II. Infcruclions for the lower cianes of Mafonry. III.

Inftrudlions relating to Mafjn Lodo:es in c^eneral. IV. Account of a reception into this de?:>ree, wiih the bond wlncli each fubfcribes before he caii be admitted. V. Concernincr die Solemn Chai^ter for reception. VI. Openinp; of tiie Chapter. Vlh R ieual ot Reception,
and the Oath. VIII. Shutting of the Chapter. IX.
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136 THE ILLUMINATE CHAP. II.
AgapCy or Love-Feaft. X. Ceremonies of the confe- cratioQ of the Chapter. Appendix A, Explanation of the Symbols of Free Mafonry. B, Catechifm for the Scotch Knight. C, Secret Cypher.
In N^ I. it is faid that the '^ chief ftudy of the '* Scotch Knight is to work on all men in fuch a way as is moil infinuating. II. He mull endeavour to acquire the pofTeffion of confiderable property. III. In all Mafon Lodges we mud try fecretly to get the upper hand. The Mafons do not know what Free- Mafonry is, their high objefts, nor their hiofhed Superiors, and fhould be direfted by thofe who will lead them along the right road. In preparing a can- " dldace for the degree of Scotch Knighthood, we *^ iiiull bring him into dilemmas by enfnaring queftiens. — We mud endeavour to get the difpofal of the mo- ney of the Lodges of the Free Mafons, or at lead take care that it be applied to purpofes favourable to our Order — but this mud be done in a way that " fnall not be remarked. Above all, we mud pufh " forward v/ith all our fi;iil, the plan ofEclei5tic Ma- '^ fonry, and for this purpofe follow up the circular " letter already fent to all the Lodges v;ith every *' tiling that can increafe their prcftntembarraffment." In :hc bond of N"" IV. the candidate binds himftlf to *^ confider and treat the liluminaii as the Superiors of " Free Mafonry, and endeavour in all iht Mafon " Lodges which he frequents, to have the Mafonry of *' the illuminated, and particularly the Scotch Novi- '^ tiare, introduced into the Lodge." (This is not very different from the Mafonry of the Chevalier de VAigle of the Rofaic Mafonry, making the Mader's ciegrce a fort of commemxoration of the paffion, but v/ithout giving that character to Chridianity which is peculiar to liJuminatifm.) Jefus Chriil is reprefented as the enemy of fuperftitious obfervances, and the af-
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CHAP. II. THE ILLUMINATI. i JJ
fertor of xhe Empire of Reafon and of Brotherly love, and his death and memory as dear to mankind. This evidently paves the way for Weifhaupt's Chriftianity. The Scotch Knight ^ilfo engages ^^ to confider 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"^ Vll. the candi- date fays, ^^ I will never more bea flatterer of the greac^ I will never be a lowly fcrvant of princes ; but I v/ill drive with fpirit, and Vv^ith addrels, for virtue, wif- dom, and liberty. I will powerfully oppofe fuper- ftition, {lander, and defpotifm ; fo that, like a true fon of the Order^ I may ferve the world, 1 'will never facrifice the general good, and the happincfs of the world, to my private intereft. I will boldly ^' defend my brother againfl fiander, will follow ouc '^ the traces of the pure and true Religion pointed out *^ to me in my inPcructions, and in the do6i:rines of '' Mafonry ; 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, *^ Now prove thyfclf, by thy *^ ability, equal to Kings, and never from this time *' forward bow thy knee to one who is, like thyfelf buc '^ a man."
N^ IX. is an account of the Love-Feafl:. jft, There is a Table Lodge, opened as ufual, but in virtue of the ancient Mafter-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 almofl: verbatim from Toland.)
od^ 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.
S 2^> When
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3^, When the Table Lodgre is ended, and the Prc^ fed fees no obitacle, he ftrikes on this bye-table the flrokc of Scotch Mafier, and his fignal is repT^ated by the Senior Warden. All are frill and filent. The Prefed lifts off the cloth.
