The Lessons of Lyon

The Lessons of Lyon (or Lessons of Lyons) are a series of notes and lectures written between 1774 - 1776 by Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin, Jean-Baptiste Willermoz and Jean-Jacques Du Roy d'Hauterive concerning the teachings and directions given by Martinez de Pasqually to the Élus Coëns (The Order of Knight-Masons Elect Priests of the Universe (French: Ordre des Chevaliers Maçons Élus Coëns de l’Univers) or simply Élus Coëns).

Contents

Founded between 1754-1767 by the enigmatic Martinez (Martinès) de Pasqually, the Order of Knight-Masons Elect Priests of the Universe (or Élus Coën) 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 system of white magic (theurgy) aimed at recovering 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 (called "A Course in Martinism during the 18th Century" by the scholar Robert Amadou) are a contemporary commentary on the instructions given by Pasqually.

As a collection of teachings and notes taken during a period of three short years (1774 - 1776) in Lyons, they provide a fascinating insight into the small Lodge of members of Pasqually's Order of Élus Coën meeting in that city at that time. Since the Master himself was elusive and cryptic at best in his mailed instructions, the weekly - later more sporadic - meetings held by Jean-Baptiste Willermoz the local Lodge Master, Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin who was visiting and writing his first book, and Roy d'Hauterive would have been very instructive to the new members.

Since most of the source materials are limited to some letters, a few catechisms, Pasqually's monumental Treatise on the Reintegration of Beings and the occasional discovery of lost documents in libraries and private collections, this collection of teachings provides invaluable insight into the working and especially the purpose of that spiritually-charged Masonico-theurgic rite.

Publication

The Lessons of Lyons are helpful for 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 Encyclopedists and Enlightenment forces of the time which threatened not only to separate science from belief, but to overthrow belief in the numinous entirely. They also cast an invaluable light on the teachings and practices of the early Élus Coën themselves.

Originally transcribed into modern French by Robert Amadou in 2011. The 2021 English translation by M.R. Osborne published by Rose Circle Books includes many of the letters written by Martinez de Pasqually.

References

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