(for we need not speak of the manner in which he expected that
this would promote his plan--this is abundantly plain). It was by
destroying their moral sentiments, and their sentiments of religion.
Recollect what is the recommendation that the Atheist Minos gives
of his step-daughters, when he speaks of them, as proper persons
for the Lodge of Sisters. "They have got over all prejudices, and,
in matters of religion they think as I do." These profligates
judged rightly that this affair required much caution, and that the
utmost attention to decency, and even delicacy, must be observed
in their rituals and ceremonies, otherwise the women would be
_disgusted_. This was judging fairly of the feelings of a female
mind. But they judged falsely, and only according to their own
coarse experience, when they attributed their _disgust_ and their
fears to coyness. Coyness is indeed the instinctive attribute of the
female. In woman it is very great, and it is perhaps the genuine
source of the disgust of which the Illuminati were suspicious. But
they have been dim-sighted indeed, or very unfortunate in their
acquaintance, if they never observed any other source of repugnance
in the mind of woman to what is immoral or immodest--if they did
not see dislike--moral disapprobation. Do they mean to insinuate,
that in that regard which modest women express in all their words
and actions, for what every one understands by the terms decency,
modesty, and the disapprobation of every thing that violates those
feelings, the women only show female coyness? Then are they very
blind instructors. But they are not so blind. The account given of
the initiation of a young Sister at Frankfort, under the feigned
name _Psycharion_, shows the most scrupulous attention to the moral
feelings of the sex; and the confusion and disturbance which,
after all their care, it occasioned among the ladies, shows, that
when they thought all right and delicate, they had been but coarse
judges. Minos damns the ladies there, because they are too free,
too rich, too republican, and too wise, for being led about by the
nose (this is his own expression). But Philo certainly thought more
correctly of the sex in general, when he says, Truth is a modest
girl: She may be handed about like a lady, by good sense and good
manners, but must not be bullied and driven about like a strumpet.
I would here insert the discourses or addresses which were made on
that occasion to the different classes of the assembly, girls, young
ladies, wives, young men, and strangers, which are really ingenious
and well composed, were they not such as would offend my fair
countrywomen.
The religious sentiments by which mortals are to be assisted,
even in the discharge of their moral duties, and still more, the
sentiments which are purely religious, and have no reference to any
thing here, are precisely those which are most easily excited in the
mind of woman. Affection, admiration, filial reverence, are, if I
mistake not exceedingly, those in which the women far surpass the
men; and it is on this account that we generally find them so much
disposed to devotion, which is nothing but a sort of fond indulgence
of those affections without limit to the imagination. The enraptured
devotee pours out her soul in expressions of these feelings, just as
a fond mother mixes the caresses given to her child with the most
extravagant expressions of love. The devotee even endeavours to
excite higher degrees of these affections, by expatiating on such
circumstances in the divine conduct with respect to man as naturally
awaken them; and he does this without any fear of exceeding; because
Infinite Wisdom and Goodness will always justify the sentiment,
and free the expression of it from all charge of hyperbole or
extravagance.
I am convinced, therefore, that the female mind is well adapted to
cultivation by means of religion, and that their native softness
and kindness of heart will always be sufficient for procuring it a
favourable reception from them. It is therefore with double regret
that I see any of them join in the arrogant pretensions of our
Illuminated philosophers, who see no need of such assistances for
the knowledge and discharge of their duties. There is nothing so
unlike that general modesty of thought, and that diffidence, which
we are disposed to think the character of the female mind. I am
inclined to think, that such deviations from the general conduct of
the sex are marks of a harsher character, of a heart that has less
sensibility, and is on the whole less amiable than that of others.
Yet it must be owned that there are some such among us. Much, if not
the whole of this perversion, has, I am persuaded, been owing to the
contagion of bad example in the men. They are made familiar with
such expressions--their first horror is gone, and (would to heaven
that I were mistaken!) some of them have already wounded their
consciences to such a degree, that they have some reason to wish
that religion may be without foundation.
