ROSICRUCIAN ORDER A M O R C TRADE MARK
Supplementary Monograph PRINTED IN
ü. S, A. A.
The subject matter of this monograph must be understood by the reader or student of same, not to be the official official Rosicrucian teachings. Thes e monographs constitute a series of suppleme ntary studies studies provided by the Rosicrucian Order, Order, .AMORC, both both to members and nonmembers, because they are not the secret, prívate teachings of the Order, The object of these supplementary monographs is to broaden the mind of the student by presenting him with the writings, opinions, and dissertations of authorities in various fields of human enterprise enterprise and endeavor. endeavor. Therefore, it is quite probable probable that the reader will note at times in these supplementary monographs statements made which are inconsistent with the Rosicrucian teachings or viewpoint. Rut with the the realizatio n that they are meremerely supplementary and that tne Rosicrucian Organization is not endorsing or condoning them, one must take them merely for their prim a facie valué. Throughout the supple mentary series the authors or translators of the subject will be given due credit whenever we have knowledge of their identity.
ROSICRUCIAN PARK, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
Consecrated to truth and dedicated to every Rosicrucian
SPECIAL SUBJECT
VILLAGE OF DEVIL RAD-12
LECTURE NUMBER
RAD-12 Leeture One
AMORC - Rosícrucian Grder AIALYTICA AIALYTICAL L DISCUS SIOHS
-Cfaae Or. e
(Supplementary Leeture) THE VILLAGE OF THE DEVIL By H* H* Spencer Spen cer Lewis, P h .D . All rights righ ts reserv res erved ed by the Supreme Grand Gra nd Lodge of A .M.O .M .O.R .R.C .C., ., Inc. Inc. INTRODUCTION The story as I now tell it contains all the verifications which were possibl pos sible e to obtain. I have written writt en the story in the fo forra of a pe r sonally conducted tour of the Village, not in the way in which I person per sonall ally y reache rea ched d the place, but in the mann ma nner er by which whi ch our students stude nts may reach rea ch it. it. : My readers reade rs will note not e with what detail and exaetness 1 have giveri the location of the Village and of all the points necessary in reaching it and apprecia appr eciatin ting g its its exist exi sten ence ce. . There has been no attempt to veil its ' location locat ion or withhol with hold d a single fact rela ting tin g to my journey there o All that the student of the story will require to make plain the precise environment environ ment of the Village will be a map of Southern South ern Francej and on the the larger m a p s , such as as those issued issu ed by the French Fren ch governmen gover nment t (and to to be found fou nd in all large America Amer ican n libr li brar ar les} le s}, , one will find the cities of Montpe Mon tpelli llier er and Montpe Mon tpelli lliere erette tte and the other villages village s mentioned ment ioned. . And, even on the comraon maps of Prance one may see in the south of the country the mountain range marked Cevennes Mountains and the River Ta rn . In that section where the the Tarn passes throug t hrough h the Gevennes are are the Black Mountains--the canyons to which one must travel to visit the Village of the Devil. There is one question which will probably be asked by many readers unless I anticipate anti cipate i t . u\Jhj have you not shown some pictures of the Vill Villag age? e?'* '* I cannot canno t show thern because I did not make mak e any. any. I was w a m e d not to attempt to make any pictures of the Village and accordingly I did not take my camer ca mera a with me on this trip . Pictures Picture s have always been bee n forbidden, fo rbidden, and I trust that none no ne will wil l ever be taken of this placel for those who would see the sights described herein must journey to the place and person per sonall ally y view vie w the sights. The Village Vill age of the Devil is more than a place which wh ich can be picturedj it is truly trul y a condi co nditio tion n of mind mi nd and soul as well, which whic h cannot be pictured.
The whole Southern part of Prance was at one time part of the Román Empire, and Gaesar in his Commentar Com mentaries ies describes these regions region s as Gaul, Gaul, Its hist hi stor ory y from fr om then the n until unti l its poss po sses essi sion on by the Px Px-aiiks, the Normans, Normans , and the the English Englis h is is exceeding exce edingly ly interesting, but but has no place here her e ' except to introduce into this story one of the characters heretofore unknown as associated in any way with the Village of the Devil.
