Transcriber's note:
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals.
The carat character (^) indicates that the following letter
is superscripted (example: N^o.). If two or more letters are
superscripted they are enclosed in curly brackets (example: S^{re}).
* * * * *
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 FROM GOOD AUTHORITIES,
By JOHN ROBISON, 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^o. 41, SOUTH SECOND
STREET, AND W. COBBET, N^o. 25, NORTH
SECOND STREET.
1798.
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE WILLIAM WYNDHAM, SECRETARY AT WAR, &c. &c.
&c.
_SIR_,
_It was with great satisfaction that I learned from a Friend that
you coincided with me in the opinion, that the information contained
in this Performance would make a useful impression on the minds of
my Countrymen._
_I have presumed to inscribe it with your Name, that I may publicly
express the pleasure which I felt, when I found that neither
a separation for thirty years, nor the pressure of the most
important business, had effaced your kind remembrance of a College
Acquaintance, or abated that obliging and polite attention with
which you favoured me in those early days of life._
_The friendship of the accomplished and the worthy is the highest
honour; and to him who is cut off, by want of health, from almost
every other enjoyment, it is an inestimable blessing. Accept,
therefore, I pray, of my grateful acknowledgments, and of my earnest
wishes for your Health, Prosperity, and increasing Honour._
_With sentiments of the greatest Esteem and Respect_,
_I am, SIR,
Your most obedient,
and most humble Servant_,
JOHN ROBISON.
EDINBURGH,
_September 5, 1797._
_Quod si quis verâ vitam ratione gubernet,
Divitiæ grandes homini sunt, vivere parcè
Æquo animo: neque enim est unquam penuria parvi.
At claros se homines voluêrunt atque potentes,
Ut fundamento stabili fortuna maneret,
Et placidam possent opulenti degere vitam:
Nequicquam,--quoniam ad summum succedere honorem
Certantes, iter infestum fecêre viaï,
Et tamen è summo quasi fulmen dejicit ictos
Invidia interdum contemptim in Tartara tetra._
_Ergo, Regibus occisis, subversa jacebat
Pristina majestas soliorum, et sceptra superba;
Et capitis summi præclarum insigne, cruentum,
Sub pedibus volgi magnum lugebat honorum:
Nam cupidè conculcatur nimis ante metutum.
Res itaque ad summam fæcem, turbasque redibat,
Imperium sibi cum ac summatum quisque petebat._
LUCRETIUS, V. 1116.
INTRODUCTION.
Being at a friend's house in the country during some part of the
summer 1795, I there saw a volume of a German periodical work,
called _Religions Begebenheiten_, _i. e._ Religious Occurrences: in
which there was an account of the various schisms in the Fraternity
of Free Masons, with frequent allusions to the origin and history of
that celebrated association. This account interested me a good deal,
because, in my early life, I had taken some part in the occupations
(shall I call them) of Free Masonry; and, having chiefly frequented
the Lodges on the Continent, I had learned many doctrines, and seen
many ceremonials which have no place in the simple system of Free
Masonry which obtains in this country. I had also remarked, that
the whole was much more the object of reflection and thought than
I could remember it to have been among my acquaintances at home.
There, I had seen a Mason Lodge considered merely as a pretext
for passing an hour or two in a sort of decent conviviality, not
altogether void of some rational occupation. I had sometimes heard
of differences of doctrines or of ceremonies, but in terms which
marked them as mere frivolities. But, on the Continent, I found them
matters of serious concern and debate. Such too is the contagion of
example, that I could not hinder myself from thinking one opinion
better founded, or one Ritual more apposite and significant than
another; and I even felt something like an anxiety for its being
adopted, and a zeal for making it a general practice. I had been
initiated in a very splendid Lodge at Liege, of which the Prince
Bishop, his Trefonciers, and the chief Noblesse of the State were
members. I visited the French Lodges at Valenciennes, at Brussels,
at Aix-la-Chapelle, at Berlin, and Koningsberg; and I picked up some
printed discourses delivered by the Brother-orators of the Lodges.
At St. Petersburgh I connected myself with the English Lodge, and
occasionally visited the German and Russian Lodges held there. I
found myself received with particular respect as a Scotch Mason,
and as an Eleve of the _Lodge de la Parfait Intelligence_ at Liege.
