Le Martinisme, dont on a dit qu'il n'était au fond qu'une philosophie comme le cartésianisme de Descartes ou le spinozisme de Spinoza, est une forme de spiritualité très élevée qui donne à celui qui peut la posséder une vision du monde dégagée de toute contingence matérielle. - Jules Boucher
He was called messenger of the LIGHT. When France in the eighteenth century was in a deep political, and economic crisis, people listened to him. Amiable, inspiring, mysterious, he gave a boost to both the nobility, and to the people. Whence did his knowledge come? They took him for a sophist, and yet had the gentleness and deep humanity characteristic of a philanthropist
In his commentary on the French Revolution, Louis Claude de Saint-Martin presented the great conflagration (large destructive fire) as a just punishment for the corruption of the French aristocracy and clergy, and as an opportunity for national renewal.
“I believe,” wrote Saint-Martin in 1795, “that after eliminating these great abuses, Providence will give to the French people, and later to many others, days of light and peace of which our thoughts cannot yet conceive.”
Na het vertrek van Martinez Pasqually zag de Saint-Martin al snel in dat de lessen van zijn Meester van een grote kennis getuigden en dat de Reïntegratie inderdaad het doel was van de menselijke evolutie, maar dat zijn methoden alleen geschikt waren voor mensen met een roeping zoals hij, die over zeer bijzondere krachten en vermogens beschikken. De toepassing ervan door “ongeschikten” draaide immers al zeer snel uit op formalisme,
zo niet op een klucht dan wel “collectieve histerie”.
By Stanislaw, F.R.C., & Zofja Goszczynski, S.R.C.
In the great family of nations, notwithstanding the differences of race, nationality, and language, there is a tendency for spiritually awakened men to gravitate to each other; the men of kindred souls who seek the plenitude of their humanity and who, unable to attain it solely on the physical plane, pursue it in the higher regions where their ardent yearning leads them to the very sanctuary of the Living God. Those wayfarers recognize each other by signs visible and invisible, and discover the degree of development and rebirth in the spirit as real and definitely achieved. In cases of special spiritual nearness the link between them becomes so close that even so-called death ceases to be an impediment.
Not always does a spiritually united family exist in the flesh at one time but each of the members discovers sooner or later its traces, and benefits by the spiritual hoardings of predecessors. Each one on the way to self-development tends to the knowledge of his own self, endeavors to unveil the transcendental, eternal picture concealed in him, to unravel the text of God-thought deposed in him and attain its fullest and purest manifestation.
Here can be aptly quoted the words of the Gospel: "Seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you." Whoever ardently desires, perseveringly seeks and yearns to reach the Divine Ideal with the whole strength of his soul is sure to find support.
Indeed, the courageous conquer the Kingdom of Heaven by subduing the opposition of the lower instincts of nature, by scorning any compromise and tending ever higher toward the Kingdom of Light and Liberty. Louis Claude de Saint-Martin was such a knight bent on the quest of light. He has been acknowledged as one of the greatest mystics of France, but the work of his life is not solely in the books he wrote. His whole existence was devoted to the idea of a great renascence of mankind, and he awakened a profound echo not only in France but also in the West and East of Europe. We find traces of this influence in the creative works of our prophetic poets, markedly in Adam Mickiewicz.
To be able to understand Saint-Martin one must go deep into his work; peruse his wide correspondence, study his biography (published by Papus, Matter, Franck, and others) presented by many authors and critics, often partially and wrongly.
A keen observer should have no difficulty in discovering the real Saint-Martin, a picture not blurred by superfluous and erroneous suggestions.
His real self passed through various phases of development; a disciple and adept of the esoteric science of Martinez Pasquales, who was a sociologist, a theurgist, and a mystic, we see the rungs of the ladder he mounted, marked by the very title of his successive books: The Man of Desire, The New Man, The Ministry of the Man-Spirit.
