We now proceed to speak of some of the more prominent of the Rosicrucian leaders and teachers, and to call attention to the literature from which we obtain our only reliable information.

In the sixteenth century lived that extraordinary man Theophrastus Paracelsus, whose writings exercised a greater influence, perhaps, over the minds of his fellow creatures than any other author of his time. No man it is certain had contributed so much as he, to the diffusion of the Cabbalism, Theosophy and Alchemy which had flooded Germany and flowed over a greater part of Western Europe. Now it was generally believed that in the seventeenth century a great and general reformation amongst the human race would take place, as a necessary fore-runner to the day of judgment. In connection with this, Paracelsus made several prophecies which took a very firm hold of the public mind. He declared that the comet which made its appearance in 1572 was the sign and harbinger of the coming revolution, and he prophesied that soon after the death of the Emperor Rudolph, there would be found three treasures that had never been revealed before that time. In the year 1610 there were published at the same time three books which led to the foundation of the Rosicrucian order as a district society. One was called “Universal Reformation of the Whole Wide World.” De Quincey summarises its contents thus: “The Seven Wise Men of Greece, together with M. Cato and Seneca, and a secretary named Mazzonius, are summoned to Delphi by Apollo, at the desire of the Emperor Justinian, and there deliberate, on the best mode of redressing human misery. All sorts of strange schemes are proposed. Thales advised to cut a hole in every man’s breast, and place a little window in it, by which means it would become possible to look into the heart, to detect hypocrisy and vice, and thus to extinguish it. Solon proposes an equal partition of all possessions and wealth. Chilo’s opinion is that the readiest way to the end in view would be to banish out of the world the two infamous and rascally metals gold and silver. Kleolinlus steps forward as the apologist of gold and silver, but thinks that iron ought to be prohibited, because in that case no more wars could be carried on amongst men. Pittacus insists upon more rigorous laws, which should make virtue and merit the sole passports to honour; to which, however, Periander objects that there had never been any scarcity of such laws, nor of princes to execute them, but scarcity enough of subjects conformable to good laws. The conceit of Bias, is that nations should be kept apart from each other, and each confined to its own home; and for this purpose, that all bridges should be demolished, mountains rendered insurmountable, and navigation totally forbidden. Cato, who seems to be the wisest of the party, wishes that God in his mercy would be pleased to wash away all women from the face of the earth by a new deluge, and at the same time to introduce some new arrangement for the continuation of the excellent male sex without female help. Upon this pleasing and sensible proposal the whole company manifest the greatest displeasure, and deem it so abominable that they unanimously prostrate themselves on the ground, and devoutly pray to God “that He would graciously vouchsafe to preserve the lovely race of women” (what absurdity) “and to save the world from a second deluge!” At length after a long debate, the counsel of Seneca prevails; which counsel is this—that out of all ranks a society should be composed having for its object the general welfare of mankind, and pursuing it in secret. This counsel is adopted: though without much hope on the part of the deputation, on account of the desperate condition of ‘the Age,’ who appears before them in person, and describes his own wretched state of health.”