I was importuned by persons of the first rank to pursue my masonic
career through many degrees unknown in this country. But all the
splendor and elegance that I saw could not conceal a frivolity in
every part. It appeared a baseless fabric, and I could not think
of engaging in an occupation which would consume much time, cost
me a good deal of money, and might perhaps excite in me some of
that fanaticism, or at least, enthusiasm, that I saw in others, and
perceived to be void of any rational support. I therefore remained
in the English Lodge, contented with the rank of Scotch Master,
which was in a manner forced on me in a private Lodge of French
Masons, but is not given in the English Lodge. My masonic rank
admitted me to a very elegant entertainment in the female _Loge de
la Fidelité_, where every ceremonial was composed in the highest
degree of elegance, and every thing conduced with the most delicate
respect for our fair sisters, and the old song of brotherly love was
chanted in the most refined strain of sentiment. I do not suppose
that the Parisian Free Masonry of forty-five degrees could give
me more entertainment. I had profited so much by it, that I had
the honour of being appointed the Brother-orator. In this office I
gave such satisfaction, that a worthy Brother sent me at midnight
a box, which he committed to my care, as a person far advanced in
masonic science, zealously attached to the order, and therefore a
fit depository 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 establishment of which her
Imperial Majesty had made him the manager. I was desired to keep
these writings till he should see me again. I obeyed. About ten
years afterward I saw the gentleman on the street in Edinburgh,
conversing with a foreigner. As I passed by him, I saluted him
softly in the Russian language; but without stopping, or looking
him directly in the face. He coloured, but made no return. I
endeavoured, in vain, to meet with him, wishing to make a proper
return for much civility and kindness which I had received from him
in his own country.
I now considered the box as accessible to myself, and opened
it. I found it to contain all the degrees of the _Parfait Maçon
Ecossois_, with the Rituals, Catechisms, and Instructions, and also
four other degrees of Free Masonry, as cultivated in the Parisian
Lodges. I have kept them with all care, and mean to give them to
some respectable Lodge. But as I am bound by no engagement of any
kind, I hold myself at liberty to make such use of them as may be
serviceable to the public, without enabling any uninitiated person
to enter the Lodges of these degrees.
This acquisition might have roused my former relish for masonry,
had it been merely dormant; but, after so long separation from the
_Lodge de la Fidelité_, the masonic spirit had evaporated. Some
curiosity however remained, and some wish to trace this plastic
mystery to the pit from which the clay had been dug, which has been
moulded into so many different shapes, "some to honour, and some to
dishonour." But my opportunities were now gone. I have given away
(when in Russia) my volumes of discourses, and some far-fetched and
gratuitous histories, and nothing remained but the pitiful work of
Anderson, and the _Maçonnerie Adonhiramique devoilêe_, which are in
every one's hands.
My curiosity was strongly roused by the accounts given in the
_Religions Begebenheiten_. There I saw quotations without
number, systems and schisms of which I had never heard; but what
particularly struck me was a zeal and a fanaticism about what I
thought trifles, which astonished me. Men of rank and fortune,
and engaged in serious and honourable public employments, not
only frequenting the Lodges of the cities where they resided, but
journeying from one end of Germany or France to the other, to
visit new Lodges, or to learn new secrets or new doctrines. I saw
conventions held at Wisinar, at Wisbad, at Kohlo, at Brunswick, and
at Willemsbad, consulting of some hundreds of persons of respectable
stations. I saw adventurers coming to a city, professing some new
secret, and in a few days forming new Lodges, and instructing in a
troublesome and expensive manner hundreds of brethren.
German Masonry appeared a very serious concern, and to be
implicated with other subjects with which I had never suspected
it to have any connection. I saw it much connected with many
occurrences and schisms in the Christian church; I saw that the
Jesuits had several times interfered in it; and that most of the
exceptionable innovations and dissentions had arisen about the
time that the order of _Loyola_ was suppressed; so that it should
seem, that these intriguing brethren had attempted to maintain
their influence by the help of Free Masonry. I saw it much
disturbed by the mystical whims of J. Behmen and Swedenborg--by
the fanatical and knavish doctrines of the modern Rosycrucians--by
Magicians--Magnetisers--Exorcists, &c. And I observed that these
different facts reprobated each other, as not only maintaining
erroneous opinions, but even inculcating opinions which were
contrary to the established religions of Germany, and contrary to
the principles of the civil establishments. At the same time they
charged each other with mistakes and corruptions, both in doctrine
and in practice; and particularly with falsification of the first
principles of Free Masonry, and with ignorance of its origin and its
history; and they supported these charges by authorities from many
different books which were unknown to me.
My curiosity was now greatly excited. I got from a much
respected friend many of the preceding volumes of the _Religions
Begebenheiten_, in hopes of much information from the patient
industry of German erudition. This opened a new and very interesting
scene; I was frequently sent back to England, from whence all agreed
that Free Masonry had been imported into Germany. 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
projectors and fanatics, both in science, in religion, and in
politics, who had availed themselves of the secrecy and the freedom
of speech maintained in these meetings, to broach their particular
whims or suspicious doctrines, which, if published to the world in
the usual manner, would have exposed the authors to ridicule or
to censure. These projectors had contrived to tag their peculiar
nostrums to the mummery of Masonry, and were even allowed to twist
the masonic emblems and ceremonies to to their purpose; so that
in their hands Free Masonry became a thing totally unlike, and
almost in direct opposition to the system (if it may get such a
name) imported from England; and some Lodges had become schools of
irreligion and licentiousness.