The principal traits of Saint-Martin's character were manly energy, vigorous activity, and also a womanly, fine sensitiveness and inborn refinement. His undaunted and unwavering attitude when he stood up in defence of professed ideals, virtually supported by his mode of life, often made him seem hard, even toward friends, but he was the first to suffer. A tenderness springing from the heart would strive to allay the pain he could not help inflicting on others.
The mysticism of Saint-Martin was not abstract and separated from life. He endeavored to penetrate the very depth of the Godhead and with the searchlights of knowledge illuminate all the aspects of life. He had discovered the secret of happiness on earth, perfect balance between law and duty, harmony of professed ideals with everyday life. He considered that the coexistence of various people should be based on fraternity, leading toward the spiritual equality of all and to the freedom which is the natural outcome of the principles of brotherhood.
The doctrine of Saint-Martin is clear and simple. Its truth can be easily perceived by any man of good will, because the French mystic had first gained the knowledge of divine laws and fashioned his doctrine accordingly. Through his works he desired to diffuse the light of knowledge imparted to him by revelation, and yet a dread of possible abuse on the part of people, unprepared or persistently of bad-will, induced him to use the esoteric veil of symbols, when approaching truths destined for the initiated. The work of his life made his name immortal, not only in his own country but throughout the world, since the ray, started from the source of universal light, shines irresistibly for the whole of mankind.
The mysticism of Saint-Martin was not abstract and separated from life. He endeavored to penetrate the very depth of the Godhead and with the searchlights of knowledge illuminate all the aspects of life. He had discovered the secret of happiness on earth, perfect balance between law and duty, harmony of professed ideals with everyday life. He considered that the coexistence of various people should be based on fraternity, leading toward the spiritual equality of all and to the freedom which is the natural outcome of the principles of brotherhood.
The doctrine of Saint-Martin is clear and simple. Its truth can be easily perceived by any man of good will, because the French mystic had first gained the knowledge of divine laws and fashioned his doctrine accordingly. Through his works he desired to diffuse the light of knowledge imparted to him by revelation, and yet a dread of possible abuse on the part of people, unprepared or persistently of bad-will, induced him to use the esoteric veil of symbols, when approaching truths destined for the initiated. The work of his life made his name immortal, not only in his own country but throughout the world, since the ray, started from the source of universal light, shines irresistibly for the whole of mankind.
rincipal traits of Saint-Martin's character were manly energy, vigorous activity, and also a womanly, fine sensitiveness and inborn refinement. His undaunted and unwavering attitude when he stood up in defence of professed ideals, virtually supported by his mode of life, often made him seem hard, even toward friends, but he was the first to suffer. A tenderness springing from the heart would strive to allay the pain he could not help inflicting on others.
The mysticism of Saint-Martin was not abstract and separated from life. He endeavored to penetrate the very depth of the Godhead and with the searchlights of knowledge illuminate all the aspects of life. He had discovered the secret of happiness on earth, perfect balance between law and duty, harmony of professed ideals with everyday life. He considered that the coexistence of various people should be based on fraternity, leading toward the spiritual equality of all and to the freedom which is the natural outcome of the principles of brotherhood.
The doctrine of Saint-Martin is clear and simple. Its truth can be easily perceived by any man of good will, because the French mystic had first gained the knowledge of divine laws and fashioned his doctrine accordingly. Through his works he desired to diffuse the light of knowledge imparted to him by revelation, and yet a dread of possible abuse on the part of people, unprepared or persistently of bad-will, induced him to use the esoteric veil of symbols, when approaching truths destined for the initiated. The work of his life made his name immortal, not only in his own country but throughout the world, since the ray, started from the source of universal light, shines irresistibly for the whole of mankind.
Early Years
Saint-Martin was born in Amboise, January 18, 1743. Very little is known about his childhood. His mother died soon and this loss must have had a deep influence on the molding of his personality. Thence his excessive sensitiveness, the outpouring of feeling in quest of response, and the sweetness of his refinement. Between him and his father there was lack of understanding and even in the early years of Saint-Martin's activity clashes became unavoidable. Not much is known concerning his brothers, but it also seems that no harmony existed in this relation. Sorrow stung the heart of Saint-Martin in early childhood but his reaction showed more strength than weakness.