But I would call upon all, and _these_ women in particular, to
consider this matter in another light--as it may affect themselves
in this life; as it may affect their rank and treatment in ordinary
society. I would say to them, that if the world shall once adopt the
belief that this life is our all, then the true maxim of rational
conduct will be, to "eat and to drink, since to-morrow we are to
die;" and that when they have nothing to trust to but the fondness
of the men, they will soon find themselves reduced to slavery. The
crown which they now wear will 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 short; and even in republican France,
it will not be many years that Madame Tallien can fascinate the
Parisian Theatre by the exhibition of her charms. Man is fastidious
and changeable, he is the stronger animal, and can always take
his own will with respect to woman. At present he is with-held by
respect for her moral worth--and many are with-held by religion--and
many more are with-held by public laws, which laws were framed at a
time when religious truths influenced the minds and the conduct of
men. When the sentiments of men change, they will not be so foolish
as to keep in force laws which cramp their strongest desires. Then
will the rich have their Harems, and the poor their drudges.
Nay, it is not merely the circumstance of woman's being considered
as the moral companion of man that gives the sex its empire among
us. There is something of this to be observed in all nations. Of
all the distinctions which set our species above the other sentient
inhabitants of this globe, making us as unlike to the best of them
as they are to a piece of inanimate matter, there is none more
remarkable than the differences observable in the appearances of
those desires by which the race is continued. As I observed already,
such a distinction is indispensably necessary. There must be a
_moral_ connexion, in order that the human species may be a race
of rational creatures, improveable, not only by the increasing
experience of the individual, but also by the heritable experience
of the successive generations. It may be observed between the
solitary pairs in Labrador, where human nature starves, like the
stunted oak in the crevice of a baron rock and it is seen in the
cultivated societies of Europe, where our nature in a series of
ages becomes a majestic tree. Whatever may be the native powers
of mind in the poor but gentle Esquimaux, she can do nothing
for the species but nurse a young one, who cannot run his race
of life without incessant and hard labour to keep soul and body
together--here therefore her station in society can hardly have a
name, because there can hardly be said to be any association, except
what is necessary for repelling the hostile attacks of Indians, who
seem to hunt them without provocation as the dog does the hare. In
other parts of the world, we see that the consideration in which
the sex is held, nearly follows the proportions of that aggregate
of many different particulars, which we consider as constituting
the cultivation of a society. We may perhaps err, and we probably
do err, in our estimation of those degrees, because we are not
perfectly acquainted with what is the real excellence of man. But
as far as we _can_ judge of it, I believe that my assertion is
acknowledged. On this authority, I might presume to say, that it is
in Christian Europe that man _has_ attained his highest degree of
cultivation--and it is undoubtedly here that the women have attained
the highest rank. I may even add, that it is in that part of Europe
where the essential and distinguishing doctrines of Christian
morality are most generally acknowledged and attended to by the laws
of the country, that woman acts the highest part in general society.
But here we must be very careful how we form our notion, either of
the society, or of the female rank--it is surely not from the two or
three dozens who fill the highest ranks in the state. Their number
is too small, and their situation is too particular, to afford the
proper average. Besides, the situation of the individuals of this
class in all countries is very much the same--and in all it is very
artificial--accordingly their character is fantastical. Nor are we
to take it from that class that is the most numerous of all, the
lowest class of society, for these are the labouring poor, whose
conduct and occupations are so much dictated to them by the hard
circumstances of their situation, that scarcely any thing is left to
their choice. The situation of women of this class must be nearly
the same in all nations. But this class is still susceptible of
some variety--and we see it--and I think that even here there is a
perceptible superiority of the female rank in those countries where
the purest Christianity prevails. We must however take our measures
or proportions from a numerous class, but also a class in somewhat
of easy circumstances, where moral sentiments call some attention,
and persons have some choice in their conduct. And here, although I
cannot pretend to have had many opportunities of observation, yet
I have had some. I can venture to say that it is not in Russia,
nor in Spain, that woman is, on the whole, the most important as a
member of the community. I would say, that in Britain her important
rights are more generally respected than any where else. No where
is a man's character so much hurt by conjugal infidelity--no where
is it so difficult to rub off the stigma of bastardy, or to procure
a decent reception or society for an improper connection; and I
believe it will readily be granted, that the share of the women in
successions, their authority in all matters of domestic trust, and
even their opinions in what concerns life and manners, are fully
more respected here than in any country.
