Proofs of Conspiracy John Robison

•î^-
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LIBRARY
OF TUE
Theological Seminary,
PRINCETON, N. J.
f^'"'^' '^^y'p:^,,,^ô
s/ieif, /oy ^-- '
Booh, Ko-
•••1
A
J?sM. ,'^/^. ^^7— •
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CA.
PROOFS
OF A
CONSPIRACY
AGAINST ALL THE
RELIGIONS AND GOVERNMENTS

OF
«
EUROPE,
CARRIED ON
IN THE SECRET MEETINGS
OF
FREE MASONS, ILLUMINATI,

AND
READING SOCIETIES.
COLLECTED FRQJ»I GOOD AUTHORITIES,
By^J O HN RO B I S O N, A. M.'
PROFESSOR OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, AND SECRETARY TO THE

ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH.
Nam tua res agitur paries cum proximus ardet.
The THIRD EDITION.

To which is added a Postscript.
PHILADELPHIA:
PRINTED FOR T. DOBSON, N°. 4I, SOUTH SECOND
STREET, AND W. COEEET, N°. 25, NORTH
SECOND STREET.
1798,
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
W I LL I A M WYND II A M,
SECRETARY AT WAR, &c. &c. &c.
S IRy
It was ivith great Jat'isfacllon that I learned from a

Friend that you coincided with me in the opinion y that the
information contained in this Performahce would make a
ufefidimprejptn on the minds of my Countrymen.
I have prefumed to irifcrihe it with your Name^ that I
may puUicly exprefs the pleafure which I felt ^ when Ifound
that neither a feparation for thirty years, nor the prejjure of
the moft important bufinefsy had effaced your kind remem-
brance of a College Acquaintance, or abated that obliging
and polite attention with which you favoured me in thcfe
early days of life.
The fiendfjip of the accG7nplifoed and the worthy is the
highefl honour ; and to him who is cut off, by want of healthy
from alnioji every other enjoyment y it is an inefiimable blef-
fing. Accept, therefore, I pray, of my grateful acknow-
ledgments, and of my earnefi wijhes for your Health, PrcJ-
perity, and increafing Honour.
IVithfentiments of the greateji Eft eon and Refpeol,
I am, SIR,
Tour moft obedient,
and mcfi humble Servant,
JOHN ROBISON.
EuiNEURCH,
September 5 » 1797.
:
^ÛOD fi vera vitam ratioyie guhernet,

qiiis
DiviticC grandes hominijunt^ vivere parce

JEquo animo : neque enim eft unquam penuria parvi*
At claros fe homines valuer iint atque potenteSy
Ut fundament ftahilifortuna maneret,
Et placidam poffent opulent i degere vitam
Nequiequa?n, — quoniam adjummumjuccedere honorem
Certantes, iter infeftum fecere vidi,
Et tamen ejummo quafi fulmen dejicit i5ios

Invidia inter dum contemptim in Tartara tetra.
Ergo J Regibus cccifiSj Jubverja jacehat

Priftina majeftasjoliorumy etjceptrajiiperba ;
Et capitis Jummi prêdarum infigne, cruentunty
Sub pedibus volgi magnum lugebat honorum :
Nam cupide conculcatur nimis ante metutum.

Res ad/umma-m facem, turbajque redibaty
itaque
Imperiumjibi cum acjummatum qui/que petebat.
Lucretius, V. 1116.
INTRODUCTION.
JjEING at a friend's houfe in the country during

Ibme part of the fummer 1795, I there faw a volume
of a German periodical work, csdlcd Religions Begeben-
heiten, i. e. Religious Occurrences in which there
:
was an account of the various fchifms in the Fraternity

of Free Mafons, with frequent allufions to the origin
and hiftory of that celebrated affociation. This ac-
count interefted me a good deal, becaufe, in my
early life, I had taken fome part in the occupations
(fliall I call them) of Free Mafonry; and, having
chiefly frequented the Lodges on the Continent, I had

learned many do6lrines, and {^tn many ceremonials
which have no place in the fmiple fyflem of Free Ma-
fonry which obtains in this country. I had alfo re-
marked, that the whole was much more the objed of

refleftion and thought than I could remtrmbcr it to
have been among my acquaintances at home. Therr,
I had feen a Mafon Lodge confidered merely as a pre-
text for pafling an hour or two in a fort of decent con-
viviality, not altogether void of fonie rational occupa-
tion. I had fometiraes heard of differences of doc-
trines or of ceremonies, but in terms whtch siar.ked
them as mere frivolities. But, on the Continent, I
found them matters of ferious concern and debate.
, Such
6 INTRODUCTION.
Such too is the contagion of example, that

could not
1
hinder myfclf from thinking one opinion better found-

ed, or one Ritual more appofice and fignificant than
another; and I even felt fomething like an anxiety for
its being adopted, and a zeal for making it a general
praftice. I had been initiated in a very fpiendid Lodge

at Liege, of which the Prince Bilhop, his Trefonciers,
and the chief Noblelle of the State were members. I
vifited the French Lodges at Valenciennes, at Brullcls,

at Aix-la-Chapelie, at Berlin, and Koningfberg ; and
J picked up fome printed difcourfcs delivered by the
Brother-orators of the Ledges. At St. Peteriburgh 1

conncdled myfelf with the Englifii Lodge, and occa-
fionally vifited the German and Ruffian Lodges held
there. I found myfelf received with particular refpedt
as a Scotch Mafon, and as an Eleve of tht: Locige de la

Parfait Intelligence at Liege. I was importuned by
perfons of the firft rank to purfue my mafonic career
through many degrees unknown in this country. But
all the fplendor and elegance that I faw could not con-
ceal a frivolity in every part. It appeared a bafelefs

fabric, and I could not think of engaging in an occu-
pation which would confume much time, coft me a
good deal of money, and might perhaps excite in me
fome of that fanaticifm, or at leaP-, enthufiafm, that I
faw in others, and perceived to be void of any rational
fupport. I Lodge,
therefore remained in the Engliili
contented with the rank of Scotch Mailer, which was
in a manner forced on me in a private Lodge of French
Mafons, but is not given in the Englifii Lodge. My
mafonic rank admitted me to a very elegant entertain-
ment in the female Lege del a FideliiCy where every ce-
remonial was compofed in the higheft degree of ele-
gance, and every thing condui^led with the mofb deli-
cate refpt«Sl for our fair fifters, and the old fong of bro-
tlierly love was chanted in the moft refined ftrain of
fentimcnt.
INTRODUCTION. 7
fentiment. I do not fuppofe that the Parifian Free Ma-

fonrv of forty -five degrees could s;ive me more enter-
tainment. I had profited fo much by it, that I had
the honour of being appointed the Brother-orator. In

this office 1gave fuch l"atisfa6lion, that a worthy Bro-
ther fent me at midnight a box, which he committed
to my care, as a perfon far advanced in mafonic fcience,
zealoufly attached to the order, and therefore a fit de-
pofitory of important writings. I learned next day
that this gentleman had found it convenient to leave the
empire in a hurry, but taking with him the funds of an
eftablifhment of which her Imperial MajeRy had made
him the manager. I wasdefiredto keep thefc writings till
he fhould fee me again, I obeyed. About ten years
afterward I faw the gentleman on the ftreet in Edin-
burgh, converfing with a foreigner. As 1 palTed by
him, I faluted him foftly in the Ruffian language ; but
without flopping, or looking him directly in the face.
He coloured, but made no return. I endeavoured, in
vain, to meet with him, wiffiing to make a proper re-
turn for much civility and kindnefs which I had receiv-
ed from him in his own country.
I now confidered the box as acceffible to mvfelf, and
opened it. I found it to contain all the degrees of the
Par/ait Ma^cn Eccjfois, with the Rituals, Catechifms,
and Inflruftions, and alfo four other degrees of Free
Mafonry, as cultivated in the Parifian Lodges. I have
kept them with all care, and mean to give them tofome
refpedable Lodge. But as I am bound by no engage-
ment of any kind, I hold myfelf at liberty to make
fuch ufe of them as may be ferviceable to the public,
without enabling any uninitiated perfon to enter the
Lodges of thefe degrees.
This acquifition might have roufed my former relifli
for mafonry, had it been merely dormant; but, after fo
long feparation from the Lodge del a Fiddite^ the mafo-
nic
8 INTRODUCTION.
nic fpirit had evaporated. Some ciirlofity however re-

mained, and fome wi(h to trace this plaftic myftcry to
the pit fiom which the clay had been dug, which has
been moulded into Co many different fhapes, '< fome to
" honour, and fome to difhonour." But my opportu-
nities were now gone. 1 have given away (when in
Ruffia) my volumes of difcourfes, and fome far-fetched

and gratuitous hiftories, and nothing remained but the
pitiful work of Andcrfon, and the Magonnerie Jdonhi-
ramique drccilee^ which are in every one's hands.
My curiofity was ftrongly roufed by the accounts
given in the Religivns Begebenheiten. There I faw quo-
tations without number fyftems and fchifms of which
i
I had never heard ;but what particularly ftruck me

wa> a zeal and a fanaticifm about what I thought trifles,
which aftoniflied me. Men of rank and fortune, and
enframed in fcrious and honourable public employments,
not only frequenting the Lodges of the cities where
they reiided, but journeying from one end of Germany
or France to the other, to vifit new Lodges, or to learn
new fecrets or new doctrines. I faw conventions held
at Wifimar, at Wifbad, at Kohlo, at Brunfwick, and at
Willemibad, confiding of fome hundreds of perfons of
rcfpeclable ftations. I faw adventurers coming to a
city, profeffing fome new fecret, and in a few days

forming new Lodges, and inftrudling in a troublefome
and expcnfive manner hundreds of brethren.
German Malbnry appeared a very ferious concern,
and to be implicated with other fubjefbs with which I
had never fufpefted it to have any connection. I faw
it much conneded with many occurrences and fchifms

in the Chriftian church ; I faw that the Jefuits had
fcveral times interfered in it ; and that moft of the ex-
ceptionable innovations and diffentions had arifen about
the time that the order of Loyola was fuppreffed ;fo
that it fnould fcem, thatthefc intriguing brethren had
attempted
INTRODUCTION. g
attempted to maintain their influence by the help of
Free Mafonry. Ifaw it much difturbed by the myftical
—
whims of J. Behmen and Swcdenborg by the fanatical
and knavifh doctrines of the modern Rofycrucians by —
— —
Magicians Magnetifers Exorcifts, &c. And I ob-
ferved that thefe different fcfts reprobated each other,
asnotonlymaintainingerroneous opinions, but even in-
culcating opinions which were contrary to the eftabli/h-
ed religions of Germany, and contrary to the princi-
ples of the civil eflablifhrnents. At the fame time
they charged each other with miflakes and corruptions,
both in do6lrine and in pradlice ; and particularly with
falfification of the firll principles of Free Mafonry,
and with ignorance of its origin and its hiftory ^ and
they fupported thefe charges by authorities from many
different books which were unknown to me.
My curiofity was now greatly excited. I got from
a much refpefted friend many of the preceding vo-
lumes of the Religions Begebenheiten^ in hopes of much
information from the patient induftry of German eru-
dition. This opened a new and very interefling
fcene I was frequently fent back to England, from
-,
whence all agreed that Free Mafonry had been im-

ported into Germ,any. I was frequently led into
France and into Italy. There, and more remarkably
in France, I found that the Lodges had become the
haunts of many projeftors and fanatics, both in fci-
ence, in religion, and in politics, who had availed
themfelves of the fecrecy and the freedom of fpeech
maintained in thefe meetings, to broach their parti-
cular whims or fufpicious doctrines, which, if publifh-
ed to the world in the iifual manner, v/ould have
expofed the authors to ridicule or to cenfure. Thefe
projectors had contrived to tag their peculiar no-
llrums to the mummery of Mafonry, and v/ere even
allowed to twlfl the mafonic emblems and ceremonies
B to
- «
10 INTRODUCTION.
to their purpoTe -, hands Free Mafonry

lb that in their
became a thing totally unlike, and alrnotl in dired:
oppolition to the lyltcm (if it may get liich a name)
imported from England and fome Lodges had be-
;
come fchools of irreligion and licentioulhcfs.

No nation in modern times has fo particularly
turned its attention to the cultivation of every thing
that is refined or ornamental as France, and it has
Ions: been the refort of all who hunt after entertain-
ment in its moil refined form the French have come
;
to confider thcmfelves as the inllruiftors of the world

in every thing that ornaments life, and feeling thcm-
felvcs received as fuch, they have formed their man-
ners accordingly —
full of the moil condefcending com-
plaifance to all who acknowledge their fuperiority. De-
li e;hted, high 'degree, with this office, they have
in a
become ze.dous miflionaries of refinement in every de-
partment of human purfuit, and have reduced their
apoftoiic employment to a fyftem, which they profe-
cute vvith ardour and delight. This is not groundlefs
declamation, but fober hilloiical truth. It was the
profefled aim (and it was a magnificent and wife aim)

of the great Colbert, to make the court of I.ouis XIV.
the fountain of human refinement, and Paris the Athens
of Europe. We
need only look, in the prefcnt day,
at the plunder of Italy by the French army, to be
convinced that their low- born generals and ftatefmen
have in tliis rcipeft the fame notionswith the Colberts
and tlie Richlieus.
I know no which this aiin at univerfal in-
fubjeft in
fluence on the opinions of men, by holding themfelves
forth as the models of excellence and elegance, is more
clearly feen than in the care that they have been pleafed
to take of Free Mafonry. It feems indeed peculiarly
luited to the talents and tafle of that vain and ardent

people. Bafelefs and frivolous, it admits of every
form
INTRODUCTION. II
form that Gallic refinement can invent, to recommend

it to the younp;, the gay, the luxurious i that clals of
fociety which alone defcrves their care, becaufe, in

one way or another, it leads all other clafics of Ibciecy.
It has accordingly happened, that the homely Free
Mafonry imported from England has been totally
changed in every country of Europe either by the im-
pofing afcendency of Frcnoli brethren, who are to be
found every where, ready to infi:ru6l the world or by
;
the importation of the do6lrines, and ceremonies, and

ornaments of the Parifian Lodges. Even England,
the birth-place of Mafonry, has experienced the French
innovations; and all the repeated injunctions, admo-
nitions, and reproofs of the old Lodges, cannot pre-
vent thofe in different parts of the kingdom from ad-
mitting the French novelties, full of tinfcl and glitter,
and high-founding titles.
Were this all, the harm would not be great. But
long before good opportunities had occurred for fpread-
ing the refinements on the fimple Free Mafonry of
England, the Lodges in France had become places of
very ferious difcuflion, where opinions in morals, in
religion, and in politics, had been promulgated and
maintained with a freedom and a keennefs, of which
we in this favoured land have no adequate notion, be-
caufe we are unacquainted with the reftraints which,
in other countries, are laid on ordinary converfation.
In confequence of this, the French innovations in
Free Mafonry were quickly follov/ed in all parts of
Europe, by the admiffion of fimilar difcuffions, al-
though in direct oppoficion to a (landing rule, and a
declaration made to everv newly received Brother,
" that nothing touching the religion or governraenc
" fhall ever be fpoken of in the Lodge." But the
Lodges in other countries followed the example of
France, and have frequently become the rcndezvo -s
12 INTRODUCTION.
of innovators in religion and politics, and other dif-

turbcrs of the public peace, have found
in fhort^ I
that the covert of a Mafon Lodge had been employ;ed

in every country for venting and propagating fenti-
ments in religion and politics, that could not have cir-
culated in public without expofing the author to great
danger. I found, that this impunity had gradually
encouraged men of licentious principles to become
more bold, and to teach doftrines fubverfive of all
our notions of morality —
of all our confidence in the
moral government of the univerie of all our hopes—
of improvement in a future (late of exiftence and of —
all fatisfaftion and contentment with our prefent life,
fo long as we live in a ftate of civil fubordination. I

have been able to trace thcfe attempts, made, through
a courfe of fifty years, under the fpecious pretext of
enlightening tiie world by the torch of philoibphy, and
of difpclling the clouds of civil- and religious fuperfli-
tion wliich keep the nations of Europe in darknefs and
flavery. I have obferved thefe dodlrines gradually
difFufing and mixing with all the different fyftems of
Free Mafonry ; an Association has
till, at laft,
BEEN FORMED for the cxprcfs purpofe of rooting out
ALL THE RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENTS, AND OVER-
TURNING ALL THE EXISTING GOVERNMENTS OF
Europe. I have ken this AfTociation exerting itfelf"
zealoufly and fyftematically, till it has become almoft
irrcfiftible And I have ieen that the moft aftive lead-
:
ers in the French Revolution were members of this

AfTociation, and conduced their firft movements ac-
cording to its principles, and by means of its inftruc-
tions and afTiflance, formally requefted and obtained:
And, laltly, I have feen that this AfTociation flill ex-
ifts, flill works in fecret, and that not only feveral
appearances among ourfelves fhow that its emifTaries

are endeavouring to propagate their deteftable doc-
trines
INTRODUCTION. IJ
trines among us,but that the AfTocIation has Lodges

in Britain correfponding with the mother Lodge at
Munich ever fince 1784.
Jf all this were a matter of mere curiofity, and fuf-
ceptible of no good ufe, it would have been better to
have kept it to myfelf, than to difturb my neighbours
with the knowledge of a ftate ot things which they
cannot amend. But if it (hall appear that the minds
of my countrymen are mificd in the very fame manner
as were thofc of our continental neighbours — if I can
fliow that the reafonings which make a very ftrong im-
preflion on fome perfons in this country are the fame
which adlually produced the dangerous afTociation in
Germany; and that they had this unhappy influence
folely becaufe they were thought to be fincere, and
the expreilions of the fentiments of the fpcakers — if I
can fhovv that this was all a cheat, and that the Lead-
ers of this AfTociation difoelieved every word i\i2X. they
uttered, and every doftrine that they taught; and that
their real intention was to abolifh all religion, overturn
every government, and make the world a general
plunder and a wreck —if I can fnow, that the princi-
ples which the Founder and Leaders of this AfTociation
held forth as the perfeftion of human virtue, and the
mofl powerful and eflicacious for forming the minds of
men, and making them good and happy, had no in-
fluence on the Founder and Leaders themfelves, and
that they were, almoft without exception, the mofl in-
fignificant, worthlefs, and profligate of men; I cannot
but think, that fuch information will make my coun-
trymen hefitate a little, and receive with caution, and
even dift:rufl, addrelTes and inftru6lions which flatter
our felf-conceit, and which, by buoying us up with
the gay profpedl of wh;u. iVcms attainable by a change,
may make us difcontentvd v.'ith our prefent condition,
and forget that there never was a government on earth
where
14 INTRODUCTION.
where the people of a great and Iiixuiious nation en-

joyed io much freedom and feeurity in the pofTcfTion
of every thing that is dear and valuable.
When we fee that thefe boalled principles had not
that effc6l on the Leaders which they alfcrt to be their
native, certain, and inevitable confequences, we fliall
diftrufl:the Hne defcriptions of the happincfs that

fhould refuk fr-om fuch a chan2:e. And vvhen we fee
that the methods which were praflifed by this Affoci-
ation for the exprcfs purpofc of breaking all the bands
of fociety, were employed folely in order that the
Leaders might rule the world with uncontroulable
power, while all the reft, even of the affociated, Ihould
be degraded in their own eftimation, corrupted in their
principles, and employed as mere tools of the ambition
of their unknown fuperiors ; furely a free-born Briton
will not hefitate to rejcft at once, and without any far-
ther examination, a plan fo big with mifchief, fo dif-
graceful to its underling adherents, and fo uncertain in
its iflue.
Thefe hopes have induced me to lay before the

public a fliort abftraft of the information which I think
I have received. It will be fhort, but I hope fuflicient
for eftablifliing the fad, that this deteftahie Affociation

exijls,and its emijj'arics are hujy among ourjehes.
I was not contented with the quotations which I
found in the Religions Begebenheiten, but procured
from abroad fome of the chief writings from which
they are taken. This both gave me confidence in the
quotations from books which I could not procure, and
furnifhed me with more materials. Much, however,
remains untold, richly deferving the attention of all
thofe who/t'^/ themfclves difpofed to lillen to the tales
of a polTible happinefs that may
be enjoyed in a fociety
where all the magiftrates are wife and juft, and all the
people are- honed and kind.
I hope
IMTRODUCTION. 15
I hope that I am honeft and candid. I have been

at all pains to give the true fcnfe of the authors. My
knowledge of the German language is but fcanty, but
I have had the affiltance of friends whenever I was in
doubt. In compreffing into one paragraph what I
have colieded from many, I have, as much as I was
able, ftuck to the words of the author, and have been
anxious to give his precife meaning. I doubt not but
that I have fometimes failed, and vvill receive correc-

tion with deference. I entreat the reader not to expedt
a piece of good literary compofition. I am very {cn-
fible that it is far from it — it is written during bad

heakh, when I am not at eafe — and I wifh to conceal
—
my name but my motive is, without the fmaileft
mixture of another, to do fome good in the only way
I am able, and I think that what I fay will comê with
better grace, and be received vv'ith more confidence,
than any anonymous publication. Of thefe I am now
mofl: heartily fick. I throw myfeif on my country with
a free heart, and I bow with deference to its decifion.

The afibciation of which I have been fpeaking is the
Order of Illuminati, founded, in 1775, by Dr.
Adam Weilliaupt, profeiTor of Canon law in the uni-
vcrfity of Ingolftadt, and abolifhed in 1786 by the
Elector of Bavaria, but revived immediately after, un-
der another name, and in a different form, all over
Germany. It was again detected, and feemingiy bro-
ken up ; but it had by this time taken fo deep root
that it flill fubfifts without being detefted, and has
fpread into all the countries of Europe. It took its
firll rife among the Free Mafons, but is totally dif-
ferent from Free Mafonry. It was not, however, the

mere proteftion gained by the fecrecy of the Lodges
that gave occafion to it, but it arofe naturally from
the corruptions that had g: adually crept into that fra-
ternity, the violence of the party fpirit which pervaded
it.
l6 INTRODUCTION.
ir, and from the total uncertainty and darknefs tliat

hangs over the whole of that myfterious Affociation.
It is neceflary, therefore, to give fome account of the
innovations that have been introduced into Free Ma-
ibnry from the time that it made its appearance on the
continent of Europe as a myflical fociety, poflcfiing
fecrets different from thofe of the mechanical employ-
ment whofe name it affumed, and thus affording en-
tertainment and occupation to perfonsof all ranks and
profeffions. It is by no means intended to give a hif-
tory of Free Mafonry. This v/ould lead to a very long

difcufiion. The patient induftry of German erudition
has been very ferioufly employed on this fubjedl, and
many performances have been publiflied, of which
fome account is given in the different volumes of the
Religions Begcbenheitcn, particularly in thofe for 1779,
1785, and 1786. It is evident, from the nature of the
thing, that they cannot be very inftruclive to the pub-
lic ; becaufe the obligation of fecrecy rcfpeding the
important matters which are the very fubjecls of de-
bate, prevents the author from giving that full infor-
mation that is required from an hiilorian ; and the wri-
ters have not, in general, been perfons qualified for
the taflc. Scanty erudition, credulity, and enthufiafm,
appear in almoil all their v/ritings ; and they have
neither attempted to remove the heap of rubbifh v;ith
which Anderfon has difgraced his Cunfiitutions of Free
Majcnry, (the baHs of miafonic hiftory,) nor to avail
themfclves of informations which hiftory really affords
to a f-ber enquirer. Their Royal art mull never for-
footh appear in aftate of infancy or childhood, like all
other human acquirem.ents ; and therefore, when they
cannot give proofs of its exifiencein a (late of manhood,
poffeffed of all its myftcrious treafures, they fu{)pofe
what they do not fee, and fay that they are concealed by
the oath of fecrecy. Of fuch inftrudion 1 can make
no
INTRODUCTION. If
noufe, even if Iwere difpofed to write ahiftory of the

Fraternity. I (hall content myfelf with an account of
fiich particulars as are admitted by all the malbnic
parties, and which illuftrate or confirm my general pro-
pofition, making fuch ufeof the accounts of the higher
degrees in my pofTeffion as I can without admitting the
profane into their Lodges. Being under no tie offe-
crecy with regard to thcfe, I am with-held by difcretion
alone from putting the public in poflelTion of all their
mylteries.
PROOFS
PROOFS
O F
A CONSPIRACY, &c
C HA p. I.
Schjfms in Free Majonry,
X HERE is undoubtedly a dignity in the art of build-

ing, or in architecture, which no other art pofleflfes, and
this, whether we confider it in its rudeft ftate, occu-
pied in raifing a hut, or as praftifed in a cultivated
nation, in the erc6lion of a magnificent and ornament-
ed temple. As the arts in general improve in any
nation, this muft always maintain its pre-eminence;
for it employs them all, and no man can be eminent
as an architect who does not poffefs a confiderable
knowledge of almoft every fcience and art already cul-
tivated in his nation. His great works are undertak-
ings of the mofl: ferious concern, connect him with
the public, or with the rulers of the ftate, and attach
to him the practitioners of other arts, who are occu-
pied in executing his orders : His works are the ob-
jefts of public attention, and are not the tranfient fpec-
tacles of the day, but hand down to pofterity his in-
vention.
aO THE SCHISMS IN CHAP. 1.
vcntion, his knowledge, and his tafte. No wonder

then that he thinks highly of his profefiion, and that
the public Ihould acquielce in his pretenfions, even
when in fome degree extravagant.
not at all furprifing, therefore, that the incor-
It is
porated architeds in all cultivated nations fhould arro-
gate to themfclves a pre-eminence over the fimilar af-
fociations of other tradefmcn. We find traces of this
in the remotcft antiquity. The Dionyfiacs of Afia
Minor were undoubtedly an alTociation of architects
and engineers, who had the exclufivc privilege of build-
ing temples, ftadia, and theatres, under the myfterious
tutelage of Bacchus, and diftinguilhed from the unin-
itiated or profane inhabitants by the fcience which they
poireffed, and by many private figns and tokens, by
which they rccognifed each other. This afibciation
came into Ionia from Syria, into which country it had
come from Perfia, along with that ftyle of architedlure
that we call Grecian. We are alfo certain that there
was a fimilar trading alTociation, during the dark ages,
in Chriftian Europe, which monopolized the building
of great churches and caftles, working under the patro-
nage and proteftion of the Sovereigns and Princes of
Europe, and pofTefling many privileges. Circum-
ftances, which it would be tedious to enumerate and
difcufs, continued this afibciation later in Britain than
on the Continent.
But it is quite uncertain when and why perfons who
were not builders by profefiîon firfl: fought admiflîon
into this Fraternity. The firfb difi:in6t and unequivocal
inftance that we have of this is the admilTion of Mr.
Afhmole, the famous antiquary, in 1648, into a Lodge
at Warrington, along with his father-in law Colonel
Mainwaring. k is not improbable that the covert of
fecrecy in thofc afiTcmblies had made tliem courted by
the Royalifts, as occafions of meeting. Nay, the Ri-
tual
CHAP. I. FREE MASONRY. 21
tual of the Mafter's degree feems to have been formed,

or perhaps twifted from its original inftitution, fo as to
give an opportunity of founding the political princi-
ples of the candidate, and of the whole Brethren pre-
liefit. For it bears fo eafy an adaption to the death of
tlie King, to the overturning of the venerable confti-
tution of the Englifh government of three orders by a
mean democracy, and its re-eftablifhment by the ef-
forts of the loyalifts, that this would ftart into every
perfon's mind during the ceremonial, and could hard-
ly fail to fhow, by the countenances and behaviour of
the Brethren, how they were affe6ted. I recommend
this hint to the confideration of the Brethren. I have
met with many particular fa6ls, v/hich convince me

that this ufe had been made of the meetings of Ma-
fons, and that at this time the Jefuits interfered confi-
derably, infinuating themfelves into the Lodges, and
contributing to encreafe that religious myfticifm that is
to be obferved in all the ceremonies of the order.
This fociety is well knov/n to have put on every fhape,
and to have made ufe of every mean that could pro-
mote the power and influence of the order. And we
know that at this time they were by no means with-
out hopes of re-eftablifhing the dominion of the
Church of Rome in England. Their fervices were
not fcrupled at by the diftrefTcd royalifts, even fuch
as were Proteftants, while they were highly prized by
the Sovereign. Wc alio know that Charles II. was
made a Mafon, and frequented the Lodges. It is not
unlikely, that bcfides the araufement of a vacant hour,
which was always agreeable to him, he had pleafurc in
the meeting with his loyal friends, and in the occupa-
tions of the Lodge, which recalled to his mind their
attachment and fervices. His brother and fuccefFor
James II. was of a more ferious and manly caft of
mind, and had little pleafure in the frivolous ceremo-
nies
22 THE SCHISMS IN CHAP. I.
monies of Mi^fonry. He did not frequent the Lodges.

But, by this time, they were the refort of many perfons
who were not of the profeflion, or members of the
trading corporation. This circumltance, in all proba-
bility, produced the denominations of Free and Ac-
cepted. A perfon who has the privilege of working
at any incorporated trade, is faid to be a freeman of
that trade. Others were accepted as Brethren, and ad-
mitted to a kind of honorary freedom, as is the cafe in
many other trades and incorporations, without havinor
(as far as we can learn for certain) a legal title to earn
a livelihood by the exercifc of it.
The Lodges being in this manner frequented by per-
fons of various profefllons, and in various ranks of civil
fociety, it cannot be fuppofed that the employment in
thofe meetings related entirely to the oftenfible pro-
feffion of Mdfonry. We have no authentic informa-
tion by which the public can form any opinion about it.
It was not till fome years after this period that the
Lodges made open profeflion of the cultivation of ge-
neral benevolence, and that the grand aim of the Fra-
ternity was to enforce the exercife of all the focial vir-
tues. It is not unlikely that this was an after-thought.
The political purpofes of the aflTociation being once

obtained, the converfation and occupations of the
members muft take fome particular turn, in order to
be generally acceptable. The eftablifliment of a fund
for the relief of unfortunate Brethren did not take place
till the very end of laft century ; and we may prefume
that it was brought about by the warm recommenda-

tions of fome benevolent members, who would na-
turally enforce it by addrcfles to their afTembled Bre-
thren. This is the probable origin of thofe philan-
thropic difcourfcs which were delivered in the Lodges
by one of the Brethren as an ofBcial tafk. Brotherly
love was the general topic, and this, with great pro-
priety,
CHAP. I. FREE MASONRY. 2^
priety, when we confider the objedt aimed at in thofe

addrefles. Nor was this objedt altogether a novelty.
For while the mannersof fociety were yet but rude.
Brother Mafons, who were frequently led by their
employment far from home and from their friends,
flood in need of fuch helps, and might be greatly be-
nefited by fuch an inftitution, which gave them in-
troduction and citizenfhip wherever they went, and a
right to Iharc in the charitable contributions of Bre-
thren who were ftrangers to them. Other incorporat-
ed trades had fimilar provifions for their poor. But
their poor were townfmen and neighbours, well known
to them. There was more perfuafion necefiary in this
Fraternity, where the objects of our immediate bene-
ficence were not of our acquaintance. But when the
Lodges confifted of many who were not Mafons, and
who had no particular claim to good offices from a
ftranger, and their number might be great, it is evi-
dent that ftronger perfuafions were now neceffary, and
that every topic of philanthropy muft now be employ-
ed. When the funds became connderable, the cfFefts
naturally took the public eye, and recommended the
Society to notice andrefped:. And now the Brethren
were induced to dwell on the fame topic, rojoin in
the commendations beftowed on the Society, and to
fay that univerfal beneficence was the great aim of the
Order. And this is all that could be faid in public,
without infringing the obligation to fecrecy. The in-
quifitive are always prying and teazing, and this is the
only point on which a Brother is at liberty to fpeak.
He will therefore dowith afieftionate zeal, till per-
it
haps he has heated his own fancy a little, and over-

looks the inconfiftency of this univerfal beneficence
and philanthropy with the exclufive and monopolizing
fpirit of an Alfociation, which not only confines its
benevolence to its own Members, (like any orhcr cha-
ritable
»
24 ^"^^ SCHISMS IN CHAP. 1.
ritablc alibciation,) but hoards up in its bofom inefti-

mable fecrets, whofe natural tendency, they fay, is to
form the heart to this generous and kind condudt, and
infpirc us with love to all mankind. The profane
world cannot fee the beneficence of concealing from
public view a principle or a motive which fo power-
fully induces a Mafon to be good and kind. The
Brother fays that publicity would rob it of its force,
and we mull take him at his word; and our curiofity
is fo much the more excited to leain what are the fe-
crets which have fo fingular a quality.

Thus did the Fraternity conduct themfelves, and thus
were they confidered by the public, when it was carried
over from England to the continent ; and here it is to-
be particularly remarked that all our Brethren abroad
profefs to have received the Myftery of Free Mafonry
from Britain. This is furely a puzzle in the hiftory
and we muft leave it to others to reconcile this with the
repeated alTertions in Anderfon's book of Conftituti-
ons, " That the Fraternity exifted all over the World,"
and the numberlefs examples which he adduces of its
exertions in other countries ; nay, with his repeated
alfertions, *^
that it frequently was near perifhing in
Britain, and that our Princes were obliged to fend
ft
to France and other countries, for leading men, to
reftorc it to its former energy among us." We
fhall find by and by that it is not a point of mere hifto-
rical curiofuy, but that much hinges on it.
In the mean time, let us juft remember, that the
plain tale of Brotherly love had been polifhed up to
protellations of univerfal benevolence, and had taken
place of loyalty and attachment to the unfortunate Fa-
mily of Stuart, which was now totally forgotten in the
Englidi Lodges. The Revolution had taken place,
and King James, with many of his moft zealous adhe-
rents, had taken refuge in France.
But
CHAP. r. FREE MASONRY. 2^
But they took Free Mafonry with them to the con-

tinent, where it was immediately received by the
French, and was cukivared with great zeal in a man-
ner hiitcd to tha tafte and habits of that highly polifhed
peopie. The Lodges in France natin-aily became the
rendezvous of the adherents to the exiled King, and
the means of carrying on a correfpondence with their
friends in England. At this time alio the Jefuits took
a more a6live hand in Free Mqfonry than ever. They
infinuated themfelves into the Englifli Lodges, where
they were careflcd by the Catholics, v>'ho panted after
the re-eilablilliment of their faith, and tolerated by
the Protefcant royalifts, who thought no concefiion too
great a ccmpcnfation for their fervices. Ac this time
changes were made in ibme of the Mafonic fymbols,
particularly in the tracing of the Lodge, v;hich bear
evident marks of Jefuitical interference.
It was in the Lodge held at St. Germain's that the
degree of Chevalier Mafon Ecofjcis was added to the

three SYMBOLICAL degrees of Engiidi Mafonry. The
conftitution, as imported, appeared too coarfe for the
refined tafte of our neighbowrs, and they mud make
Mafonry more like the occupation of a gentleman.
Therefore, the Englifh degrees of Apprentice, Fellow-,
craft, and Mafter, were q-^Wq^S Jpnholkal^ and the whole
contrivance was confidered either as typical of fome-
thing more elegant, or as a preparation for it. The
degrees afterwards fup-radded to this leave us in dcubc
which of thcfe views the French entertained of our
Mafonry. But at all evtnts, tliis rank of Scotch Knight
v/as called x\\(;. firft degree of the Maôn Fcrffjt. There
is a device belonging to this Lodge which deferves no-
tice. A lion, wounded fey an arrow, and efcaped

from the ftake to which hr had been bound, with the
broken rope ftill about his neck, is leprefenucd lying
at the mouth of a cave, and occur:ied with mathema-
*
D tied
26 THE SCHISMS IN CHAP. 1
tical inftruraenrs which are lying near him. A broken

crown lies at the foot of the (take.
V
There can be lit-
tie doLibt but that this emblem alludes to the dethrone-

ment, the captivity, the efcape, and the afyhim of
James II. andhopes of re-cllablifliment by the help
his
of the loyal Brethren. This emblem is worn as the
gorget of the Scotch Knight. It is not very certain,
however, when this degree was added, whether im-

mediately after king James's Abdication, or about the
time of tne attempt to fet his fon on the Britilli Throne.
But it is certain, that in 17 16, this and ftill higher de-
grees of Mafonry were much in vogue in the Court of
France. The refining genius of the French, and their
love of fliow, made the humble denominations of the
Englifli Brethren difgufting; and their paffion for mi-
litary rank, the only charadlcr that connefted them
with the court of an abfolute monarch, made them
adapt Free Mafonry to the fame fcale of public cftima-
tion, and invent ranks o^ Mr.^ms Chevaliers., ornament-
ed with titles, and ribands, and ftars. Thefe were
highly relifhed by that vain people and the price of
;
reception, which was very high, became a rich fund,

that was generally applied to relieve the wants of the
banifhed Britifli and Irifli adherents of the unfortunate
Family who had taken refuge among them. Three
new degrees, of Is'cvicey Eleve, and Chevalier^ were
foon added, and the Parfait Mrôn had nov/ feven re-
ceptions to g® through, for each of which a handfome
contribution was made. Afterwards, when the firfl:
beneficent purpofc of this contribution ceafed to exifb,
the fincrv that now p-littered in all the Lodges made a
liiil more craving demand for reception- money, and
i igenuity was fet to v/ork to invent new baits for the
Parfaii iVkc-'/i. More
degrees of chivalry vv'tre added,
intcrfperfcd with degrees oi' Philrjophe^ Ptllerin, Clah'-
vcyânt, "&c. &c. till fome Jârifiiin Lodg-s had forty-
five
gHAP. U FREE MASONRY* 2J
five ranks of Mafonry, having fifteen orders of chi-

valry. For a Knighthood, Vv'ith a Riband and a Star,
was a k?n!e bcuche, given at every third flep. For a
long while thefe degrees of chivalry proceeded on feme
faint analogies with feveral orders of chivalry which
had been ereded in Europe. All of thefe had fome
reference to fome myfirical dodlrines of the Chriftian
church, and were, in fadt, contrivances of the Church
of Rome for fecuring and extending her influence on
the laymen of rank and fortune, whom fhe retained in
her fervice by thefe play-things. The Knights Tem-
plars of Jerufalem, and the Knights of the Defert,
whofe office it was to proteft pilgrims, and to defend
the holy city, afforded very apt models for Mafonic
mimicry, becaufe the Temple of Solomon, and the
Holy Sepulchre, always fhared the fame fate. Many
contefted dodrines of the theologians had alfo their
Chevaliers to defend them.
In all this progrefTive mummery we fee much of the
hand of the Jefuits, and it would fcem that it was en-
couraged by the church. But a thing happened which
might eafily have been forefcen. The Lodges had
become familiar with this kind of invention the pro-
j
ic^t(\ objeft of many real Orders of Knighthood was

often very whimfical, or very refined and far-fetched,
and it required all the finelTe of the clergy to give to
it fome flight connexion with religion or morality.
The Mafons, protefled by their fecrecy, ventured to

go farther. The declamations in the lodges by the
Brother orator, mull naturally refemble the compofi-
tions of the ancient fophifts, and confifl of v/ire-drawn
difTertations on the focial duties, where every thing is
amplified and ilrained to hyperbole, in their far-fetched
and fancifulcxplanationsofthefymbolsol'Mafonry.Thus
accuftomed to allegory, to fiftion, to fineiTe, and to a forC
©f innocent hypocrify by which they csjoled t.h^fTri ft Ives
into
into a notion that this child's- play bottom a

had at
lerious and important meaning, the zealous champions
of Free Malbnry found no inclination to check tjiis
inventive fpirit or circumfcribe its flights. Under the
prote(fi"ion of Mafonic fecrecy, they planned fchcmes
of a different kind, and inflead of more Orders of
Chivalry directed againft the enemies of their faith,
they formed aflTociations in oppofition to the ridiculous
and opprcflive ceremonies and fuperftitions of the
church. There can be no doubt, that in thofe hidden
afiemblies, a free communication of fentiment was
highly relilhed and much indulged. It was foon fuf-
pcd:ed that fuch ufe was made of the covert of a Mafon

Lodge; and the church dreaded the confcquences,
and endeav'ourcd to fupprefs the Lodges. But in vain.
And v/hen it was found, that even auricular confeffion,
and the fpii itual threatcnings of the church, could not
make the Brethren break ttieir oath of fecrecy a full ;
confidence in their fecurity made thefe free-thinking

Brethren brinp forward, with all the eaijernefs of a
mifiionary, fuch fentiments as they were afraid to ha-
zard in ordinary fociety. This was long fufpc6led ;
but the rigours of the church only ferved to knit the

Brethren more firmly together, and provoked them to
a more eager exerciie of their bold criticifms. The
Lodges became fchools of fcepticifm and infidelity,
and the fpirit of converfion or profelytifm grew every
day ftronger. Cardinal Dubois had before this time
laboured with all his might to corrupt the minds of
the courtiers, by patronifing, direftly and indire6tly,
all fcepcics who were otherwife men of talents. He
gave the young courtiers to underfcand, that if he
ihouM obtain the reins of government, they fhould be
entirely freed from the bigotry of Louis XIV. and the
opprellion of the church, and fiiould have the free in-
duigencc of their inclinations. His own plans were
difap-
difappointed by his death ; but the Regent Orleans

was equally indulgent, and in a few years there
was hardly a man in France who pretended know-
ledge and rcHeftion, who did not laugh at all reli-
gion. Amidil the almoft infinite number of publi-
cations from the French preiTes, there is hardly a do-
zen to be found where the author attempts to vindicate
religion from the charges of univcrfal fuperftition and
falfehood. And it mufl: be acknowledged that little
clfe v/as to be feen in the eftablifhed religion of the
kingdom. The people found nothing in Chriftianity
but a never-ceafinff round of infi2;nificant and trouble-
fome ceremonies, which confumed their time, and
furnifhed a fund for fupporting a fet of lordly and op-
preliive dignitaries, who declared in the plaineft man-
ner their own dilbelief of their religion, by their total
difregard of common decency, by their continual reli-
dcnce at court, and by abfolute negledr, and even the
moil: haughty and oppreffive treatment of the only part
of their order that took any concern about the religious
fcntiments of the nation, namely the Cures or parifli-
priefts. The monks appeared only as lazy drones ; but
the parifh-priefts inilrufled the people, vifited the fick,
reconciled the offender and the offended, and were the
great mediators between the landlords and their vaf-
lals, an ciiice which endeared them more to the peo-
ple tlian all the other circiimftances of their profcffion.
And it is remarkable, that in all the licentious writinp-s
and bitter fatirical tales of the philofophic freethink-
ers, fuch as Voltaire, who never fails to have a taunting
hit at the clergy, the Cure is generally an amjableperfon-
age, a charitable man, a friend to the poor andunfor-
tiinate, a peace-maker, and a man of piety and worth.
Yet thefe men Vv'ere kept in a (hue of the moft flavifn
and cruel fubjeftion by the higher orders of the cler-
gy, and all hopes of advancement cut off. Rarely,
hardly
hardly ever, does it happen, that a Cure becomes a

Bifhop. The Abbes Itep into every line of prefer-
ment. When fuch procedure is obferved by a whole
nation, what opinion can be formed but that the whole
is a vile cheat ? This however was the cafe in France,
and therefore infidelity was almoll univerfal. Nor

was this overflrained freedom or iicentioufnefs confin-
ed to religious opinions. It was perhaps more natu-
rally direfted to the reftraints arifing from civil fub-
ordination. The familiar name of Brother could not
but tickle the fancy of thofe of inferior rank, when
they found themftlves fide by fide with perfons whom
they cannot approach out of doors but with cautious
refpeft ; and while thefe men of rank have their pride
lulled a little, and perhaps their hearts a little fofccned
by the hackneyed cant of fcntimental declamation on
the topic of Brotherly love and Utopian felicity, the
others begin to fancy the happy days arrived, and the
light of philanthropy beaming from the eaft and illu-
minating the Lodge. The Garret Pamphleteer enjoys
his fancied authority as Senior Warden, and condufts
with affed:ionate folemnity the young nobleman, who
pants for the honour of Mafterfliip, and he praiics the
trufty Brother who has guarded him in his perilous
journies round the room. What topic of declamation
can be more agreeable than the equality of the worthy
Brethren ? and hov/ naturally v/ill the Brother Orator
in fupport of this favourite topic, Aide into all the
common-place pi6tures of human fociety, freed from
allthe anxieties attending civil diilinftion, and pafTing
their days in happy fimpllcity and equality. From
this ftateof the fancy, it is hardly a ftep to defcant on
the propriety, the expediency, and at laft, thejuflice
of fuch an arrangement of civil fociety ;and in doing
this, one cannot avoid taking notice of the grea: ob-
ftruclions to human felicity which we fee in every
quarter,
CHAP. I. FREE MASONRY. 3I
quarter, proceeding from the abufes of thofe diftinc-

tions of rank and fortune which have arifen in the
world : and and horrors of fuperfti-
as the mifchiefs
tion are topics of continual declamation to thofe who
wifh to throw off the reflraints of religion j fo the op-
prcffion of the rulers of this world, and the fuffcrings
of talents and worth in inferior ftations, will be no lefs
greedily liftened to by all whofe notions of morality
are not very pure, and who .would be glad to have the
enjoyments of the wealthy without the trouble of la-
bouring for them. Free Mafonry may be affirmed to
have a natural tendency to fofter fuch levelling wifhes;
and we cannot doubt but that great liberties are taken
with thofe fubjefts in the Lodges, efpecially in coun-
tries where the dirtinclions of rank and fortune are
flrongiy exprcffcd and noticed.
But it is not a matter of mere probability that the
Mafon Lodges were the feminarics of thefe libertine
inftruCtions. We
have diftincl" proof of it, even in
fome of the French degrees. In the degree called the
Chevalier deScleil, the whole inflruclion is aimed againll
the eftablifhed religion of the kingdom. The profeffed
objeft is the emancipation from error and the difcovery
of truth. The infcription in d'K^ caft is SageJJe, that in
the north is LibertCy that in the f )uth is Fermete^ and in
the weft it is Caution ; terms which are very flgnificanr.
The Tres Venerable is Adam; the Senior Warden is
Truth, and all the Brethren are Children of Truth.
The procels ot reception is very well contrived: the
whole ritual is decent and circumfpc6t, and nothing
occurs which can alarm the niofb timiid. Brother
Truth is afl<:ed. What is tin* hour ? He informs Fa-
ther Adam, that amono- men it is the hour of dark-
nefs, but that it is mid-day in the Lodge. The can-
didate is afl:ed, Why he has knocked at the door, and
what is become ot liis eight companions (he is one of
the
;
the Elus)? He fays, world is in darknefs,

that the
and his companions and he have loft each other that ;
HefperuSj the itar of Europe, is obfcured by clouds of

inccnfe, offered up by fuperuition to defpots, who
have made themfelves gods, and have retired into zhc
inmofl rcceffes of their palaces, that they may not be
recogniftd to be men, while their priefts are deceiving
the people, and caufing them to worfliip thefc divi-
nities. This and many fimilar fentimcnts are evident
allufions to the pernicious doftrine of the book called
Origine du Defpotifme Oriental^ where the religion of all
countries is confidercd as a mere engine of ftate
where it is declared that reafon is the only light which
nature has îven to man : that our anxiety about futu-
rity has made us imagine endlefs torments in a future
world ; and that princes, taking advantage of our
weaknefs, have taken the management of our hopes
and fears, and dircfled them fo as to fuit their own
purpoCes i and emancipation from the fear of death is
declared to be the greateft of all deliverances. Quef-
tions are put to the candidate, tending to difcover whe-
ther and how far he may be trufted, and v/hat facrifices
he is willing to make in fearch after truth.
This fliape given to the plaftic myfteries of Mafonry
was much rclilhed, and in a very ftiort time this new ,
path was completely explored, and a new feries of de-

crrees was added to the lift, viz. the Novice, and the
Elil de la Ve?-ite, and the Suhli'ms Philofophe. In the
progrefs through thefe degrees, tlie Brethren muft for-
get that they have formerly been Chc-jaUsrs de VOrienty
Chevcdiers de V Aiglc^ when the fymbols were all ex-
plained as typical of the life and immortality brought
to light by the gofpcl. Indeed they are tau'i^ht to clafs
this among the other clouds which have b(ên Jifpelled
by the fun of reafon. Even in the Cbevalerie de rjigle
there is a tvv'ofold exphnatiorj given of the fymbols, by
which
CHAP. I. FREE MASONRY". 33
which a lively imagination may conceive the whole

hilloj-y and peculiar doctrines of the New Tefcamenr,
as being typical of the final triumph of reafon and phi-
lofophy over error. And perhaps this degree is the
very firPc ftep in the plan of Illumination.
We arc not to fuppofe that this was carried to ex-
tremity at once. But it is certain, that before 1743,
it had become iinivcrfal, and that the Lodges of Free
Mafons had become the places for making profelytes

to every ftrange and obnoxious do6lrine. Theurgy^
Ccfmcgonyy Cabala^ and many whimfical and myfticai
docfbrines which have been grafted on the diftinguifh-
ing tenets and the pure morality of the Jews and Chrif-
tians, were fubjeds of frequent difcuirion in the Lodges.
The celebrated Chevalier Ramfay had a great fnare in
all this bufinefs. AfFcdiionately attached to the family
of Stuart, and to his native country, he had co-ope-
rated heartily with thofe who endeavoured to employ
Mafonry in the fcrvice of the Pretender, and, availing
himfelf of the pre-eminence given (at tirft perhaps as
a courtly compliment) to Scotch Mafonry, he laboured
to fhew that it exifted, and indeed arofe, during the
Crufades, and that there really was either an order of
chivalry whofe bufinefs it was to rebuild the Chriftian
churches deftroyed by the Saracens, or that a frater-
nity of Scotch Mafons were thus employed in the eail,
under the protection of the Knights of St. John of Je-
rufalem. He found fomic fafts which wêre thought
fufficient grounds for fiich an opinion, fuch as the
building of the college of thcfe Knights in London,
called the Temple, which was actually done by the
public Fraternity of Mafons who had been in the holy
wars. It is chiefly to him that we indebted for
are
that rage of M_afonic chivalry which diilinguifhies the
French Free Maflrjnry. Ramfay wâs as eminent for
his piety as he was for his cnthufiafm, but his opinions
E were
were fingular. His eminent learning, his elegant ta-

lents, amiable charadtcr, and particularly his cfti-
his
mation at court, gave great influence to every thing
he laid on a fubjedl which was merely a matter of
fadiion and amulcment. Whoever has attended much
to human affairs, knows the eagcrnefs with which men
propagate all fmgular opinions, and the delight which
attends their favourable reception. None are more
zealous than the apoftlcs of infidelity and atheifm. It
is in human nature to catch with greedinefs any op-
portunity of doing what lies under general reilraint.

And if our apprehcnfions are not completely quieted,
in a cafe where our wifhes lead us ftrongly to fome fa-
vourite but hazardous objeft, we are confcious of a
kind of felf bullying. This naturally gets into our
difcourfe, and in our eagernefs to get the encourage-
ment of joint adventurers, we enforce our tenets with
an energy, and even a violence, that is very inconfif-
tent with the fubjeft in hand. If I am an Atheift, and
my neighbour a Theift, there is furely nothing that
iliould make me violent in my endeavours to rid him
of his error. Yet hov/ violent were the people of this
party in France.
Thefe facfts and obfervations fully account for the
zeal with which all this patch-work addition to the
fimple Free Mafonry of England vâs profecuted in
France. It furprifes us Britons, who are accullomed
to confider the whole as a matter of amufement for
young men, who are glad ©f any pretext for indulging
in conviviality. We generally confider a man ad-
vanced in life with lefs refpecft, if he fhows any ferious
attachment to fuch things. But in France, the civil
and religious reltraints in converfation made thefe fe-
cret affemblies very precious ; and they were much
frequented by men of letters, who there found an op-
portunity of cxprcfling in fafcty their dilTatisfaftion
with
CAAP. I. FREE IvIASCNRY. 3^*
with chofe reftnilnts, and wlnh that inferiority of rank

and condition to which they were fubjefted, and which
appeared to themfelves fo inadequate to their own ta-
lents and merits. The Avocats au Parlement, the un-
beneficed Abbes, the young men of no fortune, and
the joidijant philofonhers, formed a numerous band,
frequented the Lodges, and there difcufftd every topic
of religion and polidcs. Specimens of this occupation
appeared from time to time in Colleftions of Difcourfes
delivered by the FrereOrateur. I once had in my pof-
feffion two volumes of thefe difcourfes, which I now
regret that I left in Lodge on the continent, when
a
my rclil'h for Free Mafonry had forfaken me. One
of thef" is a difcourfe by Brother Robinet, delivered
in the Lege des Chevaliers Bienfcijants de la Sainte Cite at
Lyons, at a vification by the Grand Mafter the Due de
ChartreSj afterwards Orleans and Egalite. In this dif-
courfe we have the germ. and fubftance of his noted
work.. La Nature , cu V Homme inoral et 'phyfique* In
another difcourfe, delivered by Brother Condorcet in
the Lvge des Philalethes at Strafoourg, we have the
outlines of his pofthumous work, Le Progres de VEfprit
humain ; and in another, delivered by Mirabeau in the
Lfjge des Chevaliers Bienfaijants at Paris, we have a great
deal of the levelling principles, and cofmopolitifm,j-
which he thundered from the tribunes of the National
Afiembly. But the mofi: remarkable performances of
this kind are, the Archives Myftico-Hennetiques and the ,
Des Erreurs, et de la Verite. The

confidered as
firit i->
an account, hiftorical and dogmatical, of the proce-

dure and fyilem of the Lege des Chevaliers Bienfaijants
at
• And I may add the Syfteme dc la Nature of Diderot, who car-

refted the crude whims of Robinet by the more relined mechanifm
of Hartley.
f Citizenfhip of the '^Yorld, from the Greek words Cofnios, world,
and Folisy a city.
j6 THE SCHISMS IN CHAP. T.
at Lyons. This was the mofi: zealous and fyftematical

of all the cofmopolitical Lodges in France. It worked
long under the patronage of its Grand M.ifter the Due
des Cbaflres, afterwards Orleans, and at laft Pb. Ega-
lite. It fcnt out many affiliated Lodges, which were
crefted in various parts of the French dominions. The

daughter Lodges at Paris, Straibourg, Lille, Thou-
loufe, took the additional title- of Phiialethes. There
arofe fome fchifms, as may be expcfted, in an AiTo-
ciation where every man is encouraged to broach and
to propagate any the molt fingular opinion. Thefe
fchifms were continued with fome heat, but were in a
great meafure repaired in Lodges which took the name
of yimis reunis de la Verite. One of this denomination
at Paris became very eminent. The mother Lodge
at Lyons extended its correfpondence into Germany,
and other foreign countries, and fcnt conftitutions or
fyftems, by which the Lodges conduced their opera-
tions.
have not been able to trace the fteps by which this
I
Lodge acquired fuch an afcendancy but I fee, that in
;
J769and 1770, all the refined or philofoohical Lodges

in Alface and Lorraine united, and in a convention at
Lyons, formally put themfelves under the patronage
of this Lodge, cultivated a continual correfpondence,
and confidercd themfelves as profcITing one Maionic
Faith, fufficiently diftinguifhable from that of other
Lodges. What this was vvê do not very diftinftly
know. We
can only infer is from fome hifcorical cTr-
cumftances. One of its favourite daughters, the Lodge
Theodor von der giiten Rath ^ at Munich, became fo re-
markable dangerous to church and flate,
for difcourfes
that the Eleflor of Bavaria, after repeated admonitions
during a courfe of five or fix years, was obliged to fup-
prefs it in 1786. Another of its fuftragan Lodges at
Regeniburgh became exceedingly obnoxious to the
flate.
CHAP. I. - FREE MASONRY. 3*7
flare, and occadoned feveral commotions and infurrec-

tions. Another, at Paris, gradually refined into the
Jacobin club —
And in the year 1791, the Lodges ia
Alfacc and Lorraine, with thofe of Spire and Worms,
invited Cuftine into Germany, and delivered Mcntz
into his hands.
When we reflect on thefe hiiloricai facls, we get
fome key to the better underftanding of the two perfor-
mances which Imentioned as dcfcriptive of the opinions
and occupations of this of Free-Mafons.
Se(5l The
Archives MyfticD-Hcrmetiques exhibit a very ftrange mix-
ture of Myllicifm, Theofophy, Cabaiiilic whim, real
Science, Fanaticifm, and Freethinking, both in reli-
gion and politics. They muft not be confidered as an
account of any fettled fyflem, but rather as annals of
the proceedings of the Lodge, and abftracls of the
ftrange doftrines which made their fuceffive appearance
in it. But if an intelligent and cautious reader examine
them attentively, he will fee, that the book is the
work of one hand, and that ail the wonders and oddi-
ties are caricatured, fo as to engrofs the general atten-
tion, while they aifo are tv/iftcd a little, fo that in one
way or another they accord with a general fpirit of li-
centioufnefs in morals, religion, and politics. Although
every thing is expreffed decently, and with fome cau-
tion and moderation, aiheifm, m.ateriaiifrn, and difcon-
tent with civil fubordination, pervade the whole. It
is a work of great art. By keeping the ridicule and
the danger of fuperftition and ignorance continually in
view, the mind is captivated by the relief which free
enquiry and communication of fentiment feems to fe-
cure, and we are put off our guard againft the rifk of
delufion, to v/hich we are expofcd when our judgment
is warped by our pafiions.
The other book, '' Des Erreurs et de la Verite,"

came from the fame fchool, and is a fort of holy fcrip-.
ture.
3S THE SCHISMS IN CHAP. I.
ture, or at leafl: a Talmud among the Free Mafons of

France. It is intended only for the iniciated, and is
indeed a myftery to any other reader. But as the ob-
ject of it was to fpread the favourite opinions of fome
enthufiaflic Brethren, every thing is faid that docs not
diredliy betray the fccrets of the Order. It contains a
fyftem of Theofophy that has often appeared in the
writings of philofophers, both in ancient and modern
times. " All the intelligence and moral fcntimenc
" that appears in the univerfe, either dire<5tly, as in
*' the minds of men, or indirectly, as an inference
*^ from the marks of defign that we fee around us, fome
**
of which fhow us that men have a6ted, and many
" more that fome other intelligence has a6led, are con-
*' fidered as parts or portions of a general mafs of ih-
" teliigence which exifts in the univerfe, in the fame

" manner as matter exifts in it. This intellig-ence has
<' an infcrutable connedion with the material part of
<* the univerfe, perliaps refembling the connexion,
<f equally unfearchable, that fubfifts between the mind
<f and body of man 3 and it may be confidered as the
<f Soul of the World. It is this fubftance, the natural
« objeft of wonder and refped:, that men have called
«^ God, and have made the objed of religious wor-
*' fhip. In doing fo they have fallen into grofs mif-
<f
takes, and have created for themfelves numberlefs
«' unfounded hopes and fears, which have been the
" fource of fuperftition and fanaticifm, the moft def-
" trudive plagues that have ever afflided the human
'' race. The Soul of Man is feparated from the ge-
*' neral mafs of intelligence by fome of the operations
*' of nature, which we fhall never underftand, juft as
" water is raifed from the ground by evaporation, or
" taken up by the root of a plant. And as the water,
" after an unfearchable train of changes, in which it
" fometimes makes part of a flower, fometiaies part
'< of
CHAP. 1. FREE MASONRY. 3^
*' of an anima], &c. Is at laft reunited, In Its original
" form, to the great mafs of waters, ready to run over
" the fame circle again fo the Soul of Man, after
j
" perform.ing its office, and exhibiting all that train

'^ of intciledtual phenomena that we call human life,
is at lait fwallowed up in the great ocean of intelli-

<(
gence/' The author then may fing
" Felix qui potuit rerum cognofcere caufas,

" Atque metus omnes et inexorabile fatum
" Subjecic pedibus, ftrepitumque Acherontis avari.'*
For he has now got to his afylum. This deity of his

may be the objed; of wonder, like every thing great
and incomprehenfible, but not of worfliip, as the mo-
ral Governor of the univerfe. The hopes are at end,
which reft on our notions of the immortality and in-
dividuality of the human foul, and on the encourage-
ment which religion holds forth to believe, that im-
provement of the mind in the courfe of this life, by
the exercife of wifdom and of virtuous difpoficions, is
but the beginning of an endlefs progrefs in all that can
give delight to the rational and well-difpofcd mind.
No relation now fubfifts between man and Deity that
can warm the heart. But, as this is contrary to fome
natural propenfity in the human mind, which in all
ages and nations has panted after fome connexion with
Deity, the author ftrives to avail himfelfof fome cold
principles of fymmetry in the works of nature, fome
ill-fupported notions of propriety, and other fuch con-
fiderations, to make this <2nma mimcii an objeft of love
and refpetl. This is done in greater detail in another
work, TableaUy des rapports euire i'Hommey Dieu, et
VUniverSy which is undoubtedly by the fame hand.
But the intelligent reader will readily fee, that fuch
incongruous things cannot be reconciled, and that we
can expedl nothing here but lophidry. The author
proceeds,
40 THE SCHISMS IN CHAI'. I.
proceeds, in the next place, to confidcr man as relat-

ed to man, and to trace out the path to happinels in
this life. Here we have mora-
the fame overftrained
lity as in the other work, the fame univerfal benevo-
lence, the fame lamentations over the mifcrable flate
of manlvind, refulting from the oppreffion of the pow-
erful, the great ones of the earth, who have combined
againll the happinefs of mankind, and have fucceeded,
by dcbafing their minds, fo that they have become
willing llaves. This could not have been brought
about without the affiftance of fuperilition. But the
princes of this world enliftcd into their fervice the
priefts, who exerted themfelves in darkening the un-
dcrftandings of men, and tilled their minds with reli-
gious terrors. The altar became the chief pillar o^
the throne, and men were held in complete fubjcdtion.
Nothing can recover them from this abjeft ftate but
knowledge. While this difpels their fears, it will alfo
fhow them their rights,and the way to attain them.
It deferves particularly to be remiarked, that this
fyltem of opinions (if fuch an inconfiftent mafs of af-
fertions can be called a fydem) bears a great refem-
blance to a performance of Toland's, publiflicd in
1720, called Pantheifiicon, Jen Cdehratio SodaliUi Socra-
tici. It is an account of the principles of a Fraternity
which he calls Socratica, and the Brothers Fantheiftse.

They are fuppofed to hold a Lodge, and the author
gives a ritual of the procedure in this Lodge the ce-
;
rcmonies of ODenin<:j; and fhutting- of the Lodo;e, the

admiiTion of Members into its difi'erent degrees, &c.
Reafon is the Sun that illuminates the whole, and Li-
berty and Equality are the objects of their occupa-
tions.
We fhall fee afterv/ards that this book v/ar, fondly
puHied into Germany, tranfiatcd, commented upon,
an<l fo mifrcprcfcnted, as to call oif the attention from
the
the real fpirit of the book, which is intentionally wrap-

ped up in cabala and enigma. Mirabeau was at much
pains to procure it notice ; and it muft therefore be
confidered as a treafure of the cofmo-political opini-
ons of the Affociation o( Chevaliers Bienfaifants, Phila-
ktheSy and Amis ReuHiSy who were called the improved
Lodges, working under the D. de Chartres of thefe—
there were 266 in 1784. This will be found a very
important remark. Let it alfo be recollcdled after-
Lodge of Lyons fent
wards, that this a deputy to a
grand Convention in Germany in 1772, viz. Mr. Wil-
lermooz, and that the bufincfs was thought of fuch
importance, that he remained there two years.
The book Des Erreurs et de la VeritCi muft therefore
be confidered as a claffical book of thefe opinions.We
know that it originated in the Loge des Chev. Bienfai-
fants at Lyons. We know that this Lodge ftood as it
were at the head of French Free Mafonry, and that
the fiditious Order of Mafonic Knights Templars was
formed in this Lodge, and was confidered as the mo-
del of all the reft of this mimic chivalry. They pro-
ceeded {o far in this mummery, as even to have the
clerical tonfure. The Duke of Orleans, his fon, the
Ele6lor of Bavaria, and fome other German Princes,
did "not fcruple at this mum.mery in their own perfons.
In all the Lodges of reception, the Brother Orator
never failed toexclaim on the topics of fuperftitionj
blind to the exhibition he was then makin<i, or indif-
ferent as to the vile hypocrify of it. We have, in the
lifts of Orators and Office-bearers, many names of
perfons, who have had an opportunity at iaft- of pro-
claiming their fentiments in public. The Abbe Sieyes
was of the Ledge of Philalethes at Paris, and alfo at
Lyons. Lequinio, author of the moft profligate book
that ever difgraced a prefs, the Prejuges vaincns par la
Raifon. was Warden in the Lodfre Com^âuie Sociak.
F Defpremcnilj
42 THE SCHISMS IN GHAP.I.
Defprcmenil, Bailly, Fauchct, Mauiy, Mounier, were 'J

of the lame jyilem, though in different Lodges. They
were called Martinifts, from a St. Martin, who form-
ed a fchifm in the fyftem of the Chevaliers BienfaifantSj
of which we have not any very precife account. Mer-
cier gives iome account of it in his Tableau ds PariSy
and in his Anne 2440. The breach alarmed the Bre-
thren, and ocGafioned great heats. But it was heal-
ed, and the Fraternity took the name of Mija du Re-
niSy which is an anagram of ^t'j' A'mis Reunis. The Bi-
Jhop of Autun, the man lb bepraifed as the benevolent
Citizen of the World, the friend of mankind and of
good order, was Senior Warden of another Lodge at
Paris, efâblillied in 1786^ (I think chiefly by Orleans
and himftlf,) which afterwards became the Jacobin
Club. In Ihort, we may aflert with confidence, that
the Mafon Lodges in France were the hot-beds, vi^here
the feeds were fown, and tenderly reared, of all the
pernicious doctrines which loon alter choaked every
moral or reli2;ious cultivation, and have made the So-
ciety worfe than a wafbe, have made it a noifome
marlh of human corruption, filled with every rank
and poifonous weed.
Thefe Lodges were frequented by pcrfons of all
ranks, and of every profeffion. The idle and the fri-^
volous found amufement, and glittering things to tickle
their fatiated fancies. There they became the dupes
of the declamations of the crafty and licentious Abbes,
and writers of every denomination. Mutual encou-
rao-ement in the induloênce of hazardous thouo;hts and
opinions which flatter our wifhes or propenfities is a
lure which few minds can refift. I believe that moft
men have felt this in fome period of their lives. I

can find no other way of accounting for the company
that I have fometimes Icen in a Mafon Lodoê. The
Ledge de la Parfaite Jntclligeme at Liege, contained, in
December
December 1770, the Prince Bifliop, and the greateft

part of his Chapter, and all the Office-bearers were
dignitaries of the church; yet a difcourfe given by the
Brother Orator was as poignant a latire on fuperftition
and credulity, as if it had been written by Voltaire.
It was under the aufpices of this Lodge that the collec-
tion of difcourfes, which I mentioned above, was pub-
Jiihed, and there is no fault found with Brother Robi-
net, nor Brother Condorcet. Indeed the Trefonciers
of Liege vvere proverbial, even in Brabant, for their
Epicurifm in the moft extenfive fenlb of the word.
Thus was corruption Ipread over the kingdom un-
der the rnafk of moral inftru6lion. For thefe difcourfes
were full of the moft refined and ftrained morality, and
florid paintings of Utopian felicity, in a ftate where
all are Brothers and citizens of the world. But alas 1
thefe wire- drawn principles feem to have had little in-

fluence on the hearts, even of thofe who could beft
difplay their beauties. Read the tragedies of Voltaire,
and fome of his grave performances in profe — What
man is there who feems better to know his Mafter's
will? No man expreflTes- with more propriety, with
more exadlnefs, the feelings of a good mind. No
man feems more fenfible of the immutable obligation
of juftice and of truth. Yet this man, in his tranfac-
tions with his bookfcUers, with the very men to whom
he was immediately indebted for his affluence and his
farne, Vvâs repeatedly, nay inceffantly, guilty of the
meaneft, the vileft tricks. V/hen he fold a work for
an enormous price to one bookfcller, (even to Cramer,
whom he really refpected,) he toT^k care that a furrep-
titious edition ihould appear in Holland, almoft at the
fame moment. Proof-meets have been traced from
Ferney to Amflerdam. V/hen a friend of Cramer's
cxpoftulated with Voltaire on the injuftice of this con-
duct, he faid, grinning, Gh le bgn Cramer — eh hien— ;/
—
a qus d" etre du parti he may take a fliarc
ri' —
he will
not give me a livre the lefs for the firft piece I offer
him. Where fliall we fee more tendernefs, more ho-
nour, more love of every thing that is good and fair,
than in Diderot's Fere de Famille? —
Yet this man did
not fcruple to fell to the Emprefs of Ruffia an immenfc
library, which he did not poffefs, for an enormous
price, having got her promifc that it fliould remain in
his poffcffion in Paris during his life. When her am-
baffador wanted to fee it, after a year or two's pay-
ments, and the vifitation could be no longer ftaved off,
Diderot was obliged to fct off in a hurry, and run
through all the bookfellers fhops in Germany, to help
him to fill his empty fhelves. He had the good for-
tune to fave appearances —
but the trick took air, be-
caufe he had been niggardly in his attention to the am-
baffador's fecretary. This, however, did not hmder
him from honouring his Imperid pupil with a vifit.
He cxpedled adoration, as the light of the world, and
was indeed received by the Ruffian courtiers with all
the childifh fondnefs that they feel for every Parifian
mode. But they did not underiland him, and as he
did not like to lofe money at play, they did not long
court his company. He found his pupil too clear
lighted. Ces pbilojcphesy faid flie, font beauXy vus de
loin ; mats de plus pres^ le diamant par ait cryfial. He
had contrived a poor flory, by which he hoped to get
his daughter married in parade, and portioned by her
Majefly' —
but it was feen through, and he was difap-
pointed.
When we fee the inefficacy of this refined humanity
on thele two apoilles of philofophical virtue, we fee
ground for doubting of the propriety and expediency
of trufting entirely to it for the peace and happinefs of
3 ftate, and we fliould be on our guard when we liften
to the florid fpecchcs of the Brother Orator, and his
congra-
—
congratulations on the emancipation from fuperRition

and opprefTion, which will in a fhorc time be efFeflu-
ated by the Chevaliers Bienfaijants^ the PhilaktheSj or
any other fed: of cofmo-poiitical Brethren.
I do not mean by all this to maintain, that the Ma-
fon Lodges were the fole corrupters of the public mind
in France. —-No. — In all nations that have made much
progrefs in cultivation, there is a great tendency to
corruption, and it requires all the vigilance and exer-
tions of magiftrates, and of moral infiru(5tors, to pre-
vent the fpreading of licentious principles and maxims
of condudl. They arife naturally of themfelves, as
weeds in a rich foil ; and, like weeds, they are perni-
cious, only becaufe they are, where they fhould not
be, in a cultivated field. Virtue is the cultivation of
the human foul, and not the mere pofleffion of good
difpofitions ; all men have thefe in fome degree, and
pccafionally exhibit them. But virtue fuppofes exer-
tion and, as the hufbandman muft be incited to his
j
laborious tafl<: by fome cogent motive, fo muft man be

prompted to that exertion which is neceffary on the
part of every individual for the very exiftence of a
great fociety For man is indolent, and he is luxuri-
:
ous y he willies for enjoyment, and this with little trou-

ble. The lefs fortunate envy the enjoyments of others,
and repine at their own inability to obtain the like.
They fee the idle in afHuence. Few, even of good
men, have the candour, nay, I may call it the wifdom,
to think on the activity and the labour which had pro-
cured thofe comforts to the rich or to their anceftors;
and to believe that they are idle only becaufe they are
wealthy, but would be adive if they were needy.
Such fpontaneous reflexions cannot be expeded in per-
fons who
engaged
are in unceafmg labour, to procure
a very moderate fhare (in their eftimation at leaft) of
the comforts of life. Yet fuch reflexions would, in
the
the main, be juft, and furely they v/ould greatly tend

to quiet the minds of the iinfuccersful.
This excellent purpofe may be greatly forwarded
by a national eftablifnment for moral inftruftion and
admonition and if the public inftrudlors fliould add
-,
all the motives to virtuous modrraiion which are fug-

gelled by the confiderations of genuine religion, every
advice would have a tenfold influence. Religious and
moral inftruftions are therefore, in their own nature,
unequivocal fupports to that moderate exertion of the
authority arifmg from civil fubordination, which the
moft refined philanthropill or cofmo- polite acknow-
ledges to be neceilary for tlie very exiilence of a great
and cultivated fociety. I have never fcen a fcheme of
Utopian happinefs that did not contain fome fyftem of
education, and I cannot conceive any fyftem of edu-
cation of which moral in(lru(5lion is not a principal
part. Such ellabii{liments are diftates of nature, and
obtrude themfclves on the mind of every perfon who
begins to form plans of civil union. And in all exift-
ing focieties they have indeed been formed, and are
confidercd as the greatcft correftor and ibother of thofe
difcontents that are unavoidable in the minds of the
unfuccefsful and the unfortunate. The magiilrate,
therefore, whcfe profelTional habits lead him frequently
to exert himfelf for the maintenance of public peace,
cannot but fee the advantages of fuch flated remem-
brancers of our duty. He will therefore fupport and
cherifli this public cftabliihrncnt, which fo evidently
affifts him in his beneficent and important labours.
But all the evils of fociety do not fpring from the

difcontents and the vices of the poor. The rich come
in for a large and a confpicuous fliare. They fre-
quently abufe their advantages. Pride and haughty
behaviour on their part rankle in the breads, and af-
fed the tempers of their inferiors, already fretted by
the
the hardfhips of their own condition. The rich alfo

are luxurious ; and are often needy. Grafping at every
mean of gratification, they are inattentive to the rights
of inferiors whom they defpife, and, defpifing, opprefs.
Perhaps their own fuperiority has been acquired by in-
juftice. Perliaps mofl: fovcreignties have been acquired
by cpprefTion. Princes and Rulers are but men ; as
luch, they abufe many of their grcateit bleflings. Ob-
ferving that religious hopes make the good refigned
under the hardfhips of the prefcnt fcene, and that its
terrors frequently reflrain the bad j they avail them-
fclves of thefe obfervations, and fupport religion as an
engine of Hate, and a mean of their own fecurity. But
they are not contented v^'ith its real advantages ; and
they are much more afiaid of the refentment and the
crimes of the offended profligate, than of the murmurs
of tjie fufFcring worthy. Therefore they encourage
fuperilition, and call to their aid the vices of the prieft-
hood. The priefts are men of like pafTions as other
men, and it is no ground of peculiar blame that they
alfo frequently yield to the temptations of their fitua-
tion. They arc encouraged to the indulgence of the
love of influence natural to all men, and they heap ter-
ror upon terror, to fubdue the minds of men, and dark-
en their undcrftandings. Thus the mofl honourable of
all employments, the mOrai inflrudlion of theftate, is
degraded to a vile trade, and is pra6lifed with all the
deceit and rapacity of any other trade ; and religion,
from being the honour and the fafcguard of nation, be-
comes its grcated difgrace and curfe.
When a nation has fallen into this lamentable ftate,
it is extremely difHcuk to reform. Although nothing
would fo immediately and lb completely remove all
ground of complaint, as the re-eftablidiing private
virtue, this is of all others the leafb likely to be adopt-
ed. The really worrhy, v/ho fee the mifchief where it
adually
;
4? THE SCHISMS fN CHAP. 1*.
afbually is,who view tliis life as the fchool of im-

but
provement, and know that man is to be made pcrfcdl
through fuffering, are the lall perfons to complain.
The worthlefs are the moft difcontented, the moft
noify in their complaints, and the leaft fcrupulous about
the means of redrels. Not to improve the nation, but
to advance themfclves, they turn the attention to the
abufes of power and influence. And they begin their
attack where they think the place moftdefcncelefs, and
where perhaps they expeft afllftance from a difcon-
tented garrifon. They attack fuperftition, and are
not at all folicitous that true religion fhall not fuffer
along with it. It is not perhaps, with any direct in-
tention to ruin the ftate, but merely to obtain indul-
gence for thcmfelves and the co-operation of the
wealthy. They expecl to be lifirened to by many who
wifh for the fame indulgence ; and thus it is that reli-
gious free-thinking is generally the firft ftep of anarchy
and revolution. For in a corrupted ftate, perfons of
all ranks have the fame licentious wifhes, and if fu-
perditious fear be really an ingredient of the human
mind, it requires {o\x\<t Jlriiggle to fhake it off. No-
thing is fo efFe(5tual as mutual encouragement, and
therefore all join againfl prieft-craft j even the rulers
forget their interefb, which fhould lead them to fupporc
it. In fuch a ftate, the pure morality of true religion
vanifhes from the fight. There is commonly no re-
mains of it in the religion of the nation, and therefore
all o;oes tog;ether.
Perhaps there never was a nation where all thcfe co-

operating caufes had acquired greater ftrength than in
France. OpprefTions of ail kinds v/ere at a height. The
luxuries of life were enjoyed exclufivcly by the upper
clafTes, and this in the highefl: degree of refinement
fo that the defires of the reit were whetted to the utmoft.
Religion appeared in its worft form, and feemed cal-
culatedr
culatcd procuring eftabllfhments for the
folely for
younger fons of the infoicnn and ufelefs noblelfe. The
morals of the higher orders of the clergy and of the
laity were equally corrupred. Thoufands of literary
men were excluded by their fbacion from all hopes of
advancement to the more refpeftable offices in the
church. Thcfe vented their difcontcnts as far as there
was fafety, and were encouraged by many of the upper
clafies, who joined them intlieir fatires on thepriefthood.
The clergy oppofed them, it is true, but feebly, be-
caufe they could not fupporc their oppoficion by ex-
amples of their own virtuous behaviour, but were al-
ways obliged to liave recourfe to the power of the
church, the very objed: of hatred and difgull. The
whole nation became iniidel ; and when in a few infran-
ces a worthy Cure urtercd the fmall ftill voice of true
religion, it was not heard amidil the general noife of
fatire and reproach. The mifconduft of adminiftra-
tion, and the abufc of the public treafures, were every
day growing more impudent and glaring, and expofed
the government to continual criticifm. But it was ftili,
too powerful to fuffer this to proceed to extremities ;
while therefore infidelity and loofe fentiments of mo-
rality palTed unpunillied, it was fiiill very hazardous ta
publifh any thing againll: the ftafe. It vâs in this rcf-
ped, chiefly, that the Mafon Lodges contributed to
the diiTeraination of dangerous opinions, and they were
employed for this purpofe ail over the kingdom. This
is not an affertion hazarded merely on account of its-
probability. Abundant proof

appear by and by,
will
that themoft turbulent characters in the nation fre-
quented the Lodges. We cannot doubt, but that un-
der this covei't they indulged their factious difpofitions ;
ray, we fiiall find the grcareft part of t'le Lodo-es of

France, converted, in the courfe of a very few weeks,
into correfponding political focieties,
'^
Euc
5© THE SCHISMS IN CHAP. I.
But it is now time to turn our eyes to the progrefs of

Free Mafonry in Germany and the north of Europe ;
there it took a more ferious turn. Free Mafonry was

imported into Germany fomewhat later than into
France. The fir ft German Lodge that wc have any
account of is that at Cologne, eredled in 17 i6, but
very foon fupprelfed. Before the year 1725 there
were many, both in Proteftant and Catholic Germa-
ny. Thofe of Wetzlar, Frankfurt on the Mayne,
Brunfwick, and Flamburg, are the oldeft, and their
priority is doubtful. All of them received their inlti-
tution from England, and had patents from a mother
Lodge London. All feem to have got the myftery
in
through the jamc channel, the baniflied friends of the
Stuart family. Many of thcfc were Catholics, and
entered into the fcrvice of Auftria and the Catholic
princes.
The true hofpitaliry, thatno where more confpi-
is
cuous than in the charader of the Germans, made

this inftitution a moft agreeable and ufeful palfport to
thefe G;entlemen; and as manv of them v/ere in mili-
tary Rations, and in garrilon, they found it a very eafy
matter to fet up Lodges in all parts of Germany.
Thefe aiFordcd a very agreeable pailime to the otBcers,
who had little to occupy them, and were already ac-
cultomed to a fubordination which did not aftetft their
vanitv on account of family dircinftions. As the En-
fign and the General were equally gentlemen, the al-
legory or play of univcrfal Brotherhood was neither
novel nor difo-uitinsi;. Free Mafonry was then of the
.fimpleft form, confiding of the three degrees ofAppren-
tice, Fellow-craft, and Mailer. It is remarkable, that
the Germans had been lonQ;accuicomed to the word, the
fign, and the gripe of the Mafons, and fome other
l.andicraft trades. In many parts of Germany there
\vas a didinclion of operative Mafons into Wort-
Maurcrs
Maiircrs and Schrifc-Maurcrs. The Wort-Maurcrs

had no other proof to give of their having been regu-
larly brought up to the trade of builders, but the word
and figns ; the Schrift-Maurcrs had written indentures
to flicw. There and in force, borough-
are extant
laws, enjoining the Mafters of Mafons to give em-
ployment to journeymen v/ho had the proper words
and fign. In particular it appears, that fome cities
had more extenfive privileges in this refpedt than
others.The word given at Wetzlar, the feat of the
great council of revifion for the empire, entitled the
poilcffor to whole empire. We may
work over the
infer from the procefles and decifions in fome of thofc
municipal courts, that a mafter gave a word and token
for each year's progrefs of his apprentice. He gave
the word of the incorporated Imperial city or borough
on which he depended, and alfo a word peculiar to
himfclf, by which all his own pupils could recognife
each other. This mxode of recognifance was probably
the only document of education in old times, while
writing was confined to a very fmall part of the com-
munity. When we refieft on the nature of the Ger-
man empire, a confederation of fmall independent
Hates, v/e fee that this profcfiion cannot keep pace
v;ith the other mechanic arts, unlefs its praftitioners
are invefted v^'ith greater than others. Their
privilc-gtrs
great works exceed the ftrengch of the immediate
neighbourhood, and the workmen mufc be brought
together from a diilance. Their aiTociation muil there-
fore be more cared for by the public*
When l^nglifli Free Mafonry was carried into Ger-
many, it was hofpitably received. It required little
efibrt
* Note. The Wort

or Griifs-Maurer were aboliHied by an Im-
perial edid 173 J, and r.o-,e were intitled to the privileges of th«
in
corporation but fuch as coa!d fhew writu'u iadeiitures.
52 THE SCHISMS IINT CHAP. I.
effbrt to give it refpeflability, and to make it the oc-

cupation of a gentleman, and its fecrels and mylleries
were not fucli novelties as in France. Ic fprcad ra-
pidly, and the fimple topic of Brotherly love was luf-
ficient for recommending it to the honeft and hofpita-
ble Germans. But it foon took a very different turn.
The German character is the very oppofite of frivo-
lity. It tends to fcrioufncfs, and requires ferious oc-
cupation. The Germans are eminent for their turn

for inveftigation and perhaps they indulge this to
.;
excels. We call them plodding and dull, becaufe we

have little reliih for enquiry for its own fake. But
this is furely the occupation of a rational nature, and
deferves any name but ftupidity. At the fame time it
mud be acknowledged, that the fpirit of enquiry re-
quires regulation as m.uch as any propenfity of the hu-
man mind. But it appears that the Germans are not
nice in their choice of their objedls it appears that
-,
fingularity, and wonder, and difnculty of refearch, are

to them irrefillible recommendations and incitements.
They have always exhibited a ftrong predileftion for
every thing that is wonderful, or folemn, or terrible j
and in fpite of the great progrefs which m.en have
made in the courfe of thefe two laft centuries, in
the knowledge of nature, a progrefs too in which we
Ihould be very unjuft if we did not acknowledge that
the Germans have been generally in t'le forcmoft ranks,
the grofs abfurdities of magic, exorcifm, witchcrafr,
fortune-telling, tranfmutation or metals, and univerial
medicine, have always had their zealous partizans, who
have liftened with greedy ears to tiic nonfenfe and jar-
gon of fanatics and cheats and though they every
;
day faw examples of many vrho had been ruined or

rendered ridiculous by their credulity, every new pre-
tender to fecrets found numbers ready to lillen to him,
and to run over the 'ucvx courfe.
Free
CHAP. I. FREE MASONRY. ^J
Free Mafonry, profeffing myfterics, inflantly roufed
all thefe people, and the Lodges appeared to the ad-
venturers who wanted to profit by the enthufiafm or

thc avarice of their dupes, the fittefl places in the
world for the fcene of their operations. The Rofy-
crucians were the firfl: who availed themfelves of the
opportunity. This was not the Society which had ap-
peared formerly under that name, and was now extinft,
but a fet of Alchymifts, pretenders to the tranfmuta-
tion of metals and the univerfal medicine, who, the
better to inveigle their votaries, had mixed with their
own tricks a good deal of the abfurd fuperftitions of
that fe6t, in order to give a greater air of mydery to
the whole, to protraft the time of inflruflion, and to
afford more room for evafions, by making fo many
difiicult conditions necellary for perfccflin*:^ the grand
work, that the unfortunace gull, who had thrown away
his time and his money, might believe that the failure
was owing to his ov/n incapacity or unntnefs for being
the pofTeiibr of zh^ grand fecret. Thefe cheats found
it convenient to make Mafonry one of their conditions,
and by a fmall degree of art, perfuadcd their pupils

that they were the only true Mafons. Thefe Rofy-
crucian Lodges were foon eftabliilied, and became nu-,
mcrous, becaufe their myfberies were addreffed, both
to the curlofity, the fcnfuality, and the avarice of
men. They became a very formidable band, adopt-
ing the conftitution of the Jefuits, dividing the Frater-
nity into circles, each under the management of its
own fuperior, knov/n to the prefidenc, but unknown to
the individuals of the Lodges. Thefe fuperiors were
connefled with each other in a way known only to
themfelves, and the whole was under one General.
At leaft this is the account which they wilTi to be be-
lieved. Ifitbejuft, nothing but the abfurdity of the
ollenfible motives of their occupations could have pre-
vented
vented this combination from carrying on Jcliemcs big

wicli hazard to the peace of the world. But the Ro'-
fycrucian Lodges have always been confidered by otiier
Free Mafons as bad Societies, and as grols fchilmatics.
This did not hinucr, however, their alchymical and
medical fecrcts from being frequently introduced into
the Lodges of fimpie Free Mafonry and in like man-
-,
ner, exorcifm, or ghoft-raifmg, magic, and other

grofs fuperftitions, were often held out in their meet-
ings as attainable myfteries, which would be immenfe
acquifitions to the Fraternity, without any neccliity of
admittino; along with tliem the religious deliriums of
the Rofycrucians,
In 1743,Baron Hunde, a gentleman of honourable
charafter and independent fortune, was in Paris, where
he faid he had got acquainted with the Earl of Kilmar-
nock and fome other gentlemen who were about the
Pretender, and learned from them that they had fome
wonderful fecrets in their Lodges. He was admitted,
through the medium of that nobleman, and of a Lord
Cliiford, and his Mafonic patent was figned Gecrge
(faid to be the fignature of Kilmarnock). Hunde
had attached himfelf to the fortunes of the Pretender,
in hopes (as he fays himfelf) of rifing in the world
under his protection. The mighty fecret was this.
* Vvhen the Order of Knights Templars was abolilh-
" ed by Philip the Fair, and cruelly perfecuted, fome .
'* v.'orthy perfons efcaped, and took refuge in the

" Highlands of Scotland, where they concealed them-
*' felves in caves. Thefe perfons pofTefFed the true
*^ fecrets of Mafonry, which had always been in that
Order, having been acquired by the Knights, du-

ring their fervices in the Eaft, from ;i":e pilgrims
whom they occafionally prdte6led or delivered. The
*' Chevaliers de la Rcfe-Croix continued 10 h.ave the
*' fame duties as formerly, though robbed or their
*'
cmolu-
" emoluments. In fine, every true Mafon is a Knight
" Templar." It is very true that a clever fancy can
accommodate the ritual of reception of the Chevalier de
rEpee, &c. to fomething like the inilitution of the
Knights Templars, and perhaps this explanation of
young Zerobabel's pilgrimage, and of the rebuilding
of the Temple by Ezra, is the mod fignificant expla-
nation that has been given of the meagre lymbois of
Free Mafonry.
When Baron Hunde returned to Germany, he ex-
hibited to fome fiiends his extenfive powers for pro-
pagating this fyfccm of Mafonry, and made a (tw
Knights. But he was not very adcive. Probably the
failure of the Pretender's attempt to recover the throne
of his ancefbors had put an end to Hunde's hopes of
making a figure. In the mean time Free Mafonry
v/as cultivated with zeal in Germany, and many ad-
venturers found their advantage in fupporcing particu-
lar fchifms.
But 1756, or 1757, a complete revolution took
in
place. The French officers who were prifoners at
large in Berlin, undertook, with the affurance peculiar
to their nation, to initruft the fimple Germans in every
thing that embellifhes fociety. They faid, that the
homefpun Free Mafonry, which had been imported
from England, was fit only for the unpolifhed niinds
of the Bricifli ; but that in France it had grown into
an elegant fyftem, fit for the profefuon of Gentlemen.
Nay, they laid, that the Engliih were ignorant of true
Mafonry, and polleiled nothing but the introduction
to it ;and even this was not underftood by them.
When the ribbands and ftars, with which the French
had ornamented the Order, v/ere fnown to the Ger-
mans, they could not refill: the enchantment. A Mr.
Rofa, a French commiiTary, brought from Paris a
complete waggon load of Mafonic ornaments, which
v/ere
S6 THE SCHISMS IN CHAP. I.
were all diftributed before it had reached Berlin, and

he was obliged to order another, to furnilli the Lodge's
of that city. It became for a while a moft profitable
bufinefs to many French officers and commifTaries dif-

perfcd over Germany, having little elfe to do. Every
body gaped for in{lrii6lion, and thcfe kind teachers
were always ready to bellow it. In half a year Free
Mafonry underwent a complete revolution all over
Germany, and Chevaliers multiplied without number.
The Rofaic fyftem was. a gofpci to the Mafons, and
the poor Britifh fyftem was defpifed. But the new-
Lodges of Berlin, as they had been the teachers of the
whole empire, wanted rdfo to be the governors, and
infilled on complete fubjedlion from all the others.
This ftartled the Free M.ifons at a diftance, and awa-
kened them from their golden dreams. Now began a
ftruggle for dominion and for independency. This
made the old Lodges think a little about the whole
affair. The refult of this was a counter revolution.
Though no mân could pretend that he underftood the
true meaning of Free Mafonry, its origin, its hiftory,
or its real aim, all favv that the interpretations of their
hieroglyphics, and the rituals of the new degrees im-
ported from France, were quite gratuitous. It ap-
peared, therefore, -that the fafcft thing for them was
an appeal to the birth-place of Mafonry. They fenr
to London for inilrudions. There they learned, that
nothing was acknowledged for genuine unfophifticated
Mafonry but the three degrees; and that the mother
Lodge of London alone could, by her inflrutStions,
prevent the mofl dangerous fchifms and innovations.
Many Lodges, therefore, applied for patents and in-
ftruftions. Patents were eafily made out, and mcfl
willingly fent to the zealous Brethren; and thej'e were
thankfully received and p.^.id for. But infcruchion was
not fo eafy a matter. Ar that time v.e had nothing
but
CHAP. I. FREE MASONRY. '
57
but the book of conftitutions, drawn up about 1720,

by Anderfon and Defaguilliers, two perfons of little
education, and of low manners, who had aimed at little
more than making a pretext, not altogether contemptible,
for a convivial meeting. This, however, v/as receiv-
ed with refpedt. We are apt to fmile at grave men's
being fatistied with fuch coarfe and fcanty fare. But
it was of ufe, merely becaufe it gave an oftenfible rea-
fonfor relifting thedefpotifm of the Lodges of Berlin.

