book called Fuller Information is the performance of

a clergyman
■A-',
CHAP. iii. THE GERMAN UNION. ^3^
a ciergvir.an cnlled ^chutz, of the lowed clafs, and bv no means of an eminent charadler. — Another performance in the form of a dialogue between X, y, and Z, giving nearly the fame account, is by Potr, the dear friend of Bradht and of his Union, and au- thor of the Commentary on the Edi his materials from one Roper, an expelled ftudent of debauched morals, who fubhfied by copying and vending filthy raanufcripts. Bahrdt fays, that he found him naked and (farving, and, out of pity, took him into his houfe, and employed him as an amanuenfis. Roper iioie the papers at various times, taking them with him to Leipzig, whither he went on pretence of ficknefs. At laft Schutz and he went to Berlin together, and gave the information on which Bahrdt was put in prifon. In fliort they aii appear to have been equally profligates and traitors to each other, and exhibit a dreadful, but I hope a ufeful picfiure of the influence of this Illumination which fo wonderfully fafcinates Germany.
This is all the direct information that I can pick up of the founder and the proceedings of the Ger- man Union. The project is coarfe, and palpably mean, aiming at the dahlers of entry-money and of annual contribution, and at the publication and pro- fitable fale of Dr. Bahrdt's books. This circumfiance gives it firong features of its parentage — Philofpeaks of Bahrdt in his Final Declaration in terms of con- tempt and abhorence. There is nothing ingenious, nothing new, nothing enticing, in the plans; and the immediate purpoie of indulging the licentious tafte of the public comes fo frequently before the eye, that it bears all the marks of that groflhefs 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 Wei&aupt, and fay that it is the Illu-
minati
234 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. iii.
minati working In another form. There Is no deny- ing that the principles, and even the manner of proceeding, are the fame in every effential circu al- liance. Many paragraphs of the declamations cir- culated through Germany with the plans, are tran- icribed verbatim from Weifhaupt's Corrected Jyftem of Illuminatifm. Much of the work On Injlruction^ and the Means for promoting it^ is very nearly a copy
of the fame work, blended with floveniv extracls
' 1/
from fom.e of his own writings — There is the fame feries of deluhons from the beginning, as in Illumi- natilm — Free Mafonry and Chriflianity are com- pounded— lirfl: v/ith marks of refpecl — then Chrif- tianity is twifted to a purpofe foreign from it, but the fame with that aimed at by Weifhaupt — 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 Inftruclion and On the Liberty of the Prefs, Nor can he doubt that the political principles are equally anarchical with thole of the iiluminati. — The endeavours aifb to get pofreiiion of public ofBccs — of places of edu- cation— of the public mind, by the Reading So- cieties, and by publications — are {.o many tran- icripts from the liluminati. Add to this, that Dr. Bahrdt was an Illiimlnatus — and wrote the Better than Horus^ at the command of Weidiaupt, Nay, it is well known that Weidiaupt was twice or thrice at Bahrdt's R.uhe duriug thofe tranf^.c^lions^ and that he zcaloudy promoted the formation of Ftcadiug Societies in feveral places. — But 1 am ra- ther of the opinion that Weidiaupt made thofc vifits in order to keep Dr. Bahrdt within tome bounds of decency, and to hinder him from hurt- ing the caiife by his precipitancy, when fpurrcd on by the want of money. WelHiaupt could not work
in
€HAP. Hi. THE GERMAN UNION. t^S
in fach an unfldlful manner. But he would be very glad of fuch help as this coarfe tool could give iiim — and Bahrdt gave great help; for, when lie was imprifoned and his papers (eized, his Ar- chives,, as he called them, fiiewed that there v*7ere many Reading Sccicties which his proje£t had drawn together. The Prullian States had above thirty, and the number of readers was af- tonifningly great — and it was found, that the per- nicious books had really found their way into every hut. Bahrdt, by defcending a ftory lower than Weidiaupt, has greatly increafcd the number of his pupils.
But, although I cannot confider the German Union as a formal revival of the Order under an- other name, I mud hold thofe United^ and the members of thoie Heading Societies, as Illuminati 2iX\(l ,Mhierva!s, I muib even confider the Union as a part of Spartacus' work. The plans of Wei- (haupt were partly carried into eifedt in their dif- ferent branches — they were pointed out, and the way to carry them on are diflinctiy defcribed in the private coriefpondence of the Order — It re- quired little genius to attempt them in imitation, Bahrdt made the attempt, and in part ILcceedcd. Weiiliaupt's hopes were well founded — The lea- ven was not only diflributed, but the management of the fermentation was now underftocd, and it went on apace*
It is to be remarked, that nothing was found among Bahrdt's papers to fupport the (lory he writes in his diary — no fuch correfpondenccs — but enough for detcdting many of thefe Societies. Many others however were found unconncdled with Eahrdt'sRuhe, not of better character, either as to Morality or Loyalty, and fome of them con- liderable and cxpenfive; and many proofs were
found
2^6 THE GERxMAN UNION i 6HAP. ilh
found of a combination to force the public to a certain 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, which in Germany fur- paiFes all our conceptions. The catalogues of jiew writings in ilieets, which are printed twice a-year for each of the fairs at Leipzig and Frankfort, would allonifh a Britiili reader by the numbere- The bookfellers meet there, and at one glance fee the whole republic of literature, and, like Ro- man fenators, decide the fentiments of diflant provinces. By thus feeing the whole togethery 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 fuggelf^ and the bookfellers think how the thing w^ill tickle* Yet it mufl not be inferred, from the prevalence- of fuch books, that fuch is the common fenfe of mankind, and that the writings are not the cor- rupters, but the corrupted, or that they arc what they ought to be, becaufe they pleafe the publico- We need only pulh the matter to an extremity^ and its caufe appears plain. Filthy prints will al- ways create a greater crowd before the (hop win- dow than the fineft performances of Wollett. Li- centious books will be read w^ith 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
CHAP. iii. THE GERMAN UNION. 237
Bat although it mull be confeiTed that great en- couragement was given to the fceptical, infidel, and licentious writings in Germany, we fee that it was flill necefTary to pratitifc feduftion. The Religionifl was made to expe(^ Ibme engaging ex- hibition of his faith. The Citizen mult be told that his civil connexions are refpe£ted, and will be improved ; and all are told that good manners or virtue is to be fupported. Man is fuppofed to be, in very eflential circumftances, what he wifhes to be, and feels he ought to be : and he is cor- rupted by means of falfefhood and trick. The principles by which he is wheedled into wicked- nefs in the lirll inflance, are therefore fuch as are really addreffed to the general fentim^ents of man- kind : thele therefore lliould be confidered as more expredive 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 is otherwife aifedted by them, and hy- pocritically ufes them in order to get hold of the uninitiated, that he may in time be made lo cherifti the contrary fentiments, cannot be a good mind, notwithitanding any pretenfions it may make to the love of mankind.
No man, not Weiftiaupt himfelf, has made flronger profeiTions of benevolence, of regard for thehappinefs of mankind, and of every thing that is amiable, than Dr. Bahrdt. It may not be ufe- lefs to enquire what effect fuch principles have had on his own mind, and thofe of his chief coadju- tors. Deceit of every kind is diflionourable ; and the deceit that is profelfedly employed in the pro-
2 G ceedingi
238 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAPUU
ccedings of the Union is no exception. No pi- ous fraud ^whatever mud be ufed, and pure reli- gion mud be prefented to the view without all difguife.
** The more fair Virtue's feen, the more '^\t charms. ** Safe, plain, and eafy, are her artlefs ways. ** With face ereft, her eyes look ftrait before ; ** For dauntlefs is her march, her Hep fecure.
** Not fo, pale Fraud — now here fhe turns, now there,
** Still feeking darker fhades, fecure in none,
** Looks often back, and wheeling round and round,
** Sinks headlong in the danger (he would ftiun.'*
The mean motive of the Protellant Sceptic is as inconfiftent with our notions of honefty as with our notions of honour ; and our fufpicions are juftly raifed of the character of Dr. Bahrdt and his afrociates,even although we do not fuppofe that their aim is the total aboliihing of religion. With propriety therefore may we make fome enquiry about their lives and conduct. Fortunately this is eafy in the prefent inftance. A man that has turned every eye upon himfelf can hardly efcape 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 moft productive of millake, mif- reprefentation, obloquy, and injuftice. But even here we are fortunate. Many remarkable parts of his life are eftablifhed by the mod refped:able teftimony, or by judicial evidences; and, to make all fure, he has written his own life. I Ihall infert nothing here that is not made out by the two laft modes of proof, reding nothing on the fird, how- ever refpeftable the evidence may be. But I mud obferve, that his life was alfo written, by his dear friend Pott, the partner of Walther the bookfel-
ler.
CHAP. iii. THE GERMAN UNION. 239
ler. The flory of this publication is curious, and it is inftrudtive.
Bahrdt was in prifon, and in great poverty. He intended to write his own life, to be printed by Wakher, under a iidlitious name, and in this work he intended to indulge his fpleen and his diflikc of all thofe who liad offended him, and in particular all priefls, and rulers, and judges, who had given him fo much trouble. He knew that the (Irange, and many af 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 fale as foon as the pub- lic ftiould guefs that it was his own performance, by the lingular but lignificant name which the pretended author would aiTume. He had almofl agreed with Walther for a thoufand dahlers, (about L. 200), when he wasimprifoned for being the author of the farce fo often named, and of the commentary on the Religion Edidl^ written by Pott, and for the proceedings of the German Uni- on. He was refufed the ufe of pen and ink. H# then applied to Pott, and found means to corref- pond with him, and to give him part of his life already v/ritten, and materials for the reft, con- fifting of flories, and anecdotes, and correfpon- dence. Pott fent him fcveral Iheets, with which he was fo pleaied, that they concluded a bargain. Bahrdt fays, that Pott was to have 400 copies, and that the reft was to go to the maintenance of Bahrdt and his family, confifting of his wife, daughter, a Chriftina and her children who lived with them, Sec, Pott gives a different account, and the truth was different from both, but of little confequence to us. Bahrdt's papers had been feized, and fearch- ed for evidence of his tranfaclions, but the ftri eft attention was paid to the prccife points of the
Clijg
2^0 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. ii'l.
