An encyclopedic outline of masonic, hermetic, cabbalistic and rosicrucian symbolical philosophy. Being an interpretation of the secret teachings concealed within the rituals, allegories and mysteries of all ages

Evolution is always followed by a process of dissolution. According to Herbert Spencer, however, disintegration occurs only so that reintegration can follow at a higher level of being.

The most prominent position in the Italian school of philosophy should be given to Giordano Bruno. After enthusiastically accepting Copernicus’s theory that the sun is the center of the solar system, Bruno declared that the sun is a star and that all stars are suns. In Bruno’s time, the earth was regarded as the center of all creation. Consequently, when he relegated the world and humanity to an obscure corner of space, the effect was cataclysmic. Bruno paid with his life for the heresy of affirming a multiplicity of universes and conceiving of a Cosmos so vast that no single creed could encompass it.

Vicoism is a philosophy based on the conclusions of Giovanni Battista Vico, who held that God controls His world through natural law rather than through miracles. Vico declared that the laws by which people rule themselves emerge from a spiritual source within humanity that is original: "en rapport" in harmony with the law of the Deity. Therefore, material law is of divine origin and reflects the commands of the Spiritual Father. The philosophy of Ontologism the doctrine that the knowledge of God is immediate and intuitive was developed by Vincenzo Gioberti (generally considered more a theologian than a philosopher). He posits God as the only being and the source of all knowledge, asserting that knowledge is identical with the Deity itself. Consequently, God is called Being; all other manifestations are mere existences. Truth is discovered by reflecting on this mystery.

The most important modern Italian philosopher is Benedetto Croce, a Hegelian idealist. Croce believes that ideas are the only reality. He is anti-theological in his viewpoints, does not believe in the immortality of the soul, and seeks to replace religion with ethics and aesthetics. Other branches of Italian philosophy include Sensism (Sensationalism), which claims that sense perceptions are the only channels for receiving knowledge; Criticism, or the philosophy of Immanuel Kant; and Neo-Scholasticism, which is a revival of Thomism the philosophical system of Saint Thomas Aquinas encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church.

The ancient symbol of the Orphic Mysteries was the egg entwined by a serpent, which signified the Cosmos encircled by the fiery Creative Spirit. The egg also represents the soul of the philosopher, while the serpent represents the Mysteries. At the time of initiation, the shell is broken and the individual emerges from the embryonic state of physical existence, where they had remained through the developmental period of philosophical rebirth.

The two outstanding schools of American philosophy are Transcendentalism and Pragmatism. Transcendentalism, exemplified in the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, emphasizes the power of the spiritual and intuitive over the physical. Many of Emerson’s writings show a pronounced Eastern influence, particularly his essays on the "Oversoul" and the "Law of Compensation." The theory of Pragmatism, while not originating with Professor William James, owes its widespread popularity to his efforts. Pragmatism may be defined as the doctrine that the meaning and nature of things are discovered by considering their practical consequences. According to James, the "true" is simply whatever is useful for our thinking, just as the "right" is whatever is useful for our behavior (see his book Pragmatism). John Dewey, the Instrumentalist, who applies an experimental attitude to all life's aims, should be considered a complement to James. For Dewey, growth and change are limitless, and no final endpoints are assumed. The long residence of George Santayana in America justifies listing this great Spaniard among American philosophers. Defending himself with skepticism against both the illusions of the senses and the accumulation of traditional fancies, Santayana seeks to lead humanity into a more perceptive state that he calls the life of reason.

(In addition to the authorities already quoted, the author referenced the following works in preparing this summary of the main branches of philosophical thought: Stanley’s History of Philosophy; Morell’s An Historical and Critical View of the Speculative Philosophy of Europe in the Nineteenth Century; Singer’s Modern Thinkers and Present Problems; Rand’s Modern Classical Philosophers; Windelband’s History of Philosophy; Perry’s Present Philosophical Tendencies; Hamilton’s Lectures on Metaphysics and Logic; and Durant’s The Story of Philosophy.)