The second work was the celebrated Fama Fraternitatis of the meritorious order of the Rosy Cross, addressed to the learned in general, and the Governors of Europe. Here we may cite De Quincey again: “Christian Rosycross, of noble descent, having upon his travels into the East and into Africa learned great mysteries from Arabians, Chaldeans, etc., upon his return to Germany established, in some place not mentioned, a secret society composed at first of four—afterwards of eight—members, who dwelt together in a building called the House of the Holy Ghost, erected by him: to these persons, under a vow of fidelity and secrecy, he communicated his mysteries. After they had been instructed, the society dispersed agreeably to their destination, with the exception of two members, who remained alternately with the founder. The rules of the order were these:—The members were to cure the sick without fee or reward. No member to wear a peculiar habit, but to dress after the fashion of the country. On a certain day in every year all the members to assemble in the House of the Holy Ghost, or to account for their absence. Every member to appoint some person with the proper qualifications to succeed him at his own decease. The word Rosy-Cross to be their seal, watchword, and characteristic mark. The association to be kept unrevealed for a hundred years. Christian Rosycross died at the age of a hundred years. His death was known to the Society, but not his grave; for it was a maxim of the first Rosicrucians to conceal their burial places even from each other. New masters were continually elected into the House of the Holy Ghost, and the Society had now lasted 120 years. At the end of this period, a door was discovered in the house, and upon the opening of this door a sepulchral vault. Upon the door was this inscription: One hundred and twenty years hence I shall open (Post CXX. annos patebo). The vault was a heptagon. Every side was five feet broad and eight feet high. It was illuminated by an artificial sun. In the centre was placed, instead of a grave-stone, a circular altar with a little plate of brass, whereon these words were inscribed: This grave, an abstract of the whole world, I made for myself while yet living (A. C. R. C. Hoc Universi compendium vivus mihi sepulchrum feci). About the margin was—To me Jesus is all in all (Jesus mihi omnia). In the centre were four figures enclosed in a circle by the revolving legend: Nequaquam vacuum legis jugum. Libertas Evangelii. Dei gloria intacta. (The empty yoke of the law is made void. The liberty of the gospel. The unsullied glory of God). Each of the seven sides of the vault had a door opening into a chest; which chest, besides the secret books of the order and the Vocabularium of Paracelsus, contained also mirrors—little bells—burning lamps—marvellous mechanisms of music, etc., all so contrived that, after the lapse of many centuries, if the whole order should have perished, it might be re-established by means of this vault. Under the altar, upon raising the brazen tablet, the brothers found the body of Rosycross, without taint or corruption. The right hand held a book written upon vellum with golden letters: this book which is called T., has since become the most precious jewel of the society next after the Bible; and at the end stand subscribed the names of the eight brethren, arranged in two separate circles, who were present at the death and burial of Father Rosycross. Immediately after the above narrative follows a declaration of their mysteries, addressed by the society to the whole world. They profess themselves to be of the Protestant faith; that they honour the Emperor and the laws of the Empire; and that the art of gold making is but a slight object with them.” The whole ends with these words: “Our House of the Holy Ghost though a hundred thousand men should have looked upon it, is yet destined to remain untouched, imperturbable, out of sight, and unrevealed to the whole godless world for ever.”

Before we proceed to notice at any length the third of the books we have mentioned, we will turn to some further accounts of the burial place of the founder of this party, which, though in some respects similar and in the main stating the same facts, yet, supply other matter both curious and interesting.

The following story has been quoted by a writer on the Rosicrucians, as related by Dr. Plot in his History of Staffordshire; a careful examination of the four copies of that work in the library of the British Museum, however, has failed to unearth the tale; it is to the following effect. At the close of a summer’s day a countryman was digging a trench in a field in a valley which was surrounded by dense masses of woodland scenery. It was shortly after sunset, and the workman wearied with his task was about to cease his labour; before his pick, however, had given its last blow, it struck against some hard material a little below the surface of the ground with sufficient force to cause a bright spark to flash out into the evening gloom. This, exciting his curiosity, he forgot his fatigue and again went on with his digging, anxious to ascertain what it was he had discovered. The stone he had come upon was large and flat, and lay nearly in the middle of a field at a considerable distance from any of the farms of the neighbouring country. It was covered with grass and weeds, the growth of many years and had a large iron ring fixed at one end in a socket. For some time it proved too much for the countryman’s strength, half an hour’s struggling with it failed to remove it from its position, and it was not till he had rigged up some tackle by the aid of some rope and a tree that he managed to raise it. He then found it covered a deep hollow in the ground, wherein after some examination he discovered a stone staircase of apparently extraordinary depth. His inquisitiveness to know whither the steps led, and the thought perhaps that he might be the discoverer of some hidden treasure, gave him more courage than he naturally possessed, and he descended a few of the stairs, then, after vainly trying to penetrate into the darkness beneath, paused and looked up to the sky above. Encouraged by the remains of the sunlight and the shining planet Venus above him, he resumed his descent. He went, he supposed a hundred feet underground, when he came upon a square landing-place with a niche in the wall, then he came to another long staircase, still descending into darkness. Once more he paused, and looked up at the now very little bit of sky visible over head. Seeing nothing to cause any fear, and hopeful of soon being able to unravel the mystery, he stretched out his hands, and by cautiously feeling the walls, and with equal caution placing his feet slowly and firmly upon each step, he boldly went forward and counted in his descent two hundred and twenty steps. He found himself able to breathe pretty freely, but noticed an aromatic smell like that of burning incense, which he thought Egyptian. This he noticed rolling up now and then from beneath, as if from another world, and it occurred to him that it was from the world of mining gnomes, and that he was breaking in upon their secrets. Still he went on, in spite of all his fears, until he was momentarily stopped by a wall in front; turning sharply to the right, however, he found the way open to him, and discovered a still deeper staircase, at the foot of which was a steady though pale light. His alarm at discovering light so far down in the earth’s interior was naturally great, but not great enough to overcome his curiosity and cause him to retrace his steps, and he once more commenced descending the mouldering old steps which looked as if they had not been trodden for ages. Then he thought he heard mysterious rumblings over head, like the sound of heavy waggons and horses, then all was still again. Many times he paused and thought he would return, thinking he might have accidently stumbled upon either the haunt of robbers or the abode of evil spirits; he stood still for awhile, fairly paralysed with fear. Then he began to recall where he had been working, he thought of the field above, the surrounding woods and his native hamlet only a few miles distant. This somewhat cheered him, but still with a good deal of fear remaining in his heart, he went down the rest of the stairs, the light growing brighter at every step. At last, he came upon a square chamber, built up of large hewn ancient stones. Filled with awe and wonderment, he found a flagged pavement and a lofty roof rising to a centre, in the groins of which was a rose beautifully carved in some dark stone or in marble. The alarm he had hitherto felt was nothing as compared with the fear which overwhelmed him when, after passing a Gothic stone portal, light suddenly streamed out over him with a brightness equal to that of the setting sun, and revealed to him the figure of a man whose face was hidden as he sat in a studious attitude in a stone chair, reading in a great book, with his elbows resting on a table like a rectangular altar, in the light of a large, ancient iron lamp, suspended by a thick chain to the middle of the roof. The adventurous countryman was unable to repress the cry that rose to his lips as he gazed upon this strange and unexpected scene. As the sound of his foot touching the floor resounded through the chamber, the figure started bolt upright from his seated position, as if in awful astonishment. He erected his hooded head, and seemed about angrily to question the intruder. The latter seemed perfectly fascinated by what he saw, and instead of withdrawing advanced yet another step into the chamber. Instantly the figure thrust out its arm, as though warning the intruder off; the hand contained an iron baton and it was raised in the most threatening attitude, but the unhappy explorer, seemingly unable to control himself, took a third step forward, and then the image or man raised his arm high above his head, and with his truncheon striking the lamp a tremendous blow left the place in utter darkness. Nothing more followed but a long, low roll of thunder, which gradually died away and all was still.