charge, and do paper was abdradled which did not relate to thele. All others were kept in a Teal- ed room. Pott procured the removal of thefcals and got poiFellion of them. Bahrdt lays, that Ivis wife and daughter came to him in prifon, ahnoft flarving, 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 alTociate of Walther, who had great confidence in him ( Anecdotenhnch fur meinen kihen Ajiitjbr'u- der^ p, 400) and had conducted the bufmefs of Stark's booii, as has been already mentioned. No man was better knov/n to Bahrdt, for they had long a£ted together as chief hands in the Union. He would therefore write the life of its founder cort amore^ and it might be expected to be a rare and tickling performance. And indeed it was. The firfl 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 fucceiRvcly occupy the mind of the reader are no- thing but llrong degrees of averfion, diigulf, and horror. The figure fet up to view is a monfter, a man of talents indeed, and capable of great things; but loft to truth, to virtue, and even to the atlec- tation of common decency — In fliort, a (hamelefs profligate. — Poor Bahrdt was alioniflied, — (tared - — but, having his wits about him, faw that this life would {^\\^ and would alfo fell another. — Without lofs of time, he faid that he would hold Pott to his bargain — but he reckoned without his hod. " No, no,'' faid Potr, *' your are not the " man I took you for — your correipondence was *' put into my bands— 1 law that you had de-
'' ceived
CHAP. iii. THE GERMAN UNION. 24I
u (( it,
" ceived me, and it was my duty, as a man -wko loves truth above all things ^ to hinder you from deceiving tlie world. 1 have not writ- ten the book you deiired me. i did not worii for you, but for myieif — therefore you get not a grofchen.'* " Why, Sir," faid Bahrdt, we>- " both imow that this won't do. You and i have *' ah'cadv tried it. You received Stark's manu- " fcript, to be printed by Walther — Walther and " you Tent it hither to Michaelis, that I might fee it during the printings 1 wrote an illuitratino 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. — Waither was obliged to print the work " as Stark firil ordered, and we loft all our la- " hour. — So ftiall you now% for I will commence " an adlion this inilant, and let me fee with what *' face you will defend yourfeif, w^ithin a few " weeks of your lail appearance in court." Pctl faid, " You may try this. My w^ork is already fold, " and difperfed 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 1 741. His father was then a parifn minifter, and afterwards Profeifor of Theology at Leipzig, where he died^ in 1775* The youth, when at College, enlifted in the PruiTian fervice as a huffar, but was bought off by his father. He was M. A. in 1 76 1. Ke became caret hift in his father's church, was a popular preacher, and pubiidied fermons in 1765, and fome controverfial writings, which did him honour — But he then began to in- dulge in conviviality, and in anonymous pafqui-
nades,
242 THE GERMAN UNION, CHAP, ill,
iiades, uncommonly bitter and offenfive. No per- fon was lafe — ProfefTors — Magiftrates — Clergy- men, had his chief notice — alio ftudents — and even comrades and friends. (Bahrdt lays, that thefe things might cut to the quick but they were all juft. j Unluckily his temperament was what the atomical philofophers (who can explain every thing by asthers and vibrations) call fanguine. He therefore (his own word) was apaffionate admirer of the ladies. Coming home from fupper he fre- quently met a young Mifs in the way to his lodg- ings, neatly drelTed in a rofe-coloured filk jacket and train, and a fable bonnet, coftly, and like a lady. One evening (after fome old Kenifh, as he fays,) he faw the lady home. Some time after, the miftrefs of the houfe, Madam Godfchuflcy, came into his room, and faid 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 inftalments of twenty-five.
*' The girl was fenfible, and good, and as he had ** already paid for it, and her converfation was " agreeable, he did not dilcontinae hisacquaint- " ance." A comrade one day told him, that one Bel, a magiftrate, whom he had lampooned, knew the affair, and would bring it into court, unlefs he immediately retrieved the bond. This bond was the only evidence, but it was enough. Neither Bahrdt nor his friend could raife the money. But they fell on another contrivance. They got Ma- dam Godfchufl in order to receive the money. Bahrdt was in a clofet, and his comrade wore a fword. The wo- man could not be prevailed on to produce the bond till Balirdt (hould arrive, and the money be put into her hands, with aprefcnt to herfelf. The
comrade
•HAP. iii. THE GERMAN UNION. 24J
comrade tvied to flutter her, and, drawing his Iword, (hewed her how men fenced — made pafies at the wall — and then at her — but (he was too firm — he then threw away his fword, and began to ti y to force the paper from her. She defended herfelf a good while, but at length he got the pa- per out of her pocket, tore it in pieces, opened the
clofet door, and laid, " There you b , there
" is the honourable fellow whom you and your *' wh — have bullied — but it is with me you have " to do now, and you know that I can bring you '' to the gallows.*' There was a great ftquabble to be fure, fays Bahrdt, but it ended, and I thought 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 fome very reverend ap- pearance at church. In (liort, 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, how^ever, that Madam Godichuiky and the young Mifs did not fare much better. They were both imprifoned. Madam G. died lometime after of Ibme (liocking difeafe. The court records give a very different account of the v/hole, and particularly of the fciffle; bfeit Bahrdt's ftory is enough.
Bahrdt fays, that his father was fevere— but ac- knovviedges that his own temperament was hafty, (why does not his father's temperament excufe fome- thing? Vibratiuncula will explain everything or nothing. '' therefore (again) I fometimes forgot myfelf. One day I laid a loaded piftol on the table, and toid him that he (hould meet with that if he went on fo. But I was only feventeen."
Dr. Bahrdt was, of courfe, obliged to leave the place. His friends, and Semler in particular, 2iVi eminent theological writer, who had formed a very
favourable
^44 "^^E GERMAN UNION. CHAP. HI,
favourable opinion of his uncommon talents, were aiTidiious in their endeavours to get an edabiifhnient for him. But his high opinion of himfeif, his tem- per, impetuous, precipiianf.and overbearing, and a bitter fatirical habit which he had freelv induked in his oulfet of life, m.ade their endeavours very in- etfedual.
x^t lad he got a profefforfhip at Erlangen, then at Erfurth, and in 1771, at Gieffen. But in all thefe places he was no fooner fettled than he got into dif- putes v;nth his colleagues and with the eflablifhed church, being a llrenuous partizan 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 difcuiTion alone, but had recourfe to ridicule and perfonal anecdotes, and indulged in the mod cutting farcafms and grofs fcurrility. Being fond of convivial company, his income was infuSicient 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 adivity, and fpared neither friends nor foes in his anonymous perform- ances. But this could not lad, and his avowed the- ological writings were fuch as could not be fuffered in a Profelfor of Divinity. The very dudents at Gieden were (hocked with fome of his liberties. Af- ter much wrangihig in the church judicatories he was jud going to be difmided, when he got an invi- tation to Marfchlins in Switzerland to fuperintend an academy. He went thither about the year 1 776, and formed the feminary after the model of Bafe- dow's Philanthropine, or academy, at Dedau, of which I have already given fome account. It had acquired fome celebrity, and the plan was peculiarly fuiied to Bahrdt's tade, becaufe it left him at liberty to introduce any fydeai of religious or irreligious
opinions
«c
^HAP, ill; THE GERMAN UNION. 245
opinions that he pleafed. He refolved to avail him- felf of this libert}^ and though a clergyman and Dodor of Theolog}', he would outftrip even Bafe- dovv, who had no ecclefiaftical orders to reftrain 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 fimpie — '' The leading propeniities, fays he, of the human mind are three — Inftinc^ive liber- ty (Freyheitftriebe) — inftindlive adivity (Triebe
fur Thatigkeit) and inftindive love (Liebes
triebe)." I do not wifli to mifunderftand him, but I can give no other tranilation.— ^' If a man is ob- ftruded in the exercife of any of thefe propenii-^ ties he fuffers an injury. — The bufmefsof a good education therefore is to teach us how they are to be enjoyed in the highefl degree." We need not be furprifed although the Dodor fliould find it difficult to manage the Cyclopedia in his Philanthropine in fuch a manner as to give fatisfaclion to the neighbourhood, which was ha- bituated to very different fentiments, — Accord- ingly he found his fituation as uncomfortable as at Gieflen. He fays, in one of his latefl performances, that the Grifons were a ilrong inftance of the immenfe importance of education. They knew: nothing but their handicrafts, and their minds were as coarfc as their perfons.'' He quarrelled with them all, and was obliged to abfcond after lying fometime in arreft.
He came to Durkheim or Turkheim, where his father w^as or had been miniller. His literary talents were well known» — After fo me little time he got an afibciation formed for ere£ling and fup- porting a Philanthropine or houfe of education. A large fund was coile£led, and he was enabled to
2 H travel
246 THE GEPvMAN UNlON.f CHAP^ llL
travel into Holland and England, to engage pu- pil?^ and was furnillied with proper recommend- ations.— On Ills return the plan was carried into execution. The caflle or refidence of Count Lein- ing Hartzburgh, at lieidelhcim, having gardens, park, and every handfome accommodation, had been fitted up for it, and it w^as coniecrated by a folemn religious fellival 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 itifie his vanity and conceal the author's name. Of thefe pieces, fome were even (liocking to decency. It was indifferent to him whether it was friend or foe that he abul- ed ; and fome of them were fo horribly injurious to the characters of the mofi: refpeciable men in the (late, that he was continually under the cor- rection of the courts of jufHce. There was hardly a man of letters that had ever been in his com- pany who did not fuffer by it. For his conftant practice was to father every nev^ flcp that he took towards Atheiim on fome other perfon ; and, whenever the reader fees, in the beginning of a book, any perfon celebrated by the author for found fenfe, profound judgment, accurate reafon- ing, or praiied for a£ts of friendfliip and kindnefs to himfelf, he may be allured that, before tliC clofe of the book, this man will convince Dr, Bahrdt in fome private converfation, that fome doctrine, cheriihed and venerated by all Chrii- tians, is a piece of knavilh fuperftition. So lofl was Dr. Bahrdt to all fenfe of ftiame. He faid that he held his own opinions independent of all man- kind, and was indifferent about their praile or
their reproach.
Bahrdt's
CHAP. ill. THE GERMAN UNION. 24^
Bahrdt's licentious, very licentions life, was the "caufe of moft of thefe enormities. No income could fuifice and he wrote for bread. "The artful manner in whicii the literary manufadlure of Germany was conducted, made it im.poilible 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 Ur, Br^.hrdt, who really battened in the Epicurean fly. The coniequence of all this was that he was obliged to {]y from Reidefneim, leaving his furetics in \\\^ Pkilanthropine to pay about 14,000 dahlers, befides debts without number to his friends. He was impriibned at Dienheim., but was releafed I know not bow, and fettled at Halle. There he funk to be a keeper of a tavern and billiard-table, and his houfe became the relort and the bane of the (Indents 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 accommodatioti that could invite the fludents, and called it Bahrdfs Ruke, We have already feen the occupations of Dr. B. in this Buen Retiro — Can we call it otium cum dignitafe ? Alas, no ! He had not lived two years here, buftling 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 fct at liberty, and returned to Bakrdfs Ruhe^ not, alas, to live at eafe, but to lie down on afick-bed, where, after more than a year's fuifering increai- ing pain, he died on the 23d of April 1793, the mod wretched and loathfome victim of unbridled fenfuality. The account of his cafe is written by a friend, a Dr. Jung, v;ho profefFes to defend his
memory
248 THE GERxMAN UNION, CHAP, iHj
memory and his principles. The medical defcripr tion melted my heart, and I am certain would make his bitterell enemy weep. Jung repeatedly fays, tl-at the cafe was not venereal — calls it the vineyard difeafe — the quickhlver dileafe, (he was dying of an unconquerable falivation,) and yet, through the whole of his narration, relates fymp- toms and futferings, which, as a medical man, he could not poiRbly mean to be taken in any other fenfe than as effects of pox. He meant to pleafe the enemies of poor Bahrdt, knowing that fuch a man could have no friends, and being himfelf ig- norant of what friendfhip or goodnefs is. The fate of this poor creature affected me more than any thing I have read of a great while. Ail his open enemies put together have not faid fo much ill of him as his trulted friend Pott, and another confident, whofe name I cannot recolle^l, who publiihed in his lifetime an anonymous book call- ed Bahrdt with the Iron Brow—^ind this fellov/ Jung, under the abfurd majfk of friendfiiip, exhi- bited the loathfome car cafe for a florin, like a ma- lefactor's at Surgeon's Hall, Such were the fruits of the German Union, of that Illumination that was to refine the heart of man, and bring to ma- turitv the feeds of native virtue, which are choak- ed in the hearts of other men by fuperfrition and defpotifm. We fee nothing but mutual treachery and bafe defertion,
I do not concern myfelf with the gradual per- verlion of Dr. Bahrdt's moral and religious opi- nions. But he affe£ted to be the enlightener and reformer of mankind; and ailirmed tliat all the mifchiefs in life originated from defpotifm fup- ported by fuperllition. " In vain," fays he, *' do " we complain of the ineiiicacy of religion. All " pofitive religion is founded en injuPiice. No
" Prince
CHAF. ill. THE GERMAN UNION, 249
*' Prince has a right to prefcribc or faiKftion zuy " fuch iyftem. Nor would he do it, were not ** the prieils the firmell pillars of his tyranny, '' and liiperilition the ilrongeft fetters for hisfub- *' jeds. He dares not fnow Religion as (he is — *' pure and undefiled — She would charai the eyes *' and the hearts of mankind, would immediately ^' produce true morality, would open the eyes *' of freeborn man, would teach him what are ^'' his rights, and who are his opprtiTors, and " Princes would vanifh from the face of the ** earth."
