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by M. R. Osborne (Translator)
Human Authored Certification by the Authors Guild.
The first and definitive translation into English of the Lyons manuscripts and letters of Martinez de Pasqually.
Founded by the enigmatic Martinez (Martinés) de Pasqually, the Order of Knight-Masons Elect Priests of the Universe (or Élus Coëns) left an indelible impression on French Freemasonry and worldwide Martinism. Pasqually's Élus Coëns worked tirelessly for the restoration of man's inner divinity and eventual reintegration with God. The fraternity practised a white magic system (theurgy) to recover humanity's original, spiritual memory.
Composed by Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin, Jean-Baptiste Willermoz and Jean-Jacques Du Roy d'Hauterive, The Lessons of Lyons (sometimes called "A Course in Martinism during the 18th Century") is a contemporary commentary on the instructions given by Pasqually, reproduced here in English for the first time. A collection of teachings and notes taken during a period of three short years (1774 - 1776), The Lessons of Lyons provides a fascinating insight into the small lodge of members of Pasqually's Order of Élus Coën meeting in that city at that time.
Since Pasqually was elusive and cryptic at best in his mailed instructions, the weekly meetings held by Jean-Baptiste Willermoz, Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin, and Roy d'Hauterive, would have been instructive to the new members. This collection of teachings provides invaluable insight into the working and especially the purpose of that spiritually-charged theurgic order.
This book is highly recommended to all those interested in early French Masonry, esoteric currents and a singular path of theurgic praxis which drew so heavily on the earlier European currents and set them against the atheistic tendencies of the encyclopaedists and Enlightenment forces of the time, which threatened not only to separate science from belief, but to overthrow belief in the numinous entirely. Included in the book are extracts from Pasqually's surviving letters.
Authors Guild Human Authored Certification 7236630
Hardcover. Third edition. Volume 1 in the Élus Coëns Collection.
"This volume occupies a proud place on my bookshelf! I highly recommend this book to all those interested in early French Masonry, esoteric currents and a singular path of theurgic praxis which drew so heavily on the earlier European currents, and set them against the atheistic tendencies of the Encyclopaedists and Enlightenment forces of the time which threatened not only to separate science from belief, but to overthrow belief in the numinous entirely." Piers Vaughan