The place was afterwards known as the burial place of one of the brotherhood, whom the people called Rosicrucius, and it is said the arrangement of the lamp had been made by some Rosicrucian, to shew that he had discovered the secret of the ever burning lamps of the ancients, but was resolved that no one should reap the benefit of it.

The Spectator, No. 379, gives the following:—“A certain person having occasion to dig somewhat deep in the ground, where this philosopher (Rosicrucius) lay interred, met with a small door, having a wall on each side of it. His curiosity, and the hopes of finding some hidden treasure, soon prompted him to force open the door. He was immediately surprised by a sudden blaze of light, and discovered a very fair vault. At the upper end of it was a statue of a man in armour, sitting by a table, and leaning on his left arm. He held a truncheon in his right hand, and had a lamp burning before him. The man had no sooner set one foot within the vault, than the statue erecting itself from its leaning posture, stood bolt upright; and upon the fellow’s advancing another step, lifted up his truncheon in its right hand. The man still ventured a third step, when the statue, with a furious blow, broke the lamp into a thousand pieces, and left his guest in a sudden darkness. Upon the report of this adventure, the country people came with lights to the sepulchre, and discovered that the statue, which was made of brass, was nothing more than a piece of clockwork; that the floor of the vault was all loose, and underlaid with several springs, which, upon any man’s entering, naturally produced that which had happened. Rosicrucius, say his disciples, made use of this method to show the world that he had re-invented the ever burning lamps of the ancients, though he was resolved no one should reap any advantage from the discovery.”

