Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society • Vol . 6 , No . 2 • Fall 2018 / Spring 2019
The Travels of Cyrus by Chevalier Ramsay : A Spiritual Novel or a Philosophical Tale ?
By Samuel Macaigne
It is difficult to ascertain whether or
not Chevalier Ramsay was already a
Freemason when he wrote and published his only novel . Pierre Chevallier noted that it was “ during his stay in England that Ramsay was admitted as a Freemason to the Horn Lodge in March 1730 . Yet was this the first stage of initiation or the second ? The question must be asked , because Les Voyages de Cyrus , 1 published in 1727 , contains allusions to the mysteries of the Order .” 2 When writing this bildungsroman in French ( there would also be an English edition , The Travels of Cyrus 3 ), Ramsay was closely connected with Jacobite circles , frequenting them in France as well as in the papal enclave Avignon . He was also , as Auguste Viatte called him , “ Fénelon ’ s convert ,” 4 the man who had undertaken the publication of his mentor ’ s works and who continued , come what may , to defend the doctrine of Pure Love . His dual position as part of the political opposition and member of a mystical movement in conflict with the Church has often led to a purely biographical reading of his only novel . While we have no intention of contesting this legitimate and relevant interpretation , our first concern here is to examine the spiritual message that he was able to convey through the form of the rite-of-passage novel . We will also explore how the theses developed in this narrative may have influenced the writing of his 1736 Discourse .
To achieve this , we will first briefly situate The Travels of Cyrus in its literary context ; we will then comment on the work ’ s spiritual content before examining the elements of the novel that are carried through into the Discourse .
Our objective here is not to review all the theoretical and metaphysical elements of the novel . We simply propose taking the first steps along a path that remains largely unexplored .
Many critics have been tempted to regard The Travels of Cyrus as a
1 Chevalier de Ramsey , Les Voyages de Cyrus , Histoire Morale . Suivie d ’ un Discours sur la Mythologie & la Théologie ancienne ( The Hague : Nicolas Van Dallen , 1728 )
2 Pierre Chevallier , Histoire de la Franc-maçonnerie française , I : La Maçonnerie : école de l ’ Égalité 1725-1799 ( Paris : Fayard , 1979 ), p . 1 . ( Our translation ).
3 Chevalier Ramsay , The Travels of Cyrus , to which is annexed a Discourse upon the Theology and Mythology of the Pagans , 8 th edition ( London : printed by James Bettenham , 1752 )
4 Auguste Viatte , Les Sources occultes du romantisme , vol . 1 ( Paris : Champion , 1928 ), p . 35 . ( Our translation ).
17 doi : 10.18278 / rscs . 6.2.3