In the background of a not-too-happy childhood, there arose in the child's soul yearnings for a higher life; shortage of love in his family circle incited him to seek the love of God. The letters of Saint-Martin tell us how conscientiously he tried to fulfill his duty toward his father, even at the cost of great sacrifice, thereby impeding the plans he had made for his future. After he had finished school, his father wanted him to study law; Saint-Martin was obedient to this wish. Nevertheless, he was soon convinced of the impossibility of continuing in this direction. The intricacies of law, its relativity, went against the grain of his character. He was looking for another sort of law. In this period of his life, he could not see his way clearly, conscious will power was still missing--thence his second mistake: military service. This also did not last long, but in this station of life something began to crystallize in the interior of his being--a door seemed to open on the enchanted garden in which he was to begin his mission. He became acquainted with Monsieur de Grainville, an officer like himself, and with De Balzac, both disciples of Martinez Pasquales. Gradually their relations grew closer. Saint-Martin was received into the inner circle of Martinez Pasquales; he became initiated and became to Martinez Pasquales a chosen pupil and secretary.
Saint-Martin left the army and devoted himself entirely to his work. The idea of the Reintegration of Mankind advanced by Martinez Pasquales appealed to him strongly. Loyally and with great fervor, Saint-Martin began to execute all the orders of his Master, studying his theory, submitting to recommended and theurgic practices.
Significant Influences
The turning point in the life of Saint-Martin came when he met the "Unknown Agent" (L'Agent Inconnu). This was a being who belonged to the higher spiritual planes, put his stamp on the lodge at Lyons, and especially inspired Saint-Martin. Now the individuality of Saint-Martin began to crystallize, making him more and more interested in regard to the collective work in the lodges and to new personal contacts as, for example, with the Mesmeric Society, and the numerous occultists of the time--English, Italian, Polish, and Russian.
Friendships with women played an important part in the life of Saint-Martin; their tone was lively and enthusiastic, and seemed to flow from a need of spiritual communion with the pole of eternal womanhood. However, Saint-Martin used to say that he was made solely for spiritual life; he never married.
His biographers enumerate a list of prominent women of the time. The Duchess of Bourbon, Madame de Bry, Madame de Saint-Dicher, Madame de Polomieu, Madame de Brissac, and others. A significant role in the life of Saint-Martin was played by Madame de Boecklin (thanks to her spirituality and her great intelligence). She inspired him to read the works of Jacob Boehme. The preceding years of his life were only a preparation, for now his soul opened like a flower. The light of spiritual knowledge streamed from the works of Boehme into the prepared interior of Saint-Martin's being and gave an unwanted glamour to his mission. He felt a new plenitude of realization, a freedom from the fettering influence of the exterior world, henceforward only a field of action, a scope of fruitful service. The great French Revolution left him unshaken. As an initiate of high degree, he could easily unravel the meaning of tremendous events but, though compassionate for the mass of suffering showered on France, he never tried to avert the decisions of destiny as did other initiates, according to Cazotte, a man of high moral worth and a mystic, with whom he was in close relations. When death overshadowed Paris, snatching at highborn victims, Saint-Martin felt safe in this city, while he gave help to the needy without fear for his own life which he had entrusted to God. When forced to leave for Amboise he remained there to the end of his days, correcting and completing his work. He died on October 13, 1803. The pupils of Saint-Martin state that the last moments of his life were ecstatic. Light surrounded and transfigured him. He already had lived on another plane, and proved that the death of a mystic and initiate is free from the dread of the unknown. For a liberated soul, death is a shaking off of the limitations of matter, a return from exile, a reunion with the Celestial Father.