Therefore, without troubling ourfelves with. the truth or fallehood of his religion of Nature, and afTuming it as an indifputable point, that Dr. Bahrdt has feen it in this natural and fo efreclive purity, it is furely a very pertinent queftion, *' Whether has the fight produced on his mind *' an effe£t fo far fuperior to the acknow^ledged " faintnels of the impreilion of Chriitianity 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 fo un- " fortunately alienate the minds of profelRng " Chriftians from each other ?" The account here given of Dr. Bahrdt's life feems to decide the quellion.
But it wall be faid, that I have only related fo many inllances of the quarrels of Prieiis and their flavilh adherents, with Dr. Bahrdt. Let us view him in his ordinary conduct, not as the champion 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 parifh-minifler, and pre- fident of fome inferior ecclefiailicai diflrid, he u as empovv-ered to take off the cenfures of the church
from
250 THE GERMAN UNION?. 6HAP. ill,
from a yoving woman who had born a baflard child. By violence he again reduced her to the fame con- dition, and efcaped cenfure, by the poor girl's dyini^ of a fever before her pregnancy was far advanced, or even legally documented. Aifo, on the night of the folemn farce of confecrating his Philanthropine, he debauched the maid-fervant, who bore twins, and gave him up for the father. The thing, I prefume, was not judicially proved, otherwi'e he would have furely been difgraced ; but it was afterwards made evident, by the letters which were found by Pott, when he undertook to write his life. A fsries of thefe letters had paiTed between him and one Graf, a fleward, who was employed by him to give the woman the fmall pittance by which {he and the infants were maintained. Remonftrances were made when the money v;as not advanced ; and there are particular- ly letters about the end of I779, which fhow that Bahrdc had ceafed giving any thing. On the of February 1780, the infants (three years old) were taken away in the night, and were found expofed, the one at Uffiein, and the other at Worms, many miles difiant from each other, and almoft frozen to death. The firil was difcovered by its moans, by a ftioemaker in a field by the road-fide, about fix in the morning; the other was found by two girls be- tween the hedges in a lane, fet be'cween two great ftones, pall all crying. The poor mother travelled up and dovv/n the country in quell of her infants, and hearing thefe accounts, found rhem both, and took one of them hom.e ; but not being able to main- tain both, when Bahrdt's commilTioner refufed con- tributing any more, it remained with the good wo- man who had taken it in'''^'.
* This is worfe than RouiTeau's conduct, who only fent hfs children to the Foundh'ng hafpit 1, that he might never know them again. (See his ConfefTicns,)
Bahrdt
6HAP. iii. THE GERMAN UNION. ^^l'
Bahrdtivas married in 1772, while atGieffen; but after vvaliing the greareli part of his wife's little for- tune left her by a former hiifband, he was provoked by loiing 1000 ilor ins (about lio/. ) in the hands of her brother who would not pay it up. After this he ufed her very ill, andfpeaks very contemptuouih/-' of her in his O'vvn account of his life, callins; her a dowdv, jealous, and every thing contemptible. In two infamous novels, he exhibits characters, in which {he is reprefented in a ir.ofi cruel manner; yet this woman (perhaps daring the honey-moon) vvas enticed by him one day into the bath, in the pond of the garden of the Piiilanthrcpineat Hside- ilieinj, and there, in the fight of all the pupils did he (alio undreffed) toy vvith his naked wife in the water. When at Haile, he ufed the poor woman extremely ill, keeping a miflrefs in the houfe, and giving her the whole command of the family, while the wiie and daughter were confined to a feparate part of it. When in prifon at Magdeburgh, the ilrumpet lived with him, and bore him two children. -He brought them all to his houfe when he was at liberty.' buch barbarous ufage made the poor woman at iall leave him and live with her brother, llie daughter died about a year before him, of an overdofe of laudanum given by her father, to procure fletp, when ill of a fever. He ended his own v;retched life in the ii^.me manner, unable, poor man, lo bear his diilrefs, Vv'ith- out the fmailell compuncfiion or forroyv for his con- ducl; and the laft thing he did was to fend for a bookfeller, (Vipink' of Halle, who had publifhed fome of his vile pieces,) and recommend his ilrum- pet and her children to his protection, without one thought of his injured wife.
I (hall end my account of this profligate. monfier with a fpecimen of his way of uhng his friends.
'' Of
25^
THE GERMAN UNION.
CHAP. iiL^
" Of all the acquiiitions which I made in Eng- land, Mr. — —-(the name appears at full length) was the mofl: important. This perfon was ac- compliihed in the highed degree. With found- judgment, great genius, and correct taile, he was pei fedly a man of the world. He was my friend, and the only perfon who warmly interefled him- felf for my inflitution. To his warm and repeat- ed lecommendations I owe all the pupils I got in England, and many mou refpedable connedions; for he was univerfaliy elieemed as a man of learn- ing and of the moil unblemifhed worth. He wa'^ my friend, my conductor, and I may fay my preferver ; for when I had not bread for two days, he took me to his houfe, and fupplied all my wants. This gentleman was a clergyman, and had a fmall 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 fermons 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 acceihble to morality. i can give a very remarkable inil:ance. *' The women of the town in London do not, to befure, meet with my unqualified approbation in all refpeds. But it is impoffible not to be flruck with the propriety and decency of their manners, fo unlike the clovvnifh impudence of our German V'h — . I could not diffinguiih them from modeft women, otherwife than by their greater attention and eagernefs to (lievv me civility. My friend
'' ufed
e.HAP. iii; the German union. 253
41 II
(C
(I
iC
(I (I ifc ic
41 «l
(I &( (I II (I (I «l tl 41 4i CI
»l (I
ufed to laugh at my miftakes, and I could not be- lieve him when he told me that the lady who had kindly fliewed the way to me, a foreigner, was a votary of Venus. He maintained that Englifh li- berty naturally produced morality and kindnefs. I ftill doubted, and- he faid that he would con- vince me by my own experience. Thefe girls are to be feen in crowds every evening in every quarter of the town. Although fome of them may not have even a fliift, they come out in the evening dreffed like princeffes, in hired clothes, which are entrufted to them without anv fear of their making off vvith them. Their fine fhape, their beautiful fkin, 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 imprellion in the higheft degree favourable to them. They civilly offer their arm and fay, '' My dear, will you give me a glafs of wine." If you give them no eiKouragement, 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 to three very agreeable girls, and immediately turned into a temple of the Cythere- an Goddefs, which is to be found at every fecond door in the city, and were (hewn into a parlour elegantly carpeted and furniflied, and lighted with wax, with every other accommodation at hand. — My friend called for a pint of wine, and this wa5i all the expence for which we received fo much civility. The converfation and other behaviour of the ladies was agreeable in the higheff degree, and not a zc;(5rJ palled that would have dillinguifti- ed them from nuns, or that was not in the higheft degree mannerly and elegant. We parted in the llreet—and fuch is the liberty of England, that
Q I "■ iny
»
2^^ THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. UI.
" my friend ran not the fmalleD: riHc of fuffering ei- " tber in his honour or ufefuinefs. — Such is the ef- '' fed of freedom."
We may be fure, the poor man was afionifhed when he favv his name before the public as one of the enlighteners of Chriftian Europe. He is really a man of worth, and of the moli irreproachable chat rader, and knew that whatever might be the protec- tion of BritiOi liberty, fuch condudl would ruin him with his own hearers, and in the minds of all his re- fpedabie country mm. He therefore fent a vindica- tion of his charader from this flanderous abufe to the publifhers of the principal newfpapers and literary journals in Germany. The vindication is complete, and B. is convided of having related what he could 7iot pojjlbly have feen, Ic is worthy of remark, that the vindication did not appear in the Berlin Monat- Ichfift^ 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 uieleis to mortals." It fliews in a ftrong light the faliity 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 petulance and precipitant felf-conceit lead him frequently aflray, no man has occafionally put all the arguments of thefe philofophers in a clearer light ; yet we fee that all is falie and hollow. He is a vile hypocrite, and the real aim of all his writings is to m/ake money, by foitering the fenfual propenhties of human nature, although he fees and feels that the completion of the plan of the German Union would be an event more dcftrudtive and la- mentable than any that can be pointed out in the an- nals of 111 per Hit ion. I will not favthat all partifans
of
CUAF. iii. THE GERMAN UNION. 255
of Illiunination are hogs of the fty of Epicurus like this wretch. But the reader muO acknowledge that, in the inllitution of Weifhaupt, there is the fame train of fenfual indulgence laid afong 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 Chrlllianity is undoubt- edly one of its objecls— whether as an end of their efforts, or as a mean for the attamment of fome end Hill more important. Parity of heart is perhaps the moft diftindive feature of Chriilian morality. Of this Dr. Bahrdt feems to have had no conception; and his inliitution, as well as his writings, fhew hira to have been a very cuarfe fenfualift. But his tafie, though coai'fe, accorded with wh^t Weifhaupt confi- dered as a ruling propenfity, by which he had the beft chance of fecuring the fidelity of his fubjeds. — Cra- ving deiires, beyond the bonds of our means, were the natural confequences of indulgence ; and fince the purity of Chriilian morality ftood in his way, his firft care was to clear the road by rooting it out alto- gether— What can follow but general difTolutenefs of manners ?
Nothing can more diftindly prove the crooked politics of the Reformers than this. It may be confidered as the main-{|3ring of tlieir whole ma- chine. Tbsir pupils were to be led by means of their fenfual appetites, and the aim of their con- dudors was not to inform them, but merely to lead them ; not to reform, but to rule the world, —They \vould reign, though in hell, rather than ferve in heaven. — Dr. Bahrdt was a true Apoflle of llluminatifm ; and though his torch was m.adc of the grofTeft materials, and " lerved only to dif- *' cover fights of woe," the horrid glare darted into every corner, roufmg hundreds of filthy ver- min, and direding their flight to the rotten car-
rion
256 THE GERMAN UNION, CHAP, ill,
rion where they could beft depofit their poiion and their eggs ; in the breafts, to wit, of the ien- fual and profligate, there to feOer and burit forth in a new and filthy progeny ; and it is afLonin-'ing what numbers were thus roufed into adlion. Tne fcheme of Reading Societies had taken prodigi- oufly, and became a very profitable part of the literary trade of Germany. The bookfellers and writers foon perceived its importance, and afted in concert.
I might iill a volume with extrads from the criticifms which were publiihed on the Religion Edidl fo often mentioned already. The Leipzig catalogue for one year contained 173. Although it concerned the Prullian 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. This fliows it to have been the operation of an Aflbciated Band, as was intim.ated to the King, with fo much pe- tulance by Mirabeau. There was (pail all doubt) fuch a combination among the innumerable fcrib- blers w^ho fupplied the fairs of Leipzig and Frank- fort. Mirabeau calls it a Conjuration des Philojo- pkes^ an expreffion very clear to himlclf, for the myriads of gareteeis who have long fed the crav- ing mouth of Paris ('' always thirfting after fome ^' new thing'') called themfelves philofophers, and, like the gangs of St, Giles's, converfed with each other in a cant of their own, full pf morale^ of energie^ of bienvillance^ &c. &c. c^c, unintel- ligible or mifunderftood by other men, and ufed for the purpofe of deceit. While Mirabeau lived too, they formed a Ccnjuration, The J4th of July 1790, the moil folemn invocation of the Divine pretence ever made on the face of this earth, put gn end to the propriety of this appellation; for it
became
eHAP. ill. THE GERMAN UNION. *X^'J
became neceiTary (in the progrefs of political Il- lumination) to declare that oaths were nonfenfe, becaiife the invoked wss a creature of the imai^i-
■•--3
nation, and the grand federation, like VVieiliaiipt and Bahrdt's Mafonic Chriftianity, is declared, to thofe initiated into the higher myfteries, to be a lie. But if we liave no longer a Conjiircition des Philofopkes^ we have a gang of fcribblers that has got poiTeilion of the public rnind by their ma- nagement of the literary Journals of Germany, and have made licentious fcntiments in politics, jn 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 tlie laft twelve or fifteen years. And, in the Criticifms on the Edid, it is hard to fay whether infidelity or difloyalty fills the mod pages.