Several refpedtable Lodges, particularly that of Frank-
fort on the Maync, that of Brunfwick, that of Wetz-
lar, and the Royal York of Berlin, refolutely adhered
to the Englifh fyftem, and denied themfelves all the
enjoyment of the French degrees, rather than acknow-
ledge the fupremacy of the Rofaic Lodges of Berlin.
About the year 1764 a new revolution took place.
An adventurer, who called himfelf Johnfon, and pafled
himfelf for an Englifhman, but who was really a Ger-
man or Bohemian named Leucht, faid that he was am-
baifadorfrom the Chapter of Knights Templars at Old
Aberdeen in Scotland, fcnt to teach the Germans what
was true Mafonry. He pretended to tranfmute metals,
and fome of the Brethren declared that they had feen
him do it repeatedly. This reached Baron Hunde,
and brought back all his former enthufiafm. There is
fomething very dark in this part of the hiftory for in
;
a little Johnfon told his partifans that the only point he

had to inform them of v/as, that Baron Hunde was the
Grand Mafter of the 7th province of Mafonry, which
included the whole of Germany, and the royal do-
minions of Prufiia. He Iliowed them a map of the Ma-
fonic Empire arranged into provinces, each of which
had diftinguifhing emblems. Thefe are all taken from
an old forgotten and infignificant book, Typotii Symbola
Divina et Humana y publifhed in'"i6oi. There is not
the leafl: trace in this book either of Mafonry of Tem-
H ^ plars.
fS THE SCHISMS IN CHA?. I.
piars, and the emblems are taken out without the

fmalicft ground of fcledlion. Some inconfiftcncy with
the former magnificent promifes of Johnfon ftartled
them at firfu, but they acquiefced and fubmitted to
Baron Hunde as Grand Maimer of Germany. Soon af-
ter Johnfon turned out to be a cheat, cfcaped, was ta-
ken, and put in prifon, ^'here he died. Yet thisfeems
not to have ruined the credit of Baron Hunde. He
erefted Lodges, gave a few finiple inftru6lions, all in
the fydem of Englifh Mafonry, and prom.ifed, that
when they had approved themlclves as good Mafons,
he would then impart the mighty fecrct. After two
or three years of noviciate, a convention was held at
Altenberg and he told them that his whole fecret was,
;
that every true Alafon was a Knight Templar. They

were aftoniflied, and difappointed 5 for they expe6led
in general that he would teach them the philofopher's
ftone, or ghoft-raifing, or magic. After much dif-
content, falling out, and difpute, many Lodges united
in this fyftcm, made fomewhat moderate and palatable,
under the name of the Strict Disciplinarians,
Strickten Obfcrvanz. It was acceptable to many, be-
caufc they infifled that they were really Knights, pro-
perly confecrated, though without temporalities and 3
they fcriouHy ict themfclves about forming afund which

fhould fecure the Order in a landed property and re-
venue, which would give them a refpeftable civil ex-
iftence. Hunde declared that his whole cftate fhould
devolve on the Order. But the vexations v/hich he af-
terwards met with, and his falling in love with a lady
who prevailed on him to become Roman Catholic,
made him alter his intention. The Order went on,
however, and acquired confiderable credit by the feri-
ous regularity of their proceedings and, although in
;
the mean time a new apoiUe of Myfceries, a Dr. Zin-

zendorff, one of the ^tr'i3 Obferi;a}iz, introduced a nevv.
fyflem.
€HAF. I. FREE MASONRY. 59
fyftem, which he faid was from Sweden, didinguill-ied

by fome of the myftical do6lrines of the Svvedenborgh
fed, and though the fyftem obtained the Royal patron-
age, and a National Lodge was eftabliflied at Berlin
by patent, ftill the Teni-pelorden^ or Orden des StritJcn
ObfervCiUZj continued to be very refpcftable. The
German gentry were better pleafcd witha Grand Mil-
ter of their own choofing, than with any impoied on
them by authority.
During this Rate of things, one Stark, a Protedant
divine, well known in Germany by his writings, made
another trial of public faith. One Gug®mos, (a pri-
vate gentleman, but who would pafs for fon to a King
of Cyprus), and one Schropfer, keeper of a coffce-
houfe at Nuremberg, drew crowds of Free Mafons
around them, to learn ghoft-raifing, exorcifm, and al-
•chymy. Numbers came from a great diiiance to
Weifbad to fee and learn thcfe myflerics, and Free Ma-
fonry was on the point of another revolution. Dr.
Stark was an adept in all thefe things, and liadcoiitended
with Caglioftroin Courland for the palmof fup-riority.
He faw that this deception could not long Hand its
ground. He therefore came forward, at a convention
at Braup.fchv.eig in 1772, and faid to the Stri6l Dif-
ciplinarians or Templars, That he was of their Order,
but of the fpiritual department, and was deputed by
the Chapter of K — ——
m d t in Scotland, where he
was Chancellor of the Congregation, and had the name
of Archidcmides, Eques ah Aquilafuha: That tiiis
Chapter had the fuperintendance of the Order: That
they alone could confccrate the Knights, or the un-
known fuperiors and that he was deputed to inftru6t
;
them in the real principles of the Order, and impart irs

incftimabie fecrets, which could not be knov;n to Ba-
ron Hunde, as he would readily acknowledge vvh.en he
fliould convcrfe with him. Johnibn, he laid, iiid been
a chcai;.
t
a cheat, and probably a murderer. He had got fome

knowledge from papers which he mufl have ftolen from
a mifTionary, who had difappeared, and was probably
killed. Giigomos and Schropfer muft have had fume
fimilar information ; and Schropfer had even deceived
him for a time. He was ready to execute his com-
miffion, upon their coming under the neceffary obliga-
tions of fecrecy and of fubmiflion. Hunde (whofe name
in the Order was the Eqiies ah Enje) acquiefced at once,
and propofed a convention, with full powers to decide
and accept. But a Schubart, a gentleman of character,
who was treafurer to the Templar Mafons, and had an
employment which gave him confiderable influence in
the Order, ftrongly diffuaded them from fuch a m'ea-
fure. The moft unqualified fubmiflion to unknown
fupcriorSj and to conditions equally unknown, was re-
quired previous to the fmallett communication, or any
knowledge of the powers which Archidemides had to
treat with them. Many meetings were held, and
many attempts were made to learn fomething of this
fpiritual court, and of what they might expe<5l from
them. Dr. Stark, Baron Weggepfak, Baron von Ra-
ven, and fome others of his coadjutors in the Lodges
at Konino-fbere in Pruflla, and at Wifmar, were re-
ceived into the Order. —
But in vain nothing was ob-
tained from thefe n;hofl:ly Knio;hts but fome infignificant
ceremonials of receptions and confecrations. Of this
kind of novelties they were already heartily fick ; and
though they all panted after the expedled wonders,
they were fo much frightened by the unconditional fub-
miflion, that they could come to no agreement, and
the fecrcts of the Scotch Consjregation of K — ——
m d
flill remain with Dr. Stark. They did, however, a
fenfible thing; theyfenta deputation to Old Aberdeen,
to enquire after the caves where their venerable myf-
teries were known, and their treafures were hid. They
had
CHAP. I. FREE MASONRY.. 6"l
had, as they thought, merited fome more confidence;

for they had remitted annual contributions to thefe
unknown fuperiors, to the amount of fome thoufands
of rix dollars. But alas their ambaffadors found the
!
Free Mafons of Old Aberdeen ignorant of all this^

and as eao;er to learn from the ambaffadors what was
the true origin and meaning of Free Mafonry, of
which they knew nothing but the fimple tale of Old
Hiram. This broke Stark's credit but he ftill in-
-,
filled on the reality of his commillion, and laid that

the Brethren at Aberdeen were indeed ignorant, but
that he had never faid otherwifc; their e.xpe6tations
from that quarter had reftcd on the fcraps purloined
by Johnfon. He reminded them of a thing well known
to themfelves that one of them had been fcnt for by
;
a dying nobleman to receive papers on this fubjeft, and

that his vifit having been delayed a few hours by an
unavoidable accident, he found all burnt but a frag-
ment of a capitulary, and a thing in cypher, part
of which he (Dr. Stark) had explained to them.
They had employed another gentleman, a H. Wach-
ter, to make limiiar enquiries in Italy, where Schrop-
fer and others (even Hunde) had told them great fe-
crets were to be obtained from the Precen.ier's fecre-
tary Approfi, and others. Wachter told them, that
all this was a lidtion, but that he had feen at Florence
fome Brethren from the Holy Land, who really pof-
feffed wonderful fecrcts, which he v;'as willing to im-
part, on proper conditions. Thefe, however, they
could not accede to but they were cruelly tortured by
-,
feeing Wachter, who had left Germany in fober cir-

cumftances, novv' a man of great wealth and expence.
He would not acknowledge that he had got the fecret
of gold-miaking from the Afiatic Brethren j but faid
that no man had any right to a(k him how he had come
by his fortune. It was enough that he behaved hono-
rably.
rab]y, and owed no man any thing. He broke off all

connediions with them, and left them in great diftref^
about their Order, and panting after his lecrcts. Rifum
teneatis amici.
Stark, in revenge for the oppofition he had met
with from Schubart, left no ftone unturned to hurt
him with his Brethren, and fuccceded, fo that he left
them in difguft. Hunde died about this time. A
book appeared, called, The Stumbling Block and Rock
of Offence, which betrayed (by their own confeffion)
the whole fecrets of the Order of Templars, and foon
made an end of it, as far as ic went beyond the fimple
Englifh Mafonry.
Thus was the faith of Free Mafons quite unhinged
in Germany. But the rage for myfteries and wonder
was not in the leait abated and the habits of thefe
j
fecret Affemblies were becoming every day more crav-

ing. Diffenfion and fchifm was multiplying in every
quarter ; and the Infiitution, inftead of being an in-
citement to mutual complaifance and Brotherly love,
had become a fource of contention, and of bitter en-
mity. Not iatislicd v/ith defending the propriety of
its own Indications, each Syftem of Free Mafonry
was buly in enticing away the partilans of other Syf-
terns, fnut their Lodges againft each other, and pro-
ceeded even to vilify and perfecute the adherents of
every Syftem but their own.
Thefe animofities arofe chiefly from the quarrels
about precedency, and the arrogance (as it was thought)
of the patent Lodge of Berlin, in pretending to have
any authority in the other parts of the empire. But
thefe pretenfions were not the refult of mere vanity.
The French importers of the new degrees, always true
to the glory of their nation, hoped by this means to
fecure the dependence even of this frivolous fociety j
perhaps they might forefee political ufes and benefits
which
CHAP. I. FREE MASONRY. 6^
which might arife from ic. One thing is worth notice :

The French Lodges had all emanated from the great
Confederation under the Duke de Chartres and, ;
even if we had no other proof, we might prcfume that

they would cultivate the fame principles that charadle-
rifed that Se6t. But we are certain that infidelity and
laxity of moral principles were prevalent in the Rofaic
Lodges, and that the obfervation of this corruption
had offended many of the fober old-falliioned Lodges,
and was one great caufe of any check that was given
to the brilliant Mafonry of France. It is the obferva-
tion of this circumftance, in which they all refembled,

and which foon ceafed to be a diflin6iion, becaufe it
pervaded the other Lodges, that has induced me to
expatiate more on this hiftory of Free Mafonry in Ger-
many, than may appear to my readers to be adequate
to the importance of Free Mafonry in the general fub-
je6t-matter of thefe pages. But I hope that it will
appear in the courfe of my narration that I have not
given it a greater value than it dtfcrves.
About very time there was a great revolution
this
of the public mind in Germany, and fcepticifm, infi-
delity, and irreligion, not only were prevalent in the
minds and manners of the wealthy and luxurious, and
of the profligate of lower ranks, but began to appear
in the productions of tht prcfs. Some circumliances,
peculiar to Germany, occafioaed thefe declenfions
from the former acquiefcence in the faith of their fore-
fathers to become more uniform and remarkable than
they would otherwifc have been. The confefiGons of
Germany are the Roman Catholic, the Lutheran,
(which they call Protcftant,) and the Calvinifl, (v/hich
they call Reformed). Thefe areprofeffed in many fmall
contiguous principalities, and there is hardly one of
them in which all the three have not free exercife. The
dcfire of making profelytes is natural to all farious pre-
ftlTor.s
64 THE SCfllSMS IN CHAP. I.
feffbrs of a rational and was frequently exerclfed.

faith,
The Roman Catholics are fuppofcd by us to be parti-
cularly zealous, and theXVoteilants (Lutherans andCal-
vinills) were cartful to oppofe them by every kind of
argument, among which thofe of ridicule and reproach
were not fpared. The Catholics accufed them of infi-
delity refpeding the fundamental dodrines of Chrifti-
anity which they profeffed to believe, and even with
rcfpeft to the do6lrines of natural religion. This ac-
cufation was long very flightly fupported but, of late,
j
by bt:tter proofs. The fpirit of free enquiry was the

great boall of the Prottfiants, and the only fupport
againft the Catholics, fccuringthem both in their reli-
gious and civil rights. It was therefore encouraged by
their governments. It is not to be wondered at that it
fhould be indulged to exccfs, or improperly, even by

ferious men, liable to error, in their difputes with
the Catholics. In the progrefs of this contefl:, even
their own Conicffions did not efcape criiicifm, and it
was alTcrted that the Reformation vvliich thofe Con-
fefiions exprefs was not complete. Further Refor-
mations were propoied. The Scriptures, the foun-
dation of our faith, v;ere examined by clergymen of
very different capacities, difpofitions, and views, till
by explaining, corre6ling, aliegorifing, and otherwife
twifting the Bible, men's minds had hardly any thing
left to reft on as a doctrine of revealed relia-ion. This
encouraged others to go farther, and to fay that reve-
lation was a folecifm, as plainly appeared by the ir-
reconcilcable differences among thofe Enlighteners (fo
they were called) of the public, and that man had no-
thing to trufb to but the dictates of natural reafon.
Another fet of writers, proceeding from this as a point
already fettled, profcribed all religion whatever, and
openly taught the doctrines of materialifm and atheifm.
Mod of thcfe innovations vvcre the work of Proteftant
divines
CHAF^. I. FREE MASONRY. 6^
divines, from the caufes that I have mentioned.

Tel-
ler, Semler, Eberhardt, Leffing, Bahrdt, Riem, and
Shultz, had the chief hand in all thefe innovations.
But no man contributed more than Nicholaij an emi-
nent and learned bookfeller in Berlin. He has been
for many years the publillier of a periodical work,
called the General German Library, (/llgt'niein deufjche
Bibiiothek,) confiiling of original dillertations, and re-

vicv/s of the writings of others. The great merit of
this work, on account of many learned tiiflertations
which appear in it, has procured it much influence en
that clafs of readers whofe leifure or capacity did not
allow them a more profound kind of reading. This
is the bulk of readers in every country. Nicholai
-
gives a derided preference to the v/ritings of the En-

lighceners, and in his reviews treats them with parti-
cular notice, makes the public fully acquainted with
their works, and makes the mod favourable com-
ments ; whereas the performances of their oppo-
nents, or more properly fpeaking, the defenders
of the National Creeds, are ntglefted, omitted,
or barely mentioned, or they arc criticifed with
every feverity of ridicule and reproach. He fell upon
a very fure method of rendering the orthodox writers
difagreeable to the public, by reprefcnting as them
the abetters of fuperfiition, and as fecret Jefuits. He
alTerced, that the abolition of the Order of Loycla is
only apparent. The Brethren retained their con-
fiiill
nexion, and moft part of their property, under the

fecret patronage of Catholic Princes. They are, there-
fore, every corner, in every habit and charadter,
in
working with unwearied zeal for the reftoration of
their empire. He raifed a general alarm., and made a
journey through Germany, hunting for Jefuits, and
for this purpofe, became Free Mafon and Rofycrucian,
being introduced by his friends Gcdicke and Bicfler,
I clergymen.
66 THi SCHISMS IN CHAP. 1*
clergymen, publilliers of the Berlif^ Monatjchrift , and

moft zealous promoters of the new do6lrines. This
favour he has repaid at his return, by betraying the
myfteries of the Lodges, and by much bitter fatire.
His journey was publiflied in fcvcral volumes, and is
full of frightful Jefuitifms. This man, as I have faid,
found the greatcil fuccefs in his method of flandering
the defenders of Bibie-Chrillianicy, by reprefcnting
them as concealed Jefuits. But, not contented with
open difcuITion, he long ago publifned a fort of ro-
mance, called Sebaldus l^cthanker, in which thefe di-
vines are introduced under feigned names, and made
as ridiculous and detellable as pofiible. All this was
a good trading job J for fceptical and free-thinking
writings have everywhere a good market i and Ni-
cholai was nor only reviewer, but publifher, having
preffes in difFerenr cities of the Empire. The im-
menfe literary manufafture of Germany, far exceeding
that of any nation of Europe, is carried on in a very
particular way. The books go in flieets to the great
fairs of Leipfic and Frankfort, twice a-year. The
bookfellers meet there, and fee at one glance the ftatc
of literature and having fpeculated and made their
i
bargains, the books are inftantly difperfed through

every part of the Empire, and appear at once in all
quarters. Although every Principality has an officer
for licenfmg, it is impofiible to prevent the currency
of a performance, although it may be prohibited for ;
it is to be had by the carrier at three or four miles dif-
tance in another Hate. By this mode of traffic, a plot

may be formed, and adlually has been formed, for
giving any particular turn to the literature of the coun-
try. There is an excellent work printed at Bern by
the author Heinzmann, a bookfciler, called, Appeal
to my Cctintry^ concerning a Combmaticn of Writers^ and
BookfcUers, to rule the Literature of Germany., and form
the
the Public Mind into

a Contempt for tb; Religion and Civil
EJlabliJhments of the Empire. Ic contains a hiitorical ac-
count of the publications in every branch of literature

for about thirty years. The author fhows, in the moft
convincing manner, that the prodigious change from
the former fatisfadtion of the Germans on thofe fub-
je6ls to their prefcnt difcontent and attacks from every
quarter, is neither a fair picture of the prevailing {<tn~
timents, nor has been the fimple operation of things,
but the refult of a combination of trading Infidels.
I have here fomewhat anticipated, (for I hope to
point out the fources of this combination,) becaufe it
helps to explain or illuftrate the progrefs of infidelity
and irreligion that I was fpeaking of It v/as much
accelerated by another circumftance. One Bafedozv, a
man of talents and learning, fct up, in the Principality
of Anhalt-Deflau, a Philanthropine, or academy
of general education, on a plan extremely different
from thofe of the Univerfities and Academies. By
this appellation, the founder hoped to make parents
expeft that much attention would be paid to the mo-
rals of the pupils; and indeed the programs or adver-
tifements by which Bafedow announced his infticution
to the public, defcribed it feminary
as the profeffed
of practical Ethics. Languages, fciences, and the or-
namental exercifcs, were here confidered as mere ac-
celfories, and the great aim was to forni the young
mind to the love of mankind and of virtue, by a plan
of moral education which was very fpecious and unex-
ceptionable. But there was a circumftance which
greatly obftrufted the wide profpefts of the founder.
How were the religious opinions of the youth to be
cared for ? Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinifts, were
almoft equally numerous in the adjoining Principali-
ties ; and the exclufion of any two of thcfe commu-
nions would prodigiou'fly limit the propofed ufcfulnefs
Q
68 THE SCHI5MS IN CHAP. li
of the inditiition. Baitdow was a man of talents, a

good and a peiTuafive writer.
fcholar, He framed 4
fee of rules, by which tlic education fliould be con-
duclcd, and which, he thought, fliould make every
parent eafy and the plan is very judicious and manly.
;
But none came but Lutherans. His zeal and intereft

in the thing made him endeavour to intereft others ;
and he found this no hard matter. The people of

condition, and oil fenfible men, faw that it would be
a very great advantage to the place, could they induce
men to fend their children from all the neis-hboiirins
ftates. What we wilh, we readily believe to be the
truth and Bafedow's plan and reafonings appeared
;
complete, and had the fupport of all clafics of men.

The moderate Calvinifts, after fome time, were not
averfe from them, and the literary manufacSturc of
Germany was foon very bufy in making pamphlets,
defending, improving, attacking, and reprobating the
plans. Innumerable were the projcdts for moderating
the differences between the three Chriftian commu-
nions of Germany, and making it poffibie for the
members of them all, not only to live amicably among
each other, and to worlhip God in the fj.me church,
but even to communicate together. This attempt na-
turally gave rife to much fpcculation and rrfinement;
and the propofals for amendment of the formulas and
the inllru6lions from the pulpit were profecuted with
fo muchkcennefs, that the ground-work, Chriflianity,
was refined and refined, till it vanifhcd altogether,
leaving Deifm, or Natural, or, as it was called, Phi-
lofophical Religion, in its place. I am not much mif-
taken as to hiftorical fa6l, when I fay, that the afto-

nifhingr chanjie in reli<2;ious dodrine which has taken
place in Proteftant Germany within thele laft thirty
years was chiefly occafioned by this fcheme of Bafe-
dow's. The predifpofing caufes exifted, indeed, and
were
CJ3AP. I. FREE MASONRY. 69
were general and powerful, and the diforder had al-

ready broken out. But this fpecious and enticing ob-
je6t hrft gasê a title to Proteftant clergymen to put to
their hand without rifk of being cenfured.
Bafedow corredled, and corredled again, but not
one Catholic came to the Philanthropine. He feems
to have thought that the beft plan would be, to banilli
all pofitive religion whatever, and that he would then
be furc of Catholic fcholars. Cardinal Dubois was fo
far right with refpedt to the firft Catholic pupii of the
church. He had recommended a man of his own
llamp to Louis XIV. to fill fome important office.
The monarch was aftonifhed, and told the Cardinal,
that " that would never do, for the man was a Janfe-
*'
nid; Eh! que non^ SirCj' faid the Cardinal, " z7
" rCeft qvJ Athee ;'' all was fafe, and the man got the
priory. But though all v;as in vain, Bafcdow's Phi-
lanthropine at Dcflau got a high charafter. He pub-
liflied many volumes on education that have much
merit.
Itwere well had this been all. But moft unfortu-
nately, though moft naturally, writers of loofc moral
principles and of wicked hearts were encouraged by
the impunity which the fceptical v/riters experienced,
and ventured to publifn things of the viJtft tendency,
inflaming the paffions and juftifying licentious manners.
Thefe maxims are congenial with irreligion and Athe-
ifm, and the bcoks found a quick market. It was
chiefly in the Prufilan States that this went on. The
late King was, to fay the beft of him, a naturalift, and,
holding gave full liberty to his fub-
this life for his all,
jedts to write what they pleafed, provided they did not
touch on ftate matters. He declared, however, to a
minifterof his court, long before his death, that " he
" was extremely forry that his indifiêrence had pro-
" duced fuch eftêfts that he was fenfible it had greatly
;
** contri-
" contributed peace and mutual good treat-

to hurt the
rubje<5ts ;"
(C
ment of his and he faid, '' that he would
cc
willingly give up the glory of his bell-fought battle,
to have the fatisfa^tion of leaving his people in the
" fame itate of peace and faLisfadlion wiih their rcli-
*' gious eftablifhments, that he found tliem in at
his
" accelTion to the throne." His fucceflbr Frederick
William found that things had gone much too far, and
determined to fupport the church-eftablilhment in the
mod peremptory manner; but at the fame time to. al-
low perfcft freedom of thinking; and converfmg to the
profcifors of every Chriftian faith, provided it vvas en-
joyed without diilurbing the general peace, or any
encroachment on the rights of thofe already fupported
by law. He which
publiilied an edi6t to this effe6b,
is model worthy of imitation in every country.
really a
This w'as the epoch of a itrange revolution. It was
attacked from all hands, and criticifms, fatires, flan-
ders, threatenings, poured in from every quarter. The
independency of the neighbouiing ftates, and the mo-
narch's not beino; a o;reat favourite amono- feveral of
his neighbours^ permitted the publication of thofe
pieces in the adjoining principalities, and it was im-
poffible to prevent their circulation even in the Pruf-
fian States. Hiswas called an unjuftifiable ty-
edi6t
ranny over the confciences of men the dogmas fup-
;
ported by it were termed abfurd fuperfti lions ; the

King's private charadtr, and his opinions in religious
matters, were treated with little reverence, nay, were
ridiculed and fcandaloully abufed. This field of dif-
cuflion being thus thrown open, the writers did not
confine themfclvcs to religious matters. After flatly
denying that the prince of any country had the fmalielt
right to prefcribe, or even direfl the faith of his fub-
jefts, they extended their difcuflions to the rights .of
pirinccs in general i and now ihcy fairly opened their
trenches.
GHAP. J. FREE MASONRY* yi
trenches, and made an attack in form on the conftitu-

tions of the German confederacy, and, after the ufual
approaches, they fet up the ftandard of univerfal citi-
zenfhip on the very ridge of the glacis, and fummoned
the fort to furrender. The mofl daring of thefe attacks
was a colle6lion of anonymous letters on the conflitu-
tution of the Prufiian States. was printed (or faid
It
to be fo) at Utrecht ^ but by comparing the faults of

fome types with fome books printed in Berlin, it was
fuppofed by all to be the produ6lion of one of Nicho-
lai's preiTcs. It was thought to be the compofition of
Mirabtau. It is certain that he wrote a French tranf-

lation, with a preface and notes, more impudent than
the work itfelf. The monarch is declared to be a ty-
rant 3 the people are addreffed as a parcel of tame
wretches crouching under oppreffion. The people of
Silefia are reprefented as ftil! in a worfe condition, and
are repeatedly called to roufe themfelves, and to rife
up and affcrt their rights. The King is told, that
there is combination of philofophcrs (ccjijuration)
a
who are leagued together in defence of truth and rea-
fon, and which no power can withftandj that they are
to be found in every country, and are conne6led by
mutual and folemn engagement, and will put in prac-
tice every mean of attack. Enlightening, inftruftion,
was the general cry among the writers. The triumph
of reafon over error, the overthrow of fuperflition and
flaviih fear, freedom from religious and political pre-
judices, and the eflablifhment of liberty and equality,
the natural and unalienable rights of man, were the
topics of general declamation j and it was openly main-
tained, that fecret focieties, where the communication
of fentiment fhould be free from every reflraint, was
the mofl efredlual means for inftrudina; and enlio-hten-
jng the world.
And
And thus it appears, that Germany has experienced

the fame gradual progrefs, from Religion to Atheifm',
from decency to difToiUtenefs, and from loyalty to re-
bellion, which has had courfe in France.
its And I
mull: now add, that this progrefs has been effected in
the fame manner, and by the fame means ; and that
one of the chief means of fedu61:ion lias been the Lodges
of the Free Mafons. The French, along with their
numerous chevalerics, and ftars, and ribands, had
brouglit in the cuftom of haranguing in the Lodges,
and as human nature has a confiderable uniformity
every where, the fame topics became favourite fub-
je6ls of declamation that had tickled the ear in France;
there were the fame corruptions of fentimcnts and man-
ners among the luxurious or profligate, and the fame
incitements to the utterance of thefe fentiments,
wherever it could be done with fafety and I may fay,
;
that the zealots in all thefe trafts of freethinking were

more ferious, more grave, and fanatical. Thefe are
not aflertions a priori. I can produce proofs. There
was a Baron Knigge refiding at that time in the neigh-
bourhood of Frankfort, of whom I lliall afterwards
have occafion frequently to fpeak. This man was an
enthufiaft in Mafonry from his youth, and had run
through every poffible degree of it. He was diflatisfied
with them all, and particularly with the frivolity of the
French chivalry but he ftill believed that Mafonry
;
contained invaluable fecrets. He imagined that he law

aglimfe of them in the cofmo-political and fceptical dif-
courfes in their Lodges he fat down to meditate on
;
thefe, and foon collefted his thoughts, and found that

thofe French orators were right without knowing it ;
and that Mafonry was pure natural religion and univer-
fal citizenfhip, and that this was alfo true Chriftianity.
In this faith he immediately began his career of Bro-
therly love, and publiflied three volumes of fermons ;
the
CHAP. I. FREE MASONRY. "^^
the and thirJ publiflied at Frankfort, and the fe-

firft
cond at Heidelberg, but without his name. He pub-

liflied alfo a popular fyilem of religion. In all thefe
publications, of which there are extratls in the Religions
Begebenheiten^ Chriilianity confidered as a mere alle-
is
gory, or a Mafonic type of natural religion; the moral

duties are fpun into the common-place declamations of
univerfal benevolence jand the attention is continually
dire6te(i to the abfurdities and horrors of fuperftition,
the fuffe rings of the poor, the tyranny and oppreiTiori
of the great, the tricks of the and the indolent
pricfts,
fimplicity and patience of the laity and of the common
people. The happinefs of the patriarchal life, and
fweets of univerfal equality and freedom, are the bur-
den of every paragraph and the general tenor of the
;
whole is to make men difcontented with their condi-

tion of civil fubordination, and the refiraints of reveal-
ed religion.
All the proceedings ofKniggein the Mafonic fchifms
fhow that he was a zealous apoftle of cofmo politifm,
and that he was continually dealing with people in the
Lodges who were affi^clateJ with iiim in propagating
thofc notions among the Brethren; {q that we are cer-
tain that fuch converfations were common in the Ger-
man Lodges.
When the reader confiders all thef^ circum (lances,
he will abate of that furprife which nutnraliy aiFc(3:s a
Briton, when he read? accounts of conventions for dif-
cuiTing and fixing the dogmatic tenets of Free Ma-
fonry. The perk^6t: freedom, civil and rclisrious,
which we enjoy in this happy country, being familiar
to every man, we indulge it with calmnefs and mode-
ration, and fecret aifemblies hardly differ from the
common meetings of friends and neighbours. We do
not forget the expediency of civil fubordination, and
of thofc diilinclions which arife from,fccure pofiefiTion
/4 THE SCHISMS IN CHAP. I.
of our rights, and the gradual accumulation of. the

comforts ot life in the families of the fober and in-,
duilrious. Thefe have, by prudence and a refpecfta-
ble CEccnomy, prefcrved the acquifitions of their an-
ceftors. Every man feels in his own breall: the ftrong
call of nature to procure for himfelf and his chil-
dren, by every honeft and commendable exertion,
the means of public confideration and refpeft. No
man is fo totally without fpirit, as not to think the
better of his condition when he is come of credit-
able parents, and has creditable connexions; and
without thinking that he is in any refpe6l generous, he
prelumes that others have the fame fentiments, and
therefore allows the moderate expreflion of them,
without thinking it infolence or haughtinefs. Ail
thefe thinirs are familiar, are not thouo;ht of, and we
enjoy them as we enjoy ordinary health, without per-
ceiving it. But in the fame m.anner as a young man
who has been long confined by ficknefs, exults in re-
turning health, and is apt to riot in the enjoyment of
what he fo diilindiy feels; fo thofe who arc under
continual check in open fociety, feel this emancipa-
tion in thofe hidden alTemblies, and indulge with ea-
gernefs in the exprefuon of fentiments which in public
they mull fmother within their own breafb. Such
meetings, therefore, have a zcil that is very alluring,
and they are frequented with avidity. There is no
country in Europe where this kird of enjoyment is fo
poignant as in Germany. Very infignificanr principa-
lities have the fame rank in the General Federation
Vvîth very extendve dominions. The internal confti-
tution of each petty ftate being modelled in nearly the
fame m;-inner, the official honours of their little courts
become ludicrous and even farcical. The Geheim
Hofrath, the .Hofmarefchal, and all the Kammerhers
of a Prince, whofe dominions do not equal the eftates
of
CHAP. 1. FREE MASONRY. 75
of many Englifli Squires, Caufr tlie whole to appear

like the play of children, and mull give frequent oc-
caiion for difcontcnt anvi ridicule. Mafon Lodges even
keep this alive. The fraccni-il equality profefied in
them isvery flattering to thofe who have
not fucceed-
ed in the fcramble for civil di[tin6lions. Such perlbns
become the moil zealous Mafons, and generally ob-
tain the adtive oifices in the Lodges, and have an op-
portunity of treating with authority perfons v.'hom in
public fociety they mull look up to with fome refpecl.
Thcfe confiderations account, in fome meafure, for
the importance which Free Mafonry has acquired in
Germany. For a long while the hopes of learning
fome wonderful fecret made a German Baron think no-
thing of long and expenfive journies in quell of fome
new degree. Of late, the cofmo-political doctrines
encouraged and propagated in the Lodges^ and fome
hopes of producing a Revolution in fociety, by which
men of talents lliould obtain the management of public
affairs, feem to be the caufe of all the zeal vvich which
the order is ftill cher'ifhed and promoted, in a perio-
dical work, publil"heci at Ncuwied, called yllge:risni
Zeitung den Frcymaurerey ^ we have the lift of the Lodges

in 1782, with the nam.es of the OfBce-bearers. Four-
fifths of thefe arc clergymen, profcfTors, perfons hav-
ing offices in the common law-courts, men of letters
by trade, fuch as reviesvers and journalifts, and other
pamphleteers a clafs of men, who generally think
J
that they have not attained that rank in fociety to

which their talents entitle them, and imagine that they
could difcharge the important offices of the flate with
reputation to themfelves and advantage to the public.
The mifcrable uncertainty and inftabihty of the Ma-
Ibnic faith, which I defcribed above, was not altoge-
ther tlie clfeft of mere chance, but had been greatly
accelerated by the machinations of Baron Knigge, and
fome
76 THE SCHIoMS IN CHAT. I.
fome cthfr cofmo-political Brethren whom he had

called CO his adiltance. Kni^se had now formed a
rchcme for uniting tlic whole Fraternity, for the pur-
pofe of promoting his Utopian plan of univerfal bene-

volence in a ftate of liberty and equality. He hoped
to do tliis more readily by completing their embarraff-
ment, and Ihowing each fyftera how intirmits foundation
was, and how little chance it had of obtaining a general
adherence. The Striken GbJervanT. had now completely
loll its credit, by which it had hoptd to get the better
of all the reft. Knigge therefore propokd a plan to the
Lodges of Frankfort and Wetzlar, by which all the fyf-
tems might, in fome meafure, be united, or at leaft be
brought to a ftate of mutual forbearance and inter-
courfe. He propofcd th.it the Engliih fyftem fhould
be taken for the ground- work, and to receive all and
only thofe who had taken the three fymbolical degrees,
as they were now generally called. After thus guard-
ing this general point of faith, he propofed to allow
the validity of every degree or rank which fhould be
received in any Lodge, or be made the character of
any particular fyftem.. Thefe Lodges having fccured
the adherence of fevcral others, brought about a ge>
neral convention at Wiilcmfbad in Hainault, where
every different fyftem fhould communicate its peculiar
tenets. It was then hoped, that after an examination
of them all, a conftitution might be formed, which

fliould comprehend every thing that was moft worthy
of fcledion, and therefore be far better than the ac-
commodating fyfiem already defcribed. By this he
hoped to get his favourite fcheme introduced into the
whole Order, and Free Mafons made zealous Citizens
o{ the World. I believe he was fincere in thefe in-
tentions, and did not wilh to difturb the public peace.
The convention was accordinijly held, and lafted a
long
CHAP. I. FREE MASOKRY. ^y
long while, the deputies confulting about the trivoli-

ties of Malbnry, Vv'ith- all the ferioufneis offtate am-
baffadors. But there was great Ihynefs in their com-
munications ; and Kniggc was making but fmall pro-
grefs in his plan, when he met with another Mafon,
the Marquis of Conftanza, who in an inflant convert-
ed him, and changed all his meafures, by Ihowing him
that he (Knigge) was only doing by halves what was
already accomplifhed by another Society, which had
carried it to its full extent. They immediately fee
about undoing what he had been occupied with, and
hcio-htened as much as thev could the diffentions al-
ready fufficiently great, and, in the mean time, got
the Lodges of Frankfort and Wetzlar, and feveral
others, to unite, and pick out the bed of the things
they had obtained by the communications from the
other fyftems, and they formed a plan of what they
called, tlie Eclectic cr Syna-itic Majonry of the United
Lodges of Germany. They compofed a conftitucion,
ritual, and catcchifm, which lias merit, and is indeed
the completed body of Free Mafonry that we have.
Such was the flate of tliis celebrated and myfterious
Fraternity in Germany in 1776. The fpirit of inno-
vation had fcized ail the Brethren. No man could
îve a tolerable account of the origin, hiftory, or ob-
jed of the Order, and it appeared to all as a Icfb or
forgotten myftery. The fymbols feemcd to be equal-
ly fufceptible of every interpretation, and none of thefe
feemed entitled to any decided preference.
CHAP.
[ 78 ]
CHAP. II.
Ths liluminaii.
1 HAVE now arrived at what I fliould call the great

epoch of Cofmo-politifm, the fcheme communicated
to Baron Knigge by the Manheje di Ccnfianza. This
obliges me to mention remarkable Lodge of the
a.
Ecledlic Mafonry, creded at Munich in Bavaria in

1775, under the worfnipful Mailer, ProfefTor Baadcr.
It was called The Lodge Theodore of Coed Coiinjel. It
had its conftiturional patent from the Royal York at
Berlin, but had formed a particular fyftcm of its own,
by inftruftionsfrom the Loge des Chevaliers Bienfaijants
at Lyons, with which it kept up a correfpondence.
This refpcft to the Lodge at Lyons had arifcn from
the preponderance acquired in general by the French
party in the convention at Willcmlbad. The depu-
ties of the Rofaic Lodges, as well as the remains of
the Templars, and Striîen ObfervanZy all looking up
to this as the mother Lodo-e of what thev called the
Grand Orient de la Francs J confiding in (in 1782) of
266 improved Lodges united under the D. de Chartres.
Accordingly the Lodge at Lyons fent Mr. Wiler-
mooz as deputy to this convention at Willemfbad.
Refining gradually on the fimple Britifn Mafonry, the
Lodge had formed a fyftem of praftical morality,
which ic afierteJ to be the aim of genuine Mafoniy,
faying,
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. 79
faying, that a true mafon, and a man of upright heart
and adive virtue, are iynonimous characters, and that
the great aim of Free Mafonry promote the hap-
is to
pincTs of mankind by every mean in our power, in
purfuance of thefe principles, the Lodge Theodore
profelfedly occupied itfelf with ceconomical, ftatifti-
cal, and political matters, and not only publifhed
from time to time difcourfes on fuch fubjedls by rhe
Brother Oracor, but the Members confidcred them-
fclves as in duty bound to propagate and inculcate the
fame do6lrines out of doors.
Of the zealous members of the Lodge Theodore
the mofl confpicuous was Dr. Adam Weifliaupt, Pro-
fcffor of Canon Law in the Univerfity of Ingolftadt.
This perfon had been educated among the Jefuits j
but the abolition of their order made him change his
views, and from being their pupil, he became their
mofl bitter enemy. He had acquired a high reputa-
tion in his profefTion, and was attended not only by
thofe intended for the practice in the law-courts, but
alfo by young gentlemen at large in their courfc of ge-
neral education i and he brought numbers from
the neighbouring ftates to this univerfity, and gave a
ton to the frudies of the place. He embraced with
great keennefs this opportunity of fpreading the favo-
rite do6lrines of the Lodge, and his auditory became
the feminary of Colmo-politifm. The engaging pic-
tures of the poffible felicity of a fociety Vv^here every
office is held by a man of talents and virtue, and where
every talent is fct in a place fitted for its exertion, for-
cibly catches the generous and unfufpecling minds of
youth, and in a Roman Catholic Itate, far advanced
in the habits of grofs fuperllition (a charadler given to
Bavaria by its neighbours) and abounding in m.onks
and idle dignitaries, the opportunities muft be frequent
for obferving the inconfidcratc dominion of the clergy,
and
So THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. ll.
and the abje(5t and indolent fubmiflion of the laity.

Accordingly Profeflbr Weifiiaupt fays, in his Apo,-
logy for lUuminatifm, that Dcifm, Infidelity, and
Atheifm arc more prevalent in Bavaria than in any
country he was acquainted with. Difcourfes, there-
fore, in which the abfurdity and horrors of fuperfti-
tion and fpiritual tyranny were (Irongly painted, could
not failof making a deep impreflmn. And during
this ftate of the minds of the auditory the tranfition to
general infidelity and irreligion is fo eafy, and fo invit-
ing to fanguine youth, prompted perhaps by a latent
wiPn that the reftraints which religion impoles on the
expedlants of a future ftate might be found, on enquiry,
to be nothing but groundlefs terrors, that I imagine it
requires the mofl anxious care of the public teacher
to keep the minds of his audience impreffcd with the
reality and importance of the great truths of religion,
while he frees them from the fhackles of blind and ab-
furd fuperftition. I fear that this celebrated inftruftor
had none of this anxiety, but vi'as fatisfied with his
great fuccefs in the lad part of this tafk, the emancipa-
tion of his young hearers from the terrors of fuperftition.
1 fuppofe alfo that thiswas the more agreeable to him,
as it procured him the triumph over the Jefuits, with
whom he had long ftruggled for the diredion of the
univerfitv.
This was in 1777. Weifhaiipt had long been
fcheming the eitabhihrnent of an AlTociaiion or Order,
which, in time, fliould govern the world. In his firft
fervour and high expectations, he hinted to feveral
Ex- Jefuits the probability of their recovering, under
a new name, the influence which they formerly pof-
feffed,and of being again of great fervice to fociety,
by direfting the education of youth of diftinflion, row
emancipated from all civil and religious prejudices.
He prevailed on fome to join him, but tliry all retrac-
ted
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI* St
ted but two. After this difappointment WeiHiaupc

became the implacable enemy ot' the Jefuits i and his
fanguine temper made him frequently lay himfeU open
to tlieir piercing eye, and drew on him their kccneit
refentmcnt, and ac lal"i made him the viflim of their
enmity.
The Lodge Theodore was the place v/here the
above-mentioned dodlrines were molt zealoufly propa^
gated. BiJt Weifnaupt's cmiiTaries had already pro-
cured the adherence of many other Lodges; and the
Ecled;ic .Mafonry had been brought into vogue chiefly
by their exertions at the Willemlbad convention. The
Lodge Theodore was perhaps lefs guarded in its pro-
ceedings, for it became remarkable for the very bold
fcntiments in policies and religion v.'hich v/ere fre-
quently uttered in their harangues; and its members
were noted for their zeal in making profelyceS. Many
bitter pafquinades, fatires, and other offenfive pam-
phlets were in fee ret circulation, and even larger works
of very dangerous tendency, and leveral of them were
traced to that Lodge. The Eleclor often cxpreircd
his dillipprobatian of fuch proceedings, and fenc them
kind meifao-es, defirin.Q; them to be careful not to dif-
turb tlie peace of the country, and particularly to re-
collccl the folemn declaration made to every entrant
into the Fraternity of Free Mafons, " That no fubjeit
" of religion or politics fnail ever be touched on in
'* theI>odge;" a declaration which alone could
have
procured his jicrmiHion of any fccrct affembly v*'hat-
cver, and on the fmcerity and honour of v/hich he had
reckoned v^hen he gave his fanction to their eftablifli-
ment. But repeated accounts of the fame kind in-
creafed the alarms, and the Elector ordered a judicial
enquiry into the proceedings of the Lodge Theodore.
It v^/a.ii then difcovercd that this and feveral afibciated
Lodges were the nurfery or preparation fchool for an-

L other
tl THE ILLVMINATI. CHAP. II.
Other Order of Mafons, who called themiclves the

Illumi>xateDj and that the cxprcfs aim of this Order
was CO abolilli Chriftianity, and overturn ail civil go-
vernment. But the refult of the enquiry was very im-
perfect and unfatisfaftory. No illuminati were to be
found. They were unknown in the Lodge. Some
of the members occafionally heard of certain candi-
dates for illumination called Minervals, who were
fometimes feen among them. But whether thefe had
been admitted, or who received them, was known
only to themfelves. Some of thefe were examined in
private by the Elcdor himfelf. They faid that they
were bound by honour to fecrecy :But they affured
the Eledor, on their honour, that the aim of the Or-
der was in the higheil degree praife-worchy, and ufe-
ful both to church and (late. But this could not allay
the anxiety of the profane public j and it was repeat-
edly Itated to the Eleflor, that members of the Lodge
Theodore had unguardedly fpoken of this Order as
one that in time mufb rule the world. Ke therefore
ilfued an order forbidding, during his pleafure, all le-
cret affcmblies, and fhucting up the Mafon Lodges.
It was not meant to be rigoroufiy enforced, but was
intended as a trial of the deference of thefe AfTociationS
for civil authority. The Lodge Theodore difiin-
guiflied by pointed oppoficion, continuing its
itfelf
meetings; and the members, out of doors, openly re-
probated the prohibition as an abfurd and uniuftinable
tyranny.
beginning of 1783, four profeflbrs of the
In the
Marianen Academy, founded by the widow of the late
Elcdor, viz. Utfchncider, CofTandey, Renncr, and
Grunberger, with two others, were fummoned before
the Court of Enquiry, and qucllioned, on their alle-
giance, rtfpeding the Order of the Illuminati. They
acknov^ledged that they belonged to it, and when
more
jCHAP. Ii> THE ILLUMINATI. <:)J
more clotely examined, they related feveral circum-

ftances of its contlitiition and principles. Their de-
clarations were immediately publifhcd, and were very
unfavourable. The Order was laid to abjure Chrilli-
anity, and to refufe admiiTion into the iiigher degrees
po all who adhered to any of the three confefTions.
Senfual pleafures were rcftorcd to the rank they held
in the Epicurean philofophy. Self-murder was julli-
fied on Stoical principles. In the Lodges death was
declared an eternal deep j patriorifm and loyalty were
called narrow-minded prejudices, and incompatible
with univerfal benevolence; continual declamations
v/ere made on liberty and equality as the unalienable
rights of man. The baneful influence of accumulated
property was declared an infurmountablc obdacle to
the happinefs of any nation whofe chief laws were
framed for its proteftion and increafe. Nothing was
fo frequently difcourfed of as the propriety of employ-
ing, for a good purpofe, the means which the wicked
employed for evil purpofes; and it was rau^rht, that
the preponderancy of good in the ultimate refult con-
fecrated every mean employed; and that wifdom and
virtue confided in properly determining this balance.
This appeared big with danger, becaufe it feemed
evident that nothing would be fcrupled at, if it could
be made appear that the Order Vv'ould derive advantao-e
from it, becaufe the great objefi: of the Order was held
as fuperior to every confideration. They concluded
by faying that the method of education made them all
fpies on each other and on all around them. But all
this was denied by the liiuminati. Some of thefe te-
nets were faid to be abfolutely falfe ; and the reft were
faid to be miftakes. The apoftate profeflbrs had ac-
knowledged their ignorance of many things. Two of
them were only Mineryak, another was an Illuminatus
!of t!ie loweft- clafs, and the fourth was but one ftep
farrVi.er
84 THE ILLUMINATT. CHAP. II.
farther p.dvanced. Pamphlets appeared on both fides,

with very little effcft. The Eledor called before him
one of the fuperiors, young nobleman, who denied
a
thofe'injurious charges, and laid that they were ready
to Isv before his Hiri,hnefs their whole arcliives and ail
conftitutional papers.
Notv.'ithllanding all this, the government had re-
ceived an impreffion of the dangerous tendency
fiich
of the Order, that the Ele<5tor ilTued another eciitl,
forbidding all hidden aiTcmblies and a third, exprefsly
;
abolifliing the Order of Illuminati. It was followed
by a fearch after their papers. The Lodge Theodore

was immediately fearched, but none were to be found.
They faid now that they burnt them all, as of no ufe,
fince chat Order was at an end.
It was now difcovered, that Weifliaupt was the head
and founder of the Order. He was deprived of his
ProfefTor's chair, and banifned from the Bavarian
States but with a penfion of 8co florins, which he
;
refufed. J-Iewcnt.. to Regenfburgh, on the confines

' of Switzerland. Two Italians, chc Marquis Confcanza
and Marquis Savioli, were alfo banifhcd, with equal
penfions, (about L. 40,) which they accepted. Or.e
Zwack, a counfellor, holding fome law-office, was
alfo banifhcd. Others were imprifoned for fome time.
Weifliaupt went afterwards into the fervice of the D..
of Saxe Gotha, a pcrfon of a romantic turn of mind,
and whom we fhall again meet with. Zwack went
.into the fervice of the Pr. de Salms, who foon after
had fo areat a hand in the difturfbances in Holland.
By deflroying the papers, all opportunity was lofl
for authencicatino; the innocence and ufefulnefs of the
Order. After much altercation and paper war, Weif-
haupt, now fafe in Regenfourg, publiflied an account
of the Order, naniely, the account which was given
to every Novice in a diftourfe read at his reception.
To
.
To were added the ilatutes and the rules of pro-

this
ceeding, as far as the degree of ///î.w;?^/^/^ Minor in- ^
cluded. This account he affirmed to be conformable

to the real practice of the Order. But this publication
did by no means fatisfy the public mind. It differed
exceedingly from the accounts given by the four pro-
feffors. It made no mention of the higher degrees,
which had been moft blamed by them. Befides, it

was alleged, that it was all a fiftion, written in order
to lull the fufpicions which had been raifed (and this
was found co be the cafe, except in refpeft of the very
lowefl degree). Tlie real conllitution was brought to
light by degrees, and fhall be laid before the reader,
in the order in which it was gradually difcovcred, that
we may the better judge of things not fully known by
tiie condudi of the leaders durin*? the detection. The
firfl: account given by Weiiliaupc is corre'dl, as far as I
ihall make wiz of ir, and fliows clearly the methods

that were taken to recommend the Order to flran-
gers.
The Order of Illuminati apoears as an acceflbry

to Free Mafonry. Ic is in the Lodges of Free Mafons
that the Minervals are found, and there they are pre-
pared for Illumination. They mufi: have previoufiy ob-
tained the three Engliih degrees. The founder fays more.
He fays that his do6irincs are the only true Free Mafonry.
He w as p ro m o te r o f ch e Eclectic Syftem
t lie chicf h s . T i ! i e
urged as the beft method for getting information of all
the explanations which have been given of the Mafonic
Myfteries. He was alfo a Stri5f Objervaivz^ and an
adept Rofycrucian. The
of all his knowledge is
rcfult
worthy of particular remark, and fhall therefore be
friven at larsre.
" I declare," fays he, " and I challenge man-
all
" kind to contradid my declara'-io.n, that no rnm can
'' give
S6 THE ILLUMINATf. CHAP. If.
give any account of rhe Order of Free Mifjnry, of

cc
its origin, of its hifbory, of its objeft, nor any ex-
planation of its myfterics and fymbols, which does

(C
not leave the mind in total uncertainty on all thefe
cf
points. Every man is entitled, therefore, to give
cc
any explanation of the fymbols, and any fyllcm cf
cc
the doctrines, that he can render palatable. Hence
cc
have fprung up that variety of fyftems which for
cc
twenty years have divided the Order. The fim-
*^ pie tale of the Englifh, and the fifty degrees of
*^ the French, and the Knights of Baron Hunde, are
*' equally authentic, and have equally had the fupport
*' of intelligent and zealous Brethren. Thefe fyltems
<' are in fa6l but one. They have all fprung from the
*' Blue Lodge of Three degrees take thefe (or their
i
" (tandard, and i'ound on thefe all the improvements

" by which each fyitem is aftervsârds fuited to the par-
'' ticular obje61: which it keeps in view. There is no
*' man, nor fyftem, in the world, which can fliow by
*' undoubted fuccelllon that it fliould ftand at the head
<' of the Order. Our ignorance in this particular frets

*' me. Do but confider our fncrt hiftory of i2o years.
cc
—Who will fhow me the Mother Lodge ? Thofe
«' of London we have difcovered to be fclf-crefted in
" 17 16. Aflc for their archives. They tell you they
«' were burnt. They have nothing but the wretched
f)phiftications of the Englifiiman Anderfon, and
cc
Frenchman Defaguiiliers. Where is the Lodge
the
cc
of York, v/hich pretends to the priority, with their
" King Bouden, and the archives that he brought from
*' the Eaft Thefe too are all burnt. What is the
?
" Chapter of Old Aberdeen, and its Holy Clericatc ?

" Did v/e not find it unknown, and the Mafon Lodges
f* there the mod ignorant of all the ignorant, gaping
" for inftruflion from our deputies ? Did we not find

?^ the fame thing at London ^ and have not their
" mifilonaries
CHAP. 11. THE ILLUMINATI. 87
" miflionaries been among

prying into our myfte-
usj
^^
lies, and eager to learn from us svhac is true Free
*' Malbnry ? It is in vain, rhertTore, to appeal to
((
judges they are no where to be found j ail claim
i
cc
for themlelves the fceptre of the Order; all indeed
cc
are on an equal footing. They obtakied followers,
(C
not from their authenticity, but from their condu-
cc
civenefs to the end which they propofed, and from
C(
the importance of that end. It is by this fcale that
(<
we mult mcakire th.e mad and wiciLed explanations
*^ of the RoJycrucians, the Exorcifts, and Cabalifts.
(C
Thefc are rejected by all good Mafons, becaufc in-
cc
compatible withfocial happinefs. Only fuch fyitems
cc
as promote this are retained. But alas, they are ail
Ci
fadly deficient, bccaufe they leave us under the do-
<c
minion of political and religious prejudices ; and
cc
they are as -inefficient as the lleepy dofc of an ordi-
*' nary fermon.
" But I have contrived an explanation which has

" every advantage is inviting to Chriftians of every
-,
" communion -, gradually frees them from all religious

** prejudices ; cultivates the focial virtues ; and ani-
** marcs them by a great, afeafible, andj/|;^^^ profpedt
*' of univerfal happinefs, in ailate of liberty and mo-
" ral from the obfracles v;hich fubordi-
equality, freed
**^
nation, rank, and riches, concinualiy throw in our
*' way. My explanation is accuraue, and complete,
" my means are elfedual, and irrefillible. Our fecrec
" Aflbciation works in a way that nothing can with-
cc
fcand, a/2d man JJoallJccn he free atd 'hf.t-py.
cc
This is the great object held out by this AiFocia-
*^ tion, and the means of attaining it is Illumination,
<(
enlightening the underftanding by thf: fun of reafon,
cc
wifjch will difpel the clouds of fuperliition and ofpre-
jiidice. The proficients in this Order nre therefore
juftly named ehe Iliuminated. And cf all Illumina-
'* tion
88 Tilt ILLUMINATI. CHAP. II.
which liuman realon can give, none is compara-

tion
ble to the difcovcry of what we arc, our nature, our
obligations, what happincL we are capable of, and
what are the means of attaining it. In comparifoii
with this, the moll brilliant fciences arc but amufc-
ments for the idle and luxurious. To tit man by
Illumination for active virtue, to engage him to it
by the ilrongeft motives, to render the attainment
of it eafy and certain, by finding employmient for
every talent, and by placing every talent in its pro-
per Iphere of adion, l"o that all, without feeling any
extraordinary effort, and in conjundiion with and
completion of ordinary bufinefs, Ihall urge forward,
with united powers, the general talk. This indeed
will be an employment, fuited to noble natures,
grand in its views, and delightful in its. exercife.
" And whatis this general objedt ? the happiness
OF THE HUMAN RACE. Js it Jiot diilrcfTing to a
generous mind, after comtcmplating wh::t human
nature capable of, to lee how little we enjoy ^
is
When look at this goodly v.'orld, and fee that

Vt'e
every man tnay be happy, but that the happinefs of

one depends on the conduit of another whtn we
-,
fee the wicked fo powerful and the good ih weak ;

and that it is in vain to ftrive fmgly and alone, againft
the general current of vice and opprefTion the wilh
:
were pofTible to
naturally arifcs in the mind, that ic
form a durable combination of the moll worthy

peifons, who work together in removing the
fliould
obftacles to human happinefs, become terrible to
the wicked, and give their aid to all the good v»'ith-
out diflincdon, and Ihould, by the molr powerful
means, firft and by fettering, leiien vice ;
fetter,
means which atthe fame time fliould promote virtue,
by rendering the inclina:ion to reiStiiude hitherto fo
feeble.
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI, 8^
*^ feeble, more powerful and engaging. Wo'.ilJ not
'^ fuch an afibciation be a bleffing to the world ?
^' But where are the proper perfons, the good, the
*^ generocs, and the accompiillied, to be found and
-,
" how, and by v/hat ftrong motives, are they to be

*^ induced to engage in a tafK fo vaft, fo inceflant, fo
^' difficult, and fo laborious ? This AiTociation muft
•^ be gradual. There are fome fuch prrfons to be
*' found in every fociety. Such noble minds will be
" engaged by the heart-warming object. The firit tafk
'^ of the Aifociation mufi: therefore be to form the
young members. As thefe multiply and advance,
they become the apoftles of beneficence, and the
" work is now on foot, and advances with a fpeed en-
" creafing every day. The flighceft obfervation fliows
" thau nothing will fo much contribute to increafe the
*^ zeal c f the members as fecrct union. We fee with
*' what keennefs and zeal the frivolous bufinefs of
*^ Free Mafonry is conduced, by perfons knit toge-
*' ther by the fecrecy of their union. It is ncedlefs to

it
enquire into the caufes of this zeal which fecrecy
cc
produces. It is an univerfai fa6l, confirmed by the
hiftory of every age. Let this circumftance of our

" conftitution therefore be direfted to this noble pur-
" pofe, and then ail the objections urged againft it by
(C
jealous tyranny and affrighted fuperftition willvaniih.
The order will thus work filently, and fecurely j
cc
and though the generous benefaftors of the human
cc
race are thus deprived of the applaufe of the world,
cc
they have the noble pleafure of feeing their work
cc
profperin their hands."
Such is the aim, and fuch are the hopes of the Or-
der of the Illuminated. Let us now fee hovvthcfe were
to be accom.pliflied. We cannot judge with perfe(5t
certainty of this, becaufe the account given of the con-
ftitution of the Order by its founder includes only the
M loweft
()0 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. IT.
lowefl degree, and even this is liable to great fufpicion.

The accounts given by the four ProfcfTors, even of
this partof the Order, make a very different imprefTion
on the mind, although they differ only in a few parti-
culars.
Theonly oflenfiblc members of the Order were the
Minervals. They were to be found only in the Lodges
of Fj-ee Mafons. A
candidate for admifllon muftmakc
his vviHi known to fome Minerval j he reports it to a
Superior, who, by a channel to be explained prefcntly,
intimates it to the Council. No notice is farther taken
of it for fome time. The candidate is carefully ob-
ferved in filcnce, and if thought unfit for the Order,
no notice is taken of his folicitation. But ifotherwife,
the candidate receives privately an invitation to a con-
ference. Here he meets with a perfon unknown to
him, and, previous to all further conference, he is re-
quired to perufe and to fign the following oath :
I, N. N. hereby bind myfelf, by mine honouf

(C
and good name, forfwearing all mental refervation,
<c
never to reveal, by hint, word, writing, or in any
c«
manner whatever, even to my moft trufted friend,
cc
any thing that fhall now be faid or done to me re-
(C
fpe6ling my wlfhed-for reception, and this whether
cc
my reception (hall follow or not, I being previoufly
cc
afuired that it fliall contain nothing contrary to reli-
cc
gion, the ftate, nor good manners. I promife, that
(C
I Hiall make no intelligible extract from any papers
cc
which fhall be fhevvn me now or during my novi-
** All this I fwear, as I am, and as I hope to
ciate.
" continue, a Man of Honour."
The urbanity of this proteftation muft agreeably
imprefs the mind of a pcrlon who recoUefts the dread-
ful imprecations which he made at his reception into
the different ranks of Free Mafonry. The candidate
Is then introduced to an Ilhiminatus Dirigens, whom
perhaps
—
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. gi
perhaps he knows, and is told that this perfon is to be

his future inftrLi(5tor. There now
prclented to the
is
candidate, what they call a table, in which he writes

his name, place of birth, age, rank, place ofrefidence,
profefTion, and favourite iludies. He is then made
to read leveral articles of this table. It contains, ly?,
a very concife account of the Order, its conne6tion
with Free Mafonry, and its great objeft, the promo-
ting the happinefs of mankind by means of inftrudion
and confirmation in virtuous principles, id, Several
queftions relative to the Order. Among thefe are,
*' What advantages he hopes to derive from being a
" member ? What he moft particularly wiOies to

learn ? What delicate
queftions relative to the life,
the profpefts, the duties of man, as an individual,
and as a citizen, he willies to have particularly dif-
cuiTed to him ? In what refpefts he thinks he can
" be of ufe to the Order ? Who are his anceftors, re-
lations, friends, correfpondents, or enemies ? Whom
cc
he thinks proper perfons to be received into the
" Order, or whom he thinks unfit for it, and the rea-
'^ fons for both opinions ?" To each of thefe queftions
he muft give fome anfwer in writing.

The Novice and his Mentor are known only to each
others perhaps nothing more follows upon this; if
otherwife, the Mentor appoints another conference,
and begins his inftrutftions, by giving him in detail
certain portions of the conftitution, and of the funda-
mental rules of the Order. Of thefe the Novice mufc
give a weekly account in writing. He muft alfo read,
in the Mentor's houfe, a book containing more of the
inftru6lions of the Order; but he muft make no ex-
trads. Yet from tliis reading he muft derive all his
knowledge; and he muft give an account in v/riting
of his progrefs. All writings received from his Supe-
riors muft be returned with a ftated pun^ûaliiv.
Thefe
92 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. II.
Thefe writings confifh chiefiy ©f important and delicate

queftions, fuited, either to the particular inclination,
or to the peculiar tafte which the candidate had difco-
vered in his lubfcriptions of the articles of the table,
and in his former rcfcripts, or to the direflion which
the Mentor wifhcs to give to his thoughts.
Enlightening the underftanding, and the rooting out
of prejudices, are pointed out to him as the principal
laflvs of his noviciate. The knowledge of himfelf is
confidered as preparatory to all other knowledge. To
difclofe to him, by means of the calm and unbialTed
obfervation of his inllruftor, what is his own charafter,
his mod vulnerable fide„ either in refpeft of temper,
paffions, or prepoffeiTions, is therefore the mod elTen-
tial done him.
fervice that can be For this purpofe
there is required of him fome account of his own con-
dutt on occafions where he doubted of its propriety;
fome account of his friendiliips, of his differences of
opinion, and of his condufl on fuch occafions. From
fuch relations the Superior learns his manner of think-
ing and judging, and thofe propenfities which require
his chief attention.
Having made the candidate acquainted with himfelf,
he is apprifed that the Order is not a fpeculative, but
an adlive afibciation, engaged in doing good to others.
The knowledge of human chara6lcr is therefore of all
others the moil important. This is acquired only by
obfervation, affifted by the inftruftions of his teacher.
Chara6lers in hifrory are propofed to him for obferva-
tion, and his opinion is required. After this he is di-
rected to look around him, and to notice the condudl
of other m.en and part of his weekly refcripts muft
;
confift of accounts of all interefting occurrences in his

neighbourhood, whether of a public or private nature.
ColTandey, one of the four Profeflers, gives a parti-
cular account of the inftrudions relating to this kind
of
CHAP. 11. THE ILLUMINATl. 93
of fcience. " The Novice muft be attentive to tri-

" fles For in frivolous occurrences a man is indolent,
:
" and makes no effort to ad: a part, fo that his real

^'^
charader is then adting alone. Nothing will have
^^ fuch influence with the Superiors in promoting the
'^ advancement of a candidate as very copious narra-
** tions of this kind, becaufc the candidate, if promo-
'•'
ted, is to be employed in an aftive ftation, and it
*' is from this kind of information only that the Supe-
" riors can judge of his fitnefs. Thefe characfceriftic
" anecdotes are not for the inftruftion of the Superi-
5^ ors, who are men of long experience, and familiar
" with fuch occupation. But they inform the Order
*' concerning the talents and proficiency of the young
«* member. Scientific inftruftion, being
Gonnefted
*' by fyftem, is foon communicated, and may in ge-
*' neral be very completely obtained from the books
*' which are recommended to the Novice, and acqui-
" red in the public fcminaries of inftrudlion. But
*^ knowledge of character is more multifarious and
" more delicate. For this there is no college, and it
" muft therefore require longer time for its attainment.
" Befides, this affiduous and long continued ftudy of
" men, enables the polTefTor of iiich knowledge to a6l
" with men, and by his knowledge of their charadler,
" to influence their condufl. For fuch reafons this
ftudy continued, and thefe refcripts are required,
is
during the whole progrefs through the Order, and

tt
attention to them
recom.mended as the only mean
is
" of advancement. Remarks on Phyfiognomy ia

'' thefe narrations are accounted of confidcrable
va-
« lue." Mr. CoiTandey.
So far
During all this trial, which may laft one, two, or
three years, the Novice knows no perfon of the Order
but his own inftruClor, with whom he has frequent
meetings, along with other Minervals. In thefe con-
vcrfacions
verfations he learns the impvortancc of the Order, and

the opportunities he will afterwards have of acquiring
much hidden fcience. The employment of his un-
known Superiors naturally caufes him to entertain very
high notions of their abilities and worth. He is coun-
iclled to aim at a rcfemblance to them by getting rid
by degrees of all thofe prejudices or prepoHclfions
whicii checked his own former progrefsj and he is af-
fifted in this endeavour by an invitation to a correfpon-
dence with them. He may addrefs his Provincial
Superior, by direding his letter Soli, or the General
by Primo, or the Superiors in general by îbus licet.
In thefe letters he may mention whatever he thinks
conducive to the advancement of the Order; he may
Inform the Superiors how his inftruclor behaves to
him; if alTiduous or remifs, indulgent or fevere. The
Superiors are enjoined by the ftrongeft motives to con-
vey thefe letters wherever addrcfled. None but the
General and Council know the refult of all this; and
ail are enjoined to keep themfelves and their proceed-
ings unknown to all the world.

If three years of this Noviciate have elapfed with--
out further notice, the Minerval muft look for no fur-
ther advancement; he is found unfit, and remains a
Free Mafon of the higheft clafs. This is called a Sta
bene.
But judge more favourably of
fliould his Superiors
him, he is drawn out of the general mafs of Free
Mafons, and becomes Tilu'ininatiis Minor. When call-
ed to a conference for this purpoie, he is told in the
moft ferious manner, that " it is vain for him to hope
" to acquire wifdom by mere fyftematic inftruftion ;
" for fuch inRruftion the Superiors have no leifure.
'^ Their duty is liat to form fpeculators, but a6live
'^ men, whom
they muft immediately employ in- the
'^ fervice of the Order. He muft therefore grow wife
''
and
and able entirely by the unfolding and exertion of

his own talents. His Superiors have already difco-
vered what thefe are, and know what fervice he may
be capable of rendering the Order, provided he
now heartily acquiefces in being thus honourably
employed. They will affift him in bringing his ta-
lents into adlion, and will place him in the fitua-
tions mod favourable for their exertion, fo that he
may be ajfured of fuccefs. Hitherto he has been a
mere fcholar, but his firft ftep farther carries him
into a6lion he muft therefore now confider himfelf
;
as an inirrument in the hands of his Superiors, to

be ufed for the nobleft purpofes." The aim of the
order is now more fully told him. It is, in one fcn-
tence, " to make of the human race, v/ithout any

" diftinftion of nation, condition, or profcflion, one
*^ good and happy family.'' To this aim, demonllra-
bly attainable, every fmaller confideration muft give
way. This may fometimes require facrifices which no
man ftanding alone has fortitude to make but which ;
become light, and a fource of the pureft enjoyment,

when fupported and encouraged by the countenance
and co-operation of the united wife and and good,
luch as are the Superiors of the Order. If the candi-
date, warmed by the alluring pifture of the ponible
happinefs of a virtuous Society, fays that he is fcnfi-
ble of the propriety of this procedure, and ftill wifhes
to be of the Order, he is required to fign the following
obligation.
" I, N. N. proteft before you, the worthy Pleni-
cc
potentiary of the venerable Order into v;hich I wifli
(C
to be admitted, that I acknowledge my natural
weaknefs and and that J^- with all my pof-
inability,
*' fcflions, rank, honours, and titles which I hold in
" political fociety, am, at bottom, only a man I -,
*' can enjoy

thefe things only through my fellovv'-men,
•. " and
^6 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. II.
" and through them alfo I may lofethem. The ap-

" probation and confideration of my fellow-men are
" indifpenfably ncceflary, and 1 mult try to maintain
" them by all my talents. Thefe I will never life to
" the prejudice of univerfal good, but will oppofe,
" v/ith all my might, the enemies of the human race,
" and of political fociety. 1 will embrace every op-
*^ portunicy of laving mankind, by improving my un-
" derftanding and my affedlions, and by imparting all

" important knowledge, as the good and ftatutes of
** this Order require of me. I bind myfelf to perpe-
" tual filence and unfliaken loyalty and fubmifiion to
" the Order, in the perfons of my Superiors; here
*^ making a faithful and complete furrender of my pri-
*' vate judgment, my own will, and every narrow-

*' minded employment of my power and influence. I
" pledge myfelf to account the good of the Order as
" my own, and am ready ro fcrve it with my fortune,
*'
my honour, and my blood. Should I, through
•' omifnon, neglect, palTion, or wicknednefs, behave
" contrary to this good of the Order, I ifubjeft my-

" felf CO what reproof or punilliment my Superiors
" fiiall enjoin. The friends and enemies of the Order
*' fliall be my friends and enemies ; and with refpe6l
" to both I will condud myfelf as dire6ted by the Or-
*' der, and am ready, in every lawful way, to devote
*^ myfelf to its incrcafe and promotion, and thereinto
*' employ all my ability. All this I promife, and pro-

" teft, without fecret refervation, according to the
" intention of the Society which require from me this
" engagement. This I do as I am, and as I hope to
*' continue, a Man of Honour."
A drawn fword is then pointed at his breaft, and he

is afked. Will you be obedient to the commands of
your Superiors ? He is threatened with unavoidable

vengeance, from which no potentate can defend him,
if
if he Ihoiild ever betray the Order. He is then afked,

I. What aim does he wilh the Order to have ? 2. What
means he would choofe to advance this aim ? 3. Whom
he wiflies to keep out of the Order ? 4. What fubjefts
he wifhes not to be difcufied in it ?
Our candidate is now Illuminatus Minor. It is
needlefs to narrate the mummeryof reception, and it

is enough to {-Ay, that it nearly rcfemblcs that of the
Majonic Chevalier du Sokily knov^rn to every one much
converfant in Mafonry. Weifhaupt's preparatory dif-
courfe of reception is a piece of good compofition,
whether confidered as argumentative, (from topics in-
deed, that are very gratuitous and fanciful,) or as a
fpecimcn of that declamation which was fo much prac-
tifed by Libanius and the other Sophifts, and it gives
a difi:in6t and captivating account of the profeffe^ aim
of the Order.
The Illuminatus Minor \tz.vns, a good deal more of the
Order, but by very fparing morfels, under the fame
inftruftor. The taflv has now become more delicate
and difficult. The chief part of it is the rooting out
of prejudices in politics and Weifhaupt
and religion ;
has fliown much addrefs in the method which he has

employed. Not the mod hurtful, but the mofb eafily
refuted were the firlb kibjefts of difcuffion, fo that the
pupil gets into the habits of vi6tory and his reverence
;
for the fyftems of either kind is diminifned when they

are found to have harboured fuch untenable opinions.
The proceedings in the Ec!e6lic Lodges of Mafonry,
and the harangues o( the Brother Orators, teemed
with the boldefl fentiments both in politics and reli-
gion. Enlightening, and the triumph of reafon, had
been the ton of the country for fome time pad, and
every inftitution, civil and religious, had been the fub-
jeft of the mofl free criticifm. Above all, the Cofmo-
politifm, imported from France, where it had been
N the
98 . THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. II.
the favourite topic of the cnthufiaftical oeconomifts,

was now become a general theme of difcufTion in all fo-
cieties that had any pretenfions to cultivation. It was
a fubjefl of cafy and agreeable declamation jand the
Literati found in it a fubjeft admirably fitted for fhew-
ing their talents, and ingratiating themfelves with the
young men of fortune, whofe minds, unfufpicious as
yet and generous, were fired with the fair profpefls fee
before them of univerlal and attainable happinefs. And
the pupils of the llluminati were ilill more warmed by
the thought that they were to be the happy inflruments
of accomplifliing ail this. And though the doctrines
of univerfal liberty and equality, as imprefcriptiblc
rights of man, might fometimes ilartle thofe who pof-
fefled the advantage of fortune, there were thoufands
of younger fons, and of men of talents without for-
tune, to whom thefe were agreeable founds. And
we mud particularly obferve, that thofe who were
now the pupils were a fet of picked fubjcdbs, whofc
characters and peculiar biafes were well known by
their conduft during their noviciate as Minervals.
They were therefore fuch as, in all probability, would
not boggle at very free fencinients. We might rather
expe6l a partiality to doctrines which removed fome
reftraints which formerly checked them in the indul-
gence of youthful paOions. Their inftru6lors, who
have thus relieved tlicir minds from leveral anxious
thoughts, muft appear men of fuperior minds. This
was a notion moft carefully inculcated j and they
could feenothing to contradicl it ; for, except their
own Mentor, they knew none they heard of Supe-
;
riors of different ranks, but never faw them ; and the

fame mode of inilru6tion that was pra6lifed during
their noviciate was ftill retained. More particulars of
the Order were flowly unfolded to them, and they were
taught that their Superiors were men of diflinguiflied
talents.
CHAP. II. TAE ILLUMINATI. 99
talents, and were Superiors for this reafon alone. They
were taught, that which the
the great opportunities
Superiors had for obfervation, and their habits ofcon-
tinualiy occupying their thoughts with the great ob-
jects of this Order, had enlarged their views, even
far beyond the narrow limits of nations and kingdoms,
which they hoped would one day coak-Ice into one
great Society, where confideration would attach to ta-
lents and worth alone, and that pre-eininence in thefe
would be invariably attended with all the enjoyments
of influence and power. And they were told that
they would gradually become acquainted with thefe
great and venerable Charadlers, as they advanced in
the Order. In earned of this, they were made ac-
quainted with one or two Superiors, and with fe-
veral Illuminati of their own rank. Alio, to whet
their zeal, they are now made inftruftors of one or
two Minervals, and report their progrefs to their Su-
periors. They are given to undcrliand that nothing
can fo much recommend them as the with
fuccefs
which they perform this talk. It is declared to be
the beft evidence of their ufefulncfs in the great de-
figns of the Order.
The baleful efFefts of general fuperftition, and even
of any peculiar religious prepollcffion, are now ftrong-
ly inculcated, and the difcernmenc of the pupils in
thefe matters is learned by queilions which are given
them from time to time to difcufs. Thefe are mana-
ged with delicacy and circumfpe6lion, that the timid
may not be alarmed. In like manner, the political
dodrines of the Order are inculcated with the utmoft
caution. After the mind of the pupil has been warm-
ed by the pi6lures of univerfal happinefs, and convin-
ced that it is a pofTible thing to unite all the inhabi-
tants of the earth in one great fociecy and aker it
;
has been made out, in fome meafure to the facisfadtion

(jf
lOO THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. II.
of the pupil, that a great addition of happinefs would

be gained by the abolition of national difiin6lions and
animofities it may frequently be no hard tafk tcf make
;
him think that patriotifm is a narrow-minded monopo-

lifing fentiment, and even incompatible with the more
enlarged views of the Order namely, the uniting the
j
whole human race into one great and happy fociety.

Princes are a chief feature of national diftindlion.
Princes, therefore, may now be fafely reprefented as
unneceflary. If fo, loyalty to Princes lofes much of
its facred charadler^ and the fo frequent enforcing of
it in our common political difcuflions may now be ea-
fily made to appear a felfifli maxim of rulers, by which
they may more e^fily enflave the people j and thus, it

may at laft appear, that religion, the love of our par-
ticular country, and loyalty to our Prince, fhould be
refilled, if, by thefc partial or narrow views, we pre-
vent the accomplifliment of that Cofmo-political hap-
pinefs which is continually held forth as the great ob-
je6b of the Order. It is in this point of view that the
terms of devotion to the Order, which are inferted in
the oath of admiflion, are now explained. The au-
thority of the ruling powers is therefore reprefented as
of inferior moral weight to that of the Order. " Thefe
powers are defpots, when they do not conduft them-
leives by its principles and it is therefore our duty
;
cc
to furround them with its members, fo that the
(C
profane may have no accefs to them. Thus we are
iC
able molt powerfully to promote its interefts. If
cc
any perfon is more difpofed to liften to Princes
" than to the Order, he is not fit for it, and muft rife
*' no higher. We muft do our utmoft to procure the
" advancement of Illuminati into all important civil
" offices."
Accordingly the Order laboured in this with great
zeal and fuccefs. A correfpondence was difcovered,
in
€HAP. ir. THE ILLUMINATI. lOi
in which it is plain, that by their influence, one of the

greateft ecclefiaftical dignities was filled up in oppofi-
tion to the right and authority of the Archbifnop of
Spire, who is there reprefented as a tyrannical and bi-
goted prieft. They contrived to place their Members
as tutors to the youth of diftin6tion. One of them.
Baron Leuchtfenring, took the charge of a young
prince without any falary. They infinuated themfelves
into all public offices, and particularly into courts of
juftice. In like manner, the chairs in the Univerfity
of Ingolftadt were (vv'ith only two exceptions) occupied
by Iliuminati. *' Rulers who are members mult be
" promoted through the ranks of the Order only in
" proportion as they acknowledge the goodnefs of its
" great object, and manner of procedure. Its obje6l
" may be faid to be the checking the tyranny of
" princes, nobles, and pricfts, and eftablilhing an
" univerfal equality of condition and of religion."
The pupil is now informed, " that fuch a religion is
'^ contained in the Order, is the perfection
of Chrif-
" tianity, and will be imparted to him in due time."
Thefe and other principles and maxims of the Or-
der are partly communicaced by the verbal inftruflion
of the Mentor, partly by writings, which mult be
pundlually returned, and partly read by the pupil at
the Mentor's houfe, (but without taking extrafts,)
in fuch portions as he fiiall direft. The refcriprs by
the pupil mufh contain difcuffions on thefe fubjecfls,'
and anecdotes and defcriptions of living characters j
and thefe muft be zcaloufly continued, as the chief
mean of advancement. All this vvhile the pupil knows
only his Mentor, the Minervals, and a few others of
his own rank. All mention of degrees, or other bu-
fmefs of the Order, muft be carefully avoided, even
in the meetings with other members " For the Or-
:
" der wiihcs to be fecrer, and to work in filence for ;
" thus
102 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. H.,
" thus it is better fecured from the opprefTion of the
" ruling powers, and becaufe this fccrecy gives a
'* greater zed to the whole."
This fhort account of the Noviciate^ and of the

lowed clafs of illuminati, is all we can get from the
authority of Mr. Weilbaupt. The higher degrees
were not publillied by him. Many circumftances ap-
pear fufpicious, arc certainly fufceptible of different
turns, and may eafily be puflied to very dangerous
extremes. The accounts given by the four profcffors
confirm rhefe fufpicions. They declare upon oath,
that they make all thefe accufitions in confequence of
what they heard in the meetings, and of what they
knew of the Higher Orders.
But fince the time of the fupprefTion by the Ele<5lor,
difcoveries have been made which throw great light
on the fubjtft. A colle6lion of original papers and
correfpondence was found by fcarching the houfe of
one Zwack (a Member) in 1786. The following
year a much larger collcftion was found at the houfe
of Baron Baifusi and fmce that time Baron Knigge,
the moll active Member next to Weifliaupt, publilhed
an account of fome of the higher degrees, which had
been formed by himfelf. A long while after this were
publiilied, Neuefte Arbeitmig des opartacus und Philo in
der Illuminaten Orden^ and Hohere Graden des Ilium. Or-
dens. Thefe two works give an account of the whole
fccret conftitution of the Order, its various degrees,
the manner of conferring them, the inllrudlions to the
intrants, and an explanation of the connection of the
Order v.'ith Free Mafonry, and a critical hiftory. We
(hall give fome extradls from fuch of thefe as have
been publifhed.
Weifliaupt was the founcer in 1776. In 1778 the
number of Members was confiderably increafed, and
the Order was fully .eftabliflied. The Members took
antique
—
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. " lOJ
antique names. Thus Weifliaupt took the name of

Sparcacus, the man who headed the infurredion of
Haves, which in Pompey's time kept Rome in terror
and uproar for three years. Zvvack was called Cato.
Knigge was Philo. Baflus was Hannibal. Hertel
was Marius. Marquis Conftanza was Diomedes.
Nicolai, an eminent and learned bookfeller in Berlin,
and author of feveral works of reputation, took the
name of Lucian, the great fcofFer at all religion. An-
other was Mahomet, &c. It is remarkable, that ex-
cept Cato and Socrates, we have not a name of any

ancient who was eminent as a teacher and pradlifer of
virtue. On the contrary, they feem to have affedcd
the charafters of the free-thinkers and turbulent fpirits
of antiquity. In the fame manner they gave ancient
names to the cities and countries of Europe. Munich
was Athens, Vienna was Rome, &c.
Spartacus to Cato^ Feb. 6, 1778.
(C
Mon hut eft de faire valoir la raijon. As a fubor-
dinate objefb I Ihall endeavour to gain fecuri'ty to
*' ourfelves, a backing in cafe of misfortunes, and af-
*' fiftancefrom without. I Ihall therefore prefs the
*^ cultivation of fcience, efpecially fuch fciences as
** may have an influence on our reception in the world,
<' and may fcrve to remove obftacles out of the way.
*^ We have to ftruggle with pedantry, with intole-

" ranee, with divines and ftatefmen, and above all,
" princes and priefts are in our way. Men are unfit
" as they arc, and muft be formed each clafs muft \
*' be the fchool of trial for the next.

