The Rose Cross and the Age of Reason

Christopher Mcintosh

Description

This new edition of Christopher McIntosh's classic book on the Golden and Rosy Cross order is eagerly awaited. The order stands out as one of the most fascinating and influential of the high-degree masonic and illuminist groups that mushroomed in Europe from the 18th century onward. Active mainly in the German-speaking lands, it recast the original Rosicrucian vision and gave it renewed vitality. At one point it became politically influential when the Prussian King, Frederick William II, was a member of the order. Historians have often perceived the Golden and Rosy Cross as having had a conservative, anti-Enlightenment agenda, but this study – drawing on rare German sources – shows that the matter was more complex. The members of the order practiced alchemy and operated a degree system that was later imitated by later orders such as the Golden Dawn. Like the latter, the Golden and Rosy Cross exerted a wide and enduring cultural influence. Both the alchemy of the order and its powerful ritual system are insightfully described in Christopher McIntosh's clear and compelling style.

Preface
Introduction

1. The Enlightenment, the Aufklärung and Their Opponents

2. Rosicrucianism from Its Origins to the Early 18th Century

3. The Masonic Phase

4. The World of the Initiate

5. The Alchemy of the Gold- und Rosenkreuz

6. The Polemical Stance of the Gold- und Rosenkreuz

7. A Rosicrucian on the Prussian Throne

8. The Auflkärung Reaction and Decline of the Gold- und Rosenkreuz

9. Rosicrucianism in Poland and Russia

10. The Asiatic Brethren

11. Conclusion

A Note on Sources
Bibliography
Index
Illustrations

Sujets

• Magic: el encuentro
• Mysticism
• 18th century
• History of Europe
• Magic
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 02 janvier 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438435619
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 8 Mo

Extrait

The Rose Cross and the Age of Reason Eighteenth-Century Rosicrucianism in Central Europe and its Relationship to the Enlightenment

Christopher McIntosh

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THE ROSE CROSS AND THE AGE OF REASON

SUNY series in Western Esoteric Traditions —————— David Appelbaum, editor

The Rose Cross and the Age of Reason

Eighteenth-Century Rosicrucianism in Central Europe and its Relationship to the Enlightenment

Christopher McIntosh

Cover image: Alchemist in his laboratory. FromGeheime Figuren der Rosenkreuzer, aus dem 16ten und 17ten Jahrhundert: aus einem alten Mscpt. Zum erstenmal ans Licht gestellt: erstes -[drittes] Heft .Altona: J.D.A. Eckhardt, in Commission in der Heroldschen Buchhandlung in Hamburg, 1785[1788] . 3 v. in 1 : col. illus. ; 40 cm. Available at: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.GeheimeFiguren

Copyright © 1992 by E. J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands; copyright © 2011 by Christopher McIntosh.

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproducted in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu

Production by Eileen Meehan Marketing by Anne M. Valentine

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

McIntosh, Christopher, 1943– The Rose Cross and the Age of Reason : eighteenthcentury Rosicrucianism in Central Europe and its relationship to the Enlightenment / Christopher McIntosh.  p. cm. — (SUNY series in Western esoteric traditions)  Originally published: Leiden ; New York : Brill, 1992, in series: Brill’s studies in intellectual history ; v. 29. Includes bibliographical references (p. 189–194) and index. ISBN 9781438435596 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Rosicrucians—Europe, Central—History—18th century. 2. Enlightenment. I. Title.

BF1623.R7M34 2011 135'.43094309033—dc22

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

2010031937

Preface

CONTENTS

Foreword to the Second Edition

Introduction

1. The Enlightenment, theAufklärungTheir Opponents and th 2. Rosicrucianism from Its Origins to the Early 18 Century 3. The Masonic Phase 4. The World of the Initiate 5. The Alchemy of the Gold und Rosenkreuz 6. The Polemical Stance of the Gold und Rosenkreuz 7. A Rosicrucian on the Prussian Throne 8. TheAufklärung Reaction and the Decline of the Gold und Rosenkreuz 9. Rosicrucianism in Poland and Russia 10. The Asiatic Brethren 11. Conclusion