The Mission
We propose now, after having perused available documents, to present more exactly the phases of the development of Saint-Martin. His soul sought to manifest itself in exterior life in a way corresponding to his yearnings and vague desires. His meeting with De Grainville and De Balzac brought a change in his whole life. He seemed to receive a patent directive as to the future trend of his life. From his early youth he was always ready for an eager subjection to the interior imperative. Never did his exterior nature give opposition. It seemed to be a foresight of his own mission which exacted a holocaustal renouncement of his lower nature, a compromise in the service of truth, modesty and humility.
Martinez Pasquales was the first teacher of Saint-Martin. The chief idea of his doctrine of the reintegration of man--that is, man's return to that primary state before his plunge into the material world of phenomena--swept Saint-Martin. Overcome by the greatness of truth and beauty, he willingly devoted himself to all necessary studies and required practices. In the school of Martinez at Lyons the way toward Illuminism led through practices of ceremonial magic. The last goal was the union with God. Martinez Pasquales founded a convent in Lyons under the name of Elus Cohens. It was a time when great interest was awakened by esoteric problems, by so-called magic. Under the guidance of Villermoz, whom Saint-Martin came to know, the Lyons Lodge expanded.
The doctrine of Martinez magic and theurgy seemed most appropriate to Villermoz. It was his mission to spread Illuminism in France. He appreciated team work. Common pursuits at first drew those two eminent pupils of Martinez together, but there soon appeared their differences of character and psychic organization. They parted on the question of methods leading to the ultimate goal. Villermoz chose the mental way which exacted an intellectual development and found its expression in ceremonial magic, whereas Saint-Martin chose the way of the heart and found his expression in pure theurgy. He found magic undesirable because it magnified individual will power, which often led to pride, imperceptibly penetrated into the interior, and caused, if not a fall, a stumbling on the way to renascence. On the contrary theurgy as recognized by Saint-Martin developed ever-deeper humility, because of the tightening of the bond with God through prayer and imploration. Humility and simplicity, these two dominant traits of Saint-Martin's character, made him shun the pomp and resplendent form affected by the lodges. He was looking for a direct and simple expression of the experiences of the soul. He wanted above all to see and demonstrate the precious essence left by the intercourse with the Upper Powers.
An important landmark of Saint-Martin's development, as mentioned previously, was his contact with the so-called Unknown Agent, whose communicated teaching made a profound impression on him. It was at this time that he wrote his first book: On Error and Truth. Ever trying in all his aims to be as near truth as possible, he signed this book with the name "The Unknown Philosopher." This inspired work, because of its unusual tenor, started much discussion, especially in the circles of the Illuminati. Its thesis was that through the knowledge of his own nature man can attain the knowledge of his Creator and of all creation, and also of the fundamental laws of the Universe found reflected in the law made by man. In this light was shown the importance of free will, this fundamental aptitude of man, which when ill-used, leads to the fall of man, and when used for the good leads to the enfranchisement and resurrection in the spirit. The Unknown Agent was active in the Lyons Lodge and copies were made of his teachings. Saint-Martin eagerly assimilated these teachings and as time passed and he himself received revelation he desired to share it with the members of the Lyons Lodge. Dazzled and exhilarated by the light of his own knowledge, he expected the same reaction on the part of his brethren. How great and painful was his disappointment when he met with a cold and suspicious reception on the part of the assembly. This experience proved tremendous because he realized the dread responsibility of unveiling lofty truths to the unprepared. It was a blow which through him reached the Great Mediator and was all the more painful. After this, Saint-Martin developed a great reserve, a fear of divulging higher knowledge. Here we find the explanation of a certain obscurity veiling the light contained in his work. He apparently adopted the Pythagorean maxim: "Man has only one mouth and two ears."
The exterior life of our Unknown Philosopher was a living web on which the thread of his interior life embroidered the design, and for its perfection he knew how to use any happening, fortunate or unfortunate, always finding therein a concealed instruction. Saint-Martin discovered the great worth of silence, a condition absolutely necessary to assure inspiration. Was not silence a mantle protecting the invisible world from profanation? Nevertheless the school of silence was hard for a mystic of his temperament, whose soul desired above all to throw light into the dusk of ignorance.
