Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Consecration Of The Mark Excelsior Lodge, No. 359, Liverpool.
brethren , whether in every day life or in Masonry , be of the right stamp , do not give way to despair , even though for a time it be misunderstood , depreciated , or unnoticed . Remember the old proverb , a proverb in which I fully believe , to the effect that most things—I would not say all things , but that most things—are possible to him who knows how to wait . While waiting you must not fold your arms and do nothing ; you must not imagine that the prey you seek will drop , like an overripe pear , into your hands ; but while you waityou must work ; while your barque sails under the sunshine of prosperity and the sea of life is calm , do not be idle ; but make all ready for the storms of life
when they come , and depend upon it they will beat upon most of us sooner or later . Then when the waves and billows of disappointments , crosses , or losses threaten to overwhelm , you may be able , like the cork , to rise upon their crest , and be carried by them towards your wished for haven ; then you will not be as , alas ! it is with some — then you will not be like the lead , which sinks at once beneath the flood , or like the unprepared and ill-equipped ship , intended only to navigate the smoothest waters , and which founders perhaps in sight of the very place it was trying to reach . Having employed aright the time of waiting , when the opportunity comes
which will enable you to give effect to your desires , then you will be prepared and qualified to grasp it ; when there comes the full tide that leads to success , you will be ready to float upon it . Then as you look back upon your work from the solemn standpoint of the bedof death , you will see reason no longer to cry in agony : . " Alas ! alas ! my labour is lost ; " but the anthem of thanksgiving that will spring from your feeble and parched lips will be : " Thank God , I have marked well . " And when the soul has winged its flight to the Grand Lodge above , it may be said of you , as it is by Longfellow of " the youth who bore the strange device " after which this lodge is named : —
" There in the twilight , coid and gray , Lifeless , but beautiful , he lay ; And from the sky , serene and far , A voice fell like a falling star , Excelsior . "
The Analogy Between Magic, Alchemy, And Old Rosicrucianism.
THE ANALOGY BETWEEN MAGIC , ALCHEMY , AND OLD ROSICRUCIANISM .
AN ESSAY READ BEKORE THE ROSICRUCIAN SOCIETY OF ENGLAND , BY J COLLINSON , FRA . ROS . CR . It is a Masonic injunction that Craftsmen should inquire into the hidden mysteries of nature and science . By the term hidden mysteries of nature , so used , we may understand the system by which things were created and perpetuated ; the essences of the things created , their attributes , their constitution , species , and particular characteristics . By hidden mysteries of
science , in the same sense , is to be understood knowledge of the essences of created things ; knowledge of their attributes , capabilities , & c , derived from the indubitable evidence of the senses and of reason . While some persons take no interest whatever in such inquiries , there are others to whom the pursuit ( of hidden mysteries ) becomes an absorbing passion , and , in so far as such persons indulge in the pursuit , so far do they carry out one of the principles of Freemasonry . Only to persons of the second of these two classes are these words addressed .
We are carrying on legitimate Masonic research when we make inquiry into what is to be understood by such terms as magic , alchemy , and Rosicrucianism . The ardent inquirer , when one of the Masonic brotherhood , and not content , either with a belief that things are , or are not , as they
seem , tests , experiments , notes points of difference , and in drawing inferences therefrom , and in reducing the knowledge so gained to practice , complies with his initiatory instructions . Those who do not do so may be said to neglect one of the most interesting and useful pursuits within the capacity of the mind of man .
In the centuries long gone by , the thoughtful individual probably asked , why objects apparently similar , when acted upon in various ways , produced different effects . The primitive genius would notice that by the friction of two pieces of the branch of a tree , heat could in time be produced . The inquiry would follow , how , why , is this ? Not content with a simple knowledge of such being the case , the inquirer would desire to know whence the
heat came , and not finding it in one piece of branch alone , or in two pieces singly , would try to solve the problem thus suggested . It is not unreasonable to conclude that some such qualification for observation , matured and built up by experience , led in course of time to what is now called natural science , but in ancient times to what was termed magic , and later , alchemy .
