Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society
all probability , be dated April 1788 . It is signed on the bottom right by “ Giroust Orator of the Loge du Secret à l ’ Orient at Beaufort in Anjou .”
This Brother , firstly an Orator in the Longué lodge and then founder of the Beaufort lodge , acted as Orator at the Beaufort lodge under its two successive names , and is the author of Manuscripts C and E . He boasts a remarkable eloquence and erudition ; he seems fully conscious of being invested with a true mission of dissemination , and fulfils his role marvellously : for the Masonic Order is organzsing itself , and must reaffirm its roots and its aims .
Speeches Whose Content is Philosophical , Symbolic , Esoteric , and Scientific The study of various manuscripts brings out other elements rich in lessons for us . Let us distance ourselves from the outset from the content of rituals and catechisms — which , nevertheless , are most interesting , relating to the grades such as those of True Scotsman , Irish Perfect Master , English Perfect Master , and Parisian Perfect Master — for this relates rather to specialist work on rituals .
We know that in the eighteenth century the ideas of liberty , tolerance , and equality are circulating in society , and that they are accompanied by a pronounced taste for new sciences . 1751 sees the publication of the first volume of Diderot and Alembert ’ s Encyclopedia , 1762 sees the outbreak of the Calas affair , and 1765 Calas ’ s rehabilitation thanks to Voltaire … . New ideas are bubbling up and taking their place alongside the more dynamic traditional ideas ; they pave the way for the profound changes that will soon take place : this is the eve of the Revolution .
The various speeches are very erudite , enriched by history , philosophy , law , and physics . They are strongly influenced both by scientific progress and by the great esoteric currents of the moment . They take in , in no particular order , hermeticism , alchemy , theosophy , and the Rosicrucian movement . Christianity and alchemy are intermixed . The speeches are replete with faith and gnosis , as if faith needed to be both upheld and surpassed ; they urge a constant effort of individual interpretation of texts and symbols alike .
In the speeches , concern for the transmission of symbolic meanings , and of the raisons d ’ être of the Masonic Order , is constant and primordial . The speakers apply themselves to connecting Freemasonry to the great initiatory currents that have always existed . They explain to their audience the notions of universal correspondence that go from Nature to Man and from Man to God , the ideas of the Unity of the world , of Primordial Tradition and Law . “ But a powerful God who ceaselessly watches over the conservation of his works has imprinted with his fingertip in the heart of all men a Primordial Law which everywhere is represented to them in the most brilliant characters . Ceaselessly , it makes heard this Reason , this natural Law which is the inexhaustible source of so many other laws equally necessary for the maintenance of societies ; it is necessary to submit to them since their utility commits us to it and our Happiness depends upon it .” 49
With its references to the first chapter of Genesis and to Kepler ’ s laws , Manuscript B is a discourse on the theme of the two great Luminaries . Following a learned demonstration of their respective movements , it invites its audience to reflect upon the reasons for their presence in the Orient in Masonic temples , referring them to
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! an Order that embraces in its expansion the four cardinal points of the universe .” Manuscript E , pages 1 and 8 . 49 Manuscript D , page 13 .
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