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Great Theosophists - The Rosicrucians
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[link to www.wisdomworld.org]
THEOSOPHY, Vol. 26, No. 7, May, 1938
(Pages 290-296; Size: 20K)
(Number 22 of a 29-part series)
GREAT THEOSOPHISTS
THE ROSICRUCIANS
AN old Persian proverb says, "The darker the sky, the brighter the stars will shine." Perhaps the very darkness of the European firmament during the Middle Ages caused that mysterious Fraternity known as the Brothers of the Rosy Cross to shine, by contrast, with such startling brilliance. The fame of the Rosicrucians, which persists up to the present day, was not due to any desire on their part to dazzle the world with the splendor of their knowledge. They built no colleges, reared no temples, never claimed position as leaders of men. Impersonality was their watchword, and their motto had descended to them from one of their Gnostic predecessors: "Learn to know all, but keep thyself unknown." This does not mean that the Brothers of the Rosy Cross kept themselves aloof from the world. On the contrary, they mingled freely with all classes of men, submitted to all the ordinary obligations of life, obeyed the laws of their respective countries and were considered as excellent citizens, their only secrecy being in regard to their own extraordinary knowledge and powers.
Who were the Rosicrucians? Did they spring, like Minerva, full-fledged from the brain of Jove, without any visible line of descent? Such is not the history of any truly occult organization, and the Rosicrucians were no exception to the rule. The actual origin of the Order, said H. P. Blavatsky, may be ascertained by any earnest, sincere student of Occultism who goes to Asia Minor and contacts some of the Brotherhood, if he is able to decipher a Rosicrucian manuscript which is carefully preserved in the very Lodge founded by the first Kabalist calling himself a Rosicrucian, but which now goes under another name.
The existence of the Fraternity first came into public notice in the year 1614, when a small Latin pamphlet known as the Fama Fraternitatis was published in Germany, describing the foundation and aims of the Order. The first English translation of this pamphlet was made by Thomas Vaughan (Eugenius Philalethes) in 1652. It contained the story of Christian Rosencreuz, a poor but noble Knight who was born in Germany in 1358. As the result of a vow taken in his early youth, the young man started out on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. While living in Asia Minor he learned Arabic, studied with several Arabian alchemists and translated an important occult document into Latin. On his way home he stopped in Spain, where he tried to interest some of the more intellectual Moors in his occult doctrines. Failing in this, he returned to his native Germany where he assumed the mystical name of Christian Rosencreuz, or Christian Rosy-Cross. He soon attracted a group of disciples and together they built a Lodge which they called the "House of the Holy Spirit." At the end of five years Rosencrenz selected three of his most promising pupils and bound them by an oath not to reveal the secrets he was to impart. Later four other men joined the group, these eight men forming the original nucleus of the European Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross. The number eight had a peculiar mystical significance with the Rosicrucians, as is seen in their symbol of the Pelican tearing open its breast to feed its seven little ones. This purely Eastern symbol represents the idea of a universal matrix, figured by the primordial waters of the deep, from which issues the Logos(1), containing in itself the other seven procreative rays or powers.
In preparation for their future work, these eight men formulated a secret cipher language and compiled a dictionary in which all forms of wisdom were classified. When the time arrived for them to separate and begin the promulgation of their teachings, they bound themselves to observe six rules:
1. To make no public profession of superior knowledge, and to heal the sick free of charge.
2. To wear no special garment, but to dress according to the custom of the country in which they lived.
3. To return to the House of the Holy Spirit on a certain day each year, for the purpose of mutual help and instruction.
4. To seek for a worthy person to succeed each member.
5. To adopt the letters R.C. as their sign and mark.
6. To keep the existence of the Fraternity a secret for a period of one hundred years.
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