This will be te-
" dious, becaufe it is hazardous. In the laft claffes I
" propofe academics under the dirc6tion of the Order.
" This will fecure us the adherence of the Lireraci.
**^
Science
104 THE ILLL'MINATI. CHAP. II.
" Science fhiill here be the lure. Only thofe who are
<c
aflurediy proper rubje(n:s fhall be picked out froiij
<(
among the inferior claiFes for the higher myileries,
cc
which contain the firft principles and means of pro-
moting a happy life. No religionifl: muft, on any
*' account, be admitted into thefc For here we work
:
** at the difcovery and extirpation of fuperftition and

'^ prejudices. The inftru6lions Hiall be fo conduced
" that each what he thinks he conceals
fliall difclofe
" within his own breaft, what are his ruling propenfi-
'' ties and paffions, and how far he has advanced in
*' the command of himfelf. This will anfwer all the
" purpofes of auricular confeflion. And, in particu-
lar, every perfon fhall be made a fpy on another
a and on all around him. Nothing can efcape our
cc
fight ; bymeans we fliall j'eadily difcover who
thcfe
Cf
are contented, and receive with relifh the peculiar
*' ftate-doftrines and religious opinions that are laid
*^ before them ; and, at iaft, the truft-worthy alone
" will be admitted to a participation of the whole
maxims and political conilitucion of the Order. In
a council compofed of fuch members v/e fliall labour
CC
at the contrivance of means to drive by degrees the
" enemies of reafon and of humanity out of the world,
" and to eftablifh a peculiar morality and religion fit-
" ted for the great Society of Mankind.
" But this is a ticklifh projeft, and requires the nt-
(C
moft ciicumfpeflion. The fqucam.ifh will ftart at
CC
the fight of religious or political novelties ; and
CC
they muft be prepared for them. We muft be par-
" ticul?.rly careful about the books which we recom-
" mend I ftiall confine them at firft to moralifts and
;
" reafoning hiftorians. This will prepare for a patient

*^ reception, in the higher clafTes, of works of a bolder
*'
flight, fuch as Robinet's Syjleme de la Nature Pcli- —
'* tlque Naturelle —
Vhihjo'phie de la Nature Syfieme So- —
i^
cial-^.
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. IO5
cial — The of Mirabaud, &c.

writings Helvetius
is fie only for the ftrongeft ftomachs. If any one
has a copy already, neither praife nor find fault with
him. Say nothing on fuch fubjecls to intrants, for
we don't know how they will be received folks are —
not yet prepared. Marius, an excellent man, muft
be dealt with. His fcomach, which cannot yet di-
gefl fuch ftrong food, muft acquire a better tone.
The allegory on which I am to found the myflcries
of the Higher Orders îs the fire-worpip (^ the Magi.
We mult have fome worfhip, and none is fo appofite.
Let there be light, and there shall be
LI G PIT. This is m.y motto, and is my fundamental
principle. The degrees v;ill be Feuer Ordcn, Parjeft
Oi'den* ; all very praflicable. In the courfe through
thefe there will be no sta bene (this is the anfwer
given to one who folicits preferment, and is refufed).
For I engage that none fliall enter this clafs who has
not laid afide his prejudices. No man is fit for our
Order who is not a Brutus or a Catiline, and is not
ready to go every length. —
Tell me how you lii<e
this ?"
Spartacus to Cats, March 1778.
" To unpubliflied vvôrks, and information

colle6t
from the archives of States, will be a moft ulcfui fcr-
vice. We be able to fliow in a very ridiculous*
fliall
light the claim.s of our defpots. Marius (keeper of

the archives of i\\(^ Eledlorate) has ferreted out a no-
ble document, which we have got. He makes it,
forfooth, a cafe of confcience — how filly that — fmce

* This is evidently tlie MyJIere du Mithrus mentioned by Barruel,
in hisHiftory of Jacobinifm, and had been cairieJ into France by

Bcde and Bulche.
O '* only
—
I06 THE ILLU.MINATI. CHAP. II.
'* only that which is uUiryuUely produdive of mif-

is^fn
" chief. where tlic advantage far exceeds
In this cafe,
'^
the hurt> it is meritorious virtue. It will do more
•* good in our hands than by remaining for icoo
years
*' on
the duily flielf."
There was found in the hand- writing of Zwack a
projed for a Sifterhood, in fubferviency to the dcOgns
of the lUuminati. In it are the following paliages :
*' It will be of great fervice, and procure us both

" much information and mcney, and will fuic charm-
" ingly the tafle of many of our trueft members, who
" are lovers of the fex. it fliould confift of twoclafles,
the virtuous and the freer hearted (i. e. thofe who
a fly out of the common track of prudilh manners) ;
cc
they mult not know of each other, and muft be un-
" der the direftion of men, but without knovvinof it.
Proper books muft be put into their hands, and fuch
(but fecretly) as are flattering to their paflions."
There are, in the fame hand-writing, Defcripticn of
a ftrong box, which, if forced open, Ihall blow uj) and
deftroy its contents —Several receipts for procuring
abortion —
A compofition which blinds or kills when
fpurted in the face —A flieet,containing a receipt for
fympathetic ink —Tea for procuring abortion Herk^
quae hr.bent qualitatem deleteream —A method for filling
a bed-chamber vvithpcltilential vapours — How to take
off impreluons of feals, fo as to ule them afterwards as
feals —A colleftion of fome hundreds of luch imprel-
fions, with a lill ot their ov.'ners, princes, nobles,
clergymen, merchants, &c. —
A receipt ad excitandum
fnr orem uterinum i —
Amanufcript intitled, " Better than
Horus." It was afterwards printed and difliributed at
Leipzig fair, and is an attack and bitter fatire on all re-
ligion. This is in the hand- writing of Ajax. As alfo a
ci(rertation{:nfuicide. —
N.B. His filier-in-lav/ threw her-
fclffrom the top of a tower. There was alfo a fc-t of
portraits,
07
portraits, orcharafters of eighty-five ladies in Munich;

witlj recommendations of fome of them for members
of a Lodge of Sifter Illurainatfe aab injuncbions to all
;
the Superiors to learn to write with both hands ; and

that they fhould ufc more than one cypher.
Immediately after the publication of thele writings,
many defences appeared. It was faid that the dread-
ful medical apparatus were with propriety in the hands
of CounfcUor Zwack, who was a judge of a criminal
court, and whofe duty it was therefore to know fuch
things. The fame cxcufe was offered for the collec-
tion of feals ; but how came thele things to be put up
with papers of the Illuminati, and to be in the hand-
writing of one of that Order? Weifliaupt fays, " Thefe
*' things were not carried into effeft —
only fpoken of,
*' and are juftifiable when taken in proper connec-
*' tion." This however he has not pointed out; but
he appeals to the account of the Order, which he had
publifhed at RegenfDurg, and in which neither thefe
things are to be found, nor any poffibility of a con-
nedlion by which they may be juftificd. " All men,"
fays he, "^ are fubjedl to errors, and the beft man is he
(C
who beft conceals them. 1 have never been guilty
cc
of any luch vices or follies for proof, I appeal to
:
cc
the whole tenor of m.y life, which my reputation,
cc
and my ftruggles with hoftile cabals, had brought
cc
completely into public view long before the inftitu-
*' tion of this Order, without abatino; any thing of that
" flattering regard wiiich was paid to me by the firft

" perfons of my country and its neighbourhood; a re-
" gard well evinced by their confidence in me as the
" beft inftru6lor of their children." In fome of his
private letters, we karn the means which he employed
to acquire this influence among the youth, and they
are fuch as could not fail. But we muft nat anticipate.
*'
It i:> well known that I have made the chair which I
''
occupied
— — I
*'
occupied in the iiniveiTity of Ingolftadc, the reforc
c:
of the firft cb.fs of the German youth; whereas for-,
(C
merly it had only brought round it the low-born
(c
praftieioners in the courts of law. I have gone
through the whole circle of human enquiry. 1 have
fc
—
exorcifed fpirits raifcd ghofts— difcovered trea-
*'
—
fures interrogated the Cabala —
hatte Lcto gefpielt
*^
have never tranfmuted metals."
and refpedtable circle indeed,
— (A very pretty
and what vulgar fpirits
v/ould fcarcely have included within the pale of their
curiofity.) ''
The Tenor of my life has been the op~
*' pofite of every thing that is vile; and no man can
lay any fuch thing to my charge.
'^'^
I have reafon to
^'^
rejoice that thefc writings have appeared ; they are a
^' vindication of the Order and of my conduct. lean
'' and iTiuft declare to God, and I do it now in the
*^ mofl I'olemn manner, that in my whole life I never
" fliw or heard of the fo much condemned fecrtt wri-
tings and in particular, refpefting thefe abomina-
;
ble means, fuch as poifoning, abortion, &c. was it

*' ever known to me in any cafe, that any of my friends
or acquaintances ever even thought of them, advif-

ed them, or madjaiany ufe of them. 1 was indeed
*^ always a fchenier and projeclor, but never could en-
(t
gage much in detail. My general plan is good,
though in the detail there may be faults. I had my-
" felf to form. In another fituation, and in an adtive
'* ftation in life, 1 flionld have been keenly occupied,
<^ and the founding- an Order v;ould never have come
" into my head. But I would have executed much

greater things, had not government always oppofed
it
my exertions, and placed others in the fituations
?' which fuited my talents. It was the full convitlion
of this and of what could be done, if every man were

placed in the office for which he was fitted by nature
and a proper education, v^hich firil fuggefted to me
''
the
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINA.TI. I
O9
''
the plan of Illumination." Surely Mr. Weifhaupt
had a very lerious charge, the education of youth ; and
his encouragement charge was the moft flatter-
in that
ing that an Illuminatus could wifn for ; becaufc he had
brought round him the youth whofe influence in fo-
ciety was the greattft, and who would moft of all con-
good principles, and exciting to
tribute to the diflrûfing
good conduft through the whole ilate. " I did not,"
fays he, ** bring deifm into Bavaria more than into
** Rome. I found it here, in great vigour,
a- more
" bounding than in any of the neighbouring Protcftant
" ftates. I am proud to be knov/n to the world as
''
the founder of the Order of lUuminati j and I repeat
" my wifii to have for my epitaph,
" Hicfttus eft PhcCthcn^ curriiS atiriga paterni,

" ûem fi non tenuity magnis tamen exddit aufis.''
The
fecond difcovery of fccret correfpondence at
Sandcrfdorff, the feat of Baron Batz, (Hannibal,) con-
tains ftill more interefting fads.
SpartfiCus to Ca^,
" What llialldo I ? I am

deprived of all help. So-
'^ crattF, who would infift on being a man of confe-
" quenre among us, and is really a man of talents,
*' and of a right 'ivayof tkiiiking^ is eternally befotted.
*"' Augufius is in the worll eilisnation imaginable. Al-
" cibiades fits the day long with the vintner's pretty
" wife, and there he fighs and pincr,. few days A
" ago, at Corinth, Tiberius attempted to ravifh the
" wife of Dcmocides, and her hufhand came in upon
" them. Good heavms what ^/n^îVs'i/'^ I have got. !
" When the Vvorthy man Marcus

Aurelius comes to
'^ Athens, (Munich,) what will he think ? What a
^'
met ting
!
no THE ILLUMINATI. CHAT. II.
*' meeting of diffolute, immoral wretclies, whorcmaf-

'* cers, liars, bankrupts, bra^rgaris, and vain foolî
** When he fees all this, what will he think ? He will
*' be afliamed to enter into an Aflbciation," (obJcrvc
Reader, that Spartacus writes this in Aiigud 17O3, in
the very time that he would have murdered Cato's CjC-
ter, as we fhall fee,) " where the chiefs raifc the
" higheft cxpe6lations, and exhibit fuch v/retchcd ex-
" amples and ail this from felf-will, from fenfuality.
;
—
" Am I not in the right that this man that any —
—
" futh worthy man whofe name alone would give us
" the fcieflion of all Germany, will declare that the
" whole province of Grecia, (Bavaria,) innocent and
«^ guilty, muft be excluded. I tell you, we may ftu-
" dy^ and and toil till death. We may fdcri-
v/rite,
" lice to the Order, our health, our fortune, and our
** reputation, (alas, the lofs
!) and thefe Lords, fol-
" lowing their own pleafures, will whore, cheat, fteal,
*' and drive on like fhamelefs rafcals and yet muft
;
*' be Arecpagita^, and interfere in every thing. In-

" deed, my deareft friend, we have only enflaved
" ourfclves."
In another part of this fine correfpondence, Dio-
medes has had the good fortune to intercept a Q^L.
(îibus Licet,) in which it is faid, and fupporteci by
proofs, that Cato had received 250 florins as a bribe
for his fentence in his capacity of a judge in a criminal
court (the end had furely fanftined the means.) In.
another, a Minerval complains of his Mentor for hav-

ing by lies occafioned the difmifuon of a phyfician
from a family, by which tlie Mentor obtained, in the
fame capacity, tjje cuftom of the houfe and free accefs,
which favour he repaid by debauching the wife; and
he prays to be informed whether he may not get ano-
ther Mentor, faying that although that man had always
given him the moil excellent inftrudlions, and he
doubted
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATl. HI
doubted not would continue them, yet he felt a difguft
at the hypocrify, which would certainly diminifo the
imprcffion of the moft falutary truths. (Is it not dif-
trefiing to think, that this promifing youth will by and
by lauLjh at his former fimplicity, and follow the
Heps and not the inftruftions of his phyfician.) In
another place, Spartacus writes to Marius, (in confi-
dence,) that another worthy Brother, an Areopagitay
had ftolen a gold and a filver watch, and a ring,
from Brutus, (Savioli,) and begs Marius, in another
Jettcr, to try, while it was yet poflible, to get the
things relliored, becaufe the culprit was a mofc excellent
man, (Fortrefflich,) and of vail ufe to the Order^ hav-
ing the dire6]:ion of an eminent feminary of young ^'•fK-
tlemen; and becaufe Savioli was much in good compa-
ny, and did not much care for the Order, except in
fo far as it gave him an opportunity of knowing and
leading fome of them, and of fleering his way at
court.
I cannot help inferting here, though not the mofl:
proper place, a part of a provincial report from Knirg-c,
tlie man of the whole Aeropagita who fnows any thing
like urbanity or gentlenefs of mind.

" Of my whole colony, (Weftphalia,) the mofl brii-
" liant isClaudiopolis fAW^c/i'-^^j. There they work,
" and dire6l, and do v/ondcrs."
If there ever was a fpot upon earth where m.en may
be happy in a flate of cultivated fociety, it v/as the lit-
tle principality of Neuwied. I faw it in 1770. The
town was neat, and the palace handfome and in good
taile. But tlie country uas beyond conception delight-
ful; not a cottage that was out of repair, not a hedge
out of order -, it had been the hobby (pardon me tiic
word) of the Prince, who made it his .'/r^//)' employment
to go through his principality regularly, and affift eve-
ry liournolder, of whatever condition, with his advice,
and
—
112 THE ILLUMIN'ATI. CHAP. II.
and with his purfe ; and, when a freeholder could not

of himfelf put things into a thriving condition, the
Prince fent his workmen and did it for him. He en-
dowed fchools for the common people, and two acade-
mies for the gentry and the people of bufinefs. He
gave little portions to the daughters, and prizes to the
vvêli-behaving fons of the labouring people. His ovv'n
houfhold was a pattern of elegance and economy j his
fons were fent to Paris to learn elegance, and to En-
gland to learn fcience and agriculture. In fliort, the
whole was like a romance (and was indeed romance).
I heard it fpoken of with a fmile at the table of the
Bifliop of Treves, at Ehrcnbretflein, and was induced
to fee it next day as a curiofity And yet even here,
:
the fanaticifm of Knigge would diftribute his poifon,

and tell the blinded people, that they were in a flace
of fm and mifery, that their Prince was a defpot, and
that they would never be happy till he was made to
fly, and till they were all made equal.
They got their wilh the fvvarm of French locufls
;
fat down on Neuwied's beautiful fields in 1793, and

entrenched themfelves and in three months, Prince
i
and farmers houfes, and cottages, and fchools, and

academies — all had vaniflied ; and all the fubjects were
made equal. But when they complained to the French

General (Rene le Grand) of being plundered by his
foldiers, he anfwercd, with a contemptuous and cut-
tingt3
laugh, " All is ours —
we have left you your eyes
to cry." (^Report to the Convention, i^tbjune 1795. J
Dijcite jufiitiam moniti, et ncn temnere divos !

:
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. II3
To proceed
Spartacus to Cato.
By this plan we fliall dire6l all mankind. In this

i(
" manner, and by the fim.pleft means, we fhall fct ail

*'
motion and in flames.
in The occupations muil: be
" fo allotted and contrived, that wc may, in fccrct,
" influence all political tranfaftions." N. B. This al-r
Judes to a part that is with- held from the public, be-r
caufc it contained the allotment of the moit rebellious
and profligate occupations to fevcral perfons whofe
common names could not be traced. " I have confi-
" dcred," fays Spartacus, *' every thing, and fo pre-
" pared it, chat if the Order fhould tliis day go to ruin,
^'
I fliall in a year re-eftablifli it more brilliant than
*' ever." Accordingly it got up again in about this
fpace of time, under the name of the German Union,
appearing in the form of Reading Societies. One
cf rhefe was fet up in Zwack's houfe i and this raiflng
a fufpicion, a vifitation was made at Landfliut, and the
firfl: let of the private papers were found. The fcheme
was, however, zealoufly profecuted in other parts of
Germany, as we fliall fee by and by. " Nor," con-
tinues Spartacus, '' will it fignify though all fliould be
*' betrayed and printed. I am fo certain of fuccefs, in
" fpite ot all obiUcles, (for the fprings are. in every

<<
heart,) that I am indiffêrent, though it fhould in-
(C
volve iny life and my liberty. What have thoufands
!
(C
thrown away their lives about homsios and hcrnoioufics
*' and
fliali not this caufe warm even the heart of a
*' coward ? But I have the art to dravv? advaniage even
*' from misfortune and whr-n you would think me
;
*' funk to the bottom, I fliall rife with new vigour.

*'
Who v/ould have thought, (hat a profciTor at Ingol-
> « fcadc
" ftadtwas to become the teacher of the profcfibrs of

**
Gottingen, and of the grcateft men in Germany?",
Spariacus to Cato,
" Send me back my degree of Illumttiatus Miner ;

" it is the wonder of all men here (I may perhaps find
" time to give a tranflation of the difcourfc of recep-
" tion, which contains all that can be faid of this Af-
** fociation to the public) ; two laft fheets
as alfo the
(C
of my degree, which is in the keeping of Marius,
(C
and Celfus, under 100 locks, which contains my
" hiftory of the lives of the Patriarchs." N. B. No-
thing very particular has been difcovered of thefe lives
of the Patriarchs. He fays, that there were above
fixty fheets of it. To judge by the care taken of it,
it muft be a favourite work, very hazardous, and very
catching.
In another letter to Cato, we hav? fome hints of the
higher degrees, and concerning a peculiar morality,
and a popular religion, which the Order was one day
to give the world. He fays, '' There muft (a la Je-
" fuite) not a fingle purpofe ever come in fight that is
" ambiguous, and that may betray our aims againfl:
" religion and the ftate. One muft fpeak fometimes
** one way and fometimes another, but fo as never
to
contradidl ourfelves, and fo that, with refpedl to
<c
our true way of thinking, we may be impenetrable.
cc
When our chance to give offence,
ftrongell: things
" they muft be explained as attempts to draw anfwers
" which difcover to us the fentiments of the perfon
" we converfe with." N. B. This did not always fuc-
cced with him.
Spartacus fays, fpeakingof the priefts degree, *' One
" would almoft imagine, that this degree, as I have ma-
" naged
CHAP. 11. THE ILLUMINATI. II5
naged it, is genuine Chriftianity, and that Its end

was to free the Jews from flavcry. I fay, that Free
Mafonry concealed Chriftianity.
is My explanation
of the hieroglyphics, at leaft, proceeds on this fup-
pofition J and as I explain things, no man need be
afhamed of being a Chriftian. Indeed I afterwards
throw away this name, and fubftitute Reafon. But
I affure you this is no fmall affair; a new religion,
and a new ftate-government, which fo happily ex-
plain one and all of thefe fymbols, and combine
them in one degree. You may think that this is
my chief work ; but I have three other degrees,
all different, for my clafs of higher myfteries, in
comparifon with which this is but child's play ; but
thefe I keep for myfclf as General, to be beftowed
by me only on the Benemeritijfimii" (furely fuch as
Cato, his deareft friend, and the poffefTor of fuch pret-
ty fecrets, as abortives, poifons, peftilential vapours,
^c). " The promoted may be Areopagites or not.
cc
Were you here I Ihould give you this degree with-
out hefitation. But it is too important to be intruf-
(C
tcd to paper, or to be beftowed otherwife than from
(C
my own hand, It is the key to hiftory, to religion,
cc
and to every ftate-government in the world."*
(C
Spartacus proceeds, " There fhall be but three
copies for all Germany. You can't imagine what
(C
rcfpeft and curiofity my prieft-degree has raifed j
" and, which is wonderful, a famous Proteftant di-
** vine, who is now of the Order, is perfuadcd that
" the
* I obferve, in other parts of his correfpondence where he fpeaks
of this, feveral fingular j^hrafes, which are to be found in two

books ; Anliquete devQilee par fes Ufages, and Origine du De/potifme
Oriental. Thefe contain indeed much of the maxims inculcated in
the reception difcourfe of the degree lllumanitus Minor. Indeed I
have found, that Weiih.'tupt is m«ch lefj an inventor than he is ge-
nerally thought.
Il6 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. 11.
^'
the religion contained in it is the true fenfe of Chrif-
" tianity. O man, man ! to what may'st thou
•'
NOT BE PERSUADED. Who would imagine that I
" was to be the founder of a new religion .''"
In this'fcheme of Mafonic Clirillianicy, Spartacus
and Philo laboured ferioufly together. Spartacus fent
him the materials, and Philo worked them up. It
will therefore illuftrate this capital point of the confli-
tution of the Order, if we take Philo's account of it.
Philo to Cato.
<<
We mud confider the ruling propcnfities of every
" age of the world. At prefent the cheats and tricks
** of the priefts have roufed all men againlt them, and
'' againfi: Chriftianity. But, at the fame time, fuper-

" ftition and fanaticifm rule with unlimited dominion,
*' and the underftanding of man really feems to be
*^going backwards. Our tafk, therefore, is doubled.
" Wemuft give fuch an account of things, that fana-
" tics Ihould not be alarmed, and that fhall, notwith-
*^ (landing, excite a fpirit of free enquiry. We mud
" not throw away the good v/ith the bad, the child
" with the dirty watery but we muft make the fccrct
" doftrines of Chriftianiiy be received as the fecrcts
«' of genuine Free Mafonry. But farther, we have to
" deal with the defpotifm of Princes. This increafes
" every day. But then, the fpirit of freedom breathes
" and fighs in every corner; and. by the afTillance of
(C
hidden fchools of wifdom. Liberty and Equality,
(C
the natural and imprefcriptible rights of man, warm
cc
and^low in every breaft. Wc muft therefore unite
'' thefe extremes. We proceed in this manner.
" Jefus Chrift eltabliihed no new Religion he ;
'* would only fet Religion and Reafon in their ancient
" rights.
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATl. HJ
" riglits. For this piirpole he would unite men in a
" common bond. Pic would fit them for this by
*^ rpreadinrr a jull morality, by enlightening the un-
" derflanding, and by aflliling the n^dnd to Ihake ofF
cc
all prejudices. Fie would teach all men, iii-tlie firil
((
place, to govern themfelves. Rulers would then
tc
be needlefs, and equality and liberty would take
<(
place without any revolution, by the natural and
cc
gentle operation of reafon and expediency. This
" great Teacher allows himfeH to explain every part
(C
of the Bible in conformity to thefe purpofcs and
;
cc
he forbids all wrangling among his fchoiars, becaufe
cc
every man may there find a reafonable
application
cc
to his peculiar doftrines. Let this be true or falfc, ic
cc
does not fignify. This was a limple Religion, and
cc
it was fo far infpired but the minds of his hearers
;
" were not fitted for receiving thefe doftrincs. I told

'^ you, fays he, but you could not bear it. Many
^' therefore vêre called, but few were chofen. To
*' this elccft v/ere entrufted the mod important
fecrets;
" and even among them there were degrees of infor-
" mation. There vvas a feventy, and a twelve. All
" this was in the natural order of things, and accr-rd-
" ing to the habits of the Jews, and indeeii of all an-
*
cc
tiquity. Tlic Jewiili Theofophy was a myfteryi
(C
like the Eleufinian, or ihc Pythagorean, unfit tbr
*^ the vulgar. And thus the dodlrines of Chriftianity
cc
were committed to the Jldcpti, in a DifcipUna Arcani,
By thefe they were maintained like the Veftal Fire.
cc
They v^c-ii kept up only in hidden focieties, who
cc
handed them dov;n to pofierity and they are now
;
(C
poff^dled by the genuine Free Malbns."
N. B. This explains the origin of many anoaymous
pamphlets which appeared about this time in Germa-
ny, fhowing that Free Mafonry was Chriftianity.
They have doubrlefs been the works of Spartacus and
his
Il8 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. II.
his partifans among the Ecle<5lic Mafons.

Nicholai,
the great apotlle of infideUty, had given very favour-
able reviews otthefe performances, and having always
fhewn himfelf an advocate of fuch writers as depreci-
ated Chriltianity, was natural for him to take this
it
opportunity of bringing it ftill lower in the opinion of

the people. Sparcacus therefore conceived a high opi-
nion of the importance of gaining Nicholai to the Or-
der. He had before this gained Leuchtfenring, a hot-
headed fanatic, who had fpicd Jefuits in every corner,
and fct Nicholai on his journey through Germany, to
hunt them out. This man finding them equally hated
by the Illuminaci, was eafily gained, and was mofl
zealous in their caufe. He engaged Nicholai, and
.
Spartacus exults exceedingly in the acquifition, faying,

" that he was an unwearied champion, et quidem conten-
" tijimiis." Of this man Phiio fays, " that he had
*' fpread this Chriilianity into every corner of Ger-r
** many. I have put meaning," fays Philo, " to all
" thefe dark fymbols, and have prepared b0th de-
'' grets, introducing beautiful ceremonies, which I
" have feleifted from among thofe of the ancient com-
" munions, combined with thofe of the Rofaic Ma-
" fonry ; and now," fays he, " it will appear that we
• *' are the only true Chriftians. We fhall now
be in a
** condition to fay a few words to Priefts and Princes.
" I have fo contrived things, that* I would admit even
" Popes and Kings, after the trials which I have pre-
" fixed and they would be glad to be of the Order."
,
But how is all this to be reconciled with the plan of

Illumination, which is to banifh Chriltianity altoge-
ther? Philo hindelf in many places fays, " that it is
^'
only a cloak, to prevent fqueamifh people from
" darting back." This is done pretty much in the
fame way that was pradtifed in the French Mafonry.
In one of their Rituals the Mafter's degree is made
typical
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. II9
typical of the death of Jefus Chrift, the preacher of

Brotherly love. But, in the next tlep, the Chevalier
du Sokil, it is Reafon that has been dcllroyed and en-
tombed, and the Mafter in this degree, the Sublime
Philofophey occafions the difcovery of the place where
the body is hid Reafon rifes again, and fiipcrflition
-,
and tyranny difappear, and all becomes clear ; man be-

comes free and happy.
Let us hear Spartaciis again.
SpartacuSy in another flace.
cc
We
muft, \fi, gradually explain away all our pre-
"paratory pious frauds. And when perfons ofdifcern-
" ment find fault, we mull d<^fire them to conlidcr the
*^ end of all our labour. This fanftiiies our means,
'* which at any rate are harmlefs, and have been ufc-
tc
ful, even in this cafe, becauie they procured us a
patie^j^t hearing, when otherwife men would have
(C
cc
turned away from us like petted children. This
'* will convince them of our fenciments in all the in-
" tervening points ; and our ambiguous exprefTions

" will then be interpreted into an endeavour to draw
" anfwers of any kind, which may rtiow us the minds
c(
of our pupils, idy We
muft unfold, from hiftory
and other writings, the origin and fabrication of all
" religious lies whatever; and then, 3.7, We give a
" critical hiftory of the Order. But I cannot'-but
" laugh, when 1 think of the ready reception which
^' all
this has met with from the grave and learned di-
'^ vines of Germany and of England and I wonder ;
tc
how their William when
he aLceinpted to efta-
failed
(C
blifn a Deiftical Worftiip in London, (what can this
cc
mean ?) for, I am certain, that it muft have been
moft acceptable to that karncd and free people. But
" rhev
120 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. 1 1.
" they not the enlightening of our days."

IiaJ I may
here remark, tliat Weiihaiipt is prefuming too muqh

on the ignorance of his friend, for there was a great
deal of this enliofhtenin^ in England at the time he
fpeaks of, and if 1 am not miftaken, even this cele-
brated ProfcfTor of Irreligion has borrowed mod of his
fchenie from this kingdom. This to be fure is nothino;
in our praife. But the Pantheisticon of Toland
refembles Wcifliaupt's Illumination in every thing but
its rebellion and its villainy. Toland's Socratic Lodge
is nî elegant pattern for Weifliaupt, and his Triumph
of Reafon, his Philofophic Happinef-;, his God, or

Anhna MurJ.i., are all lo like the harfn fyflem of Spar-
tacus, that I am convinced that he has copied them,
Itamping them witli the roughnels of his own charac-
ter. Eur to go on \ Spartacus fays of the Englifli :
Their poet Pope made his Elaliy on Man a fyllem

of pure naturalifm, without knowing it, as Brother
cc
Chryfippus did with my Pricft's Degree, and was
C(
equally aftoniPned when this was pointed out to him.
Chrylippus is religious, but not fuptrftitious. Bro-
" ther Lucian (Nicolai, of whom I have already laid
" fo much) fays, that tlie grave Zolikofer now allows
that it would be a very proper thing to eftablifh a
Deiilical Worfliip at Berlin. I am nor afraid but
a.
things will go on very well. But Piiilo, who was
*'
enrrufced with framing the Pricft's Degree, has de-
ftroyed it without any necefilty j it would, forfooth,
frartle thofe who have a hankering for F.eligion. But

I always told you thatPhiiois fanatical and pruJiflT.
" I travc him fine materials, and he has (luned it full
of ceremonies and child's play, ard as Minos fays,
c' eft joner la reUgici:. But ail this may be corroclcd
in the revifion by the /Jreopagita."
>i. B. I have already mentioned Baron Knigge's
or.veiiion to llluminiitifm by the M. de Co iflanza,
whofc
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI, 121
whofe name in the Order was Dlomedes. Knigge

(henceforth Philo) was, next to Spartacus, the moft
ferviceable man in the Order, and procured the great-
eft number of members. It was chiefly by his exer-
tions among the Mafons in the Proteitant countries,

that the Eclectic Syjlem was introduced, and afterwards
brought under the diredion of the lUuminati. This
conqueft was owing entirely to his very extenfive con-
nections among the Mafons. He travelled like a phi-
lofopher from city to city, from Lodge to Lodge, and
even from houfe to houfe, before his Illumination, try-
ing to unite the Mafons, and he now went over the
fame ground to extend the Echoic Syftem^ and to get
the Lodges put under the direction of the liiuminati,
by their choice of the Mafter and Wardens. By this
the Order had an opportunity of noticing the conduct
of individuals ; and when they had found cue their
manner of thinking, and that they were fit for their
purpofe, they never quitted them till they had gained
them over to their party. We have feen, that he was
by no means void of religious imprefiions, and v/e of-
ten find him offended with the acheifm of Spartacus.
Knigge was at the fame time a man of the world, and
had kept good company. Wêifnanpt had paffed his
life in the habits of a college : therefore he knew
Knigge's value, and communicated to him all his pro-
jefts, to be dreffed up by him for the tafte of focietv.
Philo was of a much more affcftionate difpofition,
with fomething of a devotional turn, and was ihocked
at the hard indifference of Spartacus. After labour-
ing four years with great zeal, he was provoked with
the difingenuous tricks of Spartacus, and he broke off
all connexion with the Society in 1784, and fume time
after publiflied a declaration of all that he had done in

it. This is a moft excellent account of the plar>î
principles of the Order, (at leaft as he conceived i?,
(^ for
122 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. H.
for Spartacus had much deeper views,) and fliows that

the aim of it was to abolilh ChriiLianity, and all the
ItaLC-govcrnmencs in Europe, and to eftahlifli a great
repubiic. But it is full of romantic notions and enthu-
fuflic declamation, on the hackneyed topics of uni-
vcrfal citizenniip, and liberty and equality. Spartacus
gave him line, and allowed him to work on, knowing
that he could difcard him when he chofe. I fliall after
this give fome exrrads from Philo's letters, from which

the reader will fee the vile behaviour of Spartacus, and
the nature of his ultimate views. In the mean time
we may proceed with the account of the principles of
the fvftcm.
Spartacus to Cato.
" Nothing would be more profitable to us than a

*' right hiftory of mankind. Dcfpotifm has robbed
*' them of their liberty. How
can the weak obtain
"
"
*'
*'
DO
protection ? Only by union ; but this is rare. No-
thin"; can briny; this about but hidden focieties.
Hidden fciiools of wifdom are the means which will
one day free men from their bonds. Thefe have in
C(
all ages been the archives of nature, and of the
(C
rights of men ; and by them fhall human nature be
" raifed from her fallen ftate. Princes and nations
*' fliall vanifh from the earth. The human race will
*'
then become one family, and the world will be the
" dv/elling of rational men.
" Morality alone can do this. The Head of every
^'
family will be vj^hat Abraham was, the patriarch, the
*' prieil, and the unlettered lord of his family, and
" Reafon will be the code of lavv's to all mankind.
" I'his,'' fays Spartacus, " is our great secret.
""True, there may be fome difturbance , but by and
((
by
^
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. 12^

((
by the unequal become equal and after the
will ;
*^ftorm all will be calm. Can the unhappy confc-

" quences remain when the grounds of diilenfion are
" removed ? Roufe yourfelves therefore, O men af- !
" fert your rights, and then will Reafon rule with un-
" perceived fway and all shall be happy.*
;
Morality will perform all this

'^ and morality is
;
*' the fruit of Illumination duties and rights arc reci-

;
procal. V/here Oduvius has no right, Cato owes

him no duty. Illumination ilievvs us our rights, and
" Morality follows that Morality which teaches us
i
" to be of age., to be out of wardenfljif^ to ht full grown

^^ and to walk without the leading firings cfpriefis and
" princes.''
" Jefus of Nazareth, Grand Mader of our Or-
the
*' der, appeared at a time when the world was in the
<' utmoft diforder, and among a people who for acres
'^ had groaned under the yoke of bondage. Fie taught
«' them the leiTons of Reafon. To be more effcdive,
^' he took in the aid of Religion —
of opinions which
*' were current —and, in a very clever manner^ he com-
<^ bined his fecrct do6trines with the popular religion,
*' and with the cuftoms Vv/hich lay to his hand. In

<' thefe he wrapped up his leflbns —
he taught by para-
«' bles. Never did any prophet lead men fo eafiiyand
<' fo fecurely along the road of liberty. He concealed
*' the precious meaning and confequences ot his doc-
<« trines j but fully difclofed them t® a chofen few. He
" fpeaks of a kingdom of the upriglit and faithful j his
'' Father's kingdom, whofe children we alio are. Let
" us only take Liberty and Equality as the great aim
" of
* Happy France Cradle of Iliumination, where the morning

!
of Reafon has dawned, difpelling the clouds of Monarchy and^

Chrlftianity, where the babe has fuc'êd the blood of the unenlight-
ened, and Murder !Fire Help has been the lulUby to fing it to
i !
flee p.
" of his do(5lrines, and Morality as the way to attain it,

" and everv thing in the New Teftament will be com-
*' prehennble and Jefus will appear as the Redeemer
;
" of (laves. Man is fallen from the condition of Li-

^' berty and Equality, the state of pure nature.
" He is under fubordination and civil bondage, arifing
" from the vices of man. This is the fall, and
" ORIGINAL SIN. The KINGDOM OF GRACE IS that
*'
which may be brought about by Illumi-
reftoration
nation and a juft: Morality. This is the new birth.
cc
When man lives under government, he is fallen, his
" worth is gone, and his nature tarnillied. By fubdu-
" ing our paffions, or limiting their cravings, we may
*'
recover a ereat deal of our original worth, and live
" in a ftate of grace. This is the redemption of men
(C
—this is accompliflied by Morality j and when this
is fpread over the world, we have the kingdom
(C
((
CF THE JUST.
*' But, alas! the tafk of fclf-formation was too hard
for the fubjeccsof the Roman empire, corrupted by
((
every fpecies of profligacy. A chofen few received
<c
the do6trines in fecret, and they have been handed
down to us (but frequently almoft buried under rub-
cc
bifli of man's invention) by the Free Mafons. Thefe
(C
tliree conditions of human fociety are exprelTed by
cc
the rough, the fplit, and the polifhed ftone. The
cc
rougji ftone, and the one that is fplit, exprefs our
<c
condition under civil government ; rough by every
cc
fretting inequality of condition j and fplit, fince we
cc
are no longer one family -,and are farther divided
cc
by differences of government, rank property, and
cc
religion ; but when reunited in one family, we are
cc
repiefcnted by the polifhed flone. G. is Grace -,
[^ the Flaming Star is the Torch of Rcafon. Thofe

'' who poffefs this knowledge are indeed illuminati.
" Hiram is our fiditious Grand Matter, flain for the
" REDEMP-
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. I25
*' REDEMPTION OF SLAVES J the Nine Mafcers are

** the Founders of the Order. Free Mafonry is a
" Royal Art, inafmuch as it teaches us to walk vvith-
" out trammels, and to govern ouriclves."
Reader, are you not curious to learn Ibmethingof
this all-powerful morality, fo operative on the heart of
the truly illuminated —
of this dtjciplina arcani^^^xxu^tdi
only to the chofen few, and handed down to ProfefTor
Weifhaupt, toSpartacus, and his affociates, who have
cleared it of the rubbiili heaped on it by the dim-fight-
ed Mafons, and now beaming; in its native luftre on
the minds of the Areo'pagita ? The teachers of ordinary
Chriftianity have been labouring for almoll 2000 years,
with the New Teflament in their hands many of ;
them with great addrefs, and many, I believe, with

honeft zeal. But alas they cannot produce fuch won-
!
derful and certain effefts, (for obfcrve, that Weifiiaupt

repeatedly aluires us that his means are certain,) pro-
bably for want odhh difciplina arcaniy of whole efficacy
fo much is faid. Moft fortunately, Spartacus has
given us a brilliant fpecimen of the ethics which illu-
minated himfelf on a trying occafion, where an ordi-
nary Chriilian would have been much perplexed, or
would have taken a road widely diiTerent from that of
this illuftrious apoftle of light. And feeing that feverai
of the Arecpagitae CO- o^trzitd in the tranfatftion, and
that it was carefully concealed from the profane and
dim-fighted world, we can have no doubt but that it
was condu6led according to tht difdplina arcani of Il-
lumination. I ihall give it in his own words.
Spartacus to ?/idrius, September 1783.
" am now in
I the m.ofl: embarrafnng fituation ; it
*' robs mc of all red, and makes mc unlic for every
" tiling.
— —
" tiling. I am danger of lofing at once my honour

in
" and my reputation, by which I have long had fuch
•'
inMiience. What
think you r —
my fiftrr-in-law is
" with child. 1 have fcnt her to Euriphon, and am
** endeavouring to procure a marriage-licence from
*' Rome. How
much depends on this uncertainty
**
and there is not a moment to iofe. Should I fail,
''
what is to be done ? What a return do I make by
**
this to a perfon to whom I am fo much obliged 1"
(We IhalHce the probable meaning of this exclama-
tion by and by). " W'e have tried every method in
" our power to deftroy the child and I hope fhe is
;
" determined on every thing even d ." (Can this — —

mean death r) " But alas Euriphon is, 1 fear, too ti-
!
'*
mid," (alas poor woman, thou art now under
!
the difciflina arcaniy) *' and I fee no other expedient.

" Could I be but allured of the filcnce of Celfus, (a
*' phyfician at Irgolftadt,) he can relieve me, and
he
*'
-promijed me as much three years ago. Do fpeak to
**
him, if you think he v/ill be ft.iunch. I would not let
*' Ciito" (his dearell: friend, and his chief or only con-
fident in the fcheme of Illumination) " know it yet,
" becaufe the affair in otherrefpedls requires his whole
" friendfliip." (Cato had all the pretty receipts.)
<* Could you but help me out of this diflrefs, you
would give me life, honour, and peace, and jirength
(C
to zvGrk again in the great cauje. If you cannot, be
" alluredventure on the moft defperate llroke,"
I will
(poor filler !) " fur it is fixed. —

I will not lofc my ho-
*' nonr. I cannot conceive what devilhas made me g-o

** aft ray me who have always teen fo careful en fuch cc-
" cafions. As yet all is quiet, and none know of it but
*f you and Euriphon. Were it but time to undertake
" any thing but alas — ! it is the fourth month. Thofe
** damned priefts too — for the action is fo criminally
'* accounted bv them, and fcandalifcs the blood. This
** makes
—
CHAP. II, THE ILLUMINATI. 1 1'/
" makes the iitmoft efforts and the mod defperate

*' mtafures abfolutcly neceflary."
It will throw rome light on this tranfadion if we read
a k-rter from Spartacus to Cato about this time.

One thing more, my deareft friend Would it be
*^'
—
<* agreeable to you to have me for a brother-in-law ?
*« If this fhould be agreeable, and if it can be brought

'« about without prejudice to my honour, as I hope it
*' may, I am not without hopes that the connexion
" may take place. But in the mean time keep it a
*» fecret, and only give me permiffion to enter into
'^ correfpondence on the fubjcd: with the good lady,
** to whom I beg you will oficr my

compli-
refpeftful
" ments, and I v/ill explain myfelf more fully to you
" by word of mouth, and tell you my whole fituation,
'' But 1 repeat it —
the thing muft be gone about with
" addrefs and caution. I would not for all the v/orki
" deceive a perfon who certainly has not deferved fo
" of me."
What interpretation can be put on this ? Cato feems
to be brother to the poor woman —
he was unwittingly
to furnifli the drugs, and he was to be dealt with about
confcnting to a marriage, which could not be altoge-
ther agreeable to him, fince it required a difpenfition,
jfhe being already the fider-in-law of Weifhaupt, either
the filler of his former wife, or the widow of a deceaied

brother. Or
perhaps Spartacus really wifhes to marry
Cato's filler, a different perfon from the poor woman
in the ftraw and he conceals this adventure from his
;
trufty friend Cato, till he fees what becomes of it.

The child may perhaps be got rid of, and then Spar-
tacus is a free man. There is a letter to Cato, thank-
ing him for his friendfl:iip in the affair of the child
but it gives no light. I meet with another account,
that the filler of Zwack threw herfclf from the top of

a tower, and beat our her brains. But it is not faid
that
that was an only fifteri if it was, the probability is,

it
that Spartacus had paid his addrelTfs to her, and fuc-

ceedcd, and that the fubfequent affair of his marriage
with his filler-in-law, or fomething worfe, broke her
heart. This feems the belt account of the matter.
For Hertel (Marius) writes to Zwack in November
1782 " Spartacus is this day gone home, but has left
:
" his fifter-in-law pregnant behind (this is from BafTus

" Hoff). About the new year he hopes to be made
" merry by a who will be before all kings and
,
princes — a young Spartacus. The Pope alfo will

refpecft him, and legitimate him befjre the time."
Now, vulgar Chrillian, compaie this with the for-
mer declaration of Weifliaupt, where he appeals
to the tenor of his former life, which had been
fo feverely fcrutinifcd, without diminifhing his high
reputation and great influence, and his ignorance and
abhorrence of all thofe things found in Caro's repofito-
ries.
— —
You fee this was a furprife he had formerly
proceeded cautioufly " He is the bed man," fays
Spartacus, " who beft conceals his faults." — He was
difappointed by Celfus, zvho had p'omifed him his ajfij-
tance on Juch occofwns three years ago, during all which
time he had been bufy in •' forming himfclf." How
far he has advanced, the reader may judge.
One is curious to know what became of the poor
woman fhe was afterwards taken to the houfe of Ba-
:
ron Balfus but here the fooli(h woman, for want of

;
that courage which Illumination and the bright prof-

pe6t of eternal fieep Hiould have produced, took fright
at the dijciplini arcnniy left the houfe, and in the hidden
fociety of a midwife and nurfe brought forth a young
Spartacus, who now lives to thank his father for his
endeavours to murder him. A " damned priejl^" the
good Bifliop of Freyfingen, knowing the cogent rea-
fons, procured the dii])enfation, and Spartacus was
obliged,
THE ILLUMINATI. ^^9
CHAP. ir.
mortal to marry
obli-ed, like another dim fighted
and would not have
her'' The fcandal was hufhed,
for thefe private wri-
been dilcovered had it not been
^^"
But Spartacus fays " that when you think
« him funk to the up with
bottom, he will fpring
" double vigour." In a fubfequent work, call-
fays, " If men were
ed Sbori AnendmerJ of my Plan, he
" not habituated to wicked manners, his letters would
''
be their own juftification." He does not fay that
he is without fault
" but they are faults of the under-
;
<c ftandinp-~-not of the heart. He had, firftofall, to

*«
form h'm-ifelf; and this is a work of time." In the
affair of his fifter-in-law
he admits the fads, and the
attempts to deftroy the child; " but this is far from
<« provincT any depravity of heart. In his condition,
*'
his honour at (lake, what elfe was left him to do ?
" His greaceft enemies, the Jefuits, have taught that

*'
in fuch a cafe it is lawful
to make away with the
<^
child," and he quotes authorities from their
books.*
''
In the introduftory fault he has the example of the
" beft of men. The fecond was its natural confe-
*'
quence, it was altogether involuntary, and, in the
" eve of a philofophical judge" (I prefumeofthe Gal-
lic School)
" vvho does not fquare himfelf by the harfli
<' of ^ blcod-thirfiy lawgiver^ he has but a very
letters
«* triflincr account to fettle. He had become a public
*^
teacher, and was greatly followed this example ;
" mght have ruined many young 7nen. The eyes of the
^^
Order alfo were fixed on him. The edifice refVed
**
on his credit ; had he fallen, he could no longer have
R " been
* This is flatly pamphlet by F. Stnttlcr, a Ca-

contradiiEled in a
tholic clero-ym.-in of moil refpedlable charader, who here CKpoie:i,
in the mo(f incontrovertible
manner, the impious plots of VVeifnaupt,
his total difregajd to truth, his counterfeit anti;]ues, and all his
lies aorainil the Jefuits.

13© THE ILLUMINATl. CHAP. II.
leen in a condition to treat the matters of virtue Jo as tii

make a lajiing imprejjicn. It was chiefly his anxiety
it
to fupport the credit of the Order which determined
*' him to take this ilep. It makes/t/r him, but by no
*' means c.gainfi him and the pcrlons who arc moft
;
*' in fault are the flavilli inquificors, who have pub-

*'
lifijed the tranfaftion, in order to make his charac-
*^ ter more remarkable, and to hurt the Order throu<?h
his perfon ;and they have not fcrupled, for this hel-
cc !"
lifli purpofe, to (lir up a chiki againil his father ! !
I make no refleftions on this very remarkable, and

highly ufeful ftory, but content myfelf with faying,
that this juftification by WclIlTaupt (whicli I have been
careful to give in his own words) is the greatcfl: inftance
of effrontery and infult on the fentirnenrs of miankind
that I have ever met with. We are all fuppofcd as
completely corrupted as it we had lived under the full,
blaze of Illumination.
In other places of this curious correfpondence we
learn that Minos, and others of the ylreopagitcc^ wanted
to introduce Atheifm at once., and not go hedging in
the manner they did; aftirming it was eaficr to Ihew
at once that Atheifm was friendly to fociety, than to
explain all their Mafonic Chriftianity, which they were
afterwards to fhew to be a bundle of lies. Indeed this
purpofe, of not only abolifhing Chriftianity, but all
pofitive religion whatever, was Weifliaupt's favourite
fcheme from the beginning. Before he canvaiied for
his Order, in 1774, he publilhed a ftclitious antique,
which he called Sidonii Afdlinarus Fragmeyita^ to pre-
pare (as he exprefsly fays in another place) mens minds
for the dodrines of Realbn, which contains all the de-
teftable doctrines of Robinet's book Idela Nature. The
publication of the fccond part was flopped. Weifhaupt
fays in his Apology for the Illuminati, that be-
fore 1780 he hati retracted his opinions about Materi-
al ifm.
CHAP. il. THE ILLUMINMTI. IJI
alifm, and about the inexpediency of Princes. But

this 1.S falie :Philo fays expreisiy, that every thing re-
mained on its original footing in the whole pradice
and dogmas of the Order when he quitted it in July
1784. All this was concealed, and even the abomi-
nable Mafonry, in the account of the Order which
Weiihaiipt published at Rcgenfburg and it required
;
the conftant efforts of Philo to prevent bare or flac

Atheifm from being uniformly taught in their degrees.
He had told the council that Zeno would not be under
a roof with a man who denied the im-mortality of the
foul. He complains of Minus's cramming irreligion
down their throats in every meeting, and fays, that he
frightened many from entering the Order. " Truth,"
fays Philo, " is a clever, but a modeft girl, who mufl:
" be led by the hand like a gentlewoman, but not
" kicked about like a whore." Spartacus complains
much of the fqueamifhnefs of Philo i yet Philo is not
a great deal behind him in irreligion. When defcrib-
ing to Cato the Chriftianity of the Prieft-degree, as
he had manufa61:ured it, he fays, " It is all one whe-
" ther it be true or falfe, we mufc have it, that we
" may tickle thofe who have a hankering for religion."
All the odds feems to be, that he was of a gentler dif-
pofition, and had more deference even for the abfurd
prejudices of others. In one of his angry letters to
Cato he fays '•
: The vanity and felf- conceit of Spar-
'"
tacus would have got the better of all prudence, had
I not checked him, and prevailed on 'the Arecpagitce
but to defer the developement of the bold principles

til! we had firmly fccured the man. I even wiihed
cc
to entice the candidate the more by giving him back
all his former bonds of fecrecy, and leaving him at
cc
liberty to walk out v-zithout fear j and I am certain
'^ that they were, by this time, fo engaged that we
" fliould not have loll one man. But Spartacus had
" compofed an exhibition of his lalt principles, for a
" difcaurfe
•
difcourfe of reception, in which he painted his three

favourite myfterious degrees, which were to be con-
ferred by hira alone, in colours which had fafcina-
ted his own fancy. But they were the colours of
hell, and would have feared the mod intrepid and -,
** becaufc I reprefented the danger of this, and by

'* force obtained the omiHion of this pidure, he be-
'* came
my implacable enemy. I abhor treachery
" and profligacy, and leave him to blow himfelf and
'*
his Order into the air."
Accordingly this happened. It was this which ter-
rified one of the four profeflbrs, and made him impart

his doubts to the reft. Yet Spartacus feems to have
profited by the apprehenfions of Philoj for in the laft
reception, he, for the firft time, exafts a bond from
the intrant, engaging himfelf for ever to the Order,
and fvvearing that he will never draw back. Thus ad-
mitted, he becomes a fure card. The courfe of his
life is in the hands of the Order, and his thoughts on
a thoufand dangerous points ; his reports concerning

his neighbours and friends ; in fhort, his honour and
his neck. The Deift, thus led on, has not far to go
before he becomes a Naturalift or Athcift and then
;
the eternal fleep of death crowns all his humble hopes.

Before giving an account of the higher degrees, I
fhall juft extraft from one letter more on a fingular
fubjeift.
Minos to Sehajiian, 1782.
" The propofal of Hercules to eftablifh a Minerval

" fchool for girls is excellent, but requires much cir-
f' cumfpedion. Philo and I have long converfed on
" this fubjeft. We cannot improve the world with-
" out improving women, who have fuch a mighty in-
^' Buence on the men. But ho>y fhall we get hold of
'*
them ?
—
CHAP. U. THE ILLUMIN'ATI. 1^2
" them Flow will their relations, particularly their

?
*' mothers, immerred in prejudices, conlcnc that ochers
*' Ihall influence their education ? We
muft begin with
" grown girls. Hercules propolcs the wife ot Ptole-
" my Magus. I have no objection ; and I have four
" ftep-daughters, fine girls. The okleft in particular
" is excellent. She is twenty-four, has read much, is
^' above all prejudices, and in religion fhe thinks as I do.
" They have much acquaintance among the young la-

" dies their relations. (N. B, We
don't know the rank
*' of Minos, but as he does not ufe the word Damen,
" but Frauenzlmmery it is probable that it is not high.)
" It may immediately be a very pretty Society, under
the management of Ptolemy's wife, but really un-
der ^/'j management. You muft cjntrive pretty de-
grees, and dreffes, and ornaments, and elegant and
" decent rituals. No man muil be admitted. This
will make them become miore keen, and they will
go much farther than if we were prefent, or than if
they thought that we knew of their proceedings.
<c
Leave them to the fcope of their own fancies, and
they will foon invent myfteries which will put us to
*' the blufh, and create an enthufiafm which we can
*^ never equal. They will be our great apoflles. Re-
** fled; on the refped, nay the awe and terror infpired
" by the female myftics of antiquity. (Think of the
** Daniads think of the Thcban Bacchantes.') Ptole-
** my's wife mull direct them, and ilie will
be inftrutl-
** ed by Ptomlemy, and my Hep- daughters
will con-
*' fult with me. We
mull always be at hand to pre-
** vent the introdu6lion of any improper
queflion. We
*^ muft prepare themes for their dilcufTion
** fhall confefs them, and infpire them
—
thus we
with our fenti-
*^ ments. No man however muli come near them.
*' This will fire their roving fancies, and we maycx-
^' pc(5b rare myfterie^, But 1 am doubtful whether
''
this
134 "^"^ ILLUMir/iATI. GHAP. 11.
thisAiTociation will be durable. Women are fickle

and impatient. Noc'iing will pleafe them but hur-
rying from degree to degree, through a heap of in-
figniticanc ceremonies, which will foon lofe tlieir
novelty and influence. To reft ferioufly in one
rank, and to be fbill and filent when they have found
out that the whole is a cheat, (hear the v/ords of an
experienced Mafon,) is a talk of which they are in-
capable. They have not our motives to perfevere
for years, allowing themfelves to be led about, and
even then to hold their tongues when they find that
they have been deceived. Nay there is a riik that
they may take it into their heads to give things an
oppofite turn, and then, by voluptuous allurements,
heightened by affected modefty and decency, which
give them an irrefiltible empire over the beft men,
they may turn our Order upfide down, and in their
turn will lead the new one."
Such is the information which may be got from the
private correfpondence. It is needlefs to make more
extrafts of every kind of vice and trick. I have taken

fuch as fhew a little of the plan of the Order, as far
as the degree of Illumhuitus Minor y and the vile pur-
pofes which are concealed under all their fpecious de-
clamation. A
very minute account is given of the
plan, the ritual, ceremonies, &c. and even thr.'inftruc-
tions and diftourfcs, in a book called the ylchte Illu-
miiiatj publiflied at Edejfa (Frankfurt) Philo
in 1787.
fays, " that this is quite accurate, but that he does
" not know the author." I proceed to give an ac-
count of their higher degrees, as they are to be fcen
in the book called Iseuefie Arbeitung des Spartacus und
F/jila. And the authenticity of the accounts is atceft-
cd by Grollm.an, a private gentleman of independent
fortune, who read them, figned and iealed by Sparta-
cus and the Arecfagitie,
The
The fcries of ranks and progrcfs of the pupil were

arranged as follows:
Preparation,
.-, , Novice,
Nursery, < p./r-
Minerv:il,,
'I
Illumin. Minor.
fSym- C Apprentice,
I
ôlic < Fellow Crafr,
Masonry,^ C.-^
= Mafter,
p , ^ Ilium. Majors Scotch Novice
[ \ Ilium, dirigensy ScotchKnio-ht,
' Greater ^ ^
I
The reader mud
be almoft fick of fo much viilanv,
and would be difguftcd with the minute detail, in which
the cant of the Order is ringing continually in his ear?.
I (liall therefore only give fuch a fhort extract as may
fix our notions of the objeft of the Order, and the mo-
rality of the mieans employed for attaining it. We
need not go back to the lower degrees, and Ihali begin
with the Illumin ATUS dirigens, or Scotch
Knight.
After a fhort introduftion, teaching us how the holy
fecret Chapter of Scotch Knights is aiie moled, we have,
I. Fuller accounts and inftru<5lions relating to the whole.
II. Infrrudlions for the lower clafTes of Mafc^nry. HI.

Inftruftions relatingr to Maibn Lodo:es in o-enerai. IV*.
Account of a reception into this degree, wiih the bend
which each fubfcribes before he can be admitted. V.
Concerninp- the Solemn Chapter for receotion. VI.
Opening of the Chapter, VII. Ritual of Reception,
and the Oath. VIII. Shutting of the Chaprer.' IX.
1^6 TIJL ILLUMINATI. CHAP. l/.
AgapCy or Love-Feaft. X. Ceremonies ofthe confe-

cration of the Chap^tr. Appendix A, Explanation -of
the Symbols of Free Mafonry. B, Catechifm for the
Scoccii Knight. C, Secret Cypher.
In N"^* 1. it is laid that the " chief fbudy of the
" Scotch Knight is to work on all men in fuch a way
" as is moil infmuating. II. He mull endeavour to
acquire the polTcITion of confiderable property. III.
((
In Mafon Lodges we muft try fccretly to get the
all
cc
upper hand. The Mafons do not know what Free-
a Mafonry is, high obje6ls, nor their highell
their
cc
Superiors, and fhould be directed by thofe who will
" lead thetn along the right road. In preparing a can-
" didate for the degree of Scotch Knighthood, we
" miifi bring him into dilemmas by enfnaring queltions.
—We muil endeavour to get the difpofal of the mo-
ney of the Lodges of the Free Mafons, or at lead
(C
take care that it be applied to purpofes favourable
(C
to our Order —
but this muft be done in away that
** fl"!a]l not be remarked. Above all, we mull pufh
" forward with all our fkill, the plan ofEclefcic Ma-
*' fonry, and for this purpofe follow up the circular
" letter already fent to all the Lodges v;ith every
" thing- that can increafc their prefentembarrairment."
In the bond of N'"* IV. the candidate binds himfelf to
" confider and treat the Illuminati as the Superiors of
'^ Free Mafonry, and endeavour in all the rvlafon
'^ Lodgc-s which
he frequents, to have the Mafonry of
" the lllulninated, and particularly the Scotch Novi-
" tiatt, introduced into the Lodge." (This is not
very different from the Mafonry of the Chevalier dc
VAi'^le of the Rofaic Mafonry, makins; the Mailer's
degree a fort of commemoration of the paffuon, but
without giving that character to Chriilianity which is
peculiar co Lluminatifm.) Jefus Chrill is reprefcnted
as the enemy of fup-rftitious obfervances, and the af-
icrtor
eHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. IJ.7
fertor of the Empire of Reafon and of Brotherly love,

and death and memory as dear to mankind.
his This
evidently paves the way for Wcifhaupt's Chriftianicy.
The Scotch Knight alfo engages '^ to confldcr the
*^ Superiors of the Order as the unknown Superiors
of
" Free Mafonry, and to contribute all he can to their
" gradual union." In the Oath, N" VII. the candi-
date fays, " I will never more be a flatterer of the great,
I will never be a lowly fcrvant of princes ; but I wWl
ftrive with fpirit, and with addrcfs, for virtue, wif-
dom, and liberty. I will powerfully oppofe fuper-
*' ftition, llander, and de fpotifm fo that, like a true -,
" fon of the Order, I may ferve the world. 1 will

" never facrificc the general good, and the happinefs
** of the world, to my private intereft. I will boldly
CC
defend my brother againft flander, will follow oufi
cc
the traces of the pure and true Religion pointed out
tc
to me in my inftrudions, and in the dodlrines of
cc
Mafonry j and will faithfully report to my Su-
({
periors the progrefs I make therein."
When he gets the ftroke which dubs him a Knight,
the Prefcs fays to him, prove thyfclf, by thy
'' Now
" ability, equal to Kings, and never from this time
" forward bow thy knee to one who is, like thyfelf but
" a man."
N° IX. is an account of the Love-Feafl.
ijt. There is a Table Lodge, opened as ufual, but
in virtueof the ancient Mailer- word. Then it is faid,
''
Let moderation, fortitude, morality, and genuine
" love of the Brethren, with the overflowing of inno-
" cent and carelefs mirth reign here." (This is almofb
verbatim from Toland.)
2d, In the middle of a bye-table is a chalice, a pot
of wine, an empty plate, and a plate of unleavened
—
bread All is covered with a green cloth. »
3 3d} When
—
IjS THE ILLUMFN'ATI. GHAP. tt.
3^, When the Table Lodije

ended, and the Pre-
is
fcdc fees no obftacle, I;e ftrik^s on this bye-cable the

flroke of Scotch Mailer, and his fignal is repeated by
the Senior Warden. All are dill and filent. The
Prefect lifts off the cloth.
4//.% The Prefe6l alks, whether the Knights are in
the difpofition to partake of the Love-Fealt in earnefl:,
peace, and contentment. If none hefitates or offers to
retire, he takes the plate with the bread and fays,
" of N. our Grand-Mailer, in the night in which
J.
he was betrayed by his friends, perfecuted for his
love for truth, imprifoned, and condemned to die,
aiTembled his trufty Brethren, to celebrate his lall"
—
Love-Feall which is fignified to us in many ways.
He took bread (taking it) and broke it (breaking
it) and bleffed it, and gave it to his difciples, &:c,
— This fliall be the mark of our Holy Union, &c.

Let each of you examine his heart, whether love
reigns in it, and whether he, in full imitation of our
Grand-M after, is ready to lay down his life for his
Brethren.-
" Thanks be our Grand-Mailer, who has ap-
to
pointed this feaft as a memorial of his kindnefs, for
the uniting of the hearts of thofe who love him.
Go in peace, and bleffed be this new Affociation
—
which we have formed. Bleffed be ye who remain
loyal and ftrive for the, good caufc."
^fhy The Prefe6t immediatelfdoles the Chapter
with the ufual ceremonies of the Lege de Table.
Gthy It is to be obferved, that no priell of the Order
mull be prefent at this Love-Feall, and that even the
Brother Servitor quits the Lodge.
I mull obferve here, that Philo, the manufadlurer
of this ritual, has done it very injudicioufly it has no
;
r^cmblance whatever to the Love-Feaft of the primi-

tive Chrillians, and is merely a copy of a fimilar thing
in
in one of the ftcps of French Mafonry. Philo's read-

ing in church-hiftory was probably very fcanty, or he
trufted that the candidates would not be very nice in
their examination of it, and he imagined that it would
do well enough, and " tickle fuch as had a religious
" hankering." Spartacus diiliked it exceedingly- it —
did not accord with his ferious conceptions, and he
juftly calls it Joiier la Religion.
The difcourfe of reception is to be f.ûnd alfo in the
fecret correfpondence ( NachtragW. Ahtheiiung, p. 44.).
But it is needlefs to infert it here. I have given the
fubllance of this and of all the Cofmo-political decla-

madons already in the panegeric introduction to the
account of the procefs of education. And in Sparta-
Gus's letter, and in Philo's, I have given an abflrad of
the introduction to the explanation given in this degree
of the fymbols of Free Mafonry. Vv'ith refpecSt to the
explanation itfelf, it is as flovenly and wretched as can
be imagined, and fhews that Spartacus trufted to much
more operative principles in the human heart for the
reception of his nonfenfe than the diftates of unbiafTed
reafon. None but promifing fubjefts were admitted
thus far-'— fuch as would not boggle ; and their princi-
ples were already fufficiently apparent to afilire him
that they would be contented with any thing that made
game of religion, and would be diverted by the feri-
oufnefs which a chance devotee might exhibit during
thefe filly caricatures of Chriftianity and Free Mafonry.
But there is confiderable addrefs in the way that Spar-
tacus prepares his pupils for having all this mummery
fhewn in its true colours, and oveiturned,
" Examine, read, think on thtfe fymbols, Therf
'^ are many things which one cannot find out without
*'
a guide, nor even learn without inftruftion. They
" require ftudy and zeal. Should you in any future
^-
period think that you h4ve conceived a clearer no-
'' tion
140 THE ILLUMINATI. OHAP. II,
" tion of theni) that you have found a paved road,

" declare your difcoveries to your Superiors; it js
" thus that you improve your mind; they expe6t this
'^ of you
; they know the true path —
but will not point
—
" it out enough if they adift you in every approach
*' to it, and warn you
when you recede from it. They
CI
have, even put things in your v/ay to try your powers
f{
of leading yourfelf through the difficult track ofdif-
((
rovery. In this proccfs the weak head finds only
tc —
child's play -the initiated finds objects of thought
ic
which language cannot exprefs, and the thinking
t(
mind finds food for his faculties." By fuch fore-
warnings as thefe Weifhaupt leaves room for any de-
viation, for any fentiment or opinion of the individual
that he may afterwards choofe to encourage, and " to
" whifper in their ear (as he exprefies it) many things
*'^
which he did not find it prudent to infcrt in aprint-
" ed compend."
But all the principles and aim of Spartacus and of
his Order are mod diftindlly feen in the third or Myf-
fery Clafs, I proceed therefore to give fome account
of it. By the Table it appears to have two degrees,
the LeiTer and the Greater Myileries, each of which
have two departments, one relating chiefly to Religion
and the other to Politics.
The Pricft's degree contains, i. an Introdu6lion.
.2. Further Accounts of the Reception into this degree.
3. What is called Inftruction in the Third Chamber,
which the candidate mull read over. 4. The Ritual
of Reception. 5. Inlhuilion for the Firft Degree of
the Prieil's Clafs, called Irijiniolio in Scientijkis, 6.
Account of the Confecration of a Dean, the Superior
of this Lower Order of Pricits.
The Regent degree contains, i. Direcflions to the
Provincial concerning the difpenfation of this degree.
2. Ritual of Reception. 3. Syllem of Diredion for
the
CHAP. It. THE ILLUMiNAtt. l4i
the whole Order. 4. Inftrudlion for the whole Regent

degree. 5. Inftru6tion for the Prefefts or Local Su-
periors. 6. Inftruftion for the Provincials.
The moft remarkable thing in the Prieft's degree
is the I[i{tru6lion in the Third Chamber. It is to be
found in the private correfpondence (Nachtrage Origi-
nal Schriften 1787, 2d. Abtbeilungy page 44.). There
it has the title Difcourfe to the Illuminati DirigenteSy or
Scotch Knights. In the critical hiftory, which is an-

nexed to the Neuejie Arbeitungy there is an account
given of the reafon for this denomination; and notice
is taken of fome differences betviT-een the inftrudlions
here contained and that difcourfe.

This inrtruclion begins with fore complaints of the
low condition of the human race; and the caufes are
deduced from religion and Rate-government. ** Men
*' originally led a patriarchal life, in which every fa-
" ther of a family was the lole lord of his houfe and
his property, while he himfclf polTefTed general free-
dom and equality. But they fuffered themfelves to
'^
be opprefied —
gave themfelves up to civil focieties,
and formed ftaccs. Even by this they fell; and this
*' is the fall of manj by which they were thruft into
*' unfpeakable mifery. To get out of this Hate, to
" be freed and born again, there is no other mean
** than the ufe of pure Reafon, by which a general
" morality may be eftablifhed, which will put man in
*' a condition to govern himfelf, regain his original
" worth, and difpenfe with all political fupports, and
'' and particularly with rulers. This can be done in
" no other way but by fecret affociations, which will
" by degrees, and in Iilence, polfcfb themfelves of the
'' government of the States, and make ufe of thofe
*' means for this pmpofe whichwicked ufe for at-
the
^' attaining their b.-ife ends. Princes and Priefts are
*' in particular, and hit' exochen the wicked, whofc
** hands
J42 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. II.
»
*' hands we up by means of thefc aflbciations,

;iiiift tie
" if we cannot root them out altogether.
" Kings are parents. The paternal power ceales
'^ with the incapacity of the child ; and the father in-
•* jures his child, if he pretends to retain his right be-
(C
yond this period. When a nation comes of age,
(C
their ftate of wardfhip is at an end."
Here follows a long declamation againft patriotifm,
as a narrow-minded principle when compared with
true Cofmo-polirifm. Nobles are reprefented as " a
(C
race of men that ferve not the nation but the Prince,
a whom a hint from the Sovereign up againfl the
ftirs
*' nation, who are retained fervants and miniflers of
(C
defpotifm, and the mean for opprelTing national li-
berty. Kings are accufed of a tacit convention,
cc
under the flattering appellation of the balance of
'' power, to keep nations in fubjedlion.
'^ The means to regain Reafon her rights —
to raife
** liberty from its afhes —
to reftore to man his original
iC
rights — to produce the previous revolution in the
cc
—
mind of man to obtain an eternal victory over op-
cc
prefTors — and to work the redemption of mankind,
cc
are fecret fchools of wifdom. When the worthy
cc
have flrengthcned their aflbciation by numbers, they
cc
are fecure, and then they begin to become power-
ful, and terrible to the wicked, of whom many will,
cc
cc
for hftzy, —
amend themielves many will come over
cc
to our party, and we fiâll bind the hnnds of the reft,
(C
and conquer them.
finally Whoever fpreads gene-
C(
ral Illumination, augments mutual fecurityj Illu-
<c
mination and fecurity make princes unnecefTaryj
(C
Illumination performs this by creating an cffeftive
cc
Morality, and Morality makes a nation of full age
cc
fit to govern itfelfj and fince it is not impofTibJe to
C(
produce a juft Morality, it is pofllble to regain free^
cc
dom for thp world."
« Wc
CHAT. II. THE ILLUMINATI. I43
" We muft therefore ftrengthen our band, and efta-

*' blifh a legion, which Ihall reflore the rights of man,
*^ original liberty and independence.
Jefus Chrift"— but I am fick of all this.
«' The fol-
lowing queftions are put to the candidate :
1. "Are our civil conditions in the world the defti-

** nations that feem to be the end of our nature, or th€
purpofcs for which man was placed on this earth,

(C
or are they not ? Do ftates, civil obligations, popu-
lar religion, fulfil the intentions of men who eftablifh-
" ed them ? Do fecret affociations promote inftruc-
tion and true human happinefs, or are they the
cc
children of ncceflity, of the multifarious wants, of
" unnatural conditions, or the inventions of vain and
" cunning men ?"
2. " What civil what fcience do you
aflbciation,
((
think to the purpofe, and what are not ?"
3. "^ Has there ever been any other in the world, is
(C
there no other more fimple condition, and what do
you think of it r"
4. " Does it appear polTible, after having gone
** through all the nonentities of cur civil
conftitutions,
*' to recover for once our firft fimplicity, and get
*' back to this honourable uniformity ?"
5. *' How can one begin this noble attempt; by

*' means of open fupport, by forcible revolution,
or
" by what other way ?"
6. " Does Chriftianity give us any hint to this pur-
" pofe ? Does
notrecognife fuch a blefied condition
it
" as once the lot of man, and as ftill recoverable ?"

7. '* But is this holy religion the religion that is
" now profefied by any fed on earth, or is it a bet-
*^ ter?"
8. " Can we learn thij^tligion —

can the world, as
*^ it is, bear the light ? Do you think
that it would be
*< of fervice, before numerous
obftaclcs are removed,
" if
144 THE fLLuMlNATI* GHAP, |I,
cc
if we taught men fublime phi-
this purified religion,
(C
lofophy, and the art of governing themfelvcs ? Or*
<c
would not this hurt, by roufing the interefted pafli-
tl
ons of men habituated to prejudices, who would op-
<c
pofe this as wicked ?"
y. " May it not be more advifable to do away the{e
" corruptions by little and little, in filence, and for
" this purpofe to propagate thefe falutary and heart-
*' confoling do6lrines in fecret ?"
lo. " Do we not perceive traces of fuch a fecrec

a do61:rine in the ancient fchools of philofophy, in the
*' dodbrines and inflruftions of the Bible, which Chrifl,^
the Redeemer and Deliverer of the human race,

cc
(C
—
gave to his trufty difciples ? Do you not obfervc
an education, proceeding by fteps of this kind, hand-
" ed down to us from his time till the prefent ?"
In the ceremonial of Reception, crowns and fceptres
^re reprefented as tokens of human degradation. "The
" plan of operation, by which our higher degrees acft,
** muft work powerfully on the world, and muft; give
*' another turn to all our prefent conftitutions."
Many other queftio as are put to the pupil during his

preparation, and his anfwers are given in writing.
Some of thefe refcripts are to be found in the lecrec
correfpondence. Thus, " How far is the pofition true,
^' that all thofe means may be ufed for a good purpofe
" which the wicked have employed for a bad ?" And
along with this queftion there is an injunction to take
counfel from the opinions andconducft of the learned and
wordiy out of the fociety. In one of the anfwers, the ex-
ample of a great philofopher and Cofmopoiite is adduced,
who betrayed a privace correfpondence entrulled to
him, for the fervice of freedom the cafe was Dodlor
:
Franklin's. In another, theôwer of the Order was

extended to the putting the mdividual to death ;and
the rtafon given was, that," this power was allowed
" to
CHAP. ir. THE ILLUMINATI. 145^
" to Sovereignties, for the good of the S:ate, and

all
" therefore belonged to the Order, which w,.s to go-
*'
vern the world." " N. B. We
muP: acquire the
*'
direftion of education —
of church-management of —
" the profefforial chair, and of the pulpit. We mull
" bring our opinions into falhion by every art fpread —
*'
them among the people by the help of young vvri-
" ters. We muft preach the warmcft concern for hu-
" manity, and make people indifferent to ail other -relations^
We muft take care that our writers be well puffed,
and that the Reviewers do not depreciate them ;
therefore we muft endeavour by every mean to gain
over the Reviewers and Journalifts and we mull
;
alio try to gain the bookfellers, who in time wi]l fee

^' -*"**
that it is their intereft to fide with us."
conclude this account of the degree of Prefbyter
I
with remarking, that there were two copies of it em-
ployed occafionally. In one of them all the mcft of-
fenfive things in refpeft of church and ftate were left
out. The fame thing v/as done in the degree of Che-
valier du Soleil of the French Mafonry. I have fecn
three diiferent forms.

In the Regent degree, the proceedings and inftruc-
tions are condufted in the fame manner. Here, it is
faid, *'
We muft as much as poftible feledt for this dc-
" gree perfons who are free, independent of all princes j
'^ particularly fuch as have frequently declared

them-
" felves difcontented with the ufual inftitutions, and
" their wifhes to fee a better government eftabliihed."
Catching queftions are put to the candidate for this
degree ; fuch as,
I. " Would the be objeflionable which
fociety
" lliould (till the greater revolution of nature Ihoiild
" be ripe) put monarchs and rulers out of the condi-
" tion to do harm ; which fliould in filence prevent
" the abufe of power, by furrounding the great with
'T " its
—
146 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAF. II .
" members, and thus not only prevent their doing

its
" mifchief, but even make them do good ?"
Is not the objcftion unjull. That fuch a Soci-
*'
1.
cc
ciety may abufe its power ? Do not our rulers fre-
cc
quently abufe their power, though we are filent ?
cc
This power is hot fo fecurc as in the hands of our
<c
Members, whom we train up with fo much care,
cc
and place about princes after mature deliberation
" and choice. If any government can be harmlefs
cc
cc
which is erefted by man, furely it muft be ours,
*^ which is founded on morality, forefight, talents, li-
" berty, and virtue," Sec.

The prefented for reception in the cha-
candidate is
ra6ler of a flave ; and it is demanded of him what has

brought him into this moft miferable of all conditions.
— —
He anfwers Socicty-^ the State Submiflivenefs —
Falfe Religion. A fI>:eleton is pointed out to him, at
the feet of which are laid a Crown and a Sword. He
is aflced, whether that is the llccleton of a King, a No-
bleman, or a Beggar? As he cannot decide, the Pre-
fident of the meeting fays to him, *^ the charafter of
^'^
being a Man is the only one that is of importance."
In a long declamation on the hackneyed topics, we
have here and there fome thoughts which have not yet
come before us.
*'
We
muft allow the underlings to imagine, (but
" without telling them the truth,) that we direct ail
*''
the Free Mafon Lodges, and even other Orders,
all
" and that the greateft monarchs are under our guid-
'^ ance, which indeed is here and there the cafe.
** There is no way of influencing men fo powerful-
'' ly as by means of the women. Thefe fbould therc-

" fore be our chief ftudy ; we fliould infinuate our-
felves into their good opinion, give them hints of
IC
emancipation from the tyranny of public opinion,
f' and of ftanding up for thcmilelves; it will be an im-
" mcnfe
4
*' mcnfe relief to their enOaved minds to be freed from

" any one bond of refiraint, and it will fire them the
" more, ana caufe them to work with zcaJ,
for us
" without knowing that they do fo ; for they will only
" be indulging their own defire of pcrfonal admira-
" tion.
** We
muft win the common people in every cor-
" ner. This will be obtained chiefly by means of the
" fchools, and by open, hearty behaviour, ihov/, con-
" defcenfion, popularity, and toleration of their pre-
judices, which wc iliall ac leifure root out and difpel.
If a writer publifhes any thing that attracts notice,
" and is in itfelf juft, but does not accord with our
" plan, we muft endeavour to win him over, or decry
« him.
" A chief objeft of our care muft be to keep down
*• that fiavifli veneration for princes which fo much
'' difgraces all Even in the. /oi-di/an^ free En-
nations.
(C
gland, the filly Monarch fays. We are gracioully
pleafed, and the more fimple people fay. Amen. Thefe
ii
men, commonly very weak heads, are only the far-
cc
ther corrupted by this fervilc flattery. But let us ac
" once give an example of our fpirit by our behaviour
" with Princes ; we muft avoid all familiarity never —
(C
entruft ourfelves to them —
behave with precifion,
(C
but with civility, as to other m.en fpeak of them—
(C
cc
—
on an equal footing this will in time teach them
that they are by nature men, if they have fcnfe and
cc
and that only by convention they 'are Lords.
fpirit,
cc
We m.uft afTiduoufly colle6l anecdotes, and the ho-
" nourable and mean actions, both of the leaft and
" the greatefti and when their names occur in any re-
" cords which arc read in our meetings, let them
'' ever be accompanied by thefe marks of
their real
*^ worth.
'-
The
I
I4S THE ILLVMINATI. CHAP. t1.
" The great ftreno;th ofour Order lies in its conceal-

*' mentj let it never appear in anyplace in its oWn
'* name, but always covered by another name, and
*' another occupation. None is Jitfer than the threg lower
" degrees of Free Alafcnry ; the public is cccuftomed to it;
*' expeois little and therefore takes little notice of it.
from it,
" Next to this the form of a learned or literary fociety

" is bcft fuited to our purpofe, and had Free Mafonry
" not exiiled, this cover would have been employed i
" and it may be much more than a cover, it may be a
" powerful engine in our hands. By efiablifmng reading
*^ focietieSy andjuhfcripticn libraries, and taking thefe under
" cur direîon, andjupplying them through our labours, we
*' may turn the public mind which way we will.
" In like manner we mufl: try to obtain an influence
*' in the military academies, (this may be of mighty
" conlequence,) theprinting-houfes, bookiellers ihops,
" chapters, and in ihort in all offices which have any
*< eifed, either in forming, or in managing, or even
" in direding the mind of man: painting and engrav-

*' ing are highly worth our care*."
" Could our Prefed" (obferve it is to the Illuminati

Regentes he is fpeaking, v/hofe officers are Prefeofi)
''
fiii the iud-icatories of a (late with our worthy mem-
*' bcrs, he does all that man can do for the Order. It
'* is better than to gain the Prince himfelf. Princes
<c
jhould never get beyond the Scotch knighthood.
They either never profecute any thing, or they twiit
every thing to their own advantage.
A Literary Society is the moll proper form for
'^ the introduction of our Order into any ftatc where
" we arc yet ftrangers." (Mark this!)

" The
* (They were ftrongly fufpofled of having publifhed fome fcan-
dalous caricatures, aiui Ibme very immoral prints.) They fcrup-
led at no mean, however bafc, for corrupting the nation. Mira-
beau had done the fame thing at Berlin. By political caricatures
and iiX^ây prints, rhcy corrUi't cvcnfuch as canrio: read.
CHAP. II. THE 1J,LUMINATI. 149^
" The power of the Order muft furely be turned to
" the advantage of its Members. All mufVbe affifted.
'*
They muft be preferred to aij pcrfons otherwife of
" equal merit. Monr y, and
fervices, honour, goods,
" blood, muft be expended for the fully proved Bre-
" thren, and the unfortunate muft be relieved by the
" funds of the Society."
As evidence that this was not only their Inftrudions,
but alfo their afiiduous pra6lice, take the following re-
port from the overfeer of Greece (Bavaria).
In Cato's hand-writing.
" The number (about 600) of Members relates to

** Bavaria alone.
"
In Munich there is a well-conftltuted meeting of
" Illuminati Major es, a meeting of excellent ////^/^^m^J/i
" Minores^ refpecftable Grand Lodge, and two Mi-
a.
" nerval Afiemxblies. There is a Minerval Aflembly

*^ at Freyfiing, at Landfbcrg, at Burghaufen, at Straf-
" burg, at Ingolftadt, and at laft at Regenfburg*.
" At Munich we have bought a houfe, and by cle-
'^ ver meafures have brought things fo far, that the
*' citizens take no notice of it, and even fpeak of us
** with cfteem. We
can openly go to the houfe every
*' day, and carry on the bufmeis of the Lodge. This
^
is a great deal for this city. In the houfe is a good
mufcum of natural hiftory, and apparatus for ex-
periments alfo a library which daily increafes. The
:
4(
garden is well occupied by botanic fpecimens, and
** the whole has the appearance of a fociety of zealous
**
naturalifts.
" We get all the literary journalsc take care, We
*' by well-timed pieces, to make the citizens and the
Princes
* In this fmall turbulent city there were eleven fccret focietics of
Mafons, Hofycrucians, Clairvoyants, &c.
;
ICO THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. II.
*' Princes a little more noticed for certain little flips.

