This Is A New Release Of The Original 1909 Edition.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1912 Edition.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1900 Edition.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1915 Edition.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1909 Edition.

AMONG the strange mysterious beings, with which the eighteenth century was so richly dowered, no one has commanded more universal comment and attention than the mystic who was known by the name of the Comte de St. Germain. A hero of romance; a charlatan; a swindler and an adventurer; rich and varied were the names that showered freely upon him. Hated by the many, loved and reverenced by the few, time has not yet lifted the veil which screened his true mission from the vulgar speculators of the period. Then, as now, the occultist was dubbed charlatan by the ignorant; only some men and women here and there realised the power of which he stood possessed. The friend and councillor of kings and princes, an enemy to ministers who were skilled in deception, he brought his great knowledge to help the West, to stave off in some small measure the storm clouds that were gathering so thickly around some nations. Alas his words of warning fell on deafened ears, and his advice went all unheeded.

The Comte de St Germain was an inscrutable figure who suddenly appeared in London in 1745. He was a man without a past, and openly admitted that his chosen name was fictitious. A wonderful musician and composer, witty and courteous, he dispensed diamonds, never ate in public, dropped hints of his own physical immortality, and claimed to have no interest in sexually relations of any kind. Following his English appearance, the Comte disappeared for 12 years, surfacing for two years in pre-revolutionary France as the confidant of Louis XV, then vanishing once more for 11 years, only to reappear in Belgium, Russia and Germany. Following his disputed death in 1784, several notables claimed to have met him decades later, ever-wealthy and every youthful. Cooper-Oakley's investigation of the St Germain legend is an occult classic, in which she painstakingly draws together letters, diaries and private records of St Germain, to provide the most comprehensive picture we possess of the enigmatic Count.

THE series of sketches which are now brought together appeared originally as detached articles in the pages of the Theosophical Review, written, however, with the object of demonstrating to students of Theosophy that a definite design could be traced beneath the apparently disconnected mystic doctrines held by the many occult brotherhoods, heretic sects and mystic associations which cluster so thickly together as we glance along the historical by-ways of religious thought during the Middle Ages. That object becomes clearer when they appear as they do now in closer juxtaposition. To those who wish to understand the reason of this steady recurrence of mystic tradition in every century, these studies may be of some use. They will serve as literary landmarks to guide the seeker to those distant sources whence flow faint echoes of divine truths--the heritage of the divine human race; truths that bring dim memories to the soul which are its highest impulse, and give the clue that guides it to the inner "science of the soul"--the mystic quest of all the saints, and the hidden truth that all religions have tried to teach, and which only a few in each religion have ever realized. Mystics, visionaries, dreamers of vain dreams have been the names which the scoffers have always thrown at those who counted the world as nought compared with the treasure of the unseen life, and who devoted their lives to this divine science, and tried to reach an understanding of its laws. And as we trace out the records of the past it will be clearly seen that the Theosophical development is but another link in a wondrous chain of mystic teaching which stretches far back into the night of time.

THIS 32 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Masonry and Medieval Mysticism: Traces of a Hidden Tradition, by Isabel Cooper-Oakley. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1564596435.

In this book first published in 1900, Isabel Cooper Oakley has gathered together extensive source material in presenting this history of mysticism in Medieval Europe. The survey covers some eighteen hundred years, and shows with documented evidence a definite link between the seemingly divergent occult schools and brotherhoods that flourished, and that the source of their knowledge lay in Ancient India, the home of Brahma Vidya or esoteric science. Gradually over the years visiting seers and teachers brought this wisdom to Egypt, Persia and Greece, which was given expression in the great mystery schools and temples. A vast tapestry of the spiritual life is unfolded before us, the Gnostic sects who founded Christianity, the famous occult schools of Averroes and the Arabian mystics in Toledo, the Alchemists and Rosicrucians, and the Grail Legend, preserved in times of religious persecution by the troubadours whose allegorical songs were a feature of the royal courts, and the Knights Templars who designed and built the Gothic cathedrals.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

The life and activities of an important mystic and philosopher who influenced the 18th century. Overshadowing all is the figure of Christian Rosenkreutz and the work of the Rosicrucians, Alchemists and Masons during this period.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

The life and activities of an important mystic and philosopher who influenced the 18th century. Overshadowing all is the figure of Christian Rosenkreutz and the work of the Rosicrucians, Alchemists and Masons during this period.