Respecting the above story given as we have said in the Spectator, No. 379, a writer in Notes and Queries (6th S. 7th vol) says: “This is a very old tale, and has been printed again and again. The following is an early version, which was printed by Caxton in 1482; but I give from the edition printed by Peter de Treveris in 1527. The Polycronicon was originally written in Latin early in the fourteenth century, and translated into English in 1357. As the book is chiefly a compilation from old monkish chronicles, the tale was probably very old even when Higden included it in the Polycronicon. At any rate it was current long before the date given as the year of death of the somewhat mythical Christian Rosencrutz. I have met with several versions of it, varying more or less. In one a man with a bow and arrow extinguishes the lamp. There are many accounts of these miraculous lamps discovered burning in tombs hundreds of years after interment, but having omitted to make notes of them, I am unable to give references just now.... In Albesterio a place that hyghte Mutatorium Cesaris were made whyte stoles for Emperours. Also there was a candlestyke, made of a stone that hyght Albestone whan it was ones steynd and sette a fire and I sette without thee coude no manne quenche it with no crafte that men coude devyse, DR. In this maner it myght be that the Geant Pallas about the yere of oure Lorde a thousand and xi. That yere was founde in Rome a Geantes body buryed hole and sounde, the space of his wounde was foure foote longe and a halfe, the length of his body passed the heyght of the walles, at his hede was founde a lantern brennyng alwaye that no man coulde quenche with blaste ne with water ne with other crafte, unto the tyme that there was made a lytell hole under the lyght benethe that the ayer might enter. Men sayen that Turnus slowgh this Gean Pallas when Eneas fought for Lanina that was Eneas wyfe. This Geantes Epytaphium is this. The wrytyug of mynde of hym that lay there was this. Pallas Enandres sone lyeth here, hym Turnus the knyght with his spere slowghe in his maner.”

One other notice will close this part of the subject.

Although we find in the works of some of the Apologists for the Rosicrucians extraordinary statements as to the length of life it was within their power to attain unto (John Higden professes to shew how a man may live two hundred years) and although some of the fraternity actually did live a great number of years, we find them at last dying one by one notwithstanding their professed power to guard against or to relieve sickness. The founder himself seems to have reached the tolerably advanced age of a hundred and six (some say a hundred). He then died, and according to the Fama the place of his burial remained a secret to all except the two brothers who were with him, and they, according to the agreement to which they had bound themselves, carried the mystery with them to the grave. The society still continued to exist, unknown to the world, and always consisting of eight members, till another one hundred and twenty years had elapsed, when, according to a tradition among them the grave of Rosenkrutz was to be discovered, and the brotherhood to be no longer a mystery to the world. It was about this time that the brothers began to make some alterations in their building, and thought of removing to another and more fitting situation the memorial tablet, on which were inscribed the names of the associates. The plate which was of brass, was fixed to the wall by means of a nail in its centre, and so firmly did it hold, that in tearing it away a portion of the plaster came off too and discovered to them a concealed door. Upon this door being yet farther cleansed from the incrustation, there appeared above in large letters

Post CXX Annos Patebo.

Great was their delight at so unlooked-for a discovery; but still they so far restrained their curiosity as not to open the door till the next morning, when they found themselves in a seven sided vault, each side five feet wide, and eight feet high. It was lighted by an artificial sun in the centre of the arched roof, while in the middle of the floor, instead of a tomb, stood a round altar covered with a small brass plate on which was this inscription:

A. C. R. C. Hoc, universi compendium, vivus mihi
sepulchrum feci.

About the outer edge was, Jesus mihi omnia.

In the centre were four figures; each enclosed in a circle, with these circumscriptions:

1. Nequaquam Vacuus.
2. Legis Jugum.
3. Libertas Evangelii.
4. Dei gloria intacta.

Thereupon they all knelt down and returned thanks to heaven for having made them so much wiser than the rest of the world, a native trait that adds not a little to the verisimilitude of the story. Then they divided the vault into three parts—the roof, or heaven—the wall, or the sides—and the ground, or pavement. The first and last were according to the seven sides divided into triangles, while every side was divided into ten squares with figures and sentences, to be explained to the newly initiated. Each of these again, had a door opening upon a closet, wherein were stored up sundry rare articles, such as secret books of the order, the vocabulary of Paracelsus, and other things of the same nature, which it was allowable to impart even to the profane. In one, they discovered the life and itinerary of their founder; in another they lighted upon mirrors possessed of different qualities, a little bell, burning lamps, and a variety of curious matters, intended to help in rebuilding the order, which after the lapse of many centuries was to fall into decay. Curiosity to see their founder induced them to push aside the altar, when they came upon a strong brass plate, and this too being removed,

“Before their eyes the wizard lay
As if he had not been dead a day.”

Moreover, like the celebrated character described in these lines, he had a volume under his arm, which proved to be of vellum with letters of gold, and at the end of it, in two separate circles, were the names of eight brethren who had assisted at their founder’s interment. Next to the Bible, the Rosicrucians valued this book beyond any portion of their inheritance, yet it is not said whether they took away any of these rarities, or left the dead man in quiet possession of his treasures.[4]