To fuch a degree had the Illuminati carried this favourite and important point that they ob- tained the direction even of thole whofe office it vv^as to prevent it. There is at Vienna, as at Ber- lin, an otiice for examining and licenfing writings before they can have their courfe in the market. This ofdce pcbliihes 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 The Final OverthroTu of Free Majonry^ a moil excel- lent performance, fliowing the gradual corruption and final pefverfion of that fociety to a ieminary of fedition. Alfo the Vienna Magazine of Litera- ture and Arts^ which contains many accounts of the interferences of the Illuminati in the difturb- ances of Europe. The Cenfor who occaiioned this prohibition was an Illuminatus named Retzer.
He
25^ THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP, lli,
He makes a mod pitiful and jefr.itical defence, fliowing bimfelf completely veriant in ^11 the chi- cane of the Ilhimhiati^ and devoted to their In- fidel principles. (See Rel, Begebtnh, 1795, p.
493')
There are two performances which give us
much information refpecling the ilate of moral and political opinions in Germany about this time. One of them is called, Proofs of a hidden Ccmbina- tion to deflroy the Freedom of Thought and PFrit- ing in Germany, 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 arc too abftracled to be very impreilive on ordinary readers. The other is the Appeal to my Country^ which I men- tioned in page 84. This is much more driking, and in each branch of literature, gives a progrel- live account of the changes of fentiment, ail flip- ported by the evidence of the books themfelves. The author puts it pad contradiftion, that in every fpccies of literary compofition into which it was polSble, without palpable abiurdity, to intro- duce licentious and feditious principles, it was done. Many romances, novels, journeys through Germany and other countries*, are written i^vxx purpofe to attach praife or reproach to certain ientiments, charafters, and pieces of conduft. The Prince, the nobleman, is made deipotic, opprci- five, unfeeling or ridiculous— the poor, and the man of talents, are unfortunate iind. negletled— and here and there a fidlitious Gralf>
* A plan adopted within thefe few years in our own country, which, if profecuted with the fame induilry with wlilch it has been begun, will foon render our circulating I^ibrarles fo many Nurferies of Sedition aud Impiety. (See Travels into Germany by Efte.)
. made
CHAP. iii. THE GERMAN UNION. 2^g
made a divinity, by philanthropy cxprefTed in ro- mantic charity and kindnefs, or olleritatious indif- ference for the Jittle honours w hich are fo preci- ous in the eyes of a German. — In iliort, the fyf- tem of Wei(haupt and Knigge is carried into vi- gorous efFc and indeed in a vaft number of other pieces, I fee that the influence of Nicholai is much comment- ed on, and confidered as having had the chief hand in all thofe innovations.
Thus I think it clearly appears, that the fup- preirion of the llluminati. in Bavaria and of the Union in Branden burgh, were infufticient for re- moving the evils which they had introduced. The Elettor of Bavaria was obliged to iiTue another proclamation in Novem^ber 1790, warning his fubje^ls of their repeated machinations, and par- ticularly enjoining the m.agiClrates to obferve carefully the afTemblies in the Pveading 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 mod anar- chical opinions. — But Weifliaupt and his agents were (lill bufy and fuccefsful. The habit of plot- ting had formed itfelf into a regular fyflem. So- cieties now afted every where in fecret, in cor- refpondence with fimilar focietles in other places. And thus a mode of co-operation was furnilhed to the difcontented, the reillers, and the unprincipled in all places, without even the trouble of formal initiations, ?.nd without any external appearances by vv'hich the exigence and occupations of the members could be diftinguiPaed. The hydra's teeth were already fcjwn, and each grew up, in- dependent c»f the reil, and foon fent out its own offsets. — In all places where fuch fecret pradtices
were
*
26o THE GERiMAN UNION. CHAP ill*

were going on, there did not fail to appear fome individuals of more than common zeal and afti- vity, who took the lead, each in his own circle. This gave a confiftency and unity to the opera- tions of the reft, and they, encouraged by this co- operation, couid now attempt things whicli they would not other wife have ventured on. It is not till this ftate of things obtains, that this influence becomes fenfible to the public. Philo, in his pub- lic declaration, unwarily lets this appear. Speak- in 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 (17B7 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/(?r the Protection of Princes, — The plan is expreifed in very enigmatical terms, but fuch as plainly (hew it to be merely an odd title, to catch the public eye ; for the Affociation is of the fame feditious kind with all thofe already fpoken of, viz. profeffing to enlighten the minds of men, and making them imagine that all their hardihips proceed from fuperflition, which fubjeds them to ufelefsand crafty prieds ; and from their own indolence and Vv'ant of patrioiifm, which make them fubmit to the mal-adminillration of miniilers. The Sovereign is fuppofed to be innocent, but to be a cypher, and every magiftrate, who is not chofen by the people actually under him, is held to be a defpot, and is to be bound hand and foot. — Many circumilances concur to prove that the projedor of this infidious plan is the Prince Salms, who {^ aifiduoufly fomented ail the diilurbances in the Dutch and Audrian Nether- lands.
CHAP. ilL TH£ GURMAN U^ION. tQl
lands. He had, before this time, taken into his fervice Zwack, the Gato of the Illuminati. The projed had gone fome length when it was difcovered and fuppreded by the States.
Zimmerman, who had been Prefident of the Illu- minati in Manheim, was alfo a mofl: active perfon in propagating their dodrines in other countries. He was employed as a miffionary, and ere^ed fome Lodges even in Rome — alfo at Neufchatel — and in Hungary. He was frequently feen in the latter place by a gentleman of my acquaintance, and preached up all the oftenfible dodrines of IHumina- tifm in the moft public manner, and made many profelytes. But when it v/as difcovered that the r real and fundamental dodrines were different from thofe which he profeffed in order to draw in profe- lytes, Zimmerman left the country in hafte. — Some time after this he was arreted in Pruffia forfeditious harangues— but he efcaped, and has not been heard of fince. — When he was in Hungary he boaffed of having ereded above an hundred Lodges *n dif- ferent parts of Europe, fome of which were in England,
That the Illumhiati and other hidden Cofmo-po- litical focieties had fome influence in bringing about the French Revolution, or at leall in accelerating it, can hardly be doubted, Iti reading the fecret cor- refpondence, I was always furprifed at not finding any reports from France, and fomething like a hefi- tation about eftablifhing a milTion there ; nor am I yet able thoroughly to account for it. But there is abundant evidence-that they interfered, both in pre- paring for it in the fame manner as in Germany, and in accelerating its progre/fs. Some letters in the
% K Brunfwick
262 THE GERMAN UNION. CHAP. iiL
Brunfvvick Journal from one Campe^ who was an in- fpedor of the feminaries of education, a man of talents, and an Illuminatus^ put it beyond doubt. He was refiding in Paris during its firfi: movements, and gives a minute account of them, lamenting their exceffes, on account of their imprudence, and the rifk of {hocking the nation, and thus deftroying the projed, but juftifying the motives, on the true principles of Cofmo-politifm. The 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 fhall lay to- gether fome paiTages from fuch as I have met with, w^hich I think will fhew beyond all poflibility of doubt that the IJluminati took an adive part in the whole tranfadion, and may be fald to have been its chief contrivers. I fhall premife a few obferva- tions, which will give a clearer view of the matter.
f 263 ]
CHAP. IV.
The French Revolutiofj,
D
URING thefe diflenfions and dlfcontents, 3nd 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 fo much cultivated in all the Lodges of the Phila- ' lethes had by this time been openly profefled by ma- ny of the fages of France, and artfully interwoven with their flatiftical economics* The many contelts between the King and the Parliament of Paris about the regiftration of his edids, had given occaiion to much difcufFion, and had made the public familiar- ly acquainted with topics altogether unfuitable to the abfojute monarchy of France.
This acquaintance with the natural expedations of the fubjecfl, 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 prodigioufly promoted by the raCh inter- ference of France in the difpute between Great Britain and her colonies. In this attempt to ruin Britain, even the court of France was 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 z\merican principles, and in every company found hearers who liftened with de- light and regret to their fafcinating tale of American
independence*
*S54 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. GHAP. IV^
independence. During the war, the Minifter, who had too confidently pledged himfelf for the deilruc- tion of Britain, was obliged to allow the Parifians to amufe themfelves with theatrical entertainments, where Englifh law was reprefented as oppreirion,and every fretful extravagance of the Americans was applauded as a noble flruggle for native freedom.-^. All wiil:ied for a tafte of that liberty and equality which they were allowed to applaud on the ftage ; but as foon as they came from the theatre into the ftreet, they found themfelves under all their former reftraints. 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 wheq fhe lays down her novel.
in this irritable fla*-e of mind a fpark was fuffi- clent for kindling a flame. To import this dange- rous delicacy of American growth, 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 foreflalled every livreof the revenue. The edids for new taxes and forced loans were mofi: unwelcome and opprefQve.
The Avocats au parlemenf had nothing to do with flate-affairs, being very little more than barriflers in the highefl court of jullice ; and the highef}" claim of the Prelidents of this court was to be a fort of humble counfcllors to the King in common matters. Jt Vi^as a very flrange inconfiflency in that ingenious nation to permit fuch people to touch on thole flate- fubjeds ; for, in f^^, tht King of Fi ance v/as an abfolute Monarch, ghd the fubjeds were flaves. This is the refuit of all their painful refearch, notwith- flanding that glimmerings of natural juflice and of freedom are to be met with in their records. There could not be found in their hifiory io much as a tolerable account of the manner of
calling
^HAP. iV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. t6j
calling the nation together, to learn from the people how their chains would bell: pleafe their fancy. Bat jail this was againil nature, and it was neceffary that it fhould come to an end, the firft time that the mo- narch confeiTed 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- dition, the impertinent interference (for fo a French- man, fubjed of the Grand Monarch, miijl think it) of the advocates of the Parliament of Paris was popu- lar in the higheft degree ; and it m.uft be confelled, that in general it v/as patriotic, however inconfiftent with the conflitution. They fek themfelves plead- ing the caufe of humanity and natural juflice. This would embolden honefi: and worthy men to fpeak truth, however unwelcome to the court. In gene- ral, it mud 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 the avocats faw this, they naturally rofe in their own eflimation far above the rank in which the conftitution of their government had pla- ced them. For it mull: always be kept in mind, that the robe v/as never coniidered as the drefs of a No- bleman, although the cafTock was. An advocate was merely not a rotourier ; and though we can hardly conceive a profeflion more truly honourable than the difpenfmg of diflributive juftice, nor any Ikili more congenial to a rational mind than that of the praclical morality which v/e, in theory, confider as the light by which they are always conducted ; and although even the artificial conititution of France had long been obliged to bow to the didates of na- ture and humanity, and confer nobility, and even
title.
tSG THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONT. GHA?. ItT.
title, on fuch of the profeflTors of the municipal law as had, by their (kill and their honourable charader, rifen to the firil: offices of their profefTion, yet the Nobleile de la Robe never could incorporate with the NobleiTe du Sang, nor even with the Noblefle de I'Epee. The defcendants 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 exclulion 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 expofing the arrogance of the NoblefTe, and the dominion of the court. This increafed their popularity, and in the prefent fituation of things, being certain of fupport, they went beyond their former cautious bounds, and introduced in their pleadings, and particularly in their joint remon- Frances againft the regiftration of edids, ail the wire- drawn morality, and cofmo-political jurifprudencc, w4iich they had fo often rehearfed in the Lodges, and which had of late been openly preached by the economifls and philofophers.