I have long been of the opinion, (and every observation that I have
been able to make since I first formed it confirms me in it,) that
woman is indebted to Christianity alone for the high rank she holds
in society. Look into the writings of antiquity--into the works
of the Greek and Latin poets--into the numberless panegyrics of
the sex, to be found both in prose and verse--I can find little,
very little indeed, where woman is treated with respect--there is
no want of love, that is, of fondness, 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 adviser--his
solace in misfortune--as a pattern from which he may sometimes
copy with advantage;--of all this there is hardly a trace. Woman
is always mentioned as an object of passion. Chastity, modesty,
sober-mindedness, are all considered in relation to this single
point; or sometimes as of importance in respect of economy or
domestic quiet. Recollect the famous speech of Meteltellus Numidicus
to the Roman people, when, as, Censor, he was recommending marriage.
"Si fine uxore possemus Quirites esse, omnes eâ molestiâ careremus.
Sed quoniam ita natura tradidit, ut nec cum illis commodè, nec fine
illis ullo modo vivi posset, saluti perpetuæ potius quam brevi
voluptati consulendum."
_Aul. Gell. Noct. Att. I. 6._
* * * * *
What does Ovid, the great panegyrist of the sex, say for his beloved
daughter, whom he had praised for her attractions in various
places of his Tristia and other compositions? He is writing her
Epitaph--and the only thing he can say of her as a rational creature
is, that she was--_Domisida_--not a Gadabout.--Search Apuleius,
where you will find many female characters _in abstracto_--You will
find that his little Photis (a cook-maid and strumpet) was nearest
to his heart, after all his philosophy. Nay, in his pretty story
of Cupid and Psyche, which the very wise will tell you is a fine
lesson of moral philosophy, and a representation of the operations
of the intellectual and moral faculties of the human soul, a story
which gave him the finest opportunity, nay, almost made it necessary
for him to insert whatever can ornament the female character; what
is his Psyche but a beautiful, fond, and silly girl; and what are
the whole fruits of any acquaintance with the sex?--Pleasure.
But why take more pains in the search?--Look at their immortal
goddesses--is there one among them whom a wise man would select for
a wife or a friend?--I grant that a Lucretia is praised--a Portia,
an Arria, a Zenobia--but these are individual characters--not
representatives of the sex. The only Grecian ladies who made a
figure by intellectual talents, were your Aspasias, Sapphos,
Phrynes, and other nymphs of this cast, who had emerged from the
general insignificance of the sex, by throwing away what we are
accustomed to call its greatest ornament.
I think that the first piece in which woman is pictured as a
respectable character, is the oldest novel that I am acquainted
with, written by a Christian Bishop, Heliodorus--I mean the
Adventures of Theagenes and Chariclea. I think that the Heroine is
a greater character than you will meet with in all the annals of
antiquity. And it is worth while to observe what was the effect
of this painting. The poor Bishop had been deposed, and even
excommunicated, for doctrinal errors, and for drawing such a picture
of a heathen. The magistrates of Antioch, the most voluptuous and
corrupted city of the East, wrote to the Emperor, telling him that
this book had reformed the ladies of their city, where Julian the
Emperor and his Sophists had formerly preached in vain, and they
therefore prayed that the good Bishop 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 philosophy, _i. e._ the art of leading a good and happy life,
with great applause in the famous Alexandrian school.--But she also
was in the times of Christianity, and was the intimate friend of
Syncellus and other Christian Bishops.
