Saint-Martin is not very well know in the Anglo-Saxon countries. His surname "Le Philosophe Inconnu" (The Unknow Philosopher) was given to him at the beginning of his discovery of the spiritual world. Later, he will be called "The Theosopher of Amboise", after the name of the town were he was born in 1743. After a short carrier as lawyer, Saint-Martin joined the army as an officer. He became very active in the Free-Masonry. Later, he resigned his commission to assist Martines de Pasqually to organize a new system of High Masonic Degrees. The purpose of this system was to attract those interrested by spiritual and theurgical activities and keep them in the framework of the Free-Masonry. Saint-Martin received the highest degrees and even represented the French Loges in several convents, in association with the wellknown Count of Saint-Germain.

After several trips in England and Italy, Saint-Martin stayed in Strasbourg from 1788 to 1791. He descovered and studied the books of Jacob Boehme, translated and published (in Amsterdam) the works of the Theosopher of Gorlitz in French. This contact with theosophy changed his life completely. This evolution can be observed in his correspondance with the swiss Kirchberger, recently published in the United States in an excellent translation. Saint-Martin was actively involved in the preparation of the French revolution, as a necessary change of form of government. With other members of the French nobility, he tried to install the Synarchy, or government by a certain number of individuals, elected for their moral integrity and ability to manage a specific area of government. History proved the Synarchical method of government to be an utopy, but Saint-Martin remains known as the creator of the famous principle of democratic government: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.

Saint-Martin is without any doubt the classical Theosopher who contributed the most to modern theosophy and to the earthly inspiration of the founders of the Theosophical Society. Mrs Blavatky used the information published in his Book on Numbers to draw the Seal of the T.S. and in the early days, Saint-Martin's theosophical seal was printed on the society's publications, concurrently with the one of the Society. Saint Martin's texts and invocations are still used, the most famous one being "May the Holy Ones, who's pupils you aspire to become ...".

If you want to know more about Saint-Martin's life and work, please read Notes on Saint-Martin, the French Mystic and the Story of Modern Martinism,   by Arthur Edward Waite.