No nation in modern times has so particularly turned its attention
to the cultivation of every thing that is refined or ornamental
as France, and it has long been the resort of all who hunt after
entertainment in its most refined form; the French have come to
consider themselves as the instructors of the world in every
thing that ornaments life, and feeling themselves received as
such, they have formed their manners accordingly--full of the
most condescending complaisance to _all who acknowledge_ their
superiority. Delighted, in a high degree, with this office, they
have become zealous missionaries of refinement in every department
of human pursuit, and have reduced their apostolic employment to
a system, which they prosecute with ardour and delight. This is
not groundless declamation, but sober historical truth. It was the
professed aim (and it was a magnificent and wise aim) of the great
Colbert, to make the court of Louis XIV. the fountain of human
refinement, and Paris the Athens of Europe. We need only look, in
the present day, at the plunder of Italy by the French army, to be
convinced that their low-born generals and statesmen have in this
respect the same notions with the Colberts and the Richlieus.
I know no subject in which this aim at universal influence on the
opinions of men, by holding themselves forth as the models of
excellence and elegance, is more clearly seen than in the care that
they have been pleased to take of Free Masonry. It seems indeed
peculiarly suited to the talents and taste of that vain and ardent
people. Baseless and frivolous, it admits of every form that Gallic
refinement can invent, to recommend it to the young, the gay, the
luxurious; that class of society which alone deserves their care,
because, in one way or another, it leads all other classes of
society.
It has accordingly happened, that the homely Free Masonry imported
from England has been totally changed in every country of Europe
either by the imposing ascendency of French brethren, who are
to be found every where, ready to instruct the world; or by the
importation of the doctrines, and ceremonies, and ornaments of
the Parisian Lodges. Even England, the birth-place of Masonry,
has experienced the French innovations; and all the repeated
injunctions, admonitions, and reproofs of the old Lodges, cannot
prevent those in different parts of the kingdom from admitting the
French novelties, full of tinsel and glitter, and high-sounding
titles.
Were this all, the harm would not be great. But long before good
opportunities had occurred for spreading the refinements on the
simple Free Masonry of England, the Lodges in France had become
places of very serious discussion, where opinions in morals, in
religion, and in politics, had been promulgated and maintained with
a freedom and a keenness, of which we in this favoured land have no
adequate notion, because we are unacquainted with the restraints
which, in other countries, are laid on ordinary conversation. In
consequence of this, the French innovations in Free Masonry were
quickly followed in all parts of Europe, by the admission of similar
discussions, although in direct opposition to a standing rule, and
a declaration made to every newly received Brother, "that nothing
touching the religion or government shall ever be spoken of in the
Lodge." But the Lodges in other countries followed the example of
France, and have frequently become the rendezvous of innovators in
religion and politics, and other disturbers of the public peace.
In short, I have found that the covert of a Mason Lodge had been
employed in every country for venting and propagating sentiments
in religion and politics, that could not have circulated in public
without exposing the author to great danger. I found, that this
impunity had gradually encouraged men of licentious principles to
become more bold, and to teach doctrines subversive of all our
notions of morality--of all our confidence in the moral government
of the universe--of all our hopes of improvement in a future state
of existence--and of all satisfaction and contentment with our
present life, so long as we live in a state of civil subordination.
I have been able to trace these attempts, made, through a course of
fifty years, under the specious pretext of enlightening the world by
the torch of philosophy, and of dispelling the clouds of civil and
religious superstition which keep the nations of Europe in darkness
and slavery. I have observed these doctrines gradually diffusing
and mixing with all the different systems of Free Masonry; till,
at last, AN ASSOCIATION HAS BEEN FORMED for the express purpose of
ROOTING OUT ALL THE RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENTS, AND OVERTURNING ALL
THE EXISTING GOVERNMENTS OF EUROPE. I have seen this Association
exerting itself zealously and systematically, till it has become
almost irresistible: And I have seen that the most active leaders
in the French Revolution were members of this Association, and
conducted their first movements according to its principles, and
by means of its instructions and assistance, _formally requested
and obtained_: And, lastly, I have seen that this Association still
exists, still works in secret, and that not only several appearances
among ourselves show that its emissaries are endeavouring to
propagate their detestable doctrines among us, but that the
Association has Lodges in Britain corresponding with the mother
Lodge at Munich ever since 1784.