RAD-12 Leeture One
AMORC - Rosicr .. Jrder ANALYTI ANAL YTICAL CAL .DlL-'ü- SIONS SIONS
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Duri Du ring ng ’biie fír^t fír^ t contar con tarles les aiter aite r Christ, Chris t, Prance Pran ce was gove go vern rned ed most mo stly ly by the various counts and lords of its provinees. A king ki ng at that time time was n o m i n a l a s far a s his influence over t h e s e S o u t h e r n Senechausees was
concerned,
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Tculouse and its c-oanty of the same ñame, known to the Románs as wa rfar are. e. Its Its Tolosa. was always the center of external strife and warf posses pos sessio sion n meant me ant not only powerful rulership of vast lands and wealthy towns and produets, but such rulership gave inf luence to conquer conqu er and rule rul e over other othe r adjoini adjo ining ng counties coun ties and t o w n s . Thus Th us, , the zeal t.o become Gount or Lord of Toulouse was shown by leaders of every European nation, and after Pepin the Short ceased to exercise such rulership, Charlemagne. the great ruler of Prance and Germany, undertook to hi s, of course, course, was a n e w method met hod to those select the second C o u n t . T his, who had ha d beli b elieve eved d that warfare and possession of the land gave goveming authority.
The man chosen cho sen by Charlemagi Charlemagie e was Gui G uill llau aume me. . :In these days there were no family or surnames and this Guillaume, like many man y others, others, was given becaus e of sorne peculiar! pecu liar!ty, ty, and thus we find fin d him hi m called call ed a second ñame because Guillau Guil laume me Cor-t Cor-tne nez z (from au cort ne n e z ). Coun t Theodoric, Theod oric, and as as Count of of Toulouse Toulo use this He was a son of Count Guillaume Guillaume had mediate or immediate rule over the County of Toulouse with wit h its its many vill vi llas as, , and aiso aiso over the important and ancient cities of Beziers, N i m e s , Agde, MagueIon Ma gueIon, , Lo deve and a nd Uzes, The history of this man, man, in the man y peculiar French Fre nch manuscripts, is remarkable remarkabl e for its numerous legends, chronicles and poems of praise, notably: Le Charroy de Nismes Nis mes and _L _Le Moinage Moinag e de Gui G uill llau aume me. . He was a sincerely si ncerely religious man and a lover of peace and justice. In a rare account of his life we find the following incident of interest to this story t ■ l!He sought a place for f or a monast mon astery ery where those, those, like hims hi msel elf, f, sincere sincere in their religious beliefs and desiring quiet and peace, íiiight worship undistur undi sturbed bed by the the wars constantly consta ntly being waged wage d about them. them. He found, found, " in the moun mo unta tain ins s of Lodeve (in (in the very distric dis trict t where whe re we shall sha ll “visit the Village of the Devil) one gorge closed and profound, favorable by its isol is olme ment nt, , for medit me ditati ation on and prayer. In effect eff ect, , in the middle of the savage sight, sight, surrounde surr ounded d by enormous masses of granite was this beautif bea utiful ul plateau, whereon whe reon Guillaume Guilla ume decided decide d to build buil d one of the most famous monasteries of Europe."
The monastery was built elaborately and magificently of that rare white granite granit e which whic h is so so plentiful plentif ul in this section of Prance, Prance, and it it rose m a jestically amid the other rocks of dark and tinted colcrs. Guillaume1 intention intent ion was to cali this mona mo naste stery ry the Abbaye de Ge 1Ion, 1Ion, a ñame ñam e which is of ten used u sed for it in ancient m a n u s c r i p t s , ; but after Guil Gu illa laum ume5 e5s death, when it w a s c o n s e c r a t e d by the Pope Pope, , i t w a s named the abbey
RAD-12 Leeture One
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Page Ihree
Saint-Guillera-du-Desert, ín honor- of íts founder and souvenir of its deserted location. G-uilla G-uillaume ume díed díed ín 812 or 813In two ancien anc ient t charts char ts dated dat ed in in the 34'th year of the the reign of Chariemagne Chariema gne (8OI4. A .D* ), the re appe ap pea ars the the fact fa ct that that he lef t , besides several sons, sons, two two daughters, daughter s, Albane Alban e and Ber B erth the. e.