Rosicrucianism being a comparatively recent manifestation of this innate spirit of inquiry in mankind than magic or alchemy , it may not here be out of place to give priority to a consideration of a few of the circumstances known of or accredited to the Rosicrucian Fraternity of the fifteenth century , and afterwards to state briefly a few of the distinctive features by which magic and alchemy are known to us .
The Rosicrucians had the benefit of much of the learning , the knowledge , the research , of their predecessors into the hidden sciences . They claimed to have received by tradition from the Egyptians , the Chaldeans , the magic and the Gymnosophists , from one , or all , a knowledge of a secret known , or described as , the Philosopher ' s Stone . They asserted ^ that by certain nostrums they could restore youth to those advanced in years , and protract the period of human life to an extent previously enjoyed by those
patriarchs mentioned in holy writ . They claimed to be conversant with all the erudition of their times . Those called adepts knew , or pretended to know , something of all the sciences not modern : astrology , magic , alchemy , zoology , cosmography , geography , and pharmacy , and philosophy as taught by Pythagoras , Aristotle , and others . The Arabs , too , contributed to their lore . The Arabs were in particular skilled in the knowledge best described as occult .
The term Old Rosicrucian renders it necessary to state that the first members of the Order were brought together by a German nobleman , who , in the fourteenth century , after travelling for a protracted period in the East , returned to his native land , and there established the Rosicrucian Fraternity . This Fraternity at first consisted of only a few persons ; so few , that they were enabled to live together in one house , built for their especial use .
After the death of the founder , the Society was replenished , in conformity with the injunctions he had given , and successive new men were admitted . This is what the encyclopaedias tell us . It is interesting to notice the word successive , because it leads us to infer that the number was continuousl y limited , and that new men were only admitted as successors to such as were deceased .
This Fraternity existed in silence and obscurity for 120 years ; a silence and obscurity insisted on by the founder , and rendered necessary by the antagonism of the Roman Church , which opposed itself to investigation and everything like scientific research . The prevailing belief of the time Was , as is well known , that the secrets of nature were obtainable only by a
The Analogy Between Magic, Alchemy, And Old Rosicrucianism.
compact with those powers of darkness to which the Church professed to be antagonistic . The Rosicrucians had various appellations . Their claim to be able to restore youth led to their being called Immortales . The unusual extent of their learning procured them the name Illuminati , and their self-imposed obscurity and persistent silence , so far as the outward world was concerned ,
brought them the title of the Invisible Brothers . They arc also said to have possessed the essence of invisibility , whatever that may have meant . Some named them Brothers of Concocted Dew , because the philosopher's stone , the secret of which they claimed to know , was said to be dew concocted and exalted . These appellations seem whimsical and fantastic ; but are
certainly instructive . Summarised , they lead us to infer that the Fraternity consisted of learned men , who knew how to be secret , who possessed the art of rendering themselves invisible to the outer world , who possessed the art of producing juvenesence , and were acquainted with the secret known as the philosopher ' s stone .
Of course , there is nothing new in this brief statement , and it is not intended that there should seem to be . This recapitulation of the generally accepted belief as to the history , the practices , distinctive characteristics , and powers of the Fraternity is not , however , it is fair to suppose , altogether out of place . It will refresh the memory of such as are well acquainted with the subject , and will not be thrown away in the case of such fratres as are not so familiar therewith . The ostensible intention of the Brotherhood is believed to be a general reform of mankind .
The alchemists had for their object the transmutation of the baser metals into gold and silver ; the discovery of a panacea , or universal remedy for diseases ; of an alkatest , or universal solvent , and many other matters of similar importance to the well-being of humanity . It is reasonable to suppose that by their genius and labours they laid the foundation of the old Rosicrucian Fraternity , and of modern chemistry .