Having traced the somewhat sequential development of philosophical speculation from Thales to James and Bergson, it is now time to direct the reader's attention to the factors that led to the birth of philosophical thinking. Although the Greeks proved to be uniquely responsive to the discipline of philosophy, this "science of sciences" should not be considered native to them. Thomas Stanley writes, "Although some of the Greeks have claimed for their nation the origin of philosophy, the more learned among them have acknowledged it to be derived from the East." The magnificent institutions of Hindu, Chaldean, and Egyptian learning must be recognized as the actual source of Greek wisdom. This wisdom was modeled after the influence of the sanctuaries of Ellora, Ur,

and Memphis upon the thoughts of a primitive people. Thales, Pythagoras, and Plato, in their philosophical travels, encountered many distant cultures and brought back the knowledge of Egypt and the mysterious Orient.

From indisputable facts like these, it is clear that philosophy emerged from the religious Mysteries of antiquity and was not separated from religion until after those Mysteries declined. Therefore, anyone who wishes to understand the depths of philosophical thought must become familiar with the teachings of those initiated priests who were the first guardians of divine revelation. The Mysteries claimed to be the protectors of a spiritual knowledge so profound that only the most exalted intellects could understand it—and so powerful that it could only be safely revealed to those who had killed their personal ambition and consecrated their lives to the unselfish service of humanity. Both the dignity of these sacred institutions and the validity of their claim to possess Universal Wisdom are confirmed by the most illustrious philosophers of antiquity. These philosophers were themselves initiated into the depths of the secret doctrine and testified to its power.

One might legitimately ask: If these ancient mystical institutions were of such great importance, why is so little information available today about them and the arcana secret knowledge they claimed to possess? The answer is simple: the Mysteries were secret societies that bound their initiates to absolute silence and punished the betrayal of their sacred trusts with death. Although these schools were the true inspiration for the various doctrines promoted by ancient philosophers, the source of those doctrines was never revealed to the uninitiated. Furthermore, over time, the teachings became so closely linked with the names of the individuals who spread them that the actual, hidden source—the Mysteries—was eventually ignored.

Symbolism is the language of the Mysteries. In fact, it is the language not only of mysticism and philosophy but of all Nature. Every law and power active in the universe is revealed to the limited senses of man through the medium of symbols. Every form existing in the diverse world of being is symbolic of the divine activity that produced it. Through symbols, people have always sought to communicate thoughts that go beyond the limits of language. Rejecting human-made dialects as inadequate to preserve divine ideas, the Mysteries chose symbolism as a far more ingenious and ideal method of preserving their spiritual knowledge. A single symbol can both reveal and conceal; to the wise, the meaning is obvious, while to the ignorant, the figure remains a mystery. Therefore, anyone seeking to unveil the secret doctrine of antiquity must look for it not on the open pages of books, which might fall into the hands of the unworthy, but in the place where it was originally hidden.

The initiates of antiquity were far-sighted. They realized that nations come and go, empires rise and fall, and the golden ages of art, science, and idealism are followed by dark ages of superstition. Keeping the needs of future generations in mind, the sages of old went to incredible lengths to ensure their knowledge would be preserved. They engraved it onto mountains and hid it within the proportions of colossal statues, each of which was a geometric marvel. They hid their knowledge of chemistry and mathematics within mythologies that the ignorant would continue to repeat, or within the spans and arches of their temples, which time has not entirely destroyed. They wrote in characters that neither human vandalism nor the harsh elements could completely erase. Today, people gaze with awe and reverence at the mighty Memnon statues standing alone in the Egyptian sands, or at the strange stepped pyramids of Palenque. These are silent testimonies to the lost arts and sciences of antiquity. This wisdom must remain hidden until our race has learned to read the universal language—SYMBOLISM.

The book for which this is the introduction is dedicated to the idea that a secret doctrine concerning the inner mysteries of life is hidden within the symbolic figures, allegories, and rituals of the ancients. This doctrine has been preserved original: "in toto" entirely among a small group of initiated minds since the beginning of the world. Upon departing, these enlightened philosophers left behind their formulas so that others might also reach understanding. However, to prevent these secret processes from falling into unrefined hands and being misused, the Great Secret was always hidden in symbol or allegory. Those who can discover its lost keys today can open a treasure house of philosophical, scientific, and religious truths.