It is with these two sisters that we must begin the foundation of the known history of the Village of the Devil. If we are to believe the troubadours and the monks of these days da ys, , who were so careful to chronicle the smallest detall, we must mus t believe beli eve that these two sisters were extremely be au tifu ti fu l. Beauty in those days was t o d a y . These girls were Prenda, not of the not of the standard of to Parisian, but of the Román t y p e . It is features such as they possessed, the beautifully modeled chins, iips, nose nos e and an d forehead, that that we see in the rare paintings of oíd masters| ít was the highest type of that Latin charra now almost extinct. And they were young at the time this story be gi n s, In these days days knighthood was in flower. The ambition ambiti on of every young you ng man was was to to become a lord. The strong, strong, the brave bra ve and fearless became the counts, the duke du kes, s, and prlnces. Professi Prof essions ons there were non es and the the trades with wit h other manual manu al work were left to to the ma ss e s. Marf Ma rfar are* e* gallantry, and love were the occupations of the young men, and, consequently, the beautif bea utiful ul and wealth we althy y dames were fervent ferv ently ly and steadily stead ily courted cour ted by these aspiring princes. It was in these days days that the art of seren se renadi ading ng became so popular. popular . To be a successfu succe ssful l troubadour troub adour was to be the admirati admi ration on of all the noble nobl e and gentle ladies, and the envy of eVery man in the the kingdom. Rere we find the origin of the beautiful romanee language and the weird and captiva cap tivating ting poems of lo ve . The trou tr ouba badou dour, r, young you ng cr oíd, oíd, with some some musical musi cal instrument instrum ent strung over ove r his shoulder and ciad in the knee kne e breeches bree ches and cloaks so popular then, was always welcome at the royal ceremonies, and the quee qu ee n 1s chamber cham ber or or court was was always open to to him. He would wou ld sit sit for hours, and, and, surro su rrounde unded d by these noble nob le girls and women, women, would wou ld compose compo se and sing words words of love and admiration, while they the y would shower showe r upon him hi m flowers of many man y colors. Here, too, too, was the origin orig in of the famous flower flow er fetes and the courts of love. It was in in this this manne ma nner r that that Albane Alban e and Berthe were courted. Beautiful, young, young, and noble, they were famed fam ed for their their v ir t u e . Thelr Thel r home was a strange oíd stone castle built upon the pinnacle of a large rock situated situa ted in the the mountain moun tains s leading lea ding to to the the Village of of the De vi l . Here they led a most enjoyable enjoyabl e life, life, constan cons tantly tly courted cour ted by duke du ke s, lords, lords, counts, counts, visc vi scou ount nts, s, and princes prin ces and at all times the center of every conceivable forra of entertainment. in additi add ition on to to their cha charras, they were wealthyCons Co nsid idera erable ble prop pr oper erty ty had been given to them by by their thei r father, and since it covere cov ered d a large
RAD-12
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Lecture Lecture One
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and prospero pros perous us territory, territory, there were always always among their admirers those who sought to obtain possession of ít through marriage» And And thus the two sister si sters s event eve ntua uall lly y 'becarne enga engaged ged to two brot br oth hers, er s, MM. Jean and Fierre de Almond. Líttle is known know n of these two, two, except that they were gallant, romantic in their song songs, s, and ardent ardent in their seemingly sincere since re love for the the two girl gi rl s. They were not of noble no ble birth, birth, but "cunning "cunn ing as as a fox, fox, and diligent in in their aspiring aspiri ng fort fo rtit itud ude.n e.n Always together, together, always always intoxicated with plans plans for overthrowing kingdoms with their power, power, and always always holding holdi ng themselves aloof from the the other other gallants of the day day, , it is little wonder wonde r that they were wer e consid con sidere ered d as as suspicious suspicio us characters„ nThe nThe Devi De vi l1s pair pa ir” ” was a common ñame ñam e for themj themj and "Preres du Diable" seemed to be the raost apt description of