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You know Piers Vaughan is a well practiced translator of Robert Ambelain, but now Piers has a book that returns a text by Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin to the seekers of hidden wisdom.
“Very happy to announce that my translation of Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin’s first book, Of Errors & Truth, written in 1775, is now available in hardback and paperback on Amazon,” Piers says. “I had the pleasure of working from a copy of the original 1775 book, published in Lyon, France. The book is an extraordinary work against the creeping materialism and atheism of the Enlightenment period immediately prior to the French Revolution. As well as giving an insight into esoteric and Masonic thinking of that time, it also gives us a glimpse into the life and times of late 18th century France.”
From the publicity:
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| Courtesy Piers Vaughan |
Of Errors & Truth, or Man Restored to the Universal Principle of Knowledge was published in Lyon in 1775, when Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin was 32 years old. Born in 1743 in Amboise, France, he studied law for a short time before entering the army, serving as a commissioned officer at the regiment stationed at Foix. There he met the enigmatic Martinez de Pasqually, and shortly thereafter he was initiated into his extraordinary theurgical Masonic group, called the Order of Elect Cohens of the Universe. He soon resigned his commission to become the Master’s full-time secretary, eventually reaching the highest Grade in Pasqually’s Order, that of Reaux Croix.
He worked with Pasqually on his great work, Treatise on the Reintegration of Beings, an extraordinary sprawling work setting forth a unique view on the origin of man, his fall, and providing an unorthodox commentary on the first part of the Old Testament. It is through this close collaboration that Saint-Martin came to meet Jean-Baptiste Willermoz, another disciple of Pasqually who was a prominent Lyonnais businessman and Freemason who went on to found many Masonic Orders, in particular the Scottish Rectified Rite and the Knights Beneficent of the Holy City.
However, Saint-Martin became increasingly uncomfortable with the elaborate theurgical rituals of the Elus Cohen, and when Pasqually left France in 1772 to take up an inheritance in St. Domingo, the Order began to fall apart, and Saint-Martin found himself becoming increasingly mystical in outlook.
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| Courtesy Piers Vaughan |
During an extended stay in Lyon with his friend Willermoz, Saint-Martin wrote his first book, under the pseudonym Unknown Philosopher. The book, recollecting Pasqually’s Treatise, outlines a mystical philosophical outlook that is clearly based on Pasqually’s teachings, but with a distinct Christian flavor. It is wide-reaching, attempting to put forward his theories by drawing on examples from many fields, including Politics, Philosophy, Music, Writing and Painting. The book was printed by Willermoz’s fellow lodge members, the Perisse Brothers, although the frontispiece claims the book was printed in “Edimbourg,” a common practice at the time to avoid paying exorbitant taxes charged on all books printed in France at that time.
The Enlightenment had led to a great expansion in the sciences, and the search to find the solutions to the great questions in nature and in man, rather than in God, distressed him greatly. He was particularly concerned about the influence of the so-called Materialists, who he felt were leading mankind on a path toward atheism. Therefore he wrote this book to counter their materialism, and to set forth a sweeping vision of the origin of man, his fall, and the path of return, which, following Pasqually’s terminology, he also called the Path of Reintegration.
The book was an immediate success, particularly among Masons, though its veiled criticism of religion and politics led to it being put on proscribed lists for a time. Naturally, it drew the wrath of the Enlightenment philosophers of the time, and in particular Voltaire. However, it takes its place as one of the great mystical Christian writings of the 18th Century, and as a major early document on the teachings of European Freemasonry in general, and the nascent Scottish Rite in particular.
Don’t forget Piers will be the guest speaker at Phoenix Lodge in New Hampshire Friday night.
The evening long had been billed as VW Bro. Piers Vaughan to speak on “Willermozism” Wednesday at Alpha Lodge, but our lecturer was kept away unavoidably at the last minute, leaving Worshipful Master David Lindez (at right) having to, if not fill the shoes of the world renowned but absent authority on Willermoz, then at least to appease the usually diverse crowd of Alpha brethren and visitors assembled.
What is “Willermozism?” Frankly, I’m not convinced that’s a real word, and I have my doubts that Jean-Baptiste Willermoz would have used his own name to brand the rituals and teachings of the Scottish Rectified Rite, but as a rhetorical device to quickly express the magnitude of the history of Willermoz and Martinez de Pasqually; and of Strict Observance, Elu Cohens, and Les Chevaliers Bienfaisants de la Cité Sainte, it’ll have to do.
I’m not inclined to relay what David discussed tonight, mostly because I don’t possess a comprehensive understanding of these subjects and I’m liable to make mistakes, but also because I respect the privacy of CBCS, and I actually dread the inevitable inquiries, replete with feigned discretion, made by the usual grand rank cronies who think they need to join everything, regardless of their understanding of what and who they join.
Selah.
Suffice to say it was a wonderful night. W. Bro. Lindez spoke with great enthusiasm, knowledge, and respect for his topic and for his audience, and did so for more than 90 minutes. He also displayed some of the pertinent regalia, including collars, jewels, and garments. It is hard not to envy David for the obvious pleasure and purpose he finds in that tiny corner of Freemasonry where Christian mysticism, secret histories, and esoteric Masonry combine, especially knowing how his family history practically foreordained (pun) him for this work.
But I do want to hear more about those vampires on St. Mark’s Place!
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