A fignal was given to the nation for engaging " eH maffe" in political difculTion. The Notables were called upon to come and advife the King ; and the points were laid before them, in which his Majefty, (infallible till now)acknowledgedhis ignoranceorhis doubts. Biitwhovvere the Notables? Were they more knowing than the King, or lefs in need of inflrudion? The nation thought otherwife; nay, the court thought otherv^ife; for in fome of the royal proclamations on this occaiion, men of letters were invited to affifl; with theircounfels, and togive what information their read- ing and experience fhould fuggeft as to the befl me- thod of convoking the States General, and of con- dueling their deliberations. When a Minifler thus
folic^ts
^HAP. IV. THE FRENCH KEVOLUtlONi ^gy.
folicits advice from all the world how to govern, he moil: aflTuredly declares his own incapacity, and tells the people that now they muft govern themfelves. This however was done, and the Minifler, IN'eckar the Philofopher and Philanthropifl: of Geneva, fet the example, by fending in his opinion, to be laid on the council-table with the reft. On this fignal, coun- fel poured in from every garret, and the prefs groaned with advice in every ftiape. Ponderous volumes were written for the Bifhop or the Duke ; a handfome 8vo for the Notable Officer of eigh- teen ; pamphlets and fingle (lieets for the loungers in the Palais' Royal, The fermentation was afto- nifliing ; but it was no rnorc than fliould have been expected from the moll cultivated, the moft inge- liious, and the lead baQiful nation on earth. All wrote, and all read. Not contented with bringing forth all the fruits which the Illumination of theic bright days of reafon had raifed in fuch abund^ ance in the coniervatories of the Pliilahthes^ and which had been gathered from the writings of Voltaire, Diderot, Koulieau, Tlajnah &c. the pa- triotic counfellors of the Notables had ranfacked all the writings of former ages. They difcovered THAT France had alv/ays been free ! One would have thought, that they had travelled with Sir John Mandeviile in that country v^^here even the fpeechesof former times had been frozen, and were now thawing apace under the beams of the fun of Reafon. For maiiv of thefe eilavs v/ere as incongruous and mai a-propos as the broken fen* tences recorded by Mr. Addifon in the Spectator. A gentleman who was in Paris at this time, a per- fon of great judgment, and well informed in every thing reipedting the conftitutlon and prefent con- dition of his country, aiTured me that this in vita- tionj followed by the memorial of Mr. Neckar,
operated
268 THE FRENCH REVOLUTIO?:. CHAP. W.
operated like an electrical (liock. In the courfe of four or five days, the appearance of Paris was completely changed. Every where one faw crowds ftaring at papers palled on the walls — breaking into little parties — walking up and down the flreets in eager converiation — adjourning to cofFee-houfes -—and the converfation in all companies turned to politics alone ; and in all thele converfations a new vocabulary, where every fecond word was Moral i- ty, Philanthropy, Toleration, Freedom^ and Equali- fation of property. Even at this early period per- fons were liftened to without cenfure, or even furprife, who faid that it v/as nonfenfe to think of reforming their government, and that it mufl be completely changed. In ihort, in the courfe of a month, a fpirit of licentioufnefs and a rage for in- novation had completely pervaded the minds of the Pariflans. The moil confpicuous proof of this was the unexpected fate of the Parliament. It met earlier than ufual, and to give greater eclat to its patriotic efforts, and completely to fecure the gra- titude of the people, it itTued an arret on the pre- fent ft ate of the nation, containing a number of refolutions on the different leading points of na= tional liberty. A few months ago thefe would have been joyfully received as the Magna Charts of Freedom, and really contained all that a wife people Pnould defire; but becaufe the Parliament had fometime before given it as their opinion as the conftitutional counfel of the Crown, that the States fnouldbe convoked on the principles of their iaft meeting in 1614, which preferved the diftinc- tionsof rank, all their pad fervices were forgotten • — all tlieir hard ilruggle with the former adrai- niftration, and their unconquerable courage and perfeverance, which ended only with their down- fal, all were forgotten ; and thofe diftinguifhed
members
CHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, t6g
members whofe zeal and fufFerings ranked them with the mod renewed heroes and martyrs of pa- triotiiiii, were now regarded as the contemptible tools of Ariilocracy. The Parliament now let, in a fiery troubled (ley — to rile no more.
Of all the barrillers in the Parliament of Paris, the mod confpicuous for the difplay of the en- chanting doctrines of Liberty and Equality was Mr. Duval, fon of aft Avocat in the faixie court, and ennobled about this time under the name of Defpt-ernienil. He was member of a Lodge of the ^w/V Reunis at Paris, called the Contract Social ^ and of the Lodge of Chevaliers Bienfaifants at Lyons. His reputation as a barrifter had been pro- digioufly increafed about this time by his manage- ment of a caufe, where the defceitdant of the un- fortunate General Laily, after having obtained the reftoration of the family honours, was flriv- ing to get back fome of the eftates. Mr. Lally Tollendahl had even trained himfeir to the pro- feffion, and pleaded his own caufe with aftonifli* ing abilities. But Defprefmenil had near connec- tions with the family which was in pofleffion of the ePjates, and oppofed him with equal powers, and more addrefs. He was on the fide whicii was moft 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 intereil, becaufe this was the beginning of that marked rivalfaip betv/een Lally Tollendahl and Defprefmenil, which made fuch a {ignre in the Journals of ihe National Affembly. It ended fatally for both. Lally Tol- lendahl was obliged to quit the Affembly, when he faw it determined on the deitru(fdon of the monarchy and of all civil order, and at lail to emigrate from his country with the lofs of all his
1 L property,
27b THE FRENCH t^EVOLUTIOM. CHAP. IT*
property, and to fablift on the kindnefs of Eng- land. Dfeprefmenil attained his meridian of po- pularity by his difcovery of the fecret plan of the Court to eftabliih the Cour p/em'ere, and ever after this took the lead in all the (Irong meafures of the Parliament of Paris, which was now ovcrftepping all bounds of moderation or propriety, in hopes of preferving its influence after it had rendered itfelf impotent by an unguarded ilroke. Dcfpref- menil was the lirll martyr of that Liberty and Equality w^iich it was now boldly preaching,, having voluntarily furrendered himfelf a prifoncr to the officer fent to demand him from the Par- liament. He was alfo a martyr to any thing that remained of the very (liadow of liberty after the Revolution, 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 Fvights of the Pruffian States. He alfo, while at Berlin, publiflied an EJjai fur la SeCie des Illumines^ one of the ftrangelt and moft impu- dent performances that ever appeared. He there defcribes a feft exifting in Germany, called the Illuminated^ and fays, that they are the mod 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, Scz, as if he had feen them all. His fedl is a Gonfufed mixture of Chriftian fnperflitions, Rofycrucian nonfenfe, and every thing that can raile contempt and hatred. But no ibch Society ever exifted, and Mirabeau confided in his own powers of deception, in order to icreen from ob- lervation thofe who were known to be Uluminati, and to hinder the rulers from attending to their
real
CHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. ^^1
real machinations, by means of this Ignis fatuus of his own brain. He knew perfecliy that the II- luminati were of a ftamp diametrically oppofite ; for he was ilkuninated by Mauvillon long before. He gained his point in fome meafare, for Nicho- Jai and others of the junto immediately adopted the whim, and called them Ohjcurantem^ and joined with Mirabeau in placing on the lift oiOh- fcuraiiiem feveral perfons whom they wilhed to make ridiculous.
Mirabeau was not more difcontentcd with the Court of Berlin for the fmail regard it had teftifi- ed for his eminent talents, than he was with his own Court, or rather with the minifter Calonne, who had fent him thither, Calonne had been greatly diffatisfied with his condudt at Berlin, where his felf-conceit, and his private proje(Sts, had made him adl in a way almoft contrary to the purpofes of his miffion. Mirabeau was therefore in a rage at the minifter, and publilbed 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 oppofition which he ever af- ter maintained. To be noticed, and to lead, were hisfole objcfts — and he found, that taking the fide of the difcontentcd was the beft field for his elo« quencc 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 fhare 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
»;,
%■
^72 THE FRENCH KEVOEUTION; . CHAP. Ivv
and v/as learned only in the buflling detail of in- trigue, and at any time would facrifice every thing to have an opportunity of exercifmg his brilliant eloquence, and indulging his pallion for fatire and reproach,— The greateit obftacle to his advancement was the abject worthleiTnefs of his character. What we uiually call profligacy, viz. debauchery, gaming, impiety, and every kind of fenluality, were not enough— he was deftitute 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 procefs of feparation— Mirabeau had juft been liberated from prifon for a grofs mifde- meanour, and was in want of money— He went to his father, fidcd with him in invectives 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 conduCI got the ftm.e fum from her — and both memorials were prefent- ed. Drinking was the only vice in which he did not indulge — his exhaufted conititution did not permit it. His brother, the Vifcount, on the con- trary, was apt to exceed in jollity. One day the Count fald to him, " How can you, Brother, fo " expofe yourfelf ?'' *« What !'* lays the Vif- count, '' ho\v inlatiable you are Nature has
" given you every 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 himieit a candidate in his own order at Aix — But he was fo abhorred by the Nobleflb, that they not only rejected him but even drove him from their meetings. This affront fettled his mea- fures, and he detrrmined on their ruin. He went to the Commons, diiclaimed his being a gentle- man, fat up a little fliop in the market place of
Aix
CHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 273
Aix, and fold trifles — and now, fully refolved what line he (hould purfue, he courted the Commons, by joining in all their cxccfTes againfh the No- blefle, and was at laft returned a member of tke Ail'embiy.
From this account of Mirabeau we can eafily forctel the ufe he v/ould make of the Illumination which he had received in Germanv. Its p-rand truths and jull morality feem to have had the fame effe6ls on his mind as on that of Weifnaupt or Bahrdt.
In the year 1*^68, Mirabeau, in conjunction with the duke de Lauzun and the Abbe Perigord^ afterwards Bifhop of Autun (the man ib puffed in the National AiTemblies 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 Reunis^ which had now rid itfelf of all the inlignilicant myiHcifm of the fedt. This was now become troublefome, and took up the time which would be much better employed by the Chevaliers du Soliel^ and other flill more refined champions of reafon and uni- verfal citizenfliip, Mirabeau had imparted to it fbme 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. 1 hey found that they had not acquired all the dexterity of management that he underftood was pradtifed by his Brethren in Germany, for keeping up their connedtion, and conducing their corefpondence. A letter was therefore fent from this Lodge, lign- ed by thefe two gentlemen, to the Brethren in Germany, requefting their ailiilance and infcruc- tion. In the courfe of this year, and during the fitting of the Notables, a deputation was sent from the German Illuminati to catch this gloria
ous
274 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP, iv^
ous opportunity of carrying their plan into fall execution with the greatefl eclat.
