M. de Chaumont, at Paris. It had a

brief existence.
46. Order of the Roman Engle was established at Edinburgh, in 1784. Its ritual was in Latin.
47. Adoptive Rite, or, as it is some- times called, Androgynous Masonry, for the initiation of males and fe- males, was first established in France about 1730, under the title of Lodges of Adoption, which were, in consequence of their great popu- larity, recognized by and placed under the control of the Grand Orient in 1774. In America, there are several androgynous degrcvs, such as the Good Samaritan, the Heroine of Jericho, the Mason's Daughter, and the Order of the Eastern Star, the last of which is extensively propagated throughout the United States.
48. Order of the llluminati. A secret society, instituted in Bavaria, by Adam Weishaupt, in conjunction with several other men of high in- tellectual attainments, in 1776. It flourished for a brief period, and was suppressed in 1784, by order of the Bavarian Government.
ROSAIC RITE. One of the numerous Masonic forms which arose in Germany during the last century. Its author was a clergyman by the name of Rosa. Through the influence of Baron de Prinzen, it was extensively propa- gated, and continued to flourish until the superior popularity of the rite of Strict Observance threw it into the shade. 28
330 EOS.
ROSE. Harpocrates, the god of silence, was sometimes represented with a crown of roses; consequently, the rose is properly regarded as a symbol of silence and secrecy. The rose, cross, and pelican are the emblems of the Rose Croix degree. Ragon says, respecting the first two, that they were Egyptian symbols, the cross signifying immor- tality, and the rose secrecy, and hence they together mean the "secret of immortality." The rose has no reference to Christ. The theory that the Book of Canticles, in which the phrase "Rose of Sharon" is found, is an allegorical description of Christ and his Church, has long since been rejected by all well-instructed divines.
ROSE CROIX RECTIFIE. In the articles "Herodem" and " Prince of Rose Croix," the reader will find the tra- ditions which profess to give the history and origin of the degree of Rose Croix, which is the eighteenth of the series known as the Scotch Rite, Ancient and Accepted. It is an instructive and interesting grade, in many respects resembling the degree of the Royal Arch, of the York rite. But the form and dogma of this degree are such that it must be confined to those who profess the Christian religion. The Rose Croix revised (rectifie), on the contrary, is more comprehensive, and while it is overflowing with the positive spirit of Christianity, it is so constructed that men of all beliefs can receive it. As practiced in France, the cere- monies of reception are divided into three parts.
ROSY CROSS, BROTHERS OF. A secret society bearing this name became known in Europe at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Its object was the reformation of state, church, and individuals, and the study of philosophy and science. At that time alchemy occupied, in a large degree, the attention of the learned, and it is not strange that the Rosicrucians should follow the fashion of the age. It was pretended that the order was founded in the four- teenth century by a person named Christian Rosenkreuz, who was said to have lived long among the Brahmins, in Egypt, etc. ; but the real founder is believed to have been Andrea, a German scholar, of the latter part of the sixteenth century, whose object was to purify religion, which had been degraded by the scholastic philosophy. Others think that he only gave a new character to a society founded before him, by Agrippa von Neltesheim. Krause says that Andrea occupied himself from early youth with the plan of a secret society for the improvement of mankind. In 1 614 he pub- lished his famous "Reformation of the Whole Wide World," and "Fama Fraiernilatis." Christian enthusiasts and alche-
ROS. 331
mists considered tbe society, poetically described in those books, as one really existing; and thus Andrei} became the author of the later Rosicrucian fraternities, which extended over Europe and were even brought into connection with Freemasonry. Bailey, in his Dictionary, inclines to the opinion that Rosenkreuz was the real founder of the order. He says: "A German gentleman, educated in a monastery, having learned the languages, traveled to the Holy Land A. D. 1378, and being at Damascus, and falling sick, he had heard the conversation of some Arabs and other Oriental philosophers, by whom he is supposed to have been initiated into this mysterious art. At his return into Germany he formed a society, and communicated to its members the secrets he had brought with him out of the East, and died in 1484. They were a sect or cabal of hermetical philosophers, who bound themselves together by a solemn secret which they swore inviolably to observe, and obliged themselves, at their admission into the order, to a strict observance of certain established rules. They pretended to know all sciences, and especially medicine, of which they published themselves the restorers; they also claimed to be masters of important secrets, and, among others, that of the philosopher's stone ; all which they affirmed they had received by tradition from the ancient Egyptians, Chaldeans, Magi and Gymnoso- phists. They pretended to protract the period of human life, by means of certain nostrums, and even to restore youth. They are also called the Invisible Brothers, because they have made no appearance, but have kept themselves incog. for several years." Notwithstanding the flippant descrip- tion of Bailey, and the vile calumniations of Barruel, the Order of the Rosy Cross was eminently respectable, and its purposes praiseworthy. Its ideas, like those of the Illuminati were in advance of the age, and, however objectionable tc such advocates of political and religious despotism, as Rob- ison, Barruel, et aL, are precisely those principles which we, as a nation, have embodied in our institutions and laws, and of which we are justly proud. The Rosicrucians did fraternize with the Freemasons, and it was a very respect- able companionship. The twenty-eighth degree of Free- masonry must have been composed by Freemasons who were also members of the Order of the Rosy Cross. The ritual of the Rosicrucians had nine degrees: 1. Zelator; 2. Thericus; 3. Practicus; 4. Philosophus; 5. Adeptus Junior; 6. Adeptus Major ; 7. Adeptus Exemptus : 8. Magister ; 9. Magus. From this Order originated the " German," " Gold Rose-Croix," and also the " Asiatic Brothers." The Masonic degree of "Sovereign Prince of Rose-Croix" has no connection with the Rosicrucians.