" We oppofe the monks with all our might, and with
*' great hiccefs.
'^ The Lodge is conftituted entirely according to our
" fyflem, and has broken off entirely from Berlin, and
*' we have nearly finiflied our tranlaftions with the
" Lodges of Poland, and fhall have them under our
" diretftion.
" By the adivity of our Brethren, the Jefuits have
" been kept out of all the profeflbrial chairs at Ingol-
*' ftadt, and our friends prevail."
" The widow Duchefs up her academy en-
has let
" tircly according to our plan, and wc have all the
" ProfefTors in the Order. Five of them are excellent,
" and the pupils will be prepared for us.
" We have got Pylades put at the head of the Fife,
" and he has the church-money at his difpofal. By
" properly ufmg this money, we have been enabled
" to put our brother 's houfehold in good order
" which he had deftroyed by going to the Jews. We

" have fupported more Brethren under fimilar misfor-
" tunes.
" Our Ghoflly Brethren have been very fortunate
" this lad year, for we have procured for them fevcral
" good benefices, parifhes, tutorihips, &c.
" Through our means Arminius and Cortes have
'* gotten Profefforfhips, and many of our younger
" Brethren have obtained Burfaries by our help.
" We
have been very fucceisful againft the Jefuits,
" and brought things to fuch a bearing, that their re-
«^ venues, fuch as the Mifiion, the Golden Alms, the
*' Exercifes, and the Converfion Box, are now under
" the management of our friends. So are alfo their con-

" cernsin theuniverfityand the German fchool founda-
" tions. The application of all will be determined
'^ prefently, and we have fix members and four friends
" in
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. I5I ,
" in the Court. This has coft our fenate fome nights
" want of deep.
" Two of our beft youths have got journies from the
" Court, and they will go to Vienna, where they will
*^ do us great fervicc.
" All the German Schools, and the Benevolent So-
" ciety, are at laft under our direcftion.
" We have got feveral zealous members in thecourts
" of juftice, and we arc able to afford them pay, and
** other good additions.
*^ Lately, we have got pofTefllonof the Bartholomew
" Inftitution for young clergymen, having fecured all

" its fupporters. Through this we fliall be able to
" fupply Bavaria with fit priefts.
<' By a letter from Philo we learn, that one of the
*^ hisheft dignities in the church was obtained for a

" zealous Illuminatus, in oppofition even to the au-
" thority and right of the Bilhop of Spire, who is rc-
" prefented as a bigoted and tyrannical priefl."
Such were the myfteries of the Illuminati. But
lelFer
there remain the higher myfteries. The fyftem of thefe

has not been printed, and the degrees were conferred
only by Spartacus himfelf, from papers which he never
entrufted to any perfon. They were only read to the
candidate, but no copy was taken. The publiflicr of
the Neuejie Arheitung fays that he has read them (fo fays
Grollman). He fays, *' that in the firft degree of
" Magus or Philosophus, the doctrines are the
" fame with thofe of Spinoza, where all is material,
" God and the world are the fame thing, and all re-
*' ligion whatever is without foundation, and, the con-
** trivance of ambitious men." The fecond degree,

or Rex, teaches, " that every peafimt, citizen, and
*' houfeholder is a fovereign, as in the Patriarchal
'' ftate, and that nations muft be brought back to that
*' ftatc, by whatever means are conducible peace- — ablv.

IQl THE ILLUMINATJ. CHAP. II.
" ably, if it can be done ; but, if not, then by force

" —for all fubordination mult vaniih from the face of
" the earth."
The author fays further, that the German Uniori
was, to his certain knowledge, the work of the lilu-
minati.
The private correfpondence that has been publifhed
is by no means the whole of what was difcovered at
Landfhut and Baffiis Hoft, and government got a great
deal of ufeful information, which was concealed, both
out of regard to the families of the perfons concerned,
and alfo that the reft might not know the utmoft ex-
tent of the difcovery, and be lefs on their guard. A
third coUeftion was found under the foundation of the
houfe in which the Lodge Theodor vom guten Rath had
been held. But none of this has appeared. Enough
furely has been difcovered to give the public a very
juft idea of the dcfigns of the Society and its connec-
tions.
Lodges were difcovered, and are mentioned in the
private papers already publilhed, in the following
places.
Munich Wellphalia (feveial)

Ingolftadt Lleidelberg
Frankfort Manheim
Echiladt Strafburgh (5)
Hanover Spire
Brunfwick Worms
Calbe DufTeldorff
Magde burgh Cologne
Caffel Bonn (4)
Ofnabruck Livonia (many)
Weimar Courland (many)
Upper Saxony (feveral) Frankendahl
Auftria (14) Alface (many)
Vienna
CHAP. II. tHE ILLUMINATE I53
Vienna (4) Deuxponts

Hefle (many) Coufel
Buchenwcrter Treves (2)
Mompeliard Aix-Ia-Chapelle (2)
Stutgard (3) ' Bartfchied
Carlfruhe Hahrenberg
Anfpach Switzerland (many)
Neuwied (2) Rome
Mentz (2) Naples
Poland (many) Ancona
Turin Florence
England (8) France
Scotland (1) Holland (many)
Warfaw (2) Drefden (4)
America (feveral.) N. B. This was before 1786.
I have picked up the names of the following mem-

bers.
Spartacus, Weifhaupt, Profeflbr.

Philo, Knigge, Freyherr, i. e.
Gentleman.
Amelius, Bode, F. H.
Bayard, Bufche, F. H.
Diomedes, Conftanza, Marq.
Gato, Zwack, Lawyer.
Torring, Count.
Khreitmaier, Prince.
Utfchneider, Profeffor.
Cofiandey, Profeflbr.
Renner, Profeflbr.
Grunberger, Profeflbr.
Balderbufch, F. H.
Lippert, Counfellor.
Kundl, ditto.
Bart, ditto.
U Leiberhauer,
154 THE ILLUMINTATI. dHAP. II.
Leiberhauer, Prieft.
Kundler, ProfefTor.
Lowling, Profeflbr.
Vachency, Counfellor.
Morauflcy, Count.
Hoffftettcr, Surveyor of
Roads.
Strobl, Bookfeller.
Pythagoras, Weftenrieder, ProfefTor.
Babo, Profeflbr.
Baader, ProfeflTor.
Burzes, Prieft.
Pfruntz, Prieft.
Hannibal, BaflTus,Baron.
Brutus, Savioli, Count.
Lucian, Nicholai, Bookfeller.
Bahrdt, Clergyman.
Zoroafter, Confucius, Baierhamer.
Hermes Trifmegiftus, Socher, School Infpedor.
Abbe.
Dillis,
Sulla, MeggenhofF, Paymafter.
Danzer, Canon.
Braun, ditto.
Fifcher, Magiftrate.
Frauenberger, Baron.
Kaltner, Lieutenant.
Pythagoras, (ad,) Drexl, Librarian.
Marius, Hertel, Canon.
Dachfel.
Billing, Counfellor.
Seefeld, CouMf.
Gunftieim, ditto.
Morgellan, ditto.
Saladin, Ecker, ditto.
Ow, Major.
Werner, Counfellor.
Cornelius,
«HA-P. II. THE ILLUMINATI. 'S5
Cornelius Scipio^ Berger, Coiinfellor.

Wortz, Apothecary.
Mauvillon, Colonel.
Mirabeau, Count.
Orleans, Duke.
Hochinaer.
Tycho Brahe, Gafpar, Merchant.
Thales, Kapfinger.
Atcila, Sauer.
Ludovicus BavariiSj Lofi.
Shafcefbury, Steger.
CorioJanus, Tropponero, Zufchwartz.
Timon, Michel
Tamerlane, Lange.
Liviiis, BadorfFer.
Cicero, Pfeft.
Ajax, Maflenhaufen, Count.
I have not been able to find who perfonatcd Minos,

Euriphon, Celfius, Mahomet, Hercules, Socrates,
Philippo Strozzi, Euclides, and fome others who have
been uncommonly active in carrying forward the great
caufe.
The chief publications for giving us regular accounts
of the whole, (befidcs the original writings,) are,
I Grojfe Ahjicht des IlluminaUn Or dens.
.
1. <——Nachtrages (3.) an denjelhen.

-
3. Weifoau-pt^s improved Syji em.

4. Syjiem des Ilium. Or dens aus dem Original -fchriften
gezogen.
I may nov/ be permitted to make a few refledlions
on the accounts already given of Order, which has
this
fo diftin6lly concentrated the calual and fcattered ef-
forts of its prompters, the Chevaliers Bienfaijanis^ the
Philalethes^ and Amis Rennis of France, and carried on
the fyftem of enlightening and reforming the world.
Th?
—
The great aim profeffed by the Order is make men

to
happy; and the means profeffed to be employed, .as
the only and furely effective, is making them good ; and
this is to be brought about by enlightening the mind^ and
freeing it from the dominion of fuperjlition and prejudices.
This purpofe is effe6ted by its producing ajujl andfteady
morality. This done, and becoming univerfal, there
can be little doubt but that the peace of fociety will be
the confcquence, — that government, fubordination,
and all the difagreeable coercions of civil governments
will be unneccffary, —and that fociety may go on
peaceably in a flate of perfect liberty and equality.
But furely it requires no angel from heaven to tell
us that if every man is virtuous, there will be novice;
and that there will be peace on earth, and good-will
between man and man, whatever be the differences of
rank and fortune fo that Liberty and Equality fcem
;
not to be the neceffary confequences of this juft Mora-

lity, nor neceffary requifites for this national happinefs.
We may qucftion, therefore, Vv^hether the Illumination
which makes this a neceffary condition is and
a clear
a pure light. It may be a falfe glare fhowing the ob-
jedt only on one fide, tinged with partial colours thrown
on it by neighbouring objects. We fee fo much wif-
dom in the general plans of nature, that we are apt to
think that there is the fame in what relates to the hu-
man mind, and that the God of nature accomplifnes
his plans in this as well as in other inftances. We are
even difpofed to think that human nature would fuffer
by it. The rational nature of man is not contented
with meat and drink, and raiment, and flielter, but is
alfo pleafed with exerting many powers and faculties,
and with gratifying many taftes, which could hardly
have exiftence in a fociety where all are equal. We
fay that there can be no doubt but that the pleafure
arifing from^ the contemplation of the works of art
the
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMlNATl.. 1 57
the pleafure of intclleftual cultivation, the pleafure of

mere ornament, are rational, diftinguifh man from a
brute, and are fo general, that there is hardly a mind
fo rude as not to feel them. Of all thefe, and of all
the difficult fcienccs, all mod rational, and in them-

felves moft innocent, and mod delightful to a culti-
vated mind, we fhould be deprived in a fociety where
all are equal. No individual could give employment
to the talents neceflary for creating and improving thefe
ornamental comforts of life. We
are abfolutely cer-
tain that, evenmoft favourable fituations on the
in the
face of the earth, the mofb untainted virtue in every
breaft could not raife man to that degree of cultivation
that is poffcired by citizens very low in any of the dates
of Europe J and in the fituation of mod countries we
are acquainted with, the date of man would be much
lower: for, our very fctting out, we mud grant
at
that the liberty and equality here fpoken of mud be
complete for there mud not be fuch a thing as a far-
-,
mer and his cottager. This v/ould be as unjud, as

much the caufe of difcontent, as the gentleman and
the farmer.
This fcheme therefore fecms contrary to the defigns
of our Creator, who has every where placed us in thofe
fituations of inequality that are here fo much reproba-
ted, and has given us drong propenfities by which we
relidi thofe enjoyments. \Ve alfo find that they may
be enjoyed in peace and innocence. And ladly, we ima-
gine that the villain, who, in the dation of a profefTor,
would plunder a prince, would alfo plunder the farmer if
he were his cottager. The Illumination therefore that
appears to have the bed chance of making mankind hap-
py is that which will teach us the Morality which will re-
fpeftthe coiiiforts of cultivated Society, and teach us to
protect the poffelibrs in the innocent enjoyment of them ;
that will enable us ro perceive and admire the tade and

elegance
THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. II.
elegance of Archited:ure and Gardening, without any

wilh to iweep the palaces, the gardens, and their owner,
from off the earth, merely becaufe he is their owner.
We are therefore fufpicioiis of this lUumination,
and apt to afcribe this violent antipathy to Princes and
fubordination to the very caufe that makes true Illumi-
nation, and juft Morality proceeding from it, fo ne-
ceflary to public happinefs, namely, the vice and in-
juftice of thofc who cannot innocently have the com-
mand of thofe offenfive elegancies of human life. Lux-
urious tafte, keen defires, and unbridled paflions, would
prompt to all this; and this Illumination is, as we fee,
equivalent to them in effeft. The aim of the Order
is not to enlighten the mind of man, and fhew him his
moral obligations, and by the pra6lice of his duties to

make fociety peaceable^, pofTeffion fccure, and coercion
iinnecelTary, fo that all may be at reft and happy, even
though ail were cqucd; but to get rid of the coercion
which muft be employed in the place of Morality, that
the innocent rich may be robbed with impunity by the
idle and profligate poor. But to do this, an unjuft ca-
fuiftry muft be employed inftead of a juft Morality i
and this muft be defended or fuggefted, by mifrepre-
fentino; the true ftate of man, and of his relation to the
iiniverfe, and by removing the reftri6tions of religion,
and giving a fuperlative value to all thofe conftituents
of human enjoyment, which true Illumination ftiews
us to be but very fmall concerns of a rational and vir-
tuous mind. The more clofelywe examine the prin-
ciples and prafticc of the lUuminati, the more clearly
do we perceive that this is the cafe. Their and
firft
immediate aim is to get the pofleffion of riches, power,
and influence, without induftry and to accomplifn

;
this, they v/ant to abolifn Chriftianity; and then dif-

folute manners and univcrfal profligacy will procure
them the adherence of all the wicked, and enable them
to
CHAP. II. THE ILtUMINATI. I59
to overturn all the civil governments of Europe after

;
which they will think, of farther conquefts, and extend

their operations to the other quarters of the globe, till
they have reduced mankind to the ftatc of.onc undif-

tinguifhable chaotic mafs.
But this is too chimerical to be thought their real
aim. Their Founder, I dare fay, never entertained
Ibch hopes, nor troubled himfelf with the fate of diftanc
lands. But it comes in his way when he puts on the
mafk of humanity and benevolence: it mult embrace
all mankind, only becaufe it muft be ftronger than pa-
triotifm and loyalty, which ftand in his way. Obferve
that Weifhaupt took a name expreflive of his .princi-
ples. Spartacus was a gladiator, who headed an in-
furreftion of Roman flaves, and for three years kept
the city in terror. Weifliaupt fays in one of his let-
ters, " I never was fond of empty titles but furely
;
" that man has a childifh foul who would not as rea-
" dily chufe the name of Spartacus as that of 0(5la-
^' vius Auguftus." The names which he gives to fe-
veral of his gang exprefs their differences of fenti-
ments. Philo, Lucian, and others, are very fignifi-
cantly given to Knigge, Nicholai, &c. He was vain
of the name Spartacus, becaufe he confidered himfelf
as employed fomewhat in the fame way, leading Haves
to freedom. Princes and Priefts are mentioned by him
on all occafions in terms of abhorrence.
Spartacus employs powerful means. The (lyle of
the Jefuits, (as he fays,) he confiders every mean as
confecrated by the end for which it is employed, and
he fays with great truth,
" Fleîrefi nequeofuperos, Achercnta mcveho.'*
To fave he fcruples not to murder

his reputation,
his innocent child, and the woman whom he had held
in his arms with emociens of fondnefs and affcdion.
But
l6o THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. II.
But left this fhould appear too fclnfli a motive, he lays,

" Had I fallen, my precious Order would have fallen
" with me -, the Order which is to blefs mankind. I
(C
lliould not again have been able to fpeak of virtue fo
(C
as to make any lafting impreflion. My example
<c
jnight have ruined many young men." This he
thinks will excufe, nay fan6tify any thing. " My
" letters are my greateft vindication." He employs
the Chriftian Religion, which he thinks a falfehood,
and which he is afterwards to explode, as the mean for
invitingChriftians of every denomination, and gradually
cajoling them, by clearing up their Chriftian doubts in
fucceftion, till he lands them in Deifm ; or if he finds
theni unfit, and too religious, he gives them a Stabene,
and then laughs at the fears, or perhaps madnefs, in
which he leaves them. Having got them the length
of Deifm, they are declared to be fit, and he receives
them into the higher myfteries. But left they fhould
ftill flirink back, dazzled by the Pandemonian glare of
Illumination which will now burft upon them, he ex-

a£ts from them, for the firft time, a bond of perfc-
verance. But, as Philo fays, there is little chance of
tergiverfation. The life and honour ofmoftofthe
candidates are by this time in his hand. They have
been long occupied in the vile and corrupting office of
fpies on all around them, and they are found fit for
their prefent honours, becaufe they have difcharged
this office to his fatisfadlion, by the reports which they
have given in, containing ftories of their neighbours,
nay even of their own gang. They may be ruined in
the world by difclofing thefe, either privately or pub-
licly. Aman who had once brought himfelf into this
perilous fituation durft not go back. He might have
been left indeed in any degree of Illumination ; and, if
Religion has not been quite eradicated from his mind,
he muft be in that condition of painful anxiety and
doubt
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. l6l
doubt that makes him defperate, fit for the full opera-
tion of fanaticifm, and he may be engaged, in the cauje
cf God^ " to commit all kind of wickednefs and greedi-
*' nefs." In this ftate of mind, a man Iliucs his eyes,
and rufhes on. Had Spartacus fuppofed that he was
dealing with good men, his condud: would have been
the reverfc of all this. There is no occafion for this
bond from convinced of the excellency of the
a perfon
Order. But he knew them to be unprincipled, and
that the higher myfteries were fo daring, that even Ibme
of fuch men would ftart at them. But they mull not
blab.
Having of Religion, Spartacus could
thus got rid
with more fafety bring into view the great aim of all his
efforts — to rule the world by means of his Order. As
the immediate mean for attaining this, he holds out
the prcfpeft of freedom from civil fubordination. Per-
fe6l Liberty and Equality are interwoven v.'ith ev^ry
thing ; and the flattering thought is continually kept
up, that *' by the wife contrivance of this Order, the
*' mod complrte knowledge is obtained of the real
*' worth of every perfon
; the Order will, for its own
^^
Jake, and therefore certainly, place every man in
*' that fituation in which he can be moft efiêftive. The
**^
pupils are convinced that the Order vfill rule the
•' world. Every member therefore becomes a ruler."
We all think ourfelves qualified to rule. The difficult
talk is to obey with propriety but we are honellly
j
generous in our profpefts of future command. It is

therefore an alluring thought, both to good and bad
men. By this lure the Order will fprcad. If they are.
adive in infinuating their members into offices, and
in keeping out others, (which the private corrcfpon-
dence ffiews to have been the cafe,) they may have had
frequent experience of their fuccefs in gaining an influ-
ence on the world. This muft whet their zeal. If
X Weifhaupt:
—
l62 THE ILLUMINATI. CWAP. 11.
Weifhaiipt was a fincere Cofmo-polite, he had

the pleafure of feeing his work profpering in his
''^
hands."
It needs little argument now to prove, that
furely
the Order of Illuminaii had for its immediate obje6t
the abolilliing of Chriftianity, (at lead this was the in-
tention of the Founder,) with the fole view of over-
turning the civil government, by introducing univerfal
diflbiutencfs and profligacy of manners, and then getting
the afiiftance of the corrupted fubje6cs to overfet the
throne. The whole conuu(5t in the preparation and
inflruftion of the Prefbytcr and Regens is directed to
this point, Philo fays, " I have been at unwearied
"^
pains to remove the fears of fome who imagine that
" our Superiors want to abolifn Chriftianity ; but by
'*
and by their prejudices will wear off, and they will
" be more at their eafe. Were I to let them knovr
*'
that our General holds all Religion to be a lie, and
ufes even Dcifm, only to lead men by the nofe
Were 1 to conned: myfclf again with the Free Ma-
fons, and tell them our defigns to ruin their Fra-
C(
ternityby this circular letter (a letter to the Lodge
in Courland) —
Were J but to give the leaft hint to
(C
any of the Princes of Greece (Bavaria) No, my —
cc
anger fnall not carry me fo far. — An Order, forfooth,
*' which in this manner abufes h'uman nature which —
*^ will fubjeul men to a bondage more intolerable than
*'
Jefuitifm —
T could put it on a refpe(5table footing,
'* and the world would be ours. Should I mention
*' our fimdamental principles, (even after all the pains
*' I have been at to mitigate them,) io unqueftionably
*' dangerous to the world, who would remain ?

What
" fignifics the innocent ceremonies of the Prieft's de-
'* gree, âs I have compofed it, in comparifon with
" your maxim, that we indy ufe for a good end thofe
" means Vv'hich the wicked employ for a bafe purpofe ?"
Brutus
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATt. 1 6j
Brutus writes, " Numenius now acquiefces in the

" mortality of the foulj but, I fear we lliall lofe Lu-
" dovicus Bavarus. He told Spartacus, that he was
'' miftaken when he thought that he had fwallowrd
his ftupid Mafonry. No, he faw the trick, and did
I don't know
cc
not admire the end that required it.
" what to doi a Sta bene would make him mad, and
" he will blow us all up.
" The Order mud pofTcfs the power of life and
" death in confequence of our Oath; and with pro-
(C
priety, fame realbn, and by the fame right,
for the
cc
that any government in the world poflcfTes it for
:
(C
the Order comes in their place, making them un-
<c
neceflary. When things cannot be otherwife, and
cc
would enfue if the AiTociation did not employ
ruin
cc
this mean, the Order mull, as well as public rulers,
€<
employ it for the good of mankind therefore for
;
its own prefervation."

tc
(N. B. Obferve here t;-;e
cafuiftry.) " Nor will the political conftitutions fuf-
" fer by this, for there are always thoufands equally
" ready and able to fupply the place."
We need not wonder that Diomedes told the Pro-
feffors, " that death, inevitable death, from wiiich no
*' potentate could prote6t them, awaited every
traitor
" of the Order;" nor that the French Convention
propofcd to take off the German Princes and Generals
by fword or poifon, &c.
Spartacus might tickle the fancy of his Order with
the notion of ruling the world; but I imagine that his
own immediate objed was ruling the Order. The
happinefs of mankind was, like Weifliaupt's Chrifti-
anity, a mere tool, a tool which the Regmtes made a
joke of. But Spartacus would rule the Regentes ; this
he could not fo eafily accomplifli. His dcfpotifm was
infupportable to mofl of them, and finally brought all
to light. When he could not pc-rfiiade thtm by his
own
;
\64 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. II.
own fiimnefs, and indeed by his fuperior talents and

difintereiledners in other rcfpecls, and his unwearied ac-
tivity, he employed jefuitical tricks, caufing them to
fall out with each other, fctting them as fpies on each
other, and fcpararing any two that he faw attached to

each other, by making the one a Mafter of the other
and, in fhort, he left nothing undone that could fecure
his uncontrolled command. This caufed Philo to quit
the Order, and made Bnjfus, Ton Torring, Kreilmaier,
and feveral other gentlemen, ceafc attending the meet-
ings ;and it was their mutual difienfions which made
them fpeak too freely in public, and call on them-
felves lb much notice. At the time of the difcovery,
the party of Weifhaupt confifted chiefly of very mean
people, devoted to him, and willing to execute his
orders, that by being his fervants, they might have
the pleafure of commanding others.
The objects, the undoubted objects of this AiToci-
ation, are furely dangerous and deteflable ; namely,
to overturn the prefent conftitutions of the European
States, in order to introduce a chimera which the
hiftory of mankind fliews to be contrary to the nature
of man.
Ncituram expellas furcdy tamen ufque recurret.
Suppofe it poflible, and done in peace, the new fyftem

couk\ not (land unlefs every principle of aftivity in the
human mind be enthralled, incitement to exertion
all
and induftry removed, and man brought, into a condi-

tion incapable of improvement; and this at the cx-
pence of every thing that is valued by the beft of men
— —
by mifery and devaftation by loofening all the
bands of fociety. To talk of morality and virtue in
conjunction with fuch fchemes is an infult to common
fenie ; diflblutencfs of manners alone can bring men to
think of it.
Is
/
CHAP. II. THE IJ.LUMINATI. 165
Is itnot aftonifliing, therefore, to hear people in

this country exprefs any regard for this inilitution ? Is
it not moil mordfying to think that there are Lodges
of Illuminated among us? I think that nothing bids

fairer for weaning our inconfiderate countrymen from
having any conncdion with them, than the faithful ac-
count here given. I hope that there are few, very
few of our countrymen, and none whom we call friend,

who can think that an Order which held fuch do61:rines,
and which pradlifed fuch things, can be any thing elfe
than a ruinous Affociacion, a gang of profligates. All
their profeffions of the love of mankind are vain ; their
Illumination muft be a bewildering blaze, and totally
incffedtual for its purpofe, for it has had no fuch influ-
ence on the leaders of the band yet it feems quite
;
adequate to the eff'ecls it has produced ; for fuch arc

the charafters of thofe who forget God.
If we in the next place attend to their mode of edu-
cation, and examine it of common fenfe
by thofe rules
that we apply in other cafes of conduct, we Ihall find
it equally unpromifing. The fyftem of Illuminatifm
is one of the explanations of Free Mafonry and it has
;
gained many partifans. Thefc explanations reft their

credit and their preference on their own merits. There
is fomething in themfelves, or in one of them as dif-
tinguifhed from another, which procures it the prefer-

ence for its own fake. Therefore, to give this Order
any dependence on Free Mafonry is to degrade the
Order. To introduce a Mafonic Ritual into a manly
inftitution, is to degrade it to a frivolous amufement
for great children. Men really exerting themfelves to
reform the world, and qualified for the taflc, muft have
been difgufted with fuch occupations. They betray a
frivolous conception of the tail^ in which they are real-
ly engaged. To imagine that men engaged in the
ftruggle and rivalfhip of life, under the influence of
felfifl].
l66 THE ILLITMINATI. CHAP. II*
fclHfh, or mean, or impetuous pafTions, are to be

wheedled into candid ientiments, or a generous con-
du(5t, as a howard child may fometimes be made gen-
tle and tradable by a rattle or humming-top, betrays
a great ignorance of human nature, and an arrogant
felf-conceit in thole who can imagine that but
all
themfelves are babies. The further we proceed, the

more do we fee of this want of wijdom. The whole
procedure of their inftrudion fuppofes fuch a complr tc
lurrender of freedom of thought, of common fenfe,
and of common caution, that it feems impoflible that
it ihould not have alarmed every fenfible mind. This
indeed happened before the Order was feven years old.
It was wile indeed to keep their Areopagit^ Out of
fight; but who can be fo filly as to believe that their
unknown Superiors were all and always faultlefs men ?
But had they been the men they were reprefented to
be,— If I have any knowledge of my own heart, or any
capacity of drawing juft inferences from the condud:
of others, I am perfuaded that the knowing his Supe-
riors would have animated the pupil to exertion, that
he might exhibit a pleafing fpedlacle to fuch intelligent
and worthy judges. Did not the Stoics profefs them-
felves to be encouraged in the fcheme of life, by the
thought that the immortal Gods were looking on and
pairing their judgments on their manner of ading the
part affigned them ? But what abjed fpirit will be con-
tented with working, zealoufly working, for years,
after a plan of which he is ne^ver to learn the full mean-
ing ? In fliort, the only knowledge that he can per-
ceive is knowledge in its word form. Cunning. This
muft appear in the contrivances by which he will loon
find that he is kept in complete fubjedion. If he is a
true and zealous Brother, he has put himfclf in the
power of his Superiors by his refcripts, which they
required of him on pretence of their learning his own
>hara(Ster,
GHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. I67
charader, and of his learning how to know the cha-

radtcrs of other men. In thefe refcripts they have got
his thoughts on many delicate points, and on the con-
du6l of others. His Dirc6lors may ruin him by be-
traying him ; and this without being feen in it. I
fhould think that wife men would know that none but
weak or bad men would fubjedl rhemfelves to fuch a
tafk. They exclude the good, the manly, the only
fit perfons for affilling them in their endeavours to in-
form and to rule the world. Indeed I may fay that
this exclufion is almoll made already by connefting
the Order with Free Mafonry. Lodges are not the
reforts of fuch men. They may fometimes be found
there for an hour's relaxation. But thefe places arc
the haunts of the young, the thoughtlefs, the idle, the
weak, the vain, or of defigning Literati i and accord-
ingly this is the condition of three- fourths of the Illu-
minati whofe names are known to the public. I own
that the reafons given to the pupil for prefcribing thefe
tafks are artful, and well adapted to produce their ef-
fect. During the flurry of reception, and the glow of
expedtation, rhc danger may not be fufpecled but I -,
hardly imagine that it will remain unperceived when

the pupil fits down to write his firft lelTon. Mafon
Lodges, however, were the moft likely places for
finding and enlifting members. Young men, warmed
by declamations teeming with the flimfy moral cant of
Cofmo-politiiin, are in the proper frame of mind for
this Illumination. It now appears alfo, that the dif-
fenfions in Fiee Mafonry mull have had great influence
in promoting this fcheme of Weilhaupt's, which was,
in many particulars, \o unpromifing, becaufe
it pre-
fuppofcs luch a degradation of the mind. But when

the fchifmatics in Mafonry difputed with warmth, tri-
fles came to acquire unfpeakablc importance. The
hankering after wonder v.'as not in the lead abated by
all
l68 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. II.
all the tricks which had been detected, and the impof-
fibility of the wilhcd-for difcovery had never been de-
monftrated to peribns prepoirelTed in its favour. They
ftill chofe to believe that the fy mbols contained fome
important fecret; and happy be the man who will
finds it out. The more frivolous the fymbols, the
more does the heart cling to the myftery ; and, to a
mind in this anxious ftate, Weifhaupt's proffer was
enticing. Pie laid before them a fcheme which was
{bmewJiat f^âfible, was magnificent, furpalTing our
conceptions, but at the fame time llich as permitted
us to expatiate on the fubjecl, and even to amplify it
at pleafure in our imaginations without abfurdity. It
does not appear to me wonderful, therefore, that fo
many were fafcinated till they became at lad: regardlefs
of the abfurdity and inconfiftency of the means by
which this fplendid objed was to be iirtained. Hear
what Spartacus himfelf fays of hidden myfteries. " Of
*' all the means I know to lead men, the moft efFec-
*' tual is a concealed myftery. The hankering of the
'^
mind is irrefiftible -, and if once a man has taken it
*' into his head that there is a myftery in a thing, it
" is impollible to get it our, either by argument or
" experience. And then, we can fo change notions
" by merely changing a word. What more contempti-
" ble thdin fanatictfm ; but call it enthiifiafm ; then add
*'
the little word nulie^ and you may lead him over
" the world. Nor are we, in thefe bright days, a bit
" better than our fathers, who found the pardon of
" their fins myiterioufly contained in a greater much
" fin, viz. leaving their family, and going barefooted
" to. Rome."
Such being the employment, and fuch the drfciples,
Ihould we expert the fruits to be very precious ? No.
The doilrines which were gradually unfolded were
luch as iuittd thf)fc who continued in the Curjus Aca~
dewicus.
e-rtAP. ll. THE ILLUMINATI. 169
demicus. Thofe who did net, becaufe they did not like
them, got a Sta bene; they were not fit for advance-
ment. The numbers however were great Spartacus j
boafted of 600 in Bavaria alone in 1783.- We don't:

know many of them; few of ihofe we know were in
the upper ranks of life and I can fee that it required
;
much wheedling, and many letters of long worded

German compliments from the proud Spartacus, to
win even a young Baron or a Graf juft come of age.
Men in an eafy fituation in life could not brook the
employment of a fpy, which is bafe, cowardly, and
corrupting, and has in all ages and countries degraded
the perfon who engages in it. Can the perfon be call-
ed wife who thus enilaves himfelf ? Such perfons give
up the right of private judgment, and rely on their un-
known Superiors with the hlindeft and moft abjeft confi-
dence! For their fakes, and to rivet flill fafter their own
fetters, they engage in the mcft corrupting of all em-
—
ployments and for what ? —
To learn fomething more
of an Order, of which every degree explodes the doc-
trine of a former one. Would it have hurt the young
Illuminatus to have it explained to him all at once ?
Would not this fire his mind — when he fees with the
fame glance the great objedl, and the fitnefs of the
means for attaining it ? Would not the exalted charac-
ters of the Superiors, fo much excelling himfelf in ta-
lents, and virtue, and happinefs, (otherwife the Order
is good for nothing,) warm his heart, and fill him
with emulation, fince he fees in them, that what is fo
ftrongly preached to him is an attainable thing ? No,
no— it is all a trick he muft be kept like a child,
;
amufed v/ith rattles, and flars, and ribands and all —

the fatisfa6lion he obtains i^, like the Mafons, the di-
vcrfion of feeing others running the fame gauntlet.
Wciihaupt acknowledges that the great influence of
the Order inav be abufcd. Surely, in no way fo eafiiy
Y 'or
lyO THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP.II.
or To fatally as by corrupting or feduflive leOons in the

beginning. The millake or error of the pupil is iin-
dilcoverable by himfelf, (according to tlie genuine
principles of Illumination,) for the pupil muft believe
his Mentor to be infallibk —
with him alone he is con-
nefted —his lefibns only muft he learn. can tellWho
him that he has gone wrong — or who can fct him
right?
Here, therefore, there is confufion and deficiency.
There muft be ibme ftandard to v^hirh appeal can be
made but this is inacceflible to all within the pale of
;
the Order it is therefore without this pale, and inde-

i
—
pendent of the Order and it is attainable only by
abandoning the Order. The Qui bus Licet, the
Prjmo, the Soli, can procure no light to the perfon
v.ho does not know that he has been led out of the
right road to virtue and happinefs. The Superiors
indeed draw much ufeful information from thcle re-
ports, though they affe6t to ftand in no need of it, and
they make a cruel return.
Ail this is fo much out of the natural road of inftruc-
tion, that, on this account alone, we may prefume
that it is wrong. We are generally fafe when we fol-
low nature's plans. A child learns in his father's
houfe, by feeing, and by imitating, and in common
domeftic education, he gets much ufeful knowledge,
and the chief habits which are afterwards to regulate
his conduct. E"xamplc does almoft every thing; and,
with refped; to what may be called living, as diftin-
guifliable from profeffion, fpeculation and argumenta-
tive inftru6tion are feldom employed, or of any.ufe.
The indifpenfablcnefs of mutual forbearance and obe-
dience, for domeftic peace and happinefs, forms moft
of thei'c habits and the child, under good parents, is
;
kept in a fituation that makes virtue eaficr than vice,

and
—
€HAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. I7I
and he becomes wife and good without any exprefs

iludy about The matter.
—
But this Iliumination plan is darknefs over all it is
too artificial— and the topics, from which counfel is to
be drawn, cannot be taken from the peculiar views of
the Order — for thefe are yet a fecret for the pupil
and muft ever be a i'ecret for him while under tuition.
They muft therefore be drawn from common fources,
and the Order is of no ufe all that can naturally be
;
efFeduated by this AflTociation is the forming, and afTi-

duoufly foftering a narrow, Jewifh, corporation fpirit,
totally oppoiite to the benevolent pretenfions of the
Order. The pupil can fee nothing but this, that there
is a fet of men, whom he does not know, who may
acquire incontroulable power, and may perhaps make

life of him, but for v/hat purpofe, and in what way,
he does not know how can-, he know that his endea-
vours are to make man happier, any other way than as
he might have known it without having put this collar
round his own neck ?
Thefe reflexions addrefs themfelves to all men who
profefs to cormJud themfelves by the principles and dic-
tates of common fenfe and prudence, and who have the
ordinary ihare of candour and good-will to others, it
requires no fingular fcnfibility of heart, nor great ge-
nerofity, to make fuch people think the doftrines and
views of the Illuminati falfe, abfurd, foolifli, and ru-
inous. But I hope that I addrefs them to thoufands of
my countrymen and friends, who have much higher
notions of human nature, and who cherifh with care
the afFedions and the hopes that are fuited to a rational,
a benevolent, and a high-minded being, capable of
endlefs improvement.
To thofe who enjoy the cheering confidence in the
fuptrintendance and providence of God, who confider
tlêmf-rlves as creatures whom he has m^de, and whom
he
172 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP, ll.
he cares for, as the fubjefts of his moral government,

this Order muft appear with every charadtcr of falfe-
hood and ablurdity on its countenance. What can
BE MORE IMPROBABLE thpn this, that He, whom we
look up to as the contriver, the maker, and diredtor of
this goodly frame of things, fhould have fo far miftakcn
his own plans, that this world of rational creatures
'liouid have fiibfifted for thoufands of years, before a
way could be found out, by which his intention of mak-
ing men good and happy could be accompliihcd ; and
that this method did not occur to the great Artift him-
felf, nor even to the wifcil, and happieft, and beft men
upon earth but to a few infignificant perfons at Mu-

-,
nich in Eavaria, who had been trying to raife ghofts, to

change lead into gold, to tell fortunes, or difcover trea-
furcs, but had failed in all their attempts 5 men who
had been engaged for years in every whim which cha-
raclerifes a weak, a greedy, or a gloomy mind ? Find-
ing ail thefe beyond their reach, they combined their
powers, and, at oiici, foand out this infinitely more
important secret —
for fecret it mull dill be, other-
\vife not only the Deity, but even thefe philofophers,
will Hill be difappointed.
Yet this is the docSlrine that mufl be fwallowed by
the Minervals and the Ilhaninati Minores, to whom it
is not yet fife to difclofe the grand fecret, that there is
no Juch Juperhiiendance of Deity. At lad, however, when

iht pupil has conceived inch exp.lted notions of the
knowledge of and fuch low notions of
his teachers,
the blundering projector of this world, it may be no
difficult matter to perfuade him that all his former no-
tions were only old wives tales. By this time he mull
have heard much about fuperflition, and how men's
minds have been dazzled by this fplendid picture of a
Providence and a moral srovernment of the univcrfe.
It pow appears incompatible with the great object of
. the
:
t:HAP. ir. THE II.LUMINATI. 1 73
the Order, the principles ofiiniverfal liberty and equa-

lity — it is therefore rejected without farther examina-
ticon, for this reafon alone. This was precifely the ar-
gument ufed France for rejediing revealed religion.
in
It was incompatible with their Rij^hts of Man.
It is richly worth obftrving how this principle can
warp thejudgment, and give quite another appearance
to the fame object. The reader will not be difpleafed
with a mod remarkable inftance of it, which I beg
leave to give at length.
Our immortal Newton, whom the philofophers of
Europe look up to as the honour of our fpecies, whom
even Mr. Bailiy, the Prefident of the National Affem-
bly of France, and Mayor of Paris, cannot find words
fuiiicieRtiy energetic to praife ; this patient, fagacjous,
and fuccefsfui obfervcr of nature, afucr having exhibit-
ed to the wondering world the charadberiftic property
of that pri,;ciple of material nature by which all the bo-
dies of rlie foiar fyftem arc made to form a connefled
and perii-'anenc univerle and after having fhov^n that
;
this lavv- of action alone Vv'as adapted to this end, and

that if 'gravity had deviated but one thcufandch part
from the inverfe duplicate ratio of the diftances, the
fyflem muP:, in the courle of a very few revolutions,
have gone into confufion and ruin —he fits down, and
views the goodly fccne, —
and then clofcs his Principles
of Natural Philofophy with this refledlion {\vi.s Schcliujn
generale)
" This modelegant frame of things could not have
*^ arifen, unlefs by the contrivance and the direction of
''
a wife and powerful Being; and if the fixed ftars are
*' the centres of fyftems, thefe fyftems
muft befnrdlar ;
'^ and all thefe, conftrufted according to the fame
" plan, are fubjcCt to the government o^ one Being.
*^ All thefe he governs, not as the foul of the world,
*. but as the Lord of all therefore, on account of his
;
government.
— —
174 THE ILLUMINATI. CHA?. II.
tc
governmentj he is called rhe Lord God ParJckra-
" Ur ; for God is and refers to fubjed::^.
a relative term,
*' Deity is God's govcrniiienr, not of his own body, as
**^
thofe think who confidtr him as the foul of the
<^^
world, but of his fervants. The fupreme God is a
'^ Being eternal, inlinite, abfolutely perfedh But a be-
iC
ing, however perfc6l, without government, is not
. i(
Godi for we fay, ?;,^ God, your God, the God of
<c
lirael. We cannot fay ;7?^ eternal, ^/zy infinite. We
(C
may have fome notions indeed of his attributes, but
cc
can have none of his nature. With refpecl to bodies,
(I
—
we fee only Hiapes and colour hear only founds
" touch only furfaces. Thefc are attributes of bodies ;
" but of their elfcnce we know nochinf^. As a blind

'^ man can form no notion of colours, we can form
*' none of the manner in u'hich God perceives, and
" underftands, and influences every thing.
^' Therefore we know God only by his attributes.
" What are thefe ? The v/ife and excellent contri-
*' vance,, (Irudlure, and final aim of all things. In
(C
thefe his perfections we admire him, and we wonder.
<(
In his direction or government, we venerate and
<(
worlhip him —
we worfhip him as his fervants , and
God, without dominion, without providence, and
<c
<c
final aims, is Fate —
not the object either of reve-
rence, of hope, of love, or of fear.
But mark the emotions which affedled the mind of
another excellent obferver of Nature, the admirer
of Newton, and the pcrfon who has put the finifning
ftroke to the Newtonian phiiofophy, by lliowing that
the acceleration of the moon's mean motion, is the
genuine refult of a gravitation decreafmg in the precife
duplicate ratio of the diftance inverfely I mean Mr. ;
Delaplace, one of the moll brilliant ornaments of the

French academy of fciences. He has lately publiHied
fhe Sjjicme du McndCy a mod beautiful compend of
aftromony
aftronomy and of the Newtonian philofopliy. Having

finilhed his work with the fame obfervation, " That a
" gravitation invcrfely proportional to the fquares of
*'
the diftances was the only principle which could
'*
unite material Nature into a permanent fyfiem j"
he alfo fits down —furveys —
the fcene^ points out the
parts which he had brought within our ken — and then,
makes this refiedion :
" Beheld in its totality, aftro-
" nomy is the noblcft monument of the human mind,
" its chief title to intelligence. But, feduced by the
'^ iliufions of fenfe, and by fclf-conceit, we have long
*' confidered ourfelves as the centre of thefe motions;
^' and our pride has been puniOied by the groundlefs
" fears which we have created to ourfelves. We
«' imagine, forfooih, that all this is for us, and that
*' the liars influence our deuinies But the labours of
!
" ages have convinced us of our error, and v.'e find

*' ourfelves on an infigniticant planet, almoft imper-
** cepcible in the immenfity of fpace. But the fub-
*<^
lime difcoveries we have made richly repay this
^^ humble fuuation. Let us cherilh thefe with care, as
*'
'^
the delight of thinking beings —
fhey have deftroyed
our miftakcs as to our relation to the reft of the uni-
** verfe j errors which were the more fatal, becaufe
*^ the fociai Order depends on juftice and truth alone.
" Far be from us the dangerous maxim, that it is fome-
" times ufeful to depart from thefe, and to deceive
" men, in order to infure their happinefs but cruel ;
*' experience has fnewn us that thefe laws are never to-
" tally extinct.''
There can be no doubt as to the meaningof thefe laft
words —they cannot relate to aftrology — this was en-
tirely out of date. The 'âttempts to deceive men,
*' in order to infure their happinefs," can only be
tliofe by which we are made to think too highly of our-
felves. '* Inhabitants of this pepper-corn, we think
*' ourfelves
—
176 THE iLLUMIXATr. CHAF, TL

'* ourfclves the peculiar favourites of Heav(,\ nay the
" chief objeds of care to a Being, the Maker of all, j
** and then we imagine that, after this life, we are to
" be happy or miferable, according as we accede or
*^ not to this fiibj which enllave us.
ligation to opinions
** But truth and jultice have broken thefe bonds."
But where is the force of the argument which entitles

this perfedter of the Newtonian philofophy to exult Co
much ? It ail reds on this, I'hat this earth is but as a
grain of muftard-feed. Man would be more worth at-
tention had he inhabited Jupiter or the .Sun. Thus
may a Frenchman look down on the noble creatures
who inhabit Orolong or Pclew. But whence aiifes the
abfurdity of the intcUeilual inhabitants of this pepper-
corn being a proper object of attention ? it is becaufc
our (hallow comprehenfions cannot, at the fame glance,
fee an extenfive fcene, and perceive its moil minute
detail.
David, King, and a foldicr, had fome notions of
a
this kind. The heavens, it is true, pointed out to
him a Maker and Ruler, which is more than they feem
to have done to the Gallic philolopher; but David v/as
afraid that he would be forgotten in the crowd, and
cries out, *' Lord what is man that thou art mindful of
" him?'' But David gets rid of his fears, not by be-
coming a philofopher, and difcovering all this to be
abfurd, —he would ftill be forgotten, —
he at once thinks
of what he is —
a noble creature —
high in the fcale of
nature. ^' But," fays he, " I had forgotten myfelf
" Thou haft made man but a little lower than the an-
—
" gels thou haft crowned him with glory and honour
« —thou hail put all things under his feet." Here
are exalted fentimencs, fit for the creature v/hofe ken
pierces through the immcnfity of the viable univerl'e,
and who fees his relation to the univerfe, being nearly
allied 10 its Sovereign, and capable of rifing con-
tinually
CHAP. n. THE ILLUMINATI. I77
tinually in his rank, by cultivating thofe talents which

diftinguifli and adorn if.
Thoufarids, I truft, there are, who think that this

life is but a preparation for another, in which the mind
of man will have the whole wonders of creation and oi

providence laid open to its enraptured view —
where
it will fee and comprehend with one glance what New-
ton, the moft patient and fuccefsful of all the obfervers

of nature, took years of meditation to find out where —
it Vvfill attain that pitch of wifdom, goodnefs, and en-
joyment, of which our confciences tell us we are ca-

pable, though it far furpaffes that of the wifeft, the
beft, and the happiefl of men. Such perfons will con-
fider this Order degrading and deteftable, and as in
as
dire6t oppofition to their mod confident expectations:
For it pretends to what is impoffibie, to perfect peace
and happinefs in this life. They believe, and they
feel, that man muft be made perfect through lufferings,
which fhall call into aflion powers of mind that othcr-
wiie would never have unfolded themfelves —
powers
which are frequently fources of the purefc and moft
foothing pleafures, and naturally make us reft our eyes
and hopes on that ftate where every rear fliali be wiped
away, and where the kind a{rc6i:ions fliall become the
never-failing fources of pure and unfading delight.
Such perfons fee the palpable abfurdity of a prepara-
tion which is equally necelTary for all, and yet muft be
confined to the minds of a few, who have the low and
indelicate appetite for frivolous play -things, and for
grofs fenfual pleafures. Such minds will turn away
from thisboatted treat with Icat ling and abhorrence.
I am well aware that feme of my readers may fmiie
at this, and think it an enthufiadicai working up of

the imagination, fimilar to what I reprobate in the cafe
of Utopian happinefs in a ftate of univerfal Liberty
and Equality. It is like, they will fay, to the decla-
Z mation
—
lyS TH£ ILLUMINATI. CHAP. II.
mation in a fermon I
y perlons of the trade, who are
trained up to finclTc, by which tliey allure and ticl^lc
weak minds.
1 acknowledge that in the prefcnt cafe I do not ad-
drefs myfelf to the cold hearts, who contentedly
" Sink andjlumhcr in /heir cells cf clay ;
Peace to all fuch ; but to the ''

fdices aninicCy
^' quibus h^€C cognofcere cura ;'"
— to thoje who have en-
joyed the pleaiurts of Icience, who have been fuccels-
ful —who have made dilcoveries who have really il- —
luminated the world —
to the Bacons, the Ncwtons, the
Lockcs. —
Allow me to mention one, Daniel Bernoul-
li, the moll elegant mathematician, the only philofo-
pher, and the mod worthy man, of that celebrated

family. He faid to a gentleman, (Dr. Staehling,)
who repeated it to me, that " when reading fome of
** thofc wonderful gutiTes of Sir ifaac Newton, the
" fubfequent dcmonftration of which has been the
'* chief fource of fame to his moll celebrated commen-
*' tators —
his mind has fometimes been fo overpower-
" ed by thrilling emotions, that he has wiflied that
" moment to be his lalt and that it was this which
;
" gave him the cleareft conception of the happinefs

*^ of heaven." If fuch delightful emotions could be
excited by the perception of mere truth, what muft
they bewhen each of thefe truths is an inflance of wif-
dom, and when we recolleft, that what we call wifdom
in the works of nature, is aKvays the nice adaptation
of means for producing ^^/7^c<?«/ ends and that each i
of thel'e aifccling qualities is fufceptible of degrees

which are boundlefs, and exceed our highefb concep-
tions ? What can this complex emotion or feeling be
but rapture ? But Bernoulli is a Dodor of Theology
and therefore a fufpicious pcrfon, perhaps one of the
combination
CHAP. ir. THE ILLUMINA'II. 179
combination hired by defpots to cnfiave us. I will
take another man, a gentleman of rank and family, a

who often fignalifed himfclf as a naval com-
foldier,
—
mander who at one time forced his way through a
powerful fleet of the Venetians with a fmall fquadron,
and brought relief to a diftrefTed garrifon. 1 would
defirc the reader to perufe the conclufion of Sir Ken-
hclm Difi;by's TreatiJ'es en Body and Mind ; and after
having; rcfle(Si:ed on the flate of fcience at the time this
author wrote, let him coolly weigh the incitements to
manly condudt which this foldier finds in the differences
obferved between body and mind and then let him
;
fay, on his confcience, v/hether they are more feeble

than thofe which he can draw from the eternal fleep
of death. If he thinks that they are — he is in the pro-
per frame for initiation into Spartacus's higher myfte-
ries. He may be either Magus or Rex.
Were this a proper place for confidcring the quef-
tlon as a queftion of fcience or truth, I would fay, that
every man who has been z. Jiiccejsful ftudent of nature,
and who will reft his conclufions on the fame maxims
of probable reafoning that have procured him fuccefs
in his paft refearches, v/ill confider it as next to certain
that there is another ftate of exiftence for rational man.
For he muft own, that if this be not the cafe, there is
a mod lingular exception to a propofition which the
Avhoie courfe of his experience has made him confider
as a truth founded on univerfal induition, viz. that
nature accompliJJoes all her plans, and that every clafs of
beings attains all the imjprovement of which it is capa-
ble. Let him but turn his thoughts inward, he will
feel that his inteilc6l is capable of improvement, in
comparifon with which Newton is but a child. I
could purfue this argument very far, and (I think)
warm the heart of every man wiiom I fliould wifh to
call my friend.
What
l80 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. 11.
What opinion will be formed of this Aflociation by

the modcit, the lowly- minded, the candid, who ac-
knovv'ledge that they too often feci the fuperior force
of prcfcnt and feiifible pleafiues, by which their minds
are drawn off from the contemplation of what their
confcienccs tell them to be right, —
to be their dutiful
and filial fmtiments and emotions refpe6ling their great
—
and good Parent. to be their dutiful and neighbourly
affec'tions, and their proper condudt to all around them
— and which diminifh their veneration for that purity
of thought and moderation of appetite which becomes
their noble natures ? What muft they think of this Or-
der ? Confcious of frequent faults, which would offend
themfelves if committed by their deareil children,
they look up to their Maker with anxiety —
are grieved
to have fo far forgotten their duty, and fearful that
they may again forget it. Their painful experience
tells them that their reafon is often too weak, their in-
formation too fcanty, or its light isobflruded by paf-
fionand prejudices, which diftort and difcolour every
thing; or it is unheeded during their attention to pre-
fent objefts. Happy fliould they be, if it fliould pleafe
their kind Parent to remind them of their duty from
time to time, or to influence their mind in any way
that would compenfate for their ov/n ignorance, their
own weaknefs, or even their indolence and negleft.
They dare not expe£l fuch a favour, which their mo-
defty tells them they do not deferve, and which they
fear m.ay be unfit to be granted ; but when fuch a com-
fort is held out to them, with eager hearts they re-
ceive it— they blefs the kindncfs that granted it, and
the hand that brings it. Such amiable charafters
have appeared in all ages, and in all lituations of man-
kind. They have not in all inftances been wife —
often
have they been precipitate, and have too readily caught
at any thing which pretended to give them the fo much
wifhed-
CHAP. If. THE ILLUMINATI. l8l
wifned-for afliftances-, and, imforcunately, there have

been eRthufiafts, or villains, who have taken advan-
tage of this univerfal wifli of anxious man^ and the
world has been darkened by cheats, who have mifre-
prefented God to mankind, have tilled us with vain
terrors, and have then quieted ©ur fears by fines, and
facrifices, and mortifications, and fervices, which they
faid were more than fufficient to expiate all our faults.
Thus was our duty to our neighbour, to our own dig-
nity, and to our Maker and Parent, kept out of fight,
and religion no longer came in aid to our fenfe of right
and wrong i but, on the contrary, by thefe fuperili-
tions it opened the doors of heaven to the worthlefs
and the wicked. — But I wifh not to fpeak of thefe
men, but of the good, the candid, the modest, the
HUMBLE, who know their failings, who love their du-
ties, but wifh to know, to perceive, and to love them
ftiil more. Thefe are they vt'ho think and believe that
" the Gofpel has brought life and immortality to
*' light," that is, within their reach. They think it
worthy of the Father of mankind, and they receive it
with thankful hearts, admiring above all things the
fimplicity of its morality, comprehended in one fen-
tence, " Do to another what you can reafonably wifh
" that another Ihould do to you," and that purity
OF thought and manners which distinguishes
it from all the systems of moral instruction
THAT have ever BEEN OFFERED TO MEN. HerC
they find a ground of rcfignation under the troubles of
life, and a fupport in the hour of death, quite fuited
to the diffidence of their own charadter. Such men

axe ready to grant that the Stoics were perfons of no-
ble and exalted minds, and that they had worthy con-
ceptions of the rank ot man in the fcale of God's
v/orks ; but they confefs that they themfelves do not
fetl all that fupport from Stoical principles Vv^hich man
too
too frequently needs ;and they fay that they are not
fingular in their opinions, but that the bulk of ma;i-
kind are prevented, by their want of heroic fortitude,
by their iituation, or their want of the opportunities of
culfivatinc^ their native llrength of mind, from ever
attaining this hearty fubmiiTion to the w\\\ of the Deity.
They maintain, that the Stoics were but a few, a very-
few, from among many millions^ —and therefore ibet'r
being fatisiied was but a trifle amidft the general dif-
content, and anxiety, and defpair. —
Such men will
moft certainly ftart back from this Illumination with
horror and fright —from a Society which gives tlie lie
to their fondeli expectations, makes a fport of their
grounds of hope, and of tlieir deliverer ; and which,
after laughing at their credulity, bids them fliake off
all religion whatever, and denies the exiftence of that
Supreme Mind, the pattern of all excellence, who till
now had filled their thoughts with admiration and love
— from an Order which pretends to free them from
fpiritual bondage, and then lays on their necks a load
ten times more opprefiive and intolerable, from which
they have no power of ever efcaping. Men o( (tnCe
and virtue will fpurn at fuch a propofal ; and even the
profligate, who trade with Deity, mufl: be fenfible that
ihey will be better off with their priefts, whom they
know, and among whom they may make a feledlion of
fuch as will with patience and gentlenefs clear up their
doubts, calm their il-ars, and encourage their hopes.
And ail good men, all lovers of peace and of jufl:ice,
will abhor and rejeft the thought of overturning the
prefcnt conftitucion of things, faulty as it may be,
merelv in the endeavour to efcabliih another, wliich
the vices of mankind may fubvcrt again in a tv/clve-
month. Tlicy mull fee, that in order to gain their
point, the propofcrs have found it neceffary to deftroy
the o-rouads of morality, by permitting the moft wick-
ed
«HAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. 183
cd means for accomplifhing any end that our fancy,

warped by paffion or interelt, may reprefent to us as
of great importance. They fee, that inftead of mora-
lity, vice muft prevail, and that therefore there is no
fecurity for the continuance of this Utopian felicity ;
and, in the mean time, defolation and mifery muft lay
the world waite during the ftruggle, and half of thofe
for whom we are ftriving will be fwept from the face
of the earth. We have but to look to France, where
in eight years there have been more executions and
fpoliarions and diftreffts of every kind by the pouvcir
revclutminaire, than can be found in the long records
of that defpotic monarchy.
There is nothing in the whole confiitucion of the
Illuminati that ftrikes me with more horror than the
propofals of Hercules and Minos to cnlift the women
in this fliocking warfare with all that " is good, and
" pure, and lovely, and of good report." They could
not have fallen on any expedient that will be more ef-*
feftual and fatal. If any of my countrywomen lliall
honour thefe pages with a reading, I would call on
them, in the moft earneft manner, to conficier this as
an a^Fair of the utmoft importance to themfelves. I
would conjure them by the regard they have for their
own dignity, and for their rank in fociety, to join
againft thefe enemies of human nature and profligate
degraders of the fex and I would affure them that
;
the prefent ftate of things almoft puts it in their power

to be the faviours of the world. But if they are remifs,
and yield to the feduflion, they will fall from that high
ftate to which they have arifen in Chriflian Europe,
and again fink into that infignificancy or flavery in
which the fex is found in all ages and countries out of
the hearing of Chriftianity.
I hope that my countrywomen Vviii confider this fo-
lemn addrcfs to them as a proof of the high efteem in

which
—
184 THE ILLUMINATl. CHA?. li"*
which Ihold them. They will not be ofFended then

if, in this fcafon of alarm and anxiety, when I wifh 10
imprefs their minds with a ferious truth, I Ihall wave

ceremony, which is always defigning, and fpeak of
them in honeft but decent plainnels.
Man immerfed in luxury. Our accommodations
is
are now fo numerous that every thing is pleafure. Even

in very fober fituations in this highly-cultivated Soci-
ety, there hardly a thing that remains in the form
is
of a neceifary of life, or even of a mere conveniency

—
every thing is ornamented it mutt not appear of ufc
— it muft appear as giving fome fenfible pleaibre. I
—
do not fay this by way of blaming it is nature man —
is a refining creature, and our mofb boafted acquire-
ments are but refinements on our neceffarv wants. Our

hut becomes a palace, our blanket a fine drefs, and
our arts become fciences. This difcontent vi'ith the
natural condition of things, and this difpofition to re-
finement, is a charadteriftic of our fpecies, and is tlic
great employment of our lives. The direftion which
this propenfity chances to take in any age or nation,
marks its chara6ler in the moll confpicuous and intc-
refting manner. All have it in fome degree, and it is
very conceivable that, in fome, it may conftitute the
chief objeft of attention. If this be the cafe in any na-
tions, it is furely moft likely to be fo in thofe where
the accommodations of life are the moil numerous
th<"refore in a rich and luxurious nation. 'I may furely,
without exaggeration or reproach, give that appella-
tion to our own n uion at this moment. If you clo not
go to the very loweft clafs of people, v/ho mulb labour
all day, is it not the chief object of all to procure per-
one way or another ? The fober and
ceptible pkiijure in
bufy ftruggie in the thoughts and hopes of getting the
means of enjoying the r5////"wYj- of life without farther
labour —and many have no other objedt than pleafure.
Then
CHAP. ir. THE ILLUMINATI. 1B5
I
Then let us refie6l that it is woman that is to grace

the whole — nature, it is the very conflicution of
It is in
man, that woman, and every thing connected with

woman, muft appear as the ornament of life. That
this mixes with every other focial fentiment, appears
from the conduct of our fpecies in all ages and in eve y
fituation. This I prefume would be the cafe cvca
though there were no qualities in the (c-k. to juft-ify it.
This fentiment rrfpedting the fex is necellary, in order
to rear fo hclpltll, fo nice, and (o improveable a crea-
ture as man without it, the long abiding talk could
;
not be performed : —
and I think th^t 1 may venture
to fay that it is performed in the different Paces of fo-
ciety nearly in proportion as this preparatory and indif-
pcnfable fentiment is in force.
On the other hand, I think it no lefs evident that it
is the defire of the women to be acreeabie to the men,
and that they will model themfeives according to what

they think will pleafe. Without this adjuftment of
fentiments by nature, nothing would go on. We ne-
ver obferve any fuch want of fymmetry in the works
of God. If, therefore, thofe v/ho take the lead, apd
give the fafliion in fociety, were wife and virtuous, I

have no doubt but that the women would fet the
brighteft pattern of every thing that is excellent. Biit
if the men are nice and faflidious fcnfualifts, the women
will be refined and elegant voluptuaries.
There is no deficiency in the female mind, either in
talents or in dilpolitions nor can we fay with certainty
-,
that there is any fubjed of intellectual or moral difcuf-

fion in which women have not excelled. If the deli-
cacy of their conflicution, and other phyfical caufcs,
allow the female fex a fmaller fliare of fome menial
powers, they poiTcfs others in a fuperior degree, which
are no lefs rcfpecftable in their own nature, an.l of as
great importance to fociety. Inftead of dcfcancing at
1 A l^'c^
large on their powers of mind, and fupporting my af-

fertions by the indances of a Hypatia, a Schurman, a
Zenobia, an Elizabeth, &c. I may repeat the account
given of the fex by a perfon of uncommon experience,

who faw them without difguife, or any motive that
could lead them to play a feigned part —
Mr. Ledyard,
who traverfed the greateft part of the world, for the
mere indulgence of his tafte for obfervation of human
nature j generally in want, and often in extreme mi-
fery.
" I have (fays he) always remarked that women,
" in all countries, are civil, obliging, tender, and hu-
" mane that they are ever inclined to be gay and
:
" cheerful, timorous and modeftj and that they do

*^ not hefitate, like men, to perform a kind or gene-
"
(C
rous aftion.— Not haughty, not arrogant, not fu-
percilious, they are full of courtefy, and fond of fo-
ciety —more liable in general to err than man, but
in general, alfo, more virtuous, and performing
cc
more good aftions than he. To a woman, whether

'* civilized or favage, I never addrefied myfelf in the
" —
language of decency and friendfliip without receiv-
*' ing a decent and friendly anfwer — with man it has
" often been otherwife.
cc
In wandering over the barren plains of in-
(C
hofpitable Denmark, through honeft Sweden, and
tc
frozen Lapland, rude and churlifh Finland, unprin-
ft
cipled Ruffia, and the wide fpread regions of the wan-
it
dering Tartar, — if hungry, dry, cold, wet, or fick,
ii
the women have ever been friendly to me, and uni-
cc
formly fo; and to add to this virtue, (fo worthy of
(C
the appellation of benevolence,) thefe aftions have
cc
been performed in fo free and fo kind a mannel*, that
" if I was thirity, I drank the fweetelt draught, and
" if hungry, I ate the coarfe meal with a double
" reiifh."
And
CHAP. II. THH ILLUMINATI. 187
And thefc are they whom

Weifliaupt would cor-
rupt ! One of thefe, whom
he had embraced with
fondnefs, would he have murdered, to fave his honour,
and qualify himfelf to preach virtue But let us not be
!
too fevere on "Wcifhaupt —

let us waih ourfelves clear
of all (lain before we think of reprobating him. Are
"wc not guilty in feme degree, when we do not culti-
vate in the women thofe powers of mind, and thofe
difpofitions of heart, which would equally dignify them
in every ftation as in thofe humble ranks in which Mr.
Ledyard mofi: frequently faw them ? 1 cannot think
that we do this. They are not only to grace the whole
of cultivated fociety, but it is in their faithful and af-
feftionate perfonal attachment that we are to find the
fweeteft pleafures that life can give. Yet in all thefe
fituations where the manner in which they are treated
is not didiated by the flcrn laws of neceffity, are they
not trained up for mere amufement —

are not ferious
occupations confidered as a tafk which hurts their love-
linefs ? What is this but felfiilmefs, or as if they had
no virtues worth cultivating? T ht ir bi(/i?ie/s is fuppofed
to be the ornamentino- themfelves, as if nature did not
dictate this to them already, with at leaft as much
force as is neceffary. Every thing is prefcribed to
them —
makes them more lovely- even their moral
hecauje it
lefTons are enforced by this argum.ent, and Mifs Wool-

ftoncraft is perfedly right when fhc fays that the fine
leffons given to young women by Fordyceor Rouifeau
are nothing but fclfifh and refined voluptuoufnefr,. This
advocate of her fex puts her fifcers in the proper point
of view, when fhe tells them that they are, like man,
the fubjedts of God's moral government, — like man,
preparing themfelves for boundlefs improvement in a
better ftate of cxiftence. Had fhe adhered to this view
of the matter, and kept it conftantly in fight, her book
(which doubtlefs contains many excellent things, highly
defe rving
l88 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. H.
deferving of their confidcration) would have

ferioiis
been a moft valuable work. She juftly oblcrvcs, that
the virtues of the fex are great and refpedlable, but
that in our mad chace of plcafure, only piealure, they
are thought of or attended to.
little Mjh trufts to his
own uncontroulable power, or to the general goodnefs
of the fex, that their virtues will appear when we have
occafion for them ;
—
'* but we will fend for thefc fome
'^
other time:" —
Many noble difplays do they make
of the moft difficult attainments. Such is the patient
bearing up under misfortunes, which has no brilliancy
to fupport it in the effort. This is more difficult than
braving danger in an adlive and confpicuous fituation.
How often is a woman left with a family, and the fliat-
tered remains of a fortune, loft perhaps by diffipation
or by indolence —
and how feldom, how very feldom,
do we fee woman flirink from the tafk, or difcharge it
with negligence ? Is it not therefore folly next to mad-

nels, not to be careful of this our greatcft bleffing of —
things which fo nearly concern our peace nor guard—
ourkives, and thefe our beft companions and friends,
from the effefts of this fiital Tlluminacion ? It has in-
deed brought to light what dreadful lengths men will
go, when under the fanatical and dazzling glare of hap-
pincfs in a ftate of liberty and equality, and fpurred on
by infaciablc luxury, and not hbld in check by moral
feelings and the reftraints of religion- —
and mark, reader,
that the women have here alio taken the complexion ofthe
men, and have even gone beyond them. If wehave fcena
fon prefcnt himfelf to the National Aflcmbly of France,
profcffing his fatisfaftion with the execution of his fa-
ther three days before, and declaring himfelf a true
citizen, who prefers the nation to all other confidera-
tions we have alfo feen, on the fame day, wives de-
y
nouncing their hulbands, and (O fliocking to human

nature!) mothers denouncing their fons, as bad ci-
tizens
I
tizens and traitors. too what return the women

Mark
have met with for all their horrid fervices, where, to
cxprefs their fentiments of civilm and abhorrence of
royalty, they threw away the charafter of their fex,
and bit the amputated limbs of their murdered coun-
trymen*. Surely thefe patriotic women merited that
the rights of their fex fhould be confidered in full coun-
cil, and they were well entitled to a feat ; but there is
not a fmglc act of their government in which the fex is

confidered as having any rights whatever, or that they
are things to be cared for.
Arc not the accurfed fruits of Illumination to beTeen
in the prefenthumiiiating condition of woman in France?
pampered in every thing that can reduce them to the
mere inftruments of animal pleafure. In their prefent
ftate of national moderation (as they call it) and fe-
curity, fee Madame Tallien come into the public thea-
tre, accompanied by other beautiful women, (I was
about to have mifnamed them Ladies,) laying afide all
modefty, and prefenting themfclves to the public view,
with bared limbs, a la Sauvage^ as the alluring obje6ls
ofdcfire. I make no doubt but that this is a ferious
matter, encouraged, nay, prompted by government.

To keep the minds of the Parifians in the prefent fe-
ver of diflblute gaiety, they are at more expcnce from
the national treafury for the fupportof the fixty theatres,
than all the pcnfions and honorary offices in Britain,
three times told, amount to. Was not their abomina
ble farce in the church of Notre Dame a bate of, the
fame kind in the true Ipirit of Wcifliaupt's Eroterivn ?
" We
* on the authority of a young gentleman, an emigrant,
I fay this
who faw and who faid, that they were women, not of the dregs
it,
of the Palais Royal, nor of infamous charafter, but well drelfed. —

am forry to add, that the relation, accompanied with looksof hor-
ror and difgufl, only provoked a contemptuous fmile from an illumi-
nated Britiih Fair-one.
:
IpO THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. 11.
*
We do notj" faid the high priefl:, "
you to the
call
* woriliip of inanimate idols. Behold a mafter- piece
' of nature, (lifting up the veil which concealed the
' naked charms of the beautiful Madmf. Barbier) :
* This facred image fhould inflame all hearts." And

it did fo ; the people fhouted our, '' No more altarsj
*' no
more priefts, no God but the God of Nature."
Orleans, the lirft prince of the blood, did not fcruple
to proftitute his daughter, if not to the embraces, yet
to the wanton view of the public, with the precife in-
tention of inflaming their defires. (See the account
given of the dinners at Sillery's, by Camille Defmou-
lines, in his fpeech againft the Brifibtins.) But what
will be the end of all this ? The fondlings of the weal-
thy will be pampered in all the indulizcnces which
faftidious voluptuoufnefs finds neceffary for varying or
enhancing its pleafures ; but they will either be flighted
as toys, or they will be immured ; and the companions
of the poor will be drudges and flavcs.
I am fully perfuaded that it was the enthufiaftic ad-
miration of Grecian democracy that recommended to

the French nation the drefs a la Grecque, which exhibits
not the elegant, ornamented beauty, bur the alluring
female, fully as well as Madame Tallien's drefs ^/«
Sauvage. It was no doubt v.'ith the fame adherence to
Jerious p-inctple^ Mademoifelle Therouanne was

that
moll: beautifully d re {Ted a V Avtiazcnne on the 5 th of
Oftober 1789, when flie turned the heads of fo many
young officers of the regiments at Verfailles. The
Cythera, the homhmm d'vvunqiie voluptas, at the cathe-
dral of Notre Dame, was alfo drefled a la Grecque
There is a moil evident and characleriftic change in
the whole fyftem of female drefs in France. The Filles
de rOpera always gave the ton^ and were furely withheld
by no rigid principle. They fometimes produced
very extravagant and fanuftic forms, but thefe were
almofl
CHAP. LI. THE "ILLUMINATl. 191
almoft always in the ftyle of the higheil ornament, and

they trufled, for the reft of the impreflion which they
wifhed to make, to the fafcinaringexprcffion of elegant
movements. This indeed was wonderful, and hardly
conceivable by any who have not feen a grand ballet
performed by good aftors. I have filed tears of the
moft fincere and tender forrow during the exhibition of
Antigone, fet to mufic by Traecta, and performed by
Madame Meilcour and S""^ Torclli, and Zantini. I can
eafily conceive the inipreflion to be ftill ftronger, though,
perhaps of another kind, when the former fuperb drcf-
fes are changed for the expreffive fimplicity of the
Grecian. I cannot help thinking that the female orna-
ments in the reft of Europe, and even among ourfejves,
have lefs elegance fince we loft the fanftion of the
French court. But fee how all this will terminate,
when we fnall have brought the fex to low, and v/ill
not even wait for a. Mahometan paradife. What can

we expefb but fuch adifiblutenefs of manners, that the
endearing ties of relation and family, and m.utuai con-
fidence within doors, will be flighted, and will ceafe i
and every man muft ftand up for himfclf, fmgle and
alone ?
Foscunda culpa f<:ecula nupUas

Primum inquinaverey et genus y et demos.
Hocfante derivafa clades
Inpat}'iampopulumqueJluxit. Hor. iii. 6. 17.
This not the fuggeftion of prudifti fear, I think it is

is
the natural courfe of things, and that France is at this

moment giving to the world the fulleft proof of
Weifliaupt's fagacity, and the judgment with which he
has formed his plans. Can it tend to the improvement
of our morals or manners to have our ladies frequent
the gymnaftic theatres, and fee them decide, like the
Roman
—
192 THE ILLUMINATI. CRAP. II.
Roman matrons, on the merits of a naked gladiator or

wreQler ? Have we not enough of this already with our
vaulters and poflure-mafters, and fhould we adrinirc
any lady who had a rage for fuch fpe(5lacles ? Will it
improve our tafl:e to have our rooms ornamented with
fuch paintings and fculptures as filled the cenaculum,
and the ftudy of the refined and elegant moralift Ho-
race, who had the art ridendo dtcere verum ? Shall
we be improved when fuch indulgences arc thought
compatible with fuch leffons as he generally gives for
the condud of life ? The pure Morality of Illumina-
tifm IS now employed in ftripping Italy of all thofe pre-
cious remains of ancient art and voluptuoufnefs j and
Paris will ere long be the depofit and the rcfort of ar-
tifts from all nations, there to ftudy the works of an-
cient maftcrs, and to return from thence panders of

public corruption. The plan is mallerly, and the low-
born Statefmen and Generals of France may in this ref-
pecl be fet on a level with a Colbert or a Conde. But
the confcqucnces of this Gallic dominion over the
minds of fallen man will be as dreadful as their domi-
nion over their lives and fortunes.
Recoiled; in what manner Spartacus propofed to
corrupt his fillers (for we need not fpeak of the manner
in which he expeded that this would promote his plan
— this is abundantly plain). It was by deftroying their
moral fcntiments, and their fentiments of religion. Re-

coiled: what is the recommendation that the Atheift
Minos gives of his ftcp-daughters, when he fpeaks of
them, as proper perlons for the Lodge of Sillers.
*' They have got over all prejudices, and, in matters
*' of religion they think as I do." Thefe profligates

judged rightly that this affair required much caution,
and that the utmofl attention to decency, and even de-
licacy, mud be obft-rved in tiicir and ceremo-
rituals
nies, otherwife the women would be difgujlcd. This
was
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. 1 93
was judging fairly of the feelings of a female mind.