Jean and Fierre de Almond. Their home was situated in the mountains moun tains in the vicinity vicin ity of Millau, and these Black Mountains seemed to cloak the actual location of their claimed clai med chateau. At least no posltive knowledg kno wledge e is is evidenced evidence d as as to to its its exact situation, but from fro m circumstanees circumsta nees n ow to be related, related, it is is apparent that that their chateau or castle must have been in the immediate vicinity vicini ty of The Village of the Devil. Certa Ce rtain in it is , that all this land was owned by these two virgins, Albane Alba ne and Berthe, Berthe, a ñame given to to them th em because becaus e of their undoubted und oubted purity even though in constant company with such suspicious characters as these two two broth bro ther ers. s. And still more certain is the fact that that these two brothers desired to marry Albane and Berthe only that they might obtain obta in possess poss ession ion of this land. land. Rumors began to spread that Jean and Fierre Fierre held nightly nigh tly conferences with his Satanic Majestyj for did not many see, see, in the mountains mount ains near n ear La Roque Roq ue Ste S te „ Marguerite, midnight midni ght fires of brilliant bril liant red? And were were not these conferences confere nces and signáis signáis followe fol lowed d by dire results in war and pestilence? No wonder that these mountains became forsaken in the localities where small towns towns were situated! situated! The provincia provi ncial l French Fren ch were a mystic people and were awaiting the predicted second coming of Christ or the end of the world| and the year 1000 (when this was to take place ) was rapidly approaching, bringing with it every every conceivable form of superstition. superstition. Thousands Thousan ds were forsaking forsaki ng their homes, homes, their their friends friends, , and their their wealth to journey jou rney to Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that the coming of the Lord might migh t find them within Holy prec pr ecinc incts; ts; and the the thieving and cunning took advantage of these fears of the ignorant to secure power and wealth. Just why these two brothers and two two sisters neve ne ver r marri mar ried ed is a matter mat ter of conj co njec ectu ture re. . But But the legends relate that that it it became fairly well establi esta blished shed that Jean and Fierre were in some mysteriou myste rious s way associated associat ed with wit h all that was was evil, evil, unfort u nfortunate unate, , and repulsive, repul sive, and that, that , lit-er lit-erall ally y if not no t in fact, they the y were we re Freres Fre res du Diable. i/Jhen this Idea Ide a hso hso implan pl anted ted itself it self into the minds and hearts of Albane and Berthe, Berthe, and when when they discovered discovere d that that possession posses sion of their property was was the brothe brot hers rs’ ’ only
RAD-12 Leeture One
AMORC - Rosicru Rosi crucia cian n Order ANALY AN ALYTIC TICAL AL DISCUSSI DIS CUSSIONS ONS
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motive, it was only natu na tural ral that they should shoul d look with scorn upon their propos ais and reject thern with wit h rebuke reb uke and d is da in . But But this this only on ly added wra th to their thei r many evil qualiti es and soon these two brothers were the subject of much discussion throughout the kingdoms of Southern France¿ and much attention at that time was directed to the canyons cany ons of the the Tarn where, in the Black M ou nt ai ns , these two were supposed suppo sed to dwell in sorne mysteri mys terious ous village. Albane Alban e and Berthe, Berthe, disappoin disap pointed ted not only in their love, love, but in their faith in man kin d in general, general, agreed hencefor henc eforth th to live a life life of ■ celibacy and religious religious activity activity, , and a few months later retired reti red to a convent built by order of their father fathe r sometime so metime previous previo us to his death, death, and which was located in the mountains some distance from that bearing his ñame» Their Thei r chateau, chateau, built upon the rocks, rocks, and n ow deserted, was given the ñame of La Roche Roch e des des Deux Vierges (The (The Rock of the Two Two Virg Vi rg in s). s). This chateau chat eau became famous as the the birthplac birthp lace e of a brother brot her of these two virgins, known as St. Fulcran, who was at one time a bishop of Lodeve. In the the Life of of S t . Fulcran, Bishop of