A Note on Sources

Bibliography

Index

Illustrations

vii

i

x

1

7 23 39 59 75 91 113

133 147 161 179

185

189

195

201

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PREFACE

This book is one of a number of works in which I have explored what can loosely be called the “Gnostic” undercurrents of western civilization. The Rosicrucian movement is one of those undercurrents. The present study deals with the revival of Rosicrucianism during the era of the Enlightenment, focusing mainly on the Germanspeaking realm. It re examines the “CounterEnlightenment” label that historians have often attached to this movement, and discusses the role played by the Rosicrucian revival in culture, politics, religion and science. The work was originally written as a doctoral thesis in history at the University of Oxford, where it was presented in 1989 under the titleThe Rosicrucian Revival and the German CounterEnlightenment. Apart from some relatively minor changes, the text remains substantially the same. It is a pleasure to express my gratitude to those who have helped me during the preparation of this work. I include also the names of those ZKR KDYH VLQFH GLHG ,QVWLWXWLRQDO DI¿OLDWLRQV DUH JLYHQ DV WKH\ ZHUH DW the time. Throughout the research and writing, my then wife Katherine gave me steadfast moral support, empathy and many valuable comments DQG HQFRXUDJHG PH WKURXJK WKH GLI¿FXOW SDWFKHV 'U 5-: (YDQV RI Brasenose College, Oxford, was as wise and insightful a supervisor as I could have wished for. Professor Ludwig Hammermayer of the University of Munich was a generous mentor, reading and commenting on the manuscript, supplying me with much essential secondary material and cheering me with his enthusiasm for the project. Dr. Eckhart Hellmuth of the German Historical Institute, London, was also generous with his time and expert advice. Other scholars whose help and support I much appreciate are: Professor Antoine Faivre of the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris; Dr. P.G.M. Dickson of St. Catherine’s College, Oxford; Sir Isaiah Berlin, of All Souls College, Oxford; Dr. David Sorkin of St. Antony’s College, Oxford; Dr. T.C.W. Blanning of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge; Dr. Lawrence %URFNOLVV RI 0DJGDOHQ &ROOHJH 2[IRUG 3URIHVVRU -RVFHO\Q *RGZLQ RI Colgate University, New York; Professor Helmut Reinalter of the University of Innsbruck; Dr. Edith RosenstrauchKönigsberg of Vienna, Professor Ernst Wangermann of the University of Salzburg; Rafal Prinke of Poznan,

viii

PREFACE

3RODQG 'U -LUL .URXSD RI %UQR 6ORYDNLD 3URIHVVRU $EERWW *OHDVRQ RI %URZQ 8QLYHUVLW\ 3URYLGHQFH 5KRGH ,VODQG -HDQ3DVFDO 5XJJLX RI 3DULV Dr. Nicholas GoodrickClarke; and Dr. Christina Rathgeber. Equally importantly, I must thank the librarians and archivists without whom this work could never have been written. Among these a special debt of gratitude is due to Mr. B. Croiset van Uchelen, Librarian of the Grand Lodge of the Netherlands at the Hague, who helped me to mine his library’s VXSHUE FROOHFWLRQ DQG JDYH PH WKH EHQH¿W RI KLV HQF\FORSHGLF NQRZOHGJH RI Masonic history. In the same category I must thank the following: Herbert Schneider, Librarian of the Deutsches FreimaurerMuseum, Bayreuth; Dr. 5HJLQD 0DKONH RI WKH 6WDDWVELEOLRWKHN 3UHXȕLVFKHU .XOWXUEHVLW] %HUOLQ the staff of the HausHof und Staatsarchiv and the Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, and of the Tiroler Landesarchiv, Innsbruck; -RKQ +DPLOO DQG KLV VWDII DW WKH /LEUDU\ RI WKH 8QLWHG *UDQG /RGJH RI England and Wales, London; the staff of the British Library, the Bodleian Library, the Oxford History Faculty Library and the Taylor Institute Library, Oxford. I am grateful to the British Academy for awarding me a Major State Studentship, and last but not least I must express my gratitude to the Governing Body of my college, Christ Church, and to the Oxford University Committee for Graduate Studies, both of whom provided grants for travel and research. Writing on a German subject in English involves making certain decisions as to language and stylistic convention. I have translated nearly all German quotations into English. Occasionally, for the sake of clarity, I have inserted the original of a word or phrase in the square brackets in the text, and in certain cases where the whole quotation was written in an archaic or idiosyncratic German I have reproduced the original text in the footnotes. Proper names I have left in German unless they are very familiar (e.g. Vienna, Munich, Silesia). Titles I have anglicized (e.g. Duke Eugen of Württemberg) expect in certain cases (e.g. Landgraf). When I use the word “Germany” I mean, roughly, the Germanspeaking lands within the Holy Roman Empire.