The Occult by Colin Wilson

Author:Colin Wilson [Wilson, Colin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Body; Mind & Spirit, Occultism, Parapsychology, Reference, ESP (Clairvoyance; Precognition; Telepathy)
ISBN: 9781842931073
Google: Q19U2i94bLIC
Publisher: Watkins Pub.
Published: 1971-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

If the stature of Cagliostro increases upon careful examination, the reverse is true of the other 'great magician' of that period, the Count of Saint-Germain. Kurt Seligman's chapter on him begins: 'Who was he and where did he come from? The riddle has never been solved. The dates of his birth and death are unknown. Incredible things are claimed of him. Frederick the Great called him the man who cannot die; and the count himself asserted that he had lived 2,000 years... He would speak familiarly of a chat with the Queen of Sheba and of wonderful happenings at the marriage of Cana... '

Potentially, he sounds the most exciting magician of all. But Seligman seems to have been unaware of the researches of Gustav Berthold Volz in the twenties. These revealed that although Saint-Germain was infinitely more sophisticated and cultured than Cagliostro, he was fundamentally little more than a fine actor. When the reports of contemporaries are examined, it does not even appear that he displayed more finesse than Cagliostro; he was a boastful self-advertiser. Casanova, who was easily impressed by genuine intellectuality, immediately spotted him for a charlatan, and took pleasure in queering his pitch when they were both on diplomatic missions to the Hague. But he did not have to do a great deal; Saint-Germain's own lack of tact quickly brought about his downfall, and he had to fly to England.

Only one 'mystery' remains: his origin. And it should be borne in mind that in those days it was not particularly difficult for that to remain a mystery. Communications were bad, and most registrations of births and deaths were confined to the parish records. The account that states that Saint-Germain was the son of a tax collector of San Germano, and that he was born in 1710, is probably correct. Nothing whatever is known of his life before the 1740s, when he seems to have appeared in Vienna and become acquainted with various members of the aristocracy, among them Counts Zabor and Lobkowitz. He also met there the French Marshal de Belle-Isle, who brought him to France. By 1758—by which time he would be in his late forties—he had become an established favourite of Louis XV and his mistress Madame de Pompadour (for whom the famous Diamond Necklace was originally intended).

Casanova, who met him at about this time, describes him as one of the most remarkable conversationalists he had ever met—and this is a considerable compliment from a man whose own talents were impressive. He describes Saint-Germain as a scholar, linguist, musician (he had an extremely pleasant singing voice), chemist, and as very good-looking (which Casanova himself was not, being swarthy and hook-nosed). He was a 'perfect ladies' man,' flattering them and offering them a wash that would prevent wrinkles which he claimed to be expensive but which he gave away. He probably came to the king's attention through Madame de Pompadour.

Saint-Germain's 'gimmick' was that he claimed never to eat, but to live on some strange food or elixir that he compounded himself.

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