Lodeve we find fin d these faets fae ts set forth, forth, and in a rare and precious manuscri ma nuscript pt which was discovered discove red at Campous, where many monks retired after their expulsión from the abbey of Saint-Guillem-du Saint-G uillem-du-Desert -Desert in 1790 1790, , and which is is no w among the manuscripts pos sessed ses sed by M. Auguy Au guy de Vitry, Vitry, of Gign ac, Prance, we find fin d the the following interesting faets: "There is a legend lege nd in in a manusc man uscrip ript t regardi rega rding ng St St» Guillaume, Guill aume, entitled enti tled Le Gallia Christiana Nova le_ Place le 3h which states that the Two Virgins (Deux Vierges) were of the antique antiqu e family famil y of Montpeyro Mont peyroux. ux. One can still see, see, on the the cráter crát er of a mountain, mountain , situated situa ted on one one side of Montpe Mon tpeyro yroux ux a hermita herm itage ge in ruins and some vestiges of this chatea cha teau u where was born Saint Puleran Pule ran who was its Lord» Lord» It was called calle d the Chateau des Deux Vierges because of two sisters of the same Saint Puleran who lived live d in celibacy AND ONE 0P WHOM IS TO THIS DAY KNOWN KNO WN AS A SAINT. SAI NT.n n But But before these two virgins virgi ns retir ret ired ed to to the the conve con vent nt, , they express exp ressed ed their utter disgust for earthly matters by renouncing all claim to their prop pr oper erty ty. . Their particular parti cular motive was to to make barren all that that section of their property which was within the precincts of the Black Moun Mo unta tain ins. s. But in doing this they realized that the many little villas situated therein would suffer, suffer, and many would wou ld be be deprived depr ived of of their thei r homes and lands o Consequ Cons equent ently ly these two sisters decid d ecided ed to to found fo und a large city where all all who then lived liv ed in the Black Moun M ountai tains ns might mi ght have free ground and the the other necessities necessi ties of l if e . After careful careful considera cons ideration tion they selected as the site for this new city two divisions of their land situated situa ted on the banks of the Lez Lez, , about ten miles from fro m the Medite Med iterra rranea nean n
RAD-12 Lee ta re
Cne
AMORC - R o £ Í c -'.,l o í &ix D r d e r ANALYT1r il. LISO'JC^IONS
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Sea. Sea. These two two seetio^s ’:hey :hey called MONTP MO NTPELL ELLIE IER R and MON MO N TPELLIERET (froxn memory mem ory cf the great, tala mountain, mounta in, Mont-Pele* Mont-Pel e* which whi ch was situated ín the midst of the Black Moun Mo unta tain ins. s. ) These faets are verified by statements to be found in Ve rd ale1 al e1s Records in the following words:
"From all time there has been a well-founded tradition supported by the public archiv arc hives, es, which states that two two sisters founded founde d the city of Montpellier, Montpel lier, One possesse poss essed d Montpell Mont pellier ier and and the other Montpe Mon tpelli lliere eret t adjoining. They were of ancient ncbility, for it is proven that they were sisters of goodly good ly Saint Fulcran, one time beloved belo ved Bishop of L o d e v e .!i In the testament of this St „ Fulc Fu lcra ran, n, which may ma y be found in the ancient archives archive s of Lodeve, and which wh ich is is dated: "made on the lj.th of Pebruary under the reign of Jesús Christ while hoping for a King, " he mentions these two sisters, and calis them Dames de Montpellier, "becaus "bec ause," e," says the commentor, !ithey th ey were we re respoñsTbTe ror the origin of this
village." The two sisters demandad that a commission be appointed to govern this city and that it should be built, built, managed, and mainta mai ntaine ined d on Progressive lines for the general education and uplift of its inha in habi bita tant nts. s. How well these plans succeed succ eeded ed may be seen by visiting the city today and noting the many historical sights. Gradually every home in the Black Mountains was deserted; and, when the year 1000 ca carne and God did not visit the earth ear th or cause caus e its d estr es truc uction, tion, thousands re turned turn ed to France from fro m the the Holy Land to begin life anew anew. . Montpellier, Montpelli er, with its strange bound ary walls, walls, became thickly populated, popula ted, and by the midd m iddle le of the llth l lth century centu ry all know kn owled ledge ge of the oíd villages vill ages in the Black Mountains, Mounta ins, and