They made discoveries under difficulties , of which we have no adequate conception . In the form of medicines and preparations , it is said , they left behind them enduring monuments of their skill . They , as previously stated , sought the power of transmuting all metals into gold ; nor were their desires unreasonable or illogical . By burning and roasting with intense ] heat , a dull , heavy , earthy body , they obtained a brilliant metal . By treating lead ore ,
a semi-metal , occupying a position between silver and mercury , closely allied to both in some of its reactions , they produced a perfectly metallic substance in the form of lead . They reasoned that gold and silver were pure forms of baser metals . They tried to discover the agent which could work such change . Following out their consequent trains of reasoning , they imagined that the great purifier of metals would , if discovered , play the same part
with the human subject , and purify it so effectually as to prolong life indefinitely . For this , the elixir of life , they toiled night and day , and were insatiable in the pursuit of any knowledge likely to bring them nearer the attainment of their purpose ; and magic , the art of putting into action the agency of supernatural beings , was believed to be used in aid of their pursuits .
The ancient magi , besides being fire-worshippers , engaged themselves in astrology , divination , sorcery , and other similar branches of the occult sciences . There is reason to believe that the knowledge of the powers of nature was , with the ancient magicians , much greater than moderns as a rule are willing to admit . No doubt the application of natural active causes to passive subjects produced many surprising , yet natural results , which by the igorant were looked upon and believed in as miracles , and produced
by the agency of spirits or by invisible powers , which led to the belief that magic was a pernicious and diabolical art . The first magicians are supposed to have believed in the existence of demons , and that different orders of spirits presided over different elements , as well as over persons and the affairs of men . Some people in the present day have a similar belief . Every disease flesh is heir to was supposed to be originated by some particular demon , and incantations and charms were used in order to drive out
the demoniacal influence where disease was known to be operating . The results of such incantations and charms , if any , were , broadly speaking , the results of magic . While such was the prevailing belief , the Rosicrucians thought that the elements swarmed , not with hideous revengeful spirits , but with creatures ready to do man service .
It might not accord with the taste of some were allusion to be made to any of the miracles of the Old or New Testaments as connected directly or indirectly with magic . It is therefore expedient to refrain from doing so at length , still , there is surely a point or line , even if imaginary , between miracle and magic to indicate where the one ceases and where the other begins .
Broadly speaking , we may say miracle is wrought by the aid of supernatural power . Magic represents the knowledge and skill possessed by some persons which produce effects very remote from the cause , and which are in essential particulars similar to miracles , but apparently devoid of spiritual agency . The changing of Aaron ' s rod into a serpent is very much like what is generally understood to be magic , or conjuring , for
magicians so-called did the same . The turning of the river-water into a semblance of blood may be counted as a miracle . The interpretation of dreams by Joseph and Daniel may be accepted as miracuous , because they ( Joseph and Daniel ) were not professedly magicians , but servants of the Most High . They were
above the suspicion to which the magicians were subjected , of imposture , and , being superior to them in their interpretations , were supposed to derive their power , not from the supernatural merely , but from the Supreme , the G . A . O . T . U . The Book of Esther reads like a tale in the "Arabian Nights . " Was Mordecai a magician ?
All persons of the classes . to which reference has been made sought what is now believed to be the unattainable . Magic attempted to reverse the ordinary laws of nature by the interposition of such laws as were exceptional or little known . Magic and alchemy aimed at securing unlimited powers
of self reward . Rosicrucianism proposed a large philanthropy . In short , the magician , the alchemist , the Rosicrucian , were professedly and practically seekers after knowled ge , to be applied for the benefit of themselves first , and then of the human race ; and , in the abstract , the great good of mankind .
In saying they sought what is now believed to be the unattainable it is not to be inferred that they did not attain their ends , at least in part . There are persons now who believe a reversal , not of the laws of nature , but of the phenomena produced by the operation of such laws , can be accomplished . They consider it possible to convert the intensity of winter into a season like summer , and then to restore the intensity of winter all within a comparatively short period of time . ( To be continued ) .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Consecration Of The Mark Excelsior Lodge, No. 359, Liverpool.
brethren , whether in every day life or in Masonry , be of the right stamp , do not give way to despair , even though for a time it be misunderstood , depreciated , or unnoticed . Remember the old proverb , a proverb in which I fully believe , to the effect that most things—I would not say all things , but that most things—are possible to him who knows how to wait . While waiting you must not fold your arms and do nothing ; you must not imagine that the prey you seek will drop , like an overripe pear , into your hands ; but while you waityou must work ; while your barque sails under the sunshine of prosperity and the sea of life is calm , do not be idle ; but make all ready for the storms of life
when they come , and depend upon it they will beat upon most of us sooner or later . Then when the waves and billows of disappointments , crosses , or losses threaten to overwhelm , you may be able , like the cork , to rise upon their crest , and be carried by them towards your wished for haven ; then you will not be as , alas ! it is with some — then you will not be like the lead , which sinks at once beneath the flood , or like the unprepared and ill-equipped ship , intended only to navigate the smoothest waters , and which founders perhaps in sight of the very place it was trying to reach . Having employed aright the time of waiting , when the opportunity comes
which will enable you to give effect to your desires , then you will be prepared and qualified to grasp it ; when there comes the full tide that leads to success , you will be ready to float upon it . Then as you look back upon your work from the solemn standpoint of the bedof death , you will see reason no longer to cry in agony : . " Alas ! alas ! my labour is lost ; " but the anthem of thanksgiving that will spring from your feeble and parched lips will be : " Thank God , I have marked well . " And when the soul has winged its flight to the Grand Lodge above , it may be said of you , as it is by Longfellow of " the youth who bore the strange device " after which this lodge is named : —
" There in the twilight , coid and gray , Lifeless , but beautiful , he lay ; And from the sky , serene and far , A voice fell like a falling star , Excelsior . "
The Analogy Between Magic, Alchemy, And Old Rosicrucianism.
THE ANALOGY BETWEEN MAGIC , ALCHEMY , AND OLD ROSICRUCIANISM .
AN ESSAY READ BEKORE THE ROSICRUCIAN SOCIETY OF ENGLAND , BY J COLLINSON , FRA . ROS . CR . It is a Masonic injunction that Craftsmen should inquire into the hidden mysteries of nature and science . By the term hidden mysteries of nature , so used , we may understand the system by which things were created and perpetuated ; the essences of the things created , their attributes , their constitution , species , and particular characteristics . By hidden mysteries of
science , in the same sense , is to be understood knowledge of the essences of created things ; knowledge of their attributes , capabilities , & c , derived from the indubitable evidence of the senses and of reason . While some persons take no interest whatever in such inquiries , there are others to whom the pursuit ( of hidden mysteries ) becomes an absorbing passion , and , in so far as such persons indulge in the pursuit , so far do they carry out one of the principles of Freemasonry . Only to persons of the second of these two classes are these words addressed .
We are carrying on legitimate Masonic research when we make inquiry into what is to be understood by such terms as magic , alchemy , and Rosicrucianism . The ardent inquirer , when one of the Masonic brotherhood , and not content , either with a belief that things are , or are not , as they
seem , tests , experiments , notes points of difference , and in drawing inferences therefrom , and in reducing the knowledge so gained to practice , complies with his initiatory instructions . Those who do not do so may be said to neglect one of the most interesting and useful pursuits within the capacity of the mind of man .
In the centuries long gone by , the thoughtful individual probably asked , why objects apparently similar , when acted upon in various ways , produced different effects . The primitive genius would notice that by the friction of two pieces of the branch of a tree , heat could in time be produced . The inquiry would follow , how , why , is this ? Not content with a simple knowledge of such being the case , the inquirer would desire to know whence the
heat came , and not finding it in one piece of branch alone , or in two pieces singly , would try to solve the problem thus suggested . It is not unreasonable to conclude that some such qualification for observation , matured and built up by experience , led in course of time to what is now called natural science , but in ancient times to what was termed magic , and later , alchemy .
Rosicrucianism being a comparatively recent manifestation of this innate spirit of inquiry in mankind than magic or alchemy , it may not here be out of place to give priority to a consideration of a few of the circumstances known of or accredited to the Rosicrucian Fraternity of the fifteenth century , and afterwards to state briefly a few of the distinctive features by which magic and alchemy are known to us .
The Rosicrucians had the benefit of much of the learning , the knowledge , the research , of their predecessors into the hidden sciences . They claimed to have received by tradition from the Egyptians , the Chaldeans , the magic and the Gymnosophists , from one , or all , a knowledge of a secret known , or described as , the Philosopher ' s Stone . They asserted ^ that by certain nostrums they could restore youth to those advanced in years , and protract the period of human life to an extent previously enjoyed by those
patriarchs mentioned in holy writ . They claimed to be conversant with all the erudition of their times . Those called adepts knew , or pretended to know , something of all the sciences not modern : astrology , magic , alchemy , zoology , cosmography , geography , and pharmacy , and philosophy as taught by Pythagoras , Aristotle , and others . The Arabs , too , contributed to their lore . The Arabs were in particular skilled in the knowledge best described as occult .
The term Old Rosicrucian renders it necessary to state that the first members of the Order were brought together by a German nobleman , who , in the fourteenth century , after travelling for a protracted period in the East , returned to his native land , and there established the Rosicrucian Fraternity . This Fraternity at first consisted of only a few persons ; so few , that they were enabled to live together in one house , built for their especial use .
After the death of the founder , the Society was replenished , in conformity with the injunctions he had given , and successive new men were admitted . This is what the encyclopaedias tell us . It is interesting to notice the word successive , because it leads us to infer that the number was continuousl y limited , and that new men were only admitted as successors to such as were deceased .
This Fraternity existed in silence and obscurity for 120 years ; a silence and obscurity insisted on by the founder , and rendered necessary by the antagonism of the Roman Church , which opposed itself to investigation and everything like scientific research . The prevailing belief of the time Was , as is well known , that the secrets of nature were obtainable only by a
The Analogy Between Magic, Alchemy, And Old Rosicrucianism.
compact with those powers of darkness to which the Church professed to be antagonistic . The Rosicrucians had various appellations . Their claim to be able to restore youth led to their being called Immortales . The unusual extent of their learning procured them the name Illuminati , and their self-imposed obscurity and persistent silence , so far as the outward world was concerned ,
brought them the title of the Invisible Brothers . They arc also said to have possessed the essence of invisibility , whatever that may have meant . Some named them Brothers of Concocted Dew , because the philosopher's stone , the secret of which they claimed to know , was said to be dew concocted and exalted . These appellations seem whimsical and fantastic ; but are
certainly instructive . Summarised , they lead us to infer that the Fraternity consisted of learned men , who knew how to be secret , who possessed the art of rendering themselves invisible to the outer world , who possessed the art of producing juvenesence , and were acquainted with the secret known as the philosopher ' s stone .
Of course , there is nothing new in this brief statement , and it is not intended that there should seem to be . This recapitulation of the generally accepted belief as to the history , the practices , distinctive characteristics , and powers of the Fraternity is not , however , it is fair to suppose , altogether out of place . It will refresh the memory of such as are well acquainted with the subject , and will not be thrown away in the case of such fratres as are not so familiar therewith . The ostensible intention of the Brotherhood is believed to be a general reform of mankind .
The alchemists had for their object the transmutation of the baser metals into gold and silver ; the discovery of a panacea , or universal remedy for diseases ; of an alkatest , or universal solvent , and many other matters of similar importance to the well-being of humanity . It is reasonable to suppose that by their genius and labours they laid the foundation of the old Rosicrucian Fraternity , and of modern chemistry .