But they judged falfely, and only according to their
own coarfe experience, when they attributed their dif-
guft and their fears to coynefs. Coyncfs is indeed the
inftinftive attribute of the female. In woman it is very
great, and perhaps the genuine fource of the difguji
it is
of which the Illuminati were fufpicious. But they have

been dim-fighted indeed, or very unfortunate in their
acquaintance, if they never obferved any other fource
of repugnance in the mind of woman to what is im-
—
moral or immodeft if they did not fee dillike moral —
difapprobation. Do they mean to infmuate, that in
that regard which modeft women exprefs in all their
words and a6lions, for what every one underftands by
the terms decency, modefty, and the difapprobation
of every thing that violates thofc feelings, the women
only fhow female coynefs ? Then arc they very blind
inftrudors. But they are not fo blind. The accounc
given of the initiation of a young Sifter at Frankfort,
under the feigned name Pjycharion^ lliows the moft
fcrupulous attention to the moral feelings of the fex;
and the confufion and difturbance which, after all their
care, it occafioned among the ladies, fhows, that when
they thought all right and delicate, they had been but
coarfe judges. Minos damns the ladies there, becaufe
they are too free, too rich, too republican, and too
wife, for being led about by the nofc (this is his own
expreflion). But Philo certainly thought more cor-
re£bly of the fex in general, when he fays. Truth is a
modeft girl She may be handed about like a lady, by
:
good fenfc and good manners, but muft not be bullied

and driven about like a ftrumpet. I would here inferi:
the difcourfes or which %vere made on that
addrefies
occafion to the different clafTes of the alTembly, girls,
young ladies, wives, young men, and ftrangers, which
* 2 B are
Ig4 "^^^ ILLUMINATI. CHAP. li.
a'-e really ingenious and well ccmpofed, were they not

fuch as would oiFend my fair countrywomen.
The religious fentimcnrs by which mortals are to be
aiTifted, even in the difcharge of their moral duties,
and ftill more, tlie fentiments which are purely reli-
gious, and have no reference to any thing here, arc
precifcly thofe which are mod eafily excited in the
mind of woman. Affedlion, admiration, filial reve-
rence, are, mitlake not exceedingly, thofe in
if I
which the women far furpafs the men and it is on,

;
this account that we generally find them fo much dif-

pofed to devotion, which is nothing but a fort of fond
indulgence of thofe affedlions without limit to the ima-
gination. The enraptured devotee pours out her foul
in exprcfiions of thefe feelings, juil as a fond mother
mixes the careffcs given to her child with the moft exr
travagant exprefiions of love. The devotee even en-
deavours to excite higher degrees of thefe afFedlions,
by expatiating on fuch circumftances in the divine
ccvndu6l with refpeft to man as naturally awaken themj
and he does this without any fear of exceeding; be-
caufe Infinite Wifdom and Goodnefs will aUvays juftify
the fentiment, and free the exprefiion of it from all
charge of hyperbole or extravagance.
I am convinced, therefore, that the female mind is
utII adapted to cultivation bv means of religion, and

that their native foftnefs and kindnefs of heart will al-
ways be fufficicnt for procuring it a faviiurable recep-
tion from them. It is therefore with double regret
that I fee any of them join in the arrogant pretenfions
of our Illuminated philofophers, who fee no need of
luch alTillances for the knowledge and difcharge of
their duties. There is nothing lb unlike that general
modeily of thought, and that diffidence, which we are
dif])ofed to think the charader of the female mind. I
am
CHAP. n. THE ILLUMINATI. I95
am inclined to rhink, that fuch deviations from the 2:c-

neral condudt of the fex are marks of a harflier clia-
rafler, of a heart that has Icfs fcnfibiliryj and is on the
whole lefs amiable than that at others. Yet k muii:"
be owned that there are fome iuch among us. IVluch,

if not the whole of this perverfion, has, 1 am perfuad-
ed, been owing to the contagion of bad exanjple in
the men. They are made familiar witii fuch expref-
lions — their firft horror is gone, and (woiiid to heaven
that I were miflaken!) fome of them have already
wounded their conferences to fuch a degree, that they
have fome reafon to wilh that religion may be v/itho{;t
foundation.
But I would call upon all, and fbefe women in parti-
cular, to confider this m.atter in another liffhr— as it
may afFedt thcmfclvcs in this life as it may affe6t their

j
rank and treatment in ordinary fociety. J would fay

to them, that if the world iLall once adopt the belief
that this life is our all, then the true maxim of rational
conduft will be, to '' eat and to drink, fince to-moi-
** row v.'e are to die;" and that when they have
no-
thing to trull to but the fondnefs of the men, they
will foon find themfelves reduced to Qavery. The
crown which they now wear wiil fall from their heads,
and they will no longer be the arbiters of what is lovely
in human life. The empire of beauty is but fliort ^
and even in republican France, it will not be many
years that Madame Tallien can fafcinate the Parifir.n
Theatie by the exiiibition of her charms. Man is uif-
tidious and changeable, he is the ftronger animal, and
can always take his own will witli refpe6l to w, man.
At prefent he is with-held by refpeft for her moral
—
worth and many are with-held by religion and ma- —
ny more are with-held by public laws, which laws
were framed at a time vvhcn religious truths iniluf need
the
the minds and the condiift of men. When the fenti-

mentsof men change, they will not be fo foolifh as to
keep in force laws which cramp their ftrongeft defires.
Then will the rich have their Harems, and the poor
their drudges.
Nay, not merely the circumftance of woman's
it is
being confidered as the moral companion of man that

gives the fex its empire among us. There is fome-
thinsr of this to be obferved in all nations. Of all the
diftinftions which fet our fpecies above the other fen-
tient inhabitants of this globe, making us as unlike to
the beft of them as they are to a piece of inanimate
matter, there is none more remarkable than the differ-
ences obfervable in the appearances of thofe defires by
which the race is continued. As I obferved already,
fuch a diftindion is indifpenfably neceflary. There
muft be a moral connexion, in order that the human
fpecies may be a race of rational creatures, improve-
able, not only by the increafmg experience of the in-
dividual, but alfo by the heritable experience of the
fucceffive generations. It may be obferved between
the folitary pairs in Labrador, where human nature

ftarves, like the ftunted oak in the crevice of a baron
rock J and it is feen in the cultivated focieties of Eu-
rope, where our nature in a feries of ages becomes a
majeftic tree. Whatever may be the native powers
of mind in the poor but gentle Efquimaux, {he can do
nothing for the fpecies but nurfe a young one, who
cannot run his race of life without inceflant and hard
labour to keep foul and body together —
here therefore
her ftation in fociety can hardly have a name, becaufe
there can hardly be faid to be any aflbciation, except
what is necelTary for repelling the hoflile attacks of
Indians, who feem to hunt them without provocation
as the dog does the hare. In other parts of the world,
we
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. t^']
we which the fex is held,

fee that the confideration in
nearly iollows the proportions of that aggregate of ma-
ny difFi-'renc particulars, which we confider as confti-
tuting the cultivation of a fociety. We may perhaj^s
err, and we probably do err, in our eftimation of thole
degrees, becaufe we are not perfectly acquainted with
what is the real excellence of man. But as far as we
(:^» judge of it, I believe that my afiertion is acknow-
ledged. On this authority, I might pre fume to lay,

that It is in Chrillian Europe that man has attained his
higheft degree of cultivation— and it is undoubtedly
here that the women have attained the higheft rank.
I may even add, that it is in that part of Europe where
the eflenciai and diftinguifhing doctrines of Chriftian
morality are moft generally acknowledged and attended
to by the laws of the country, that woman a6ts the
higheft part in general fociety. But here we muft be
very careful how we form our notion, either of the
fociety, or of the female rank — it is furely not from
the two or three dozens who fill the hisrheft ranks ia
the ftate. Their number is too fmall, and their fitu-
ation is too particular, to ?.fford the proper average.
Befides, the fituation of the individuals of this clafs in
all countries is very much the fame —
and in all it is
very artificial — accordingly their character is fantafti-

cal. Norwe to take it from that clafs
are that is the
moft numerous of all, the loweft clafs of fociety, for
thefe are the labouring poor, whofe condud: and oc-
cupations are fo much dictated to them by the hard
circumftances of their fituation, that fcarcely any thing
is left to their choice. The fituation of women of this
clafs muft be nearly the fame in all nations. But this
clafs h ftill fufceptible of fome variety —and we fee ic
— and think that even here there is a perceptible fu-

I
periority of the female rank in thofe countries where

igS THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. H.
.the purefl Chrlftianity prevails.' We

muft however
take our mtâlures or* proportions from a numerous
clafs, but alfo a clafs in Ibmewhat of eafy circum-
ilances, where moral fentiments call fome attention,
and perfons have fome choice in their conduce. And
here, although I cannot pretend to have had many
opportunities of obfervation, yet I have had fome. I
can venture to fay that it is not in Rtifiia, nor in
Spain, that woman is, on the whole, the mod im-
portant as a member of the community. 1 would
fay, that in Britain her important rights arc more ge-

nerally rcfpcdted tlian any where elfe. No where is
a man's character lb much hurt by conjugal infide-
lity —
no where is it fo difficult to rub off the ftigma
of baftardy, or to procure a decent reception or ibci-
ciety for an improper connection; and I believe ic
will readily be granted, that the fiiare of the women
in fuccelTions, their authority in all matc^rs of domef-
tic truft, and even their opinions in what concerns
life and manners, are fully more refpedled here than
in any country.
I have long been of the opinion, (and every obfer-
vation tiiat I have been able to make fince I hrll
formed it confirms me in it,) that woman is indebted
to Chriltianity alone for the high rank flie holds in
fociety. Look into the writings* of antiquity inta —
the works of the Greek and Latin poets into the —
numberlefs panegyrics of the fex, to be fo-Jiid both
in profe and verfe —
I can find little, very little in-
deed, where v;oman is treated with refped there is —

no want of love, that is, of fondnefs, of beauty, of
charms, of graces. But of woman as the equal of
man, as a. moral companion, travelling with him the
road to felicity — as his advifer — his folace in misr'br-
tLine — as a pattern from which he may fometimes
copy
— —
9HAP. I!, THE ILLUMINATI. Ip^
copy with advantage ;

—of all this there is hardly a
trace. Woman is always mentioned as an objeft of
paflion. Chafllty, modefty, fober-mindedncfs, are.'
all confidered in relation to this finglc point or fome- ;
times as of importance in refpeft of economy or do-

meftic quiet. Recollect the famous fpeech of Metel-
tellus Numidicus to the Roman people, when, as,
Cenfor, he was recommending marriage..
" Si fme uxore poiTemus Quirites efle, omnes ca
" moleftia careremus. Sed quoniam ita natura tradi-
" dit, ut nee cum illis commode, nee fine illis ullo
" modo vivi poffet, lakiti perpetu^ potius quam brcvi
*^ voluptati confulendum."
All: Cell. Noci, Jit. I. 6.
What does Ovid, the great panegyrift of the fex,

fay for his beloved daughter, whom he had praifcd
for her attraftions in various places of his Triilia and
other compoficions ? He is writing her Epitaph and —
the only thing he can fay of her as a rational creature
is, that (he was Bomifuia —
not a Gadabout. Search —
Apuleius, where you v;ill find many female chara6lers
in ahjlra^lc — You will find that his little Photis (a
cook -maid and firumpet) was neareft to his heart, af-

ter all his philofophy. Nay, in his pretty flory of
Cupid and Pfyche, which the very wife will tell you
is a fine lelTon of moral philofophy, and a reprefenta-
tion of the operations of the intelieftual and moral fa-

culties of the human foul, a ftory which gave him
the fined opportunity, nay, almoft made it necefiTary
for him to infert whatever can ornament the female
chara6ler; what is his Pfyche but a beautiful, fond,
and filly and what are the whole fruits of any
girl ;
acquaintance with the fex ? Pleafure. —

But why take
—
more pains in the fcaixh? Look at their immortal
^gcdde (Tes
——
aOO THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. II.
goddefles — is there one among them vvhom a wife man

would felccl for a wife I grant that a
or a friend ? —
Lucretia is praifcd —
a Portia, an Arria, a Zenobia
but thcfc are individual characlers —
not reprefentatives
of the fcx. The only Grecian ladies who made a
figure by were your Afpafias, Sap-
intellcdtual talents,
phos, Phrynes, and other nymphs of this caft, who
had emerged from the general infigniiicance of the fex,
by throwing away what we are accullomed to call its
greatefl ornament.
I think that the firft piece in which woman is pic-
tured as a refpedable character, is the oidefb novel
that I am acquainted with, written by a Chriftian Bi-
fhop, Hcliodorus —
1 mean the Adventures of Thea-
genes and Chariclea. I think that the Heroine is a
greater charac^ler than you will meet with in all the

annals of antiquity. And worth while to obferve
it is
what was the effc(51: of this painting. The poor Bi-

fhop had been dcpofed, and even excommunicated,
for doctrinal errors, and for drawing fuch a pidlure of
a heathen. The magiflrates of Antioch, the moil
voluptuous and corrupted city of the Eaft, wrote to
the Emperor, telling him that this book had reformed
the ladies of their city, where Julian the Emperor and
his Sophifls had formerly preached in vain, and they
therefore prayed that the good Bifliop might not be
deprived of his mitre. —
It is true, we read of Hypatia,
daughter of Theon, the mathematician at Alexandria,

who was a prodigy of excellence, and taught philofo-
phy, i. c. the art of leading a good and happy life, with
great applaufe in the famous Alexandrian fchool.
But file alfo was in the times of Chriftianity, and was
the intimate friend of Syncellus and other Chriftian
Bifhops.
It
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATl. 201
undoubtedly Chriftianity that has fet woman on

It is
her throne, making her in every refpeft the equal of

man, bound to the lame duties, and candidate for the
fame happinefs. Mark how woman is defcribed by a
Chriftian poet>
-" Yet when I approach

Her lovelinefs, fo abfolute ihe feems,
And in herfelf compleLe, fo well to know
Her own, that what flie wills to do or fay
Seems vjife/fy viftusufc:/}, difcreetej}^ bejl.
Neither her outfide, form'd fo fair^

So much delights me, as thofi graceful a£is,
Thofe thoufand decencies that daily flow
From all her words and aftlons, mix'd with love
And fweet compliance, which declare unfeign'd
Union of mind^ or in us both one foul.
-And, to confummate all,

Greatnefs ofniind^ and nohlenefs^ their feat
Build in her lovelieft, and create an avje
About her^ as a guard angelic flacdP
M ILTON.
This is really moral painting, without any abatement
of female charms.
This is the natural confequence of that purity of
heart, which is fo much infiiled on in the Chriftian mo-
rality. In the inftruftions of the heathen philofophers,
it is cither not mentionedor at moft, it is recom-
at all,
mended coldly, as a thing proper, and worthy of a mind
attentive to great things. —
But, in Chriftianity, it is
infifted on as an indifpenfable duty, and enforced by
many arguments peculiar to itfelf
It is worthy of obfervation, that the moft prominent
fuperftitions which have difhonoured the Chriftian
churches, have been the excelllve refinements which
* 2 C the
the cnthufiafliic admiration of heroic purity has allow-

ed the holy trade to introduce into the manufa6lure of
our fpiritual fetters. Without this cnthufiafm, cold
expediency would not have been able to make the Mo-
nallic vow fo general, nor have given us fuch numbers
of convents. Tliefe were generally founded by fuch
enthufiafts —the rulers indeed of the church encouraged
this to the utmofl, as the beft levy for the fpiritual
—
power but they could not enjoin fuch foundations.
From the fame fource we may derive the chief influ-
ence of auricular confefTion. When thefc were firmly
eftabliflied, and were venerated, almoft all the other
coriupLior)s of Chriftianity followed of courfe. I may
almoft add, that though it is here that Chriftianity has
buffered the moft violent attacks, it is here that the
place is moft tenable.— Nothing tends fo much to knit
a]l the ties of fociety as the endearing connexions of
family, and whatever tends to leflen our veneration for

the marriaee-contrael, weakens them in the moft cfFec-
tual manner. Purity of manners is the moft effeftual
fupporr, and pure thoughts are the only fources from
which pure manners can flow. I readily grant that in
former times this veneration for perfonal purity was

carried to an extravagant height, and that feveral very
ridiculous fancies and cuftoms arofe from this. Ro-
mantic love and chivalry are ftrong inftances of the
ftrange vagaries of our imagination, when carried along
by this enthufiaftic admiration of female purity and
;
fo unnatural and forced, that they could only be tem-

porary fafliions. But I believe that, with all their ri-
dicule, it would be a happy nation where this was the
general creed and pradlice. Nor can I help thinking
a nation on its decline, when the domeftic connections
ceafe to be venerated, and the illegitimate offspring of
a nabob or a nobleman are received with eafe into goocj
company,
Nothing
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. 20^
Nothing is more clear than that the defign of the II*

luminati was to abolifh Chriftianity— and we now Ice
how efFeftuai this would be for the corruption of tlie
fair fex, a piirpofe which they eagerly wished to gain^
that they might corrupt the men. But if the women
would retain the rank they nov/ hold, they will be
careful to preferve in full force on their minds this re-
ligion, fo congenial to their difpofitions, which nature
has made affeftionate and kind.
And with refped to the men, is it not egregious
folly to encourage any thing that can tend to blaft our
fweeteft enjoyments ? Shall we not do this moft effec-
tually if we attempt to corrupt what nature will always
make us confider as the higheft elegance of life ? The
divinity of the Stoics was, ** Mensjana in corporefano,'^
!—^but it is equally true,
*' Gratior eji pulchro veniens e corpore virtus.^*
If, therefore, inftead of profcffedly tainting what is of

itfelf beautiful, we could really work it up to
*' That fair form, which, wove loom,

in fancy's
*' Floats in light vifions round the poet's head,"
and make woman a patrern of perfection, we fliould

undoubtedly add more to the heartfelt happinefs of life
than by all the difcoveries of the Illuminati. Seewkat
was the effeft of Theagenes and Chariclea.
And we fhould remember that with the fate of wo-
man that of man is indiffolubly knit. The voice of
nature fpoke through our immortal bard, when he made
Adam fay,
" From thy ftate

^* Mine never ftall be parted, blifs or woe."
Should
i04. tPiE ILLUMINATI. tHAP. 11.
Should wc contagion to touch our

fufFer the fair part-
ner, all is gone, and too late fhall we fayj
" O faireft of creation I laft and beft

*'
Of God's works, creature in whom excell'd
all
" Whatever can to light or thought be form'd,
*'
Holy^ divine^ good, amiable, orfweet I
" How art thou lolt,—ând now to death devote?
*'
And 7ne with thee haft ruin'd; for with thee
" Certain my refolution is to die."
i 197 ]
CHAP. III.
The German Union,
w HEN fuch a fermentation had been ex-

cited in the public mind, it cannot be fuppofed that
the formal fuppreflion of the Order of the Illumi-
nati in Bavaria, and in the Duchy of Wirtemberg,
by the reigning princes, would bring all to reft again.
By no means. The minds of men were predifpof-
ed for a change by the reftlefs fpirit of fpeculation
in every kind of enquiry, and the leaven had been
carefully and fkilfully difteminated in every quarter
of the empire, and even in foreign countries. Weif-
haupt faid, on good grounds, that *' if the Order
fhould be difcovered and fupprefled, he would re-
ftorc it with tenfold energy in a twelvemonth." Even
in thofe ftates where it was formally aboliftied, no-
thing could hinder the enlifting new members, and
carrying on all the purpofes of the Order. The
Areopagitae might indeed be changed, and the feat
of the direflion transferred to fome other place, but
the Minerval and his Mentor could meet as former-
ly, and a ride of a few miles into another State,
would bring him to a Lodge, where the young would
be amufed, and the more advanced would be engag-
ed in ferious mifchief. Weifliaupt never liked chil-
dren's play. He indulged Philo in it, becaufe he
faw him taken with fuch rattles : but his own pro-
jeds were dark and folemn, and it was a relief to
him now to be freed from that mummery. He foon
found the bent of the perfon's mind on whom he
had fet his talons, and, he fays, that " no man ever
efcaped him whom he thought it worth while to fe-
cure." He had already filled the lifts with enough
2B of
198 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. ill.
of the young and gay, and when the prefent condition

of the Order required fly and experienced heads, he
no longer courted them by play-things. He Cvommu-
nicated the ranks and the inilrudions by a letter,
without any ceremony. The correfpondence with
Philo at the time of the breach with him, Ihews the
fuperiority of Spartacus. Philo is in a rage, provok-
ed to find a pitiful profeflbr difcontented with the
immenfe ferviceswhich he had received from a gen-
tleman of his rank, and treating him with authority,
and with dilingenuity. —He tells Spartacus what Hill
greater fervices hs can do the Order, and that he can
alforuin it with a breath. —But in the midfl of this
rage, he propofes a thouland modes of reconcile-
ment. The fmalleft concellion would make him
hug Spartacus in his arms. But Spartacus is deaf to
all his threats, and firm as a rock. Though he is con-
fcious of his own vile condu*fl, he abates not in the

fmallefi; point, his abfolute authority^requires the
mod; implicit fubmiffion, which he fays *' is due not
to him, but to the Order, and without which the
—
Order mufl: immediately goto ruin." He does not
even deign to challenge Philo to do his worft, but
allows him to go out of the Order without one angry
word. This Ihows his confidence in the energy of
that fpirit of refilefs difcontent, and that hankering
after reform which he had fo fuccefsfully fpread a-
broad.
This had indeed arifen to an unparalleled height,
unexpected even by the feditious themfelves. This
appeared in a remarkable manner by the reception
given to the infamous letters on the conrtitution of
the Pruflfian States.
The general opinion was, that Mirabeau was the
author of the letters themfelves, and it was perfedly
underflood by every perfon, that the tranflaiion into
French was a joint contrivance of Mirabeau and Ni-
cholai.
OMAr. ill. THE GERMAN UNION. 1 99
choiai. was affuredof this by the Britifh Minifter
I
at that Court. There are fome blunders in refped
of names, which an inhabitant of the country could
hardly be guilty of, but are very confident with the
felf-conceit and precipitancy of this Frenchman —
There are feveral in fiances of the fame kind in two
pieces, which are known for certain to be his, viz.
the Chronique Jcandaleuje and the Hifioire fecrette de
la Cour de B^Tlin. Thefe letters were in every hand,
and were rrientioned in every converfation, even in
the PrulTian dominions — and in other places of the
empire they were quoted, and praifed, and com-
mented on, although fome of their contents were
nothing (liort of rebellion.
Mirabeau had a large portion of that felf-conceit
which diitinguifhes his countrymen. He thought
himfeif qualified not only for any high office in ad-
minillration, but even for managing the whole af-
fairs of the new King. He therefore endeavoured
to obtain fome pofl: of honour. But he was difap-
pointed, and, in revenge, did every thing in his
power to make thofe in adminiftration the objeds of
public ridicule and reproach. His licentious antl
profligate manners were fuch as excluded him from
the fociety of the people of the firfl: clafles, whom
it behoved to pay fome attention to perfonal digni-
ty. His opinions were in the highefl: degree cor-

rupted, and he openly profefled Atheifm. This
made him peculiarly obnoxious to the King, who was
determined to correcfl the diflurbances and difquiets
which had arifen in the Pruffian flates from the in-
difl'erence of his predeceflbr in thofe matters. Mi-
rabeau therefore attached himfeif to a junto of wri-
ters and fcribblers, who had united in order to dif-
leminate licentious principles, both in refped of re-
ligion and of government. His wit and fancy were
great, and he had not perhaps his equal for eloquent
and
200 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP, ill,
and biting fatire. He was therefore careffed by

thofe writers as a moft valuable acquifition to their
Society. He took deference as his jiift due ;
all this
and was fo confident in his powers, and fo foolifli,

as to advife, and even to admonifti, the King.
Highly obnoxious by fuch conduct, he was excluded
from any chance of preferment, and was exceeding-
ly out of humour. In this ftate of mind he was in
a fit frame for Illumination. Spartacus had been
eyeing him for fome time, and at lafl: communicated
this honour to him through the intermedium of Mau-
villon, another Frenchman, Lieutenant-Colonel in
the ferviceof the Duke of Brunfwick. This perfon
had been moft adive during the formal exiftence of
the Order, and had contributed much to its recep-
tion in the Proteftant ftates —
he remained long con-
cealed. Indeed his Illumination was not knowij till
the invafion of Holland by the French. Mauvillon
then ftepped forth, avowed his principles, and re-
commended the example of the French to the Ger-
mans. This encouragement brought even Philo
again on the ftage, notwithftanding his refentment
againft Spartacus, and his folemn declaration of hav-
ing abjured all fuch focieties. —
Thefe, and a thou-
fand fuch fads, fhow that the feeds of licentious
Cofmopolitifm had taken deep root, and that cut-
ting down the crop had by no means deftroyed the
baneful plant. — —
But this is not all a new method of
cultivation had been invented, and immediatelv
adopted, and it was now growing over all Europe in
another form.
I have already taken notice of the general perver-
fion of the public mind which co-operated with the
fchifms of Free Mafonry in procuring a liftening
ear to Spartacus and his aflfociates. It will not be
doubted but that the machinations of the Illuminati
increafed this, even among thofe who did not enter
into
CHAP, 111. THE GERMAN UNION. <20l
Into the Order. It was eafier to diminfh the refpetfl

for civil eftablifhments in Germany than in almoft
any other country. The frivolity of the ranks and
court-offices in the different confederated petty Ibtes
made it impofTible to combine dignity with the ha-
bitsof a fcanty income. —
It was ff ill eafier to expofe
to ridicule and reproach thofe numberlefs abufes

which the folly and the vices of men had introdu-
ced into religion. The influence on the public mind
which naturally attaches to the venerable office of a
moral inflrudor, was prodigioufly diminifhed by the
continual difputes of the Catholics and Proteflants,
which were carried on with great heat in every little
principality. The freedom of enquiry, which was
fupporled by the ftate in Proteftant Germany, was
terribly abufed, (for what will the folly of man not
abufe?) and degenerated into a wanton licentiouf-
nefs of thought, and a rage for fpeculation and fcep-
ticifm on every fubjedf whatever. The ftruggle,
which was originally between the Catholics and the
Proteflants, had changed, during the gradual progrefs
of luxury and immorality, into a conteft between
reafon and fuperflition. And in this conteft the
denomination of fuperftition had been gradually ex-
tended to every dodlrine which profefled to be of
divine revelation, and reafon was declared to be, for
certain, the only way in which the Deity can inform
the human mind.
Some refpedable Catholics had publifhed works
filled with liberal fentiments, Thefe were repre-
fented as villainous machinations to inveigle Protef-
tants. On the other hand, fome Proteftant divines
had propofed to imitate this liberality by making con-
ceffions which might enable a good Catholic to live
more at eafe among the Proteftants, and might even
accelerate an union of faiths. This was hoot*d be-
yond meafure, as Jefuitical, and big with danger.
While
202 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. 111.
While the fceptical junto, headed by the editors of

tlie Deutfche Bibliothek and the Berlin Monatfchrift^
were recommending ev^ry performance thatwashof-
tJleto the eftabliOied faith of the country, Leuchtfen-
ring was equally bufy, finding Jefuits in every corner,
and went about with all the inquietude of a madman,
picking up anecdotes. Zimmerman, the refpecftable
phyfician of Frederick King of PrufTia, gives a di-
verting account of a vifit which he had from Leucht-
fenring ?t Hanover, all trembling with fears of Je-
fuits, and wifliing to perfuade him that his life was
in danger from them. Nicholai was now on the
hunt, and during this crufade Philo laid hands on
him, being introduced to his acquaintance by Leucht-
fenring, who was, by this time, cured of his zeal for
Protellanilm, and had become a difciole of Illumi-
natifm. Philo had gained his good opinion by the vi-
olent attack which be had publifhed on the Jefuits and
Rofycrucians by the orders of Spartacus. —
He had
not tar to go in gaining over Nicholai, who was at
this time making a tour through the Lodges. The
fparks of Illumination which he perceived in many
of them pleafed him exceedingly, and he very cheer-
fully received the precious fecret from Philo.
This acquifitlon to the Order was made in Janua-
ry 1782. Spartacus was delighted with it, confider-
ed Nicholai as a moft excellent champion, and gave
him the name of Liician^ the great fcoffer at all reli-
gion, as aptly expiefling his character.
Nicholai, on his return to Berlin, publifhed many
volumes ot his difcoveries.One would imagine
ihat net a Jefuit had efcaped him. He mentions
many fl range fchifmatics, both in religion and in
AJafonry —
But he never once mentions an llluinina-
ttis. —
When they u-ere firfl: checked, and before the
difcovery of the fecret correfpondence, he defended
them, and ilrougly reprobated the proceedings of the
Eledor
—
CHAP. iii. THE GERMAN UNION* 20^
Eledor of Bavaria, calling it vile perfecution.
Nay, after the difcovery of the letters found in
Zwack's houfe, he perfided in his defence, vindica-
ted the poireflion of the abominable receipts, and
highly extolled the charadler of Weifliaupt. But—
when the difcovery of papers in the houfe of Batz
informed the public that he himfelf had long been
an Illuminatus^ he was fadly put to it to reconcile his
defence with any pretenfions to religion*.
Weifliaupt faved him from difgrace, as he thought,
by his publication of the fyllem of Illuminatifm
Nicholai then boldly faid that he knew no more of
the Order than was contained in that book, that is^
only the two firfl: degrees.
But before this, Nicholai had made to himfelf a
iHoft formidable enemy. The hiilory of this covx-
teil: is curious in itfelf, and gives us a very inflruiftive
pidure of the machinations of that conjuration des

philofopbes^ or gang of icribblers who were leagued
againfl: the peace of the world. The reader will
therefore find it to our purpofe. On the authority
of a lady in Courland, a Qountefs von der Recke,
Nicholai had accufed Dr. Stark of Darmfladt (who
made fuch a figure in Free Mafonry) of Jefuitifm,
and of having even fubmicted to the tonfure. Stark
vras a moft reftlefs fpirif —had gone through every
myrtery in Germany, Illuminatifm excepted, and
had ferreted out many of Nicholai's hidden tranlac-
* He impudently pretended that the papers containing the

fyftem and doctrines of Illuminatifm, came to him at Berlin, from
an unknown hand. —
But no one believed him it was inconfillent
with what is faid of him in the fccret correfpondence. He had
faid the fame thing concerning the French tranflation of the Let-
ters on the Conilitution of the Pruflian Skates. Fifty copies were
found in his ware-houfe. He faid that they had been fent from Straf-
burg, and that he had never fold one of them. — Suppofing both
thefe aflertions to be true, it appears that Nicholai was conlidered
as a very proper hand for difperfing tuch poifon.
tions.
;
204 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. Ill,
tions. He was an unwearied book-maker, and

alfo
dealt oat thefe dil'coveries by degrees, keeping the
eye of the public continually upon Nicholai. He
iiad fufpecled his Illumination tor fome time paft,
and when the fecret came out, by Spartacus' letter,
where he boalls of his acquifuion, calling Nicholai
a moll flmdy combatant, and faying that he was
content iU'nnus^ Stark left no flone unturned till he
difcovered that Nicholai had been initiated in all the
horrid and moil profligate myfteries of lUuminatifm,
and that Spartacus had at the very firfl entrufted him
with his moll darling fecrets, and advifed with him
on many occalions*.
This complete blafling of moral chara6ler
his
could not be patiently borne, and Nicholai was in
his turn the bitter enemy of Stark, and, in the pa-
.
* Of this we have complete proof in the private correfpond-
cnce. Philo, fpcaking in one of his letters of the gradual change
which was to be produced in the minds of their pupils from Chrifti-
anity to Deifm, fays, " Nicholai informs me, that even the pious
" Zollikofer has now been convinced that it would be proper to fet
** up a deiftical church in Berlin." It is in vain that Nicholai
fays that his knowledge of the Order was only of what Weifhaupt
had publifhed ; for Philo fays that that corre6led fyftem had not
been introduced into it when he quitted it in 1 784. But Nicholai
deferves no credit — he is one of the moft fcandalous examples of
the operation of the principles of Weifhaupt. He procured ad-
miflion into the Lodges of Free Mafons and Rofycrucians, merely
to aft the difhonourable part of a fpy, and he betrayed their fecrets
as far as he could. In the appendix to the 7th volume of his
journey, he declaims againft the Templar Mafons, Rofycrucians,
and Jefiiits, for their blind fubmiflion to unknown fuperiors, for
their fuperftltions, their priefthoods, and their bafe principles- and—
yet had becH five years in a fsciety in which all thefe were carried
to the greateft height. He remains true to the lUuminati alone,
becaufc they had the fame objeft in view with himfclf and his
atheilb'cal alTociatcs, His defence of Proteftantifm is all a cheat
and perhaps he may be confidered as an enemy equally formidable
with Weilhaupt himfelf. This is the reafon why he occupies fo
many of thefe pages.
roxyfms
t • •
CHAP. 111. THE GERMAN UNION. 205
ioxyfms of his anger, publifhed every idle tale, al-

though he was often obliged to contradiA them in the
next Review. In the courfe of this attack and de-
fence. Dr. Stark dilcovered the revival of the Illu-
minati, or which carried on the
at leafl a ibciety
fame great work in a fomewhat different way.
Dr. Stark had written a defence againfl: one of Ni-
cholas's accufations, and wifhed to have it printed at
Leipzig. He therefore fent the manufcript to a
friend, who refided there. This friend immediate-
ly propofed it to a mod improper perfon, Mr. Pott,
who had written an anonymous commentary on the
King of Pruflia's edidl for the uniformity of religious
worlhip in his dominions. This is one of the molt
fhamelefs attacks on the efiablifhed faith of the na-
tion, and the authority and condud^ of the Prince,
that can be imagined; Stark's friend was ignorant
of this, and fpoke to Pott, as the partner of the
great publifher Walther. They, without hefitation,
undertook the publifhing ; but when fix weeks had
paffed over, Stark's friend found that it Vvâs not be-
gun. Some exceptionable paffages, which treated
with difrefped the religion of Reafcn, were given
as the caufe of delay ; and he was told that ths au-
thor had been written to about them, but had not yet
returned an anfwer. This v/as afterwards found to
be falfe. Then a pafTage in the preface was objedl-
ed to, as treating roughly a lady in Courland, which
Walther could not print, becaufe he had connedions
with that court. The author mult be entreated to
change his expreffions. After another delay, paper
was wanting. The MS. was withdrawn. Walther
now faid that he would print it immediately, and
again got it into his hands^ prorailing to fend the
ftieets as they came from the prefs. Thefe not ap-
pealing for a long time, the agent made enquiry,
and: found that it was fent to Michaelis at Halle, to
^C b^
2o6 THE GBRMAN UNION. CHAP, iil*
be printed there. The agent immediately v/ent

thither, and found that it was printing with great al-
terations, another title, and a guide or key, in which
the work was perverted and turned into ridicule by
a Dr. Bahrdt, who refided in that neighbourhood.
An adion of recovery and damages was immediately
commenced at Leipzig, and after much conteft, an
interdidl was put on Michaelis's edition, and a pro-
per edition was ordered immediately from Walther,
with fecuritty that it fhould appear before Bahrdt's,
key. Yet when it was produced at the next fair,
the bookfellers had been already fupplied with the
fpurious edition ; and as this was accompanied by
the key, it was much more faleable ware, and com-
pletely fupplanted the other.
This is Ibrely a ftrong inftance of the machina-
tions by which the lUuminati have attempted to
deftroy the Liberty of the Prefs, and the power
they have to difcourage or fupprefs any thing that
is not agreeable to the tafte of the literary junto.
It was in the courfe of this tranfa^tion that Dr.

Stark's agent found people talking in the coffee-
houfes of Leipzig and Halle of the advantages of
public libraries, and of libraries by fubfcription,
in every town, where perfons could, at a fmall ex-
pence, fee v/hat waspalfmg in the learned world.
As he could not but acquieice in thefe points, they
who held this language began to talk of a gene-
ral Aflociation, which faould a£t in concert over
all Germany, and make a- full communication of
its numerous literary productions by forming fv-
cietics for reading and inltrudtion, which fliould
be regularly fupplied with every publication. Fly-
ing ftieets and pamphlets were afterwards put into
his hands, dating the great ufe of fuch an Afloci-
ation,and the elie(ft which it would fpcedily pro-
duce by enlightening the nation. By and by he
learned
CHAP. iii. THE GERMAN UNION. SOJ
learned that fuch an AfTociation did really exift,

and that it was called the German union, for
ROOTING OUT SUPERSTITION AND PREJUDICES,
AND ADVANCING TRUE CHRISTIANITY. On
enquiry, however, he found that this was to be a
Secret Society, becaufe it had to combat prejudi-
ces which were fupported by the great of this
world, and becaufe its aim was to promote that
general information which priefls and defpots
dreaded above all things. This AfTociation was
accelfible only through the reading focieties, and
oaths of lecrecy and fidelity were required. In
fhort, it apppeared to be the old fong of the lllu-
minati.
This difcovery was immediately announced to
the public, in an anonymous publication in defence
of Dr. Stark. It is fuppofed to be his own per-
formance. It difclofes a fcene of complicated
villiany and folly; in which the Lady in Courland
makes a very ftrange figure. She appears to be a
wild fanatic, deeply engaged in magic and ghoft-
raifing, and leagued with Nicholai, Gedicke, and
Bieller, againft Dr. Stark. He
very completely
is
cleared of the fadts alledged againft him ; and his

three male opponents appear void of all principle
and enemies of all religion. Stark however would,
in Britain, be a very fingular character, confider-
ed as a clergyman. The frivolous fecrets of Ma-
fonry have cither engrofled his whole mind, or he
has laboured in them as a lucrative trade, by which
he took advantage of the folly of others. The
contefl: between Stark and the Triumvirate at
Berlin engaged the public attention much more
than we Ihould imagine that a thing of fo private
a nature would do. But the charadlers were very
notorious and it turned the attention of the pub-
;
lic to thofe clandeftine attacks which were made

in
2o8 7HE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. lii.
in every quarter and religious eftabliili-

on the civil
ments. It was obvious to every perlbn, that thcfe
reading iocicties had all on a Tuddep become very
numerous; and the characters of thofe who pa-
troniled them only increafed the fufpicions which
were now raifed.
The firfl: work that fpeaks exprefsly of the Ger-
man Union, is a very leniible performance " On
*' the
Right of Princes to dircd the Religion of their
*'
Subjeds.''^ The next is a curious work, a fort
of narrative Dialogue on the Charadlers of Nicho-
lai, Gedicke^ and Bieftcr. It is chiefly occupied
with the contefh with Dr. Stark, but in the 5th
part, it treats particularly of the German Union.
About the fame time appeared fome farther ac-
count, in a book called Archives of Fanaticifm and
Illuniinatifm* But all thefe accounts are very
vague and unfatisfaCtory. The fullefl account is
to be had in a work publiilied at Ijeipzig by Gof-
chen the bookfcller. It1s entitled, " Mure Notes
*'
than Text^ or the German Union of 11^ a new XX
*' Secret Society
for the Good of Mankind^ Leip-
zig 1789. The publidier fays that it v/as fent
him by an unknown hand, ana
that he publifhed
it wllh ipced, on account of the many mif-
all
chiefs which this Society, (of which he had be-
fore heard fcveral reports,) might do to the v/orld,
and to the trade, allowed to go on working in
if
fecret. From this work, therefore, we may form
a notion of this redoubtable Society, and judge
how far it is practicable to prevent fuch fecret
machinations againlt the peace and happincfs of
mankind.
There is Further information
another work, ^''
*'
concerning the GermanUnion^ (Nahere Beleuch-
" tung der Deutfche Union,) alfo Jkowing hciv^
" for a moderate price^ one may become a Scotch
" Free
ilHAP. 111. THE GERMAN UNION. 20^
" Free Mafon^ Frankford and Leipzig^ 1789.
The author fays that he had ail the papers in his
hands ; whereas the author of Mart ts'otes than
Text acknowledges the want of feme. But very-
little additional light is thrown on the fubjcctt: by
this work, and the lirft is IHll the moil inflruftivc,
and will chieily be followed in the account which
is now to be laid before the reader.
The book More Notes than Text contains plans

and letters, which the Twenty-two United Bre-
thren have allowed to be given out, and of which
the greatefh part were printed, but were entrufted
only to affured members.
No» I. is the firft plan, printed on a fingle quar-
to page, and is addrelTed, To all the Friends ofPêa-
fon, of Truth, and of Virtue, It is pretty well
written, and dates among other things, that " be*
" caufe a great number of perfons are labouring,
'' with united effort, to bring Reafon under the
** yoke, and to prevent all inftrudlion, it is there-
<' fore neceffary that there be a combination which
*« fhali work in oppofition to them fo that man-

*« kind may not fmk anew into irrecoverable bar-
" barifni, when Reafon and Virtue have been
fliall
*' completely fubdued, overpowered by the re-
*' ftraints which are put on our opinions. **-
(
For this noble purpofe a company of twenty-
" two perfons, public inftructors, and men in pri-
*' vateflations, have united themlelves, according
*' to a plan v/hich they have had under confidera-
*' tion for more than a year and a half, and v/hich,
*' in their opinion, contains a method that is fair

*' and irrefiftible by any human power, for pro-
*' moting the enlightening and forming of man-
*' kind, and that will gradually

remove all the ob-
" flacles vv'hich fupcrftition fupported by force
*' has hitherto put in the way."
This
y
tlO THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. Ill,
This addrefs is intended for an enlifting adver-

tifemcnt, and, after a few infignificaut remarks
on the Aflociation, a rix-d abler is required along
wiih the fubfcription of acquiefcence in the plan,
as a compenfation for the expenccs attending this
mode of intimation and confent.
Whoever pays the rix-dahler, and declares his
wifh to join the Aflociation, receives in a few days,
No. 11. which is a form of the Oath of fecrecy,
alfo printed on a fingle aXo page. Having fubfcrib-
ed this, and given a full defignation of himfelf,
he returns it agreeably to a certain addrefs; and
foon after, he gets No. III. printed on a 4to iheet.
This number contains what is called the Second
Plan, to which all the fubfequent plans and circu-
lar letters refer. A copy therefore of this will
give US a pretty full and juft notion of the Order,
and its mode of declaration. It is intitled,
\^ke Plan of the Twenty-Two
and begins with this declaration : "We have unit*

*' ed, in order to accomplifli the aim of the ex-
*'
alted Founder of Chriftianity, viz. the enlighten-
*' ing of mankind, and the dethronement of fu>
" perftition and fanaticifm, by means of a fecret
*' fraternization of all who love the work of God.
*' Oar
firft exertion, which has already been
*'very extenlive, confiils in this, that, by means
" of confidential perfons, we allow ourfelves to
" be announced every where as a Society united
*' for the above-mentioned purpofe; and we in-
" vite and admit into brotherhood with ourfelves
*' every perfon who has a fenfe of the importance
** of this matter, and wifhes to apply to us and
" fee our plans.
" We
CHA^. iii. THE GERMAN tJNiON. ill
** We of all to draw into our Aflb-
labour firft
(C
ciation all good and learned writers. This we
" imagine will be the eafier obtained, as they
" mud derive an evident advantage from it.
" Next to fuch men, we feek to gain the mailers
" and fecretaries of the Poit-offices, in order to
" facilitate our correlpondence.
*' Befides thele, we
receive perfons of every
" condition and flation, excepting princes and
" their miniflers. Their favourites, however,
" may be admitted, and may be ufeful by their
" influence in behalf of Truth and Virtue.
*' When any perfon writes to us, we fend him
" an oath, by which he mud abjure all treachery
" or difcovery of the .Aflbciation, till circura-
*' dances ftiall make it proper for us to come for-
" ward and. {iiow ourfelves to the world. When
" he fubfcribes the oath, he receives the plan, and
'* if he finds this to be what fatisfies his mind as
" a thing good and honourable, he becomes our
*' friend only in ib far as he endeavours to gain
" over his friends and acquaintances. Thus
" we learn who are really our zealous friends,
" and our numbers increale in a double pro-
" portion.
*' This procedure continue till Provi-
is to
" dence fliall fo far blefs our endeavours, that
" we acquire an a£cive Brother and coadjutor in
every place of note, where there is any lite-
rary profeffion ; and for this purpofe we have
it
a fecretary and proper cflice in the center of
It
the. Affociation, where every thing is expedit-
" ed, and all reports received. When this happy
" epoch arrives, we begin our fecond operation."
That is to fay,
We intimate to all the Brotherhood in every
ii
quarter, on a certain day, t/iat the German
" Union
212 THE CERTvIAN UNION. CHAP iiii
**
Union has now acquired a conjificnce^ and we
" now divide the fraterniied part of tlie nation
** into ten or twelve Provinces or Diocefes, each
" directed by its Dioctjan at his office ; and thefe
" are fo arranged in due fubordinaiion, that all
" bufincfs comes into the Union-house as into
" the center of the whole.
" Agreeably to this manner of proceeding there
" are twv^ claiTes of the Brotherhood, the Ordi^
**
nary and the Managing Brethren. The latter
" alone know the aim of the afTociation, and all
" the means for attaining it; and they alone
*' coniVitute the Union, the name, and the con-
" neftion of which is not intended to be at all
" confpicuous in the world.
" To this end the bufiiiefs takes a new exter-
** nal form. The Brethren, to wit, fpeak not of
*' the Union in the places where they relide, nor
*' of a Society, nor of enlightening the people ;
" but they alTemble, and acl together in every
" quarter, merely as a Literary SocietYj
" bring into it all the lovers of reading and of
*' ufeful knowledge; and fuch in fa£l are the
*' Ordinary Brethren^ who only know that an
" Affociation exills in their place of refidence
" for tlie encouragement of literary men, but
" by no means that it has any connection with
" any other fimikr Society, and that they all
" conftitute one whole. But thefe Societies will
" naturally point out to the intelligent Brethren
" fuch perfons as are proper to be feledted for
" carrying forward the great work. For per-
" fons of a fcrlous turn of mind are not mere
" loungers in fuch company, but (how in their
'• converfation the intereft they take in real in-
" ftruaion. And the caft of their reading, which
" mud not be checked in the beginning in the
" fmallcit
€HAP. iii. THE GERMAN UNION". 213
finallefl degree, although it may be gradually

directed to proper fubje(n:s of information, will
point out in the mofl; unequivocal manner their
peculiar ways of thinking on the important
fubjcfts connected with our great object. Here,
therefore, the active Brethren will obferve in
fecret, and will icle^ thofe whom they think
valuable acquifitions to the facred Union, They
will invite fuch perfons to unite with them-
felvcs in their endeavours to enlighten the
reft of mankind, by calling their attention to
profitable fabjefts of reading, and to proper
books. Reacing Societies, therefore, are to be
formed in every quarter, and to be furniflied
with pioper books. In this provifion attention
muft be paid to two things. The taftc of the
public mufl be complied with, that the So-
ciety may have any effcd at all in bringing
men together who arc born for fomewhat more
than juft to look about them. But the general
talle may, and muft alfo be carefully and fldl-
fully directed to fubjecTts that will enlarge the
comprehenfion, will fortify the heart, and, by
habituating the mind to novelty, and to fuc-
cefsful difcovery, both in phyfics and in morals,
win hinder the timid from being ftartlcd at '
do6trincs and maxims which are fingular, or.

perhaps oppofite to thofe which are current
in ordinary fociety. Commonly a man fpeaks
as if he thought he was uttering his own fen-
timents, while he is only echoing the general
found. Our minds are dreflcd in a prevailing
faftiio.i as much
our bodies, and with ftuiF
as
as little congenial to fentimcnt, as a piece
of woollen cloth is to the human fldn. So care-
lefs and indolent are men, even in what they
call fL^rious converfation. Till refleftion be-

2D " comes
• f •
214 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. Ill,
comes a habit, what is really a thought ftartles,

however fimple, and, if really uncommon, it
aftonilhes and confounds. Nothing, therefc/i'e,
can fo powerfully tend to the improvement of
the human character, as well-managed Read'
ing Societies.
*^ When thefehave been eflablilhed in diifercnt
places, we mull endeavour to accomplifh the
following intermediate plans: i. To introduce
a general literary Gazette or Review, which,
by uniting all the learned Brethren, and com-
bining with judgment and addrefs all their
talents, and iteadily proceeding according to
a diftindl: and precife plan, may in time fup-
plant every other Gazette, a thing which its
intrinfic merit and comprehenfive plan will
eafily accomplifli. 2. To felect a fecretary for
oar Society, who fhall have it in charge to
commiihon the books which they fhall feleft
in conformity to the great aim of the AiTocia-
tion, and who fliall undertake to commilfion
'
all other books for the curious in his neigh-

bourhood. If there be a bcokieller in the place,
who can be gained over and fworn into the
Society, it will be proper to choofe him for
this oftice, fince, as will be made more
plain afterwards, the trade vv'ill gradually
come into the plan, and fall into the hands
of the Union.
'* And now, every eye can perceive the pro-
greffive moral infiuence which the Union will

acquire on the nation. Let us only conceive
what fuperflition will lole, and what inftruc-
tion muft gain by this; when, i. In every
Reading Society the books are leleded by our

Fraternity, 2. When we have confidential
perfons in every quarter, who will make it
*' their
fcHAP. IIU THE GERMAN UNIONi tl^
** their ferious concern to fprcad fuch perform-
" ances promote the enlightening of mankind,
as
*' and to introduce them even into every cot-
*' tao-e. c>. When we have the loud voice of the
" public on our fide, and fmce we are able,

** cither to banifii into the fliade all the fanatical
*' writings which appear in the reviews that are
*' commonly read, or to wârn the public againll
*'
them ; and, on the other hand, to bring into
** notice and recommend thole performances
*' alone which give light to the human mind.
" 4. When we by degrees bring the whole trade
** of bookfelling into our hands, (as the good
'* writers will fend all their performances into
*' the market through our means) we fiiall bring
" it about, that at lad the writers who labour in
*' the caufe of fuperftition and reftraint, will
" have neither a publiflier nor readers. 5. When,
** lallJy, by the fpreading of our Fraternity, all
" good hearts and fenfible men will adhere to
** us, and by our means will be put in a con-
" ditionthat enables them to work in filence
*' upon all courts, families, and individuals in
*' every quarter, and acquire an influence in the
" appointment of court-officers, ftewards, fecre-

*' taries, parifli-priefts, public teachers, and pri-
" vate tutors.
" Remark, That we fhall fpeedily get the trade
*' into our hands, (which was formerly the aim
*' of the AfTociation called the Gelthrttnhiich-
** handliing) is conceivable by this, that every
*' writer who unites with us immediately acquires
*' a triple number of readers, and jfinds friends
in every place who promote the fale of his
performance; fo that his gain is increafed ma-
nifold, and confequently all will quit the book-
fcllers, aiid accede to w% by degrees. Had the
" above
2l6 TttE GER^fAN UMION. CMAP. Ill*
" above named AlTociation been confiirudled in

*' this manner, it would, long ere now, have
*' been the only (hop In Germany."
The book callsd Fuller Information^ &c. gives

a more particular account of the advantages held
forth to the literary manufacturers of Germany
by this Union for GocVs ivork. The
of lite-clafs
rary Brothers, or writers by trade, was divided
into Mefopolites^ j^ldermen^ Men^ and Cadets,
The Mesopolites, or Metropolitans, are to
be attached to the archive-oificc, and to be taken
care of in the Union-houfe, when in (traits through
age or misfortune. They will be occupied in the
department of the fciences or arts, which this
AfTociation profefs principally to chcrifli. They
are alfo Brethren of the third degree of Scotch
Free Mafonry, a qualification to be explained af-
terwards. The Union-houfe is a building which
the oftenfible Founder of the Union profefled to
have acquired, or fpeedily to acquire at ,
through the favour and protection of a German

Prince, who is not named.
Aldermen are perfons who hold public of-
fices, and arc engaged to exercife their genius and
talents in the fciences. Thefe alfo are Brothers of
the third rank of Scotch Free Mafonry, and out
of their number are the Diocefans and the Direc-
tors of the Reading Societies felc£ted.
The members who are defigned fimply Men,
are Brothers of the fecond rank of Mafonry, and
have alfo a definite fcientific occupation afiigned
them.
The Cadets are writers who have
not yet
merited any particular honours, but have exhi-
bited fufficient difpofitions and talents for difter-
ent kinds of literary manufacture.
Every
CHAP. iii. THE GERMAN UNION. 217
Every member is bound to bring the produc-

tiotis of his genius to market through the Union.
An Alderman receives fur an original work 80 per
cent, of the returns, and 70 for a tranllatlou. The
member of the next chiis receives 60, and the
Cadet ô. As to the cxpence of printing, the Al-
derman pays nothing, even though tiie work
fhould he on hand unibld ; but the Man and the
Cadet mufh pay one-half. Three months after
publication at the fairs an account is brought in,
and after this, yearly, when and in what manner
the author (hali delirc.
In every Diocefe will be eflabliflied at leaft one
Reading Soci(ty, c>f which near 800 are pro-
pofed. To each of theie will a copy of an Alder-
man s work be fcnt. 1'he fame favour will be
Ihown to a difilrtation by a Man^ or by a Cadet,
provided that the manufcript is documented by
an Alderman, or formally approved by him upon
ferious perufal. This bnpr'wiatur^ which mult be
confidered as a powerful recommendation of the
work, is to be publifiied in the General Revieiv or
Gazette, This is to be a vehicle of political as
well as of literary news ; and it is hoped that, by
its intrinfic worth, and the recommendalion of
the members, it will foon fupplant all others.

(With relpeft to affairs of the Union, a fort of
cypher was to be employed in it. Each Dioccfan
was there defigned by a letter, of a lize that
marked his rank, and each member by a number.
It was to appear weekly, at the very Anail price
—
of five-and-twenty fliillings.] But let us return
to the plan.
When every thing has been eilabhilied in the
maimer fet forth above, the Union will ajTume
the following republican form, (the reader al-
ways recollecting that this is not to appear to
the
• . i
Ql8 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAPi ill*
the world, and to be known only to the manag-

vig Brethren.
Here, however, there is a great blank. The

above-named {l<.ctch of this Conflitntion did not
come to the hands of the perfon who furniflied
the bookfcller with the reil of the information.
But we have other documents which give futii-
cient informition for our purpoie. In the mean
time, let usjuft take the papers as they ftand.
No. IV. Contains a lift of the German Union^
which the fender received in manufcript. Here
wc many names which we flioiild not have
find
expedled, and mifs many that were much more'
likely to have been partners in this patriotic
fcheme. There are feveral hundred names^ but
very few defignations ; {o that it is difiicult to
point out the individuals to the public. Some
however are dei^gncd, and the writer obferves
that names are. found, which, when applied to
fome individuals whom he knows, accord furprif-^
ingly with the anecdotes that are to be feen in the
private correfpondence of the Illuniinati, and \n
the romance called Materials for the Kiftory of
Socratifm (Illuminalifm;*. It is but a difagree^
able remark, that the liil of the Union contains
* This, by the by, is a very curious and entertaining work^

and, had the whole affair been better known in this country,-
would have been a much better antidote againft the baneful
effefts of that Affociation than any thing that I can give to
the public, being written with much accutenefs and knowledge
of the human mind, and agreeably diverfified with anecdote and
ironical exhibition of the affefted wifdom and philanthropy of
the knavilh Founder and his coadjutors. If the prefent imper-
ftÂ and defultory account Hiall be found to interefl the public, I
doubt not but that a tranfljtion of this novel, and fome other
fanciful performances on the fubjeft, will be read with entertain-
lent and profit.
the
CHAP. 111. THE GERMAN UNION. 2lQ
the names of many public teachers, both from the
pulpit, and from the accademic chair in all its
degrees; and among thefe are feveral whofe cy-
phers {how that they have been a^Slive hands.
Some of thefe have in their v\^ritings given evi-
dent proofs of their mifconception of the iimple
truths, v/hether dogmatical or hiilorical, of re-
vealed religioji, or of their inclination to twill
aiid manufacture them fo as to chime in with the
religion and morality of the Sages of France. But
it is more diilrelling to meet with unequivocal
names of fome who profefs in their writings to

confider thefe fubjefts as an honefb man faould
confider them, that is, according to the plain and
common fenfe of the words; whereas we have
demonflrative proofs that the German Union had
the diametrically oppclite purpofe in view\ The
only female in the lifh is the Crafin vojt der Recke,
the Lady who gave Dr. Stark of Darmftadt fo
much trouble about his Tcnfure, This Lady, as
we have already feen, could not occupy herfelf
with the frivolity of drefs, flirtation, or domcf-
tic cares. Femina fonte pattt^vir peCiore.^^ She
''''
was not pleafed however at finding her name in

fuch a Plebeian lift, and gave oath, along with
Biefter at the centre, that flie was not of the Af-
fociation. I fee that the public was not fatisiied
v/ith" this denial. The Lady has publiihed fome
more fcandal againft Stark fince that time, and
takes no notice of it; and there h?.ve appeared
many accounts of very ferious literary connec-
tions between thefe two perfons and the man who
was afterwards difcovered to be the chief agent
of the Union.
No. V. is an important document. It is a letter
addrelTed to the fworn members of the Union, re-
minding the beloved fellow-workers that '' the by-
*' gone
220 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. 111.
*' gone management of the bufinefs has been ex-

*' penfive, and that the XXII. do not mean to make
*'
any particular charge for their own compenfation.
*'
But that it was necellary that ail and each of the
"•
members ihould know precifely the objevfl of the
*•
Aifociation, and the way vvhieh mature confidera-
*'
tion had pointed out as the moH efteclual method
*'
of attaining this objed. Then, and not till then,
" could the worthy members ad by one plan, and
*'
confequently with united torce. To accomplilli
''
this purpofe, one of their number had compoled
*'
a Treat ife on and the means of promot-
Inftrutlion^
" ing it^'' This work has been revifed by the whole
number, and may be confidered as the reiult of their
deeped refledion. " They fay, that it would be a
fignal misfortune fliould this AlTociation, this under-
Taking, fo important for the happinefs of mankind,
be cramped in the very beginning of its brilliant
progrefs. They therefore propofe to print this
work, this Holy Scripture of their faith and praiftice,
by fubfcriptiou. (They her« give a Ihort account
of the work.) And they requell: the members to
encourage the work by fubfcribing, and by exerting
more than their ufual activity in procuring fubfcrip-
tions, arjd in recommending the performance in the
newfpapeis. Four perfons are named as Dioceians,
who are to receive the money, which they beg may
be fpeeJiiy advanced in order to purchafe paper,
th:;t the work may be readv for the firfl; fair (Ealier
1788.)
No. VI. is a printed paper (as is No. V.) without
date, farther recommending the Eilay on Inllrii(flion.
No. VII. isin manufcript, without date. It is ad^
* Ueler avvvklahung und deren Befordemngs- Mitlel. The only

proper tranfiation cf this word would be, clearing up or enlighten*
ing. word that comes ncarcil to the
Injlrulfion feetns the firigle
precife meaning of Auffklarung, but is not fynonymous.
drc (Ted
CHAP. ni. THE GERMAN UNION. 221
dreflfed to ''
worthy man," intimating that the like
a
are fent to others, to whom will alfo fpeedily be for-
warded an improved plan, with a requell: to cancel
or deflroy the former contained in No. III. It is
added, that the Union now contains, among many-
others, more than two hundred of the mofi: refpec-
table perfons in Germany, of every rank and condi-
tion, and that in the conrfe of the year, (1788,) a
geneial lift will be fent, with a requeft that the re-
ceiver will point out fuch as he does not think wor-
thy of perfed confidence. It concludes with ano-
ther recoQimendation of the book on InJlru£iion^ on
the returns from which firft work of the German
Union the fupport of the fecretary's office is to de-
pend.
Accordingly No. VIII. contains this plan, but it
is not entitled The Improved Plan. Such a denomi-
nation would have called in doubt the infallibility of
the XXII. It is therefore called the ProgreJJive
(vorlaufig) plan, a title which leaves room for every
fubfequent change. It differs from the former only
in fome unimportant circumftances. Some exprel-
fions, which had given offence or raifed fufpicions,
are foftened or cancelled. Two copies of this, which
we may call A and'B, are given, differing alfo in
fome circumftances.
" The great aim of the German Union is the good
*'
of mankind, which is to be attained only by means
''*;of mental illumination iÂujfklarung) and the de-
'^'throning of fanaticifm and moral defpotifm."

Neither paper has the exprcffion which immediately
followed in the former plan, " that this had been
''
the aim of the exalted founder of Chriftianity."
The paper A refers, on the prefent fubje6\, to a dif-
fertation printed in 787, without a name, On the
l
freedom of the Prefs and its Limitation. This is one

of the raoft licentious pieces that has been publiihed
2 E on
2'22 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. iVu
on the fubjed, not only enforcing the mofl; unquali-

fied liberty of publifhing every thing a man pleafes,
but exemplifying it in the mofl Icandalous manner j
libelling characlers of every fort, and perfons of eve-
ry condition^ and this frequently in the n)oii abu-
five language, and expreflions fo coarfe, as fliewed
the author to be either habituated to the coarfefl com-
pany,' or determined to try boldly once for all, what
the|)ublic eye can bear. The piece goes on "The :
** Union confiders it as a chief part of itsfecret plan

" of operation, to include the trade of bookfelling
ci
in their circle. By getting hold of this, they
have it power to increafe the number of
in their
ti
writings which promote inflruction, and to leflen
^ that of thofe which mar it, iince the authors of
" the latter will by degrees lofe both their publifli-
**
ers and their readers. That the prefent book-
*'
fellers may do them no harm, they will by degrees
(I
draw in the greater part of them to unite with
them." —
The literary newfpaper is here flrongly
infiftedon, and, in addition to what was faid in the
former plan, it is faid, " that they will include po-
*'
news, as of mighty influence on the public
litical
*'
mind, and as a fubjecl that merits the clofefi: at-
**
tention of the moral inftructor. For what illumi-
<
nation is that mind fufceptible of, that is fo blind-

ed by the prejudice created and nurfed by the
*'
habits of civil fubordination, that it worQiips flu-
(C
pidity or wickednefs under a coronet, and neglevfis
talents and virtue under the bearfkin cap of the
" boor ? We
muft therefore reprefent political
" tranfac\ions, and public occurrences, not as they
*'
affed that anificlal and fantaftical creature of ima-
*'
gination that we fee every where around us wheel-
" ed about in a chariot, but as it atfeds a man, ra-
'*
tional, aclive, free born man. By thus Gripping
*'
the tranfadion of all foreign circumftances, we
*'fee
GHAP. 111. THE GERMAN UNION. 223
" fee it as it affeds, or ought to afFe^, ourfelves.
*'
Be aflbred that this new form of political intelli-
''
gence will be highly interefting, and that the
" Gazette of the Union will foon luperfede all others,
*'
and, of itfelf, will defray all our necelTary ex-
*'
pences."
This is followed by fome allufions to a fecret cor-
refpondence that is quick, unfufceptible of all dif-
covery or treachery, and attended with no expence,
by which the bulinefs of the fecret plan {^differeît
from either of thoje communicated^ to the /worn Bre-
thren at large) is carried on, and which puts the
members in a condition to learn every thing that
goes on in the world, for or againft their caufe, and
alfo teaches them to know mankind, to gain an in-
fluence over ail, and enables them effedually to pro-
mote their beft fubjefls into all offices, Sec. and finally,
from which every member, whether ftatefman, mer-
chant, or writer, can draw his own advantages. Some
paffages here and in another place make me imagine
that the Union hoped to get the command of the
poft-offices, by having their Brethren in the di-
re(51ion.
It then faid, that " it is fuppofed that the levy-
is
ii
will be fufficiently numerous in the fpring of the
enfuing year. When this takes place, a general
It
fynod will be held, in which the plan of fecret
*' operations will be finally adjufled, and accomm.o-
" dated to local circumOances, fo as to be digeifed
'*
into a law that will need no farther alteration. A
''
proper perfon will fet off from this fynod, with
''
full powers to viiit every quarter where there are
" fworn Brethren, and he will there eOablilh a
" Lodge afcer the ancient fimple ritual, and will
" communicate 'verbally the plan of fecret opera-
*'
ration^ and certain infl:ru(51ions. Thefe Lodges
" will then eftablifh a managing fund or box. Each
" Lodge
224 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. li'l.
" Lodge will alfo eftablifli a Reading Society, under

" the management of a bookfeller reliding in the
" place, or of fome perfon acquainted with the me-
''
chanical condud of things of this nature. There
" mud alio be a colledor and agent, (Êxpediteur^^
" fo that in a moment the Union will have its of-
''
fices or comptoirs in every quarter, through which
" it carries on the trade of bookfclling, and guides
" the ebb and flow of its correlpondence. And thus
" the whole machine will be fet in motion, and its
''
activity is all direcled from the centre."
I remark, that here we have not that exclufion of
Princes and minivers that was in the former plan;
thev are not even mentioned. The excluiion m ex-
prefs terms could not but furprile people, and ap-
pear fomewhat fufpicious.
No. IX. is a printed circular letter to the fworn
Brethren, and is fubfcribed '' by their truly allociat-
" ed Brother Barthels, Oheramtfrnan (tirll bailifl")
*'
for the King of Pruffia, at Halle on the Saal."
In this letter the Brethren are informed thac " the
*' XXII. were wont to meet ibmetimts at Halle, and
*' fometimes at Berlin. But unavoidable circum-

*'
fiances oblige them not only to remain concealed
*'
for Ibmetime, but even to give up their relation
*'
to the Union, and withdraw themfeives from any
" fliare in its proceedings. Thefe circumllances
*'
ave but temporary, and will be completely ex-
*'
plained in due time. They truft, however, that
this neceifary ftep on their part will not abate the
zeal and aclivitv of men of noble minds, engag-
*'
ed in the caule by the conviclion of their own
*'
hearts. They have therefore communicated to
*'
their worthy Brother Barthlls all necelTary in-
** formations,
and have unanimoufly conferred on
" him the direction of the fecretaiy's orHce, and
" have provided him with every document and
'* mean
—
mean of carrying on the correfpondence, I]e has
devoted himlelf to the honourable office, giving
up all other empiovments. They obferve that by
this change in the manner of proceeding, the Af-
fociation is freed from an objedion made with
juflice to all other fecret focieties, naineiy, that
the members fubjed themfelves to blind and un-
qualified fubmifiion to unknown fuperiors."
I'he Society is now in the hands of its own avow-
ed members. Every thing will loon be ananged
according to a conftitution purely republican a ;
Diocefan will be chofen, and will dired in every

province, and report to the centre every fecond
month, and inilrudions and other informations
will iiTue in like manner from the centre.
" If this plan Ihall be approved of by the AfTo-
ciated, H. Earthels will tranfmJt to all the Dio-
cefes general litis of the Union, and the Plan of
Secret Opekation, the refult of deep medita-
tion of the XXII. and admirably calculated for
carrying on v/ith irrefidable elfed their noble and
patriotic plan. To flop all cabal, and put an end
to all flander and fufpicion, H. Barthels thinks it
proper that the Union fhail llep forvârd, and de-
clare itfelf to the world, and openly name fome
of its mort refpedable members. The public
mufl; however be informed only v^îth refpect to
the exterior of the Society, for which purpofe he
had written a flieet to be annexed as an appendix
to the work, On InJlru5iion^ declaring that to be
the work of the Society, and a fufficient indica-
tion of its moil honourable aim. He dcliics
fuch members as choofe to ftiare the honour
V, ith him, to fend him their names and proper
dciignations, that they may appear in that Ap-
pendix. And, ladly, he requclfs them to in-
{triicl him, and cc-opcratc v;ith him, according-
*' to
.
#
226 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. I'l'l,
" concerted rules of the Union, in promot-

to the
ing the caufe of God and the happinefs of man-
**
" kind." . '
The appendir; now alluded to makes No. X. of

the packet fent to the Bookfellei" Gofclien of Lcip-
zig, and is dated December 1788. It is alio found
in the book On Inflrnîon, Sec. printed at Leipzig
in 1789, by VValther. Here, however, the Appen-
dix is dated January 1789. This edition agrees in
the main with that in the book from which I
have made fuch copious extracts, but differs in
fome particulars that are not unworthy of remark.
" In the packet it is written, " T/ie Undtr-
*'
A?'''^'^ ^^ J^cmber and ^gent of the German
*' Urdon^ in order to reftify feveral milfakes and
*' injurious (landers and accufations, thinks it ne-
'* ccfTary thatthe public
itfelFfliould judge of their
** objeft and
"
conduft." —
Towards the end it is
faid, and all who have any doubts may apply
" to thofe named below, and are invited to write
** to them." No names however are fubjoined.
In the Appendix to the book it is only faid, ** the
*' agent of the German Union," &c. and " per-
" fons who widi to be better informed may write

" to the agent, under the addrefs. To tkc German
*' Union —
under cover to the (hop of VValther,
—
" bookfeller in Leipzig." Here too there are no
names, and it does not appear that any perfon has
chofen to come from behind the curtain*,
* Walther 13 an eminent bookfeller. and carries on the bufinefsof

publifhing to a great extent, both at Leipzig and other places.
He was the publifher of the moft virulent attacks on the King of
Pruffia's Edift on Rchgion, and was brought into much trouble
about the Commentary by Pott which is mentioned above. He
alfo publiOies many cf the fceptical and licentious writings which
have fo much difturbed the peace of Germany.
There
Chap. I'li. the geeman union. 227
There has already been fo much faid about En^

liyhteninZi that the reader mufi: be ahrjoft tired of it.
He is allured in this performance that the Illumina-

tion propofed by the Union is not that of the f^Vol--
fenbuttle Fragments^ nor that of Horus, nor that of*

Bahrdt. The Fragments and Florus^xe books which
aim diredly, and without any concealment, to de-
ftroy the authority of our Scriptures, either as hiilo-
rical narrations or as revelations of the intentions of
providence and of the future profpecfts of man. The
Theological writings of Bahrdt are grofs perverfions,
both of the fenfe of the text, and of the moral in-
fructions contained in it, and are perhaps the mcll
exceptionable performances on the fubjetfl. They
are ftigmatifed as abfurd, and coarfe, and indecent,
even by the writers on the fame fide yet the work
;
recommended (o often as containing the elements of

that Illumination which the world has to exped from
the Union, not only coincides in its general princi-
ples with thefe performances, but is almoft an ab-
flrad of fome of them, particularly of his Popular
Religion^ his Paraphrafe on the Sermon on the Mounts
and his Morality of Religion. We
have alfo feen
that the book on the Liberty of the Prefs is quoted
and recommended as an elementary book. Nay
both the work on Inftruclion and that on the Liber-
ty of the Prefs are now known to beBahrdt's.
But thefe principles, exceptionable as they may
be, are probably not the worll: of the inftitution.
We fee that the outfide alone of the Union is to be
(hevsm to the public. Barthels felicitates the public
that there is no fubordination and blind obedience
to unknown Superiors; yet, in the fame paragraph,
he tells us that there is a fecret plan of operations,
that is known only to the Centre and the Confiden*
tial Brethren. The author of Fuller Information
lays that he has this plan, and would print it, were
he
228 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. ill.
he not refl rained by a promife*. He gives us enough

however to ihovv u« that ihe higlier myfleries of the
Union are precifely the fame with thofe of the Ulu-
minati. Chrillianity is exprefsly faid to have been
a Mydical Aflbciation, and founder the Grandits
Maiier of a Lodge. I'he Apoflles, Peter, James,

John, and Andrew, were the Electa and Brethren of
the Third Degree, and initiated into all the myQe-
ries. The remaining Aportles were only of the
Second Degree ; and the Seventy-two were of the
Firll degree. Into this degree ordinary Chriftians
may be admitted, and prepared for further advance-
ment. The great millery is, that J C was a
Naturalijl^ and taught the dcdrine of a Supreme
Mind, the Spedaior, but not the Governer of" the
World, pretty nearly in the fenfe of the Stoics.
The Initiated Brethren were tobe intruded by read-
ing proper books. Thofe particularly recommend-
ed are Baf dozvs Pradical Knowledge^ Eberhard's
Apoloo^y for Socrates^ Bahrdt's Apology for Reafon^
SteinbardC s Syftem of Moral Education^ Meiners An-
cient Myfleries^ Bahrdt's Letters on the Bible^ and
Bahrdt's Completion of the Plan and Aim of J
C .Thefe books are of the mofl: Antichridian
charader, and foms of th;ra aim at (baking oif all
moral obligation u-hatever.
Along with thefe religious dodrines, are incul-
cated the moft dangerous maxims of civil conducl.
The defpotifm that is aimed at over the minds of
men, and the machinations andjintrigues for obtain-
ing poffefiion of places of truA and influence, are
equally alarming; but being perfedly fimilar to thofe
of the IHuminati, it is needlefs to mention tliem.
The cliief intelligence that from we get this
autlior is that the Centre of the Union is at a
* This I find to be falfe, and the book a common job.

honfe
feHAP. iii. THE GERiMAN UNION. 22^
houfe in the neighbourhood of Halle. It is a fort
of tavern, in a vineyard immediately without the
city. This was bought by Doftor Karl Frie-
DERicH Bahrdt, and fitted up for the amufement
of the Univerfity Students. He calls it BahRDt's
PvUHE (Bahrdt's Repofe). The author thinks that
this mult have been the work of the Affociation,
becaufe Bahrdt had not a farthing, and was total-
ly unable for fuch an undertaking. He may how-
ever have been the contriver of the inilitution^
He has never affirmed or denied this in explicit
terms ; nor has he ever faid who are the XXH
co-
adjutors. Wucherer, an eminent bookfeller at
Vienna, feemsto have been one of the moft active
hands, and in one year admitted near two hun-
dred members, among whom is his own ihoe-
maker* He has publiflied fome of the mod profli-
gate pamphlets which have yet appeared in Ger-
manyi
The publication of the lift of members alarmed
the nation ;
perfons were aftoniflied to find them-
felves in every quarter midft of villains who
in the
were plotting againft the peace and happinefs of
the country, and deftroying every fent'iment of re-
ligion, morality, or loyalty. Many perfons pub'
lilhed in thenevvrpapers and literary journals aflir-
mations and proofs of the falfe inlertion of their
names. Some acknowledged that ciiriofity had
made them enter the Affociation, and even conti-
nue their correfpondence with the Centre, in or-
der to learn fomething of what the Fraternity had
in view, but declared that they had never taken
any part in its proceedings. But, at the fame time,
it is many Reading Societies had been
certain that
fetup during thefe tranfadions, in every quarter
of Germany, and that the oftenfible managers
were in^general of very fufpicious'charadtei's, both
2 F as
7^0 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. IIIV
as to morals aiid loyalty. The Union had aftual-

ly fet up a prefs- of their own at Calbe, in the
neighbourhood of Halberftadt. Every day there
appeared llrouger proofs of a combiuation of the
journalifts, Reviewers, and even of the publiO^^rs
and bookfellers, to fupprcfs the vi^ritings which
appeared in defence of the civil and ecclcfialtical
conftitutions of the States of Germany. The ex-
tenfive literary manufaLlure of Germany is carri-
ed on in fuch a manner that it is impoiiible for any
thing lels than the joint operation of the whole
federated powers to prevent this. The fpirit of
freethinking and innovating in religions, matters
had been remarkably prevalent in the dominions
of the King of Pruffia, having been much encou-
raged by ihe indifference of the lare King. One of
the vilell things pablifhed on this occafion was an a-
bominabie farce, called the Religion Edid\. This
was traced to Bahrdt's Rube, and the Doclcr was ar-
refled, and all his papers feized and ranfacked. The
civil Magiilrate was glad of an opportunity of expif-
cating the German Union, which common fame had
alfo traced hither. The correfpondence was ac-
cordingly exomined, and many difcoveries were'
made, which there was no occafion to communicate
to the public, and the profecution of the bulinefs of
the Union was by this means flopped. But the per-
fons in high office at Berlin agree in faying that the
AlTociation of writers and other turbulent perfons in
Germany has been but very faintly hit by this blow,
and is almoll as acflive as ever.
The German Union appears a mean and precipi-
tate AfTociation. The Centre, the Archives, and
the Secretary are contemptible. All the Archives
that were found were the plans and lifts of the mem-
bers and a parcel of letters of correlpondence. The
correfpondence and other bufmefs was managed by
an
CHAP. 111. TrtE GERMAN UNION. 23I
an old man in fame very inferior office or judicato-

ry, who lived at bed and board in
Bahidi's houfe for
about iix Ihillings a week, having a cheil of papers
and a writing-deik in the corner of the common
room of the houfe.
Bahrdt gives along narration of his concern in
the affair, but we can put little confidence in what
he fays yet as we have no better authority, I ftiall
:
give a very fhort abflrad of it, as follows :
He faid, that he learned Cofmo-political Free

Mafonry in England, when he Vvâs there getting pu-
academy— -but neglet5êd it en his return
pils for his
to Germany. Some time after his fettlement he
was roufed by a vifit from a flranger who paffed for
an Englifhman, but whom he afterwards found to be
a Dutch officer— (he gives a defcription which
bears confiderable refemblance to the Prince or Ge-
neral Salms who gave fo much difturbance to the
States General)— He was flill more excited by an
anonymous letter giving him an account of a Society
which was employed in the inflrudion of mankind,
and a plan of their mode of operations, nearly the
fame with that of No. HI. He then fet up a Lodge
of Free Mafonry on Cofmo-political principles, as a
preparation for engaging in this great plan— he was
itopped by the National Lodge, becaufe he had no
patent from it.— 1 his obliged him to work in fe-
cret.— He met with a gentleman in a coflee houfe,
who entreated him to go on, and promiled him great
afiillance— this he got from time to time, as he ilood
moft in need of it, and he now found that he was
working in concert with many powerful though un-
known friends each in his own plan
circle. The
of operation of the XXH. was gradually unfolded to
him, and he got iblemn promifes of being made ac-
quainted with his colleagues. But he now found,
that after he had fo eifentially ferved their noble
cauie
;
232 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP, ill,
caufe, was dropped by them in the hour of dan-

lie
ger, and thus was made the facrifice for the public
good. The laft packet which he received was a re-
qtieu from a Friend to the Union to print two per-
formances fent him, with a promife of loo dahlers
for his trouble. 'J'hefe were the abominable farce
called the Religion Edi61, and fome DilTertations on
that Royal Proclamation.
He then gives an account of his fyflem of Free
Mafonry, not very difi'erent from Weiftiaupt's Ma-
fonic Chriflianity— and concludes with the follow-
ing abftracl: of the advantages of the Union — Ad-
—
vancement of Science A general inteieil and con-
cern for Artsand Learning— Excitementof Talents-
— —
Check of Scribbling Good Education Liberty —
Equality — —
Hofpitality Delivery of many from AJis-
fortunes — — —
Union of the Leai ned and at laif pei>
haps — Amen.
What the meaning of this enigmatical concluiion
is we can only guefs — and our conjectures cannot be
very favourable.
' The narration, of which this is a very fliort in-
dex, is abundantly entertaining; but the opinion of
the moli intelligent is, that it is in a great meafure
ficliticus, and that the contrivance of the Union is
moflly his own. Although it could not be legally
proved that he was the author of the farce, every
perfon in court was convinced that he was, and in-
deed it is perfectly in Bahrdi's very iingular manner.
—
This invalidates the whole of his llory and he af-
terwards acknowledges the faice (at leafr by impli-
cation) in feveral writings, and boafls of it.
For thefe reafons I have omitted the narration in
detail. Some information, however, wjiich I have
received hnce, feems to confirm his account, while
it diminifiies its importance. I now find that the
book called Fuller Informaiion is the performance 01
a ck)gyma:i
CHAP. HI. THE GERMAN UNION. 53^
a clergyman called Srbu/z, of the lo'vvefl clafs, and
by no means of an eminent charader. —
Another
performance in the form of a dialogue between X,
y, and Z, giving nearly the fame account, is by Pott,
tlie dear friend of Bradlit and of liis Union, and au-
thor of the Commentary on the Edid. Schntz got

his materials from one Roper, an expelled liudent
of debauched morals, who fubfilied by copying and
vending filthy manufcripts. Bahrdt fays, that he
found him naked and ilarving, and, out of pity,
look him into his houfe, and employed him as an
amanuenfis. Roper ftole the papers at various times,
tnking them with him to Leipzig, whither he went
on pretence of ficknefs. At lall Schutz and he went
to Berlin together, and gave the information on
which Bahrdt was put in prifon. In fhort they all
appear to have been equally profligates and traitors
to each other, and exhibit a dreadful, but I hope a
ufeful picture of the influence of this Illumination
which fo wonderfully faicinates Germany.
This is all the dired information that I can pick
lip of the founder and the proceedings of the Ger-
man Union. The projecl is coarfe, and palpably
mean, aiming at the dahiers of entry-money and of
annual contribution, and at the publication and pro-
fitable fale of Dr. Eahrdt's books. This circumdance
gives it its parentage
firong features of —
Philofpeaks
of Bahrdt in his Final Declaration in terms of con-
tempt and abhoience. There is nothing ingenious,
rjothing new, nothing enticing, in the plans; and
the immediate purpofe of indulging the licentious
tafle public comes fo frequently before the
of the
e\e, that it Dears all the marks of that groffneis of
mind, precipitancy, and impatient overfight that
are to be found in all the voluminous writings of
Dr. Bahrdt. Many in Germany, however, afcribe
the Union to Weilhaupt, and fay that it is the lUu-
234 "^HE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. 111.
mlnati working in another form. There is no denv-

ing that the principles, and even the manner of
proceeding, are the fame in every efi'ential circum-
l.lance. Many paragraphs of the declamations cir-
culated through Germany with the plans, are traii-
fcribed verbatim from Weifhiiupt's Correfled fyflem
of Illiiminatijhi. Much of the work On Iiijlruîion^
and the Means for promoting it^ is very nearly a copy
of the fame work, blended with flovenly extracts
—
from feme of his own writings There is the fame
feries of deluhons from the beginning, as in lUnmi-
iiatifm —Free Mafonry and Chrillianity are coai-
—
ponnded firfl: with mark? of refped then Chrif- —
tianity is twifted to a purpofe foreign from it, but
the fame with that aimed at by Weifliaupt —
then it
is thrown away altogether, and Natural Religion and
—
Atheifm fubllituted for it For no perfon will have
a moment's hefitation in faying, that this is the creed
of the author of the books On hijlni&ion and On the
Liberty of the Prefs, Nor can he doubt that the
political principles are equally anarchical with
thofe of the llluminati, —
The endeavours alfo to
get pofTeiiion of public ofnces —
of places of edu-
cation —
of the public mind, by the Iveadin,^ So-
cieties, and by publicatioris —
are fo many tran-
li^ripts from the llluminati. Add to this, that Dr.
—
Bahrdt was an Illuminatiis' and v^-rote the Better
than Horiu^ at the command of Weilhaupt. Nay,
it is v/ell known that Weifliaupt was twice or
thrice at Bahrdt*s Ruhe during thofe tranf^dtions,
and that lie zcaloufly promoted the forniaticn cf
—
Reading Societies in feveral places, But I am ra-
th(r of the opinioii that Weifliaupt made thofe
vifirs in order to keep Dr. Bahrdt within Ibmt;
bounds of decency, and to hinder him from hi:rt-
ing- t]:c cr.ufc by his precipitancy, v> hen fpurrcd on
by the want of money. Weilhaupt could not work
in
4
—
TJHAP. iii. THE GERMAN UNION. 235
in fuch an unilciirul manner. But he vvculd be
very glad of fnch help as this coarfe toc^l could
give him —
and Bahrdt gave great help; for, when
he was imprifoned and his papers feized, his Ar-
chives, as he called them, ihcwcd that there
v.7fre many Heading Socibties which his proj^ft
liad drawn
togelher. The Pniiiian States had
above thirtv, and the number of readers was af-
toniPningly great —
and it was found, that the per-
nicious books had really found tlieir way into
every hut, Bahrdt, by dcfcending a (lory lower
than VVeifiiaupt, has greatly incrcafed the number
of his pupils.
But, cannot confrler the German
althougii I
Li don as a formal revival of the Order under an-

f
ot'ier name, I muft hold thofc United^ and the

Kir-nibers of thole Heading Societies, as Illuminati
and Minervals, I miiil even confider the Union
Tit a part of Spartacus' v.'ork. The plans of Wei-
fhaupt were partly carried into cffe<St in their dif-
ferent branches —
they were pointed out, and the
way to carry them on arc didinftly defcribed in
tlic private corrcfpondence of the Order It re- —
quired little genius to attempt them in imitation,
B'ltirdt made the attempt, and in part fucceeded.
Weilhaupt's hopes were well founded The lea- —
ven was not only dif^ributed, but the manap-ement
of the fermentation was now underdood, and it
went on apace.
It is to be remarked, that nothing was found
among Bahrdt*s papers to fuppoit the flory he
writes in his diary —
no fuch correfpondences
but enough for detefting many of thefe Societies.
Many others however were foimd unconncclcd
v/ith Bahrdt'sRuhe, not of better charafter, cither
as to Morality or Loyalty, and fome of them con-
fiderable and expenfive; and many proofs v;ere
found
23^ "^HE GERMAN UNION. GUAP. ius
found of a combination to force the public to a

certaiii way of thinking, by the management of
the Reviews and Journals. The extenfive dealings
of Nicholai of Berlin gave him great weight in
the book-making trade, vviiich in Germany I'ur-
palfcs all our conceptions. The catalogues oi new
writings in flieets, which are printed twice a-year,
for each of the fairs at Leipzig and Frankfort,
would aftonifh a Britilh reader by the number.
The booklcUers meet there, and at one glance
fee the whole republic of literature, and, like \\o-
man fenators, decide the fentiments of diltant
provinces. By thus feeing the whole together,
their fpeculations are national, and they really
have it in their power to give what turn they
pleafe to the literature and to the fentiments of
Germany. Still however they mud be induced by
motives. The motive of a merchant is gain, and
every object appears in his eye fomething by
which money may be made. Therefore in a lux-
urious and voluptuous nation, licentious and free-
thinking books will abound. The writers fuggell:,
and the bookfellers think how the thing will tickle.
Yet it muft not be inferred, from the prevalence
of fuch books, that fuch is the common fenfe of
mankind, and that the writings
7 <0
are not the cor-
ruptcrs, but the corrupted, or that they are what
they ought to be, becaufe they pleafe the public.
We need only pulli the matter to an extremityj
and its caule appears plain. Filthy prints will al-
ways create a greater crowd before the fliop win-
dow than the lineft performances of Wollett. Li-
centious books will be read with a fluttering eager-
nefs, as long as they are not univerfally permitted ;
and pitiable will be the ftate of the nation when
their number makes them familiar and no longer
captivating.
But
CflAP. ill. THE GERMAN UNION. 237
But although it mud be confeffed that great en-
couragement was given to the fceptical, infidel,
and licentious writings in Germany, we fee that
it was flill necefTary to praftife feduftion. The
Religionijl was made to expeft Tome engaging ex-
hibition of his faith. The Citizen muft be told
that his civil connexions are refpeded, and will
be improved and all are told that good manners
;
or virtue is to be fupported. Man is fuppofed to

be, in very effential circumilances, what he wifhes
to be, and feels he ought to be and he is cor-
;
rupted by means of falfeihood and trick. The

principles by which he is wheedled into wicked-
nefs in the firft inilance, are therefore fuch as are
really addreffed to the general fentiments of man-
kind : thefetherefore lliould be confidered as
more expreflive of the public mind than thofe
which he afterwards adopts, after this artificial
education. Therefore Virtue, Patriotifm, Loy-
alty, Veneration for true and undefiled Religion,
are really acknowledged by thofe corrupters to be
the prevailing fentiments ; and they are good if
this prevalence is to be the teft of worth. The
mind that otherwife afFefted by them, and hy-
is
pocritically ufes them in order to get hold of the

uninitiated, that he maj in time be made to cherifli
the contrary fentiments, cannot be a good mind,
notwithllanding any pretcnfions it may make to
the love of mankind.
No man, not VVeifliaupt himfelf, has made
flronger profeliions of benevolence, of regard for
thehappinefs of mankind, and of every thing that
is amiable, than Dr. Bahrdt. It may not be ufe-
Icfs to enquire what cffedt fuch principles have had
on his own mind, and thofe of his chief coadju-
tors. Deceit of every kind is diftionourable ; and
the deceit that is profefledly employed in the pro-
2 G ccedings
2^8
D THE GERMAN UNION. CHAPlii.
ceedings of the Union is no exception. No pi-

ous fraud ivhatcver muft be ul'cd, and pure reli-
gion muft be prefcnted to the view without all
difguife.
'* The more fair Virtue's feen, tlie more flie charms.
" Safe, plain, and eafy, are her artlcfs ways.
" With face ere(fl, her eyes look ftrait before ;
" For dauntlefs is her march, her ftep fecure.
" Not
*'
fo, pale Fraud — now here fiie turns, now there,
Still feeking darker (hades, fecure in none,
" Looks often back, and wheeling round and round,
*'
Sinks headlong in the danger fhe would fliun."
The mean motive of the Protellant Sceptic is

as inconfiftent with our notions of honefiy as with
our notions of honour ; and our fufpicions are
juftly ra'-fed cf the chara£ler of Dr. Bahrdt and
liis a{rociatcs,even although we donotfuppofe that
their aim is the total abolifuing of religion. With

propriety therefore may we make fom.e enquiry
about their lives and conduft. Fortunately this
is eafy in the prefent inllance. A man that has
turned every eye upon himfeif can hardly efcapc
obfervation. But it isnotfo eafy to get fair infor-
mation. The peculiar fituation of Dr. Bahrdt,
and the caufe between him and the public, are of
all others the moll productive of millake, mif-
reprefentation, obloquy, and injullice. But even
here \\e are fortunate. Many remarkable parts
of his life are eftabliflied by the moll refpedlabie
teftimony, or by judicial evidences; and, to make
all fure, he has written his own life. 1 ihall infert
nothing here that is not made out by the two lad

modes of proof, rcfting nothing on the firft, how-
ever reipedable the evidence may be. But I mufl
obfervc, that his life was alfo written by his dear
friend Pott, the partner of Walther the bookfel-
Icr.
CHAP. iil. THE GERMAN UNION. 239
]er. The dor}- of this publication is curious, and
it is initiu6tive.
Bahrdt was in priion, and in great poverty. He
intended to write liis own life, to be printed by
Walther. under a fi6litious name, and in this work
he intended to indulge his fpleen and hisdiflikc of
all thofe who had offended him, and in particular
all prieils, and rulers, and judges, who had given
him f macli trouble. He knew that the ilrange,

)
and many of them fcandalous anecdotes, with

which he had fo liberally interlarded many of his
former publications, would let curiofity on tiptoe,
and would procure a rapid iale as foon as the pub-
lic ftiould gucls that it was his ov7n performance,
by the fingniar but fignificant name which the
pretended author v/ould affume. He had almoft
agreed with Walther for a thoufand dahlcrs,
(about L. 200), when he wasimprifoned for being
the author of the farce fo often named, and of
the commentary on the Religion Edi6l^ written by
Pott, and for the proceedings of the German Uni-
on. He wasrcfufed the ufe of pen and ink. He
then applied to Pott, and found means to corref-
pond witli him, and to give him part of his life
already written, and materials for the reft, con-
filting of llories, and anecdotes, and correfpon-
dence. Pott fent him feveral facets, with which
he was fo pleafed, that they concluded a bargain.
Bahrdt fays, that Pott was to have 400 copies, and
that the reft wasto go to the maintenance of Bahrdt
and his family, coniifting of his wife, daughter, a
Chriftina and her childvcn who lived with them,
&:c. Pott gives a different account, and the truth
was diiferent from both, but of little confequence
to us. Bahrdt's papers had been feiz^^d, and fearch-
cd for evidence of his traniactions, but the ftrift-
eft attention was paid to the precife points of the
charg
—
240 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP, ii'l,
charge, and no paper was abflrafled which did

not relate to thete. All others were kept in a Teal-
ed room. Pott procured the removal of theicals
and got poileffion of them. Bahrdt lays, that his
wife and daughter came to him in prifon, almolt
ftarving, and told him that now that the room was
opened, Pott had made an offer to write for their
fupport, if he had the ufe of thcfe papers that—
this was the conclufion of the bargain, and that
Pott took away all the papers. N. B. Pott was the
affociate of Walther, who had great confidence
in him ( ^necdoteubuch fur meinen Is ih e n A;iitjb ru-
der^ p. 400) and had condu(fted the bu'fincfs of
Stark's book, as has been already mentioned.
No man was better known toBahrdt, for they had
long adlcd together as chief hands in the Union.
He would therefore write the life of its founder
con mnore^ and it might be expeaed to be a rare
and tickling performance. And indeed it was.
The firft part of it only was publifhed at this time ;
and the narration reaches from the birth of the
hero till his leaving Leipzig in 1768* The atten-
tion is kept fully awake, but the emotions which
fuccellively occupy the mind of the reader are no-
thing but rtrong degrees of averfion, difguft, and
horror. The figure fet up to view is a monfler,
a man of talents indeed, and capable of great things;
but lofl to truth, to virtue, and even to the affec-
tation of common decency — In fliort, a (hamelefs
profligate. — Poor Bahrdt was aftonifiied, (tared —
— but, having his wits about him, faw that this
life would fell, and would alio fell another.
Without lofs of time, he faid that he would hold
Pott to his bargain
"
— but he reckoned without his
hoft. No, no," faid Pott, " your are not the
** man I took
—
you for your correfpondence was
" put into my hands— I faw that you had de-
" ccived
CHAP. 111. THE GERMAN UNION. 2^1
" ceived me, and it was myduty, as a man
Tv/io loves truth above all things, to hinder you
.it
from deceiving the world. I have not writ-
n ten the book you defired me, I did not work,
it
for you, but for myielf —
therefore you get
not a grofchen." " Why, Sir," faid Bahrdt, we
" both know that this won't do. You and 1 have
**
ahxady tried it. You received Stark's manu-
" fcript, to be printed by Walther —
Waither and
*'
you fent it hither to Michaelis, that 1 might fee
" it during the printing. I wrote an iHuflratino
and a key, which made the fellow very ridicu-
lous, and they were printed together, with one
" title page. —
You know that we were caft in
*'
court.— Walther was obliged to print the work
*'
as Stark firfh ordered, and we loft ail our la-
"
" an
bour. — So fhall you now, for I will commence
action this inftant, and let me fee with what
*' face you will defend yourfelf, within a few
" weeks of your laft appearance in court.'* Pott
faid, " You may try this. My work is already fold,
" and difperfcd over all Germany and I have—
*' no objection to
begin yours to-morrow —
believe
—
" me, it will fell." Bahrdt pondered and refolv-
ed to write one himfelf.
This is another fpecimen of the Union.
Dr. Carl Frederick Bahrdt was born in
1741. His father was then a parilli minifter, and
afterwards ProfefTor of Theology at Leipzig,
where he died, in 1775. The youth, when at
College, enlifted in the Pruflian fervice as a huifar,
but was bought off by his father. He was M. k,
in 1 76 1. He became catechift in his father's
church, was a popular preacher, and publifhed
fermons 1765, and fome controverfial writings,
in
—
which did him honour But he then began to in-
dulge in conviviality, and in anonymous pafqui-
nades,
242 THE GERMAN UNION, CHAP, iil,,
nacles, uncommonly bitter and ofi'cnfive. No prr-

ibn was late —
Profcilbr.' Magiltratei
—
Clergy- —
men, had his chief notice alio lludcnts and —
even comrades and tVituds. (Bahrdtfays, that
thefc thinos might cut to the quick but they wrre
alljuO:.) Unluckily his temperament was what the
atoraical philolophers (who can explain every
thing by esthers and vibrations) call fanguine. He
therefore (Ids own word) was a palllonate admirer
of the ladies. Coming home from llipper he fre-
quently met a the way to his lodg-
young Mils in
ings, neatly drilled in a role-coloured liik jacket
and train, and a fable bonnet, coilly, and like a
lady. One evening (after Ibnie old Kenilh, as he
fays,) he faw the lady home. Some time after, the
millrefs of the hcuic, Madam Godfchufky, came
into his room, and laid that the poor maiden was
pregnant. He could not help that —
but it was very
unfortunate, and would ruin him if known. He —
therefore gave the old lady a bond for 200 dah-
lers, to be paid by inflalments of twenty-live.
" The girl was ftnfible, and good, and as he had
*' already paid for it, and her converlation was
*'
agreeable, he did not diicontinae hisacquaint-
** ance."
A comrade one day told him, that one-
Bel, a magidrate, whom he had lampooned, knew
the affair, and v.'ould bring it into court, unlels he
immediately retrieved the bond. This bond was
tiic only evidence, but it was enough. Neither
Bahrdt ncr his friend could raiic the money. B'Jt
ihey fell on another contrivance. They got Ma-
dam Godichufliy to meet them at another houlc,
in order to receive the money. Bahrdt wns in a
clofet, and his comrade vvore a fword. The wor
man could not be prevailed on to produce the
bond rill Bahrdt fiiauld arrive, and tlic money be
put into her hands, with a prefcnt to herfclf. The
comrade
CHAP. iil. THE GERMAN UNION. 245
comrade tried to drawing his
flutter her, and,
Iword, rtiewed her how men fenced made paffes—
at the wall — —
and then at her but (lie was too
firm —
he then threw av/ay his fword, and began
to try to force the paper from her. She defended
lierfclf a jjood while, but at length lie got the pa-
per out of iier pocket, tore it in piece;;, opened the
clofet door, and iaid, " There you b there ,
*' honourabfe fellow whom you and your

is tlie
** wh —
have bullied —
bat it is -vith rae you have
" to do now, and you know that I can bring yoiv
*' to the gallows." There was a great fquabble to
be fure, Bahrdr, but it ended, and I thought
fliys
all was now over. —

But Mr. Bel had got word of
it, and brought it into court the very day that
Bahrdt was to have made lome very reverend ap-
pearance at church. In (hort, after many attempts
of his poor father to fave him, he was obliged to
fend in his gown and band, and to quit the place.
It was fome comfort, liowever, that Madam
Godlchufl<y and tlie young Mifs did not fare much
better. They were both imprifoned. Madam G.
died fometime Sfter of ibme (hocking difeafe.
The couyt records give a very different account of
the whole, and particularly of the fciffle; but
Bahrdt's ftory is enough.
Bahrdt fays, that his father was fevere— but ac-
knowledges that his own temperament was haily,
(why does not his lather's tempei ament excule fome-
thing ? Vibratiuncula will explain everything or
nothing. " 'Therefore (again) I fometimes forgot
myfelf. One day I laid a loaded pi(l:ol on the table,
and told him that he Ihould meet with that if he went
on fo. But I was only fevenieen."
Dr. Bahrdt was, of courfe, obliged to leave the
place. His friends, and Semler in particular, an
eminent theological writer, who had formed «a very
favourable
Q44 "T"^ GERMAN UNION. CHAP. 111.
favourable opinion of his uncommon were talents,

alfidnoLis in their endeavours to get an eflabliftiment
for him. But his high opinion of himfelF, his tem-
per, impetuous, precipitant, and overbearing, and a
bitter fatirical habit which he had freely indulged
in his outfet of life, made their endeavours very in-
effeclual.
At lart he got a profeflbrfhip at Erlangen, then at
Erfurth, and in 1771, at GielTen. But in all tbefe
places he was no fooner fettled than he got into dif-
putes vîth his colleagues and with the ellablifhed
church, being a llrenuous pariizan of the innova-
tions which were attempted to be made in the doc-
trines of chriftianity. In his anonymous publica-
tions, he did not trufl: to rational dilcuffion alone,
but had recourfe to ridicule and perfonal anecdotes,
and indulged in the mofl cutting farcafms and grofs
fcurrility. Being fond of convivial company, his
income was infulficient for the craving demand,
and as foon as he found that anecdote and flander
always procured readers, he never ceafed writing.
He had wonderful readinefs and adlivity, and fpared
neither friends nor foes in his anonymous perform-
ances. But this could not laii, and his avowed the-
ological writings were fuch as could not be futfered
in a ProfelTor of Divinity. The very Undents at
Gielfen were (hocked with Tome of his liberties. Af-
ter much wrangling in the church judicatories he
was juft going to be difmili'ed, when he got an invi-
tation to Marfchlins in Switzerland to fuperintend
an academy. He went thither about the year I776,
and formed the feminary after the model of Bafe-
dow's Philanthropine, or academy, at Deflau, of
which I have already given fome account. It had
acquired fome celebrity, and the plan was peculiarly
fujted to Bahrdt's talie, becaufe it left him at liberty
to introduce any fyllem of religious or irreligious
opinions
tertAP. 111. THE GERMAN UNION. 245
opinions that he pleafed. He refolved to avail him-
felf of this liberty, and though a clergyman and
Doclor of Theology, he would outftrip even Eafe-
dow, who had no ecclehaftical orders to refcrain
him. But he wanted the moderation, the prudence
and the principle of Bafedow. He had, by this time,
formed his opinion of mankind, by meditating on
the feelings of his own mind. His theory of human
nature was fimple — " The leading propenfities, fays
he, of the human mind are three —
Inftindive liber-
ty (Freyheitftriebe) — inftindive atflivlty (Triebe
fur Thatigkeit) and inftindive love (Liebes
triebe)." 1 do not wifli to mifunderftand him, but
I can give no other tranllation.
—
" If a man is ob-
" ftrucled in the exercife of any of thefe propenli-
*'
lies he fuffers an injury. —The bufmefs of a good
" education therefore is to teach us how they arc to
" be enjoyed in the highell degree."
We need not be furprifed although the Do£lor
manage the Cyclopedia
fiiould find it difficult to
in his Philanthropine in fuch a manner as to give
fatisfa6tion to the neighbourhood, which was ha-
bituated to very different fentiments, —
Accord-
ingly he found his fituation as uncomfortable as at
GiefTcn. He fays, in one of his lateft performances,
'
that the Grifons were a flrong inflance of the
it
immenfe importance of education. They knev/
" nothing but their handicrafts, and their minds
" were as coarfe as their pcrfons." He quarrelled
with them all, and was obliged to abfcond after
lying fometime in arreft.
He came to Durkheim or Turkheim, w^here
his father was or had been minifter. His literary
talents were well known* —
After fo me little time
he got an affociation f >rmed for erc£tir,g and fup-
porting a Philanthropine or houfe of education.
A large fund was collcfted, and he was enabled to
2 H travel
—
2^6 THE GERMAN t'NIOV.' CHAP. IH/
travel into Holland and England, to engage pu-

pil?, and v> as fmnilhed vviih proper reconirnend-
atioiis. On his return the plan was carried inta
execution. The cal];le or reiidence of Count Lcin-
ing Hartzburgh, at Hcideihcim, having gardens,
park, and every handiome accommodaLion, had
been fitted up tor it, and it was coniecrated by a
iolemn religious feilival in 1778.
But his old misfortunes purfued him. He had
indeed no colleagues to quarrel with, but his
avowed publications became every day more ob-
—
noxious and when any of his anonymous pieces
had a great run, he could not ftifle his vanity and
conceal the author's name. Of thefe pieces, fome
were even fnoeking to decency. It was indiiferent
to him whether was friend or foe that he abui-
it
ed ; and fome of them were fo horribly injurious

to the characters of the molf relpeClable men in
the Ibate, that he was continually under the cor-
rcflion of the courts of jullice. There was hardly
a man of letters that had ever been in his com-
pany who did not fuffer by it. For his conilant
pradlice was to father every new Hep that he took
towards Athciim on fome other perfon and, ;
\ whenever the reader fees, in the beginning of a

book, any perfon celebrated by the author for
found feijfe, profound judgment, accurate reafon-
ing, or praiied for acts of friendlhip and kindncfs
to himfelf, he may be allured that, before the
clofe of the book, this man will convince Dr.
Bahrdt in {bnic private converfation, that fome
doctrine, cheriftied and venerated by all Chrh-
tians, is a piece of kn a villi fuperftition. So loft
was Dr. Bahrdt to all fenfe of Ihamc. He laid that
he held his own opinions iudependent of all man-
kind, and was indifferent about their praife or
their reproach.
Bahrdt's
CHAP. iii. THE GERMAN UNION. §47
Bahrdt's licentious, very licentious life, was tlie
caufe of mod of thefe enormities. No income
could fuftice and he wrote for bread. The artful
manner in which the literary manufaclure of
Germany was conducted, made it impoflibie to
hinder the rapid difperfion of his writings over
all Germany ;and the indelicate and coarfe maw
of the public was as ravenous as the fenfuality of
Dr. Bahrdt, who really battened in the Epicurean
fl:y. The conlequcnce of all this was that he was
obliged to fly from Hcideflieimj leaving hisfureties

in x\\Q Pkilantkropins to pay about 14,000 dahlers,
befides debts without number to his friends. He
was imprifoncd at Dienheim, but was releafed I
know not how, and fettled at Halle. There he
funk to be a keeper of a tavern and billiard-table,
and his houfe became the refort and the bane of
the ftudents in the Univerfity. —
He was obliged
therefore to leave the city. He had fomehow got
funds which enabled him to buy a little vineyard,
prettily fituated in the neighbourhood. This he
fitted up with every accommodation that could
invite the ftudents, and called it Bahrdfs Ruhe,
We have already feen the occupations of Dr. B.
in this Btten Retiro —
Can we call it otium cum
dignitate ? Alas, no He had not lived two years
!
here, bullling and toiling for the German Union,

—
fometimes without a bit of bread when he was
fent to prifon at Halle, and then to Magdeburg,
where he was more than a year in jail. He was
fet at liberty, and returned to Bahrdt's Rii/ie^ not,
alas, to live at eafe, but to lie dov/n on a lick-bed,
where, after more than a year's fuifering increat-
ing pain, he died on the 23d of April 1793, the
moll wretched and loathfome vi6tini of unbridled
fenfuality. The account of his cafe is written by
a friend, a Dr. Jung, who profeiles to defend his
memory
248 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP, ill/
memory and his principles. The medical defcrip-

tion melted my heart, and I am certain would
make his bittereil enemy weep. Jung; rcpeatecily
fays, t!~at the cafe was not venereal —
calls it the
vineyard dilcafe— the quickhlver dileafe, (he was
dying of an unconquerable falivation,) and yet,
through the whole of his narration, relates fymp-
toms and fuiterings, which, medical man, he
as a
could not pollibly mean to be taken in any other
fenfe than as efFedts of poK. He meant to plcafc
the enemies of poor Bahrdt, knowing that fuch a
man could have no friends, and being himfelf ig-
norant of what friendship or goodncfs is. The
fate of this poor creature affected me more than
any thing I have read of a great while. All his
open enemies put together have not faid fo much
ill of him as his trufted friend Pott, and another
confident, whcfe name I cannot recolledl, who
publilhed in his lifetime an anonymous book call-
ed Bahrdt lu'^th the Iro7t Brow —
and this fellow
Jung, under the abfurd mafli of friendfiiip, exhi-
bited the loathfome carcafe for a florin, like a ma-
Jefaftor's at Surgeon's Hall. Such were the fruits
of the German Union, of that Illumination that
v/as to refine the heart of man, and bring to ma-
turity the feedsof native virtue, which are choak-,
ed in the hearts of other men by fuperlHticn and
defpotifni. Wefee nothing but mutual treachery
and bafedelertion.
I do not concern myfelf with the gradual per-
verfion of Dr. Bahrdt's moral and religious opi,
nions. But he affeded to be the enlightencr and
reformer of mankind; and affirmed that all the
milchiefs in life originated from defpotifm fup-
ported by fuperflition. " In vain," lays he. " do
" we complain of the incfticacy of religion. Ail
" politive religion is founded on injullice. No
*' Prince
—
€HA?. 111. THE GERMAN UNION. 249
" Prince has a right to prefcribe or fancllon any
" fuch fyftem. Nor would he do it, were not
** the prieits the firmeit pillars of his tyranny,
*^ and iuperitition the itrongcft fetters. for hisfab-
" jedls. He dares not fnow Pccligion as fhe is
*' pure and undeiiled —
She would charm the eyes.
^* and the hearts of mankind, would immediately
*' produce true morality, v/ould open the eyes
*' of freeborn man, would teach him what are
^* his rights, and who are his oppreflors, and
" Princes would vaniili from the face of the
** earth,"
Therefore, without troubling ourfelves Nvith
the truth or fallehood of his religion of Nature,
and affuming it as an indifputable point, that Dr.
Bahrdt has feen and fo ene£live
it in this natural
purity, it very
is pertinent queftlon,
farely a
*' Whether has the fight produced on his mind.
" an efte£t Co far lupcrior to the acknowledged

" faintnels of the imprelTion of ChriiLianity on
*' the bulk of mankind, that it will be prudent to
" adopt the plan of the German Union, and at

" once put an end to the divifions which io un-
" fortunately alienate the minds of profeffing
" Chriftians from each other ?" The account
here given of Dr. Bahrdt's life feems to decide
the quefliion
But it will be faid, that 1 have only related (o
many inilances of the quarrels of Prieits and their
flavifh adherents, with Dr. Bahrdt. Let us view
him in his ordinary conduct, not as the chanipicn
and martyr of Illumination, but as an ordinary
citizen, a hufband, a father, a friend, a teacher
of youth, a clergyman.
When Dr. Bahrdt was a parifli-miriifler, and pie-
{ident of fome inferior ecciefiallical dilhict, he was
empovveied to take off the cenfuves of the church
from
250 THE GERMAN UNION. GHAP. Hi,
from a voim?; woman who had born a bafiard child.