espec especia iall-iy iy the villag vil lage e where lived live d the the "Brothers of the the De vi l, " was forgotten, and one part of Prance, once famous and infamous, was lost in oblivion. Let us n o w journey to Millau, situated about 60 miles distant from Mont Mo ntpe pell llie ier r on the left bank of the Rive Ri ver r Ta ra . This city was called cal led Aemi Ae mili lian anum um Castrum by the Romans and is today a city cit y of about 16,500 inhabitants. Here we enter the Canon du Tarn and the Black Mountains. As the ñame indicates, the Canyon of the Tarn is comparable compar able with the celebrat cele brated ed Canyon of Colorado and is is as wonderful in beauty, beauty, if not more wonderwond erful in construct cons truction, ion, than the lat te r„ It is the most curious of the gorges produced in the Causses by the erosion of the streams during the glacial epoch in the Cevennes. As we enter the canyon can yon we notic no tice e the sheer rocks which rise to a height of from 800 to 1100 feet and that the distance between their
RAD-12 Leeture One
AMORC - Rosicr Ros icruci ucian an Order ANALYT ANA LYTICA ICAL L DISCUSSIO DISC USSIONS NS
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summits summ its varíes varí es from fro m oneon e-ha half lf to three thr ee-qu -quar arte ters rs of a rtiile. Here He re in this this section sectio n are are the the original origi nal Black Mountains, Mounta ins, formerly form erly mentioned, mentio ned, and it is difficult to imagine anything more weird and impressive. Gigantic ramparts and perpendicular cliffs at one time overhang the River Rive r Tarn, Tarn, and in other places they retire retir e in terraces for med of several strata of the limestone and as varied in outline as they are in those peculiar and delícate colors which seem to vie with each other in assuming strange markings. The rorkb themselves are shívered into a thousa tho usand nd different diffe rent shapes, and there ther e '.ppear yell ye llow ow limestone, black schistous marl, and brown brow n and pink dolomíte. In passing passi ng through the canyon, canyon, and especial espe cially ly through throu gh the the Black Mountain section, we must take strange winding courses in order to follow any semblance of of a path. At times we are upon some high hig h and might mig hty y ridge overlookin overlo oking g a vast and bottomless bottoml ess valleyj at other times we seem see m to be deseen des eending ding into the very bowels bowel s of the earth, earth, and as the the way grows darker and the many man y small and uninv un inviti iting ng caverns are brought to our notice, we now no w remember rememb er that this this place was was claime cla imed d as the domain of his Satanic Majesty. And, And, were it not for the the occasio occ asional nal spring spring, , the the few beautif beau tifull ully y colored color ed flowers flowe rs and some some vegetati vege tation on and vines, we would feel that we were passing through Jules Verne1s volcanic entrance to the center of the earth and immediately retrace our steps. But But we hasten has ten on to the village of Peyreleau, situated situa ted on the the banks of the Jont Jonte, e, reaching reac hing there the re by way of modern mod ern paths and easing our walk by riding ridin g upon the backs of m u l e s . Here we prepare prep are for our intere int erestin sting g journey to to the strange, strange, mysterio myst erious us city of The The Devil, Devil, which has has been described as follows: nWe cannot, cannot, without havin ha ving g seen it, it, form f orm an idea 01 this collection of apparent ruins, where, by the side of rocks representing gigantic monsters mons ters are facsím f acsímiles iles of imposing impos ing monument mo numents. s. The whole entangle enta ngled d mass of streets, streets, arches, arches, passages, and pro jecting cornices, sometimes intersec inte rsecting ting one another anoth er at right angle ang les, s, as as in a town laid out out by line line, , sometimes forming form ing a crescent cresc ent or a squa square, re, is a veritable veritab le $00 labyrinth of about acres. Isolate Iso lated d rocks, in the shape of towers or pyramids, are more mor e than 300 30 0 feet high and some of the streets pass between betwee n rows of edifices 100 to 200 feet high. The whole of this huge space is abandoned to complete solitude .u This description presents the picture we see from the oíd citadel on its bord bo rder ers. s. No w let let us us descend the rock and enter the city itself by way of the main mai n Street, Street, called calle d the Bouleva Bou levard rd Di ab ol o. We are at once impressed impres sed with the fact that no hand han d of man ma n ever laid out this city city, , for we we cannot believe be lieve that there ever existed a brain so fertile in fantastic creation and so weird in constructive detail as the intelligence which must have guided the building or planning of this this strange stran ge city. And y e t 1 Hho can say that nature nat ure alone, alone, even in