If all this were a matter of mere curiosity, and susceptible of no
good use, it would have been better to have kept it to myself, than
to disturb my neighbours with the knowledge of a state of things
which they cannot amend. But if it shall appear that the minds of
my countrymen are misled in the very same manner as were those
of our continental neighbours--if I can show that the reasonings
which make a very strong impression on some persons in this country
are the same which actually produced the dangerous association in
Germany; and that they had this unhappy influence solely because
they were thought to be sincere, and the expressions of the
sentiments of the speakers--if I can show that this was all a cheat,
and that the Leaders of this Association disbelieved _every word_
that they uttered, and every doctrine that they taught; and that
their real intention was to abolish _all_ religion, overturn every
government, and make the world a general plunder and a wreck--if
I can show, that the principles which the Founder and Leaders of
this Association held forth as the perfection of human virtue, and
the most powerful and efficacious for forming the minds of men, and
making them good and happy, had no influence on the Founder and
Leaders themselves, and that they were, almost without exception,
the most insignificant, worthless, and profligate of men; I cannot
but think, that such information will make my countrymen hesitate a
little, and receive with caution, and even distrust, addresses and
instructions which flatter our self-conceit, and which, by buoying
us up with the gay prospect of what seems attainable by a change,
may make us discontented with our present condition, and forget that
there never was a government on earth where the people of a great
and luxurious nation enjoyed so much freedom and security in the
possession of every thing that is dear and valuable.
When we see that these boasted principles had not that effect on
the Leaders which they assert to be their native, certain, and
inevitable consequences, we shall distrust the fine descriptions
of the happiness that should result from such a change. And when
we see that the methods which were practised by this Association
for the express purpose of breaking all the bands of society, were
employed solely in order that the Leaders might rule the world with
uncontroulable power, while all the rest, even of the associated,
should be degraded in their own estimation, corrupted in their
principles, and employed as mere tools of the ambition of their
_unknown superiors_; surely a free-born Briton will not hesitate to
reject at once, and without any farther examination, a plan so big
with mischief, so disgraceful to its underling adherents, and so
uncertain in its issue.
These hopes have induced me to lay before the public a short
abstract of the information which I think I have received. It will
be short, but I hope sufficient for establishing the fact, that
_this detestable Association exists, and its emissaries are busy
among ourselves_.
I was not contented with the quotations which I found in the
Religions Begebenheiten, but procured from abroad some 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 furnished
me with more materials. Much, however, remains untold, richly
deserving the attention of all those who _feel_ themselves disposed
to listen to the tales of a possible happiness that may be enjoyed
in a society where all the magistrates are wise and just, and all
the people are honest and kind.
I hope that I am honest and candid. I have been at all pains to
give the true sense of the authors. My knowledge of the German
language is but scanty, but I have had the assistance of friends
whenever I was in doubt. In compressing into one paragraph what I
have collected from many, I have, as much as I was able, stuck to
the words of the author, and have been anxious to give his precise
meaning. I doubt not but that I have sometimes failed, and will
receive correction with deference. I entreat the reader not to
expect a piece of good literary composition. I am very sensible that
it is far from it--it is written during bad health, when I am not at
ease--and I wish to conceal my name--but my motive is, without the
smallest mixture of another, to do some good in the only way I am
able, and I think that what I say will come with better grace, and
be received with more confidence, than any anonymous publication. Of
these I am now most heartily sick. I throw myself on my country with
a free heart, and I bow with deference to its decision.
The association of which I have been speaking is the Order of
ILLUMINATI, founded, in 1775, by Dr. Adam Weishaupt, professor of
Canon law in the university of Ingolstadt, and abolished in 1786
by the Elector of Bavaria, but revived immediately after, under
another name, and in a different form, all over Germany. It was
again detected, and seemingly broken up; but it had by this time
taken so deep root that it still subsists without being detected,
and has spread into all the countries of Europe. It took its
first rise among the Free Masons, but is totally different from
Free Masonry. It was not, however, the mere protection gained by
the secrecy of the Lodges that gave occasion to it, but it arose
naturally from the corruptions that had gradually crept into that
fraternity, the violence of the party spirit which pervaded it, and
from the total uncertainty and darkness that hangs over the whole
of that mysterious Association. It is necessary, therefore, to give
some account of the innovations that have been introduced into Free
Masonry from the time that it made its appearance on the continent
of Europe as a mystical society, possessing secrets different from
those of the mechanical employment whose name it assumed, and thus
affording entertainment and occupation to persons of all ranks and
professions. It is by no means intended to give a history of Free
Masonry. This would lead to a very long discussion. The patient
industry of German erudition has been very seriously employed on
this subject, and many performances have been published, of which
some account is given in the different volumes of the Religions
Begebenheiten, particularly in those for 1779, 1785, and 1786.