By violence he again reduced her to the fame con-
dition, and efcaped ceninre, by the poor girl's dying
tof a fever, before her pregnancy was far advanced,
or even legally documented. Alfo, on the night of

the folemn farce of confecrating his Phiianthropine,
he debauched the maid-fervant, who bore twins, and
gave him up for the father. The thing, I prelume,
was not judicially proved, otherwife he would have
furely been difgraced but it was afterwards made
;
evident, bv the letters which were found by Pott,

when he undertook to write his life. A feries of
thefe letters had palled between him and one Graf, a
{leward, who was employed by him to give the woman
the Imall pittance by which Oie and the infants were
maintained. Remonlfrances were made, when the
money v;as not advanced and there are particular-
;
ly letters about the end of I779, which fhow that

Bahrdt had ceafed giving any thing. On the
of February I780, the infants (three years old) were
taken away in the night, and were found expofed,
the one at Ufiiein, and the other at Worms, many
miles dilbnt from each other, and almofl: frozen to
death. The tirll was difcovered by its moans, by a
fhoemaker in a field by the road-Iide, about fix in
the morning the other was found by two girls be-
;
tween the hedges in a lane, iet beVween two great

ftones, pall all crying. The poor mother travelled
up and down the country in quell: of her infants,
and hearing thefe accounts, found them both, and
took one of them home but not being able to main-
;
tain both, when Bahrdt's commifii-^ner lefuled con-

tributing any more, it reujained with the good wo-
man v/iio had taken it in*.
'*
This IS \Torfe thnn F-oufTeau's concliid, who only fcnt his
children to tlie Foii!unin_:r hofpit; I, that he might never know
them again. (See hii Confefiions,)
Bahrdt
feMAP. 111. THE GERMAN UNION* «2^t-
Bahrdtwas married in I772, while atGieffeti; but

after walling he greateli part of his wife's little for-
I
tune left her by a former liiifband, he was provoked

by loling loooliorins (about lio/.) in the hands of
her brother who would not pay it up. After this
he ufed her very ill, and fpeaks very contemptuoully
of her in his own account of his life, calling her a
dowdy, jealous, and every thing contemptible. In
two infîmous novels, he exhibits characters, in
which {lie is reprefented in a moil cruel manner;
yet this woman (perhaps during the honey-moon)
was enticed by hmi one day into the bath, in the
pond of the garden of the Philanthropine at Heidc-
Iheim, and there, in the fight ci all the pupils did hs
(alfo undreired) toy vvith his naked wife in the water.
When at Halle, he ufed the poor woman extremely
ill, keeping a mifirefs in the houfe, and giving her
the whole command of the family, while the wife and

daughter were confined to a feparate part of it.
When in prifon at Magdeburgh, the flrumpet lived
with him, and bore him tu'o children. He brought
them all to his ho\ife when he was at liberty, buch
barbarous ufage made the poor woman at laft leave
him and live with her brother. The daughter died
about a year before him, of an overdofe of laudanum
given by her father, to procure fleep, when ill of a
fever. He ended his own wretched life in the fame
manner, unable, poor man, to bear his didreis, with-
out the fmalleil: compundion or foriow for his con-
duel; and the thing he did was to fend for a
lall
bookfeller, (Vipink of Kalle, v.dio had publifhed

lome of his vile pieces,) and recommend his llrum-
pet and her children to his protedion, without one
thought of his injured wife.
1 ihall end ray account of this profligate monfler
with a Ipecimen of his wav of ufing his friends.
" Of
• * *
i^'i THE GERMAN UNIOW. CHAP. 111.
" OF all the acquifitions which I made in Eng-

land, Mr. —— (the name appears
length) at full
was the mofl: important. This perfon was ac-

compiiihed in the higheft degree. With (bund
judgment, great genius, and correift tafle, he was
perteclly a man of the world. He was my friend,
and the only perfon who warmly interefted him-
felf for my inltitution. To his warm and repeat-
ed recommendations I owe all the pupils I got in
England, and manv moll refpe6,able conneclions;
for he was univerfaliv efteemed as a man of learn-
ing and of the moil unblemifhed worth, lie
wa« ray triend, mv condu6lor, and I may fay my
prelerver for when I had not bread for two davs,
;
he took rae to his houfe, and fupplied all my

wants. This gentlemari was a clergyman, and had
a fmail but genteel and feleded congregation, a
flock which required ftrong food. My friend
preached to them pure natural religion, and was
beloved by them. His fermcns were excellent,
and delivered with native energy and grace, be-
caufe they came from the heart. I had once the
honour of preaching for him. But what a dif-
ference —
I found myfelf afraid— I feared to fpeak
too boldly, becaufe I did not know where I was,

and thought myfelf fpeaking lo my crouching
countrymen. But the liberty of England opens
every heart, and makes it accefifible to morality,
lean give a very remarkable inflance.
" The women of the town in London do not, to
befure, meet with my unqualified approbation in
all refpeds. But it' is impoflible not to be ftruck
with the propriety and decency of their manners,
fo unlike the clownifh impudence of our German
wh — .I could not diflinguifh them from modefl:
women, otherwife than by their greater attention
and eagernefs to fhew me civility. friend My
''
ufed
—
GKAP. iii. THE GERMAN UNION. 2^3
ufed to laugh at my miftakes, and

could not be-
I
lieve him when he told me that the lady who had

kindly (hewed the way to me, a foreigner, was a
votary of Venus. He maintained that Englifti li-
berty naturally produced morality and kindnefs.
I ftill doubted, and he faid that he would con-
vince me by my own experience. Thefe giris
are to be feen in crowds every evening in every
quarterj,of the town. Although fome of them
may not have even a fhift, they come out in the
evening drelTed like princeffes, in hired clothes,
which are entrulled to them without any fear of
their making off with them. Their fine iliape,
their beautiful flcin, and dark brown hair, their
bofoms, fo prettily fet off by their black filk drefs,
and above all, the gentle fweetnefs of their man-
ners, makes an impreffion in the higheit degree
favourable to them. They civilly offer their arn>
and fay, " My dear, will you give me a glafs of
wine." If you give them no encouragement, they
pafs on, and give no farther trouble. I went with
my friend to Covent Garden, and after admiring

the innumerable beauties we faw in the piazzas,
we gave our arm very agreeable girls, and
to three
immediately turned into a temple of the Cythere-
an Goddefs, which is to be found at every fecond
door in the city, and vvêre fhewn into a parlour
elegantly carpeted and furnifhed, and lighted with
wax, with every other accommodation at hand.
My friend called for a pint of wine, and this was
all the expence for which we received fo much
civility. The converlation and other behaviour
of the ladles was agreeable in the highefl; degree,
and not a wor^/ palled that would have diftinguifh-
ed them from nuns, or that was not in the highefl:
degree mannerly and elegant. We
parted in the
iheet — and fuch is the liberty of England, that
2 1 " my
254 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. Jll,
" my friend rnn not the fmallefl: rifk of fuffering ei-

*'
ther in his honour or ulefulntis. — Such is the et-
" i'tCi of freedom."
We may be fare, the poor man was afloniftied
when he law his name before the public as one of the
enlighteners of Chriflian Europe. He is really a
man of worth, and of the moll irreproachable cha-
rader, and knew that whatever might be the protec-
tion of Briiiih liberty, fuch condud would ruin him
with his own hearers, and in the minds of all his re-
fpedable countrymen. He therefore lent a vindica-
tion of his charader from this flanderous abufe to the
publiihers of the principal newfpapevs and literary
journals in Germany, 'llie vindication is complete,
and' B. is convided of having related what he could
not pqffibly have Jeen. It is worthy of remark, that
the vindication did not appear in the Berlin Monat-
jcbrift^ nor in any of the journals which made favor-
able mention of the performances of the Enlight-
eners.
" Think not, indignant reader," fays Arbuthnot,
" that this man's life is ufelefs to mortals." It fliews
in a ftrong light the falfity of all his declamations in
favour of his fo much praifed natural religion and
univerfal kindnefs and humanity. No man of the
party writes with more perfuafive energy, and,
though his perulance and precipitant felf-conceit
lead aflray, no man has occafionally
him frequently
put all the arguments of thele philofophers in a
clearer light yet we fee that all is faife and hollow.
;
He is a vile hypocrite, and the real aim of all his

writings is to make money, by foilering the fenfual
propenfities of human nature, although he i^ts and
feels that the completion of the plan of the German
Union Vv'ould be an event more dclhudive and la-
mentable than any that can be pointed out in the an-
nals of fuperilition. I will not favthat all partilans
o€
ef Illumination are hogs of the fty of Epicurus like
this wretch. But the reader mufl acknowledge that,
in the inftitution of Weifliaupt, there is the fame
train of fenfual indulgence laid along the whole, and
that purity of heart and life is no part of the morali-
ty that is held forth as the perfedion of human na-
ture The final abolition of Chriflianity is undoubt-
edly one of its objeds —
whether as an end of their
efforts, or as a mean for the attainment of fome end
flili more important. Purity of heart is perhaps the
moll diftindive feature of Chrillian morality. Of
this Dr. Bahrdt feems to have had no conception;
and his inllitution, as well as his writings, (hew him
to have been a very coarfe fenfualifl. But his tafte,
though coarfe, accorded with what Weifhaupt confi-
dered as a ruling propenfity, by which he had the beft
chance of fecuring the fidelity of his fubjecls. Cra-—
ving defires, beyond the bonds of our means, were
the natural confequences of indulgence ; and fince
the puriry of Chriftian morality ftood in his way, his
firft care was to clear the road by rooting it out alto-
gether — What can follow but general diffolutenefs

ol manners ?
Nothing can more diftinftly prove the crooked
politics of the Reformers than this. It may be
confidered as the main-fpring of their w^hole ma*
chine. Their pupils vêre to be led by means of
their fenfual appetites, and the aim of their con-
ductors was not to inform them, but merely to
lead them ; not to reform, but to rule the world.
— They would reign, though in hcil, rather than
fcrve in heaven. —
Dr. Bahrdt was a true Apofile
of lUuminatifm ; and though his torch was made
of the groiTelt materials, and " fervcd only to dif-
" cover fights of woe," the horrid glare darted
into every corner, roufmg hundreds of filthy ver-
min, and diredling their flight to the rotten car-
rion
55^ "^HE GERMAN UNION, €HA?. iii,
rion where they tould befl: depofit their poifon

and their ejrj^s ; in the breafts, to wit, of the iep-
Tual and profligate, there to feftcr and buril ferth
in a new and filthy progeny ; and it is aftonifliing
what numbers were thus roufcd into adtion. The
fcheme of Reading Societies had taken prodiî-
oufly, and became a very profitable part of the
literary trade of Germany. The booklellers and
writers foon perceived its importance, and z£U^d
in concert.
I might fill a volume with extrafts from the
criticifms which were publilhcd on the Religion
Edict lb often mentioned already. The Leipzig
catalogue for one year contained 173. Although
it concerned the Pruffian States alone, thefe ap-
peared in every corner of Germany nay, alfo in •
Holland, in Flanders, in Hungary, in Switzerland,

in Courland, and in Livonia. ^ his {hows it to
have been the operation of an Affociated Band,
as was intimated to the King, with fo much pe-^
tulance by Mirabeau. There was (pall all doubt)
fuch a combination among the innumerable fcrib-
blers who fupplied the fairs of Leipzig and Frank-
fort, Mirabeau calls it a Conjuration des Philojo-
phes, an expreffion very clear to himfelf, for the
myriads of gareteeis who have long fed the crav-
ing mouth of Paris (** always thiriling after Ibmc
** new
thing''J called themfelves philofophers,
and, like the gangs of St. Giks's, converted with
each other in a cant of their own, full of morale^
of entrgie^ of bienvillance^ &c. Sec, c&c. unintel-
ligible or mifunderftood by other men, and ufed
for the purpofe of deceit. While Mirabeau lived
too, they formed a Ctnjuraiio.i. The 14th of July
1790, the mofl folemn invocation of the Divine
pretence ever made on the face of this earth, put
a.i end to the propriety of this appellation ; for it
became
CHAP. 111. THE GERMAN UNION. *l^y
became neccflary (in the progrefs of political Il-
lumination) to declare that oaths were nonfenfe,

because the invoked was a creature of the imagi-
nation, and the grand federation, like Wiefhaupt
and Bahrdt's Mafonic Chriftianity, is declared, to
thofe initiated into the higher mylleries, to be a
Jie. But if we have no longer a Conjuration dci
Philofophes^ we have a gang of fcribblers that has

got poffeilion of the public mind by their ma-
nagement of the literary Journals of Germany,
and have made licentious Icntiments in politics,
in morals, and in religion, as familiar as were for-
merly the articles of ordinary news. All the fcep-
tical writings of England put together will not
make half the number that have appeared in Pro-
teftant Germany during the laft twelve or fifteen
years. And, in the Criticifms on the Edid:, it is
hard to fay whether infidelity or difloyalty fills
the mofl: pages.
To fuch a degree had the Illuminati carried
this favourite and important point that they ob"
tained the direction even of thofe whofe office it
was to prevent it. There is at Vienna, as at Ber-
lin, an office for examining and licenfing v/iitings
before they can have their courfe in the market.
This office pubiiflies annually an index of forbid-
'den books. In this index are included the accouut
of the laft Operations of Spartacus and Philo in
the Order of Illuminati^ and a difTertation on T^'he
Final Overthrow of Free Majonry, a mod excel-
lent performance, fhowing the gradual corruption
and final perverfion of that iociety to a Icniinary
of fedition. Alfo the Vienna Magazine of Litera-
ture and Arts^ which contains many accounts of
the interferences of the Illuminati in the dilUirb-
ances of Europe. The Cenfor who occa honed
this prohibition was an Illuminatus named Retzer.
He
—
258 THE GERMAN UNION. ,'CHAP. iiL
He makes a mod and jefuitical defence,

pitiful
fliowing bimfelf completely vcrfant in all the chi'
cane of the Illuminati^ and devoted to their In-
fidel principles. (Sec ReL Begebcnh, 1795, p.
493-)
There are two performances which give us
much information refpefting the ftate of moral
and political opinions in Germany about this time.
One of them is called, Proofs of a hidden Cofubina-
tion to deflroy the Frecdoin of Thought and IVrit-
ing in Gtrmany, Thefe proofs are general, taken
from many concurring circumftances in the con-
dition of German literature. They are convinc-
ing to a thinking mind, but are too abflracled to
be very imprellive on ordinary readers. The
other is the Appeal to my Country, which I men-
tioned in page 84. This is much more ftriking,
and in each branch of literature, gives a progref-
five account of the changes of fentiment, all Ibp-
ported by the evidence of t"lie books themfelves.
The author puts it pail contradiction, that in
every fpecies of literary compofition into which it
was poilible, without palpable abfurdity, to intro-
duce licentious and feditious principles, it was
done. Many romances, novels, journeys through
Germany and other countries*, are written on
purpofe to attach praife or reproach to certain
lentiments, characters, and pieces of conduit. The
Prince, the nobleman, is made defpotic, oppref-
five, unfeeling or ridiculous —
the poor, and the
man of talents, are unfortunate and neglected
and here 'and there a fictitious Graif or Baron is
*A plan adopted within thefe few years in our own countiT,

which, if profecuted with the fame induftry with which it has
been begun, will foon render our circulating Libraries fo many
Nurferies of Sedition and Impiety. (See Travels into Germany
by Efte.)
made
CHAP. ill. THE GERMAN UNION. 259
made a divinity, by philanthropy exprefled in ro-
mantic charity and kindnefs, or ollentatious indif-
ference for the little honours which are fo preci-
ous in German.
the eyes of a — In fliort, the fyf^
tern of Weifiiaupt and Knigge is carried into vi-
gorous efte6t over all. In both thcfe performances,
and indeed in a vail number of otlier pieces, I fee
that the influence of Nicholai is much comment-
ed on, and confidercd as having had the chief
hand in all thofe innovations.
Thus I think it clearly appears,
that the fup-
preffion of the llhiminati in Bavaria and of the
Union in Brandenburgh, were infufFicient for re-
moving which they had introduced. The
the evils
Ele<itor of Bavaria was obliged to ilTue another
proclamation in November 1790, warning his
fubjefts of their repeated machinations, and par-
ticularly enjoining the magiftrates to obferve
carefully the allemblies in the Reading Societies,
which were multiplying in his States. A fimilar
proclamation was made and repeated by the Re-
gency of Hanover, and it was on this occafion
that Mauvillon impudently avowed the moft anar-
chical opinions. —
But Weifliaupt and his agents
were flili bufy and fuccefsful. The habit of plot-
ting had formed itfclf into a regular fyflem. So-
cieties now acted every where in fecret, in cor-
refpondence with fimiiar focieties in other places.
And thus a mode of co-operation was furnilhed to
the difcontented, the reftlefs, and the unprincipled
in all places, without even the trouble of formal
initiations, and without any external appearances
by which the exiilence and occupations of the
members could be diftinguiflied. The hydra's
teeth were already fown, and each grew up, in-
dependent of the refr, and foon fent out its own
offsets, —
In all places where fuch fecret pra£lices
were
zCo THE GERMAN UNION. CHAPilL
were going on, there did not fail to appear fomc
individuals ©f more than common zeal and acti-
vity, whotook the lead, each in his own circle.
This gave a confirtcncy and unity to the opera-
tions of" the reft, and they, encouraged by this co-
operation, could now attempt thiiigs which they
would not otherwife have ventured on. It is not
till this ftate of things obtains, that this influence
becomes fcnfible to the public. Philo, in his pub-

lic declaration, unwarily lets this appear. Speak-
ing of the numerous little focieties in which their
principles were cultivated, he fays, " we thus be-
*' gin to be formidable.'* It may now alarm^--but
it is now too late. The fame germ is now fprout~
ing in another place.
I mufl: not forget to take notice that about this
time (1787 or 1788,) there appeared an invitation
from a Baron or Prince S ——
Governor of the
,
Dutch fortrefs H before the troubles in Hol-

,*
land, to form a fociety/br ibe Protcîon of Princes.

— -The plan is expreifed in very enigmatical terms,
but -fuch asplainly fiievv it to be merely an odd title,
to catch the public eye ; for the x\(fociation is of the
fame feditious kind with all thofe already fpoken of,
viz. proFefling to enlighten the minds of men, and
making them imagine that all their hai dftiips proceed
from fuperftition, which fubjeds them to ufelefsand
crafty priefts and from their own indolence and
;
want of patriot ifm, which make them fubmit to the

mal-adminirtration of miniflers. The Sovereign is
fuppofed to be innocent, but to be a cypher, and
every magiflrate, who is not chofen by the people
avflually under him, is held to be a defpot, and is to be
—
bound hand and foot. Many circumflances concur
to prove that the projedor of this infidious plan is
the Prince Salms, who fo afliduoufly fomented all
the diffurbances in the Dutch and Auflrian Nether-
lands.
fcHAP. iii; THl GERMAN I/NIOIN, ^61
lands. He before this time, taken into his

hîd,
lervice Zwack, the Cato o^ the IHuminati. The
piojed had gone fome leugth when it was diicovered
and fuppreficd by the States.
Zimmerman, who had been Prefidentof the IHu-
minati in Manheim, was alfo a moft aclive perfoii
in propagating their do6^rines in other countries.
He was employed as a miflionary, and ere<êd Ibme
—
Lodges even in Rome alfo at Neufchate^ and in —
Hungary. He was frequently feen in the latter
place by a gentleman of my acquainta^'ê, and
preached up all the ofleniihle doctrines of IHumina-
tifm in the moft public manner, and made many
profclytes. But when it was difcovered that tht r
real and fundamental doctrines were different from
ihofe which he profeffed in order to draw in profe-
lytes, Zimmerman left the country in haftco— Some
time after this he was arretted in Pruftia for feditious
—
harangues but he efcaped, and has not been heard
of fince.— When he was in Hungary he boafted of
having ereded above an hundred Lodges in dif-
ferent parts of Europe, fome of Vv/hich were in
England,
That the Illuminati and other hidden Cofmo-po-

litical focieties had fome influence in bringing about
he French Revolution, or at leail in accelerating it,

can hardly be doubted. In reading the fecret cor-
lefpondence, I was always furp'rifed at not finding
any reports from France, and fomething like a hefi-
tation about eftablilhing a miffion there ; nor am I
vet able thorcuehly to account for it. But there i5
abundant evidence that they interfered, both in pre-'
paring for it in the fame manner as in Germany, and
in accelerating its progrefs. Socne letters in the
2 K Brunfwick"
£62 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP, ilh
Brunfvvick Journal from one Campe^ who was an in-

fpedor of the feminaries of education, a man pf
talents, and an Illuminatus^ put it beyond doubt.
He was refuling in Paris during its firl\ movements,
and gives a minute account of them, lamenting
their excefl'es, on account of their imprudence, and
the rifk of fhocking the nation, and thus deflroying
the projecf^, but juftifying the motives, on the true
principles of Cofmo-politifm. I'he Vienna Zeit-
Ichrift and the Magazine of Literature and Fine
Arts for 1790, and other pamphlets of that date, fay
the fame thing in a clearer manner. I fliall lay to-
gether fome palfages from fuch as I have met with,
which I think will (hew beyond all poflibility of
doubt that the lUuminati took an adive part in the
whole tranfacftion, and may be faid to have been its
chief contrivers. I (hall premife a few obferva-
tions, which will give a clearer view of the matter*
[ 263 ]
CHAP. IV.
The French Revolution.
D URING thefe difTenlions and difcontents,

and this general fermentation of the public mind in
Germany, political occurrences in France gave ex-
ercife and full fcope for the operation of that fpirit
of revolt which had long growled in fecret in the
different corners of that great empire. The Cof-
mo-political and fceptical opinions and fentiments
xo much cultivated in all the Lodges of the Phila-
lethes had by this time been openly profefi'sd by ma-
ny of the fages of France, and artfully interwoven
with their fiatiftical economics. The many contefts
between the King and the Parliament of Paris about
the regiffration of his edids, had given occafion to
much difcuflion, and had made the public famiUar-
iy acquainted with topics altogether unfuitable to
j:he abfolute monarchy of France.
This acquaintance with the natural expectations
of the fubjecl, and the expediency of a candid at-
tention on the part of Government to thefe expec-
tations, and a view of Legiflation and Government
founded on a very liberal interpretation of all thefe
things, was prodlgioufly promoted by the rafli inter-
ference of France in the difpute between Great
Britain and her colonies. In this attempt to ruin
Britain, even the court of France v/as obliged to
preach the dodrines of Liberty, and to take its chance
that Frenchman would confent to be the only flaves.
But their officers and foldiers, who returned from
America, imported the American principles, and in
every company found hearers who liflened with de-
light and regret to their fafcinating tale of American
independence.
5^4 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. IV.
independence. Daring the war, the MiniHer, who

had too confidently pledged hirafelf for the deflruc-
tion of Britain, was obliged to allow the Parifians to
amufe themfelves with theatrical entertainments,
where Englilh law was reprefented as oppre(Iion,and
every fretful extravagance of the Americans was
applauded as a noble ftruggle for native freedom. —
All wilhed for a tafte of that liberty and equality
<vhich they were allowed to applaud on tlie iâge ;
but as foon as they came from the theatre into the
flreet, they found themfelves under all their former
reflraints. The fweet charm had found its way in-
to their hearts, and all the luxuries of France be-
came as dull as common life does to a fond girl when
fhe lays down her novel.
In this irritable flate of mind a fpark was fuffi-
cient for kindling a flame. To import this dange-
rous delicacy of American grov-vth, France had ex-
pended many millions, and was drowned in debts.
The mad prodigality of the Royal Family and the
~^
Court had drained the treafury, and foreflalkd every

livre of the revenue. The edids for new taxes and
forced loans Vv'ere mofl unwelcome and oppreflive.
The Avocats au.parlement had nothing to do with
flate-affairs, being very little more than barriflers in
the higheft court of juflice ; and the highefl claim
of th^ Prefidents of this court was to be a fort of
humble counfellors to the King in common matters.
It was a very flrange inconhftency in that ingenious
nation to permit fuch people to touch on thofe flate-
fubjedts ; for, King of Fiance was an
in facl, the
abfolute Monarch, and the iubjecls were flaves. This
is the refult of 2\\ their paintul relearch, notwith-
landing that glimmerings of natural juflice and
of freedom are to be met with in their records.
There could not be found in their hiflory fo
much as a tolerable account of the manner of
calling
«HAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, SCj
calling the nation together, to learn from the people

how their chains would befi pleafe their fancy. But
all this was againil nature, and it was neceflary that
it fliould come an end, the firfi: time that the mo-

to
narch confeffed that he could not do every thing
unlefs they put the tools into his hands. As things
were approaching gradually but rapidly to this con-
tlition, the impertinent interference (for fo a French-
man, fubjei^ of the Grand Monarch, muji think it)
pf the advocates of the Parliament of Paris was popu-
lar in the highefl degree ; and it muft be confefTed,
^hat in general it was patriotic, however inconliftent
with the conilitution. They felt themfelves plead-
ing the caufe of humanity and natural jufiice. This
would embolden honeil and worthy men to fpeak
truth, however unwelcome to the court. In gene-
ral, it raufl alfo be granted that they fpoke with cau-
tion and with refped to the fovereign powers ; and
they had frequently the pleafure of being the means
of mitigating the burdens of the people. The Par-
liament of Paris, by this condud, came to be looked
up to as a fort of mediator between the King and his
fubjeds; and as theavocats faw this, they naturally
rcfe in their own eftimation far above the rank in
which the conflitution of their government had pla-
ced them. For it mult alway? be kept in mind, that
the robe was never coniidered as the drefs of a No-
bleman, although the calTock was. An advocate was
merely not a rotourier ; and though we can hardly
conceive a profelTion more truly honourable than
the difpenfing of diflributive juftice, nor any {kill
more congenial to a rational mind than that of the
practical morality which we, in theory, conhder as
the light by which they are always conduded ; and
although even the artificial conilitution of France
had long been obliged to bow to the didates of na-
ture and humanity, and confer nobility, and even
title.
f56 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. IV,
title, on fucb of the profefTors of the municipal law

as had, by their (kill and their honourable characler,
ril'en to the firil offices of their profelTion, yet the
NoblelTe de la Robe never could incorporate with
the NoblelTe du Sang, nor even with the NoblelTe de
TEpee. Tbedefcendants of a Marquis de la Robe
never could rife to certain dignities in the church
and at court. The avocats de la parlement felt this,
and fmarted under the excluiion from court-
honours ; and though they eagerly courted fuch no-
bility as they could attain, they feldom omitted any
opportunity that occurred during their junior prac-
tice, of expoling the arrogance of the Noblefie, and
the dominion of the court. This increafed their
popularity, and in the prefent iituation of things,
being certain of fupport, they went beyond their
former cautious bounds, and introduced in their
pleadings, and particularly in their joint remon-
l^rances againft the regiftration of edids, all the wire-
drawn morality, and cofmo-political jurifprudence,
which they had fo often rehearfed in the Lodges,
and which had of late been openly preached by the
economifts and philofophers,
A was given to the nation for engaging '*ea
fignal
maffe" in political difcuflion. The Notables were
called upon to come and advife the King ; and the
points were laid before them, in which his Majelly,
(infallible now) acknowledged his ignorance or his
till
doubts. But who were the Notables? Were they more

knowing than the King, or lefs in need of inftrudion?
The nation thought otherwife; nay, the court thought
otherwife; for in fome of the royal proclamations on
this occaiion, men of letters were invited to
with aflTili
theircounfels, and togive what information their read-

ing and experience ihou'd fuggelt as to the befl: me-
thod of convoking the States General, and of con-
dueling their deliberations. When a Minifter thus
folicit^
4hAI>* IV* THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. ^6t
lolicits advice from all the world how to govern,
he
moft afl'uredly declares his own incapacity, and lells
the people that now they rauft govern thcmfelves.
This however 'vas done, and the Minifter, Psieckar
the Philofopher and Philanthropic of Geneva, let
the example, by fending in bis opinion, to be laid on
the council-table with the reih On this fignal, coun-
fel poured in from every garret, and the prefs
groaned with advice in every fliape. Ponderous
volumes were written for the Bifliop or the Duke ;
a handfome 8vo for the Notable Ofhcer of eigh-
teen ; pamphlets and fmgle (lieets for the loungers
in the Palais Royal, The fermentation v/as ailo-
niftiing; but it was no more ti:ian fliould have bcea
expected from the moil cultivated, the moll inge-
uious, and the lead baftiful nation on earth. All
wrote, and all read. Not contented with bringing
forth all the fruits which the illumination of thefe
bright days of reafon had railed in fuch abund-
ance in the conlervatories of the Philalethcs^ and
which had been gathered from the writings of
Voltaire, Diderot, Rouifeau, P*.aynal. &c. the pa-
triotic counfeliors of the Notables had ranfacked
all the writings of former ages. Tliey difcovered
THAT France had always been free ! One
Would have thought, that they had travelled with
Sir |ohn Maiideville in that country where even
the fpeechcs of former times had been frozen, and
were now thawing apace under the beams of the
fun of Pteaibn. For many of thefe effays were as
incongruous and mal a-propos as the broken fen-
tences recorded by Mr. Addiion in the Spectator.
A gentleman who was in Paris at this time, a per-
fon of great judgment, and well informed in every
thing refpeiting the conftitution and prefent con-
dition of his country, allured me that this invita-
tion, followed by the memorial of Mr, Neckar^
operated
563 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. iv.
operated Ijlce an eleftrical fliock. In the courfe of

four or five days, the appearance of Paris wa^
completely changed. Every wnere one faw crowds
—
ftaring at papers parted on the walls-^ breaking
—
into little parties -walking up and down the ftreets
in eager converiation — adjourning to coftee-houfes
-
—and the converfation in all companies turned to
politics alotje ; and in all thefe converfations a new
vocabulary^ where every fecond word was Morali-
ty, Philanthropy,Toleration,FreedomjandEqual!--
fation of property^ Even at this early period pcj -
f()ns were liitened to without cenfure, or even
furprife, who laid that it was nonfenfe to thinic
of reforming their government, and that it muft be
completely changed. In (hort, in the courfe of a
month, a fpirit of licentioufnefs and a rage for in-
novation had completely pervaded the minds of
the Pariiians. The moft confpiciious proof of this
was the unexpected fate of the Parliam.ent. It met
earlier than ujHjal, and to give greater eclat to its
patriotic efforts, and completely to fecure the gra-
titude of the people, it ilTued an arret on the pre-
fent ftate of the nation, containing a number of
refolntions oil the different leading points of na=
tional liberty. A few months ago thefe would
have been joyfully received as the Magna Charta
of Freedom, and really contained all that a wife
people fhoiild defire; but becaufe the Parliament
had lomctime before given it as their opinion as
the conftitutional counfel of the Crown, that the
States fliould be convoked on the principles of their
laft meeting in 1614, which preferved the diilinc-
tionsof rank, all their pad fervices were forgotten
— all their hard ilrngglc with the form.er admi-
niftration, and their unconquerable courage and

perfeverance, which- ended only with their down-
fal, all were forgotten ; and thofe dillinguiflied
members
CHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. t6g
members whofe zeal and futferings ranked them

with the mod renewed heroes and martyrs of pa-
triotiim, were now regarded as the contemptible
tools of Ariftocracy. The Parliament now let, in
—
a fiery troubled (liy to rife no more.
Of all the barrifters in the Parliament of Paris,
the mod confpicuous for the difplay of the en-
chanting doftrines of Liberty and Equality was
Mr. Duval, fon of an Avocat in the fame court,
and ennobled about this time under the name of
Defprefmenil. He was member of a Lodge of the
^mis Reunis at Paris, called the Contract Socialy
and of the Lodge of Chevaliers Bienjaifants at
Lyons. His reputation as a barriller had been pro-
digioufly increafed about this time by his manage-
ment of a caule, where the dcfcendant of the un-
fortunate General Lally, after having obtained
the reftoration of the family honours, was driv-
ing to get back fome of the edatcs. Mr. Lally
Tollendahl had even trained himfclf to the pro-
feffion, and pleaded his own caufe with adoniih-
ing abilities. But Defprefmenil had near connec-
tions with the family which was in pofleflion of
the edate5, and oppofed him with equal powers,
and more addrefs. He was on the fide which was
mod agreeable to his favourite topics of declama-
tion, and his pleadings attracted much notice both
in Paris and in fome of the provincial Parliaments.
I mention thefe things with fome intered, becaufe
this was the beginning of that marked rivaHliip
between Lally Tollendahl and Defprefmenil, which
made fuch a figure in the Journals of the National
Aflcmbly. It ended fatally for both. Lally Tol-
lendahl was obliged to'quit the Adembly, when
he faw it determined on the dedruclion of the
monarchy and of all civil order, and at lad to
emigrate from his country with the lofs of all his
2 L property,
fJO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, CHAP- iv*»
property, and to fubllfl on the kindnefs of Eng-

land. Dl'cprelmenil attained his meridian of pp-
pularity by his difcovery of the fccret plan of the
Court to eftablifii the Cour plcnitrc, and ever after
this took the lead in all the Itrong mcafures of the
Parliament of Paris, which was now overilepping
all bounds of moderation or propriety, in hopes
of preferving its influence after it had rendered
itfelf impotent by an unguarded ilroke. Defpref-
Jnenil was the firfl martyr of that Liberty and
Equality which it was now boldly preaching,
having voluntarily furrendered himfelf* a prifoner
to the officer fent to demand him from the Par-
liament. He was alfo a martyr to any thing that
remained of the very (hadow of liberty after the
R.evolution, being guillotined by Robefpierre.
I have already mentioned the intrigues of Count
Mirabeau at the Court of Berlin, and his fedi-
tious preface and notes on the anonymous letters
on the Rights of the Pruffian States. He alfo,
while at Berlin, publifhed an Ejj'ai Jur la Scdfe des
Illumines^ one of the ftrangeit and moft impu-
.
dent performances that ever appeared. He there

defcribes a fe£t exifting in Germany, called the
Illuminated^ and fays, that they are the moft ab-
furd and grofs fanatics imaginable, waging war
with every appearance of Reafon, and maintain-
ing the moft ridiculous fuperftitions. He gives
fome account of thefe, and of their rituals, cere-
monies, &c. as if he had feen them all. His fe£l
is a confufed mixture of Chriftian fuperftitions,
Rofycrucian nonfenfe, and every thing that can
raife contempt and hatred. But no fuch Society
ever exifted, and Mirabeau confided in his own
povvers of deception, in order to Icreen from ob-
(crvation thofewho were known to be llluminati,
and to hinder the rulers from attending to their
real
6HAP. IV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. Itjl
real machinations, by means of this Ignis fatuus

of his own brain. He knew perfectly that the II-
luminati were of a (lamp diametrically oppofite ;
for he was ilhiminated by Mauvillon long before.
He gained his point in fome meafare, for Nicho-
lai and others of the junto immediately adopted
the whim, and called them Objcurantem, and
joined with Mirabeau in placing on the lift ofOb-
fcuraniem feveral perfons whom they wilhed to
make ridiculous.
Mirabeau was not more difcontented with the
Court of Berlin for the fmali regard it had teftifi-
ed for his eminent talents, than he was withhis
own Court, or rather with the minifter Calonne,
who had lent him thither. Calonne had been
greatly diffatisfied with his condudt at Berlin,
where his feif-conceit, and his private projects,
had made him ad: in a way almoft contrary to the
purpofes of his million. Mirabeau was therefore
in a rage at the minifter, and publillied a pam-
phlet, in which his celebrated memorial on the
ftate of the nation, and the means of relieving it,
was treated with the utmoft leverity of reproach;
and in this conteft his mind was wrought up to
that violent pitch of oppoiition which he ever af-
ter maintained. To
be noticed, and to lead, were
hisfole objects —
and he found, ât taking the fide
of the difcontented was the be# field for his elo-
—
quence and reftlefs ambition. Yet there was no
man that was more devoted to the principles of a
court than count Mirabeau, provided he had a
(hare in the adminiftration and he would have
;
obtained it, if any thing moderate would have

fatisfied him — but he thought nothing worthy of
him but a place of aftive truft, and a high de-
partment. For fuch offices all knew him to be to-
tally unfit. He wanted knowledge of great things,
and
1'jl THE FRENCH REVOEUTION- CHAP. iv.
and was learned only in the buftling detail of iht

triguc, and at any time would Tacrifice every
thing to have an opportunity of exejciiing his
brilliant eloquence, and indulging his palFion for
fatire and reproach.—rThe greatcil obllacle to his
advancement was the abjedl worthleifnefs of his
chara£ler. What we uibally call profligacy, viz.
debauchery, gaming, impiety, and every kind of
feiifuality, were not enough —
he was deilitute of
—
decency in his vices -tricks which would difgrace
a thief-catcher, were never boggled at in order to
fupply his expences. For inftance, —
His father and
—
mother had a procefsof feparation Mirabcau liad
juft been liberated from prifon for a grofs mifde-
meanour, and was in want of money He went —
to his father, fided with him in invedlives againll
his mother, and, for loo guineas, wrote his fa-
ther's memorial for the court. —
He then went to
his mother, and by a fimilar conduft got the lame
—
fum from her- and both memorials were prelent-
ed. Drinking was the only vice in which he did
not indulge —
his exhaufted conflitution did not
permit it. His brother, the Vifcount, on the con-
trary, was apt to exceed in jollity. One day the
Count faid to him, " How can you, Brother, lb
=* expofe yourfeif?" *'What!" fays the Vif-
count, '* how iniatiable you are Nature has
*'
given you evelif vice, and having left me only
—
" this one, you grudge it me." When the elec-
tions were making for the States-General, he of-
fered himfelf a candidate in his own order at Aix
— But he was fo abhorred by the NoblefTe, that
they not only rejected him but even drove him
from their meetings. This affront fettled his mea-
fures, and he det< rmined on their ruin. He went
to the Commons, difclaimed his being a gentle-
man, fat up a little Ihop in the market place of
Aix
CHAP. IV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 2^3
Aix, and fold trifles— and now, fnlly refolved what
line he fliould purfue, he courted the Commons,
bv joining in all their cxcefTes againft the No-
bielfe, and was at laft returned a member of the
Allembly.
From this account of Mirabeau wc can eafily
forctel the ufe he would make of the lllnminaTion
which he had received in Germany. Its grand
truths and juft morality feem to have had the
lame eiil'cts on his mind as on that of Weilhaupt
or Bahrdt.
In the year 1-68, Mirabcan, in conjundtion
with the duke de Lauzun and the Abbe Perigord,
afterwards Biihop of Autun (the man fo puft'ed in
the National Ailemblies as the brighteft pattern of
humanity) reformed a Lodge of Philalethes in
Paris, which met in the Jacobin College or Con-
vent. It was one of the Amis Reiinis, which had
row rid itfelf of all the infignificant mylticifm of
the fe6l. This was now become troublefome, and
took up the time which would be much better
employed by the Chevaliers du Soliel, and other
ftill more refined champions of reafon and uni-
verfal citizenfhip. Mirabeau had imparted to it

fome of that Illumination which had beamed up-
on him when he was in Berlin. In 1788, he and
the Abbe were wardens of the lodge. They found
that they had not acquired all the dexterity of
management that he underftood was praftifed by
his Brethren in Germany, for keeping up their
connection, and conduciing their cbrefpondence.
A letter was therefore fent from this Lodge, fign-
ed by thefe two gentlemen, to the Brethren in
Germany, requefting their affiftance and inftruc-
tion. In the courfe of this year, and during the
fitting of the Notables, a deputation ;vassent
from the German liluminati to catch this glori-
ous
—
ous opportunity of carrying their plan into fall

execution with the greateft ecJat,
Nothing can more convincingly demonftrate
the early intentions of a party, and this a great
party, in France to overturn the conftitulion com-
pletely, and plant a democracy or oligarchy on
its ruins. The Illuminati had no other objeft.
They accounted all Princes ufurpers and tyrants,
and all privileged orders their abettors. They in-
tended to eiiablilh a government of Morality, as
they called it, ( Sittenregiment ) where talents and
character (to be eltimatcd by their own {calc, and
by themfelves) (hould alone lead to preferment.
They meant to abolifli the laws which protefted
property accumulated by long continued and fuc-
cefsful induftry, and to prevent for the future any
fuch accumulation. They intended to eftablifti
univerfal Liberty and Equality, the imprefcripti-
ble Rights of Man, (at leaft they pretended all
this to thofe who were neither Magi or R.egentes.)
And, as necelTary preparations for all this, they
intended to root out all religion and ordinary mo-
rality, and even to break the bonds of domeftiC
life, by deflroying the veneration for marriage-
vows, and by taking the education of children
out of the hands of the parents. Tkis was all that
the Illuminati could teach, and THIS WAS PRE-
CISELY WHAT FRANCE HAS DONE.
I cannot proceed in the narration without de-
filing the page with the detelled name of Orleans,
flained with every thing that can degrade or difgrace
human nature. He only wanted Illumination, to
Ihew him in a fyflem all the opinions, difpoiitions,
and principles which filled his own wicked heart.
This contemptible being was illuminated by Mira-
beau, and has ihown himfelf the moft zealous dif-
ciple of the Order. In his oath of allegiance he
declares
•HAP. IV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. ^75
declares, " That the interefls and the objed of the
it
Order be rated bv him above all other rela-
{hall
1(
and that he will ferve it with his honour,
tions,
—
a his fortune, and his blood." He has kept his
word, and has facrificed them all —
And he has been
treated in the true Ipirit of the Order —
uied as a
—
mere tool, cheated and ruined. For I mull now
add, that the French borrowed from the Illuminati a
maxim, unheard of in any other allociation of ban-
ditti, viz. that of cheating each other. As the ma-
nagers had the higher myile-
fole poffefiion of the
ries, and led the reft by principles which they held
lo be falfe, and which they employed only for the
purpofe of fecuring the co-operation of the inferior
Brethren, fo Mirabeau, Sieves, Pethion, and others,
led the Duke of Orleans at firfl: by his wicked am-
bition, and the expedation of obtaining that crown
which they intended to break in pieces, that they
might get the ufe of his immenfe fortune, and of
his influence on the thoufands of his depending
fycophants, who ate his bread and pandered to his
grofs appetites. Although we very foon find him
ading as an Illuminaius^ we cannot fuppofe him fo
loll: to common fenfe as to contribute his fortune, and
rifle his life, merely in order that the one fhould be
afterwards taken from him by law, and the other

put on a level with that of his groom or his pimp.
Hefurely hoped to obtain the crown of his indolent
relation. And indeed Mirabeau laid to Bergafle,
that " when the projecl was mentioned to the Dnke
*'
of Orleans, he received it with all pofTible gra-
*'
cioufnefs," (âvec toute la grace imaginable.^ Dur-
ing the contefts between the Court and the Parlia-
ment of he courted popularity with an inde-
Paris,
cency and folly that nothing can explain but a mad
and fiery ambition which blinded his eyes to all con-
fequences. This is put out of doubt by his behavi-
'
our
276 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, CHAP. iv.
our on the dreadful 5ih and 6th of Oc-

at Verfailles
tober, 1789. The depofiiions at the Chatelec prove
in the molt incontertible manner, that during the
horrois of thofe two days he was repeatedly ieen,
and that whenever he was recognized bv the crowd,
he was huzzaed with Vive Orleans^ Vive notre Rot
Orleans^ i'^c. —
He then withdrew, and was ieen in
other places. about the unfortunate Roy-
While all
al Family were in the utmoft concern for their fate,

he was in gay humour, chatting on indifferent fub-
jeif\s. His laft appearance in the evening of the 5tb
vias about nine o'clock, converiing in a corner with
men difguifed in mean and loine in women's
drefs,
clothes among whom were Mirabeau, Barnave,
;
Duport, and o'>her deputies of the Republican party

— and theie men were feen immediately after, con-
cealed among the lints of the regiment de Flandre,
the corruption of which they had that day compleat-
ed. He was feen again next morning, converfing
with the lame perfons in women's drels. And when
the iijfuked Sovereign was dragged in triumph to
Paris, Orleans was again feen fkulking in a balcony
behind his children, to view the proceflfion of devils
and furies ; anxioufly hoping all the while that fome
difturbance would arife in which the King might
perilh. — I fliould have added that he was feen in the
morning the top of the itairs, pointing the way
at
v/ith his hand to the mob, where they (hould go,
while he went by another road to the King. In
fhort, he went about trembling like a coward, wait-
ing for the exploiion which might render it fafe for
him to (hew himfelf. Mirabeau him, " The
faid of
fellow carries a loaded pillol in his bofom, but will
never dare to pull the trigger." He was faved, not-
withQanding his own folly, by being joined in the
accufdtion with Mirabeau, who could not refcue him-
felf without ftriving alfo for Orleans, whom he def-
pifcd,
—
CHAP. iVi TftE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 277
pifed, while he made —
In fhort,
ufe of his fortune.
Orleans was but half illuminated at this time, and
hoped to be King or Regent.
Yet he was deeply verfed in the preparatory lef-
fous. of Iliurainatifni, and well convinced of its fun-
damental truths. He was well aifured of the greal:
iaflaence of the women in fociety, and he employed
this influence like a true difciple of Weifhaupt.
Above chiee hundred nymphs from the purlieus of
the Paiais Royal were provided with ^cus and Louis
d'ors, by his grand procureur the Abbe Sieyes, and
were fent to meet and to illuminate the two battalions
of the Regiment de Flandre, who were coming to
Verfailles for the-protedion of the Royal Family,
The privates of one of thefe regiments came and in-
formed their officers of this attempt made on their
loyalty.' —45,0001. livreswere given them at St. De-
—
nys, to make them difband themfelves and the
poor lads were at firll dazzled by the name of a fum
that was not familiar to them —
but when fome think-
ing head among them told them that it only amount-
ed to two Louis d'ors a piece, they difclofed the bri-
bery. They were then offered 90,000, but never
faw it. (Depofitions at, the Chatelet No. 317.)
Mademoifelle Therouane, the favorita of the day,
at the Palais Royal, was the moft adive perfon of the
armed mob from Paris, drefled en Amazonne-, with
all the elegance of the opera, and turned many-
young heads that day which were afterwards taken
off by the guillotine. The Duke of Orleans acknow-
ledged, before his death, that he had expended above
50,0001. fterling in corrupting the Gardes Francoifes*
The armed mob which came from Paris to Verfailles
on the 5ih of Odober, importuning the King for
bread, had their pockets filled with crown pieces
and Orleans was feen on that day by two gent4emen,
with a bag of money fo heavy that it was faffened to
M
'
2 hig
27B THE FRENCH REVOLUTIOrC. CHAP. iV.
his clothes with a flrap, to hinder it from being op-

preflive, and to keep it in luch a pofition that, it
fhould be acceflible in an inflant. (See the Depoii-

tionsat the Chatelet, No. 177.)
But fuch was the contempt into which his grofs
profligacy, his cowardice, and his niggardly difpoii-
ijon, had brought him with all parties, that, if he
had noi been quite blinded by his wicked ambition,
and by his implacable refentment of fome bitter
taunts he had gotten from the King and Qiieen, he
mull: have feen very early that he was to be facrificed
33 foon as he had ferved the purpofes of the facflion.
At prefent, his alliftance was of the utmofi: confe-
quence. His immenfe fortune, much above three
millions flerling, was almoft exhaufled during the
three firft years of the Revolution. But (what was
of more confequence) he had almoft unbounded
auihoritv among the Free Mafons.
In this country we have no conception of the
authority of National Grr>nd Mafter.
a When
Prince Ferdinand of Brunfwick, by great exertions
among the jarring feds in Germany, had got him-
felf eleded Grand Mafler of the Stri5l Obfervanz^
it gave ferious alarm to the Emperor, and to all the
Princes of Germany, and contributed greatly to

their connivance at the attempts of the lUumina-
ti to difcredit that party. In the great cities of
Germany, the inhabitants paid more refpedl to the
Grand TVIaftcr of the Mafons than to their refpec-
tive Princes. The authority of the D. of Orleans
in France was dill greater, in confequence of his
employing his fortune to fupport it. About eight
years before the Revolution he had (not without
much intrigue and manv bribes and promifcs)
been eifctcd Grand Mailer of France, having
under his dircftions all the //vr/'roi'fii Lodge?. The
whole AfTociation was called the Grand Orient de
la
CHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 279
la France^ and in 1785 contained 266 of thcfe
Lodges; Freymaurerifche Zeitungy Neuwicd
(iee
1787.) Thus he hadthe management of all thofe
Secret Societies ; and the licentious and irreligi-
ous fentiments which were currently preached
there, were fure of his hearty concurrence. The
fame intrigue which procured him the fupreme
chair, muil have filled the Lodges with his de-
pendents and emiiTaries, and thefe men could not
better earn their pay, than by doing their utmoft
to propagate infidelity, immorality, and impurity
of manners.
But fomething more was wanted Difrefpeft
:
for the higher Orders of the State, and difloyalty

to the Sovereign. — not fo eafy, to conceive
It is
how thcle fentiments, and particularly the latter,

could meet with toleration, and even encourage-
ment, in a nation noted for its profefllons of vene-
ration for its Monarch, and for the pride of its
Noblefle. Yet I am certain that fuch do£lrines
were habitually preached in the Lodges of Phila-
lethas^ and Amis Reunis de la Verits, That they
fhould be very current in Lodges of low-born
Literati, and other Brethren in inferior ftations,
is natural, and I have already faid cncigh on this
head. Bat the French Lodges contained many

gentlemen in eafy, and ajffluent circumflanccs. I
do not expeft fuch confidence in my affertions, that
even in theie the fame opinions were very preva-
lent. I was therefore much pleafed with a piece of
information which I got while thefe fheets were
printing which corroborates my afl'ertions.
off,
This is a performance called La voile retiree^ on le

Secret ds la Revolution explique par la Franc Macon-
nerie. It was written bv a Mr. Lefranc, Prefident
of the Seminary of the Eudijis at Caen in Norman-
dy, and a fecond edition was publifhed at Paris in
1792.
.
«8o THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. Iv,
1792. The author was butchered in the maflacre of

September. He fays, that on the death of a friend,
who liad been a very zealous Malon, and many years
MaQer of a refpedable Lodge, he found among his
papers a collevflion of Mafonic writings, containing
the rituals, catechifms, and fymbols of every kind,
belonging to a long train of degrees of Free Mafon-
ry, together with many difcourfes delivered in dif-
ferent Lodges, and minutes of their proceedings.
The perufal filled him with afloniihment and anxiety
For he found that dodrines were taught, and maxims
of conduct were inculcated, which were fubverlive
of religion and of all good order in the Ibte and ;
which not only countenanced difloyalcy and fedition,

but even invited to it. He thought them fo dange-
rous to the ftate, th^t he itnt an account of them to
the Archbifhop of Paris long before the Revolution,
and always hoped that that Reverend Prelate would
reprefent the matter to his Majefiy's Miniflers, and
that they would put an end to the meetings of this
'dangerous Society, or would at leaf! reftrain them
from fuch excefles. But he was difappointed, and
therefore thought it his duty to lay theni before the
public*.
Mr. Lefranc fays exprefsly, that this fhocking
perverfion of Free Mafonry to feditious purpofes
* Had the good man been

fpared but a few months, bis fur-
prife at would have ceafed. For, on the 19th of
this negleft
November i 793, the Archbifhop of Paris came to the Bar of the
Affembly, accompanjed by his Vicar and eleven other Clergymen,
who there renounced their Chriftianity and their clerical vows j
acknowledging that they had played the villain for many years
againft their confciences, teaching what they knew to be a lie, and
were now refolyed to be honeft men. The Vicar indeed had be-
haved like a true Jlluminatus fome time before, by running off vrith
—
another man's wife and his ftrong box.- None of them, however,
fecm to have attained the higher myfterics, for they were all guil-
lotined not long after.
was,
£HAP. iv, THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, Sfil
was, in a great meafure, but a late thing, and was

chiefly brought about by the agents of the Grand
Mafter, the Duke of Orleans. He was, however,
of opinion that the whole Mafonic Fraternity was
hoftile to Chriftianity and to good morals, and
that it was the contrivance of the great fclufmatic
Fauftus Socinus, who being terrified by the fate of
Servctns, at Geneva, fell on this method of pro-
mulgating his doctrines among the great in fecret.
This opinion is but ill fupported, and is incompa-
tible with many circumitances in Free Mafonry-^
But it is out of our way at prefent. Mr. Lefranc
then takes particular notice of the many degrees
of Chivalry cultivated in the Lodges, and (hows
how, by artful changes in the fuccellive explana-
tions of the fame fymbols, the doftrines of Chrif-
tianity, and of all revealed religion, are com-
pletely exploded, and the Philofophe Inconnu be*
—
comes at iaft a profefTed Atheilt. He then takes
notice of the political dodtrines which are in like
manner gradually unfolded, by which " patriot-
" ifm and loyalty to the prince are declared to be
*' narrow
principles, inconfificnt with univerfal
" benevolence, and with the native and impre-
*'•
fcriptible lights of man ; civil fubordination is
" actual oppreffion, and Princes are ex officio ufur-
•* pers and tyrants."
Thefe principles he fairly
deduces from the Catechifms of the Chevalier du
So lie I, and of the Philofophe Inconnu, He then
proceeds to notice more particularly the intrigues
of the Duke of Orleans. From thefe it appears evi-
dent that his ambitious views and hopes had been
of long Handing, and that it was entirely by his
fupport and encouragement that feditious doc-
trines were permitted in the Lodges. Many no-
blemen and gentlemen were difgufted and left
thefe Lodges, and advantage was taken of their
abfcocc
abfencc to improve the Lodges flill more, that is

to make them dill more anarchical and leditiou?.
Numbers of paltry foribblers who haunted the
Palace Royal, were admitted into the Lodges, and
there vented their poifonousdodrines. The Dni<e
turned his chief attention to the French guards,
introducing many of the privates and inferior of-
ficers into the obfcure and even the more refpec-
table Lodges, fo that the officers were frequently
difgufted in the Lodges by the infolent behaviour
of their own foldicrs under the mafk of Mafonic
—
Brotherhood and Equality and this behaviour be-
came not unfrequent even out of doors. He aiferts
with great confidence that the troops were much
—
corrupted by thefe intrigues and that when they
fometimes declared, on fervicc, that they wpuld
not fire on their Brethren, the phrafe had a parti-
cular reference to their Mafonic Fraternity, be-
caufe they recognifcd many of their Brothel- Ma-
fons in every crowd. — And the corruption was by
no means confined to Paris and its neighbourhood,
but extended to every place in the kingdom
where there was a Municipality and a Mafon
Lodge.
Mr, Lefranc then turns our attention to many
peculiarities in the Pvevoiution, which have a re-
semblance to the praftices in Free Mafonry. Not
only was the arch rebel the Duke of Orleans, the
Grand Mafter, but the chief actors in the Revolu-
tion, Mirabeau, Condorcct, lôchefoucault, and
others, were diftinguiilied otficc-bearers in the
great Lodges. He lays that the diftribution of
France into departments, diftridls, circles, can-
tons, Scz. is perfeftly fimilar, witli the fame de-
nominatiunn, to a diltribution which lie had re-
marked in the correipondence of the Grand Ori-
ent*.
—
CHAP. IV, THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.
ent*. The Prefjdent's hnt in the National AlTem-

bly is copied from tliat cf a Tres P'encrahle Grand
Maitre. —The fcarf of a Municipal Oificer is the
lame with that of a Brother Apprentice.— \Vh^.n
the Airembly celebrated the Revolution in the
Cathedral, they accepted of the higheft honours
of Mafonry by pafiin^ under the Arch of Stfel^
formed by the drawn (words of two ranks of Bre-
thren. — Alfo it is worthy of remark, that the Na-
tional Airembly protec\ed the meetings of Free
Mafons, while it prcremptorily prohibited every
other private meeting. The obligation of laying
afide all flars, ribbands, erofies, and other honour-
able dillinclions, under the pretext of Fraternal
Equality, was not merely a prelude, but was in-
tended as a preparation for the de(lru6tion of all
civil difiindtions, which took place almoit at the
beginning of the Revolution, and the Jirjl pra-
pojal of a fiirrender^ fays Mr. Lcfranc, "jj.as made
by a zealous Majcn. —
He farther obferves, that
the horrible and fanguinary oaths, the daggers,
death-heads, crofs-bones, the imaginary combats
with the murderers of Hiram, and many other
gloomy cerenionies, have a natural tendency to
harden the heart, to remove its natural difguit at
deeds of horror, and have paved the way for thofc
liiocking barbarities whicii have made the name
of Frenchmen abhorred over all Europe. Thcfe
deeds were indeed perpetrated by a mob of fana-
tics ; but the principles were promulgated and
foftered by perlbns who ftyle themrelves philo-
fophers.
I fee more evidence of thefe important fa^s in
another book jult publKhed by an emigrant gen-
* I cannot help obferving, that it is peifeAly Hmilar to the ar-

rangement and denominations which appear in the fecret corrcf-
pondence of the Bavarian Ilhiminati.
tlrm.in
284 THI FRENCH RKVOLUtlOf;. CHAP. IV.
tleman (Mr. Latocnaye). He confirms my repeat-

ed afTertions, that ail the irreligious and leditious
do£trines were the fubjedts of repeated harangues
in the Mafon Lodges, and that all the principles
of the Revolution, by which the public mind was
as it were fet on fire, were nothing but enthufiaf-
tic amplifications of the common-place cant of
Free Mafonry, and arofe naturally out of it. He
even thinks " that this mujl ofnecejjify be the cafe
*' in every country where the minds of the
lower
** claflesof the State are in any way confiderably
** fretted or irritated ; it aimoft impolfible to

is
'* avoid being drawn into this vortex, whenever
*' a difcontentcd mind enters into a Mafon Lodge.
** The ftale flory of brotherly love, which
at an-
*' other time would only lull the hearer aileep,
*' now makes him prick up his ears, and liflen

" with avidity to the lllly tale, and he cannot
*' hinder fretting thoughts from continually
rank-
" ling in his mind."
Mr. Latocnaye fays exprefsly, *' That notwith-
*' ftanding the general contempt of the public for
" the Duke of Orleans, his authority as Grand
" Mafler of the Mafons gave him the greateft
" opportunity that a feditious mind could defire
" for helping forward the Revolution. He had
" ready to his hand a connedted fyftem of hidden
" Societies, protected by the State, habituated to
** fecrecy and artifice, and already tinged with
** the very enthufiafm he wifhed to infpire. in.
" thefe he formed political committees, into which
** only his agents were admitted. He filled the
** Lodges with the French guards, whom he cor-
** rupted with money and hopes of preferment;
** and by means of the Abbe Sieyes, and other

*' emiffaries, they were harangued with all the fo-
" phiftical decla«iation, or cant of Mafonry."

Mr.
tHAPi iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION^ 285
Mr. Latociiaye fays, that all this was peculiar

to the Lodges of the Grand Orient but that
;
there were nidiiy (not very many, if we judge by

the Neuwied alinanac, which reckons only 289111
all France in1784, of vv'hich 266 were of the
Grand Orient) Lodges who continued on the old
plan of ainiifing theml'elves with a little folemn trif-'
Hnf. He coincides with Mr. Lefranc in the opinion
that the awful and gloomy rituals of Mafonry, and
particularly the fcvere trials of confidence and fub-
miffion, mufi: have a great tendency to harden the
heart, and fit a man for attrocions adtions. No one
can doubt of this who reads the following inftance :
" A candidate for reception into one of the
*' higheft Orders, after having heard many threat-
*' enings denounced againil all who fhould betray
" the Secrets of the Order, was condu£ted to a

" place where he faw the dead bodies of fevcral
" who were laid to have fuffered for their trea-
*' chery. He then faw his own brother tied hand
*' and footj begging his mercy and interceffion,

" He was informed that this perfon was about to
' fuffer the punilhment due to this offence, and
(I
that it was referved for him (the candidate) to
be the inflrument of this juft vengeance, and
ii
that this gave him an opportunity of manifefl-
ing that he was completely devoted to the Or-
*' der. It being obferved that his countenance
" gave figns of inward horror, (the perfon in
*' bonds imploring his mercy all the while) he
" was told that in order to fpare his feelings, a

" bandage fliould be put over his eyes. A dagger
*' was then put into his right hand, and being
*' hood-winked, his left hand was
laid upon the
" palpitating heart of the criminal, and he was
" then ordered to ftrike. He inftantly obeyed ;
" and when the bandage was taken from his eyes,
2 N he
286 THt FRENCH REVOLLTIGX. CHAP. iV.
" he faw that it was a lamb that he had ftabbed.

** Siirclv (bch trials and fuch vânton cruelty are
*' only for training conlpirators."
fit
Mr. Latocnaye adds, tliat " when he had been

*'
initiated, an old gentleman afked him what he
" thought of the whole ?" lie anfwered, " A great
" deal of noife, and much nonfenfe." ' Nonienfe."
faid the other, ^' don't judge foralhly, young man ;
''
I have worked tliele twenty-five years, and the
" farther I advanced, it intereOed me the more ;
'^
but I Oopped {hort, and nothing {hall prevail on
*'
me to advance a fiep farther." In another con-
verfation the gentleman faid, " I imagine that my
''
tloppage was owing to my refufal about nine years
*'
ago, to liflen to iome perlons who made to me,
*'
out of the Lodge, propofals which were feditious
''
and horrible; for ever fince that time I have re-
*'
marked, that my higher Brethren treat me wi Ii a
" much greater referve than they had done before,
*' and under the pretext of further inflrudiori;
that,
they have laboured to confute the notions which
'•'
" I had already acquired, by giving fome of the

" moll: delicate fubjecfis a different turn. I faw
*'
that they wanted to remove fome fufpicions which
**•
I was beginning to form concerning the ultimate
*'
feope of the whole."
imagine that thele obfeivations will leave no
I
doubt in the mind of the reader with refpccl to the
influence of the fecret Fraternitv of Free Mafonrv
in the French Revolution, and that he vvill allow it
to be highly probable that the infamous Duke of Or-
leans had, from the beginning, entertained hopes of
mounting the throne of France. It is not my pro-
vince to prove or difprove this point, only I think
it no lefs evident, from nianv circumflances in the
iranlaciions of thofe tumultuous days, that tiie

asf\ive leaders had quite dijTcrent vicus, and were
Jnipelied
CHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. ^87
impelled bvfanntical notions of democratic felicitv,
or, more probably, by their own ambition to be the
movers of this vafi machine, to overturn the ancient
government, and ered a republic, of which they
hoped to be the managers*. Mirabeau had learned
when in Germany that the principles of anarchy
had been well digefled into a fyliem, and therefore
wifhed for fome inftrudionas to the fubordinate de-
tail of the buhnefs, and for tin's purpofe requeued a
deputation from the llhiniinatL

In fuch a caufe as this, we may be certain that no
ordinary perfon would be fent. One of the depu-
ties was Ameliiis, the next perfon in the order to
Spartacus and Ph lo. His worldly nan;e was Johann.
J. C. Bode, at Weimar, privy-counfellor to the
Prince of liefie-Darmftadt. (See Fragmente der
Biographie des verftorhenes Freyherr Bode in Weiynar^
7/i!t ziiverlqffigen Urkunder, 2)Vo. Eiom. 1795. See
alfo Endliche Sbickfall der Freymaurev:')', 1794 ; alfo
IViener Zeitfchrift fur 1793-) —
This perfon has
played a principal part in the whole fcbeme of Illu-
mination. He was a perfon of confiderable and
fhowy talents as a writer. He
had great talents for
converfation, and had kept good company. With
* The depofitions at the Chatelet, which I have ah-eady quoted,
give repeated and unequivocal proofs, that he, with a confiderable
number of the deputies of the National AfTembly, had formed
this plot before the 5th of OAober 1789. That trial was con-
dudled in a flrange manner, partly out of refpeft for the Royal
Faniily, which (till had fome hearts affedlionately attached to it,
and to the monarchy, and partly by reafon of the fears of
the members of this court. There was now no fafety for any
perfon who differed from the opinion of the frantic populace of
Paris. The chief points of acciifatlon were written in a fchedule
which is not publifhed, and the witneffes were ordered to depofe
on thefe in one general Yes or No fo that it is only the leaft im-
;
portant part of the evidence that has been printed. I am well

informed that the whole of it is carefully preferved, and will one
day appear.
refped
288 THE FRENCH EVOLUTION. CHAP. W.
refpe^l to his myftical charader, his experiencewns
grât. He was one of the Templar Mafons, and a-
mong them was Eqiifs a Liliis Convallium. He had
fpeculatedmuch about the origin and hiftorv of Ma-
IbnrVi and when at the Willemfbad convention,
was converted to IlluQiinatifm. He was the great
inrtigator of Nicholai, Gedicke, and BieHer, to the
hunt after Jefuits which fo much occupied them, and
iuggelled to Nicholai his journey through Germany.
Leuchtfenring whom I mentioned hefore, was only
the letter-carrier between Bode and thefe three au-
thors. He was juft iuch a man as Weifhaupt will-
ed for ; his head filled with Mafonic fanaticifm, at-
taching infinite importance to the frivolities of Ma-
ibnry, and engaged in an enthufiaflic and fruitlefs
refearch after its origin and hiilory. He had col-
leded, however, fuch a number of archives (as they
were called) of Free Mafonry, that he fold his manu-
fcript to the Duke of Saxe Gotha, (into whofc fer-
vice Weilhaupt engaged hirafelf when he was driven
from Bavaria), for 150 dahlers. This little anec-
dote fhows the high importance attributed to thofe
matters by perfons of whom we fliould expect better
things. Bode was aifo a mofl deier mined and vio-
lent materialifl. Befidesail thefe qualities, foaccepta-
dilcontented Templar
ble to the Illuminati, he was a
Mafon, having been repeatedly difappointed of the
preferment which he thought himfelf entitled to.
When he learned that the firll operations of the Il-
luminati were to be the obtaining the fole direction
of the Mafon Lodges, and of the whole Fraternity,
his hopes revived of riling to fome of the Ccm-
manderies, which his enthuliafm, or tather fanati-
cifm, had made him hope to fee one day regained
by the Older : —
but when he found that the next and
favourice objed v.-as to root out the Strift Objirvanz.
altogether, he ilarled back. But Philo faw that the
nndernanding
—
.CHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 28^
underftanding (fliall we call it ?) that can be dazzled

with one whim, may be dazzled with another, and
he now attached h:m to Illuminatifm, by a magni-
ficent difplay of a world ruled by the Order, and
conducted to happinels by means of Liberty and
Equality. This did the buhneis, as we fee by the
private correfpondence, where Philo informs Spar-
tacus of his firlt ditiiculties with Amelius. Ameli-
iis was gained over in Augufi: 1782, and we fee by
the fame correfpondence, that the greateil: aft'airs
were foon entrutled to him —he was generally em-
ployed. to deal with the great. When a Graf or a
Baron was to he wheedled into the Order, Amelius
was the agent. — He was alfo the chief operator
in all their contefts with the Jefuits and the Rofy-
crucians. It was alfo Bode that procured the im-
portant acceffion of Nicholai to the Order, This
he brought about through Leuchtfenring ; and lafl^
ly, his numerous connections among the Free Ma-
fons, together with Knigge's influence among them,
enabled the liiuminati to worm themfelves into
every Lodge, and at lali gave themahnoll: the entire
command of the Fraternity.
Such was the firllof the deputies to France. The
other was a Mr. Buffche, called in the Order Bay-
ard ; therefore probably a man of refpedable cha-
rader ; for moll of Spartacus's names were hgnifi-
cant like his own. He was a militaiyman, Lieu-
tenant-Colonel in the fervice of rieii'e Darmliadt.
This man alfo was a difcontented Templar Mafon,
and his name in that Fraternity had been Equts a
Fontibiis Erenii, He was illuminated by Knigge.
He had alfo been unfaccefsful botii at court and in
the field, in both of which liquations he had been at-
tempting to make a diilinguifhed figure. He, aj well
as Bode, were immerfed in debts. Thevwere there-
fore
. ,
2gO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAI\ iv.
fore juft in the proper temper for Cormo-politlcal

enterprife.
They went end of
788, while tlje
to Paris in the l
Notables were fitting, and all Paris was giving ad-

vice. The alarm that was raifed about Animal Mag-
neiifm, which was indeed making much noifeatthat
time, and particularly at Paris, was afiigned by theuj
as the greatmotive of the journey. Bode alfo laid
that he was anxious to learn what were the correc-
tions made on the fyftem of the Chevaliers Bienfai-
Jants. They had
taken that name at firft, to fcreen
themfelves from the charges aeainft them under the
rsame of Templars. They had correiflcd fomething
in their fyftem when they look the name Philalcthes.
And now when the Schilms of the Philaleihcs were
healed, and the Brethren again united under the
name of Amis Reunis^ he fufpeded that Jefuits had
interfered ; and becanfe he had heard that the prin-
ciples of the Amis Retinis were very noble, he wiili-
ed to be more certain that they were purged of eve-
ry thing Jefuitical.
The deputies accordingly arrived at Paris, and
immediately obtained adraiffion into thefe two Fra-
ternities*. I'hey found both of them in the ripell
* To prevent interruptions, I may jutl mention here the autho-

rities for this journey and co-operation of the two deputies.
1. Em iv'icht'iger Aujfchlufs ubur en noch tvcn'tg lekannte Veran-
lajfuvg der Franziifcken Revolution, in the Vienna Zeitfchrift for

U93»P- I45-
2. Endliche Shickfall (les Freymaurer I794» p» 19-
OrdetiSy
3. Neuejle Arbe'itnng des Spaitacus and Pbllo, Munich, 1793. p.
151— 54-
4. Hi/lorifche Nachrichien uber die Franc Revolution J 792, von
Girtanncr, var. he.
5. Revrdutions Almanack fiir 1792 — 4, Gottingen, var. he.
6. Bey t rage zur Biographic des verjlorbenes Frey-Herr v. Bode .
1794-
7. Jlfagazin des Literat ur et Kurjl, {or lyjti 3, 4? ^c. £S"V.
ftate
CHAP. iv. THE FREN'CH aEVOLUTIGN. 2^1
flate for Illumination, having fhaken ofFailthe caba-

liftical, chemical, and myflical whims that had for-
merly diflurbed them, and would now take up too

much of their time. 1 hev were now cultivating
with great zeal the pbilofuphico political doctrines
of univerlal citizenfliip. Their leaders, to the
number of twenty, are mentioned bv name in the
Berlin Monatfchrift for 1785, and among them are
feveral of the firfl: adors in the French Revolution.
But this is nothing didindlive, becaufe perfons of all
opinions were Mafons.
The Amis Reunis were behind the Illumi-
little
nati in every thing that was irreligious and anarchi-

cal, and had no inclination for anv of the formali-
ties of ritual. Sec. They were already fit for the
higher myfleries, and only wanted to learn the me-
thods of bulinefs which had fucceeded fo well in
fpreading their dodrines and maxims over Germa-
ny. Befides, their do^rines had not been digelled
into a fyflem, nor had the artful methods of leading
on the pupils from bad to worfe been pradifed. For
hitherto, each individual had vented in the Lodges
his own opinions, to unburden his own -mind, and
the Brethren liflened for inllrudion and mutual en-
couragement. Therefore, v,-hen Spartacus's plan
was communicated to them, they fawat once its im-
portance, in branches, fuch as the vS.& of the
all its
—
Mafon Lodges, to fifh for Minerva'is the rituals and
ranks to entice the young-, and to lead them bv de-
grees to opinions and meafures which, at iirfl fight,
would have (hocked them. The firm Iiold which is
gotten of the pupils, and indeed of all the inferior
clafTes, bv their reports in the courfe of their pre-
tended training in the knowledge of themfelves and
ofotlierraen —and, above all, the provincial arrange-
ment of the order, and the clever fuboidinat ion and en-
tire dependence on a lelecl band or Fanda?mnnium at
Paris,
I
2g2 THE FREN'Cri REVOLUTION. CHAP. iVl
Paris, which fliould infpire and direct the whjle. —

think (altho' have not exprefsalVertions oF the facl)
I
from the fubfequent conduvfi ot the French revolters,

that even at this early period, there were many in
thofe focieties who were
ready to go every length pro-
pofed to them by the lUuminati, fuch as the aboli-
tion of royalty, and of all privileged orders, as ty-
rants by nature, the annihilation and robbery of thef
prieflhood, the rooting out of Chriltianity, and tlie
introdudion of Atheiim, or a philofophical chimera
which they were" to call Religion. Mirabeau had
often fpoken of the laft branch of the Illuminated
principles, and the converfations held at Verfailles
during the awful paufes of the 5th of Ociober,
(which are to be feen in the evidence before the
Chatelet in the Orleaiis procei's,) can hardly bef
fuppofed to be the fancies of an accidental mob.
Mirabeau was, as I have faid, at the head of
this democratic party, and had repeatedly faid^
that the" only ufe of a King was to ferve as a pa-
geant, in order to give weight to public meafures
in the opinion of the populace. —
And Mr. Latoc-
naye fays, that this party was very numerous, and
that immediately after the imprudent or madlrke
invitation of every fcribbler in a garret to give his
advice, the party did not fcruple to fpeak their
fentiments in public, and that they vêre encou-
raged in their encomiums on the advantages of a
virtuous republican government by Mr. Neckar,
who had a moft extravagant and childifli predi-
lection for the conftitution of Geneva, the place
of his nativity, and was alfo much tinged with
the Cofmo-political philofophy of the times. The
King's brothers, and the Princes of the blood,
prefented a memorial to his Majclty, which con-
cluded by faying, that " the etlcrvefcnce of the
*'
public opinions had come to fuch a height that
" the
^HAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. QQ^
*' the mofl dangerous principles^ imported from
" foreign parts, were avowed in print with per-
*'•
fe(ft impunity —that his majefty had unwarily
" encouraged" every fanatic to didtatc to him,
" and to fpread his poifonousfentiments, in which
" the rights of the throne were not only difre-
—
" fpe£ted, but were even difputed that the rights
^' of the higher clalTes in the Hate ran a great rifle
" of being fpeedily fuppreifed, and that nothing

" would hinder thefacred right of property from.
" being ere long invaded^ and the unequal diftri-
" bution of wealth from being thought a proper
*' fubje£t of reform.'^
When fuch was the ftate of things in Paris: it

is plain that the bufinefs of the German deputies
would be eafily tranfaited. They were

received
with open arms by the PJiilalethes^ the Amis da
la Verite, the Social Co7iirad^ Sec, and in the
courfe of a very few weeks in the end of 1788,
and the beginning of 1789, (that is, feefore the
end of March) the whole of the Grand Orient,
including the Philalethes, Amis Reunis^ MartiniJ-
tes^ cS:c. had the fecrets of Illumination commu-
nicated to therii. The operation naturally began
with the Great National Lodge of Paris, and thole
in immediate dependence on it. It would alfo feem,
from many circumftances that occurred to my ob-
fervation, that the Lodges in Alface and Lorraine
were Illuminated at this time, and not long before
as I had imagined, Strafourg I know had been
Illuminated long ago, while Philo was in the Or-
der. A circumfcance ftrikcs me here as of fome
moment. The feels of Philalethes^ and Amis
Reiinis were refinements engrafted on the fyilem
of the Chevaliers Beinfaijants at Lyons. Such re-
finements never fail to be confidered as a fort of
herefy, and the profefTors will be held with a jea-
:: O lous
2g4 T^ME FRENCH REVOLUTIONT- CHAP. IV.
lousand unfriendly eye by Tome, who will pride

themfelvcs on adhering to the old faith. Arid
the greater the fuccefs of the herefy, the greater
v/ill be the animofity between the parlies. May—
not this help to explain the mutual hatred of the
Parifians and the Lyonnois, which produced the
mofl: dreadful attrocitics ever perpetrated on the
face of the earth, and made a flianiblcs and a de-
fert of the fined city of France ?
The firfl proceeding by the advice of the de-
puties -.vas the formation of a political committee
in every Lodge. This committee corrtfponded
with the diftant Lodges, and in it were difcuffed
and fettled all the political principles which were
to be inculcated on the members. The author of
the Neiicfle Arheituug fays exprcfsly, that " he
was thoroughly initru£i:cd in this: that it was
given in charge to thefe committees to frame
general rules, and to carry through the great
plan (grand auvrej of a general overturning
of religion and government." The principal
leaders of the fnbfequent Revolution were mem-
bers of thefe committees. Here were the plans
laid, and they were tranfmitted through the king-
dom by the Correfpondiiig Committees.
Thus were the ftupid Bavarians (as the French
were once pleafed to call them) their inflru^lors
in the art of overturning the world. Thf French
were indeed thefiril who put it in practice. Thefe
committees arofe from the Illuminati in Bavaria,
who had by no means given overworking; and
thefe committees produced the Jacobin Club. It
is not a frivolous remark, that the Mafonic phrale
of the perfons who wifli to addrefs the Brethren,

'* (F, S,je demande la parole, which the F.
S. re-
** ports to the
V. G. M. and which he announces
" to the Brethren thus, " Mes frercs, frere tel
" dcmandc
— ^
CHAP. IV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 2Q5

*' dcmande parole lui ejl nccordee^^
la parole^ In
is exactly copied by the Jacobin Club. There is
fiirely no natural connedVion between Free Ma-
fonry and Jacobinifm —
but we feek the link 11- —
luminatifm.
The one of the Lodges of Phi-
office-bearers of
lalethes in Paris were Martin^ Willermooz (who ^
had been deputy from the Chevaliers Beinfaifants

to the Wilicmlbad Convention) Chappe, Minet'^^
de la Henriere^ and Savatier de CAngs. In an-
other (the Contra^ Social) the Political Commit-
tee coniiiled of Fayette^ Condorcet^ Pethion,
Z,<7
d'Orkans^ ^jbbe Bartholis, a" Aiguillon^ Bailly^

Alarq. de la Salle^ DefprefmeniL This particular
Lodge had been founded and coudufted by one
De Leutre^ an .adventurer and cheat of the firft
magnitude, who fonietlmes made a figure, and at
other times was without a (liilling. At this very
time he was a fpy attached to the office of the po-
lice of Parisf. The Duke of Orleans was Warden
* Minet was, time a player.
I think, at this He was fon of
a furgeon at Nantes —
robbed his father and fled enlifled in —
— —
Holland defertcd and became fmuggler was taken and burnt
in the hand —
became player and married an atlrefs then became —
prieft — and was made BiHiop of Nantes by Couftard in difcharge
of a debt of 500I. Mr. Latocnaye often faw Coultard kneel ta
lilm for benedidlion. It cannot be fuppoled that he was much ve-
nerated in his pontificals in his native city. —
It feeras Minet,
Minet, is the call of the children to a kitten —
^This was prohibit-
ed at Nantes, and many perfons whipped for the freedom ufed
with his name.
f I am told that he now (or very lately) keeps the befl; com-
pany, and lives in elegance and'affluence in London.
Augur ^ fcbtznohata i medicus^ magus omnia nov'ii
GrtECulus efur'iens ; in ccclumju^trisfibitj^,

Ingenium volex audacia perdita, fermo
Prompiiis.
X All fcicnces a hungry Frenchman knows,

—
And bid him go to hell to hell he goes.
jfohnfotCs Tranjlalion,
o
CgS THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP, iv^
oF the Lodge. The ^bbe Sieyes was a Brother

Orator, but not of this Lodge, nor, I think, ot"
the former. It was probably of the one condn6l~
ed by Mirabeau and the Abbe Perigord. But it ap-
pearsfromthepiecefrom which I am at prefent bor-
rowing, that Sieyes was prefent in the meetings of
both Lodges, probably as vifiting Brotiier, employ-
ed in bringing them to common meafurcs. I mull
cbferve, that the fubfequent condu£l of fome of
thefe men does not juft accord with my conjec-
ture, that the principles of the IHuminati were
adopted in their full extent. But we know that
all the Bavarian Brethren were not equally Illu-
minated, and it would be only copying their
teachers if the clevcred of thefe their Icholars
fhould hold a fandwn JanCiorum among them-
felves, without inviting all to the conference. Ob-
fervc too that the chief lelTon which they were
now taking from the Germans was the method of
doing bufintfs^ of managing their correfpondence,
and of procuring and training pupils. A
French-
man does not think that he needs inftru6lion in any
thing Hke principle or fcience. He is ready oh all
occafions to be the inftrudlor.
Thus were the Lodges of France converted in
a very fliort time into a fet of fecret atfiliated lo-
cietics, correfponding with the mother Lodges of
Paris, receiving from thence their principles and
inllruftions, and ready to rile up at once when
called upon to carry on the great work of over-
turning the fiate.
Hence it has arifen that the French aimed, in
the very beginning, at overturning the whole-
world. In all the revolutions of other countries,
the fchemes and plots have extended no farther
than the nation where they took their rile. But
here we have feen that they take in the whole
world
—
pHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. gg^
world. They have repeatedly declared this in
their manifeflos, and they have declared it by
their conduft — This is the very aim of the Illu-
minati. Hence too may be explained how the re-
volution took place in a moment in every part of
France, The revoUitionary focieties were early
formed, and were working in fecret before the
opening of the National AlTembly, and the whole
nation changed, and changed again, and again, as
if by beat of drum. Thofe duly initiated in this
myflery of iniquity were ready every where at a .
call. And we fee Weilhaupt's wifli accomplidied

in an unexpedted degree, and the debates in a
club giving laws to folemn alfemblies of the na-
tion, and all France bending the neck to the city
of Paris. The members of the club are Illuminati,
and fo are a great part of their correfpondents.
Each operates in the ftate as a Minerval would do
in the Order, and the whole goes on with fyfte-
matic regularity. The famous jacobin Club was
juft one of thofe Lodges, as has been already ob-
ferved ; and as, among individuals one commonly
takes the lead, and contrives for the reft, fo it has
happened on the prefent occafion, that this Lodge,
fupported by Orleans and Mirabeau, was the one
that (lepped forth and lliewcd itfelf to the world
and thus became the oracle of the party ; and all
the reft only echoed its difcourlcs, and at laft al-
lowed it to give law to the whole, and even to
rule the kingdom. It is to be remarked too that
the founders of the club at Mentz were Illumi-
nati, ( Rslig. Begebenh. 1793. p. 448.) before the
Revolution, and correfponded with another Lodge
at Strafburg ; and thcfe two produced mighty ef-
fffts during the year 1790. In a performance cali-
co] A'lemoires Pojlhumes de Cujiine it is faid, that
when that general was bending his courfe to Hol-

land,
—
'XgH THE FRENCH KEVOLUTION. CHAP. \v.
land, th^ lUnminati at Straiburg, Worms, and

Spii'C, immediately formed clubs, and invited him
into that quarter, and, by going to Mentz and en-
couraging their brethren in that city, they raifed
a party againft the garrifon, and aftually deliver-
ed i!p the place to the French army.
A little book, jufl; now printed with the title
Paragrap.han^ ^'^ys, that Zimmerman, of whom I
have ipolien more than once, went to France to
preach liberty. He was employed as a miHionary
of Revolution in Alfacc, where he had formerly
been a moil: fuccefsful miilionary of Illuminatifm.
Of his former proceedings the following is a curi-
ous anecdote. lie conne6tcd himielf with a highly
accompliihed and beautiful woman, whofc con-
verfation had fuch charms, that he fays (lie gained
him near a hundred converts in Spire alone. Some
perfons of high rank, and great exterior dignity
of chara£ter, had felt more tender imprellions
and when the lady informed them of certain con-
fequences to their reputation, they were glad to
compound matters with her friend Mr. Zimmer-
man, who either palled for her huiband or took
the fcandal on himfcif. He made above T 500
Louis d'ors in this way. When he returned, as a
preacher of Revolution, he ufed to moimt the
pulpit with a labre in his hand, and ba.vl out,
*'
Behold, Frenx:hmen, this is your God. This
" alone can i'ave you." The author adds, that
when Cudine broke into Germany, Zimmerman
got ad million to him, and engaged to deliver
^'I'nnheim into his hands. To gain this purpofe,
he oifercd to fet fome corners of the city on fire,
and allured him of fupport. Ciilline declined the
offer. —
Zimmerman appeared againfh him before
the Revolutionary Tribunal, and accufed him of
treachery to his caufe. —CuHine's anfwer is re-
remarkable,
CHAP. IV. THE FRENGH REVOLUTION. 2C)^
markable. *' Hardly," " had I fct my

f;iicl he,
" foot in Germany, when this man, and all the
*' fools
of his country, befiegcd me, and would
*' have delivered up to me their towns and vil-
** lages
— What occaiion had I to do any thing to
*' Manheim, when the Prince vvâs neutral ?" Zim-
merman found his fullaccount in R.obcipierr€'s
—
bloody fway but the (liort term of his attrocities
was alfo the whole of Zimmerman's carreer. He
was arrefled, but again liberated, and (bon after
again imprifoned, after which 1 can learn no more
of him. The fame thing is pofitively alfertcd in
another performance, called Cri de la Raifon, and
in a third, called Les Majques yirrachees. Ob-
ferve too, that it is not the clubs merely that arc
accufed of this treachery, but the Illuminati. De
la Metlierie alio, in his preface to the Journal de
Phyjique'iox I790, fays exprefsly, that " the caufe
" and arms of France were powerfully fupported
*' in Germany by a fe6t of philoibphcrs called the
*' Illuminated." In the preface to \\\^ Journal icv
T792, he fays, that " Letters and deputations were
*' received by the AfTembly from feveral
Corref-
" ponding Societies in England, felicitating them
*' on the triumph of Reafon and Humanity", and
*• promifing them their cordial aliiflance."