Nothing can more convincingly demonftratc the early intentions of a party, and this a great party, in France to overturn the conftitution com- pletely, and plant a democracy or oligarchy on its ruins. The Illuminati had no other objed:. — - They accounted all Princes ufurpers and tyrants, and all privileged orders their abettors. They in- tended to ellabliih a government of Morality, as they called it, ( Sitte?iregiment ) where talents and character (to be eflimated by their own fcalc, and by themfeives) fliould alone lead to preferment. They meant to abolidi the laws which protected property accumulated by long continued and fuc- cefsful induftry, and to prevent for the future any fuch accumulation. They intended to eftabliOi univerfal Liberty and Equality, the imprefcripti- ble Rights of Man, (at lead they pretended all this to thofe who were neither Magi or Kegentes.) And, as neceifary 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 deftroying 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^ ftained with every thing that can degrade or difgrace human nature. He only wanted Illumination, to (hew him in a fyliem all the opinions, difpofitions, and principles which filled his own wicked heart. This contemptible being was ilhiminated by Mira- beau, and has (hown himfelt" the mod zealous dif- ciple of the Order. In his oath of allegiance he
declares
CiiAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, 275
declares, " That the interefls and the objed of the " Order (hall be rated bv him above all other reia- *' tions, and that he will ferve it with his hoiiour, '* his fortune, and his blood. " word, and has facrificed them all — And he has been treated in the true ipirit of the Order — uled as a mere tool, cheated and ruined. — For I mult now add, that the French borrowed from the Illuminati a maxim, unheard of in any other alTociation of ban- ditti, viz. that of cheating each other. As the ma- nagers had the foie poiTeiTion of the higher myfte- ries, and led the reil by principles which they held to be falfe, and which they employed only for the purpofe of fecuring the co-operation of the inferior Brethren, fo Mirabeau, Sieyes, Pethicn, and others, led the Duke of Orleans at firft by his wicked am- bition, and the expectation 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 Illuminatus^ we cannot fuppofe him fo loll to common fenfe as to contribute his fortune, and rifk his life, merely in order that the one fhouid be afterwards taken from him by law, and the other put on a level with that of his groom or his pimp. He furely hoped to obtain the crown of his indolent relation. And indeed Mirabeau faid to BergalTe, that '*" when the projed was mentioned to the Duke ** of Orleans, he received it with all poffible gra- *' cioufnefs," {^avec toute la grace imaginable,^ Dur- ing the conteds between the Court and the Parlia- ment of Paris, he courted popularity with an inde- cency and folly that nothing can explain but a mad and fiery ambition which blinded his eyes to all con- sequences. This is put out of doubt by his behavi- our
276 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP, Wt
our at Verfailles on the dreadful ^th and 6th of Oc- tober, 1789. The depoiiiions at the Chatelet prove in the moit inconteilible manner^ that during the horrojs of thofe two days he was repeatedly feen, and that whenever he was recognized bv the crowd, he was huzzaed with Five Orleans^ Five notre Rot Orleans^ ^^c, — 'He then withdrew, and was feen in other places. While all about the unfortunate Roy- al Family were in the utmofl concern for their fate, he was in gay humour, chatting on indifferent fub- jeds. His lafl appearance in the evening of the 5th was about nine o'clock, converfing in a corner with ' men difguifed in mean drefs, and fome in women's clothes ; among whom were Mirabeau, Barnave, Duport, and other deputies of the Republican party — and thefe men were feen immediately after, con- cealed among the lines of the regiment de Flandre, the corruption of which they had that day compleat- ed. He was feen again next morning, converfing with the fame perfons in women's drefs. And when the infulted Sovereign was dragged in triumph to Paris, Orleans was again feen (kuiking in a balcony behind his children, to view the pi-ocelTion of devils and furies ; anxioufly hoping all the while that fome difturbance would arife in which the King might perifh. — I fhould have added that he was feen in the morning at the top of the flairs, pointing the way with his hand to the mob, where they fhould go, while he went by another road to the King. In fhort, he went about trembling like a coward, wait- ing for the explofion which might render it fafe for him to fliew himfelf. Mirabeau faid of him, '' The fellow carries a loaded pillol in his bofom, but will never dare to pull the trigger." He was faved, not- withllanding his own folly, " by being joined in the ^xuiation with Mirabeau, who could not refcue him- felf without (driving alfo for Orleans, whom he def-
pifed,
CHAPi IVo THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 277.
pifed, while he made ufe of his fortune. — In fhort, Orleans was but half iliuininaied at this time, and hoped to be King or Regent,
Yet he was deeply verfed in the preparatory lef- fon- of Iliurniiiatiim, and well convinced of its fun- damental truths. He was well allured of the great influence of the women in ibciety, and he enjployed this influence like a true difciple of Weifhaupt. — Above three hundred nyuiphs from the purlieus of the Palais Royal were provided vv'ith ecus and Louis d'ors, by his grand procureur the Abbe Sieves, and w^ere fent to meet and to illuminate tlie two battalions of the Regiment de Fiandre, vv^ho were coming to Verfailles for the protedion of the Royal Family. The privates of one of thefe regiments cam.e and in- formed their officers of this attempt made on their loyalty, — -45,000!, livres were 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 tbem~but Vv^hen 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. (Depolitions at, the Chatelet No. 317.) Mademoifelle Therouane, the favonla of the day, at the Palais Royal, was the rnofl: adiveperfonof the armed mob from Paris, dreffed en Ama%onne^ 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 5th of OvTtober, importuning the King for bread, had their pockets filled with crown pieces — and Orleans was leen on that day by two gentlemen, with a bag of money fo h.eavy that it was faftened to
^2 M ' his
^yS THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. iv.
his clothes with a (Irap, to hinder it from being op- preflive, and to keep it in fuch a pofition that it Ihould be acceffible in an inilant. (See the Depoii*- tionsat the Chatelet, No. 177-)
But fuch was the contempt into which his grofs profligacy, his cowardice, and his niggardly difpofi- tion, had brought him with all parties, that, if he had not been quite bHnded by his wicked ambition, and by his implacable refentment of fome bitter taunts he had gotten from the King and Qiieen, he mud have feen very early that he was to be facrificed as foon as he bad ferved the purpofes of the fadion. At prefent, his alTiftance was of the utmoft confe- quence. His immenfe fortune, much above three millions fterling, was almoil exhaufted during the three firft years of the Revolution. But (what was of more confequence) he had almoft unbounded authority among the Free Mafons.
In this country we have no conception of the authority of a National Grand Mailer. When Prince Ferdinand of Brunfwick, by great exertions among the jarring feels in Germany, had got hira- feif eleded Grand Mailer of the Siri5i 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 Illumina- ti to difcredit that party. In the great cities of Germany, the inhabitants paid more refpe£i to the Grand Mafter of the Mafoj s than to their refpec- tive Princes. The authority of the D. of Orleans in France w^as ftill greater, in confequence of his employing his fortune to fupport it. About eight years before the Revolution he had (not vrithout much intrigue and many bribes and promifes) been elected Grand Mafter of France, having under hisdiredlions all the //;;/'roi;f^ Lodges. The whole AfFociation was called the Gra?id Oris?it de
la
«HAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. fj^
la France^ and in 1785 contained 266 of thefe Lodges ; (ice Freymaurerifche Zeitung^ Netiwied 1787.) Thus he had the 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, muft have filled the Lodges with his de- pendents and emiifaries, and thefe men could not bettei earn their pay, than by doing their utmofl to propagate inlidclicy, immorality, and impurity of manners.
But Ibmething more was wanted ; Difrefpecfb for the higher Orders of the State, and difloyalty to the Sovereign. — -it is not fo eafy to conceive how thefe fentiments, and particularly the latter, could meet with toleration, and even encourage- ment, in a nation noted for its profcilions of vene- ration for its Monarch, and for the pride of its NoblefTe. Yet I am certain that fuch doftrines were habitually preached in the Lodges of Phila- lethes^ and jimis Reunis de la Verite, That they iliouid be very current in Lodges of low-born Literati, and other Brethren in inferior flations, is natural, and I have already faid enough on this head. Bat the French Lodges contained many gentlemen in eafy, and affl lent circumftances, I do not expedl fuch confideiice in my affertions, that even in thefe ^he fame opinions were very preva- lent. I was therefore much pleafed with a piece of information which I got while thefe fheets were printing otf, which corroborates my affertions.
This is a performance called La voile retiree^ ou le Secret de la Revolution expHqtie 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 publilhed at Paris in
1792.
aSo THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAF. iv.
1 yg2. The author was butchered in the maiTacre of September. He fays, that on the death of a friend, who had been a very zealous Mafon, and many years Mafter of a refpedable Lodge, he found among his papers a colle6iion of Maionic 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 Ledges, and minutes of their proceedings. The perufai filled himvyith ailoniihment and anxiety. For he found that doctrines were taughc, and maxims of conduct were inculcated, which were fubverlive , of religion and of all good order in the Hate ; and whfch not only countenanced difloyaky and fedition, but even invited to it. Lie thoueht them fo danee- rous to the Hate, that he lent an account of them to the Archbifhop of Paris long before the Revolution, and ahvays hoped that that Reverend Prelate Vv^ould reprefent the matter to his Majefly's Minjfters, and that they would put an end to the meetings of this dangerous Societ}^ or would at leail reilrain them from fuch excefles. But he v^as difappointed, and therefore thought it his duty to lay them before the public*.
Mr, Lefranc fays ervpreisly, that this fnocking perverfion of Free Mafonry to fed itious purpoles
* Had the good man been fpared but a few montlis, his fur- prife at this negle6l would have ceafed. For, on the igtU of November i 793, the Archbifhop of Paris came to the Bar of the Alfembly, accomipanied by his Vicar and eleven other Clergymen, who there renounced their Chriltianlty and their clerical vows ; acknowledging that they had played the villain for many years againft their confclences, teaching what they knew to be a lie, and were now refolved to be honeft men. The Vicar indeed had be- haved like a true Illuminatus feme time before, by runninof off with another man's wife and his ftrong box. — None of them, however, feem to have attained the higher myileries, for they were all guil- lotined not long after.
was.
CHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. ^8l
was, in a great meafure, but a late thing, and was chiefly brought about by the agents of the Grand Mailer, the Duke of Orleans. He was, however, of opinion that the v/hole Mafonic Fraternity was hoftile to Chriftianity and to good morals, and that it was the contrivance of the great ichifmatic Fauftus Socinus, w^ho being terrified by the fate of Servetus, 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 vv ith itiany circumliances 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 iliows how, by artful changes in tlie fucceflive explana- tions of the fame fymbols, the doctrines of Chrif- tianity, and of all revealed religion, are com- pletely exploded, and the Philofophe Inconnu be- comes at lad a profcfTed Atheiil» — He then takes notice of the political doctrines which are in like manner gradually unfolded, by which " patriot- ^' ifm and loyalty to the prince are declared to be " narrow principles, inconfiftcnt with univerfal *' benevolence, and with the native and impre- fcriptible I'ights of man ; civil fubordination is a£tuai oppreilion, and Princes are ex officio ufur- pers and tyrants.'' Thefe principles he fairly deduces from the Catechifms of the Chevalitr du Soliel^ and of the Philofophe Inconnu, He then proceeds to notice m^ore 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 v.^as entirely by his fupport and encouragement that feditious doc- trines were permitted in the Lodges. Many no- blemen and gentlemen were difgupLcd and left theie Lodges, and advantage was taken of their
ablencG
it,
282 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP, iv.^
abfence to improve the Lodges flill more, that is to make them ftili more anarchical and feditious. Numbers of paltry fcribblers who haunted the Palace Royal, were admitted into the Lodges, and there vented their poiibnous doctrines. The Duke turned his chief attention to the Frencli 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 maik'of Mafonic Brotherhood and Equality — and this behaviour be- came not unfrequenteven out of doors. He afferts with great confidence that the troops were much corrupted by thefe intrigues — and that when they fometimes declared, on fervice, that they would not fire on their Brethren^ the phrafe had a parti- cular reference to their Mafonic Fraternitv, be- caufe they recognifed many of their Brother Ma- fons in every crov/d. — And the corruption was by BO means confined to Paris and its neighbourhood, but extended to every place in the kingdom where there was a Municipality and a Mafoa Lodge.