RAD-12 Lect Lectur ure e One
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ANA AN ALYTI YT ICAL CA L 1.18GUS Si05!S
-CPage Eight Eight
her wildest dreams and most deiuding schemes, schemes, ever produc pro duced ed the mysti mys tifying sights we no w see? see? We try to be logical, reasonable, and sane in our conc co nclu lusi sion ons, s, but we are haunted with the possibility, yes even probability, that some diabolic power was manifesting itself when this city was bu i lt . The very atmosphere, heavy with the silence of death and laden with wit h the pallor of solitude, mystery, and forgotten forgo tten life, life, makes make s us whisper whis per in reve r everene renee-e--rev revere erenee nee for what was and what might mi ght have been. No revelry reve lry or mirt m irth h here and no heart that can help feeling that in i n this fors fo rsak aken en place pla ce God and an d Devil, happi happin. n.es es s and sorrow, sorrow, love and hatred, power and weakness, and life and death meet upon the bo rder rd erli line ne. . The ground groun d before befo re us is is level, level, smooth, smooth, and in some places actually presen pre sentin ting g a stone ston e surface, surface, like a pave a Stre St reet et . On either side side rise high buildings carved by the mysterious hand into the serablance of chateaus, forts, forts, and cott co ttag ages es. . Windows, broad and imposing, doorways, pass pa ssag ages es, , and even balconie balc onies s are in evidence, evidence, and we cannot help wonderi wond ering ng at the strange sight of an occasi oc casional onal stoop or arch at some entranees and at the finely projecting comices of the higher buildings. Walking Walk ing through thro ugh this main mai n street, street, we come to what w hat might migh t be called a córner, córner, for here we notice a cross street, street, at exactly exactl y right righ t angles, angles, and faced fac ed on either side side by similar stru st ruct cture ures. s. Purther on we come to an imposing structure with an enormous entranee, and we rightly ñame this Hotel de Ville, Ville , or City Hallj and with little stretch of the imagination we can picture the silent mysterious figures of the former inhabitants of this city walking slowly and dejectedly into Its court to plan the diabolieal work accredited to them in the years 800 to 1000. Further Furt her on we enter a Pirque or circle, circle, such as as are so so artisti art istically cally built in moder mo dern n citi ci ties es. . We are told that that this circle, circle, one of the smallest in the the city, city, is called cal led the Cirque des Roquett Roq uettes es and that that its longe lon ger r di ame ter is 1652 feet, the shorte sho rter r di ame ter 6fj0 feet and the walls 380 feet high. As we gaze upon this sight, sight, we allow all ow our minds min ds to wander and think of the legend of the Brothers of the Devil who lived here and try to picture the use they may have made of this ci rq ue . Were the many men and women who who strangely disappeared in their time brought brou ght here and put to to an an ignominious ignom inious death? Were the the fires of pestilence, plague, and suffering kindle kin dled d here, here, or were were these brother brot hers s partly par tly human after all and here he re worshi wor shippe pped d a maste r of some kind? The human hum an mind mi nd is is fickle, its paths paths of reasonin reas oning.ar g.are e oddly branch bra nched ed with wit h byways of enticing entic ing illogical illogi cal pi etur et ur es . When awakened awaken ed and alive with the subtle subtle power of suggestio suggestion, n, we imagine many t hing hi ng s„ This may account for our sudden aversión to this cirque, for, do we not see in the interior gloom of this arena the transparent and luminous figures of men and women on bended knees begging for merey and help? And cannot we hear he ar the agonizing agoniz ing cries of children child ren and the silencing groan of a life departing in agony while everywhere we see the dark crimson stain of innocent blood?
RAD-12 Leeture One
AMORC - Rosicr Ros icruci ucian an Order ANALYTI ANAL YTICAL CAL DISCUSSION DISC USSIONS S
-CPage Nine
Horror filis our souls we try to rise above the power powe r that grapples with our reason, reason, but we are held he ld fast, fast, captive in the hands h ands of the same unseen and unknown might that wielded the instrument which carved the fantastic sights surrounding us. We turn to the east and pass through throug h another street unname unn amed d but magmag nificent in its structures and passages covered with arches which darken the the unknown interiors interio rs of the courts courts. . Por while one may boast of having hav ing entered ent ered the various caverns c averns of the Cevennes, especiall espec ially y those at Ro quef qu efor or t, where the famous cheese c heese is m a d e , and at at other oth er places where the environment environm ent may be as gloorny, still one would nev n ever er attempt an entrañee to the interior of these unknown courts, and we are held, it seems, in iron bonds, and our feet refu r efuse se the menta me ntal l volition to trespass„ Before us we see the Cirque Cirqu e du Lac, Lac, which is similar in constr co nstruct uction ion to the Cirque just just visited, visited, but whic h at at one one time conta c ontaine ined d water» water» Now, Now, however, as if to add to the forsaken, forlorn, and cheerless aspect of the the scene, scene, the cirque is dry and we cannot help hel p feeling fee ling that perhaps nature has refused to furnish to this ungodly place one of its most bountiful, sustain sust aining ing gifts. gifts. Near Nea r here he re are several Amats or public p ublic squares, squares, and again we stop to question whether nature alone constructed this village, where these circles and squares are so logically arranged and attractively locatedj and for further circumstantial evidence of this possibllity we need nee d only to walk a short distance distan ce and view vi ew a perfect perf ectly ly proporpropor tioned forum, forum, in outline and contour similar to to those often seen on the continent. But perhaps the most weird and suggestive view of all is that of the Boulevard Monument, where are located seventeen obelisks or monuments, ranging rangi ng in in height heig ht from 100 100 to 300 feet. feet. They stand at at various open spaces spaces between betwee n the numerous nume rous castles, and each is is different diff erent in shape shape and and apparently designed to express symbolically the incident in memory mem ory of'i-hich it was erected. erecte d. Of course, these the se are like li kewis wise e mere me re freaks freak s of nature, like the the trembling rock in the near ne ar locality, which whi ch trembles every midnight so violently that one fears it may fall and injure the bystander. Yet like the tremblin trem bling g rock, legend says says that these obelisks were erected by the Devil and his two brothers in memory of the terrib ter rible le plagues, plagues , wars, deaths, and crimes plan pl anne ned d and cons consur urnn mated mat ed by them. them. As we stand here and view v iew these strange strang e monum mo nument ents s in the lifeless city, city, and note not e just just outside of its boundar bou ndary y line the the beautiful beaut iful vines, the arbutus and holly hol ly flouri flo urishi shing ng at the the base of the majesti maje stic c pines, and, and, raisin rai sing g our eyes see the same blue sky, sky, the same sun, sun, and a nd the same same spotless groups of clouds as as pass pass over ove r more cheerf ch eerful ul and divine dwelldwel lings, ings, we marvel at what these strange streets may ma y have once been, been, what the buildings buildin gs may have contained, and what the inhabita inha bitants nts of this
RAD-12 Lee ture One
AMORC - Rosierucian Order ANALYTI ANA LYTICAL CAL DISCUSSIOIS
-C-CPage Ten
Village of t h e Devil may have d o n e that God and natur nat ure e in e v i d e n t chagrín# sorrow sorrow, , and repuls rep ulsión ión/ / should sho uld have hav e br brough ought, t, death, death, barrennes ba rrenness, s, infamy and disconsclate gloom upon only one section of the world-^and this in the m i d s t of fertile reg r egion ions, s, surrounded surroun ded by wondrous beauty, beauty, God-fearing people and P r o g r e s s i v e , activ active, e, and and religious religious natio nat ions ns. . Passing Pas sing to the south, south, we leave the Village Villag e by one of its main mai n entrances consisti cons isting ng of an arch typical of the Román Romá n port and flanked on either either side side by what what may ma y be be called the Village Wal l. ¥e stand stand for a few fe w minute min utes s on a slight elevation which whic h affords affords another general view vie w of the streets and buildings, building s, and it it is only at this this time that we we fully full y real re aliz ize e that all' al l'w we’ha e’have, ve, seen^ the rem remar arka kabl ble. e... .. structur structures, es, the cirq cirque ues s arenas, forums, amphith amph itheat eatres res, , castles, obélisk obé lisks, s, etc., etc., wéré theresult res ult of so sorae strange freak fre ak of nature, and that no no huma hu man n hand han d was concerne conc erned d in the the smallest detall of of the construction of the vill vi llag age. e. Even the imposin impo sing g cour co urts ts,. ,.the doorways, and windows window s were.made were. made by b y the actio action n of water, wind, and other othe r element elem ents s i n ,ages gone by b y when allv all vi this part of the world was unknown to man. Thus I leave you, you, my reader, on your way back to Montpell Mont pellier ier and the land of the living. Your You r journey has be en safe safe and interesting, interes ting, and we will rest a while in Montpellier while you review the wonders of the sights sights you yo u have seen and I hasten hast en on to my many man y other duti du ties es. . '
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