He read fome of thefe manifeftos, and fays,
that " one of them recommended ftrongly the
" political education of the children, who fliould
" be taken from the parents and trained up
*' for the flate." Another lamented the bfje-
iul influence of property, faying, that " the ef-
** forts of the Aifembly would be fruitlcfs, till the
" fence was removed with which the laws fo
*' anxioufly fccured inordinate wealth. They
** fhould
rather be directed to the fupport of ta-
" Icnts and virtue; becaufe property would al-
" ways
300 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHÂP. IV.',
" ways by the too great influence

fiipport itfelf
** which it had in every corrupted flate. The
** laws lliould prevent the too great accumulation
*' of it in Particular families." In fhort, the

eounfcl was almoil verbatim what the Abbe Cof-
landey declared to have been preached in the
meetings of the Illuminati, which terrified him:
and his colleagues, and made them quit the afTo-
ciation. Anarcharfis Cloots, born in Pruflian Weft-
phalia, a keen lUuminatus, came to Paris for the
cxprefs purpoie of forwarding the great work, and
by intriguing in the flyle of the Order, he got
himfelf made one of the Reprcfentatives of the
Nation. He feems to have been one of the com-
pleteft fanatics in Cofmo-politifm, and jufh fuch a
tool as Weifliaupt would choofe to employ for a
coarfe and arduous job. He broke out at once in-
to all the lilly extravagance of the unthinking
herd, and his whole language is jufl the jargon of
Illumination. Citizen of the world —Liijerty and
Equality, th.e imprefcripitible Rights of Man
—
Morality, dear Morality Kings and Priells are
nfelefs things — they are Defpots and Corrupters,-
Sec, —
^He declared himfelf an atheift, and zealonf-
\y laboured to have atheiim eftabliflied by law,'
He condudted that farcical proceffton in the true
ilyle of the moft childiHi ritual of Philo, where
counterfeited deputies from all quarters of the
world, in the dreffcs of their countries, came to
congratulate the nation for its vi(ôry over Kings
and Priefts. It is alfo wôrthy of remark, tliat by
this time Lcuchtfenring, whom we have feen fo
zealous an lUuminatus, after having been as zea-
lous a Proteflant, tutor of Princes, Hofrath and
Hofmeifter, was now a fecretary or clerk in one
of the Bureaus of the National Allembly of
France.
I mav
t«AP. iV. THE FRENCH KEVOHJTl0^f. 30f
I may add as a fin idling touch,

the National
tliat
Affembly of France vvas the only body of men that
I have ever heard of who openly and iyiiematically
propofed to err] ploy ailalTination, and to inftitute a
band of patriots, who ihor.id exercife this profefiion
either by fword, pifloi, or poifon —
and though the
;
propofal was not carried into execution^ it might be

coniidered as the fentiments of the meeting ; for it
was only delayed till it fiiould be confidered how far
it might not be imprudent, becaufe they might ex-'
ped reprifals. The Abbe Dubois engaged to poifon
the Corate d'Artcis but was himfelf robbed and
;
poifoned by his accomplices. —

There were llrong
reafons for thinking that the Emperor of Germany
was poifoned —and Mirabeau was thus treated
that
—
by his pupil Orleans, alfo Madame de Favras and
her fon.-—-This was copying the liluminati very
carefull3\
After all thefe particulars, can any perfon have a
doubt that the Order of liluminati formally inter-
fered in the French Revolution, and contributed
greatly to its progrefs? There is no denying the in-
iblence and opprefTion of the Crown and the Nobles,
nor the mifery and (lavery of the people, nor that
(here were fufficient provocation and caufe for a to-
tal change of meafures and of principles. But the
rapidity vv'ith which one opinion was declared in
every corner, and that opinion as quickly changed,
and the change announced every where, and the
perfed, conformity of the principles, and famenefs
of the language, even iir arbitrary trifies, can hard-
ly be explained in any other way. It may indeed
be faid " que lei beanx genie s fe rencontrent, tlwc —
*'
wits jump. The principles are the fame, and
*'
the conduct of the French has been fuch as the
•*
liluminati would have exhibited ; but this is all
**
— the liluminati no longer exiHed." Eneugh has
2P beeja
been faid on this point already. —The fads are as

have been narrated. The Illiiminati continued as
an Order^ and even held a{ieinblies, though not {o
frequently nor fo formally as before, and though
their Areopagus was no longer at Munich. But let us
hear what the French themfelves thought of the matter.
In 1789, or the beginning of 1790, a man'ifejli
zvas feni from the GiÂ'tiQ National Lodge of Free
Mafons (fo it is entitled) at Paris^ figned by the
Duke of Orleans as Grand Majter^ addreffed and fent
to theLodges in all the refpeâble cities of Europe^
exhorting them to unite for the fupport of the French
Revolution^ to gain it friends^ defenders^ and dependents /
and according to their opportunities^ and the praBica-
biliiy of the things to kindle and propagate the fpirit
of revolution through all lands. This is a moft im-
portant article, and deferves a very ferious attention.
I got it tirfl of all in a work called, Hochjie wichtige
Erinnerungen zur rechten Zeit uber einige der aller-
ernjihaftejlen Angelegenheiten dicfes Zeitalters^ von
L. A. Hoffmann^ Vienna, 1795*.
The author of this work fays, ** That every thing
**
he advances in thefe memorandums is confiftent
with his own perfonal knowledge^ and that he is
ready to give convincing proofs of them to any
CI
refpe»f\able perfon who will apply to him perfon-
(I
ally. He has already given fuch convincing do-
CI
cuments to the Emperor, and to feveral Princes,
that many of the machinations occafioned by this
manifedo have been detefled and flopped; and
(C
he would have no fcruple at laying the whole be-
fore the public, did it not unavoidably involve
*'
feverai worthy perfons who had fuffered them-
''
felves to be mifted, and heartily repented of their
* MoS: taiportant Memorandums, in proper Seafon, concern,

ing one of the moft; ferioiis Occurrences of the prefent Age, by L.
A. FiofTaiaQa, Vicasa, J 795.
" errors."
CHAP. IV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 303
*'
errors." He is
naturally (being a Catholic) very
fevere on the Proteftants, (and indeed he has much
reafon,) and by this has drawn on himfeh" many
bitter retorts. He hashowever defended himfelf
againfl: ail that are of anv confequence to his good
name and veracity, in a manner that fully convinces
any impartial reader, and turns to the confufion of
the flanderers.
Hoffmann " he faw fome of thofe mani-
fays, that
'*
feflos that they were not all of one tenor, fome
;
" being addreffed to friends, of whofe fupport they

*•
were already alilired." One very important arti-
cle of their contents is Rarnejl exhortations to eflablijh
in every quarter fecret Jchools of political education^
and Jchools for the public education of the children of
the people^ under the direction of well-principled maf-
ters ;and offers ofpecuniary ajffiance for this purpofe^
and for the encouragemeiit of writers in favour of the
Revolution^ and for indemnifying the patriotic bookfel-
lers who fiffer by their endeavours to fupprefs public
cations which have an oppofite tendency. We know
very weH that the immenfe revenue of the Duke of
Orleans was fcattered among all the rabble of the
Palais Royal. Can we doubt of its being employed
in this manner? Our doubts muff van ifh, when
we fee that not long after this was publicly faid in
the National AlTembly, " that this method was the
mofl: effedual for accompliihing their purpofe of
fetting Europe in a flame." " But much expence,"
fays the fpeaker, " will attend it, and much has al-
" ready been employed, which cannot be named
" becaufe it is given in fetret." The Aflembly'
had given the Illumination war-hoop —
'' Peace with
" cottages^ but war with palaces" —

A pouvoir revolu-
iionnaire mentioned, which fuperfedes all narrow
is
thoughts, all ties of morality. Lequinio publiflieg

the moil deteftable book that ever ilTued from g
printin
)
304 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. IV,
printing prefs, Les Prejuges vaincus^ coniaining all

the principles, and expreired in the very words of
IJlurainatifm.
Holfmann French Ptopaganda had
lays, that the
many emiifarics in Vienna, and many friends
whom he could point out, Mirabeau in particU'
lar had many conne£lions in Vienna, and to the
certain knowledge of Hoffmann, carried on a
great correfpondence in cyphers. The progrefs of
Illumination had been very great in the Auftrian
States, and a llatefman gave him an account of
their proceedings, ( qui font redrc/Jer Its cheveux
which makes one's hair ftand on end. " I no ion-
" ger wonder," fays he, " that the ISJenejle Arlei--
" iiing des Spartacus und Philo v/as forbidden.
*' O ye almighty Illnminati, what can you not
" accomplifn by your ferpentlike infmuation and
*' cunning i" Your leaders fay, *' This book is
** dangerous, becaufe it will teach wicked men
" the moit refined methods of rebellion, -and it
*' muft never get into the hands of the common
*' people. They have faid with the moft impu-
'* dent face to fome Princes, who did not per-
*' ceive the deeper laid reafon for I'upprcffing the
** bonk. The leaders of the Illumlnati are, not

" without reafon, in anxiety, left the" inferior
*« clafTes of their own Society (hould make juft
** repvifals for having been fo balely tricked, by
*' keeping them back and in profound ignorance
'•'
of their real defi?ns and for vvôrkiny; on
;
*' them by the very goodnefs of their hearts, to

*' their final ruin ;and left the Free Mafons,
** whom they have alfo abuied, Ihould think of
" revenging themfelves, when the matchlcfs vil^
*' lainy of their deceivers has been fb clearly ex-
*' poled. It is in vain for them to taik of the danger
** of inftrufting the people in the methods of fo-
(C
menting
** menting rebellion by this book. The aims are
" 100 apparent, and even in the neighbourhood of
*'•
Regenfburg, where the ftrength of the Illiimi-
" nati lay, every pejfon faid aloud, that the lllu-
*' minatii'm difcovered by this book was High
" Trealon, and the moft unheard of attempt to
*' annihilate every religion and every civil go-
" vernment.'* He goes on "In lypo I was as
:
" well acquainted with the fpiritof the Illumina-

*' tion-iy^lem as at prefent, but only not fo docu-
*' mented by their conflitutional afts, as it is now
*' by the Ntuefte Arbeitiing des Spartacus iind
" Philo, My Mafonic conne£tions were formerly
*' extenfive, and my publication entitled Eighteen
'* Paragraphs Concerning Free Mafonry^ procured
" me more acquaintance witli Free Mafons of
*' the greateft worth, and of Illimiinati equally
*' upright, perfons of refpectability and know-
" ledge, who had difcovered and repented the
** trick and inveigling conduct of the Order. All
'* of us jointly fwore oppoution to the Illuminati^
*' and my friends conlidered me as a proper in-
** flrument for this purpofe. To whet my zeal,
'* tliey put papers into my hands which made me
** fliudder, and raifed my diilike to the highcll
" pitch. I received from them lifts of the mem-
*' and among them faw names which I la-
bers,
*' mented exceedingly. Thus llood matters in
^*
1790, when the French Revolution began to
*' take a ferious turn. The intelligent faw in the
' open fyltera of the Jacobins the complete hid-
*' den fyitcm of
the llluminati. We knew that
this fyftem included the whole world in its
aims, and France was only the place of its firil
((
explofion. The Propaganda works in every
*' corner to this hour, and its emifTaries run about
** in all the
four quarters of the world, and are to
((
be
305 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHA?. iv.
be found in numbers in every city that is a feat

of government."
*' He farther relates how they in Vienna
want-
ed to enliiV him, and, as this failed, how they
have abufed him even in the foreign newl-
papers.
*'
1 have pcifortal knowledge (continues he)
that in Germany a Iccond Mirabeau, Mauvil-
lon, had propofed in detail a plan of revolution,
entirely and precifely fuited to the prcfent ftalc
of Germany. This he circulated among feve-
ral Free Mafon Lodges, among all the Illumi'
nated Lodges which lUU remained in Germany,
and through the hands of all the cmiflaries of
the Propaganda, who had been already dif-
patched to the frontiers (vorpojlen ) of every
dillri£l of the empire, with means for flirring
up the people." (N. B. In 1792, Mauvilion,
finding abundant fupport and encouragement in
the appearance of things round him, when the
French arms had penetrated every where, and
their invitations to revolt had met with fo hearty
a reception from the difcontentcd in every flate,
came boldly forward, and, in the Brunfvvick Jour-
nal for March 1792, declared that " he heartily
" rejoiced in the French Revolution, wiflied it ail
*' fuccefs, and thought himfelf liable to no re-
proach when he declared his hopes that a fimi-

lar Revolution would fpeedily take place in
Germany.")
In the Hamburgh Political Journal, Auguft, Sep-
tember, and October I790, there are many proofs
of the machinations of emilTaries from the Ma-
fon Ledges of Paris among the German Free Ma-
fons —See pages 836, 963, 1087, &c. It appears
that a club has taken the name of Propaganda'
and meets once a week at Icaft, in the form of a
Mafon
CHAP. IV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, 3©^
Mafon Lodge. confiftsof perlons of all nations,

It
and is under the diredlion of the Grand Mailer,
the Duke of Orleans. De Leu' re is one of the
Wardens. They have divided Europe into colo-
nies, to which they give revolutionary names,
fuch as theCap, the Pike, the Lantern, Sec, They
have minifters in thcfc colonies. (One is pointed
out in Saxony, by marks which I prefumc are well
underftood.) A (ccret prcfs was found in Saxe
Gotha, furnifhed with German types, which print-
ed a feditious work called the Journal of Huma-
nity, This Journal was found in the mornings
lying in the ilreets and highways. The hbufe be-
longed to an Illiiminatus of the name of Duport,
a poor fchoolmafter —
he was aflbciated with an-
—
other in Strafburg, who was alfo an Illuminatu^,
His name was Meyer, the writer of the Strafburg
Newfpaper. He had been fonie time a teacher in
Salzmann's accademy, who we fee was alfo an II-
luminatus, but difpleafed with their proceedings
almoft at firft. (Private Corrcfpondence.)
I have perfonal knowledge (continues Pro-
feffor Hoffman) that in 1791, during the tem-
« porary dearth at Vienna, fcveral of thcfe emi^-
faries were bufy in corrupting the minds of the
poor, by telling them that in like manner the
court had produced a famine in Paris in 1789.
*' I detected fome of them, and expofed them in
" my "Patriotic Remarks on the Prefent Dearth^
" and had the fatisfaftion of ftxîng my cndea-
" vours of confiderable effeiil:."
Surely thefe fatfts (how that the Anarchifls of
France knev/ of the German Illuminati, and con-
fided in their fupport. They aUo knew to what
particular Lodges they could addrefs themfclvcs
—
with fafety and confidence. But what êed is
there of more argument, when we know the zeal
of
3o8, -THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP< 1V«
of the Illuniinati, and the unhoped for opportu-

nity that the Revokition had given them of a£l-
ing with immediate elfedl; in carrying on their
great and darhng work ? Can we doubt that they
would eagerly put their hand to the Plough ? And,
to complete the proof, do we not know from the
lifts found in the fecret correfpondence of the Or-
der, that they already had Lodges in France, and

that in 1790 and 1791 many Illuminated Lodges
in Germany, viz. IVIcntz, Worms, Spire, Frank-
fort, a6tually interfered, and produced great ef-
fects. In Switzerland too they were no Icis active.
They had Lodges at Geneva and at Bern. At
Bern two jacobins were fentenced to feveral years
imprifonment, and among their papers were found
their patents of Illumination. I alio fee the fate of
Geneva afcribed to the operations of Illuminati
refiding there, by feveral writers — particularly
by Girtanner, and by the Gottingen editor of the
Revolution Almanac.
1 conclude this article with an extraft or two
from the proceedings of the National Aflembly

and Convention, which make it evident that their
principles and their praftice are precifely thofe of
the Illuminati, on a great fcale.
When the affumption of the Duchy of Savoy as
an 84th Department was debated, Danton faid to
the Convention.
*' In the moment that we fend freedom to a
*' nation on
our /rontier, we muft fay to them you
rnuft have no more Kings — for if we are fur-
rounded by tyrants, their coalition puts our
*' own
—
freedom in danger. When the French
" nation fent us hither, it created a great com-
" mittee for the general infurreclion of the peo-
" pie."
On
CJrAP, iv. THE FRFNCH INVOLUTION. gog
On the ipth of November 1792 it was de-

creed, That the Convention, in the name of
'*
" the French nation, tenders help and fraternitj'^

" to all people who would recover their liberty."
On the 21O: of November, the Prcfident of the
Convention faid to the pretended deputies of the
Duchy of Savoy, " Reprefentatives of an inde-
*' pendent people, important to mankind was the
*' day when the National Convention of France
*' pronounced its fentcnce, Royal dignity is abo-
*' li/lied. From that day many nations will, in

future, recicon the era of their political exift-
ii
ence. —
From the beginning of civil efcablilh-
ments Kings have been in oppofition to their
" nations —
but now they rife up to annihilate
—
" Kings. Keafon, when ihe darts her rays into
*' every corner, lays open eternal truths She
*' alone enables us to pafs
fentence on defpots, hi-
" therto the fcare-crow of other nations."
But the moil difhin^t exhibition of principle is
to be fcen in a report from the diplomatic com-
mittee, who were commillioned to deliberate on
the conduft which France was to hold with other
nations. On this report w^^s founded the decree of
the 15th of December 1793. The lleporter ad-
dreffes the Convention as follows:
*' The Committees of
Finance and War aflc in
" the beginning —
What is the objedl of the war
" which we have taken in hand? Without all
*' doubt the objeft is the annihilation OF
" ALL PRIVILEGES, WAR WITH THE PALACES,
*' PEACE WITH THE COTTAGES. Thefe are the
principles on which your declaration of ivar is
founded. AH tyranny, all privilege, mufl be
treated as an enemy in the countries where wc
fet our foot. This is the genuine refult of our
It.
principles. — But it is not v/ith Kings alone that
2 O <(
Vv?C
510 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, CHAP. 1V«
" we are to wage war were — thefe our fole enc^

" mies, we fliould only have to bring down ten
*' or twelve heads. We
have to fight with all
their accomplices, with the privileged orders,
v.'ho devour and have oppreffed the people dur-
ing many centuries.
" We mull therefore declare ourfclves for a
" revolutionary power in all the countries into
*' which we enter
fembly)
— we put on the cloak of hu-
(Loud applaufes from the Af-
—Nor need
manity — we fuch
difdain — We mull
little arts.
" clothe ourfclves with the brilliancy of rea-
all
*' and all the force of the nation.
fon, need We
" not mafl<: our principles the defpots know
*' them already. The firft thing we muil do
is to
" ring the alarum bell, for iniurrection and up-
" roar. We
muft, in a folemn manner, let the
** people
fee the banifhment of their tyrants and
*' privileged cafls —
otherwife, the people, ac-
" cuftomed to their fetters, will not be able to
—
" break their bonds. It will effect nothing, mere-
" ly to excite a rifmg of the people this would —
^' only
be giving them words inftead of (landing
" by them.
" And fince, in this manner, we
ourfelves are
the Revolutionary Adminillration, all that is
CI
againft the rights of the people mufl be ovcr-
*' thrown at our entry —We muft difplay our prin-
*' by actually drftroying all tyranny ; and
ciplcs
*' our generals after having chafed away the ty-
''
rants and their fatellites, muft proclaim to the
" people that they have brought them happinels;
'' and then, on the fpot, they muft fupprefs tithes,
** feudal rights, and every fpecies of fervitude,"
" But we fliall have clone nothing if we ftop

*' here. Ariftocracy ftill domineers we muft —
** therefore fupprefs all authorities exifting in the
^' hands
GriAl*. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION; ^li
" hands of the upper —When the Pievo-

claires.
*^ lutionary Authority appears, there mull nothing
*' of the old remain. — A popular
eflalÎifliment
fyftem mufl be introduced — every mufl
office
III
beoccupied by new funftionaries- and the —
Sans Culiottes muft every where have a fliare
*'
in the AdminiRration.
'*
Still nothing is done, till we declare aloud
((
the precijion of our principles to fuch as want
((
only half freedom. — We
muft fay to them If —
" you think of compromifing with the privileged
** cafts, we cannot fulfer fuch dealing with ty-
—
" rants They are our enemies, and we mull: treat
** them as enemies, becaufe they are neither for
*' Liberty nor Equality. ^
—
Show yourfelves dif-
" poled to receive a free conftitution and the —
*' Convention will not only fiand by you, but will
*' give you permanent fupport; we will defend

you againll the vengeance of your tyrants — •-
againft their attacks, and againll their return*

—Therefore from among you the No-
aboliih
bles, ^nd every ecclefiaftical and military in-
" corporation. They are incompatable with Equa-
—
" iity. Henceforward you are citizens, all equal
in rights —
equally called upon to rule, to de-
—
fend, and to ferve your country. The agents
** of the French Px.epublic will inftruft and affift
" you in forming a free conftitution, and affure
" you of happinefs and fraternity."
This Report was loudly applauded, and a de-
cree formed in precife conformity to its princi-
ples. Both were ordered to be tranftated into
ail languages, and copies to be furniihed to their
generals, with orders to have them carefully dif-
perfed in the countries which they invaded.
And, in completion of thefe decrees, their ar-
mies found it eafy to collect as many difcontented
or
512 THE fKENCH Devolution'. chap. Ir^
or worthlefs perlbns in any country as fufficed for

fetting up a tree of liberty. This they held as a
—
fiifucient call for their interference. Sometimes
they performed this ceremony themfelves —a re-
prefentation was eafily made up in the fame way
— and then, under the name of a free conftitu-
tion, the nation was forced to acquiefce in a form
dictated at the point of the bayonet, in which
they had not the ihiallefi; liberty to choofc —and
ihey were phmdered of all they had, by way of
compcr.fatiiig to France for the trouble {lie had
—
taken.-^-And this they call Liberty. It needs no
conimeni:.-—
Thus have I attempted to prove that the pre-
fent awful fituation of Europe, and the general
fermentation of tlie public mind in all nations,
have not been altogether the natural operations of
diicontent, oppreilion, and moral corruption, al-
though thefe have been great, and have operated
with fatal energy; but that tliis political fever has
been carefully and fyflematically heightened by
bodies of men, who profelfed to be the phyficians
of the State, and, while their open practice em-
ployed cooling medicines, and a treatment which
all approved, adminijiered in fecret the moll: in-
flammatory poifons, which they made up fo as to

flatter the difeafed fancy of the patient. Al-
though this was not a plan begun, carried on, and
completed by the lame pcrlons, it was undoubt-
edly an uniform and confident fchemc, proceeding
on the fame unvaried principle, and France un-
doubtedly now fmarts under all the woes of Ger-
man Illumination.
I beg leave to fugged a few thoughts, Vv-'hich
may enable us to draw fome advantage from this
ftiocking mafs of information.
General
—
CiJAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTIOM. gl^
Gtnffal Rgjicdiniis,
i. I may obferve, In ih e and I beg it

firji place,
ITiay be particularly attended to, that in alJ thofe vil-
lainous machinations agninll the peace of the vvorld^*

the attack has been firil made on the principles of
Morality and Religion. The confpiratcrs faw that:
till thefe are extirpated, ihey have no chance of fuc-
cefs ; and their manner of proceeding (lievvs th:it

they conhder Reli^gion and Morality as infeparabiy
conneded together.
O We learn much from this Fas
ejl et ab hofie doceri. —They endeavour to dellroy
our religious fentiments, by firfl corrupting cur mo-
rals. They try to inflame our palfions, tLat when
the demands from this quarter become urgent, the
reflraintsof Religion may immediately come in light,
and ffand in the way. They are careful, on tins oc-
cafion, to give fuch a view of thofe rellvaints, that
the real origin of them does not appear. — We are
made have been altogether the
to believe that they
contrivance of Priefls and defpots, in ordsr to get
the command of us. They take care to lupport thefe
aflertions by which, to cur great ihame, and
facls,
greater misfortune, are but too numerous. Having
now the pafTions on their fide, they find no ditliculiy
in perfuading the voluptuary, or the dlfcontented,
that tyranny, adually exerted, or refolved on in fu-
ture, the fole origin of religious refiraint.
is He
feeks no further argument, and gives himfelf no
trouble to find any. Had
he examine.! the matter
with any care, he would find himfelf juO. brought
back to thofe very feelings of moral excellence and
moral depravity that he wifhes to get rid of altoge-
ther; and thefe would tell him that pure Religion
(Iocs
—
3I4 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. iVt
does not lay a fingle reflraint on us that a Doble na-=

ture would not have l;îd on itfelf —
nor enjoins k
fingle duty which an ingenuoi'? ?ind warm heart
would not be afliamed to find itieif (^'cficient in. He
would then Tee that all the fandions of Religion are
fitted to his high rank in the fcalcof exiflence^ And
the more he contemplates his future profpeds, the
ôre they brighten upon hisview, the more attainable
they appear, and the more he is able to know what
they may probably Having attained this happy
be.
flate of mind, (an attainment in the power of any
kind heart that is in earnefl: in the enquiry) he will
think that no punifhment is too great for the un-
thankful and groveling foul which can forego fuch
hopes, and rejed thefe noble proffers, for the com-
paratively frivolous and tranfitory gratifications of
life. He is not frightened into worthy and virtuous
conducfl by fears of fuch merited punifhment ; but^
if not enticed into it by his high expeifâtions, he is^
at ieafl, retained in the paths of virtue by a kind of
manly {hame.
But overlooked, or is kept out of fight^
all this is
in the inftrudions of lUuminatifm. In thefe the eye

mufl be kept always direded to the Defpot. This is
the bugbear, and every thing is made to conned
with prefent or future tyranny and oppreflion
Therefore Religion isheld out as a combination of
terrors — the invention of the fiate-tools, the priefls.
But it is not eafy to ftifle the fuggeflions of Nature
therefore no pains are fpared to keep them down^
by encreafing the uncertainty and doubts which arife
in the courfe of all fpeculations on fuch fiibjeds.
Such difficulties occur in all fcientific difcuflions.
Here they mull be numerous and embarrafiing
for in this enquiry we come near the firfl principles
of things, and the firlt principles of human know-
ledge. The geometer does not wonder at mif-
takcs
—
CHAP. IV, THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 3I5

takes even in moft fimple of all
his fcience, the
others. Nor does the mechanic or the chemift
reject all his fcience, becaufe he cannot attain
clear conceptions of fome of the natural relations
which operate in the phenomena under his confide-
ration.— Nor do any of thefe ftudents of nature
brand with the name of fool, or knave, or bigot,
another perfon who has drawn a different conclu-
fion from the phenomenon. In one point they
all agree —
they find themfelves poUefled of faculties
which enable them to fpeculate, and to difjover ;
and they find, that the operation of thofe faculties is
quite unlike the things which they contemplate by
theirmeans and they feel a fatisfaîon in the pof-
of them^ and in this diftincftion.
Jejjion But this
feems a misfortune to our Illuminators. I have
long been ilruck with this. If by deep meditation
I have folved a problem which has baffled the en-
deavours of others, I fliould hardly thank the perfon
who convinced me that my fuccefs was entirely
ow-
ing to the particular flate of my health, by which
my brain was kept free from many irritations to which
other perfons are expofed. Yet this is the condud
of the Illuminated —
They are abundantly felf-con-
ceited ; and yet they continually endeavour to de-
flroy all grounds of felf-eflimation. — They rejoice
in every difcovery that is reported to them of fome
refemblance, unnoticed before, between mankind
and the inferior creation, and would be happy to
find that the refemblance is complete. It is very
true, Mr. Pope's " Poor Indian, with untutor'd
*'
mind," had no objedion to his dog's going to
lieaven with him :
" And thinks, admitted to that equal fl<y,

^* His faithful dog (hall bear him company."
Thij
glfi, . TUE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. iv.
lliis wot an abjed, but it is a nioclefi fentimrnt.

is
But our high-minded philofophers, who, with Bea-

trice in the cannot brook obedience to a
play, *•'
^^ wayu-ard piecj of mail," if" it be in the iliape ot"
a Prince, have far other notions of the matter. In-

deed they are not yet agreed about it. Mr. de la
Meiheiie hopes, that before the enlightened Repub*
liC of France has got into its teens, he (hall be able
to teli his fellow -citizens, in his Journal de Pbyjique^
that particular form of cryflallization which men have
been accuilemed to call God.— Dr. Prieflley again
deduces all intelligence from elaflic undulations,
and will p pbably think, that his own great difcove-
ries have been the quiverings of fome fiery marfli
miafma. While Pope's poor Indian hopes to take
his dog to heaven with him, thefe Illuminators hope
to die like dogs, and that both foul and body {hall
be as if they never had been.
Is not this a melancholy refult of all our Illumi-
jiation? It is of a piece with the termination of the
ideal Philofophy, viz. prokfl'ed and total ignorance.
Should not this make u5 flart back and hefitate, before
v.'e pout like wayward children at the hardfihips of
civil fubordination, and before vvê make a facrifice

to our ill humour of all that we value ourfelves for ?
Does itcarry ridicule and ablurdity in its fore-
n(;t
head ?-— Such Jiffertions of perfonal worth and dig-
Tiity, (always excepting Princes and Priefis,) and
fuch abjed acknowledgments of u'orthleirnefs.—
Does not this, of itfelf, fhow that there is fome ra-
dical fault in the whole ? It has all arifen from
what they have called Il'mnination^ and this turns out
to be worfe than darknefs —
But we alfo knov/ that it
has all arifeii f:om felf-conceited difcontent, and
that it has been brought to its prefent ftate by the
rage of Ipecu'.aiion. We
may venture to put the
quellion to any man's confcience---whclher d Icon'
tent
—
iTHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 317
tent did not precede his doubts about his own
nature
and whether he has not encouraged the train of argu-
ment that tended to degrade him ? '' Thy wifh
*' was father, Harry, to that thought." —
Should not
this make us difiruft, at leaft, the operations of this
faculty of our mind, and try to moderate and check
this darling propenfity. —
It feems a misfortune of
the age — for we fee that it is a natural fource of dif-
lurbance and revolution.
But here it will be immediately faid, " What,
*'
muft we give over thinking —
be no longer ration-
" ai creatures, and believe every lie that is told us?"
By no means.— Let us be really rational creatures
and, taught by experience, let us, in all our fpecu-
lations on fubjeds which engage the paflions, guard
ourfeives with the moft anxious care againft the rifle
of having our judgments warped by our delires.—
There is no propenfity of our nature of which the
proper and modell: indulgence is not beneficial x.o
man, and which is not hurtful, when this indulgence
is carried too far. —And if we candidly perule the
page of hiflory, we fliall be convinced that the abufe
is great in proportion as the fubjed is important.
What has been fo ruinoufly perverted as the reli-

gious principle ? —
What horrid fuperftition has it
not produced? The Reader will not, I hope, take
it amifs that I prefume to dired his attention to fome
maxims which ought to condud a prudent man in

his indulgence of a fpeculative difpohtion, and ap-
ply them to the cafe in hand.
Whoever will for a while call off his attention
from the common affairs of life, the Curê hominum^
€t rerum pondus inane and will but refled a little on
^
that wonderful principle within him, which carries

him over the whole univerfe, and fhows him its va-
rious relations —Whoever alfo remarks how very
fmall a proportion his own individual exiftence bears
2R t#
3l3 THE FUENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP, iv,
to this immeafurable fcene, cannot but feel an inex-

prefiible pleafure in the conterDplation of his own
powers — Hemurt rife in his own and be
elliination,
difpofcd to cherifli with fondnefs this principle which
fo eminently raifes him above all around him. Of
all the fources of human vanity this isfurely the
moft manly, the mofi: excufable, and the mofl likely
to be extravagantly indulged. — We
may be certain
that it will be fo indulged, and that men will fre-
quently fpecula;e for the lake of fpeculation alone,
and that they will have l&o much confidence in the
relults of this favourite occupation.— As there ha\e
been ages of indolent and abjed credulity and iuper-
iiition, it is next to certain that there are alio limes
of wild and extravagant fpeculation —
and when we
fee- it becoming a fort of general paifion, we may be
certain that this is a cafe in point.
This can hardly be denied be the character
to
of the prefent' day. It is not denied. On the con-,
trary it is gloried in as the preiogative of the eigh-
teenth century. All the fpeculations of antiquity are
confidcred as glimmerings (with the exceptions of a
few brighter flafhes) when compared with our pre-
fent meridian fplendor. We
(liould therefore liften
with caution to the inferences from this boailed Il-
lumination. Alfo when we reflect on what paiies in
our own minds, and on what we obieive in the
world, of the mighty influence of our deiires and
pafiions on our judgments, we (liould CcsretulJy no-
lice whether any fuch warping of the belief is pro-
bable in the prefent cafe. That it is fo is ainiolt cer-
tain—for the general and immediate eiied of this
Illumination is to leffen or remove manv reftraints
which the fandlions of religion lay on the indul-
gence of very lirong paffions, and to diminifh our
regard for a certain purity or correclncfs of man-
ners, which religion recommends as tke only con-
duel
;
«HAf. iv. THE FREKCH REVOLUTION. 319

daft fuited to our noble natures, and as abfolutely
neceffary for attahjing that perfection and happi-
nefs of which we are capably, For furely if we
take away religion, it wiil be wifdom " to eat and
''
to drink, fince to-niorrow we die." If, more-
over, we fee this Illumination extolled above all
fcience, as friendly to virtue, as improving the
heart, and as producing a juit morality, which
will lead tohappinefs both for ourfclvesand otherSj
but perceive at the fame time that thcfe affertions
are made at the expcnce of principles, which our
natural feelings force us to venerate as fupremc
and paramount to all others, we may then be cer-
tain that our informer is trying to miflead and de-
ceive us. For all virtue and goodnefs both of
heart and conduft, is in perfect harmony, and
%here is no jarring or inconfifbency, But we mud
pafs this fentence on the dodlrincs of this Illumi-
nation. For it is a melancholy truth that ihey
have been preached and recommended, for the
moft part, by clergymen, parilh-miniflers, who,
in the prefence of invoked Deity, and in the face
of the world, have fet their folemn feal to a fyf-
tem of doctrines dirc£lly oppofite to thofe recom-
mended in their writings 5 which
doctrines they
foleranly profefs to believe, and folemnly fsvear to
inculcate. Surely the informations and inftruc-
tionsof fuch men be rcjedted. Where fhali
(liould
wc find their real opinions ? In their folemn oaths ?
—'or in
•
thcfe infidel diflertations? — In either cafe,
they are deceivers, whether milled by vanity or
by the mean dcfire of church-emoluments ; or
they are proftitutes, courting the fociety of the
Atealthy and fenfual. Honefty, like juftice, admits
of no degrees. A man is honed, or he is a knave,
and who would truft a knave ? But fuch men are
unfuitable inftrudcrs for another reafon —they are
unwife
^20 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. iV*
unwifc ^ for, whatever they may think, they are

Dot rclpeftcd as men of worth, but are inwardly
defpifed as parafites, by the rich, who admit them
into their company, and treat them with civility,
for their own realons. We take inftrudtions not
merely from the knowing, the learned, but from
the wife — not therefore from men who give fuch
evidences of wcaknefs.
Such would be the condu£l of a prudent man,
who lillens to the inllrudtions of another with the
ferious intention of profiting by them. In the pre-
fcnt cafe he fees plain proofs of degraded felf ef-
timation, of dillionefty, and of mean motives. Buc
—
the prudent man will go further he will remark
that diffolute manners, and actions which are ine-
vitably fubverfive of the peace and order, nay,
of the very exiftence of fociety, arc the natural
and neccffary confequences of irreligion. Should
any doubt of this remain in his mind ; fhould he
fbmctimes think of an Epi£l:etus, or one or two in-
dividuals of antiquity, who were eminently vir-
tuous, without the influence of religious fan£tions,
he fhould recollect, that the Stoics were animated
by the thought, that while the wife man was play-
ing the game of life, the gods were looking on, and
pleafed wnth his fkill. Let him read the beautiful
account given by Dr. Smith of the rife of the
Stoic phiiofophy, and he will fee that it was an
artificial but noble attempt of a few exalted minds,
enthufiafts in virtue, aiming to Reel their fouls
againft the dreadful but unavoidable misfortunes
to which they were continually expofed by the
daily recurring revolutions in the turbulent demo-
cracies of ancient Greece. There, a philofopher
was this day a magiflrate, and the next day a cap-
tive and a (lave. He would fee that this fair pic-
lure of mental happinefs and independence was
fitted
(SriAP. iv. THE FRENCH B EVOLUTION* ^St
fitted for the contemplation of only a few choice
fpirits, but had no influence on the bulk of man-
kind. He mud admire the noble chara(2:ers who
were animated by this manly enthufiafm, and
who have really exhibited fome wonderful pic-
tures of virtuous herolfni but he will regret, that
;
the influence of thefe manly, thefe natural prin-

ciples, was not more extenfive^ He will fayto
himfelf, " How will a whole nation a6t when re-
" hgious fandtions are removed, and men are ac-
*'
tuated by reafon alone ?" —
He is not without
inftruftion on this important fubjeft. France has
given an awful leffon to furrounding nations, by
fliewing them what is the natural effe£l of ftiaking
off the religious principle, and the veneration
for that pure morality which characterifcs Chrif'
ftianity. By a decree of the Convention, (June
6, 1794) it is declared, that there is nothing
criminal in the promifcuous commerce of the
fexes, and therefore nothing that derogates from
the female chara£ler, when woman forgets that
(he is the depofitary of all domeftic fatisfadtion
•^
that her honour is the facred bond of fo-
cial life that on her modefly and delicacy
depend all the refped and confidence that will
make a man attach himfelf to her fociety, free
her from labour, fliare with her the fruits of all
his own exertions, and work with willingnefs and de-
light, that file may appear on all occafions his equal,
and the ornament of all his acquifitions. In the ve-
ry argument which this felecêd body of fenators has
given for the propriety of this decree, it hns degraded
woman below all eftimation. " prevent her
It is to
*' from murdering the fruit of unlawful love, by re-
" moving her Ihame, and by relieving her from the
*'
fear of want." The fenators fay, '' the Republic
•'
wants citizens, and therefore m\ii\ not only re-
" move
322 TriE FRSNCH REVOLl/TiOie. CHAP, iv,
**
move this temj:t.ition of (hame, b;it mnfi: take care
**
of the iDOlher while ihe nurfes the child. It is
*•
the picpertv of the niUion, and muli not be lo(h"
The worn m all the while is conhdered only as the
(he-animal, the breeder of Sans Culottes. This is
the Juj} morality of Illumination. It is really amuf-
ing (for things revolting to nature now amule) to
obferve with what fidelity the principles of the lllu-
minati have exprelied the fentiments which take pof-
felTion of a people who have {haken ofl'the fandions
of Religion and morality. The following is part of
the addrefs to Pfycharion and the company mention-
ed in page 257 ''
Once more, Pfycharion, I in-
:
**
dulge you with a look behind you to the flowery
" days of childhood. Now look forwards, young
'''
li.-'oman ! the holy circle of the marriageable,
*•'
welcome yon. Young men, honour
(i/hinniaren^
''
the young woman, the future breeder {^gebaere-
*' rin) !"
I'hen, to nil. —
" Rejoice in the dawn of
" Illumination and of Freedom. Nature at lall en-
joysher facred never-fading rights. Long was
her voice kept down by civil fubordination : but
**
the days of your majority now draw nigh, and you
''
will no longer, under the authority of guardians,
" account it a reproach to conhder with enlighten-
•' ed
eyes the fecret workPnops of nature, and to en-
'^
joy your work and duty." Minos thought this
very fine, but it raifed a terrible difiurbance and
broke up the alTembly.
Such are the effects of this boafied enlightening of
the human mind with refpec\ to religion and mora-
lity. Let us next coniider what is the refult of the
mighty informations which we have got in refpecl
of our focial or political connedions.
il. We
have learned the fum total of tiiis politi-
cal Illumination, and fee that, if true, it is melancho-
ly, dellrndive nt our prefent comfoi'ts, numerous as
they
—
CRAP. iv. THE rr.ENCH P.EYOLUTION. 323

they are, and affords no profj)ed of redrefs from
which we can picfii:, but, on the contrary, plunges
mankind into diirention, inntual injury, and univer-
ial mifery,and all this for the chance (mly of prevail-
ing in the contefl, and giving our pollerity a chance
of going on in peace, if no change ihali be produced,
as in former times, by the efforts of ambitious men.
But the Iliuminatien appears be partial, nayfalfe.
to
What is it ? It holds out to the prince nothing but
the redgnation of all his poliefiions, rights and claims,
fanclioned by the quiet potleffion of ages, and by ali
the feelings of the human heart which give any no-
tion of right to his loweil fubjed. All thefe poflef-
lions and claims are difcovered'lo have arifen from
ufurpations, and are therefore tyranny. It has been
dilcovered, that all fubordinate fubjections were en-
forced, therefore their continuance is jlavery. But
both of thefe hifloiical aifertions are in a great de-
gree falfe, and the inferences from them are unrea-
fonable. The world has gone on as we fee it go on
at prefent. Moil: principalities or fovereignties have
ariTen as we fee perfonal authorities and inliuence
arife every day among ourlelves. Bulinefs for the
whole muft be done. Moff men are futficiently oc-
cupied by their private affairs, and they are indolent
—
even in thefe they are contented when another
does the thing for them. Tnere is not a little vil-
lage, nor a f-;ciety of men, where this is not fecn
every day. Some men have an enjoyment in
this kind of vicarious employment. Other men
like influence and power, and thus are compen-
fated for their trouble. Thus many petty mana-
gers of public affairs arife in every country. The
mutual animofn I s of individuals, and llili more,
the animofities of tribes, clans, and dIfTerent af-
Ibciations, give rife to another kind of fuperiors
to leaders, who direct the ftruggles of the reff,
whether
—
whether for offence or defence. The defcendants of

Ifrael faid, ** they wanted a man to go out before
" the people, other nations." As the fmall bufi-
like
nefs of a few individuals requires a manager or a
leader, fo do fome more general affairs of thefe petty
fuperiors.— Many of thefe alfo are indolent enough
to wilh this trouble taken off their hands ; and thus
another rank of fuperiors arifes, and a third, and fo
on, till a great State may be formed ; and in this
gradation each clafs is a competent judge of the
condud of that clafs only which is immediately
above it.
All this may and has often arifen, from vo-

arife,
luntary conceflion alone. This conceflfion may pro^
ceed from various caufes, —
from confidence in fu'
perior talents —
from confidence in great worth,
moft generally from the refped or deference which
all men feel for great poffeffions. This is frequent-
ly founded in felf-intereft and expe(fiations of ad-
vantage but it is natural to man, and perhaps fprings
;
from our inflindlve fympathy with the fatisfadions

of others— we are unwilling to diflurb them, and
even wifh to promote them.
But this fubordination may arife, and has often
arifen, from other caufes —
from the love of power
and influence, which makes fome men eager to lead
others, or even to manage their concerns. We fee
this every day, and it may be perfedly innocent. It
often arifes from the defire of gain of one kind or
another.— This alfo may frequently be indulged
with perfecfl innocence, and even with general ad-
vantage. Frequently, however, this fubordination
is produced by the love of power or of gain pufhed
to an immoderate degree of ambii*on, and rendered
unjufl. Now
there arife oppreflion, tyranny, fuf-
ferings, and (lavery. Now appears an oppofition
between the rights or claims of the ruler and of the
people.
CHAP. IV: TrtE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 325
people. Now the rulers come to confider them-
lelves as a different clafs, and their tranfadions are now-
only with each other.— Prince becomes the rival or
the enemy of Prince; and in their contefts one pre-
vails, and the dominion is enlarged. This rivalfhip
may have begun in any rank of Tuperiors even be- ;
tween the firli managers of the affairs of the fmalleft

communities and it muff be remarked that thev
j
only are the immediate gainers ot lolers in the con-

teff, while thofe below them live at eafe, enjoying
many advantages of the delegation of their own

concerns.
No human proceeded purely in
foeiety has ever
either of thefe two ways, but there has always been
a mixture of both. —
But this procefs is indifpenfa-
bly necelTary for the formation of a great nation,
and for all the confequences that refult only from
—
fuch a coalition. -Therefore it is neceffary forgiv-
ing rife to all thofe comforts, and luxuries, and ele-
gances, which are to be found only in great and
cultivated flates. It is neceffary for producing fuch
enjoyments as we around us in Europe, which
fee
we prize fo highly, and for which we are making all
this ftir and difturbance* I believe that no man
who expeds to be believed will pofitively alTert that
human nature and human enjoyments are not me-
liorated by this cultivation. —
It feems to be the in-
tention of nature, and, notwithllariding the follies and
vices of many, we can have little hefitation in fay-
ing that there are in the moll cultivated nations of
Europe, and even in the higheft ranks of thofe na-
tions, men of great virtue and worth, and of high
—
accomplifhment Nor can we denv that fuch men
are the fineft fpecimens of human nature. Roffeau
indeed wrote a whimfical pamphlet, in which he had
tl/e vanity to think that he had proved that all thefe
fruits of cultivation were loiies to humanity and vir-

tue— Yet RoutTeau could not be contented with the
2 S foeiety
326 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. GHAP. IV.
fociety of therude and unpoliQied, although he pre-

tended that he was ahr.oll the fole worfliipper of pure
virtue.— He fupported himlelf, not by alfifling the
firnple peafant, but by writing mufic and hifcious
wovels for the pampered rich.
- This is the circumftance entirely overlooked, or
artfully kept out of fight, in the boafled Illumina-
tion of thefe days. No attention is paid to the im-
portant changes which have happened in national
greatnefs, in national connedion, in national im-
—
provement yet we never think of parting with any
of the advantages, real or imaginarj', which thefe
changes have produced — nor do we refled that in
order to keep a great nation together — to make it
a(fl with equality, or with preponderancy, among
other nations, the individual exertions mull: be con-
centrated, muft be directed — and that this requires
a ruler veiled with fupreme power, and interejled by
fome grfai ami endearing motive^ fuch as hereditary
poflellion of this power and intiuence, to maintaira
and defend this coalition of men. — All this is over-
looked, and we attend only to the fubordination
which is indifpenfably neceilary. Its grievances are
immediately felt, and they are heightened tenfold by
a delicacy or feniibility which fprings from the great
improvements in the accommodations and enjoy-
ments of life, which the giadual ufurpation and fub-
fequent fubordination have produced, and continue
to lupport. But we are determined to have the
elegance and giiindeur of a palace without the
prince.— We will not give up any of our luxuries
and retinements, yet will not fupport thoie high
ranks and thoie nice minds which pioduccd them,
and which murt continue to keep them from degene-
nitlng into barbarous limpiicity and coarfe feniualilv.
We would keep the phiiofophers, the poets, the
artills, but not the Maecc nafes. It is very true that
in Inch a Hate there would be no Conjuration de^
Fhiiofophes ;
CHAP. IV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 32^
Philofophes ; for in fiich a date this vermin oi philo-

fophjs and icribblers would not have exilted. In
ihort, we would have what is impolHible.
I have no hefitation in faying, that the BritiOi
Conllitution is the forn-i of government for a
great and refined nation, in which the ruling fenti-
ments and propenfities of human nature feem
moll happily blended and balanced. There is no
occafion to vaunt it as the ancient rights of Bri-
tons, the wifdom of ages, &c. It has attained its
prcfcnt pitch of perfcdlion by degrees, and this
not by the eftorts of wir.iom, hut by tlic Rrugglcs
of vice and folly, working on a rich fund of good
nature, and of manly Ipirit, that are conipicuous
in the Britifti character. I do not hefitate to fay
that it is the only form of government which wilt

admit and give full e:iercife to all the refpedable
propenfities of our nature, with the leail chance
of di (turban ce and the grcatcft probability of
man's arriving at the higheft pitch of improve-
ment in every thing that raifcs him above the
beads of the field. Yet there is no part of it that
may not, that is not, abufed, by puQiing it to an
improper length, and the fame watchful care is
neceffary for preferving oar ineflimable blelfrngs
that was employed in acquiring them. This is to
be done, not by flying at once to an ab{tra£t theory
of the rights of man. There is an evident folly in
this procedure. What is this theory ? It is the
beft general ilictch that we can draw of focial life,
deduced from our knowledge of human jiature.
And "A'hat is this knowledge? It is a well digefled
abftraft, or rather a declaration of what we have
bfc rve d o^ huvazn anions. What is the ule there*
fore of this intermediate pidtare, this theory of
the rigiits of man?— it has a chance of being un-
like the original it mult certainly have imper-
feifiions,
—
3*28 VHE FRENCH REVOLUTION, CHAP. Iv,
fe(rtions, therefore it can be of no ufe to ns. We

flionid go at once to the original — we (hould con-
fider how men ha~)e ailed — what have been their
mutual expe£lations —
their fond propenfities
what of thefe are inconfiflent with eacli other
what are the degrees of indulgence which have
been admitted in thcni all without difturbance.
I will venture to fay that whoever does this, will
find himfelf imperceptibly led to contemplate a
mixed hereditary monarchy, and will figure to
himfelf a parliament of King, Lords, and Com-
mons, all looking at each other with fomewhat of
a cautious or jealous eye, while the reft of the na-
tion are fitting, ^' each under his own vine and
^* under his own fig-tree, and there is none to
** make him afraid ;"~m one wprd, the Confti-
tution of Great Britain.
A moft valuable r-fult of fuch contemplation
will be a thorough conviction that the grievance
which is moft clamoroufly infifted pn is the inevi-
table confequence of the liberty and fecurity which
we enjoy. I mean minifterial corruption, with all
the difmal talc of placemen, and penfioners, and
rotten boroughs. Sec, &c. Theie are never feen
in a defpotic government —
^^-thcre they are not
—
wanted nor can they be very apparent in an un-
cultivated and poor ftate —
but in a luxurious na-
tion, where pleafures abound, where the returns
of jnduftry are fecure; here an individual looks
on every thing as his own acquifition he does not —
feel his relation to the ftate —
has no patriotilm
thinks that he wouLd be much happier if the ftate
would let him alone. He is fretted by the re-
ftraints which the public weal lays on him— there-
fore government and governors appear as checks
and hindrances to his exertions— hence a general
inclination to refift adminiftration. Yet public
buftnefs
PHAP. IV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. -
^Qg
bufinefs muft be done, that we may lie clown and
rife again in jafety and peace. Adminiftration muft
—
be lupported there are always perfons who wifh
to poffefs the power that is exerciied by the pre-
fenc minifters, and would turn them out. How is
all this to be remedied ? I fee no v/ay but by ap-
plying to the felfifh views of individuals— by re-
warding the friends of adminiftration This may —
—
be done with perfe£t virtue and from this the
felfifti will conceive hopes, and will fupport a vir-
tuous miniftry— but they are as ready to help a

wicked one. This becomes the greateft misfor-
tune of a free ration. Minifters are tempted to
bribe — and, fyftematic oppofition be confidcr-
if a
ed as a neceflary part of a pra£lical conftitution,
it is almoft indifpenfable —
and it is no where fo
prevalent as in a pure democracy. Laws may be
contrived to make it very troublefome, but can
never extirpate it nor greatly diminifti it : this can
be done only by defpotifm, or by national virtue.
It is a fhameful complaint we (hould not repro-
bate a few minifters, but the thoufands who take
the bribes. Nothing tends fo much to diminifli it
in a corrupted nation as great limitations to the
eligibility of reprefentatives— and this is the beauty
of our conftitution,
have not difcovered, therefore, by this boaft-
ffê
cd Illumination, that Princes and fuperiors are
ufelefs, and muft vanifti from the earth nor that ;
the people have now attained full age, and are fit
to govern themfelves. We
want only to revel a
little on the laft fruits of national cultivation,
which wê would quickly confume, and never al-
low to be raifed again. No matter how this pro-
grefs began, whether from conceflion or ufurpa-
tion — We poffefs it, and, if wife, we will preferve
it, by preferving its indifpenfable fupports. They
have
have indeed been frequently employed very im-

properly, but their moft pernicious abufe has been
this breed of fcribbling vermin, which have made
the body politic fmart in every limb. ,
Hear what opinion was entertained of the fages

of P'rance by their Prince, the father of Louis
XVI. the unfortunate martyr of Monarchy. " By
*' the principles
of our new Philofophers, the
'* Throne no
longer wears the fplendour of divi-
*' nity. They maintain that it arofe from vio-
lence, and that by the fame juilice that force
eredted it, force may again fliake it, and over-
" turn it. The people can never give up their
power. They only let it out for their own ad-
vantage, and always retain the right to refcind
the contract, and rcfume it whenever their pcr-
** fonal advantage, their only rule of conduct,
" requires it. Our philofophers teach in public
*' what our paliions fuggcft only in fecret.
T.'hey
*' fay to the Prince that ail is permitted only
*' when all is in his power, and that his duty is
" fulfilled when he
has pleaied his fancy. Then,
*' furely, if the laws of
ielf-intcrelt, that is, the
" felf-will of human paliions, fliall be fo generally
" admitted, that we thereupon forget the eterna,!
" laws of God and of Nature, all conceptions of
'* right and wrong, of virtue and vice, of good
" and evil, muft be extirpated from the human
*' heart. The throne muft totter, the fubjefts
*' mufl: become unmanageable and mutinous, and
*' their ruler hard-hearted and inhuman. The
" people will be inceflantly oppreffed or in an
—
" uproar." " What fervice will it be if I order
*' fuch a book to —
be burnt? the author can write
" another to-morrow." This opinion of a Prince
is unpolifhcd indeed, and homely, but it is jull.
Weilhaupt
CHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 33I
Weifliaupt grants, that *' there will be a terri-

—
" ble convulfion, and a ftorm but this will be
** —
fucceeded by a calm the unequal will now be
" equal— and when the caufe of difienfion is thus
** removed, the world will be in peace." —
True,
when the caufes of diiFenfion are removed. Thus,
the deftru([tion of our crop by vermin is at an end
when a flood has fwept every thing away-— but
as newplants will fpring up in the waile, and, if
not inftantly devoured, will again cover the ground •
with verdure, Co the indufhry of man, and his de-

lire of comfort and confideration, will again ac-
cumulate in the hands of the diligent a greater
proportion of the good things of life. In this in-
fant ftate of the emerging remains of former cul-
tivation, comforts, which the prefent inhabitants
of Europe would look on with contempt, will be
great, improper, and hazardous acquifitions. The
principles which authorifc the propofed dreadful
equalifation will as juftly entitle the idleorunfuc-
ccfsful of future days to flrip the pofTeflbr of his
advantages, and things mud ever remain on their
favage level.
111. I think that the impreflion which the in-
fmcerity of conduft of thole inftru£tors will leave
on the rnind, muft be highly ufeful. They arc evi-
dently teaching what they do not believe them-
felves — and here I do not confine my remark to
their preparatory do6irines, which tl;ey after-
v/ards explode. I make it chiefly with rcfpeft
to their grand ottenfible principle, which per-
vades the whole, a princip.'e whicli they arc
obliged to adopt againil their will. -They know-
that the principles of virtue are rooted in the
'heart, and that they can only be fmothered
but did they pretend to eradicate them and pro-
claim bomincm homini lupum^ all would fpurn at their
inltruclion
33^ THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CMAP. Wi
inftrudion. Weare wheedled, by tickling our fanr
ey with a notion that facred virtue is not only fecuref,
but that it is only in fuch hearts that it exerts its na-
tive energy. Seniible that the levelling miixims now
fpoken of are revolting to the mind, the Illumina-
tors are under the necelFity of keeping us from look-
ing at the fhocking pidure, by difplaying a beauti-
ful fcene of Utopian happinefs —
and they rock us
afleep by the eternal lullaby of morality and univer-
sal philanthropy. Therefore the foregoing narra-
tion of the perfonal conduct of thefe initrudors and
reformers of the world, is highly ufeful. All this is
to be brought about by the native lovelinefs of pure
virtue, purged of the corruptions which fuperfli-
tious fears have introduced, and alfo purged of the
felfifh thoughts which are avowed by the advocates
of what their opponents call true religion. This is
iaid to hold forth eternal rewards to the good, and to
threaten the wicked with dreadful punifhment. Ex-
perience has Ihown how inefficient fuch motives
are. Can they be otherwife? iay our Illuminators.
Are they not addrefTed to a principle that is ungene-
rous and felfilh ? But our dodrines, fay they, touch
the hearts of the worthy. Virtue is beloved for her
own fake, and all will yield to her gentle fway. But
look, Reader, look at Spartacus the murderer, at
Cato the keeper of poifons and the thief Look at —
Tiberius, at Alcibiades, and the reft of the Bavarian
Pandemonium. Look at poor Bahrdt. Go to
France— look at Lequinio, at Condorcet*. Look
* De la Metherie fays, (Journ. de Phyf. Nov. 1792,) that

Condercet was brought up in the honfe of the old Duke of Ro-
chefoucault, who treated him as his fon— got Turgot to create a
— —
lucrative office for him, and raifed him to all his eminence yet
he purfued him with malicious reports and atlually employed
ruffians to afTaffinate him Yet is Condorcet's writing a model of
humanity and tcndernefs.
at
—
CriAP. IV, THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 333
at the Monger Orleans. 'All were liars. Their
divinity had no influence on their profligate minds.
They only wanted to wheedle you, by touching the
flrinssof humanity and ffoodnels which are yet
braced up in your heart, and which flill yield fweet
harmony if accompany their notes with
you will
thofe of religion, and neither clog thein with the
groveling pleafnres of fenfe, nor damp the whole
with the thought of eternal (ilence.
A mofl worthy andaccomplifhed gentleman, who
took refuge in this country, leaving behind him his.
property, and friends to whom he was mofl: tenderly
attached, often faid to me that noihing fo much af-
fecled him revolution in the hearts of men.
as the
— Charaders which were unfpotted, hearts thorough-
ly known to himfelf, having been tried by many
things which fearch the inmoft folds of felfifhnefs or
malevolence —
in {fjort, perfons whofe judgments
were excellent, and on whofe worth he could have
refled his honour and his life, fo fafcinated by the
contagion, that they came at laft to behold, and even
to commit the mofl: atrocious crimes with delight.
He ufed fometlmes to utter a flgh which pierced my
heart, and would fay, that it was caufed by fome of
thofe things that had come acrofs his thoughts. He
breathed his lafl among us, declaring that it was im-
poflible to recover peace of mind, without a total ob-
livion of the wickednefs and miferies he had beheld.
— What a valuable advice, " Let hirn that thinketh
he flandeth, take heed left he fall." —
When the pro-
phet told Hazael that he would betray his Prince, he
exclaimed, '^ Is thy fervant a dog, that he fhould do
fuch a thing ?" Yet next day he murdered him.
Never fince the beginning of the world, has true
religion received fo complete an acknowledgment of
her excellence, as has been extorted from the fana-
tics who have attempted to deflroy her. Religion
2 i: flood
—
334 THE FRENCH KEVOLUTION. CHAP. IV*
flood in their way, and the wretch Marat, as well as

the ileady Wcifhaupt, law that they could
villain
not proceed till they had eradicated all fentiuients of
of the moral government of the univerfe. Human
nature, improved as it has been by religion, Ihrunk
from the tafks that were impofed, and it murt there-
fore be brutalized— The grand conlederation was fo-
lemnly fworii to by millions in every .corner of
France —
but, as Mirabeau faid of the declaration of
the Rights of Man, it mull be made only the '* Al-
manack of the bygone year"-— Therefore Lequinia
muft write a book, declaring oaths to be nonfenfe,
unworthy of San Culottes, and all religfon to be a
farce. Not long after, they found that they had fome
ufe for a God but he was gone-— and they could
not find another. Their conflitutipn was gone—
and they have not yet found another. What is now
left them on which they can depend for awing a man
into a refpe*fl for truth in his judicial declarations f
what but the honour of a Citizen of France, who
laughs ?.tengagements, which he has broken
all
again and again ? Religion has taken off with her
every fenfe of human duty. What can we expecfl
but villainy from an ArchbiQiop of Paris and his
chapter, who made a public profeflion that they had
been playing the villains for many years, teaching
what they thought to be a bundle of lies ? What
but the very thing which they have done, cutting
each other's throats ?— Have not the enlightened ci-
tizens of France applauded the execution of their fa-
thers ? Have not the furies of Paris denounced
their own children ? But turn vour eyes from the
horrifying fpeiftacle, and think on your own noble
defcent and alliance. You are not the accidental
work of a Great
p>'odutflions of a fatal chaos, but the
Artifl, creatures that are cared for, born to noble
profpeds, and conduced to them by the plaineft
iind
CHAP. IV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. ^3^
and mod: fimple precepts, " to do juftly, to love
" mercy, and to walk humbly before God," not be-
wildered by the falfe and fluttering glare of French
Philofophy, but conduced by this clear, (ingle light,
perceivable by all, "Do to others what you fhouid
" reafonably exped them to do to you."
Think not the Mufe whofe you hear,

fober voice
Contrails with bigot fr»wn her fullen brow,
Cafts round Religion's orb the mifts of Fear,
Or (hades with horror what with fmiles fhouid glow.
No —-fhe would warn you with feraphic fire.

Heirs as ye are of Heaven's eternal day,
Would bid you boldly to that Heaven afpire.
Not link and fluraber in your cells of clay.
Is this the bigot*s rant ? Away, ye vain.

Your doubts, your fears, in gloomy dulnefs fteep ;
Go — foothe your fouls in ficknefs, death, or pain.

With the fad folacc of eternal fleep.
Yet know, vain fceptics, know, th' Almighty Mind,

Who breath'd on man a portion of his fire.
Bade by earth nor time confia'd.
his free foul,
To Heaven, to immortality afpire.
Nor fhall this pile of hope his bounty rear'd.

By vain philofophy be e'er deitroy'd ;
Eternity, by all or hop'd or fear'd,

Shall be by all or fuffer'd or enjoy'd.
Mas ON.
The unfortunate Prince who has taken refuge in

this kingdom, and whofe (ituation among us is an
illudrions mark of the generolity of the nation, and
of the fovereignty of its laws, laid to one of the
Gentleman about him, that '' if this country was to
*'
efcape the general wreck of nations, it would
" owe its prefervation to Religion." When this —
was doubted, and it was obferved, that there had
not been wanting many Religionifls in France :
" True,"
"•
True," laid the Prince, but they were not in
*'
" earnell. —
I fee here a ferious intereH: in the thing.
" The people know what they aie doing when they
''
go to church —
they underitand fomething of it,
*'
and lake an interell in it." May his obfervation
bejuft, and his expedations be fulfilled !
IV. I would again call upon my countrywomen

with the molVearnell: concern, and befcech them to
confiderthis Inbjecflasof more particular importance
to themfelves than even to the men.— While wo-
man is conhdered as a rcfpedable moral agent, train-
ing along with ourfelves for endlefs improvement ;
then, and only then, will [he be conhdered by lord-
ly man as his equal ;---ihen, and only then, will (he
be allowed to have any rights, and thofe rights be
refpecled. Strip women of this prerogative, and
they become the drudges of man's indolence, or the
pampered playthings of his idle hours, fubjecl to
his caprices, and flaves to his mean paffions. Soon
will their piefent empire of gallantry be over. It
is a refinement of manners which fprans" from
Chriftianity and when Chriflianity is forgotten,
;
this artificial diadern will be taken from their heads,

and unlefs they adopt the ferocious fentiments of
their Gallic neighbours, and join in the general
uproar, they will fink into the infignificance of the
women' in the turbulent republics of Greece,
where they are never feen in the bufy haunts of
men, it we except four or five, who, during the
courfe of as many centuries, emerged from the
general obfcurity, and appear in the hiltoric page,
by their ur.conimon talents, and by tfic facrifice
©f what my fair countrywomen ftill hold to be
the ornament of their lev. 1 would remind them,
that they have it in tlu. ir power to retain their

prtfent honourable ilation in fociety. They are
our early indruCtors ; and while mothers in the
rcfpc^table
CHAP, iv, THE FRENCH .REVOLUTION. 337
refpedable ffcations of life continued to inculcate
on the tender minds of their fons a veneration
for the precepts of Religion, their pliant children,'
receiving their indru^tions along v/ith the affec-
tionate careffes of their mothers, got imprefiions
which long retained their force, and \Vhich pro-
tected them from the impulfes of youthful paffions,
till ripening years fitted their minds for liftening
to ferious inllruction from their public teachers.