4/Z?, The Prefcd alks, whether the Knights are in the difpofition to partake of the Love-Feaft in earneft, peace, and contentment. If none hefitates or offers to retire, he takes the plate with the bread and fays,
J. of N. our Grand-Mafter, in the night in which he was betrayed by his friends, perfccuted for his love for truth, imprifoncd, and condemned to die, afTembled his trufty Brethren, to celebrate his lall: Love-Feaft — which is fignified to us in many ways. He took bread (taking it) and broke it (breaking it) and bleifed it, and gave it to his difciples, &c. — This ihall 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-Mafter, is ready to lay down his life for his *' Brethren.
Thanks be to our Grand-Mafter, who has ap- pointed this feaft as a memorial of his kindnefs, for the uniting of the hearts of thofe who love him. — Go in peace, and blefled be this new Aftbciation which we have formed. — Blefted be ye who remain loyal and ft rive for the good caufe." ^thy The Prefed immediately clofes the Chapter -with the ufual ceremonies of the Lege de Table.
6th, It is to be obferved, that no prieft of the Order muft be prefent at this Love-Feaft, and that even the Brother Servitor quits the Lodge.
I muft obferve here, that Philo, the manufadlurer of this ritual, has done it very injudicioufly ; it has no refemblance whatever to the Love-Feaft of the primi- tive Chriftians, and is merely a copy of a fmiilar thing
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in one of the fleps of French Miifoniy, Philo's read- ing in church-hiftory was probably very fcanty, or he trulled that the candidates would not be very nice in their examination of it, and he imagined chat it would do well enoughj and '' tickle fuch as had a religious " hankering." Spartacus dilliked it exceedingly — it did not accord with his ferious conceptions, and he juilly call.'^. it J oner la Religion,
The difcourfe of reception is to be found alfo in the fecret correfpondence ( NachtraglL Abtheilung, p. 44.)- But it is needlefs to infcrt it here. I have given the fubfbance of this and of all the Cofmo-political decla- mations already in the panegeric introdudlion to the account of the procefs of education- And in Sparta- cus's letter, and in Philo's, I have given an abftraft of the introdudion to the explanation given in this degree of the fymbols of Free Mafonry. With refped to the explanation itfelf, it is as flovenly and wretched as can be imagined, and Ihews that Spartacus trufted to much more operative principles in the human heart for the reception of his nonfenfe than the didtates of unbialTed reafon. None but promifing fubjccls were admitted thus fat' — fuch as would not boggle ; and their princi- ples were already fufficicntly apparent to afTure him that they would be contented with any thing that made o^ame of religion, and w^ould be diverted by the feri- oufnefs which a chance devotee might exhibit during thefe filly caricatures of Chriftianity and Free Mafonry. But there is confidcrable addrefs in the way that Spar- tacus prepares his pupils for having all this mummery fhewn in its true colours, and oveicur ned.
'* Examine, read, think on thtfe fymbols. There " are many things which one cannot find out without ** a oruide, nor even learn without infl;ru(Stion. They '* require ftudy and zeal. Should you in any future •*' period think that you have conceived a clearer no-
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140 THE ILLUMINATI. CHAP. 11.
^' tion of them, that you have found a paved road, ** declare your difcoveries to your Superiors -, it is *^ thus that you improve your mind ; they expert this of you ; they know the true path — but will not point it out — enough if thty affift you in every approach to it, and warn you Vv'hen you recede from it. They have even put things in your way to try your powers of leading yourfelf through the difficult track of dif- covery. In this proccfs the weak head finds only child's play— the initiated finds objects of thought *^ which language cannot exprefs, and the thinking '^ mind finds food for his faculties." By fuch fore- v/arnings as thefe Weifhaupt leaves room for any de- viation, for any fentiment or opinion of the individual that he m.ay afterwards choofe to encourage, and '^ to *' whifper in their ear (as he expreffes it) many things ^•^ which he did not find it prudent to infert in a print- '^ ed compend."
But all the principles and aim of Spartacus and of his Order are mod diilindlly feen in the third or Myf- tery Clafs. I proceed therefore to give Ibme account of it. By the Table it appears to have two degrees, the Leffer and the Greater Mylleries, each of which have two departments, one relating chiefly to Religion and the other to Politics.
The Frieft's degree contains, i. an Introdu6tion.