A dry dogma could only impede the creative torrent of his interior life--silence could not fence his activity, but it served him to weigh spiritual gold before abandoning it to his pupil.
Next in turn was Saint-Martin's book Tableau Naturel (Natural Picture). Here the author treats of the relation between God, man, and nature. Man was deprived of his higher aptitudes and means, by reason of his plunge in matter so deeply that he lost the conscience of his primary nature, existent prior to his fall, which was a reflection of the image of God. Thus was man subjected to the laws reigning in the physical world. Through his fall, man stepped out of the frame of his own rights and ceased to be a link between God and Nature. Man possesses higher psychic aptitudes which can subject the senses and the forces of nature, if he becomes independent of the encroachment of the senses, without foregoing the possibility of making them serve him to enlarge the scope of his knowledge. Man as a rule possesses the faculty of perceiving law, order, unity, wisdom, justice, and power of a higher grade. By subjecting himself to the working of his own will, he can return to the fount of knowledge still existing in him; he can restore the unity which was the beginning of all. The renascence of man was made possible by the sacrifice of the Savior, and now any man can take part in the work of restoration of the old order and return to the old laws which are at the service of every creature.
Saint-Martin was an ardent foe of the philosophy of atheism and materialism then rife in the whole of Europe. In this period one can see the full individual richness of the Unknown Philosopher. He unites the cognizance gained from the invisible world with the knowledge of mind, and both things combined give the fullness of his teachings which deal with all the problems touching the conditions of the development of individuals, societies, and nations. This was the time of his untiring activity, of his numerous contacts in his own country and abroad. He found time for a large correspondence and shared with others the fruit of his knowledge. The influence of Saint-Martin and the diffusion of his teachings in France, England and Russia date from the year 1785. This is shown by his letters and the work of Longinow: Nowikow and the Moscow Martinists.
When in London he met Law, the mystic, and also M. Belz, the famous clairvoyant. This meeting proved very important. He became a friend of Zinovoew and of Prince Galitzin, who introduced Martinism into Russia. If Martinism was criticized and persecuted, it was only the result of ignorance as to the essence and the aims of this doctrine, and also the result of the human faults of sundry Martinists--weak and incomplete natures, unequal to the high moral stand demanded by the teachings of Saint-Martin.
THE spreading of Saint-Martin's teachings was accompanied by personal social success, but the warm sympathy, the sincere friendships awakened by contact with his prepossessing personality did not hinder his interior life. By making personal application of his teachings, his being was so purified that his interior peace could not be endangered. His sole desire was to serve God and mankind. His soul thirsting for more light was receiving it in a higher grade, and assimilating it for the benefit of posterity. He reached his climax when he became acquainted with the works of Jacob Boehme. Here he found the definite solution of all problems on the highest rung of the ladder leading to perfect union with God the Father. Jacob Boehme was not a teacher in the same sense as Martinez Pasquales had been to the young Saint-Martin, but his importance was greater because Saint-Martin was now well prepared to receive a new revelation through Jacob Boehme. A new light came into his soul, was assimilated, and quickened the interior process of transformation. He was now strung for the highest tone. We find an echo of his interior experiences in letters addressed to his close friend Baron de Liebistorf (Kirchberger). Jacob Boehme was a mystic by the Grace of God. Revelation, descent of light, soul-rapture--many expressions may describe the shock of the suddenly awakened soul.
We see the various ways of enlightenment when the "vase of election" is prepared to receive it. In Saint-Martin's book L'homme de désir (The Man of Desire), we see the new seed produced by the assimilation of Boehme's doctrine. This book reminds one of the psalms which express the yearning of the soul to God and deplore the fall of man, his errors and sins, his blindness, and his ingratitude.
Pointing to the divine origin of man, Saint-Martin saw the possibility of man's returning to his former state, when he was in accord with the law of God. But only by abandoning the way of sin and following the teachings of the Redeemer Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who stepped down from the heights of His celestial throne out of love for the whole of mankind, is man solely worthy of worship and through love and by imitating Him can he attain Salvation.
