in the fourteenth century, visited the Holy Sepulchre; and, in travelling through Asia and Africa, made himself acquainted with many Oriental secrets; and who, after his return, instituted a small fraternity, to whom he communicated the mysteries he had learned, under an oath of inviolable secrecy. This society remained concealed till the beginning of the seventeenth century, when two books were published, the one entitled, Fama Fraternitatis laudabilis Ordinis Ros?crusis: "The report of the laudable Fraternity of Rosicrucians;" the other, Confessio Fraternitatis, "The Confession of the Fraternity." In these books the world was informed that this fraternity was enabled, by Divine revelation, to explain the most important secrets, both of nature and grace; that they were appointed to correct the errors of the learned world, particularly in philosophy and medicine; that they were possessed of the philosopher's stone, and understood both the art of transmuting metals and of prolonging human life; and, in fine, by their means the golden age would return. As soon as these grand secrets were divulged, the whole tribe of the Paracelsists, Theosophists and Chemists flocked to the Rosicrucian standard, and every new and unheard-of mystery was referred to this fraternity. It is impossible to relate how much noise this wonderful discovery made, or what different opinions were formed concerning it. After all, though the laws and statutes of the society had appeared, no one could tell where the society itself was to be found, or who really belonged to it. It was imagined by some sagacious observers, that a certain important meaning was concealed under the story of the Rosicrucian fraternity, though they were wholly unable to say what it was. One conjectured that some chemical mystery lay hid behind the allegorical tale; another supposed that it foretold some great ecclesiastical revolution. At last Michael Breler, in the year 1620, had the courage publicly to declare that he certainly knew the whole story to have been the contrivance of some ingenious persons who chose to amuse themselves by imposing upon the public credulity. This declaration raised a general suspicion against the whole story; and, as no one undertook to contradict it, this wonderful society daily vanished, and the rumours, which had been spread concerning it, ceased. The whole was probably a contrivance to ridicule the pretenders to secret wisdom and wonderful power, particularly the chemists, who boasted that they were possessed of the philosopher's stone. It has been conjectured-and the satirical turn of his writings, and several particular passages in his works, favour the conjecture-that this farce was invented and performed, in part at least, by John Valentine Andrea of Wartenburg."[2]

Pope, in the dedication of his Rape of the Lock to Mrs. Arabella Fermor, wrote:-"I know how disagreeable it is to make use of hard words before a lady; but it is so much the concern of a poet to have his works understood-and particularly by your sex-that you must give me leave to explain two or three difficult terms.

"The Rosicrucians are a people I must bring you acquainted with. The best account I know of them is in a French book called Le Comte de Gabalis, which, both in its title and size, is so like a novel, that many of the fair sex have read it for one by mistake. According to these gentlemen, the four elements are inhabited by spirits, which they call sylphs, gnomes, nymphs and salamanders. The gnomes, or demons of earth, delight in mischief; but the sylphs, whose habitation is in the air, are the best conditioned creatures imaginable; for they say any mortals may enjoy the most intimate familiarities with these gentle spirits, upon a condition very easy to all true adepts, an inviolate preservation of chastity."

On the lines (verse 20, canto 1):-

"Belinda still her downy pillow prest,

Her guardian sylph prolonged the balmy rest."

in Pope's Rape of the Lock, Warburton thus comments:-

"When Mr. Pope had projected to give the Rape of the Lock its present form of a mock-heroic poem, he was obliged to find it with its machinery. For, as the subject of the Epic consists of two parts, the metaphysical and the civil; so this mock epic, which is of the satiric kind, and receives its grace from a ludicrous mimicry of other's pomp and solemnity, was to have the like compounded nature. And as the civil part is intentionally debased by the choice of a trifling action; so should the metaphysical by the application of some very extravagant system. A rule which, though neither Boileau nor Garth had been careful enough to attend to, our author's good sense would not suffer him to overlook. And that sort of machinery which his judgment informed him was only fit for use, his admirable invention soon supplied. There was but one systematic extravagance in all nature which was to his purpose, the Rosicrucian Philosophy; and this by the effort of a well-directed imagination, he presently seized. The fanatic Alchemists, in the search after the great secret, had invented a means altogether to their end: it was a kind of Theological Philosophy, made up in a mixture of almost equal parts of Pagan Platonism, Christian Quietism and the Jewish Cabbala; a mixture monstrous enough to frighten reason from human commerce. This system, he tells us, he took as he found it in a little French tract called, La Comte de Gabalis. This book is written in dialogue, and is a delicate and very ingenious piece of raillery on that invisible sect by the Abbé Villiers; the strange stories that went about of the feats and adventures of their adepts making, at that time, a great deal of noise at Paris. But, as in this satirical dialogue, Mr. P. found several whimsies of a very high mysterious nature, told of their elementary beings, which were unfit to come into the machinery of such a sort of poem, he has, in their stead, with great judgment, substituted the legendary stories of Guardian Angels, and the nursery tales of the Fairies, and dexterously accommodated them to the rest of the Rosicrucian System. And to this artful address (unless we will be so uncharitable to think he intended to give a needless scandal) we must suppose he referred in these two lines,

"If e'er one Vision touch'd thy infant thought,

Of all the nurse and all the priest have taught."

Thus, by the most beautiful invention imaginable, he has contrived that (as in the serious Epic, the popular belief supports the machinery) in his mock Epic the machinery (taken from a circumstance the most humbling to reason in all philosophical fanaticism) should serve to dismount learned pride and arrogance."