It is evident, from the nature of the thing, that they cannot be
very instructive to the public; because the obligation of secrecy
respecting the important matters which are the very subjects of
debate, prevents the author from giving that full information that
is required from an historian; and the writers have not, in general,
been persons qualified for the task. Scanty erudition, credulity,
and enthusiasm, appear in almost all their writings; and they have
neither attempted to remove the heap of rubbish with which Anderson
has disgraced his _Constitutions of Free Masonry_, (the basis of
masonic history,) nor to avail themselves of informations which
history really affords to a sober enquirer. Their Royal art must
never forsooth appear in a state of infancy or childhood, like all
other human acquirements; and therefore, when they cannot give
proofs of its existence in a state of manhood, possessed of all its
mysterious treasures, they suppose what they do not see, and say
that they are concealed by the oath of secrecy. Of such instruction
I can make no use, even if I were disposed to write a history of
the Fraternity. I shall content myself with an account of such
particulars as are admitted by all the masonic parties, and which
illustrate or confirm my general proposition, making such use of the
accounts of the higher degrees in my possession as I can without
admitting the profane into their Lodges. Being under no tie of
secrecy with regard to these, I am with-held by discretion alone
from putting the public in possession of all their mysteries.
PROOFS
OF
A CONSPIRACY, &c.
CHAP. I.
_Schisms in Free Masonry._
There is undoubtedly a dignity in the art of building, or in
architecture, which no other art possesses, and this, whether we
consider it in its rudest state, occupied in raising a hut, or as
practised in a cultivated nation, in the erection of a magnificent
and ornamented temple. As the arts in general improve in any nation,
this must always maintain its pre-eminence; for it employs them
all, and no man can be eminent as an architect who does not possess
a considerable knowledge of almost every science and art already
cultivated in his nation. His great works are undertakings of the
most serious concern, connect him with the public, or with the
rulers of the state, and attach to him the practitioners of other
arts, who are occupied in executing his orders: His works are the
objects of public attention, and are not the transient spectacles of
the day, but hand down to posterity his invention, his knowledge,
and his taste. No wonder then that he thinks highly of his
profession, and that the public should acquiesce in his pretensions,
even when in some degree extravagant.
It is not at all surprising, therefore, that the incorporated
architects in all cultivated nations should arrogate to themselves
a pre-eminence over the similar associations of other tradesmen.
We find traces of this in the remotest antiquity. The Dionysiacs
of Asia Minor were undoubtedly an association of architects and
engineers, who had the exclusive privilege of building temples,
stadia, and theatres, under the mysterious tutelage of Bacchus,
and distinguished from the uninitiated or profane inhabitants by
the science which they possessed, and by many private signs and
tokens, by which they recognised each other. This association came
into Ionia from Syria, into which country it had come from Persia,
along with that style of architecture that we call Grecian. We are
also certain that there was a similar trading association, during
the dark ages, in Christian Europe, which monopolized the building
of great churches and castles, working under the patronage and
protection of the Sovereigns and Princes of Europe, and possessing
many privileges. Circumstances, which it would be tedious to
enumerate and discuss, continued this association later in Britain
than on the Continent.
But it is quite uncertain when and why persons who were not
builders by profession first sought admission into this Fraternity.
The first distinct and unequivocal instance that we have of this
is the admission of Mr. Ashmole, the famous antiquary, in 1648,
into a Lodge at Warrington, along with his father-in-law Colonel
Mainwaring. It is not improbable that the covert of secrecy in those
assemblies had made them courted by the Royalists, as occasions
of meeting. Nay, the Ritual of the Master's degree seems to have
been formed, or perhaps twisted from its original institution, so
as to give an opportunity of sounding the political principles of
the candidate, and of the whole Brethren present. For it bears so
easy an adaption to the death of the King, to the overturning of the
venerable constitution of the English government of three orders by
a mean democracy, and its re-establishment by the efforts of the
loyalists, that this would start into every person's mind during
the ceremonial, and could hardly fail to show, by the countenances
and behaviour of the Brethren, how they were affected. I recommend
this hint to the consideration of the Brethren. I have met with
many particular facts, which convince me that this use had been
made of the meetings of Masons, and that at this time the Jesuits
interfered considerably, insinuating themselves into the Lodges,
and contributing to encrease that religious mysticism that is to be
observed in all the ceremonies of the order. This society is well
known to have put on every shape, and to have made use of every
mean that could promote the power and influence of the order. And
we know that at this time they were by no means without hopes of
re-establishing the dominion of the Church of Rome in England. Their
services were not scrupled at by the distressed royalists, even such
as were Protestants, while they were highly prized by the Sovereign.
We also know that Charles II. was made a Mason, and frequented
the Lodges. It is not unlikely, that besides the amusement of a
vacant hour, which was always agreeable to him, he had pleasure in
the meeting with his loyal friends, and in the occupations of the
Lodge, which recalled to his mind their attachment and services.
