CHAPTER XVI.

MODERN ROSICRUCIAN SOCIETIES.
IT is an opinion entertained by the elect in modern theo- sophical circles, that the true Rosicrucian Brotherhood migrated into India, and this notion is said to be counten- anced by a Latin pamphlet of Henricus Neuhusius, pub- lished in 1618, under the title "Pia et utilissima Admonitio de Fratribus Rosae Crucis," and which was afterwards translated into French. They have developed into Thibetan Brothers, have exchanged Protestant Christianity for esoteric Buddhism, and are no longer interested in the number of the beast. Their violent antipathy to the pope still remains : they have not yet torn him in pieces with nails, but probably expect to accomplish this long-cherished project about the period of the next general cataclysm.
This is an interesting theory which might be debated with profit. I have not personally discovered much trace of the Rosicrucians in India, but the absence of historical documents on this point affords a fine field for the imagina- tion, which writers like Mr Hargrave Jennings should not allow to lie fallow. In my prosaic capacity as a historian, I have not been able to follow in the footsteps of the Fraternity further than the Island of Mauritius. Thanks to the late Mr Frederick Hockley, whose valuable library of books and manuscripts, treating of all branches of occultism, has been recently dispersed, I have discovered that a certain
MODERN ROSICRUCIAN SOCIETIES. 409
Comte de Chazal accomplished the magnum opus in that place at the close of the last century, and that he initiated another artist into the mysteries of the Eosicrucian Frater- nity. The Comte de Chazal was possessed of vision at a distance, and witnessed the horrors of the French Eevolu- tion from a vast distance, with amazing perspicuity, by means of the mind's eye. The following curious document will be read with no ordinary interest : —
Copy of the Admission of Dr Bacstrom into the Society of the Rosa Croix by Le Comte de Chazal at the Island of Mauri- tius, with the Seal of the Society.
ISLE or MAURITIUS, DISTRICT OF PAMPELAVUSO, 12th Sept. 1794.
In the name of arnta rnrv the True and only God Mani- fested in Trinity.
I, Sigismund Bacstrom, do hereby promise, in the most sincere and solemn manner, faithfully to observe the follow- ing articles, during the whole course of my natural life, to the best of my knowledge and ability; which articles I hereby confirm by oath and by my proper signature here- unto annexed.
One of the worthy members of the august, most ancient, and most learned Society, the Investigators of Divine, Spiritual, and Natural Truth (which society more than two centuries and a half ago (i.e., in 1490) did separate them- selves from the Free-Masons, but were again united in one spirit among themselves under the denomination of Fratres Rosce Crucis, Brethren of the Eosy Cross, i.e. the Brethren who believe in the Grand Atonement made by Jesus Christ on the Eosy Cross, stained and marked with His blood, for
410 HISTORY OF THE ROSICRUCIANS.
the redemption of Spiritual Natures), having thought me worthy to be admitted into their august society, in quality of a Member Apprentice and Brother, and to partake of their sublime knowledge, I do hereby engage in the most solemn manner—
1. That I will always, to the utmost of my power, con- duct myself as becomes a worthy member, with sobriety and piety, and to endeavour to prove myself grateful to the Society for so distinguished a favour as I now receive, dur- ing the whole course of my natural life.
2. That derision, insult, and persecution of this august society may be guarded against, I will never openly pub- lish that I am a member, nor reveal the name or person of such members as I know at present or may know here- after.
3. I solemnly promise that I will never during my whole life publicly reveal the secret knowledge I receive at present, or may receive at a future period from the Society, or from one of its members, nor even privately, but will keep our Secrets sacred.
4. I do hereby promise that I will instruct for the benefit of good men, before I depart this life, one person, or two persons at most, in our secret knowledge, and initiate and receive such person (or persons) as a member or apprentice into our Society, in the same manner as I have been initiated and received ; but such person only as I believe to be truly worthy and of an upright, well-meaning mind, blameless conduct, sober life, and desirous of knowledge. And as there is no distinction of sexes in the Spiritual World, neither among the Blessed Angels, nor among the rational immortal Spirits of the human race ; and as we have had a Semiramis, Queen of Egypt ; a Myriam, the
MODERN ROSICRUCIAN SOCIETIES. 411
prophetess ; a Peronella, the wife of Flammel ; and, lastly, a Leona Constantia, Abbess of Clermont, who was actually received as a practical member and master into our Society in the year 1736; which women are believed to have been all possessors of the Great Work, consequently Sorores Roseau Crucis, and members of our Society by possession, as the possession of this our Art is the key to the most hidden knowledge ; and, moreover, as redemption was manifested to mankind by means of a woman (the Blessed Virgin), and as Salvation, which is of infinitely more value than our whole Art, is granted to the female sex as well as to the male, our Society does not exclude a worthy woman from being initiated, God himself not having excluded women from partaking of every felicity in the next life. We will not hesitate to receive a worthy woman into our Society as a member apprentice (and even as a practical member, or master, if she does possess our work practically, and has herself accomplished it), provided she is found, like Pero- nella, Flammel' s wife, to be sober, pious, discreet, prudent, and reserved, of an upright and blameless conduct, and desirous of knowledge.
5. I do hereby declare that I intend, with the permission of God, to commence our great work with mine own hands as soon as circumstances, health, opportunity, and time will permit; 1st, that I may do good therewith as a faithful steward ; 2nd, that I may merit the continued confidence which the Society has placed in me in quality of a member apprentice.
6. I do further most solemnly promise that (should I accomplish the Great Work) I will not abuse the great power entrusted to me by appearing great and exalted, or seeking to appear in a public character in the world by
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hunting after vain titles of nobility and vain glory, which are all fleeting and vain, but will endeavour to live a sober and orderly life, as becomes every Christian, though not possessed of so great a temporal blessing ; I will devote a considerable part of my abundance and superfluity (mul- tipliable infinitely to work of private charity), to aged and deeply-afflicted people, to poor children, and, above all, to such as love God and act uprightly, and I will avoid en- couraging laziness and the profession of public beggars.
7. I will communicate every new or useful discovery relating to our work to the nearest member of our Society, and hide nothing from him, seeing he cannot, as a worthy member, possibly abuse it, or prejudice me thereby ; on the other hand, I will hide these secret discoveries from the world.
8. I do, moreover, solemnly promise (should I become a master and possessor) that I will not, on the one hand, assist, aid, or support with gold or with silver any govern- ment, King, or Sovereign, whatever, except by paying taxes, nor, on the other hand, any populace, or particular set of men, to enable them to revolt against the government ; I will leave public affairs and arrangements to the govern- ment of God, who will bring about the events foretold in the revelation of St John, which are fast accomplishing \ I will not interfere with affairs of government.
9. I will neither build churches, chapels, nor hospitals, and such public charities, as there is already a sufficient number of such public buildings and institutions, if they were only properly applied and regulated. I will not give any salary to a priest or churchman as such, to make him more proud and insolent than he is already. If I relieve a distressed worthy clergyman, I will consider him in the light
• MODERN ROSICRUCIAN SOCIETIES. 413
of a private distressed individual only. I will give no charity with the view of making my name known to the world, but will give my alms privately and secretly.
10. I hereby promise that I will never be ungrateful to the worthy friend and brother who initiated and received me, but will respect and oblige him as far as lies in my power, in the same manner as he has been obliged to pro- mise to his friend who received him.
11. Should I travel either by sea or by land, and meet with any person who may call himself a Brother of the Rosy Cross, I will examine him whether he can give me a proper explanation of The Universal Fire of Nature, and of our magnet for attracting and magnifying the same under the form of a salt, whether he is well acquainted with our work, and whether he knows the universal dissolvent and its use. If I find him able to give satisfactory answers, I will acknowledge him as a member and brother of our Society. Should I find him superior in knowledge and experience to myself, I will honour and respect him as a master above me.
12. If it should please God to permit me to accomplish our Great Work with my own hands, I will give praise and thanks to God in humble prayer, and devote my time to the doing and promoting all the good that lies in my power, and to the pursuit of true and useful knowledge.
13. I do hereby solemnly promise that I will not encour- age wickedness and debauchery, thereby offending God by administering the medicine for the human body, or the aurum potabile, to a patient, or patients, infected with the venereal disease.
14. I do promise that I will never give the Fermented Metallic Medecine for transmutation to any person living,
HISTORY OF THE ROSICRUCIANS.
no, not a single grain, unless the person is an initiated am received member and Brother of the Rosy Cross.
To keep faithfully the above articles as I now re- ceive them from a worthy member of our Society, as he received them himself, I willingly agree, and sign this with my name, and affix my seal to the same. So help me God. Amen. S. BACSTROM, L.S.
I have initiated and received Mr Sigismund Bacstrom, Doctor of Physic, as a practical member and brother above an apprentice in consequence of his solid learning, which I certify by my name and seal,— Mauritius, 12 Sept. 1794. DU CHAZEL, F.R.C.
The Philosophic Seal of the Society of the Rosicrucians.
Among Mr Hockley's manuscripts there is also the " Diary of a Eosicrucian Philosopher " during the first period of the work. It describes the preparation of the first matter, and breaks off abruptly after a few leaves. Whether this unnamed philosopher was a true Rosicrucian,
MODERN ROSICRUCIAN SOCIETIES. 415
and whether the Comte de Chazal could lay claim to that distinction, are problems which cannot be solved. Indi- vidual pretenders and fraudulent associations have occa- sionally appeared ever since the publication of the " Fama" and " Confessio Fraternitatis."
It is certain that a pseudo-society existed in England before the year 1836, for in that year we find Godfrey Higgins saying that he had joined neither the Templars nor the Eosicrucians. " I have abstained from becoming a member of them, that I might not have my tongue tied or my pen restrained by the engagements I must have made on entering the chapter or encampment. But I have reason to believe that they have now become, in a very particular manner, what is called exclusively Christian Orders, and on this account are thought, by many persons, to be only a bastard kind of masons. They are real masons, and they ought to be of that . . . universal Christianity or Creestianity, which included Jews, Buddhists, Brahmins, Mohamedans." He identifies the Templars and Eosicru- cians with Manichsean Buddhists, and asserts the Rosi- crucians of Germany to be ignorant of their origin, " but, by tradition, they suppose themselves descendants of the ancient Egyptians, Chaldeans, Magi, and Gymnosophists ; and this is probably true."
The present Eosicrucian Society of England, on its re- modelling some thirty years ago, cut off by mutual consent its connection with the few ancient members then existing, who were probably representatives of the " Eosicrucians " referred to by Higgins, and established itself as a public body, in so far as the fact of its existence was not itself a secret. A previous initiation into Masonry is an indispen- sable qualification of candidates, as will be seen in the Ordinances of the Society. The reason for this regulation
416 HISTORY OF THE ROSICRUCIANS.
is that certain masonic secrets are revealed to the accepted, and it would otherwise be unfair to Masonry. Thus, on his admission as a novice, the postulant is required to repeat the Masonic arcana.
I am enabled to present to my readers, from sources hitherto unpublished, the
Rules and Ordinances of the Rosicrudan Society of England.
The Society of Brethren of the Eosy Cross is totally independent, being established on its own basis, and as a body is no otherwise connected with the Masonic Order than by having its members selected from that fraternity.