They made discoveries under difficulties , of which we have no adequate conception . In the form of medicines and preparations , it is said , they left behind them enduring monuments of their skill . They , as previously stated , sought the power of transmuting all metals into gold ; nor were their desires unreasonable or illogical . By burning and roasting with intense ] heat , a dull , heavy , earthy body , they obtained a brilliant metal . By treating lead ore ,
a semi-metal , occupying a position between silver and mercury , closely allied to both in some of its reactions , they produced a perfectly metallic substance in the form of lead . They reasoned that gold and silver were pure forms of baser metals . They tried to discover the agent which could work such change . Following out their consequent trains of reasoning , they imagined that the great purifier of metals would , if discovered , play the same part
with the human subject , and purify it so effectually as to prolong life indefinitely . For this , the elixir of life , they toiled night and day , and were insatiable in the pursuit of any knowledge likely to bring them nearer the attainment of their purpose ; and magic , the art of putting into action the agency of supernatural beings , was believed to be used in aid of their pursuits .
The ancient magi , besides being fire-worshippers , engaged themselves in astrology , divination , sorcery , and other similar branches of the occult sciences . There is reason to believe that the knowledge of the powers of nature was , with the ancient magicians , much greater than moderns as a rule are willing to admit . No doubt the application of natural active causes to passive subjects produced many surprising , yet natural results , which by the igorant were looked upon and believed in as miracles , and produced
by the agency of spirits or by invisible powers , which led to the belief that magic was a pernicious and diabolical art . The first magicians are supposed to have believed in the existence of demons , and that different orders of spirits presided over different elements , as well as over persons and the affairs of men . Some people in the present day have a similar belief . Every disease flesh is heir to was supposed to be originated by some particular demon , and incantations and charms were used in order to drive out
the demoniacal influence where disease was known to be operating . The results of such incantations and charms , if any , were , broadly speaking , the results of magic . While such was the prevailing belief , the Rosicrucians thought that the elements swarmed , not with hideous revengeful spirits , but with creatures ready to do man service .
It might not accord with the taste of some were allusion to be made to any of the miracles of the Old or New Testaments as connected directly or indirectly with magic . It is therefore expedient to refrain from doing so at length , still , there is surely a point or line , even if imaginary , between miracle and magic to indicate where the one ceases and where the other begins .
Broadly speaking , we may say miracle is wrought by the aid of supernatural power . Magic represents the knowledge and skill possessed by some persons which produce effects very remote from the cause , and which are in essential particulars similar to miracles , but apparently devoid of spiritual agency . The changing of Aaron ' s rod into a serpent is very much like what is generally understood to be magic , or conjuring , for
magicians so-called did the same . The turning of the river-water into a semblance of blood may be counted as a miracle . The interpretation of dreams by Joseph and Daniel may be accepted as miracuous , because they ( Joseph and Daniel ) were not professedly magicians , but servants of the Most High . They were
above the suspicion to which the magicians were subjected , of imposture , and , being superior to them in their interpretations , were supposed to derive their power , not from the supernatural merely , but from the Supreme , the G . A . O . T . U . The Book of Esther reads like a tale in the "Arabian Nights . " Was Mordecai a magician ?
All persons of the classes . to which reference has been made sought what is now believed to be the unattainable . Magic attempted to reverse the ordinary laws of nature by the interposition of such laws as were exceptional or little known . Magic and alchemy aimed at securing unlimited powers
of self reward . Rosicrucianism proposed a large philanthropy . In short , the magician , the alchemist , the Rosicrucian , were professedly and practically seekers after knowled ge , to be applied for the benefit of themselves first , and then of the human race ; and , in the abstract , the great good of mankind .
In saying they sought what is now believed to be the unattainable it is not to be inferred that they did not attain their ends , at least in part . There are persons now who believe a reversal , not of the laws of nature , but of the phenomena produced by the operation of such laws , can be accomplished . They consider it possible to convert the intensity of winter into a season like summer , and then to restore the intensity of winter all within a comparatively short period of time . ( To be continued ) .