2. Further Accounts of the Reception into this degree.
3. What is called Inilrudtion in the Third Chamber, v^'hich the candidate muft read over. 4. The Ritual of Reception. 5. Initruftion for the Firft Degree of the Pr left's Clafs, called InftrMtllo in Scientijuis. 6. Account of the Confccration of a Dean, the Superior of this Tower Oider of Priefts.
The Regent degree contains, 1. Dire6tions to the Provincial concernin;^ the difpenfation of this degree. 2. Ritual of Reception. 3. Syilem of Diredion h;r
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CHAP. 11. 'THE ILLUMINATI. I4I
the whole Order. 4. InRru6lion for the whole Regent degree. 5. In(tru6tion for the Prefedls or Local Su- periors. 6. InilrucStion for the Provincials.
The moll remarkable thing in the Priell's degree is the I:iftru(Stion in the Third Chamber. It is to be found in the private correfpondence (Nachtrage Origi- nal Schrif ten 1787, 20. Abtheilnngy page 44.,). There it has the title Bijcotirje to the Illiiminati DirigenteSy or Scotch Knights. In the critical hiftory, which is an- nexed to the Neuejie Arbeitimg, there is an account mvtn of the reafon for this denomination; and notice is taken of fomc differences between the inftrudlions here contained and that difcourfe.
This inftrui5lion begins with fore complaints of the low condition ol the human race ; and the caufes are deduced from religion and ftate-government. '^ Men "'^ originally led a patriarchal life, in which every fa- ^' thcr of a family was the fole lord of his houfe and his property, while he himfelf poUeiTed general free- dom and equality. But they fuitered themfeives to be opprelfed — gave themfeives up to civil foeieties, and formed ilaccs. Kven by this they fell; and this '^ is the fall of man, by which they were thruft into ^'^ unfpea'kable 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 v/hich a general morality may be eitablifiied, which will put man in ^^ a condition to ofovern himfelf, reo:ain his orig-inal *' worth, and difpcnfe with ail political fupports, and ^^ and particularly Vv^ith rulers. This can be done in ** no 'Other Vv'ay but by fecret affbciations, which will ^' by degrees, and in filence, poiTrfs themifelves of the t' government of the States, and make ufe of thofe means for this purpoitr^which the wicked ufe for at- attaining their bafe cnd?>. Princes and Priefts are '* in particular, an i kiT exochen the wicked, whofe
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hands we mud tie up by means of thefc aiTociacions, if wc 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- yond this period. When a nation comes of ao-e, ^^ their flate of wardlliip is at an end.^'
Here follows a long declamation againfl: patriotifm, as a narrow-minded principle when compared with true Cofrao-polirifm. Nobles are reprefcnted as '^ a race of men that ferve not the nation but the Prince, v/hom a hint from the Sovereign ilirs up againft the '^ nation, who are retained fcrvants and minifters of defpotifm, and the mean for opprefTmg national li- berty. Kings are accufed of a tacit convention, under the flattering appellation of the balance of pov/er, to keep nations in fubjedion. '^ The means to regain Reafon her rights- — to raife ^^ liberty from its adies— to reftore to man his original ** rights — to produce the previous revolution in the *^ mind of man — to obtain an eternal victory over op- preflbrs — and to work the redemption of mankind, are fccret fchools of vv'ifdom. When the worthy have ilrengthcned their affociation by numbers, they are fccure, and ^hen they begin to become power- ful, and terrible to the wicked, of whom many will, for fafety, amend themfelves — many will come over to our party, and we fhall bind the hands of the red, and finally conquer them. Whoever fprcads gene^ ral Illumination, augments mutual fecurity^ Illu- mination and fecurity make princes unneceffary; Illuminatian performs this by creating an eftedcive '^ Morahty, and Morality makes a nation of full age ^' fit to govern itfclf; and fince it is not impofTible to *^ produce a jull Morality, ip is pofTible to regain free-r >^ dom for the world. *'
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" VVc mufl therefore flrengtben our band, and efba- *' blifh a legion, which Ihall reftore the rights of man, *^ original liberty and independence.
*' Jcfus Chrift'^— but I am fick of all this. The fol- lowing quedions are put to the candidate :