Who will be victorious in this struggle? The one who does not care to be recognized and remembered by men, but devotes all his endeavors so as not to be erased out of God's memory? Had it not been for the advent of a man who was able to say "I am not of this world," what would have been the lot of human posterity? Mankind would have merged into darkness, separated forever from the fatherland. Even though many people are separating from love, can love renounce them?
In his later work Ecce Homo, Saint-Martin warns of the danger of seeking emotional incentive, miraculous experiences of a lower grade, such as fortunetelling, spiritism, and sundry phenomena which are only the outcome of abnormal psychophysical states of man. This road leads mankind to an unknown and dread darkness, to an ever-deeper fall, whereas salvation can be attained only through conscious rebirth.
In his book Le Nouvel Homme (The New Man), published in the same year, the author treats of thought as an organ of renascence, which permits the penetration of the inmost depth of man and the discovery of eternal truth of his being. The soul of man is God's thought; man's duty is to unravel the secret text and then do his utmost to enlarge and manifest it throughout his whole life. In his work De l'Esprit des Choses (The Spirit of Things), Saint-Martin states that man, created after the image and likeness of God, is able to penetrate to the core of being, concealed in the whole of creation, and that because of his clear insight he is able to see and to recognize God's truths deposed in Nature. The inner light is a reflector which illumines all forms. On the intensity of this light depends the grade of enlightenment and the distinctness needed by man reborn in spirit and reading the open Book of Life.
Saint-Martin's book Le Ministère de l'Homme-Esprit (The Ministry of the Man-Spirit) completes all previous indications, presenting a goal not unlike the summit of a high mountain. Man climbs it, urged by an interior necessity and with the foretaste of victory, bringing freedom after hardships and sufferings. A freedom, in this case, which is synonymous with the greatest bliss attainable on earth. There exists a radical and unique Ray for the opening and spreading of universal morality and goodness, and it is the full development of our interior imminent essence. The highest sacrifice for the salvation of mankind has been already offered; it is now for man to offer in voluntary sacrifice, his own lower nature, crucify it, and thus free it from the fetters of gross matter. It is the return of the prodigal son to his Father, ever full of charity and forgiveness. It is the reaching of perfect unity with Him: "I and my Father are one."
Each soul possesses its own mirror which reflects the Unique Truth, a prism and a rainbow coloring, and this is why the works of Saint-Martin are unlike the works of Boehme. The life missions of these men also were different, although springing from the same source--the same urge to serve mankind by opening a new way for its progress. The French mystic prized highly the works of Boehme, even though he found them rather chaotic and confusing. He wanted to offer them to his own countrymen, and translated into French the most important of Boehme's books: l'Aurore Naissante (Birth of Dawn), Les Trois Principles de l'Essence Divine (Three Principles of Divine Essence), De la Triple Vie de l'Homme (Triple Life of Man), Quarante Questions sur l'Ame (Forty Soul-Questions).
After the death of the Unknown Philosopher, some of his shorter writings were published. We should quote: Chosen Thoughts, many, many ethical and philosophical fragments, also poetry, including the Cimetière d'Amboise (Amboise Cemtery), l'Origine de la Destination de l'Homme (Origin of Man's Destination), besides meditations and prayers.
Saint-Martin was interested in the science of numbers. It is true his work Les Nombres (Of Numbers) was never finished, but still it contains many important indications not to be found elsewhere; he analyzed numbers from a metaphysical and mystic point of view. In numbers, he found a confirmation of his theory of the fall and rebirth of man. Number is not taken in the sense of a dead sign, but as an expression of the Creative Word. It has life and essence; it is the system of the great Adam Kadmon, an iron structure on which reposes the great work of the Creator. Each number denotes a certain idea and acts on several planes. All is the outcome of unity flowing from God's womb. Love and sacrifice were the foundation of the act of Creation. The original sin and the fall of man, his lawlessness, and his sinking in matter must be redeemed by sacrifice and love of the Creator; only this can achieve the return to Unity.