His brother and successor James II. was of a more serious and manly
cast of mind, and had little pleasure in the frivolous ceremonies
of Masonry. He did not frequent the Lodges. But, by this time, they
were the resort of many persons who were not of the profession,
or members of the trading corporation. This circumstance, in all
probability, produced the denominations of FREE and ACCEPTED. A
person who has the privilege of working at any incorporated trade,
is said to be a _freeman_ of that trade. Others were _accepted_ as
Brethren, and admitted to a kind of honorary freedom, as is the case
in many other trades and incorporations, without having (as far as
we can learn for certain) a legal title to earn a livelihood by the
exercise of it.
The Lodges being in this manner frequented by persons of various
professions, and in various ranks of civil society, it cannot be
supposed that the employment in those meetings related entirely
to the ostensible profession of Masonry. We have no authentic
information by which the public can form any opinion about it. It
was not till some years after this period that the Lodges made
open profession of the cultivation of general benevolence, and
that the grand aim of the Fraternity was to enforce the exercise
of all the social virtues. It is not unlikely that this was an
after-thought. The political purposes of the association being once
obtained, the conversation and occupations of the members must
take some particular turn, in order to be generally acceptable.
The establishment of a fund for the relief of unfortunate Brethren
did not take place till the very end of last century; and we may
presume that it was brought about by the warm recommendations
of some benevolent members, who would naturally enforce it by
addresses to their assembled Brethren. This is the probable origin
of those philanthropic discourses which were delivered in the
Lodges by one of the Brethren as an official talk. Brotherly love
was the general topic, and this, with great propriety, when we
consider the object aimed at in those addresses. Nor was this
object altogether a novelty. For while the manners of society were
yet but rude, Brother Masons, who were frequently led by their
employment far from home and from their friends, stood in need of
such helps, and might be greatly benefited by such an institution,
which gave them introduction and citizenship wherever they went,
and a right to share in the charitable contributions of Brethren
who were strangers to them. Other incorporated trades had similar
provisions for their poor. But their poor were townsmen and
neighbours, well known to them. There was more persuasion necessary
in this Fraternity, where the objects of our immediate beneficence
were not of our acquaintance. But when the Lodges consisted of
many who were not Masons, and who had no particular claim to good
offices from a stranger, and their number might be great, it is
evident that stronger persuasions were now necessary, and that
every topic of philanthropy must now be employed. When the funds
became considerable, the effects naturally took the public eye,
and recommended the Society to notice and respect. And now the
Brethren were induced to dwell on the same topic, to join in the
commendations bestowed on the Society, and to say that universal
beneficence was the great aim of the Order. And this is all that
could be said in public, without infringing the obligation to
secrecy. The inquisitive are always prying and teazing, and this
is the only point on which a Brother is at liberty to speak. He
will therefore do it with affectionate zeal, till perhaps he has
heated his own fancy a little, and overlooks the inconsistency of
this universal beneficence and philanthropy with the exclusive and
monopolizing spirit of an Association, which not only confines
its benevolence to its own Members, (like any other charitable
association,) but hoards up in its bosom inestimable secrets, whose
natural tendency, they say, is to form the heart to this generous
and kind conduct, and inspire us with love to all mankind. The
profane world cannot see the beneficence of concealing from public
view a principle or a motive which so powerfully induces a Mason to
be good and kind. The Brother says that publicity would rob it of
its force, and we must take him at his word; and our curiosity is so
much the more excited to learn what are the secrets which have so
singular a quality.
Thus did the Fraternity conduct themselves, and thus were they
considered 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 profess to have received the Mystery of
Free Masonry from Britain. This is surely a puzzle in the history;
and we must leave it to others to reconcile this with the repeated
assertions in Anderson's book of Constitutions, "That the Fraternity
existed all over the World," and the numberless examples which he
adduces of its exertions in other countries; nay, with his repeated
assertions, "that it frequently was near perishing in Britain, and
that our Princes were obliged to send to France and other countries,
for leading men, to restore it to its former energy among us." We
shall find by and by that it is not a point of mere historical
curiosity, but that much hinges on it.
In the mean time, let us just remember, that the plain tale of
Brotherly love had been polished up to protestations of universal
benevolence, and had taken place of loyalty and attachment to the
unfortunate Family of Stuart, which was now totally forgotten in the
English Lodges. The Revolution had taken place, and King James, with
many of his most zealous adherents, had taken refuge in France.