It is undoubtedly Christianity that has set woman on her throne,
making her in every respect the equal of man, bound to the same
duties, and candidate for the same happiness. Mark how woman is
described by a Christian poet,
----"Yet when I approach
Her loveliness, so absolute she seems,
And in herself complete, so well to know
Her own, that what she wills to do or say
Seems _wisest_, _virtuousest_, _discreetest_, _best_.
Neither her outside, form'd so fair,----
So much delights me, as _those graceful acts_,
_Those thousand decencies_ that daily flow
From all her words and actions, mix'd with love
And sweet compliance, which declare unfeign'd
_Union of mind, or in us both one soul_.
----And, to consummate all,
_Greatness of mind_, and _nobleness_, their seat
Build in her loveliest, _and create an awe
About her, as a guard angelic plac'd_."
MILTON.
This is really moral painting, without any abatement of female charms.
This is the natural consequence of that purity of heart, which is
so much insisted on in the Christian morality. In the instructions
of the heathen philosophers, it is either not mentioned at all, or
at most, it is recommended coldly, as a thing proper, and worthy
of a mind attentive to great things.--But, in Christianity, it is
insisted on as an indispensable duty, and enforced by many arguments
peculiar to itself.
It is worthy of observation, that the most prominent superstitions
which have dishonoured the Christian churches, have been the
excessive refinements which the enthusiastic admiration of heroic
purity has allowed the holy trade to introduce into the manufacture
of our spiritual fetters. Without this enthusiasm, cold expediency
would not have been able to make the Monastic vow so general, nor
have given us such numbers of convents. These were generally founded
by such enthusiasts--the rulers indeed of the church _encouraged_
this to the utmost, as the best levy for the spiritual power--but
they could not _enjoin_ such foundations. From the same source we
may derive the chief influence of auricular confession. When these
were firmly established, and were venerated, almost all the other
corruptions of Christianity followed of course. I may almost add,
that though it is here that Christianity has suffered the most
violent attacks, it is here that the place is most tenable.--Nothing
tends so much to knit all the ties of society as the endearing
connections of family, and whatever tends to lessen our veneration
for the marriage-contract, weakens them in the most effectual
manner. Purity of manners is the most effectual support, and pure
thoughts are the only sources from which pure manners can flow. I
readily grant that in former times this veneration for personal
purity was carried to an extravagant height, and that several very
ridiculous fancies and customs arose from this. Romantic love
and chivalry are strong instances of the strange vagaries of our
imagination, when carried along by this enthusiastic admiration of
female purity; and so unnatural and forced, that they could only be
temporary fashions. But I believe that, with all their ridicule,
it would be a happy nation where this was the general creed and
practice. Nor can I help thinking a nation on its decline, when the
domestic connections cease to be venerated, and the illegitimate
offspring of a nabob or a nobleman are received with ease into good
company.
Nothing is more clear than that the design of the Illuminati was to
abolish Christianity--and we now see how effectual this would be for
the corruption of the fair sex, a purpose which they eagerly wished
to gain, that they might corrupt the men. But if the women would
retain the rank they now hold, they will be careful to preserve
in full force on their minds this religion, so congenial to their
dispositions, which nature has made affectionate and kind.
And with respect to the men, is it not egregious folly to encourage
any thing that can tend to blast our sweetest enjoyments? Shall we
not do this most effectually if we attempt to corrupt what nature
will always make us consider as the highest elegance of life? The
divinity of the Stoics was, "_Mens sana in corpore sano_,"--but it
is equally true,
"_Gratior est pulchro veniens e corpore virtus_."
If, therefore, instead of professedly tainting what is of itself
beautiful, we could really work it up to
"That fair form, which, wove in fancy's loom,
"Floats in light visions round the poet's head,"
and make woman a pattern of perfection, we should undoubtedly add
more to the heartfelt happiness of life than by all the discoveries
of the Illuminati. See what was the effect of Theagenes and
Chariclea.