The French Revolution
The letters and activity of Saint-Martin explain his relation toward the French Revolution, a thing which to many critics has remained obscure, because he could be understood only by the Illuminated and by mystics. Behind all phenomena on the physical plane, there is the film of the astral plane. As long as this has not yet appeared in the visible world, there are possibilities of change, of diversion by sacrifice and by appeal to the mercy of God. We know the symbolical narrative about the ten just men who might have saved Sodom from destruction. Astral films are not all developed, it is said, because they may be changed by higher factors in the invisible world and also by man on earth. But once the fatal film is developed, no human power can stop the course of events. Saint-Martin not only believed--he knew that if once Providence permits the realization of a film, bringing untold woe to people, redemption if not voluntary, must be imposed. He saw the French Revolution as an image and a beginning of the Last Judgment which will continue on this earth, proceeding gradually. He affirmed that the social structure cannot be durable, satisfying to the majority and lofty, if it is not based on perfect knowledge of man's psychophysical organization, if it does not correspond to divine laws reflected in him. A legislator should have in him a profound understanding of man's interior nature, his policy must be moral, he must find a social order expressing knowledge, justice and power. All attempts to build on transient or erroneous values only lead to disaster, whether they last a longer or a shorter space of time.
In his work Le Crocodile, war between good and evil, Saint-Martin pictures how evil slinks among things holy and with what perfidy it distills its venom to destroy the blinded and the insensible. But evil has an allotted space of time and can be easily recognized by signs discernible and cannot mislead those who look with spiritual eyes, who watch and are knights of the good purpose. The greater the intrepid army under the banners of good, the sooner comes victory over the treacherous but always weaker array of evil.
The relation of Saint-Martin toward the French Revolution depended on his type of knowledge--and what other man possessed such insight in things spiritually? He understood what was going on and worked diligently in the domain of mysticism. He also did the best to solve the problem of a just and happier social organization. The influence of the French Revolution is evident in the works of Saint-Martin. It could not be otherwise.
The Martinist Order
The doctrine of Saint-Martin spread widely over the world under the form of an Order of Initiation and bore the name Martinist Order. Saint-Martin was for individual initiation. Each single member was carefully chosen, and was given the opportunity for close and familiar contact. Then the Initiator gave him indications and teachings which he most needed and which were not above his comprehension. The way was longer than that of working with a whole group but surer, since the pure doctrine remained unadulterated and reposed on the members of the Order and thus gained force and expression.
Not all the Colleges of this Order took this line recommended by Saint-Martin, however, and the result was deplorable. We have already said that according to Saint-Martin, man was the key to all mysteries of the Universe, the image of the whole truth. His body represented the whole visible world and was bound to it, but his spirit represented the invisible world and also belonged to it. Man can attain the whole truth through the cognizance of his own nature with all its aptitudes--physical, intellectual, and spiritual. He must fathom the relation of his conscience to his free will. Saint-Martin treats of this in his Revelation Nouvelle (New Revelation). Certain traits underline the likeness of man to his Creator, and these are boundless creative powers and free will. These traits, even though only blurred reflections of God, can work in perfect concordance with His laws--they lead to Him and bring man to the source of bliss. The same traits if ill-used disrupt the natural union with God, and they subject man to powers of a lower grade. Man has it in his power to repair the harm done if all his aptitudes are bent on the sole object.
Saint-Martin speaks of Unity as of a first cause, an innermost essence always living, from which everything emanates. Thus each being, however distant from the centrum or on whatever plane of evolution, is bound to the first cause and is part of this Unity, similarly to the sunbeam which, no matter how far its travel in infinite space, is always bound to the sun by the waves of vibration. The central light from which emanate all suns, although part of the whole system of suns and beams, retains its independence and is different from artificial light. God is all, but all is not God. The doctrine of Saint-Martin applies to the whole of mankind. He desired its union in the name of love and considered brotherhood as the basis of social life.