But they took Free Masonry with them to the continent, where it
was immediately received by the French, and was cultivated with
great zeal in a manner suited to the taste and habits of that
highly polished people. The Lodges in France naturally became the
rendezvous of the adherents to the exiled King, and the means of
carrying on a correspondence with their friends in England. At
this time also the Jesuits took a more active hand in Free Masonry
than ever. They insinuated themselves into the English Lodges,
where they were caressed by the Catholics, who panted after the
re-establishment of their faith, and tolerated by the Protestant
royalists, who thought no concession too great a compensation for
their services. At this time changes were made in some of the
Masonic symbols, particularly in the tracing of the Lodge, which
bear evident marks of Jesuitical interference.
It was in the Lodge held at St. Germain's that the degree of
_Chevalier Maçon Ecossois_ was added to the three SYMBOLICAL degrees
of English Masonry. The constitution, as imported, appeared too
coarse for the refined taste of our neighbours, and they must make
Masonry more like the occupation of a gentleman. Therefore, the
English degrees of Apprentice, Fellow-craft, and Master, were called
_symbolical_, and the whole contrivance was considered either as
typical of something more elegant, or as a preparation for it.
The degrees afterwards superadded to this leave us in doubt which
of these views the French entertained of our Masonry. But at all
events, this rank of Scotch Knight was called the _first_ degree
of the _Maçon Parfait_. There is a device belonging to this Lodge
which deserves notice. A lion, wounded by an arrow, and escaped
from the stake to which he had been bound, with the broken rope
still about his neck, is represented lying at the mouth of a cave,
and occupied with mathematical instruments which are lying near
him. A broken crown lies at the foot of the stake. There can be
little doubt but that this emblem alludes to the dethronement, the
captivity, the escape, and the asylum of James II. and his hopes of
re-establishment by the help 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 immediately after
king James's Abdication, or about the time of the attempt to set
his son on the British Throne. But it is certain, that in 1716,
this and still higher degrees of Masonry were much in vogue in the
Court of France. The refining genius of the French, and their love
of show, made the humble denominations of the English Brethren
disgusting; and their passion for military rank, the only character
that connected them with the court of an absolute monarch, made
them adapt Free Masonry to the same scale of public estimation, and
invent ranks of _Maçons Chevaliers_, ornamented with titles, and
ribands, and stars. These were highly relished 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 banished
British and Irish adherents of the unfortunate Family who had taken
refuge among them. Three new degrees, of _Novice_, _Eleve_, and
_Chevalier_, were soon added, and the _Parfait Maçon_ had now seven
receptions to go through, for each of which a handsome contribution
was made. Afterwards, when the first beneficent purpose of this
contribution ceased to exist, the finery that now glittered in all
the Lodges made a still more craving demand for reception-money,
and ingenuity was set to work to invent new baits for the _Parfait
Maçon_. More degrees of chivalry were added, interspersed with
degrees of _Philosophe_, _Pellerin_, _Clairvoyant_, &c. &c. till
some Parisian Lodges had forty-five ranks of Masonry, having
fifteen orders of chivalry. For a Knighthood, with a Riband and a
Star, was a _bonne bouche_, given at every third step. For a long
while these degrees of chivalry proceeded on some faint analogies
with several orders of chivalry which had been erected in Europe.
All of these had some reference to some mystical doctrines of the
Christian church, and were, in fact, contrivances of the Church of
Rome for securing and extending her influence on the laymen of rank
and fortune, whom she retained in her service by these play-things.
The Knights Templars of Jerusalem, and the Knights of the Desert,
whose office it was to protect pilgrims, and to defend the holy
city, afforded very apt models for Masonic mimicry, because the
Temple of Solomon, and the Holy Sepulchre, always shared the same
fate. Many contested doctrines of the theologians had also their
Chevaliers to defend them.
In all this progressive mummery we see much of the hand of the
Jesuits, and it would seem that it was encouraged by the church.
But a thing happened which might easily have been foreseen. The
Lodges had become familiar with this kind of invention; the
professed object of many _real_ Orders of Knighthood was often
very whimsical, or very refined and far-fetched, and it required
all the finesse of the clergy to give to it some slight connection
with religion or morality. The Masons, protected by their secrecy,
ventured to go farther. The declamations in the lodges by the
Brother orator, must naturally resemble the compositions of the
ancient sophists, and consist of wire-drawn dissertations on the
social duties, where every thing is amplified and strained to
hyperbole, in their far-fetched and fanciful explanations of the
symbols of Masonry. Thus accustomed to allegory, to fiction, to
finesse, and to a sort of innocent hypocrisy by which they cajoled
themselves into a notion that this child's-play had at bottom
a serious and important meaning, the zealous champions of Free
Masonry found no inclination to check this inventive spirit or
circumscribe its flights. Under the protection of Masonic secrecy,
they planned schemes of a different kind, and instead of more Orders
of Chivalry directed against the enemies of their faith, they
formed associations in opposition to the ridiculous and oppressive
ceremonies and superstitions of the church. There can be no doubt,
that in those hidden assemblies, a free communication of sentiment
was highly relished and much indulged. It was soon suspected that
such use was made of the covert of a Mason Lodge; and the church
dreaded the consequences, and endeavoured to suppress the Lodges.
