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.Piecing together the few solid bits of information about this man (and there arecomparatively few for a man who led so public a life), I have come up with what Ithink may have been the background of this brilliant, elusive man.First, as to nationality, I believe he was Czech: his face was occasionallydescribed as Slavic, and his skill with languages suggests an Eastern Europeanbackground and education.In the western part of Europe there was no particularreason to learn Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Greek, or Turkish; in Eastern Europethere was real necessity for a polyglot fluency.His broad and well-developedknowledge of music, letters, and art makes it unlikely that he was Hungarianbecause at that time the political situation in Hungary was such that few childrenand young people received instruction in music and art beyond the mostrudimentary levels.Saint-Germain was not only talented, but very well trained; hisvirtuoso accomplishments were not the result of catch-as-catch-can studies.Saint-Germain was intimately familiar with the traditions and rituals of theOrthodox Church as well as with those of the Roman Catholic Church, which againsuggests Eastern European beginnings.Although he was familiar with the occultdisciplines of the Kabbalah, Saint-Germain did not appear to have any deepunderstanding of Jewish traditions and regular religious practices, which seems toindicate that he was not (as was often suspected during his lifetime) a Jew,Wandering or otherwise.Hebrew was not among those languages which he spokeeasily, although he was able to read it, which reenforces this conclusion.Because of the ease with which Saint-Germain and his various aliases movedthrough European financial capitals and institutions, I believe he had a backgroundin commerce.I think he came from a very upper-level merchant s family, and as themost monetarily successful group of merchants dealt in jewels, and Saint-Germainhimself was famous for the number and quality of his jewels, it appears possiblethat he came from a family of Czech jewel merchants.The quality of his educationsupports this.In the eighteenth century, the children of well-to-do jewel merchantsand those dealing in other rare substances (exotic fabrics, woods, and spices,primarily) often received education at least on a par with the nobility, and weregenerally more highly motivated to expand their studies than those of superior social classes.The son of a merchant would wish to prepare himself to travelextensively on business, to be pleasant company, and to excel at social graces for thebenefit of business.Saint-Germain s interest in occult and alchemical studies isconsistent with this background, for jewel merchants often sponsored suchexperimentation in the hope that the means to make artificial but genuine jewelswould be discovered.But why would the son of a wealthy Czech diamond merchant want to bafflemost of the European nobility for nearly forty years? Probably for no morecomplicated reason than simple enjoyment.He often admitted that he took greatdelight in watching the investigators of various countries and governments try todiscover his true identity.He threw out tantalizing clues that led nowhere, orcontradicted others he had offered at an earlier time.From one or two of hisrecorded remarks, it is apparent that he knew very well what he was doing, andfound the confusion that resulted from these mendacities quite enjoyable.Assuming that he was in fact not forty but in his mid-twenties when he first cameto France in 1743, he would have been in his mid-sixties at the time of his supposeddeath in 1786.That he was able to disguise his age effectively is not especiallysurprising, as at that time both men and women used cosmetics, and it wascomparatively simple to change one s appearance to seem somewhat older.In ayouth-oriented culture it is not easy to understand why he would wish to do so, butthe society of the French court, and indeed all European courts, was not enamoredwith youth for youth s sake.To say that he was in his mid-forties, or to let it beassumed that he was, would make Saint-Germain s position and claims morecredible.A Magus of twenty-five is rather silly, but an experienced, well-traveledman of the world, approaching middle-age, is another matter entirely.He was aman to be trusted and confided in.As a merchant s son, he would have had theopportunity for travel that might not be available to the children of noble houses insuch troubled times as the first half of the eighteenth century [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.Piecing together the few solid bits of information about this man (and there arecomparatively few for a man who led so public a life), I have come up with what Ithink may have been the background of this brilliant, elusive man.First, as to nationality, I believe he was Czech: his face was occasionallydescribed as Slavic, and his skill with languages suggests an Eastern Europeanbackground and education.In the western part of Europe there was no particularreason to learn Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Greek, or Turkish; in Eastern Europethere was real necessity for a polyglot fluency.His broad and well-developedknowledge of music, letters, and art makes it unlikely that he was Hungarianbecause at that time the political situation in Hungary was such that few childrenand young people received instruction in music and art beyond the mostrudimentary levels.Saint-Germain was not only talented, but very well trained; hisvirtuoso accomplishments were not the result of catch-as-catch-can studies.Saint-Germain was intimately familiar with the traditions and rituals of theOrthodox Church as well as with those of the Roman Catholic Church, which againsuggests Eastern European beginnings.Although he was familiar with the occultdisciplines of the Kabbalah, Saint-Germain did not appear to have any deepunderstanding of Jewish traditions and regular religious practices, which seems toindicate that he was not (as was often suspected during his lifetime) a Jew,Wandering or otherwise.Hebrew was not among those languages which he spokeeasily, although he was able to read it, which reenforces this conclusion.Because of the ease with which Saint-Germain and his various aliases movedthrough European financial capitals and institutions, I believe he had a backgroundin commerce.I think he came from a very upper-level merchant s family, and as themost monetarily successful group of merchants dealt in jewels, and Saint-Germainhimself was famous for the number and quality of his jewels, it appears possiblethat he came from a family of Czech jewel merchants.The quality of his educationsupports this.In the eighteenth century, the children of well-to-do jewel merchantsand those dealing in other rare substances (exotic fabrics, woods, and spices,primarily) often received education at least on a par with the nobility, and weregenerally more highly motivated to expand their studies than those of superior social classes.The son of a merchant would wish to prepare himself to travelextensively on business, to be pleasant company, and to excel at social graces for thebenefit of business.Saint-Germain s interest in occult and alchemical studies isconsistent with this background, for jewel merchants often sponsored suchexperimentation in the hope that the means to make artificial but genuine jewelswould be discovered.But why would the son of a wealthy Czech diamond merchant want to bafflemost of the European nobility for nearly forty years? Probably for no morecomplicated reason than simple enjoyment.He often admitted that he took greatdelight in watching the investigators of various countries and governments try todiscover his true identity.He threw out tantalizing clues that led nowhere, orcontradicted others he had offered at an earlier time.From one or two of hisrecorded remarks, it is apparent that he knew very well what he was doing, andfound the confusion that resulted from these mendacities quite enjoyable.Assuming that he was in fact not forty but in his mid-twenties when he first cameto France in 1743, he would have been in his mid-sixties at the time of his supposeddeath in 1786.That he was able to disguise his age effectively is not especiallysurprising, as at that time both men and women used cosmetics, and it wascomparatively simple to change one s appearance to seem somewhat older.In ayouth-oriented culture it is not easy to understand why he would wish to do so, butthe society of the French court, and indeed all European courts, was not enamoredwith youth for youth s sake.To say that he was in his mid-forties, or to let it beassumed that he was, would make Saint-Germain s position and claims morecredible.A Magus of twenty-five is rather silly, but an experienced, well-traveledman of the world, approaching middle-age, is another matter entirely.He was aman to be trusted and confided in.As a merchant s son, he would have had theopportunity for travel that might not be available to the children of noble houses insuch troubled times as the first half of the eighteenth century [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]