And we should remember that with the fate of woman that of man is
indissolubly knit. The voice of nature spoke through our immortal
bard, when he made Adam say,
----"From thy state
"Mine never shall be parted, bliss or woe."
Should we suffer the contagion to touch our fair partner, all is gone,
and too late shall we say,
"O fairest of creation! last and best
"Of all God's works, creature in whom excell'd
"Whatever can to sight or thought be form'd,
"_Holy, divine, good, amiable, or sweet_!
"How art thou lost,--and now to death devote?
"And _me_ with _thee_ hast ruin'd; for with thee
"Certain my resolution is to die."
CHAP. III.
_The German Union._
When such a fermentation had been excited in the public mind, it
cannot be supposed that the formal suppression of the Order of
the Illuminati in Bavaria, and in the Duchy of Wirtemberg, by the
reigning princes, would bring all to rest again. By no means. The
minds of men were predisposed for a change by the restless spirit
of speculation in every kind of enquiry, and the leaven had been
carefully and skilfully disseminated in every quarter of the empire,
and even in foreign countries. Weishaupt said, on good grounds,
that "if the Order should be discovered and suppressed, he would
restore it with tenfold energy in a twelvemonth." Even in those
states where it was formally abolished, nothing could hinder the
enlisting new members, and carrying on all the purposes of the
Order. The Areopagitæ might indeed be changed, and the seat of
the direction transferred to some other place, but the Minerval
and his Mentor could meet as formerly, and a ride of a few miles
into another State, would bring him to a Lodge, where the young
would be amused, and the more advanced would be engaged in serious
mischief. Weishaupt never liked children's play. He indulged Philo
in it, because he saw him taken with such rattles: but his own
projects were dark and solemn, and it was a relief to him now to
be freed from that mummery. He soon found the bent of the person's
mind on whom he had set his talons, and, he says, that "no man
ever escaped him whom he thought it worth while to secure." He had
already filled the lists with enough of the young and gay, and when
the present condition of the Order required sly and experienced
heads, he no longer courted them by play-things. He communicated
the ranks and the instructions by a letter, without any ceremony.
The correspondence with Philo at the time of the breach with him,
shews the superiority of Spartacus. Philo is in a rage, provoked
to find a pitiful professor discontented with the immense services
which he had received from a gentleman of his rank, and treating
him with authority, and with disingenuity.--He tells Spartacus what
still greater services he can do the Order, and that he can also
ruin it with a breath.--But in the midst of this rage, he proposes
a thousand modes of reconcilement. The smallest concession would
make him hug Spartacus in his arms. But Spartacus is deaf to all
his threats, and firm as a rock. Though he is conscious of his own
vile conduct, he abates not in the smallest point, his absolute
authority--requires the most implicit submission, which he says "is
due not to him, but to the Order, and without which the Order must
immediately go to ruin."--He does not even deign to challenge Philo
to do his worst, but allows him to go out of the Order without one
angry word. This shows his confidence in the energy of that spirit
of restless discontent, and that hankering after reform which he had
so successfully spread abroad.
This had indeed arisen to an unparalleled height, unexpected even by
the seditious themselves. This appeared in a remarkable manner by
the reception given to the infamous letters on the constitution of
the Prussian States.
The general opinion was, that Mirabeau was the author of the letters
themselves, and it was perfectly understood by every person, that
the translation into French was a joint contrivance of Mirabeau
and Nicholai. I was assured of this by the British Minister at
that Court. There are some blunders in respect of names, which
an inhabitant of the country could hardly be guilty of, but are
very consistent with the self-conceit and precipitancy of this
Frenchman.--There are several instances of the same kind in two
pieces, which are known for certain to be his, viz. the _Chronique
scandaleuse_ and the _Histoire secrette de la Cour de Berlin_.
These letters were in every hand, and were mentioned in every
conversation, even in the Prussian dominions--and in other places of
the empire they were quoted, and praised, and commented on, although
some of their contents were nothing short of rebellion.