Sobriety and decency of manners were then no
{lur on the character of a youth, and he was
thought capable of llruggling for independence,
or pre-eminence, fit either for fupporting or de-
fending the ftate, although he was neither a toper
nor a rake. 1 believe that no man who has feen
thirty or forty years of life will deny that the
manners of youth are fadly changed in this refpeCt.
And, without prefuming to fay that this has pro-
ceeded from the negledt, and almoil: total ceffa-
tion of the moral education of the nurfery, I think
myfelf well warranted, from my own obfervation,
to fay that this education and the fober manners
of young men have quitted us together.
Some will call this prudery, and croaking. But
I am almoft tranfcribing from Cicero, and from
Qj.iintilian. Cornelia, Aurelia, Attia, and other

ladies of the firft rank, arc praifed by Cicero only
for their eminence in this refpeft ; but not becaufe
they vjQve Jingular. Quintilian fays, that in the
time immediately prior to his own, it had been
the general praftice of the ladies of rank to fuper-
intend the moral education both of fons and
daughters. But of late, fays he, they are fo engag-
ed in continual and corrupting amufements, fuch
as the (hows of gladiators, horie-racing, and deep
play, that they have no time, and have yielded
their places to Greek governeffcs and tutors, out
cair
s
33^ THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP, iv,
caftsof a nation more fubdued by their own vices

than by the Roman arms dare fay this was1
laughed at, as croaking about the corruption of

the age. But what was the confcquence of all
this? —
The Romans became the molt abandoned
voluptuaries, and, to prcfeive their mean plea-
fures, they crouched as willing flaves to a fuccef-
fion of the vilefl tyrants that ever difgraced hu-
manity.
What a noble fund of felf-eftimation would our
fair partners acquire to themfelves, if, by reform-
ing the manners of the young generation, they
ftiould be the means of reftoring peace to the
world They have it in their puwery by the re-
!
newal of the good old cuiloni of early inftruc-

tion, and perhaps Hill more, by imprelTuig on the
minds of their daughters the fame ientiments, and
obliging them to refpeiSt fobriety and decency in
the youth, and pointedly to withhold their fmiles
and civilities from all who tranfgrefs thefe in the
fmalleft degree. This is a method of proceeding
that will moji certainly he viôrioiis. Then indeed
will the women be the faviours of their country.
While therefore the German fair liave been re-
peatedly branded with having welcomed the
French invaders*, let our ladies (land up for the
honour of free-born Britons, by turning againil
the pretended enlighteners of the world, the arms
which nature has put into their hands, and which
thofe proiligates have prelumptuoufly expedled to
* I have met with this charge in many

and one book
places ;
in particular, written by a Pruflian General Officer, who was In

the country over-tun by tne French troop?, gives a detail of the
conduA of the women that is very remarkable. He alfofays, that
infidelity has become very prevalent among the ladies in the higher
circles, this melancholy account is to be found in
indeed many
paHages of the private correfpondence of the Illuminati.
employ
CHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTIO.V. 33^
employ in extending their influence over mrailcind.
The empire of beanty is but Ihort, but the em-
pire of virtue is durable ; nor is there an inilance
to be met with of its decline. If it be yet pofTible
to reform the world, it is poiTible for the fair. By
the conftitution of human nature, they muft al-
ways appear as the ornament of human life, and
be the objects of fondnefs and affedion ; fo that
if atly thing can make head againft the feifirti and
overbearing difpofitions of man, it is his refpe£lful
regard for the fex. But mere fondnefs has but lit-
tle of the rational creature in it, and we fee it har-
bour every day in the bread that is filled with the
meancft; and moft turbulent padions. No where is
it fo llrong as in the harems of the eaft; and as
long as the women a(k. nothing of the men but

fondnefs and admiration, they will get nothing
—
elfe they will never be refpe6ted. But let them
roufe themfelvcs, alTert their dignity, by (hewing
their own elevated fentiments of human nature,
and by acting up to this claim, and they may then
command the world.
V. Another good confequencc that (liould re-
fult from the account that has been given of the
proceedings of this confpiracy is, that fince the
fafcinatiug pl<n:ure of human life, by which men
have been wheedled into immediate anarchy and
rebellion, is infinceie, and a mere artificial crea-
ture of the imagination, it can have no (leadinefs,
but mull be changed by every freak of fancy, or
by every ingenious fophift, who can give an equal
plaufibility to whatever fuits his prelent views. It
is as much an airy phantom as any other whim of
Free Mafonry, and has no prototype, no original

pattern in human nature, to which recourfe may
always be had, to correft miflakes, and keep things
in a conftiant tenor. Has not France given the
moft
340 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION* CHAP, iv*
mofl: unequivocal proofs of this? Was not the de,-

claration of the Rights of Man, the produftion of
their moll brilliant Illuminators, a pi6ture, 171 ab-
jlrado^ where man was placed at a diftance from
the eye, that no falfc light of local fituation might
pervert the judgment or engage the paffions? Was
it not declared to be the mafter-piece of human
wifdom ? Did not the nation confider it at leifure?

and, having it continually before tlieir eyes, did
they not, ftep by flep, give their aflent to the dif-
ferent articles of their Conftitution, derived from
it, and fabricated by their ,mo{l choice Illumina-
tors? And did not this Conftitution draw the ap-

plaufes of the bright geniufes of other nations,
who by this time were bufy in perfuading, each
his countrymen, that they were ignoramufes in
flatiftics, and patient flaves of opprefTion or of an-
cient prejudices? Did not panegyrics on it iffne
from every garret in London ? Where is it now ?
where is its fucceflbr ? Has any one plan of govern-
ment fubfifted, except while it was fupported by
the incontroulable and inexoi-able power of the
guillotine ? Is not the prefent adminiftration of
France as much as ever the obje£l of difcontent
and of terror, and its coercions as like as ever to
the fummary juftice of the Parifian mob ? Is there
any probability of its permanency in a ftate of
peace, when the fears of a foreign enemy no lon-
ger give a confolidation to their meafures, and
oblige them either to agree among themfelvcs, or
immediately to perifli ?
VI. The above accounts evince in the mofl

uncontrovertible manner the dangerous tendency
of all myftical focieties, and of all aflbciations
who hold fccret meetings. We
fee that their uni-
form progrefs has been from frivolity and nonfenfe
to wickednefs and fcdition. Wcifliaupt has been
at
;
CHAP. iv. The French revolution. 341
good efFefts of fecrecy iii

at great pains to flievv the
the Aflbciation, and the arguments are valid for
this purpofe. But all his arguments are fo many
diiTuafive advices to every thinking and fober
mind. The man who really vviftiesto difcover an
abftrufe truth will place himfelf, if pofTible in a
calm fitiiation, and will by no means expofe him-
the impatient hankering for fecrets and
felf to
wonders— and he will akvays fear that a thing
which refolutely conceals itfelf cannot bear the
light. All who have employed them-
ferioufly
felves in the difcovery of truth have found the
great advantages of open communication of fen-
timent. And it is againfl common fenfe to ima-
gine that there is any thing of vaft importance to
mankind which is yet a fecret^ and which muft
be kept a fecret in order to be ufcful. This is
againft the whole experience of mankind And
furely to hug in one's bread a fecret of fuch mighty
importance, is to give the lie to all our profeffions
of brotherly love. What a folecifm a fecret to !
fenlighten and reform the whole world. ren- We

der all our endeavours impotent when we grafp at
a thing beyond our power. Let an aflbciation be
formed with a ferious plan for reforming its own
members, and let them extend
numbers in pro- in
portion as they fucceed —
this might do fome good.
But muft the way of doing this be a fecret?— It
—
may be to many who will not look for it where
it is to be found-: —It is this
'* Do good, — ^feek peace, —and purfue it.'^
But it is almoft affronting the reader to fuppoie

arguriients neceffary on this point. If there be a
heceffity for fecrecy, the purpofe of the aflbcia-
tion is either frivolous, or it is felfiftr.
2 U Novf
342 THE FREN/CH REVOLUTIQN. CHAP, iv.
Now, in either caff, the clanger of fiich fecrer

alTemblies is manifcfl:. Mere frivolity can never
reriouHy occupy men come to age. And accord-
ingly we fee that in every quarter of Europe where
Free Mafonry has been eftablilhcd, the Lodges
have become feed-beds c»f public mifchief. I be-
lieve that no ordinary brother will fay that the
occupations in the Lodges are any thing better
than frivolous, very frivolous indeed. The diftri-
bution of charity needs be no fecret, and it is but
a very fniall part of the employment of the meet-
ing. This being the cafe it is in human nature
that the greater we fuppofe the frivolity of fuch
an affociation to be, the greater is the chance of
its ceafing to give fufficient occupation to the
mind, and the greater is the rifli that the meet-

ings may be employed to other purpofes which
require concealment. When this happens, felf-
interefl.âlone muft prompt and rule, and now
there '^ ho length that fome men will not go, when
they think themfelves in no danger of detedlion
and punifhment. The v.'hole proceedings of the
fecret focieties of Free Mafons on the Continent
(and I am
authorifed to fay, of fome Lodges in
Britain) have taken one turn, and this turn is
pcrfeftly natural. In all countries there are men
of licentious morals. Such men wifh to have a
fafe opportunity of indulging their wits in fatire
and farcafm ; and they are pJeafed with the fup-
port of others. The defire of making profelytes is
in every bread —and whetted by the reflraints

it is
of fociety. And all countries have difcontented

men, whofe grumblings will raifc difcontent in
others, who might not have attended to fome of
the trifling hardftiips and injuries they met with,
had they not been reminded of them. To be dif-
contented, and not to think of fchcmes of redrcfs,
is
CHAP. Iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 343
iswhat we cannot think natural or manly and —
where can fuch fentiments and fchcmes find fucii
fafc utterance and inch probable fupport as in -a
fccret fociety ? Free Maionry is innocent of all
thefe things; but Free Mafonry has been abufed,
and at lafl: totally perverted —
and fo will and mud
any fuch fccret aflfociation, as long as men are li-
centious in their opinions or wicked in their dif-
pofitions.
were devoutly to be wiflied therefore that the
It
whole fraternity would imitate the truly benevo-
lent conduft of thofe German Lodges who have
formally broken up, and made a patriotic facrifice
of their amufement to the fafety of the (late. I
cannot think the facrifice great or coftly. It can
be no difficult matter to find as pleafing a way of
palling a vacant hour and the charitable deeds
of the members need not diminifh in the fmallefl
degree. Every perfon's little circle of acquaint-
ance will give him opportunities of gratifying his
kind difpofitions, without the chance of being mif-
taken in the worth of the perfon on whom he be-
ftows his favours. There is no occafion to go to
St. Peterfburg for a poor Brother, nor to India for
a convert to Chriftianity, as long as we fee fo
many fufferers and infidels among ourfelves.
But not only are fecret focieties dangerous, but
all focieties whofe obje£t is myfterious. The whole
hiflory of man is a proof of this pofition. In no
age or country has there ever appeared a myfleri-
ous affociation which did not in time become a
public nuifance. Ingenious or defigning men of
letters have attempted to Ihow that fonie of the
ancient myfteries were ufeful to mankind, con-
taining rational doctrines of natural religion. This
was the ftrong hold of Wciihaupt, and he quotes
the Eleufinian, the Pythagorean, and other myf-
teries.
344 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP, iv^
teries. Butfurely their extern alfigns and tokens were

every thing that is (liocking to decency and civil
order. It is uncommon prefumption for tlie learn-
ed of the eighteenth century to pretend to know
more about them than their contemporaries, the
philofophers, the lawgivers of antiquity. Thefe
give no fuch account of them. I would defire any
perfon who admires the ingenious differtations of
Dr. Warburton to read a dull German book, call-
Carcifterijlik der AJyjlcrien der ylltern^ puhliflied
at Frankfort in 1787. The author contents him-
felf with a patient colie£tion of every fcrap of
every ancient author who has faid any thing about
them. If the reader can fee anything in them but
the mod abfurd and immoral polytheifm and fa-
ble, he muft take words in a fenfe that is ufelefs in
reading any other piece of ancient compolition,
I have a notion that the Dionyfiacs of lona had
fbme fcientific fecrets, viz. all the knowledge of
practical mechanics which was employed by their
archite£ls and engineers, and that they were re-
ally a Mafonic Fraternity. But, like the liluminati,
they tagged to the fecrets of Mafonry the fccret
of drunkennefs and debauchery ; they had tiieir
Sifter Lodges, and at laft became rebels, fubver-
tcrs of the ftates where they were protc6lcd, till
aiming at the dominion of all Ionia, they were
attacked by the neighbouring Hates and difperfed.
They were Illuminators too, and wanted to in-
troduce the worfliip of Bacchus over the whole
country, as appears in the account of them given
by Strabo. Perhaps the Pythagoreans had aUb
fome fcientific fecrets ; but they too were Illumi-
nators, and thought it their duty to overfet the
State, and were themfclves overfet.
Nothing is fo dangerous as a my (lie Aflbciation,
\J"he object remaining a fecrct in the hands of the
managers
<iHAP. IV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 34^
managers, the reft finipiy put a ring in their own
nofes, by which they may be led about at pleafure j
and lliJI panting after the fecret, they are the bet-
ter pleated the lels they fee of their way. A myf-
tical object enables the leader to ftiift his ground
as he pleafes, and to accommodate himfelf to
every current fafliion or prejudice. This again
gives him almoft unlimited power ; for he can
make ufe of thefe prejudices to lead men by troops.
He finds them already affociated by their preju-
dices, and waiting for a leader to concentrate
their ftrength and fet them in motion. And when
once great bodies of men are fet in motion, with
a creature of their fancy for a guide, even the
engineer himfelf cannot fay, " Thus far ilialt thou
" go, and no farther.'*
VII. We may alfo gather from what we have feen
that all declamations on univerial philanthropy are
dangerous. Their natural and immediate eft'ed qii
the mind is to increafe the difcontents of the un-
fortunate, and of thofe in the laborious rank's of life.
No one, even of the Illuminators, will deny that
thofe ranks mull be filled, if fociety exifis in any de-
gree of cultivation whatever, and that there will al-
ways be a greater number of men who have no far-
ther profped. Surely it is unkind to put fuch men
continually in mind of a ftate in which they might
be at their eafe ; and it is unkindnefs unmixed, be-
caufeall the change that they will produce will be, that
James will ferve John, who formerly was the fervant
of James. Such declamations naturally tend to
caufe men to make light of the obligations and du-
tiesof common patrioiifm, becaufe thefe are repre-
fented as llibordinate and inferior to the greater and
more noble atfedion of univerial benevolence. I
do not pretend to fay that patrictifm is founded in a
rationally perceived pre-eminence or excellence of
the
54^ THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. iv.
the foclety with which we are conne(fêd. But if it
be a fa(ft that fociety will not advance unlefs its mem-

bers take an interefl: in it, and that human nature
improves only in fociety, fureiy this intereft fliould
be cherilhed in every breafl:. Perhaps national
union arifes from national animofuy but they are
; —
plainly dirtingui(hable, and union is not necefi'arily
produclive of injuflice. The fame arguments that
have any force againft patriotifm are equally good
againft the preference which natural inftind gives
)arents for their children, and furelv no one can
doubt of the propriety of maintaining this in its
full force, fubjed. however to the precife laws of
juflice.
But I am in the wrong
adduce paternal or fi-
to
lial affevflion in defence of patriotifm and loyalty,
hnce even thofe natural inftimfls are reprobated by

the llluminaii^ as hoflile to the all-comprehending
philanthropy. Mr. de laMetherie fays, that among
the memorials fenc from the chibs in England to the
iSlational AlTembiy, he read two, (printed,) in which
the Affembly was requeued to ellabiiQi a communi-
ty of wives, and to take children from their parents
and educate them for the nation. In full compli-
ance with this didate of univerfal philanthropy,
Weilhaupt would have murdeied his own child and
his concubine, —
and Orleans voted the deaili of his
near relation.
Indeed, of all the confequences of Illumination,
the mofl melancholy is this revolution which it feems
to operate in the heart of man, —
this forcible facri-
fice of every aifertion of the heart to an ideal divi-
nity, a mere creature of the imagination. It feems —
a prodigy, ye! it is a matter of experience, that the
farther we advance, or vainly fuppofe that we do ad-
vance, in the knowledge of our mental powers, the
nici e are our moral feelings tlattened and done away.
1 remember
CHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. '747
I remember reading, long ago, a difiertaticn on f!;e

nurfing of infants by a French academician, le
Cointre of Veifaiiles. He indelicateiy fupports his
theories by the cafe of his own weak puny in-
ion, a
fant, whom his mother was obliged to keep continu-
ally applied to her bofom, fo that (he rarelv could
get two hours of fleep during the time of fuckling
him. Mr. Le Cointre fays, that Ihe contratfted for
this infant *' une fartiaJite tvutt^-a-fait dtraijonable"
•— Plaro, or Socrates, or Cicero, would probably
have explained this by the habitual exercife of pity,
a very endearing emotion.-— But our Academician,
better illuminated, lolves by ftimuli on the papilla
it
and on the nerves of the fkin, and by the meeting

of the humifying aura^ Sec. and does not ieem to
think that young Le Cointre was much indebted to
his mother. It would amufe me to learn that this
was the wretch Le Cointre, Major of the National
Guards of Verfailles, who countenanced and en-
couraged the (hocking treafon and barbarity of thofe
ruffians on the 5th and 6th of Odober 178^. Com-
plete freezing of the heart would (I think) be the
confequence of a theory which could perfectly ex-
plain the affecflions by vibrations or crylâllizations.
— Nay, any very perfecfl theory of moral lentiments
muft have fomething of this tendency. — Perhaps
the ancient fyllems of moral philofophy, which weie
chiefly fearches after \.\\^ Jumrnum tonum^ and fyftems
of moral duties, tended more to form and ftrengih-
cn the heart, and produce a worthy man, than the
moft perfed theory of modern times, which explains
every phenomenon by means of a nice anatomy of
our aftedions.
So far therefore as we are really more illuminated,,
it may chance to give us an eaiier vidlory over the
natural or inftindive attachments of mankind, and
make the facrifice to univerfal philanthropy lefs
coflly
348 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CkAP. Wi
Goftly to the heart. I do not however pretend to (aj-

that this is but 1 think myfelf fully
really the cafe :
warranted to fay, that increafe of virtuous aftedions

in general has not been the fruit of modern Illumi-
nation. I will not again ficken the reader, by call-
ing his attention to Weifliaupt and his afTociales or
fuccelVors. But let us candidly contemplate the
world around us, and particularly the perpetual
advocates of univerfal philanthropy. What have
been the general effeds of their continual declama-
tions ? Surely very melanciioly ; nor can it eafily
be otherwife. —
An ideal fiandard is continually re-
ferred to* This is made gigantic, by being always
feen indiftindly, as through a mift, or rather a flut-
tering air. In comparifon with this, every feeling
that we have been accuftomed to refped vanifhes as
inlignifjcant ; and, adopting the Jefuitical maxima
that " the great end fanclifies every mean," this funi
of Cofmo-political good is made to eclipfe or cover
all the prefent evils which mufi: be endured for it;
The fad now is, that we are become fo familiarifed
with enormities, fuch as brutality to the weaker fex^
cruelty to old age, wanton refinement on barbarity^
that we now hear unmoved accounts of fcenes, froni
which, a few years ago, we would have flirunk back
with horror. With cold hearts, and a metaphyfical
fcale, we meafure the prefent miferies of our fellow
creatures, and compare them with the accumulated
miferies of former times, occafioned through a courfe
of ages, and afcribed to the ambition of Princes. Iri
this artificial manner are the atrocities of France ex-
tenuated; and we ftruggle, and partly fucceed, in
reafoning ourfelves out of all the feelings which link
—
men together in fociety. The ties of father, huf-
—
band, brother, friend all are abandoned for an
emotion which we muft even flrive to excite, uni- —
verfal philanthropy. But this is fad perverfion of
nature*
—
CrtAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. ^^g

nature. " He that loveth not his brother whom he
*' hath feen, how can he love God whom he
hath not
" feen r" Still lefs can he love this ideal being, of
which he labours to conjure up fome indiftind and
fleeting notion. It is alfo highly abfurd ; for, in
trying to colled the circumllances which conftitute
the enjoyments of this Citizen of the World, we find
ourfelves juft brought back to the very moral feel-
ings which we are wantonly throwing away. Weif-
haupt allures us by the happinefs of the patriarchal
life as the /ummum bonum of man. But if it is any
thing more than eating andfleeping, and fquabbling
with the neighbouring patriarchs, it raufl: confift in
the domeftic and neighbourly affedions, and every
other agreeable moral feeling, all which are to be
had in our prefent ftate, in greater abundance.
But this is all a pretence ; —
the wicked corrupters
of mankind have no fuch views of human felicity,
nor would they be contented with it ; they want to
intrigue and to lead ; and their patriarchal life an-
fwers the fame purpofe of tickling the fancy as the
Arcadia of the poets. Horace (hows the frivolity of
thefe declamations, without formally enouncing the
moral, in his pretty Ode,
Beatus 111c qui procul negotiis.
The ufurer, after expatiating onArcadian feli-

this
city, hurries away to change, and puts his whole
caili again out to ufury.
Equally ineffective are the declamations of Cof-
mo-politifm on a mind filled with felfifti pafTions ;
they jufl; ferve it for a fubterfuge. The ties of or- —
dinary life are broken in the firfl: place, and the Ci-
tizen of the World is a wolf of the defart.
The unhappy confequence is, that the natural
progrefs of liberty is retarded. Had this ignis fa-
2 V tuus
,35<J T"l^ FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. 1V<
luus not appeared and milled us, the improvements

which true Illumination has really produced, the
incrrafe in fciences and arts, and the impioveraent
in our efiimate of life and happinefs, would have
continued to work hlentiy and gradually in all na-
tions ;and thole which are lefs fortunate in point
of government would alio have improved, by little
and little, without lofing any fenfible portion of their
prefent enjoyments in the pofl'eflion of riches, or
honours, or power. Thofe pretenfions would gra-
dually have come to balance each other, and true
liberty, fuch as Britons enjoy, might have taken
place over all.
Inllead of this, the inhabitants of every ilate are

put into a iituation where every individual is alarm-
ed and injured by the fuccefs of another, becaufe all
pre-eminence is criminal. Therefore there mull be
perpetual jealouly and ftruggle. Princes are now
alarmed, fmce thev fee the aim of the lower clafl'es,
and they repent of their former liberal concelTions.
All parties maintain a fullen diflance and referve ;
— the people become unruly, and the lovereign
hard-hearted lb that liberty, fuch as can be enjoyed
;
in peace, is banilhed from the country.

VIII. When we fee how eagerly the Illuminati
endeavoured to inlinuate their Brethren into all of-
fices which gave them influence on the public mind,
and particularly into ieminaries of education, we
fliould be particularly careful to prevent them, and
ought to examine with anxious attention the manner
of thinking of all who offer ihemfelves for teachers
of youth. There is no part of the fecret corref-
pondence of Spartacus and his AlTociates, in which
we fee moie varied and artful methods for fecuring
pupils, than in hisown condud refpecling the ilu-
dents in the Univerfity, and the injundions he gives
to others. There are two men, Socher and Drexl,
who
—
1
GHAP. IV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 35
who bad the general infpe(fHon of the fchools in the

Eledorate. They are treated by Spartacus as perfons
of the greatefl: confequence, and the inllruvflions
given them flick at no kind of corruption. Wei-
Ihaupt is at pains, circuitous and mean arts, to in-
duce young gentlemen to come under his care, and,
to one whom he defcribes in another letter as a little
mafler who mufl have much indulgence, hecaufes it
to be intimated, that in the quarters where he is to
be lodged, he will get the key of the flreet-door, fo
that he can admit whom he will. In all this can-
vafling he never quits the great objed, the forming
the mind of the young man according to the princi-
ples of univerfal Liberty and Equality, and to gain
this point, fcruples not to flatter, aud even to excite
his dangerous paflions. We
may be certain, that
the zeal of Cofmo-poiitifm will operate in the fame
way in other men, and we ought therefore to be fo-
licitous to have all that are the inflrudors of youth,
perfons of the mod decent manners. No queflion
but fobriety and hypocrify may inhabit the fame
breaft. But its immediate effed on the pupil is at
leafl: fafe, and it is always eafy for a fenfible parent
to reprefent the reflridions laid on the pupil by

fuch a man as the effecls of uncommon anxietv for
his fafety. Whereas there is no cure for the lax
principles that may Ileal upon the tender mind that
is not early put on its guard. Weilhaupt undoubt-
edly thought that the principles of civil anarchy
would be eafiell inculcated on minds, that had al-
ready fhaken off the reftraints of Religion, and en-
tered into habits of fenfual indulgence. We
(hall
be fafe if we trufl his judgment in this matter.
We fliould be particularly obfervant of the charac-
ter and principles of Men
of Talents^ who offer
themfelves for thefe offices, becaufe //?^/r influence
niuft be very great. Indeed this anxiety fliould ex-
tend
— — .
352 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. \V
tend to all offices which in any way give holders any

remarkable influence on the minds of confiderable
numbers. Such Ihould always be filled bv men of
immaculate charadersand approved principles; and^
in times like the prefent, where the moft eflential
queflions are the fubjecls of frequent difcuiTion, we
Ihould always conhder with fome diftruft the men
who are very cautious in declaring their opinions
on thefe queflions.
misfortune undoubtedly to feel ourr
It is a great
feives in a fituation which makes us damp the en-
joyments of life with fo much fufpicion. But the
hiflory of mankind fhows us that many great revo-
lutions have been produced by remote and appa-
rently frivolous caufes. When things come to a
height, itfrequently impoflfible to find a cure
is
at any rate medicina Jero faratur^ and it is much bet-

ter to prevent the difeafe prindpiis ohjta venienti —
occurrite morbo.
IX. Nor can it be faid that thefe are vain fears.
We knowtât theenemy is working among us, and
that there are many appearances in thefe kingdoms
which ftrongly refemble the contrivance of this dan-
gerous alTociation. We know that before the Order
oi Illuminati was broken up by the Eledor of Bava-
ria, there were feveral Lodges in Britain, and we
may be certain that they are not all broken up. I
know that they and that within thefe two
are not,
years fome Lodges were ignorant or affected to be
fo, of the corrupted principles and dangerous defigns
of the Illuminati. The conflitution of the Order
fliews that this may Lodges themfelves
be, for the
were illuminated by degrees. But I mufl: remark,
that we can hardly fuppofe a Lodge to be eftabliihed
in any place, unlefs there be fome very zealous Bro-
ther at hand to inlirud and direct it. And I think
that a perfon can hardly be advanced as far as the
rank
rank of Scotch Knight of the Order, and be a fafe
man either for our Church or State. I am very well
int'ormed, that there are feveral thoufands of fubfcrib-
ing Brethren in London alone, and we can hardly
doubt, but that many of that number are well advan-
ced. The vocabulary alfo of the Illuminati is cur-
rent in certain focieties among us. Thefe focieties
have taken the very name and conftitution of the
French and German focieties. Correfponding—
Affiliated —
Provincial — Refcript —Convention
—
Reading Societies— Citizen of the World Liberty
and Equality, the Imprefcriptible Rights of Man,
^c. &CC. And mull: it not be acknowledged that our
public arbiters of literary merit have greatly chang-
ed their manner of treatment of Theological and po-
litical writings of late years? Till Paine's Age of
Reafon appeared, the moft fceptical writings of Eng-
land kept within the bounds of decency and of argu-
ment, and we have not, in the courfe of two centu-
ries, one piece that (hould be compared with many
of the blackguard produdions of the German prelTes.
Vet even thofe performances generally met with
Iharp reproof as well as judicious refutation. This
is a tribute of commendation to which my country
is moft jufllv entitled. In a former part of my life

I was pretty converfant in writings of this kind, and
have feen almoft every Englifh performance of note.
I cannot exprefs the furprife and difguft which I felt
at the number and the grofs indecency of the German
differtations which have come in my way fmce I be-
gan this —
little hiftory, and many of the titles which
I obferve in the Leipzig catalogues are fuch as I
think no Britifh writer would make ufe of. I am
told that the licentioufnefs of the prefs has been
equally remarkable in France, even before the Re-
volution. —
May this fenfe of propriety and decen-
cy long continue to proted us, and fupport the na-
tional
354 "^"^ FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP, iv.
tional charadler for real good breeding, as our at-

tainments in manly fcience have hitherto gained
us the relpe£t: of the furrounding nations !
I cannot help thinking that Britifli fentiment,

or Britifh delicacy, is changed ; for Paine's book
is treated by moil of our Reviewers with an af-
fcdled liberality and candour, and is laid before
the public as quite new matter, and a fair field for
difcuiTion — and it (Irikcs me as if our critics were
more careful to let no fault of his opponents pafs
unnoticed than toexpofe the futility and rudenefs
of this indelicate writer. In the reviews of poH-
tical writings we fee few of thofe kind endeavours,
which real love for our conftitutional government
would induce a writer to employ in order to Icf-
fen the fretful difcontents of the people ; and
there is frequently betrayed a fatisfadtion at find-
ing adminiftration in ftraits, either through mil-
conduct or misfortune. Real love for our coun-
try and its governnjent would (1 think) induce a
perfon to mix with his criticifms fome fentiments
of fympathy with the embarraflment of a minifler
loaded with the bufmefs of a great nation, in a fi-
tuation never before experienced by any minifter.
The critic would recollect that the minifter was a
man, fubjedl to error, but not neceiTavily nor alto-
gether bafe. But it feemsto be an aOumcd prin-
ciple witii fome of our political writers and re-
viewers that government muftialways be in fault,
and that every thing needs a reform. Such were
the beginnings on the continent, and we cannot
doubt but that attempts are made to influence
the public mind in this country, in the very way
that has been praftifed abroad. Nay, —
X. The deteftablc doctrines of lUuminatilfm
have been openly preached among us. Has not
Dr. PrieiUey faid, (i think in one of his letters on
the
the Birmingham " That if the condition of
riots,)
" other natiojis be as much improved as that of
France will be by the change in her fyftem of
government, the great crifis, dreadful as it may
*' appear,
will be a confummation devoutly to be
" wifhed for ;— and though calamitous to many,
perhaps to many innocent
perfons, will be even-
tually glorious and happy ?" —
Is not this equi-
valent to Spartacus faying, '* —
True there will be
*'
a ftorm, a convulfion —
but all will be calm
" again ?" —Does Dr. Prieftley think that the Bri-
tifli will part more caliily than their neighbours in
France with their property and honours, fecured

by ages of peaceable poifeli'ion, protected by law,
and acquiefced in by all who wifh and hope that
their own defcendants may reap the fruits of their
honeil induftry ? — Will they make a lefs manly
ftruggle ? —
Are they Icfs numerous ? Mull his—
friends, his patrons, whom he has thanked, and
praifed, and flattered, yield up all peaceably, or
fall in the general ftruggle ? This writer has al-
ready given the moft promifing fpecimens of his
own docility in the principles of Illuminatifm, and
has already palTed through feveral degrees of ini-
tiation. He has refined and refined on Chrifti-
anity, and boafts, like another Spartacus, that he
has, at laft, hit on the true fecret. —
Has he not
been preparing the minds of his readers for Athe-
ilm by his theory of mind, and by his commen-
tary on the unmeaning jargon of Dr. Hartley ?
1 call it unmeaning jargon, that I may avoid giv-
ing it a more appofite and difgraceful name.
For, if intelligence and defign be nothing but a
certain modification of the vibratiimcuht or un-
dulations of any kind, what is ibpreme intelli-
gence, but a more extenfive, and (perhaps they
will call it) refined undulation, pervading or mix-
—
tHE FRENCH REVOLUTIOI^J. CHAP, iv*
ing vvith all others ? Indeed it is in this very man-

ner that the univerfal operation of intelligence is
pretended to be explained. As any new or par-
tial undulation may be (uperinduced on any other
already exilling, and this without the leaft difturb-
ance or confufion, fo may the inferior intelligen-
ces in the univerfe be only fuperinduftions on the
operations of this fupreme intelligence which per •
vadcsthern all,— And thus an undulation (of what?

lurely of fomething prior to and independent of
this modification) is the caufe of all the beings in
the univerfe, and of all the harmony and beauty
that we obferve, — And this undulation is the ob-
ject of love, and gratitude, and confidence (that
is, of other kinds —
of undulations.) Fortunately
all this has no meaning. —
Butfurely, if any thing
can tend to diminifli the force of our religious
fentiments, and make all Dr. Prieftley's difcoveries
in Chriftianity infignificant, this will do it.
Were it polTible for thedeparted foul of New-

ton to feel pain, he would furely recollect with re-
gret that unhappy hour, when provoked by Dr.
Hooke's charge of plagiarifm, he firft threw out his
whim of a vibrating ether, to fliew what might be
—
made of an hypothefis. For Sir Ifaac Newton muft
be allowed to have paved the way for much of the
atomical philofophy of the moderns. Newton's
aether is afllimed as a fac totiim by every precipitate
fciolifl:, who, in defpite of logic, and in contradic-
tion to all the principles of mechanics, gives us the-

ories of mufcular motion, of gnimal fenfation, and
even of intelligence' and volition, by the undula-
tions of 3Etherial fluids. Not one of a hundred of
thefe theorills can go through the fundamental theo-
rem of all this dodrine, the 47th prop, of the 2d
book of the Principia, and not one in a thoufand
know that Newton's invefiigation is inconclufive.
Yet
Chap. iv. trit french revolution^ 357
Yet they talk oftlie effects and modifications ofihofe un-
diiiati(;ns 2S facniliarly andconfidentiy asif they could
demonflrate the piopoluions in Euclid's Elements.
Yet fach is the reafon that fatisfies D;-. Prieftly. —
But I do riot fuppole tliat he has yet attained his acme
of Illumination. His genius' has been cramped by
BritiOi prejudices. —
Thefe need not Ivvay his mind
any longer. He is now in that "•
rai'd temporis {^ct
''•
loci) jF^Hcitate^ uhi fenttre qu,e veils et qu.^Jtntias
^
" diccve Licet" —

in the country which was honour-
ed by giving the world the firil: avowed edition of the
Age of Reajon, with the name of the fliop and pub-
iilher. I make no doubt but that his m.ind will now
take a higher tiight, —
and we may expedl to fee him
fire " that train by which he boalled that he would
*'
blow up the religious eftablidiment of his flupid
'^
and enllaved native country." Peace be with —
him. —
But I grieve that he has left any of his friends
and abettors among lis, who declaim, in the molt
violent and unqualified terms, againft all national
Eflabiifhments of Religion, and in no friendly
terms of any eftablifhments which maintainor allow
any privileged Orders. Difcanting much on fuch
topics increafes the dilTatisfaulion of the lefs fortu-
nate part of mankind, Vv-ho naturally repine at ad-
vantages which do not ariie from the perional merit
of the poffeiTor, although they are the natural and
necelTary fruits of merit in tlis'ir anceflors, and of
the jufiice and fecurity of our happy Conllitution.
Kg well informed and fenfible man will deny that
the greateft injury was done to pure Religion when
Conilantine declared Chrillianity to be ihe Religion
of the Empire, and veiled the Church v/ith all the rich-
es and power ot the Heathen Priefthood. But it is falfe
that this wasthe fourceof orof theworllcorruption;i
all
of Chrillianity. The rnerefl: novice in Church Hiftory

knows that the errors of the Gnoftics, of the Cerin-
2 X thians.
3,53 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. IV.
tbians, and others, long preceded this event, arid

that thoulands loft their lives in thofe raetaphyfical
dirputes. But
cannot help thinking that, in the
I
prefent condition of Europe, religion would defert
the world, iF the opinions of men were not direct-
ed, in fome proper degree, by National Eftablifli-
nients. Teachers among the Independents will
court popularity, as they have always courted it ; by
foftering fome favourite and difcriminating opinion
of their hearers. The old fubjeds of debate have
now foft their zeft, and I fliould fear that the teach-
ers would find it a fuccefsful, as an eafy road to
it is
popularity, to lead their hearers through a feries of

refinements, till they are landed, much to their fa-
tisfaclion, in the Materialifm of Dr. Prieftley, from
which but a ftep to the Atheifm of Diderot and
it is
Condorcet.
Seeing that there are fuch grounds of apprehen-
fion, I think that we have caufe to be upon our
guard, and that every man who has enjoyed the
fweets of Britidi liberty fliould be very anxious in-
deed to preferve it. We
ihould dilcourage all fe-
cret alTemblies, which afford opportunities to the
difaffeded, and all converfations which fofter any
notions of political perfeclion, and create hanker-
ings after unattainable happinefs. Thefe only in-
creafe the difcontents of the unfortunate, the idle,
and the worthlefs. —
Above all, we fliould be careful
to difcourage and check immorality and licentiouf-
iiefs in every fhape. For this will of itfelf fubvert
every government, and will fubjed. us to the vile
tyranny of a profligate mob.
XI. If there has ever been a feafon in which it
was proper to call upon the public inflrudors of the
nation to exert theaifelves in the caufe of Religion
and Virtue, it is furely the prefent. It appears,
from the tenor of the whole narration before the
reader,
reader, that Religion and Virtue arc confidered as
tlie great obllacles to the completion of this plan
for overturning the governments of Europe— and
I hope that I liave made it evident that thofe con-
fpirators have prefuppofed that there is deeply-
rooted in the heart of man a fincere veneration
for unfophifticated virtue, and an affeftionate pro-
penfity to Religion ; that is, to confider this beau-
tiful world as the production of wifdom and pow-
er, refiding in a Being different from the world
itfelf, and the natural object of admiration and of
love — I do not fpeak of the truth of this princi-
ple at prefcnt, but only of its reality, as an im-
prcflion on the heart of man, Thefe principles
—
muft therefore be worked on, and they are ac-
knowledged to be ftrong, becaufe much art is em-
ployed to eradicate them, or to overwhelm them
by other pov/erful agents. —We alfo fee that Re-
ligion and Virtue are confidered by thole corrupt-
ers as clofely united, and as mutually fupporting
each other. This they admit as a faft, and la-
bour to prove it to be a miftake. — And iallly, they
entertain no hopes of complete fuccefs till they
have exploded both.
This being the cafe, I hope that I (liall be clear
of all charge of impropriety, when I addrefsour
national inilrudors, and earncfily deiire them to
confider this caufe as peculiarly theirs. The world
has been corrupted under pretence of moral in-
ftruction. Backwardnefs, therefore, on their
part, may do inconceivable harm, becaufe it will
mod certainly be interpreted as an acknowledg-
ment of defeat, and they will be accufed of in-
difference and infincerity. I know that a modeft
man reluctantly comes forward with any thing
that has the appearance of thinking himfelf wifer
or better than his neighbours. But if all are fo
baftiful
—
360 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. Iv.
baOiful, where will it end ? Mufl: we allow a parcel

of wovthlefs profligates, whom no mun wouldxruli
with the iîan.^'êment of the moil trifling concern,
to pafs wiili the ignorant and indolent for teachers
of true wifdom, and thus entice the whole woild
into a trap V They have fucceeded with our unfor-
tunate neighbours on the continent, and, in Ger-
many, (to their ihame be it fpoken) they have been
afliiledeven by fome faithlefs clergymen.
But I will hope bettPr of my countrymen, and I
think that our clergy have encouragement even from
the native character of Britons. National compari-
fons are indeed ungraceful, and are rarely candid
but I think they may be indulged in this inllance.
It is of his own countrymen that Voltaire i'peaks,
when he fays, that " th.ey refemble a mixed breed
" of the monkey and the tiger," animals that n.ix
fun with raifch'.ef, and that fport with the torments
of their prey. — Ihey have indeed given the moft
(hocking proofs of the jullnefs of his portrait. It is
with a confiderable degree of national pride, there-
fore, that I compare the behaviour of the French
with that of the Britilli in a very fimilar fituation,
during the civil wars and the ufurpation of Crom-
well. There have been more numerous, and in-
finitely more atrocious, crimes ccmmitted in France
during any one half year fmce the beginning of the
Revolution, than during the whole of that tumultu-
ous period. And it (liould be remembered, that in
Britain, at that period, to all other grounds of dif-
content was added no fmall fliare of relico ious fanati-
cifm, a palfion (may I call it) which feldom fails to
Toufe every ang^y thouglit of the heart. Much may —
be hoped for from an earned and judicious addreis
to ihjt rich fund of manly kindnefs that isconfpicu-
ous in the BriliOi chara..êr, —
a fund to whicii I sm
perfuaded we owe the excellence of our conflitulion-

a I
al governiuent— No where elfe in Europe are the

claims of the dilTerent ranks in fociety fo generally
and fo candidly admitted. All feel llieir force, and
all allow them to others. Kence ittiappens that they
are enjoyed in fo much peace hence it happens
that the gentry live among the yeomen and farmers
with fo eyfy and familiar a fuperiorily :
-Exiri'ina per illos
jfufiitia excedcns terns vejl'ig'ia fecit.
Our clergy prepared for the tafk.

are alfo well
For our anceflors diiteved exceedingly from the pre-
fent Illuiiiinators in their notions, and have enaded
that the cler^v fiiall be well intruded in natural
philofophy, judging that a knowledge cf the fym-
metry of nature, and the beautiful adjuftroent of all
her' operations, would produce 2 firm belief cf a
wifdom and power which is the fource of all this
fair order, the Author and Condudor of all, and
therefore the natural objed of admiration and of
love. A good heart is open to this irapreiTion, and
feels no reludance, but on the contrary a pleafure,
in thinking man the fubjecl of his government, and
the objed of his care. This point being once gain-
ed, I fliould think that the falutary truths of Reli-
gion will be highly welcome. I (hould think that
it will be eafv to convince fuch minds, that in
the midn of the iramenfe variety of the works of
God there is one great plan to which every thing
feeras to refer, namely, the crowding this world,
to the utmofl degree of polTibility, with life, with
beings that enjoy the things around ihem, each in
its own degree and manner. Among thefe, man
makes a moil confpicuous figure, and the maxi-
mum of his enjoyments feems a capital article in the
ways of Prpvidence. It will, I think, require little
trouble to ftievv? that the natural didates of Religion,
or the immediate refults of the belief of God's mo-
ral
3^2 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. iv.
ralgovernment of the unlverfe, coincide in every

circumflance of fentiment, clifpofition, and condu(f},
with ihofe that are mod: productive of enjoynient
(on the whole) in fecial life. The fame train of
thought will (hew, that the real improvements in
the pleafures of fociety, are, in faifl, improvements
of man's rational nature, and fo many fteps toward
that perfeclion which our own confciences tell us we
are capable of, and which Religion encourages us to
hope for in another flate of being. And thus will
" the ways of Wifdom appear to be vâys of plea-
* fantnefs, and all her paths to be peace."
Dwelling on fuch topics, there is no occafion for

any political difcuflion. This would be equally im-
proper and hurtful. Such difcuflions never fail to
produce ill-humour. — But furely the highefl: com-
placence rauft refult from the thought that we are
co-operating with the Author of all wifdcm and
goodnefs, and helping forward the favourite plans of
his providence. Such a thought mufl; elevate the
mind which thus recognifes a fort of alliance with
the Author of nature. — Our brethren in fociety ap-
pear brethren indeed, heirs of the fame hopes, and
travelling to the fame country. This will be a fort
of moral patriotifm, and fliould, I think, produce
mutual forbearance, iince we difcover imperfections
in all creatures, and are confcious of them in our-
felves— notwithflanding which, we hope to be all
equal at laft in worth and in happinefs.
I fhould gladly hope that I (hall not be accufed of
prefumption in this addrefs. There is no profeflion
that I more iincerely refped than that of the reli-
gious and moral inflruclor of my country. I am
faying nothing here that I am not accufiomed to
urge at much greater length in the courfeof my pro-
feffional duty. And I do not think that I am juflly
chargeable with vanity, when I fuppofe that manv
years of deli2,htful fiudy of the works of God have
given
Chap. iv. the fRench Revolution. 3^3
given me fomewhat more acquaintance with them
than is probably attained by thofe who never think
of the matter, being continually engaged in the
buftle of life. Should one of this defcription fay-
that all is fate or chance, and that '' the fame thing
*'
happens to all," &c. as is but too common, I
fhould think that a prudent man will give fo much
preference to my ahertion, as at leaii to think feri-
oufly about the thing, before he allow himfelf any
indulgence in things Vi^hich 1 affirm to be highly
dangerous to his future peace and happinefs. For
this reafon 1 hope not to be accufed of going out of
my line, nor hear any one fay N^ fiitor ultra cre-
''•
" pidamJ" Theprefent is a ieafon of anxiety, and

it is the duty of every man to contribute his mite to
the general good.

It is in fome fuch hopes that I have written thefe
pages ; and if they have any fuch effed, I {hall
think myfelf fortunate in having by chance hit on
fomething ufefui, when I was only trying to amufe*
myfelf during the tedious hours of bad health and
confinement. No perfon is more fenfible of the
many imperfedions of this performance than my-
felf. But, as I have no motive for the publicntion
but the hopes of doing fome good, I trufi that I fhall
obtain a favourable acceptance of my endeavours
from an intelligent, a candid, and a good-natured
public. I murt entreat that it be remembered that
thefe fhects arc not the work of an author deter-
mined to write a book. They \yere for the mofc
part notes, which I took from books I had borrowed,
that I might occaiionally have recourfe to them
when occupied with Free Mafonrv, the firfl objeCl
of my cnriofity. My
curiofity was diverted to ma-
ny other things as I went along, and when the li-
luminati came in my way, I regretted the time I
had thrown away on Free Mafonry.-— But, obferving
their
r»
64 TflE i^-RENCH REVOLUTION. CHaP. iv«
their connection, thought that I perceived the

I
pvogrefs of one and tlie 'ame del'ign. 'I'iiis made
me eager to find out any remains of Wedhaupt's

AlTocsation. I was not fnrprized when I law marks
of its interference in the French Revohition. In —
hunting for clearer proofs I found out the German
—
Union and, in fine, the whole appeared to be one
great and wicked project, fermenting and working
over all Europe.— Some highly refpeded frier.ds
encouraged me in the hope of doing fome fervice by
laying my informations before the public, and faid
that no time ihould be loll:. —
I therefore let about
colleding mv fcattered fads. —
I undertook this tafk
at a time when my official duty prelTed hard on me,

and bad health made me very unfit for fludy.— The
effecls of this mull appear in many faults, which I
fee, without being able at prefent to amend them. I
owe this apology to the public, and I truft that my
good intentions will procure it acceptance*.
Nothing
* "While the fheet commencing p. 341 was printing off, I got

a fight of a work publifhed in Paris year entitled La CofijurO'
laft
ilon d'Orleans. It confirms all that I have faid refpefting the ufe
made of the Free Mafon Lodges. —
it gives a particular aecount
of the farmati n of the Jacobin Club, by the Club Breton. This
laft appears to have been the Aflbciation formed with the afllftance
of the German deputies. The Jacobin Chib had feveral com-

mittees, finiilar to thofe of the National Affembly. Amo g
others, it had a Committee of Enquiry and Correfpondence,
whofe bufinefs it was to gain partizans, to difcover enemies, to
decide on the merits of the Brethren, and to form fimilar Clubs
in other places.
Theauthor of the above-mentioned work writes as follows,
(vol. p. 19.)
iii. We
may judge of what the D. of Orleans
could do in other places, by wliat he did during his ftay in Eng-
land. During his ftay in London, he gained over to his intereft
Lord Stanhope and Dr. Price, two of the moft refpeftablc
members of the Revolulion Society. This Society had no other
objcd.
CHAP. ly. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 365
Nothing would g.ive me more fmcere pleafure than
to fee the whole proved to be a miftake to be ;
—
convinced that there is no fuch plot, and that we
run no rifk of the contagion but that Britain will
;
continue, by the abiding prevalence of honour, of

virtue, and of true religion, to exhibit the faireft
fpecimen of civil government that ever was feen on
earth, and a national character and condud not un-
worthy of the ineilimabie bieilings that we enjoy.
Our excellent Sovereign, at his acceflion to the
throne, declared to his Parliament that he gloried
IN HAVING been BORN A BrjtON.— Would tO God
that
objeft (it faid)but to fupport the Revolution, which had dri-

ven James II. from the throne of his anceftors.
Orleans made of this aflbciation a true Jacobin Club. It en-—
tered into correfpondence with the Committee of Enquiry of our
Commune, with the fame Committee of our Jacobin Club, and
at laft with our National Aflembly. It even fent to the Affem-
we may fee the following pafTages
bly an oftenfible letter, in which :
" The Society congratulate the National Aflembly of France

" on the Revolution which has taken place in that country. It
** cannot but earneftly wifh for the happy conclufion of fo im-
" portant a Revolution, aiW, at the fame time, exprefs the ex-
*' treme fatisfaftion which it feels in refledling on the glorious
*' example which France has given to the world." (The Reader
will remark, that in this example are contained all the horrors
which had been exhibited in France before the month of March
1790 ; and that before this time, the condudl of the Duke of
Orleans on the 5th and 6th of October 1789, with all the Shock-
ing atrocities of thofe days, were fully known in England.)
" The Society refolves unanimoufly to invite all the people of
*' England to eftablifli Societies through the kingdom, to fupport
" the pi'/nciples of the Revolution, to form correfpondence be-

*' tween themfelves, and by thefe means to eftablifh a great con-
*' certed Union of all the trueFriends of Liberty."
Accordingly (fays the French author) this Was executed, and

Jacobin Clubs were eftabliflied in feveral cities of England, Scot-
land, and Ireland. 2 Y
366 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. IV.
t'nat all and each of kad entertained the

bis fubjeds
ianie lofty notions of this good fortune ! Then
would they have laboured, as he has done for near
forty years, to fupport the honour of the Britilh
name bv fctting as bright an example of domeflic
and of public virtue. —
Then would Britons have
been indeed the boall: of humanity —
then we fhould
have viewed thefe wicked plots of our neighbours
with a fmile of contempt, and of lincere pity— and
there would have been no need of this impeifed
but well-meant performance.
[ 36? ]
Pojifcript.
A LTHOUGHfaw no reafon to doubt of the

I
validity of the proofs which I have offered in the
preceding pages, of a confpiracy againft the
deareft interefls of every nation of Europe, nor
of the importance of the information to my own
countrymen, it gives me great fatisfaftion to
learn that it has been received witli favour and
indulgence. This I may conclude from the im-
preffion's being exhaufted in a few days, and be-
caufe the publidier informs me that another edi-
tion wanted immediately. I could have wifli-
is
ed that this were deferred for fome time, that I

might have availed myfelf of the obiervations of
others, and be enabled to correct the miftakes
into which I have been led by my fcanty know-
ledge of the German langua^7;e, and the miftakes
of the writers from whom I derived all my in-
formations. I fliould, in that cafe, have attempt-
ed to make the work more worthy of the public

eye, by correcting many imperfedtions, v;hich
the continual diftradtion of bad health, and my
hafte to bring it before the public, have occafion-
ed. have made the difpofition more na-
I flioLi-ld
tural and pcrfpicuoiis, and have lopped oft fome

redundances and repetitions. But the printer tells
me, that this woidd greatly retard the publication,
by changing the feries of the pages. At any
rate, I am not at prefentin a condition to engage
in any work that requires difpatch. I mull yield
therefore to thofe reafons, and content myfelf

with fuch corre£lions as can be made immediately.
I have found, after minute enquiry, that I
was miftaken as to the expreilion of an eminent
follower
68 POSTCRIl'T.
follower of Dr. Prieftley, mentioned before.

The perfon alluded to difclaims all fanguinary
proceedings, and my information arofe from a
very erroneous account which was circulated of
the convcrfation. But 1 ftill think the caution
equally neceflary, which 1 recommended to the
hearers of the frequent and violent declamations
made by thofe alluded to, againll all religious
ellabliftiments.
Except the anecdote of Diderot's library, I do
not recollecft another alTertion in the book, for
which I have not the authority of printed evidence.
Thisftory was told m.e by fo many perfons of cre-
dit, who were on the fpot at the time, that I
have no doubt of its truth.
I alfo find that I was miflaken in my conjec-
ture that Mr. Zd" Frc?/7(: communicated his fufpi-
cions of the horrid defigns of the Free Mafons
to Archbifliop Gubc-f, It muft have been to Mr,
Le Clerc de yiiigne^ a mod worthy prelate, whom
the hatred of the Jacobins obliged to fly into
Switzerland. The Catholic clergy were butch-
ered or banifhed, and the jacobins fubftituted in
their places fuch as would fecond their views.
Gobet was worthy of their confidence, and the
ArchbiPiop of Thculoiife ( Brienne ) himfelf could
not have ferved the caufe of the philofophiits
more effectually, had they fucceeded in their at-
tempts to get him continued Archbifliop of Paris.
As the poetical pitflure of unqualified Liberty
and Equality, and the indolent pleafures of the
patriarchal life, are the charm by which the Illu-
minators hope to fafcinate all hearts, and as they
reprobate every conftrucftion of fociety which to-
lerates any permanent fubordination, and parti-
cularly fuch as found this fubordination on dif-
tindions
POSTSCRIPT. 369
tin£lions of ranks, and fcout all privileges allow-
ed to particular orders of men, I hope that it
will not be thought foreign to the general purpofe
of the foregoing Work, if, I with great defer-
ence, lay before the Reader fome of my reafons
for aiferting, without hefitation, in a former part,
that the Britifliconditution is the only one that will
give permanent happinefs to a great and luxurious
nation, and is peculiarly calculated to give full
exercife to the beft propeniities of cultivated
minds. I am the more defirous of doing this, be-
caufe it feems to me that molt of the political

writers on the Continent, and many of my coun-
trymen, have not attended to important circum-
flances which diflinguifh our conltitution from the
States General orTrance and other countries.
The republicans in France have, fince the Revo-
lution, employed the pains in fearching their re-
cords, which ought to have been taken before
the convocation of the States, and which wôuld
probably have prevented that ftep altogether.
They have (hewn that the meetings of the States,
if we except that in 1614 and 1483, were uni-
formly occalions of mutual contefts between the
different Orders, in which the interefbs of the na-
tion and the authority of the Crov/n were equally
forgotten, and the kingdom was plunged into all
the horrors of a rancorous civil war. Of this
they give us a remarkable indance during the
captivity of King John in 1355 and 1356, the
horrors of which were hardly exceeded by any
thing that has happened in our days. They have
fhewn the fame difmal confequences of the aiTem-
bly of the different Orders in Brabant ; and Hill
more remarkably in Sweden and Denmark, where
they have frequently produced a revolution and
change of government, all of which have termi-
nated
^yO POSTCHTPT.
nated the abfoliite government, either of the

in
Crown, or of one of the contending Orders. They
laugh at the fimplicity of the Britifli for expesfl-
ing that the permanent fruits of our conlHtution,
which is founded on the fame jarring principles,
fhali be any better ; and alfcrt, that the peaceable
excrcife of its feveral powers for fomewhat more
than a century, (a thing never experienced by
us in former times,) has proceeded from circum-
fbances merely accidental. With much addrefs
they have feiefted tlie former diliurbances, and
have conncdled them by a fort of principle, fo as
to iupport their fyftem, " that a States General
" or Parliament, confilling of a reprefentation of
" the diiFerent claiTes of citizens, can never deli-
" berate for the general good, but mud always
" occupy their time in contentions about their
" mutual invafions of privilege, and will faddle
" every aid to the executive power, v^îtli fome
" unjuit and ruinous aggrandifement of the vifto-
" rious Order." They have
the effrontery to
give the Magna
Charta as an inflance of an
ufurpation of the great feudatories, and have re-
prefented it in fuch a light as to make it the game
of their writers and of tiie tribunes. All this —
they have done in order toreconcile the minds of
the few thinking men of the nation to the aboli-
tion of the different Orders of the State, and to
their National Convention in the form of a chao-
tic mafs of Frenchmen, one and indivifible :
Non bene junclarum difcord'ia Jem'ina rerum,

Ubi frigida piicgnahant caltdis, humentia Jlcc'is,
Mollia cum diir'is , fine pondere hahent'ia pondus.
Their reafonings would be juft, .-.nd their proofs

from hiftory v. ould be convincing, if their pre-
mifes
POSTSCRIPT. 27^
miles were true : if the Britiih Parliameut were

really an alTembly of three Orders, either perlbn-
ally, or by reprelentation, deliberating apart, each
having a veto on the dccifionsof the other two*
And I apprehend that moil of my countrymen,
who have not had occafion to canvas the fubjedt
with in.Lich attention, fLsppofc this to be really ihe
Britiih Conftitution : for, in the ordinary table
converfations on the fubjcct, they feldom go far-
ther, and talk with great complacence of the bal-
ance of hoftile powers, of the King as the umpire
of differences, and of the peace and profperity
that refults from the whole.
But I cannot help thinking that this is a mifcon-
ception, almoil: in every circumftance. 1 do not
know any oppofite interells in the State, except

the general one of the governor and the governed,
the king and the fubje£t. — If there is an umpire
in our conftitution, it is the houfe of Lords — but
this is not as a reprefentation of the perfons of
birth, but as a court of hereditary magiftrates:
the Peers do not meet to defend their own privi-
leges as citizens, but either as the counfellors of
the King, or as judges in the laft refort. The
privileges for which we fee them fometimes con-
tend, are not the privileges of the high-born, of
the great valTals of the Crown, but the privileges
of the Houfe of Lords, of the fupreme Court of
Judicature, or of the King's Council. In all the
nations on the Continent, the dinerent Orders, as
they are called, of the State, are corporations,
bodies politic, which have jurlididion within
tliemlelves, and rights w^hich they can maintain
at their own hand, and privileges which mark
them mofl diilin<Stly, and produce fuch a complete
feparation between the different Orders, that they
can no more mix than oil and water. Yet the
great
372 POSTSCRIPT.
great prcfulcnt Montefquieu fays, that the Peerage

of England is a body of Nobility ; and he ufesthei
term body in the fl:ri£l fenfc now mentioned, asfy-
nonymous to corporation. He has repeatedly uled
this term to denote the lecond order of French-
men, perions of noble birth, or ennobled, (that
is, vefted in the privileges and difhinftions of the
nobly born,) united bylaw, and having authority

to maintain their privileges. The hiilory of
France, nay of our own country, (liows us that
this body may enjoy all its diftindlions of nobility,
and that the Great Barons may enjoy the preroga-
tives of their baronies, although the authority of
the Crown is alnioft annihilated. —
Wê have no
cogent reafon, therefore, for thinking that they
will be conilantly careful to fupport the authority
of the Crown : and much lefs to believe thatthev
will, at the fame time, watch over the liberties
of the people. In the eledtion of their reprefenta-
tives, (for the whole body of the gentlemen mufl: ap-
pear by reprefentation,) we muft not expedt that
they will fcletl fucli of their own number as will
take care of thofe two effential objeils of our con-
iHtution.— Equally jealous of the authority of the
Crown and of the encroachments of all thofe who
are not gentlemen, and even fearful of the af-
luraptions of tlie Great Barons, the powerful in-
dividuals of their own order, they will always
choofe fuch reprefentatives as v.'ill defend their
own rights in the firfl place. Such perlbns are by
no means fit for maintaining the proper authority
of the Crown, and keeping the reprefentatives of
the lower claifes within proper bounds.
But this is not the nature of our Houfe of Lords
in the prefentday. It was fo formerly in a great
jTieafure, and had the fame etfeiVs as in other
countries. But fmce the Revolution, the Peers
of
POSTSCRIPT. 273
of Great- Britain have no important privileges which
relate merely or chiefly to birch. Thefe all refer
to their fundtions as Magiflrates of the Supreme
Court. The King can, at any time, place in this
Houfe any eminent perfon whom he thinks worthy
of the office of hereditary magiflrate. The Peers
are noble — that is, remarkable, Illuftrious ; but are
not neccfiarily, nor in every inftanre, perfons of
high birth. This Houfe therefore is not, in any
fort, the reprefentative of what is called in France
the NoblelTe — a particular call of the nation; —nor
is it a jundlion of the proprietors of the great fees
of the Crown, as fuch ; —

for many, very many, of
the greateft baronies are in the hands of thofe we
call Commoners. — They fit as the King's Counfel-
lors, or as Judges. — Therefore the members of our
Upper Houfe are not fwayed by the prejudices of
any clafs of the citizens. They are hereditary ma-
gilfrates, created by the Sovereign, for his counfel,
to defend his prerogatives, to hold the balance be-
tween the throne and the people. The greateft part
of the Nobility (in the continental fenfe of the word)
are not called into this Houfe, but they may be
members of the Lower Houfe, which we call the
Commons nay the fons and the brothers of the
;
Peers arc in the fame ficuation. The Peers there-

fore cannot be hoftile or indifferent to the liberty,
the rights, or the happinefs of the Commons, with-
out being the enemies of their own families. •
Nor is our Houfe of Commons at ail fimilar to
x\\t Third Eftate oi 3iny of the neighbouring king-
doms. They are not the reprefentatives of the ig-

nobly born, or of any clafs of citizens. The mem-
bers are the proper reprefentatives of the whale na-
tioyiy and confift of perfons of every clafs, perfons
of the higheft birth, perl'ons of great fortune, perfons

of education, of knowledge, of talents.
2 Z Thus
374 POSTSCRIPT.
Tluis the caules of difTennon which refer to the

diftinCtive rights or prerogatives of the different
claffcs of citizens are removed, becaufe in each
Houfe there are many individuals feledted from all
the claffes.
A Peer, having attained the higheft honours of
the date, mull be an enemy to every revolution.
Revolution mufi: certainly degrade him, vi'hether it
places an abfolute monarch, or a democratic junto,
on the throne.
The Sovereign naturally looks for the fupport of
the Upper Houfe, and in every meafure agreeable
to the confticution, and to the public weal, exerts
his influence on the Houfe of Commons. Here
the charaifter of the monarch and his choice of mf-
nifters muft appear, as in any other conftitution ;
but with much lefs chance of danger to political li-
berty. —The great engine of monarchy in Europe,
has been the jarring privileges of the different Or-
ders ; and the Sovereign, by fiding with one of
them, obtained acceffions of prerogative and pow-
er. —It was thus that, under the Houfe of Tudor,
our conftitution advanced with hafty flrides to ab-

Jblute monarchy ; and would have attained it, had
James the Firft been as able as he was willing to fe-
cure what he firmly believed to be the divine rights
of his Crown.
I do not recollect hearing the lov/er ranks of the
State venting much of their difcontents againft the
Peers, and they feem to perceive pretty clearly
the advantages arifing from their prerogatives.
They feem to look up to them as the firft who will
proteft them againft the agents of Ibvereignty.
They know that a man may rife from the loweft
ftation to the peerage, and that in that exaltation
he remains conntded with themfelvcs by the dear-
eft
POSTSCRIPT. 375
eft ties and the Houfe of Commons take no of-
;
fence a'c the creation of new Peers, becaufe their

privileges as a Court, and their private rights, are
not affecled by it. Accordingly, the Houfe has al-
ways oppofed every project of limiting the. King's
prerogative in this rei'pcd:.
How unlike is all this to the conftitution confift-
ing of the pure reprefentatives of the Privileged
Orders of the Continental States. The felf-con-
ceited conftitutionalifts of France faw fomething
in the Britifli Parliament which did not fall in with
their own hajiy notions, antl prided themfelves in
not copying from us. This would have indicated
great poverty of invention in a nation accuftomed
to confider itfelf as the teacher of mankind. The
moft fenfible of them, however, wiflied to have a
conftitution vvhich they called znimprovement of ours:
and this was the fimple plan of a reprejentation of the
two or three Orders of the State. Their Upper
Houfe fhould contain the reprefentatives of 100,000
noblefie. The Princes of the Blood and Great
Barons fliould fit in it of their own right, and the
reft by deputies. The Lower Houfe, or Tiers Etat,
fliould con fi ft of deputies from thofe ignobly born ;
fuch as merchants, perfons in the lower offices of
the law, artifans, peafants, and a fmall number of
freeholders. Surely it needs no deep refleftion to
teach ws what fort of deliberations would occupy
fuch a houfe. It would be a moft ufcful occupation
however, to perufe the hiftory of France, and ofother
nations, and fee wha.t renlly did occupy the Tiers Etat
thus conftru6led, and v.'hat were their proceedings,
their decifions, and the fteps which they' took to
make them eft'edual. I have no doubt but that this
ftudy v^'ouid cure moft of our advocates for general
eligibility, and for general fuffrage. I have lately
reacl
376 POSTSCRIPT,
read Velley and Villaret's Hiftory of France, (by

the bye, the Abbe Barruel has fhevvn that the Club
d'Holbach managed the publication of this Hif-
tory after the firft eight or ten volumes, and flipped
inco it many things fuited to their impious projeft,)
and the accountsof the troublcfome reigns of John,
and Charles his fucceflbr, by authors who wrote
long before the Revolution ; and they filled me with
horror. The only inftance that I met with of any
thing like moderation in the claims and difputes of
the different Orders of their States General, and of
patriotifm, or regard for the general intercfls of the
State, is in their meetings during the minority of
Charles VIII.
With refpeift to the limitations of the eligibility
into the Houfe of Commons, Ithink that there can
be no doubt that thofe lliould be excluded whofe
habits of needy and laborious life have precluded
them from all opportunities of acquiring fome gene-
ral views of political relations. Such perfons are
totally unfit for deliberations, where general or
comprehenfive views only are to be the fubjetls of
difcufTion -, they can have no conceptions of the fub-
jecl:, and therefore no fteady notions or opinions,
but muH: change them after every fpeaker, and muft

become the dupes of every demagogue.
But there are other circumftances which make me
think that, of all the clafTes of citizens, the land
proprietors are the fitted for holding this important
ofBce. I do not infer this from their having a more
real connexion with the nation, and a ftronger in-
tereft in its fate— I prefer them en account of their
general habits of thought. Almoft all their ordina-

ry tranfaftions are fuch as make them acquainted
with the interefts of others, caufe them to confider
thofe in general points of view i and, in fhort, mofb
of
POSTSCRIPT. 377
of their occupations arc, in fo me degree, national.

They are accuftomed to fettle differences between
thofe of lower flations —
they are frequently in the
King's commiffion as Juftices of the Peace. All
thefe circumfbances make them much apter fcholars
in that political knowledge, which is abfolutely ne-
ccflary for a member of the Roufc of Commons.
But, befides this, have no hefitation in faying
I
that their turn of mind, their principles of conducSt,
are more generally fuch as become a Senator, than
thofe o^ any other clafs of m.en. This clafs includes
almofl: all men of family. cannot help think-
I
ing that even what is called family pride is a fenti-

ment in their favour. I am convinced that all our
propenfities are ufeful in fociety, and that their bad
efTe6ts arife wholly from v/ant of moderation in the
indulgence of them, or fometinies from the impro-
priety of the occafion on which they are exerted.
What propenfity is more general than the delire of
acquiring permanent confideration for ourfelves and
our families ? Vvhereisther/ian to be found fomean-
fpirited as not to value him.felf for being born of
creditable parents, and for creditable domcftic con-
nections ? Is this v^rong becaufe it has been abufed ?
So then is every pre-eminence of office ; and the
direftors of republican France are as criminal as
her form.er Nobles. This propenfity oi the human
heart fhould no more be rejeded than the defire of
power. It fhould be regulated —
but it Ihould cer-
tainly be made ufe of as one of the means of car-
rying on the national bufmefs. I think that we know
—
fome of its good tffccls It incites to a certain pro-
priety of conduct that is generally agreeable— its
honefty is embcllifhed by a manner that makes it
more pleafmg. There is fomething that we call the
behaviour of a Genileman that is immediatly and uni-
formly underftood. The plaincft peafant or labour-
er
—
37? POSTSCRIPT.
er will i'-'iy of a man whom he cfteems in a certain

way, " He is a Gentleman, every bit of him,"
and he is perfectly underftcod by all who hear him
to mean, not a rank in life, but a turn of mind, a
tenor of conduct that is amiable and worthy, and
the ground of confidence. —
I remark, with fome
feeling of patriotic pride, that thefe are phrafes al-

—
moft peculiar to our language in Rufiia the words
vôuld have no meaning. But there, the Sovereign
is a defpot, and all but the Gentry are {laves and ;
the Gentry are at no pains to recommend their clafs

by fuch a diftindtion, nor to give currency to fuch
a phrafe.— I would infer from this peculiarity, that
Britain is the happy land, where the wifcft ufe has
been made of propenlity of the human heart.
this
If therefore there be a foundation for this pecu-
liarity, the Gentry are proper objedts of our choice
for filling the Houfe of Commons.
If theoretical confiderations are of any value in
queftions of political difcuffion, I would fay, that
we have good reafons for giving this clafs of citizens
a great fliare in the public deliberations. Befides
what I have already noticed of their habits of confi-
dering things in general points of view, and their
feeling a clofer connection with the nation than any
other clafs, I would fay that the power and influence
v^hich naturally attach to tlieir being called to offices
of public truft, will probably be better lodged in
rheir hands. If they are generally felefted for thefe
offices, they come to confider them as parts of their
civil condition, as fituations natural to them. They
v/ill therefore exercife this power and influence with
the moderation and calmnefs of habit, —

they are no
novelties to them —they are not afraid oflofingtheni;
— therefore, when in office, they do not catch at the
opportunities of cxercifing them. This is the ordi-
nary
POSTSCRIPT. 379
nary conduft of men, and therefore is a ground of
probable reafoning. —
In fhort, I fhoiildexpe6t from
our Gentry fomewhat of generoficy and candour,
which would temper the commercial principle,
which feems to regulate the national tranfadions of
modern Europe, and whofe effefts fecm Icfs friend-
ly to the bell interefts of humanity, than even the
Roman principle of glory.
The Reader will now believe that I would not
recommend Houfe of Commons with
the filling the
merchants, although they feem to be the natural Re-
prcfenratives of the monied intereft of the nation.
But I do not wilh to confiderthat Houfe as the Re-
prefentativc of any Orders whatever, or to difturb
its deliberations with any debates on their jarring
intcrefts. The man of purely commercial notions
difclaims all generofity — recommends honefty be-
caule it is the beft policy — in fliort, ^- places the
" value of a thing in as much m.oney as'twilibring."
I fhould watch the conduft of fuch men more nar-
rowly than that of the Nobles. Indeed, the hiftcry

of Parliament will fhow that the Gentry have not
been the moft venal part of the Floufe. The Illu-
mination which now dazzles the world aims diredly
at multiplying the nuniber of venal members, by
filling- the fenates of Europe with mien who may be
bought at a low price. Mini fte rial corruption is

the fruit of Liberty, and freedom dawned in this na-
tion in Queen
Elizabeth's time, when her minifter
bribed Wentworth. —A
wife and free Legiflation
will endeavour to make this as cxpenfive and trou-
blefome as pofiible, and therefore will neither ad-
mit univerfal fuffragenora very extenfiveeligibility.
Thcfe two circi-imilances, befides opening a wider
door to corruption, tend to deftroy tiie verv inten-
tion of ail civil conilicurions. The great objeft in
them
;
'
380 POSTSCRIPT.
them is, to make a great number of people happy.

Some men place their chief enjoyment in meafuring
their ftrength with others, and love to be continually
employed in canvafling, intriguing, and carrying on
fome little pieces of a
of public bufinefs j to
fort
fuch men univerfal fiiffrage and eligibility would be
paradife —
but it is to be hoped that the number of
fuch is not very great for this occupation muft be
:
accompanied by much difquitt among their neigh-

bours, much dilTenfion, and mutual offence and ill-
will— and the peaceable, the indolent, the f.udious,
and the half of the nation, the women, will be great
fufferers by all this. In a nation poiTelTing many
of the comforts and pleafures of life, the happieft
s;overnment is that which will leave the greateit
number poflible totally unoccupied with national
affairs, and at full liberty to enjoy all their domef-
tic and focial pleafures, and to do this with fccurity
and permanency. Great limitations in the right of
ele<fcing fcems therefore a circumftance neceffary
for this purpofe and limitations are equally ne-
-,
ceffary on the eligibility. When the offices of

power and emolument are open to ail, the fcramble
becomes univerfal, and the nation is never at peace.
The read to a feat in Parliament fhould be acceffi-
ble to all but it fliould be long, ib that many
;
things, which all may in time obrain, ihall be re-

quifite for qualifying the candidate. The road
iliould alfo be fuch that all fliould be induced to walk
in it, in the profecution of their ordinary bufinefs
and their admiffion into public offices fliould depend
on the progrefs v;hich they have made in the ad-
vancement of their own fortunes. Such regula-
tions would, I think, give the grrateff chance of
tilling the offi.ces v.iih perfons fictcil for them, by
their
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATl, 185
Then let us refle<5l that it is woman that is to grace

the whole — It is in nature, it is the very conftitution of
man, that woman, and every connected with
thing
woman, muft appear as the ornament of life. That
this mixes with every other focial fentiment, appears
from the condu6l of our fpecies in all ages atid in eve y
fituation. This I prefume would be the cafe even
though there were no qualities in the fex to juftify it.
This fentiment refpe6ting th^ fex is neceiiary, in order
to rear fo helplefs, fo nice, and fo improvtablc a crea-
ture as man without it, the long abiding talk could
;
not be performed : —
and I think that I may venture
to fay that it is performed in the different fâtes of "i^)-
ciety nearly in proportion as this preparatory and indif-
penlablc fentiment is in force.
On the other hand, I think it no lefs evident that it
is the defire of the women to be agreeable to the men,
and that they will model themfelves according to what

they think will pleafe. Without this adjullment of
fentiments by nature, nothing would go on. We ne-
ver obferve any fuch want of fymmetry in the works
of Godc If, therefore, thofe who take the Icadi, and
give the fafhion in fociety, were wife and virtuous, I
have no doubt but that the women would fet the
brightcft patiern of every thing that is excellent. But
if the men are nice and faftidious fenfualifts, the women
will be refined and elegant voluptuaries.
There is no deficiency in the female mind, either in
talents or in difpoficions nor can we fay with certainty
;
that there is any fubjed of intellecftual or moral difcuf-

fion in which women have not excelled. If the deli-
cacy of their conftitution, and other phyfical caufcs,
allow the female fex a fmaller fliare of fome mental
powers, they poffcfs others in a fuperior degree, which
are no Icfs rcfpeftable in their own nature, an of as 1
great importance to fociety. Inftead of dcfcanting at

1 A lar:.c
l86 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. Ii;
large on their powers of mind, and fupporting my af-

fertionsby the infl-anccs of a Hypatia, a Schurman, a
Zenobia, an Elizabeth, &c. I may reprat the account
given of the fcx by a perfon of uncommon experience,
who faw them without difguife, or any motive that
—
could lead them to play a feigned part' Mr. Lcdyard,
who traverfed the greateft part of the! world, for the
mere indulgence of his tafte for obfervation of human
nature generally in want, and often in extreme mi-
j
fery.
*' Ihave (fays he) always remarked that women,
" in all countries, are civil, obliging, tender, and hu-
*' mane that they are ever inclined to be gay and
;
" cheerful, timorous and modcftj and that they do

«^ not hefitate, like men, to perform a kind or gene-
cc
tc
rous adion. —
Not haughty, not arrogant, not fu-
percilious, they are full of courtefy, and fond of fo-
tc
ciety —
more liable in general to err than man, but
in general, alfo, more virtuous, and performing
" more good aftions than he. To a woman, whether
'^ civilized or favage, I never addnffed mylelf in the
" language of decency and friendlhip — without receiv-
*' ing a decent and friendly anfwer —with man it has
" often been otherwife.
In wandering over the barren plains of in-
a hofpitable Denmark, through honeft Sweden, and
<c
frozen Lapland, rude and churlifh Finland, unprin-
*<
** cipled Rufila, and the wide fpread regions of the wan-
i(
dering Tartar, —
if hungry, dry, cold, wet, or fick,
(t
the women have ever been friendly to me, and uni-
cc
formly fo and to add to this virtue, (fo worthy of
;
<c
the appellation of benevolence,) thefe actions have
been performed in fo free and fo kind a manner, that
cc
if I was thirfty, I drank the fweeteft draught, and
iC
if hungry, I ate the coarfe meal with a double
" relifh."
And
And thcfc are they whom

Weifliaupt would cor-
rupt ! One of thefe, whom
he had embraced with
fondnefs, would he have murdered, to fave his honour,
and qualify himfelf to preach virtue But let us not be
!
tooftvere on Wcifhaupt —
let us wafh ourfelves clear
of all (lain before we think of reprobating him. Are

we not guilty in fome degree, when we do not culti-
vate in the women thole powers of mind, and thofe
difpofitions of heart, which would equally dignify them
in every ftation as in thofe humble ranks in which Mr.
Ledyard moft frequently faw them ? I cannot think
that we do this. They are not only to grace the whole
of cultivated fociety, but it is in their faithful and af-
fe6lionate perfonai attachment that we are to find the
fweeteft pleafurcs that life can give. Yet in all thefe
fituations where the manner in which they are treated
is not di(5lated by the ficrn laws of necefiity, are they
not trained up for mere amufement —

are not ierious
occupations confidered as a talk which hurts their love-
linefs ? What is this but felfifhnefs, or as if they had
no virtues worth cultivating? Their ûjinefs is fuppofed
to be the ornameniino- themfelves, as if nature did- noc
didlate this to them already, with at leaft as much
force as is neceffary. Every thing
prcfcnbed to
is
—
them hecauje it makes them more lovely even their moral
leffons are enforced by this argument, and Mifs WooU
lloncraft is perftdly right when fiie fays that the fine
lefTons given to young women by Fordyce or RoulTeau
are nothing but felfifli and refined voluptuoufnefs. This
advocate of her fcx puts her filters in the proper point
of view, when fiie tells them that they are, like man^
the fubjefts of God's moral government, like man, —
preparing themfelves for boundlefs improvement in a
better ftate of exiftence. Had (lie adhered to this view
of the matter, and kept it conftantly in fight, her book
(which doubtlefs contain* many excellent things, highly
defervins:
l88 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP, 11.
deferving of their ferious confideration) would have

been moil valuable work.
a She juftly obfcrves, that
the virtues of the fcx are great and refpediable, but
that in our mad chacc of pleafure, only pleafure, they
are little thought of or attended to. Man trufts to his
own uncontroulable power, or to the general goodnefs
of the fex, that their virtues will appeiir when we have
occafion for them -,
—
" but we will fend for thefc fomc
" other time :" —Many noble difplays do they make
of the moll difficult attainments. Such is the patient
bfaring up under misfortunes, which has no brilliancy
to fupport it in the effort. This is more difficult than
braving danger in an adlive and confpicuous fituation.
How often is a woman left with a family, and the fliat-
tered remains of a fortune, loft perhaps by difTipation
or by indolence — and how feldom, how very feldom,
do we fee woman fhrink from the taflv, or difchargc it
with negligence ? Is it not therefore folly next to mad-
ncfs, not to be careful of this our greateft bleffing of—
things which fo nearly concern our peace —nor guard
ourfeives, and thefe our beft companions and friends,
from the effects of this fatal Illumination? It has in-
deed brought to light what dreadful lengths men will
go, when under the fanatical and dazzling glare of hap-
pinel's in a (late of liberty and equality, and fpurred on-
by infatiable luxury, and not held in check by moral
—
feelings and the reftraints of religion and mark, reader,
that the women have here alfo taken the complexion of the
men, and have even gone beyond them. If wehavefcena
fon prefent himfelf to the National Affembly of France,
profeffing his fatisfaflion with the execution of his fa-
ther three days before, and declaring himfelf a true
citizenj who prefers the nation to all other confidera-
tions ; we hive alfo fecn, on the fame day, wives de-
nouncing their hufbands, and (O fliocking to human
nature !) mothers denouncing their Ions, as bad ci-
tizens
{
tizens and traitors. Mark

too what return the women
have met with for all their horrid fervices, where, to
cxprcfs their fentiments of civitm and abhorrence of
royalty, they threw away the chara6ber of their fex,
and bit the amputated limbs of their murdered coun-
trymen*. Surely thefe patriotic women merited that
the rights of their fex fliould be confidered in full coun-
cil,and they were well entitled to a feat ; but there is
not a fingle a6l of their government in which the fex is
confidered as having any rights whatever, or that they
are things to be cared for.
Are not the accurfcd fruits of Illumination to be (ccn
of woman in France?
in the prefenthumiliating condition
pampered in every thing that can reduce them to the
mere inftruments of animal pleafure. In their prefenc
ftate of national moderation (as they call it) and fe-
curity, fee Madame
Tallien come into the public thea-
tre, accompanied by other beautiful women, (I was
about to have mifnamed them Ladies,) laying afidc all
modefty, and prefenting themfclves to the public view,
with bared limbs, a la Sauvage^ as the alluring obje£i:s
of defire. I make no doubt but fenous
that this is a
matter, encouraged, nay, prompted by government.
To keep the minds of the Parifians in the prefent fe-
ver of difiblute gaiety, they are at more expcnce from
the national treafury for the fupportof the fixty theatres,
than all the pcnfions and honorary offices in Britain,
three times told, amount to. Was not their abomina-
ble farce in the church of Notre Dame a bate of the
fame kind in the true fpirit oiV^t\CnA^^î\ Eroterion?
* I fay this on the authority of a young gentleman, an emigrant,

who faw it, and who faid, that they were women, not of the dregs
of the Palais Royal, nor of infamous charader, but well drelTcd.—
am forry to add, that the relation, accompanied with looks of hor-
ror and dilguft, only provoked a contemptuous fmile from an illami-
nated Britifh Fair-one.
:
ipO THE ILLUMINaTI. CMAP. II.
*•
We do not," laid the high prieft, " call you to tha
" worihip of inanimate idols. Behold a mafter-piece
" of nature, (lifting up the veil which concealed the
" naked charms of the beautiful Madmf. Barbier) :
" This facred image fliould inflame all hearts." And

it did fo ; the people fliouted out, " No more altars,
" no more priefts, but the God of Nature."
no God
Orleans, the rirft prince of the blood, did not fcruplc
to proftitute his daughter, if not to the embraces, yet
to the wanton view of the public, with the precife in-
tention of inflaming their defires. (See the account
given of the dinners at Sillery's, by Camille Defmou-
lines, in his fpeech againfl: the BriflTotins.) But what
will be the end of all this ? The fondlings of the weal-
thy will be pampered in all the indultiences which
faftidious voiu})tuoufnefs finds necefTary for varying or
enhancing its pleafuresj but they will either be flighted
as toys, or they will be immured ; and the companions
of the poor will be drudges and flaves.
I am fully perfuaded that it was the enthufiafl:ic ad-
miration of Grecian democracy that recommended to
the French nation the drefs a la Grecque, which exhibits
not the elegant, ornamented beauty, bur the alluring
female, fully as well as Madame Tallien's dre{s a la
Sauvage. It was no doubt with the fame adherence to
Jerious principky Mademoifelle Therouanne was
that
moil beautifully drefl"ed a V Amazonne on the 5th of
Oftobcr 1789, when flie turned the heads of fo many
young oflicers of the regiments at Verfailles. The
Cythera, the hominum divunque voluptas, at the cathe-
dral of Notre Dame, was alfo dreflêd a la Grecque
There is a mofb evident and chara6teriftic change in
the whole fyflrem of female drefs in France. The Filles
de rOpera always gave the /o;/, and were furely withheld
by no rigid principle. They fometimes produced
very extravagant and fanwllic forms, but thefe were
aim oft
CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATl. I9I
almoft always in the flyle of the higheft ornament, and

they trufled, for the reft of the imprefiion which they
wifhed to make, to the fafcinaringcxpreffion of elegant
movements. This indeed was wonderful, and hardly
conceivable by any who have not feen a grand ballet
performed by good aftors. I have fhed rears of the
moft fincere and tender forrow during the exhibition of
Antigone, fet to mufic by Traetca, and performed by
Madame Meilcour and S^^ Torelli, and Zantini. I can
eafily conceive the imprefiion to be ftill ftronger, though
perhaps of another kind, when the former fuperb drcf-
fes are changed for the expreffive fimplicity of the
Grecian. cannot help thinking that the female orna-
I
ments in the reft of Europe, and even among ourfelves,
have lefs elegance fmce we loft the fanftion of the
French court. But fee how all this will terminate,
when we fhall have brought the fex lb low, and will
not even wait for a Mahometan paradife. What can
we expefb but fuch adifiblutenefs of manners, that the
endearing ties of relation and family, and mutual con-
fidence within doors, will be flighted, and will ceafc ;
and every man muft ftand up for himfcif, fmgle and
alone ?
F^cunda culfd: Jacula nwpt'ias

Primum inquinavere, et genus j et domos,
Hocfonte der'vvata clades
In -patriam ôfulumqiie flux'it . Hor. iii. 6. 17.
This not the fuggeftion of prudifn fear, I think it is

is
the natural courfc of things, and that France is at this

moment giving to the world the fulleft proof of
WeiHiaupt's fagacity, and the judgment with vvhich he
has formed his plans. Can it tend to the improvement
of our morals or manners to have our ladies frequent
the gymnaftic theatres, and fee them decide, like the
Roman
—
192 THE ILLUMINATl. CHAP. 11'.
Roman matrons, on the merits of a naked gladiator or

wreftlcr ? Have we not enoDgh of this already with our
vaultcrs and pofture-maftcrs, and fhould we admire
any lady who had a rage for fuch fpedlacles ? Will it
improve our taile to have our rooms ornamented with
fuch paintings and fculptures as filled the cenaculum,
and the ftudy of the icfined and elegant moralift Ho-
race, who had the art ridendo diiere verum ? Shall
we be improved when fuch indulgences arc thought
compatible with fuch Icflbns as he generally gives for
the condud: of life ? The
pure Morality of Illumina-
tifm is now employed in ftripping Italy of all thofe pre-
cious remains of ancient art and voluptuoufnefs and j
Paris will ere long be the depofit and the refort of ar-
tifts from all nations, there to ftudy the works of an-
cient mailers, and to return from thence panders of

public corruption. The plan is mafterly, and the low-
born Statcfmen and Generals of France may in this ref-
pedt be fct on a level with a Colbert or a Conde. But
the conlVquences of this Gallic dominion over the
minds of fallen man will be as dreadful as their domi-
nion over their lives and fortunes.
RecolIe6l in what manner Spartacus propofed to
corrupt his fifters (for we need not fpeakof the manner
in which he expefted that this would promote his plan
— this is abundantly plain). It was by deftroying their
moral fentiments, and their fentiments of religion. Re-

collect what is the recommendation that the Atheift
Minos gives of his llep-daughrers, when he fpeaks of
them, as proper perfons for the Lodge of Sifters.
" They have got over all prejudices, and, in matters
*' of religion they think as I do." Thefe profligates
judged rightly that this affair required much caution,
and that the utmoft attention to decency, and even de-
licacy, muft be obft-rved in their rituals and ceremo-
ilies, otherwife the women would be dijgiijled. This
was
POSTSCRIPT. 2^9
forward, never ceafes to enjoin his colleagues to

prefs the ftudy of natural hilioi y and colaiogony,
and carefully to bring forward every fadl which v/as
hoilile to the Mofaic accounts. It became a ferious
part of the exercifes of their wealthy pupils, and

their perplexing difcoverieswere moft oftentatioufly
difplayed. M. de Luc, a very eminent naturaliii,
has fhewn, in a letter to the Chevalier Dr. Zim-
mermann, (publiflied, I think, about the year 1790,)
how very fcanty the knowledge of chefe obfervers
has been, and how precipitate have been their con-
clufions. For my own part, I think the affair is
of little confequence. Mofes writes the hiftory,

not of this globe, but of the race of Adam.
The fcience of thefe philofophers is not remark-
able in other branches, if wc except M. d'Alem-
bert's mathematics*. Yet the impoiincr confidence
of Voltaire was fuch, that he paflcs for a perfon
fully informed, and he pronounces on every fubic(^
with fo much authority, with fuch a force of expref-
fion, and generally v^'ith fo much wit or pleafanrry,
that his hearers and readers are fafcinated, and loon
convinced of what they wifh to be true.
It is not by the wifdom nor by the profound
knowledge which thefe wq-itcrs difplay, that they
3 B have
• Never was there any thing more contemptible than th«

phyfical and mechanical pofitions in Diderot's great work, th»
Sypeme de la 'Nature, (Barruel affirms, that he was the author,
and got 100 piftoles for the copy, from the perfon wlio related
the ftory to him,) that long ago found that Diderot had afTifted
Robinet to make a book out of hi^ Mafonic Oration, which I
mentioned in page 41. Robinet trufted to Diderot's kao.vleJg*
in natural philofophy. Bat the Junto were afiiamed of the book
De la Nature. Diderot feems to have, after this, read Tir.
Hartley's book, and has greatly refined on the crude fyilem of
Robinet. But after all, the Syfiune de la Nature is contempiible,
if it be confidered as pretending to what is received as fcience.
t»y a mechanical philolopher.
—
390 POSTSCRIPT.
have acquired celebrity, a fame which has been fo

pernicious. It is by fine writing, by works ad-
drefled to the imagination and to the affedlions,
by excellent dramas, by afFedling moral efiays, full
of expreffions of the greatell refp.cdl for virtue, the
moft tender benevolence, and the higheft fenti-
ments of honour and dignity. —By thcfe means
they fafcinate all readers -,they gain the efteem of
the worthy, who imagine them fmcere, and their
pernicious doflrines are thus fpread abroad, and
ileal into the minds of the diflbiute, the licentious,
and the unwary.
But I am writing to Britons, who are confider-
cd by our neighbours on the Continent as a nation
of philofophers — to the countrymen of Bacon,
—
of Locke, of Newton who are not to be wheedled
like cliildren, but muft be reafoned with as men.
Voltaire, who decides vvithout hefitacion on the cha-
rafterof the moftdiftant nations in the moft remote
antiquity, did not know us :he came among us,
in the beginning of his career, with the higheft
cxpejStations of our fupport, and hoped to make his
fortune by his Pucelle d'Orleans. It was rejected
with difdain — but v/e publifhed his Henriade for
him and, notwithftanding his repeated difappoint-
:
ments of the fame kind, he durft not offend his

countrymen by flandering us, but joined in the pro-
found refpecb paid by all to Britifli fcience. — Our
writers, whether on natural or moral fcience, are
ftill regarded as ftandard claffics, and are ftudied
Vv'ith care. Lord Verulam is acknowledged by eve-

ry man of fcience to have given the firft juft de-
fcription of true philofophy, pointed out its objefts,
—
and afcertained its mode of procedure And New-
ton is equally allowed to have evinced the propriety
of the Baconian precepts by his unequalled fuccefs.
POSTSCRIPT. 391
—
Jua Mathefi facem preferente. The mofl: celebrated
philofophers on the Continent are thofe who have
completed by demonftration the wonderful guelTcs
of his penetrating genius. Bailli, or Condorcet,
(I forget which,)(truck with the inconceivable
reaches of Newton's thoughts, breaks out, in the
words of Lucretius,
Tefequor^ magnic getjth decusy mque tuis nunc

Fixa pedum pom prejfis vefi'igiafignis.
Tu pater et rerum inventor, tu patria nobis
Suppeditas precepta, tuifque ex inclute chartis^
Floriferls ut apes tnfaltihus omnia libar.t.
Omnia nos itidejn depafciynur aiirea diSIa ;
Aurea, perpetud ftmper digniffima vita.
After fuch avov.'als of cur capacity to inftruft

ourfelves, fliall we flill fly to thofe difturbers of the
vforld for our leffons ? No —
Let us rally round our
—
own ftandards let us take the path pointed out by
—
Bacon let us follow the fceps of Newton and, to —
conclude, let us ferioufly confider a moft excellent
advice by the higheft authority :
*^ Beware of falfe prophets, who come to you

cc
in flieep's cloathing, but inwardly they are ra-
cc
vening wolves BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHALL
(C
—
KNOW THEM Do men gather grapes of thorns,
" or figs of thiftles ?"
THE END.
To the Binder.
* 2 B, and * 2 C, are to be placed before 2 B,
thcfe pages being repeated.
J^.^:.
v^
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•^i^-

RELIGIONS AND GOVERNMENTS

IN THE SECRET MEETINGS

FREE MASONS, ILLUMINATI,

PROFESSOR OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, AND SECRETARY TO THE

Nam tua res agitur paries cum proximus ardet.

The THIRD EDITION.

It was ivith great Jat'isfacllon that I learned from a

^^UOD fi vera vitam ratioyie guhernet,

DiviticC grandes hominijunt^ vivere parce

Et tamen ejummo quafi fulmen dejicit i5ios

Ergo J Regibus cccifiSj Jubverja jacehat

Nam cupide conculcatur nimis ante metutum.

JjEING at a friend's houfe in the country during

was an account of the various fchifms in the Fraternity

chiefly frequented the Lodges on the Continent, I had

marked, that the whole was much more the objed of

Such too is the contagion of example, that

hinder myfclf from thinking one opinion better found-

praftice. I had been initiated in a very fpiendid Lodge

vifited the French Lodges at Valenciennes, at Brullcls,

Brother-orators of the Ledges. At St. Peteriburgh 1

as a Scotch Mafon, and as an Eleve of tht: Locige de la

ceal a frivolity in every part. It appeared a bafelefs

fentiment. I do not fuppofe that the Parifian Free Ma-

the honour of being appointed the Brother-orator. In

nic fpirit had evaporated. Some ciirlofity however re-

Ruffia) my volumes of difcourfes, and fome far-fetched

I had never heard ;but what particularly ftruck me

city, profeffing fome new fecret, and in a few days

it much conneded with many occurrences and fchifms

whence all agreed that Free Mafonry had been im-

to their purpoTe -, hands Free Mafonry

come fchools of irreligion and licentioulhcfs.

to confider thcmfelves as the inllruiftors of the world

profefled aim (and it was a magnificent and wife aim)

luited to the talents and tafle of that vain and ardent

form that Gallic refinement can invent, to recommend

fociety which alone defcrves their care, becaufe, in

the importation of the do6lrines, and ceremonies, and

of innovators in religion and politics, and other dif-

that the covert of a Mafon Lodge had been employ;ed

fo long as we live in a ftate of civil fubordination. I

ers in the French Revolution were members of this

appearances among ourfelves fhow that its emifTaries

trines among us,but that the AfTocIation has Lodges

where the people of a great and Iiixuiious nation en-

diftrufl:the Hne defcriptions of the happincfs that

Thefe hopes have induced me to lay before the

for eftablifliing the fad, that this deteftahie Affociation

I hope that I am honeft and candid. I have been

that I have fometimes failed, and vvill receive correc-

a piece of good literary compofition. I am very {cn-

fible that it is far from it — it is written during bad

a free heart, and I bow with deference to its decifion.

firll rife among the Free Mafons, but is totally dif-

ferent from Free Mafonry. It was not, however, the

ir, and from the total uncertainty and darknefs tliat

tory of Free Mafonry. This v/ould lead to a very long

noufe, even if Iwere difpofed to write ahiftory of the