Mr. Lefranc then turns our attention to many peculiarities in the Revolution, which have a re- femblance to the practices in Free Maionry, Not only w^as the arch rebel the Duke of Orleans, the Grand Mafter, but the chief actors in the Revolu- tion, Mirabean, Condorcct, Rochefoucauit, and others, were diftinguilhed office-bearers in the great Lodges. He fays that the diilribution of France into departments, difl:ri£ls, circles, can- tons, &c. is perfectly fimilar, with the fame de- nominations, to a diftribution which he had re- marked in the correfpondencc of the Grand Ori- ent*.
CHAF. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION* tSj
cnt*. The Prefident's hat in the National AlTem- biy is copied from that of a Trcs Venerable Grand Maitre. — The fcarf of a Municipal Officer is the fame with that of a Brother Apprentice. — When the Alfembly celebrated the Hevohition in the Cathedral, they accepted of the highefl honours of Mafonry by pafling under the Arch of Steely formed by the drawn fwords of two ranks of Bre- thren,— Alfo it is worthy of remark, that the Na* tionai AiTcmbly protected the meetings of Free Mafons, while it preremptorily prohibited every other private meeting. The obligation of laying afide all (lars, ribbands, crofTes, and other honour- able diiUndlions, under Xhc pretext of Fraternal Equality, was not merely a prelude, but was in- tended as a preparation for the deltrudlion of all civil difiin^tions, w'hich took place aimoil at the beginning of the Revolution, — and the fir Jl pro- pofal of a furrender^ fays Mr. Lcfranc, was made by a zealous Majon, — Re 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 ceremonies, have a natural tendency to harden the heart, to remove its natural deeds of horror, and have paved the way for thofe fliocking barbarities which have made the name of Frenchmen abhorred over all Europe, Thefe deeds were indeed perpetrated by a mob of fana- • tics ; but the principles were promulgated and foftered by perions who ilyle themfelves philo- (bphers.
I fee more evidence of tbefe important faifts in another book juft publifhed by an emigrant gen-
* I cannot help obferving, that it is perfeclly fitnilar to the ar- tangement and denominations which appear in the fecret corref- pondence of the Bavarian Illuminati,
tleman
284 THE FRENCFi REVOLUTION* CHAP. Iv.
tieman (Mr. Latocnayc). He confirms my repeat-* ed afTertions, that all the irreligious and feditious dodrines were the fubjedts of repeated harangues in the Mafon Lodges, and that all the principles of the Revolution, by vvhich 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 cfnecejfity be the cafe " in every country where the minds of the lower *' clafTesof the State are in any way coniiderably *' fretted or irritated ; it is almolt impoilable to " avoid being drawn into this vortex, whenever *' a difcontented mind enters into a Mafon Lodge. *' The fcale (lory of brotherly love, which at an- ^' other time would only lull the hearer afleep, *' now makes him prick up his ears, and iiflen " with avidity to the filly tale, and he cannot *' hinder fretting thoughts from continually rank- " ling in his mind."
Mr. Latocnaye fays exprefsly, *• That notwith- '^ (landing the general contempt of the public for " the Duke of Orleans, his authority as Grand " Mailer of the Mafoiis gave him the greateil " opportunity that a feditious m.ind could defire " for helping forward the Revolution. He had " ready to his hand a connected fyftem of hidden Societies, protedled by the State, habituated to fecrecy and artifice, and already tinged with the very enthufiafm he w^iflied 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 emilfaries, they were harangued with all the fo- phiflical declamation, or cant of Mafonry.'*
Mr.
CHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 285
Mr. Latocnaye fays, that all this was peculiar to the Lodges of the Grand Orient ; bat that there were m?My (not very many, if we judge by the Ncuwied almansc, which reckons only 289 in all France in 1784, of which 266 were of the Grand Orient) Lodges vv ho continued on the old plan of anufing themielves with a little foleran trif- ling. He coincides wiih Mr* Lefranc in the opinion that the awful and gloomy rituals of Mafonry, and particularly the ievere trials of confidence and fub- miilion, mull have a great tendency to harden the heart, an can doubt of thisv/ho reads the foUowinginrtance : *' A candidate for reception into one of the '* higheil Orders, after having heard many threat- *' enings denounced againil all who Ihould betray *' the Secrets of the Order, was conducS^ed to a " place where he faw the dead bodies of feveral " who were faid to have fuiFered for their trea- " chery. He then faw his own brother tied hand *' and foot, begging his mercy and intercellion, *' He was uiformed that this perfon was about to *' fuffer the punifhment due to this oifence, and " that it was referved for him (the candidate) to " be the inllrument of this juft vengeance, and " that this gave him an opportunity of manifeil- " 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 fhould 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 (Irike, He inftantly obeyed ; " and when the bandage was taken from his eyes,
2 N 'he
il
Kfe
286 THE FRENCH HfiVOLUflON. CHAP. iV«
*' he faw that it was a lamb that he had {tabbed. *' Surely fiicli trials and fiich wanton cruelty are '' fit only for training conipirators."
Mr. Latocnaye adds, that '' when he had been *' initiated, an old gentleman aiked him what lie '' thought of the whole ?" He anfwered, *' A great '* deal of noife, and much nonfenfe." '' Nonfenfe." faid the other, *' don't judge foraflily, young man ; '' I have worked theie twenty-five years, and the '^ farther I advanced, it intereRed me the more ; " but I ilopped fliort, and nothing (hall prevail on " m.e to advance a ftep farther." In another con- verfation the gentleman faid, *' I imagine that my '' (loppage was owing to my refufai about nine years ago, to lift en to fome perfons who made to me, out of the Lodge, propofals which were feditious " and horrible; for ever fmce that time I have re- marked, that my higher Brethren treat me vvi h a much greater referve than they had done before, and that, under the pretext of further inflruction; '' thev have laboured to confute the notions which I had already acquired, by giving fome of the mod delicate fubjeds a different turn. I faw that they v^-anted to remove fome fufpicions which I was beginning to form concerning the ultimate fcope of the whole." I iaiagine that thefe obfervaticns will leave no doubt in the mind of the reader vi'ith refpecl to the iniiuenceof the fecret Fraternity of Free Mafonry in the French Revolution, and that he will allov.7 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 \eis evident, from n^any circumftances in the tranfadions of thole tumultuous days, that the adive leaders liad quite different views, and were
impelled
CI
il (I
CHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 287
impelled by fanatical notions of democratic felicity^ or, more probabiv, by their own ambition to be the movers of this vail: machine, to overturn the ancient government, and ered a republic, of v/hich they hoped to be the manageris*. Mirabeau had learned when in Germany that the principles of anarchy had been well digeiled into a fyllem, and therefore wifhed for fome inftruclionas to the fubordinate de- tail of the buhnefs, and for this purpofe requeded a deputation fvoixn the lHnmiNalL
In fuch a caufe as this, we m.ay be certain that no ordinary perfon would be fent. One of I he depu- ties was Amelius, 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 Heire-Darmfiadt. (See Fra^mente der Biographie des verftorbenes Firyherr Bode in Weimar^ mit ziLverlaJJigen Urkunder, ?>vo. Riom. 1795. See 2.\{o Endliche Shickfall der Freymaiirer€\\ 1794 ; alfo IViener Zeitfchrift fur 1793-) — This perfon has played a principal part in the whole fcheme of Illu- mination. He vw'as a perfon of confiderable and ihowy talents as a Vv'riier. He had great talents for converfation, and had kept good company. With
* The depofitlons 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 Afiembly, had formed this plot before the 5th of Odlober 1789. That trial was con- dutled in a ftrange manner, partly out of refpedl for the Royal Family, which ftill had fome hearts affedlonately 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 pei'fon WHO differed from the opinion of the frantic populace of Pans. The chief points of accufat.'on were written In a fchedule which is not publlOKd, and the witnefles were ordered to depofe on thefe in one general Yes or No ; fo that It Is only the leafl 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 REVOLUTION. CHAP. IV.
refpefi: to his myilical cbarader, his experience was gr^at. He was one of the Templar Mafons, and a- mong them was E^ws a Ltliis ConvaUiiim. He had fpeculaiedmuch about tlie origin and hillory of Ma- fonry, and when at the Wiliemfbad convention, was converted to liluminatirm. He was the great inftigator of Nicholai, Gedicke, and Bieller, to the hunt after Jefuits which fo much occupied them, and fuggeiied to Nicholai his journey through Germany. Leuchtfenring whom I mentioned before, was only the letter-carrier between Bode and thefe three au- thors. He was juR fuch a man as Weifhaupt wifh- ed for ; his head filled with Mafonic fanaticifm, at- taching infinite importance to the frivolities of Ma- Ibnry, and engaged in an enthufiaiiic and fiuitlefs refearch after its origin and hiiiory. He had col- leded, however, fuch a number of archives (as tliey were called) of Free Mafonry, that he fold his manu- fcripr to the Duke of Saxe Gotha, (into whofe fer- vice Weifhaupt engaged himfelf when he was driven from Bavaria), for 150 dahleis. This little anec- dote fhows the high importance attributed to thofe matters by perfons of whom we fliould exped better things. Bode was alfo a moil determined and vio- lent materialift. Belidesali thefe qualities, foaccepta- ble to the liluminati, he was a diicontenred Tera.plar Mafon, having been repeatedly difappointed of the preferment which he thought hiraieif entitled to. When he learned that the hrfl operations of the li- luminati were to be the obtaining the fole direction of the Mafon Lodges, and of the whole Fraternity, his hopes revived of riling to ibme of the Corii- manderies, vvhich his e'nthufiafm, or rather fanati- cifm, had made him hope to fee one day regained by the Order : — but when he found that the next and favourite objed was to root out the Siri^ Qbfervan% altogether, he ilarted back. But Philo favv^ that the
underflanding
CHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. '28q
underflaiiding (HvAl we call it ?) that can be dazzled vvitli one whini, may be dazzled wiih another, and he now attached him to Iliuminatifm, by a magni- ficent difpiay of a world ruled by the Order, and conduced to happinefs by means of Liberty and Equality. This did the bufinefs, as we iee by the private correfpondence, where Philo informs Spar- tacus of his lirli diiiiculties with Amelius. Ameli- us was gained over in AuguH: 1782, and we fee by the fame correfpondence, that the greateit affairs were foon entruiled to him — he was generally em- ployed to deal with the great. When a Graf or a Baron was to be wheedled into tlie Order, Amelius was the agent. — He was alfo the chief operator in all their contefts with the Jeluits and the Kofy- crucians. It was alfo Bode that procured the im- portant acceuion of Nicholai to the Order. This he brought about through Leuchtfenring ; and laft- iy, his numerous connexions among the Free Ma- fons, together with Knigge's influence among them, enabled the Ilium inati to worm themfelves into every Lodge, and at lail gave them almofl: the entire command of the Fraternity.
Such was the firft of the deputies to France. The other was a Mr. BuiTche, called in the Order Bay- ard ; therefore probably a man of refpedabie cha- rader ; for molt of Spartacus's names were fignifi- cant like his own. He was a military man, Lieu- tenant-Colonel in the fervice of tielTe Darmlladt. — This man alfo was a difcontented Templar Mafon, and his name in that Fraternity had been Eques a Fontihiis Eremi. He was illuminated by Knigge. He had alfo been unfuccefsful both at court and in the field, in both of which ficnations he had been at- tempting to make a difiinguifhed figure. He, as well ^ as Bode, were immerfed in deDts. They were there- fore
-2gO THt filENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. IW
fore juQ: in the proper temper for Cofmo-politicai enterprife.