332 ROT.
ROYAL ARCH. Sometimes, and more properly, called the HOLY ROYAL AUCH. The fourth of the series oi degrees conferred in a Royal Arch Chapter, and the seventh in grade known as the York rite, as practiced in the order wherever that rite is established. Dr. Oliver says that it is " a degree indescribably more august, sublime and important than any which precede it; and is, in fact, the summit and perfection of ancient Masonry. It impresses on our minds a belief in the being of God, without beginning of days or end of years, the great and incomprehensible Alpha and Omega, and reminds us of the reverence which is due to his Holy Name." The late distinguished brother, Salem Town, has left on record a brief summary of the symbolism inculcated in Capitular Masonry. " In advancing to the fourth degree," he says, "the good man is greatly encouraged to persevere in the ways of well-doing even to the end. He has a name which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it. if, there- fore, he be rejected, and cast forth among the rubbish of the world, he knows full well the Great Master Builder of the universe, having chosen and prepared him as a lively stone in that spii'itual building in the heavens, will bring him forth with triumph, while shouting grace, grace to his divine Redeemer. Hence opens the fifth degree, where he discovers his election to, and his glorified station in, the kingdom of his Father. Here he is taught how much the chosen ones are honored and esteemed by those on earth, who discover and appreciate the image of their common Lord. This image being engraven on his heart, he may look forward to those mansions above, where a higher and most exalted seat has been prepared for the faithful, from the foundation of the world. With these views the sixth degree is conferred, where the riches of divine grace are opened in boundless prospect. Every substantial good is clearly seen to be conferred through the great atoning sacrifice. In the seventh degree the good man is truly filled with heartfelt gratitude to his heavenly benefactor, for all those wonderful deliverances wrought out for him while journeying through the rugged paths of human life. Great has been his re- demption from the Egypt and Babylon of this world. * * * Such is the moral and religious instruction derived from the order of the Masonic degrees." This degree brings to light many important matters of great interest to the Craft, which were, for' the space of four hundred and seventy years, buried in darkness, and without a knowledge of which the Masonic character cannot be complete. The incidents on which the degree is founded, may, in part, be understood from the following brief statement: Soon after the close of Solomon's
ROY. 333
glorious reign, the kingdom of Jerusalem — the house ol David, was divided. Ten of the tribes separated themselves, and took the name of the kingdom of Israel, leaving the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to constitute the kingdom of Judah. Each of these two kingdoms suffered a distinct captivity. That of Israel is called the Assyrian, and that of Judah the Babylonish captivity; only in the latter captivity is our subject interested. The Jews being thus divided, in the reigns of Jehoiachin and Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Chaldees, then reigning at Babylon, with a large army, laid seige to Jerusalem, and after a severe struggle reduced it. He caused the city to be leveled to the ground, the royal palace to be burned, the temple pillaged, and the inhabitants carried captive to Babylon.* They remained in captivity for seventy years, or until the time of Cyrus, king of Persia, who, in the first year of his reign, issued his proclamation, which liberated the Hebrew captives, and per- mitted them to return to Jerusalem, lo " rebuild the city and house of the Lord." The circumstances connected with the captivity of the Jews, its termination, their liberation, and their return over the rough and rugged roads to the ancient city of their fathers, the holy cause in which they were engaged — that of rebuilding the temple — the labors per- formed, and the valuable discoveries brought to light by the zealous workmen, with many other equally interesting incidents are rehearsed in the degrees of the Royal Arch, Knights of the Red Cross, and Knights of the East and West. The children of Judah, after their arrival at Jerusalem, erected a tabernacle, similar in form to that of Moses. Tradition, however, informs us that the tabernacle of Zerubbabel differed from that of Moses in many par- ticulars. The most Holy Place of the original tabernacle contained the ark of the covenant, the table of shew-bread and the golden candlestick, and the whole structiire was designed for the worship of God. That of Zerubbabel was used as a temporary place of worship, and the sanctuary was also used for the meetings of the Grand Council, consisting of Joshua, Zerubbabel and Haggai. This tabernacle, accord- ing to the Masonic tradition, was divided into apartments by cross vails of blue, purple, scarlet and white, at which guards were stationed. The ostensible object of the degree is to recover the lost word — the Master Mason being
*A Masonic tradition informs \is that the captive Jews were bound by their conquerors with triangular chains, and that this was done by the Chaldeans as an additional insult, because the Jewish Masons were known to esteem the triangle as an emblem of the sacred name of God, and must have considered its appropriation to the form of their fetters as a desecratior. of the Tetragraininaton.
ROY. 335
in a secret vault, which for a period of nearly five centuries was unknown, it being beneath the first temple, and brought to light by the workmen who were sent to prepare the foundation for the second temple. The degrees conferred and composing the system of Royal Arch Masonry are: