The rose cross and the age of reason : : eighteenth-century rosicrucianism in Central Europe and its relationship to the Enlightenment / / by Christopher McIntosh.

• Superior document: Brill's studies in intellectual history, volume 29
• VerfasserIn: McIntosh, Christopher, 1943-
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, New York : : E.J. Brill,, 1992.
• Year of Publication: 1992
• Language: English
• Series: Brill's studies in intellectual history ; v. 29.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (217 pages) :; illustrations.

The Rose Cross deals with the interaction between two movements of thought in eighteenth-century Germany: the philosophy of the Enlightenment, and the complex of ideas known as Rosicrucian. Dating from the early seventeenth century and drawing on Pietism, Freemasonry, Kabbalah and alchemy, the Rosicrucianism movement enjoyed a revival in Germany during the eighteenth century. Historians have often depicted this neo-Rosicrucianism as a Counter-Enlightenment force. Dr. McIntosh argues rather that it was part of a \'third force\', which allied itself sometimes with the Enlightenment, sometimes with the Counter-Enlightenment. This book is the first in-depth, comprehensive study of the German Rosicrucian revival and in particular of the order known as the Golden and Rosy Cross (Gold und Rosenkreuz). Drawing on hitherto unpublished material, Dr. McIntosh shows how the order exerted a significant influence on the cultural, political and religious life of its age.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- INTRODUCTION -- CHAPTER ONE: THE ENLIGHTENMENT, THE AUFKLÄRUNG AND THEIR OPPONENTS -- CHAPTER TWO: ROSICRUCIANISM FROM ITS ORIGINS TO THE EARLY 18TH CENTURY -- CHAPTER THREE: THE MASONIC PHASE -- CHAPTER FOUR: THE WORLD OF THE INITIATE -- CHAPTER FIVE:THE ALCHEMY OF THE GOLD- UND ROSENKREUZ -- CHAPTER SIX: THE POLEMICAL STANCE OF THE GOLD- UND ROSENKREUZ -- CHAPTER SEVEN: A ROSICRUCIAN ON THE PRUSSIAN THRONE -- CHAPTER EIGHT: THE AUFKLÄRUNG REACTION AND THE DECLINE OF THE GOLD- UND ROSENKREUZ -- CHAPTER NINE: ROSICRUCIANISM IN POLAND AND RUSSIA -- CHAPTER TEN: THE ASIATIC BRETHREN -- CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONCLUSION -- A NOTE ON SOURCES -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX -- ILLUSTRATIONS.