But in vain. And when it was found, that even auricular confession,
and the spiritual threatenings of the church, could not make the
Brethren break their oath of secrecy; a full confidence in their
security made these free-thinking Brethren bring forward, with all
the eagerness of a missionary, such sentiments as they were afraid
to hazard in ordinary society. This was long suspected; but the
rigours of the church only served to knit the Brethren more firmly
together, and provoked them to a more eager exercise of their bold
criticisms. The Lodges became schools of scepticism and infidelity,
and the spirit of conversion or proselytism grew every day stronger.
Cardinal Dubois had before this time laboured with all his might
to corrupt the minds of the courtiers, by patronising, directly
and indirectly, all sceptics who were otherwise men of talents. He
gave the young courtiers to understand, that if he should obtain
the reins of government, they should be entirely freed from the
bigotry of Louis XIV. and the oppression of the church, and should
have the free indulgence of their inclinations. His own plans were
disappointed by his death; but the Regent Orleans was equally
indulgent, and in a few years there was hardly a man in France
who pretended knowledge and reflection, who did not laugh at all
religion. Amidst the almost infinite number of publications from
the French presses, there is hardly a dozen to be found where the
author attempts to vindicate religion from the charges of universal
superstition and falsehood. And it must be acknowledged that little
else was to be seen in the established religion of the kingdom.
The people found nothing in Christianity but a never-ceasing round
of insignificant and troublesome ceremonies, which consumed their
time, and furnished a fund for supporting a set of lordly and
oppressive dignitaries, who declared in the plainest manner their
own disbelief of their religion, by their total disregard of common
decency, by their continual residence at court, and by absolute
neglect, and even the most haughty and oppressive treatment of the
only part of their order that took any concern about the religious
sentiments of the nation, namely the Curés or parish-priests.
The monks appeared only as lazy drones; but the parish-priests
instructed the people, visited the sick, reconciled the offender and
the offended, and were the great mediators between the landlords
and their vassals, an office which endeared them more to the people
than all the other circumstances of their profession. And it is
remarkable, that in all the licentious writings and bitter satirical
tales of the philosophic freethinkers, such as Voltaire, who never
fails to have a taunting hit at the clergy, the Curé is generally
an amiable personage, a charitable man, a friend to the poor and
unfortunate, a peace-maker, and a man of piety and worth. Yet these
men were kept in a state of the most slavish and cruel subjection
by the higher orders of the clergy, and all hopes of advancement
cut off. Rarely, hardly ever, does it happen, that a Curé becomes
a Bishop. The Abbés step into every line of preferment. When such
procedure is observed by a whole nation, what opinion can be formed
but that the whole is a vile cheat? This however was the case in
France, and therefore infidelity was almost universal. Nor was
this overstrained freedom or licentiousness confined to religious
opinions. It was perhaps more naturally directed to the restraints
arising from civil subordination. The familiar name of Brother could
not but tickle the fancy of those of inferior rank, when they found
themselves side by side with persons whom they cannot approach out
of doors but with cautious respect; and while these men of rank
have their pride lulled a little, and perhaps their hearts a little
softened by the hackneyed cant of sentimental 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 east and illuminating the Lodge. The Garret Pamphleteer
enjoys his fancied authority as Senior Warden, and conducts with
affectionate solemnity the young nobleman, who pants for the honour
of Mastership, and he praises the trusty 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
how naturally will the Brother Orator in support of this favourite
topic, slide into all the common-place pictures of human society,
freed from all the anxieties attending civil distinction, and
passing their days in happy simplicity and equality. From this state
of the fancy, it is hardly a step to descant on the propriety, the
expediency, and at last, the justice of such an arrangement of civil
society; and in doing this, one cannot avoid taking notice of the
great obstructions to human felicity which we see in every quarter,
proceeding from the abuses of those distinctions of rank and fortune
which have arisen in the world: and as the mischiefs and horrors of
superstition are topics of continual declamation to those who wish
to throw off the restraints of religion; so the oppression of the
rulers of this world, and the sufferings of talents and worth in
inferior stations, will be no less greedily listened to by all whose
notions of morality are not very pure, and who would be glad to have
the enjoyments of the wealthy without the trouble of labouring for
them. Free Masonry may be affirmed to have a natural tendency to
foster such levelling wishes; and we cannot doubt but that great
liberties are taken with those subjects in the Lodges, especially in
countries where the distinctions of rank and fortune are strongly
expressed and noticed.