It is an error to take the idea of equality of all people for a basis. Saint-Martin considered that equality was a mathematical constant, an outcome of order and harmony. Brotherhood is that factor of love which regulates the relations between man and binds justice with charity, strength with weakness.
Wrong, exploitation, and tyranny cannot remain in the light of fraternal love. Out of a thus conceived brotherhood is derived a proper and just sense of equality which reposes on a propositional relation between rights and duties. Sair, in his essay on Saint-Martin, explains it thus: "The constant relation between the circumference of a circle and his ray is expressed in mathematics by the letter n, whether the circle's dimension be in millimetres or in millions of kilometres." One can then say that the circumferences of circles have an equality of relation between them. The same is true of man: the circumference is his right; the law is the limit which man cannot transgress; and the beam, or rather the surface described by his ray in its revolutions around the center, is his field of duty. As the circumferences increase, the circles increase also; as the rights of man increase, his duties increase in proportion.
In the Universe whose law is Unity in Plurality, everything reposes on order and harmony. For the existence of order and harmony, it is necessary that each thing should be in its right place in perfect harmony with all beings and things. The singular man is happiest when there is in him a perfect balance between rights and duties. On this balance is based equality: the more rights, the more duties; the fewer duties, the fewer rights. As the basis of equality there must be brotherhood without which there would be hate and jealousy between the strong and the weak, between the rich and the poor. Only Brotherhood can bind the human family with the bonds of community. In an ideally united loving family each of its members finds his place according to his strength and aptitude, and each will willingly undertake the corresponding number of duties and will enjoy the rights which are unquestionably his. The social edifice which is built on so-called equality has no durable foundation, because here brotherhood is imposed and not a voluntary condition. Likewise, the imposition of duties meets with resistance, and, besides this, a division of duties in this manner does not always conciliate justice with charity; it is quite another thing when altruism and solidarity are the foundation of brotherhood.
Liberty is for every being the effect which follows the strict observance of the limits described by law. A man who transgresses the law loses to that extent his freedom. To be free man must carefully keep the balance between his rights and duties, and if he wants to enlarge the scope of his rights he must recognize the additional duties that this will necessarily bring him.
To make a summary, we shall say that the happiness of mankind consists in the union of all the members of its great family. This union can be achieved only through brotherhood which creates equality through the stable balance of rights and duties, assuring at the same time freedom, security, and shelter.
True Christianity
ne sees from all that has been said that Saint-Martin was a profound Christian thinker who wanted to make way for Christian ideas and use them for the building of the social structure. According to him the Love of Christ should possess the right to rule the life of men. The Martinist Order is thus a Christian knighthood and each of its members, according to the Founder, is bound to work out his own interior development, passing phases of ever-deeper rebirths in the spirit till the culminating point of God's birth in him. The member's duty is to serve the whole of mankind unsparingly as regards strength and sacrifice. Martinism was thus an announcement of the approaching Epoch of the Cosmic Christ who shall be universally revealed in the souls of men individually, in this great process of transformation.
In its sublime work, Martinism approaches the ancient and mystic order of the Rosicrucians (AMORC), whose enlightening influence on mankind has lasted for centuries and which is like the eternal fount of light streaming for the renascence of mankind. Both of these Orders are affiliated with the international organization known as F.U.D.O.S.I. (Federation Universelles des Ordres et Societes Initiatiques).
For all the Martinists who worship the memory of their beloved Master, the Unknown Philosopher, a last adjuration is contained in his mystic testament:
"The only initiation I recommend and seek with the greatest ardor of my soul is the one through which we can enter the Heart of God and induce this divine heart to enter ours. Thus shall be perfected the indissoluble marriage which shall make us a friend, a brother, a spouse of our Divine Savior."
There is no other way of reaching this sacred Initiation than by going deep down into our own being, never ceasing in our endeavors until we reach the goal, the depth, where we shall see the living and vivifying root; thence-forward shall we, in a natural manner, give fruit corresponding to our nature, as it is with the trees of the earth held by the various roots through which vital juices rise upward unceasingly.