They went to Paris in the end of 1788, while the Notables were futing, and all Paris was giving ad- vice. The alarm that was raifed about Animal Mag- nerifm, which W'as indeed making much noife at that time, and panicnlarly at Paris, was alTigned by them as the great motive of the journey. Bode alfo faid that he was anxious to learn what were the correc- tions made on the fyftem of the Chevaliers Bienfai- fants. They had taken that name at fird, to icreen themfelves from the charges againil them under the name of Templars. They had correded fomething in their fyftem when they took the name Philalethes, And now when the Schifms of the Philaleihcs were healed, and the Brethren again united under the name of Amis Reunis, be fufpeded that Jefuits had interfered ; and becaufe he had heard that the prin- ciples of the Amis Reunis were very noble, he wifh- ed to be more certain that they were purged of eve- ry thing Jefuitical.
The deputies accordingly arrived at Paris, and immediately obtained admifiion into thefe two Fra- ternities*. " ITiey found both of them in the ripell
* To prevent interruptions, I mayjuft mention here the autho- rities for this journey and co-operation of the two deputies.
1. Eln iv'ic h tiger Aujfchhifs uht^r en noch nvenig Lekannte Veran- 'lajfung der Franzofchen Revolution, iii the Vienna Zeitfchrift for
2. Endliche Shickfall des Freymaurer Ordens, 1794, p- 19.
3. Neuejh Arheitimg des Sbaitacus and Philo, Munich, 1793* P' 151—54.
4. Hyionfche Nachrichten uher die Franc Revolution 1792, von Girtanrifr, var. loc.
5. Re'vnlulions Almanach fur 1792 — 4, Gottingen, var. loc.
6. Beytrage x.nr Biograpble des verjlorhenes Frey-Herr v. Bodcy -.1794.
7. Magaz'm des Ltteratur et Kunjl, {or 1792, 3, 4? Iffc- tfc.
flate
CHAP. IV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTICN. 2gl
flate for Illumination, having fhaken ofFallthe caba-^ liflical, chemical, and myilicai whims that had for- merly dillurbed them, and Vvouid now take up too much of their time. 1 hey were now cultivating with great zeal the philofophico poiiiical do6irines of univerfai citizenihip. Their leaders, to the number of tu'enty, are mentioned by name in the Berlin Monatfchrift for 1785, and among them are feveral of the firfl: adois m the French Revolution. But this is nothing diilinciive, becaufe peifons of all opinions were Mafons.
7"he Amis Reunis were liftle behind the lilumi- nati in every thin? that was irreiieious and anarchi- ca], and had no inclination for any of the formali- ties of ritual, &c. They were ailready fit for the higher myfieries, and only vvanted ro learn the rr.e- thods of bulinefs which had fucceeded fo well in fpreading their dodrines and maxims over Germa- ny. Belides, their doctrines had not been digefted into a fyllem, nor had the artful methods of leading on the pupils from bad to Vw'orle been praclifed. For hitherto, each individual had vented in the Lodges his own opinions, to unburden his own mind, and the Brethren liftened for inRruction andm.utual en- couragement. Therefore, when Spartacus's plan was communicated to them, they flnvat once its im- portance, in all its branches, fuch as the ule of the Mafon Lodges, to fifh forMinervals — ^the rituals and ranks to entice the ycune, and to lead them by de- grees to opinions and meafures vv^hich, at firft (ight, would have (hocked them. The firm hold which is gotten of the pupils, and indeed of all the inferior clalTes, bv their reports in the courfe of their pre- tended training in the knowledge of themfelves and ofothermen — and, above all, the provincial arrange- ment of the order, and the clever fubordi nation and en- tire dependence on a felecl band orPandaemcnium at
Paris,
292 THE fUlnch revolution. chAp. iv.
Paris, which fhould infpire and direct the whole. — I . think (aitho' I have not exprefs afi'ertions of the fad) from the fubfequent condud of the French revoiters, that even at this early period, there were raany in thofe Ibcieties who were ready to go every length pro- pofed to them b; the Ilium inati, fuch as the aboli- tion of royalty, and of all privileged orders, as ty- rants by nature, the annihilation and robbery of the priefihood, the rooting out of Chriflianity, and the introdudion of Atheiim, or a phiiofuphical chimera which they were to call Religion. Mirabeau had often fpoken of the iail: branch of the Illuminated principles, and the converfations held al Verfailles during the awful paufes of the 5th of Odober, (which are to be feen in the evidence before the Chatelet in the Orleans procefs,) can hardly be 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 madlike 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 were encou- raged in their encomiums on the advantages of a virtuous republican government by Mr. Neckar, who had a moft extravagant and childifli predi- ledion for the conflitutioii of Geneva, the place of his nativity, and was alfo much tinged with the Cofmo'political philofophv of the times. The King's brothers, and the Piinccs of the blood, prefented a memorial to his Majeily, which con- cluded by laying, that *' the eii'ervefence of the *' public opinions had come to fuch a height that
** the
CHAP.lv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. SQg
" the mod dangerous principles, imported from *' foreign parts, were avowed in print witli per- ' fed impunity — that his majefly had unwarily " encouraged every fanatic to di£late to him, " and to fpread his poifonous fentiments, in v^hich " the rights of the throne were not only difre- *' fpecled, but were even difputed — that the rights *' of the higher ciaiTes in the Hate ran a great rifk " of being fpeedily fupprelTed, and that nothing " would hinder the facred right of property from ^' being ere long invaded, and the unequal diftri- *'^bution of v/ealth from being thought a proper "*^fubje£l of reform.'*
When fuch was the (late of things in Paris; it is plain that the buiinefs of the German deputies would be eafily tranfadled. They were received with open arms by the Philalethes^ the Amis de la Verite^ the Social Contrad^ Sec. and in the courfc of a very few weeks in the end of 1788, and the beginning of 1789, (that is, before the end of March) the whole of the Grand Orient, including the Philalethes^ Amis Reuiiis^ Martinif- tes^ &c. had the fecrets of Illumination commu- nicated to them. The operation naturally began with the Great National Lodge of Paris, and thoie in immediate dependence on it. It would alio {Qtxx\^ from many circumftances that occurred to my ol;)- fervation, that the Lodges in Alface and Lorraine were Illuminated at this time, and not long before as I had imagined. Strafburg I know had been Illuminated long ago, while Philo v/as in the Or- der. A circunidance (Irikes me here as of fonie moment. The fe6ts of Philaletkes^ and Amis Reunis were refinemxcnts engrafted on the fyflem of the Ckevaliers Beinfaiiants at Lyons. Such re- finements never fail to be conlidercd as a fort of herefy, and the profelTors will be held with a jea-
2 O lous
294 "^^^^ FRENCH Revolution. chap. iv.
lous and unfriendly eye by feme, who will pride th^^^mfelves on adhering to the old faith. And the greater the luccefs of the herefy, the greater will be the animofity between the parties. — May not this help to explain the mutual hatred of the Parifians and the Lyonnois, which produced the moil dreadful attrocitics ever perpetrated on the face of the earth, and made a (hambles and a de- •fert of the fineft city of France ?
The firfl proceeding by the advice of the de- puties was the formation of a political committee in every Lodge. This committee correfponded with the diftant Lodges, and in it were difcuf^d and fettled all the political principles which were to be inculcated on the members. The author of the Neuefte Arheitiing fays exprelsly, that "he was thoroughly inllru£ted in this; that it was given in charge to thefe committees to frame general rules, and to carry through the great plan (grand auvre ) of a general overturning of religion and government." The principal leaders of the fubfequent Revolution were mem- bers of thefe committees. Here were the plans laid, and they were tranilnitted through the king- dom b}/ the Correfponding Committees.
Thus were the ftupid Bavarians (as the French were once pleafed to call them) their inftruclors in the art of overturning the world. The French were indeed the firfl who put it in pra£lice. Thefe committees arofe from the Illuminati in Bavaria, wdio had by no means given over working ; and thefe committees produced the Jacobin Club. It is not a frivolous remark, that the Mafonic phrale of the peribns who Vv^ifh 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 freres^ frere tel
" demande
CHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 2Q5
'* demande la parole^ la parole lui ejl accordee^^ ) is exadly copied by the jacobin Club. Tliere is fiirely no natural connection between Free Ma- fonry and Jacobinifm — but we feek the link — 11- luminatifm. —
The office-bearers of one of the Lodges of Phi- lalethes in Paris were Martin^ JVillermooz ^ (who had been deputy from Xht Chevaliers Beinfaifants to the Willcmfbad Convention) Chappe^ Mlnet^^ de la Henriere^ and Savatkr de VAnge, In an- other (the Coyitra5l Social) the Political Gommit- tee confiiled of La Fayette, Condorcet, PethioUy d'Orleans, Abbe Bartbolis, d'Aigiiillon, Bailly^ Marq. de la Salle, DejpreJmeniL This particular Lodjre had been founded and coudu£i;ed by one De Leutre, ^n adventurer and cheat of the firfl magnitude, who fometimes made a figure, and at other times was without a Ihilling. At this very time he was a fpy attached to the office of the po- lice of Parisf. The Duke of Orleans v/as Warden
* Minet was, I think, at this time a player. He was fon of a furgeon at Nantes — rob ed his father and fled- — enlifted in Holland — deferted and became fmucrecler — was taken and burnt in the hand — became player and married an aclrefs — then became prieft — a d was made Bifhop of Nantes by Couftard in difcharge of a debt of 500I. Mr. Latocnaye often faw Couflard kneel to him for benediction. It cannot be fuppo'ed that he was much ve- nerated in his pontificals in his native city. — It feems 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 beft com- pany, and lives in elegance and affluence in London.
jiugur, fcbanobates,, msdiciis^ magus omnia novii Graculus ejiirlens ; in cccium jujfot'is^ ibit\, Ingenium volex audacia perdita, fermo Promptus.
:}: All fciences a hungry Frenchman knows. And bid him go to hell — to hell he goes.
Johnjon^s Tranjlation,
29^ THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP, iv,
of the Lodge. The Abhe Sieyes was a Brother Orator, but not of this Lodge, nor, I think, of the former. It was probably of the one conduclt- ed by Mirabeau and the Abbe Perigord. But it ap- pearsfrom the piece from which I am at prefent bor- rowing, that Sieyes was prefent in the meetings of both Lodges, probably as vifiting Brother, employ- ed in bringing them to common m.eafiires. I mufl obferve, that the fubfcqaent condiift of fome of thefe men does not juil accord with my conjec- ture, that the principles of the Illuminati vvcre 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 teachej-s if the clevereil of theic their ichoiai s fhould hold a JanCiiun Jandorum among tliem- feivcs, without inviting all to the conference. Ob- ferve too that the chief lefion which they were now taking from the Germans was tlie method of doing bujintfs^ of managing their correfpondence, and of procuring and training pupils. A French- man does not think that he needs inftrudion in any thing like principle or fcience. He is ready ^on all occaiions to be the inilructor.
Thus were the Lodges of France converted in a very fiiort time into a fet of fecret afiiiiatf d {o- cieties, correfponding with the mother Lodges of Paris, receiving from thence their principles and inftruclions, and ready to rife up at once when called upon to carry on the great work of over- turning the (late.
Hence it has arifen that the French aimed, in the very beginning, at overturning the wliole woild. In all the revolutions of other countries, the fchemes and plots have extended no farther than the nation where they took their riie. liut here we have feen that they take in the whole
world
GHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 2Q7
world. They have repeatedly declared this in their manifeiros, and they have declared it by their conduct — This is the very aim of the IIlu- minati. Hence too may be explained how the re- volution took place in a moment in every part of France. The revolutionary focieties were early formed, and were v/oriiing in fecret before the opening of the National AiTembly, and the whole nation changed, and changed again, and again, as if by beat of , drum. Thofe duly initiated in this myilery of iniquity were ready every where at a call. And we fee Weifnaupt's wiili accomplillied ^
in an unexpected degree, and the debates in a club giving laws to folemn airembiies of the na- tion, and all France bending the neck to the city of Paris, The members of the club are llluminati, and fo are a great part of their correfpondents. — Each operates in the (late as a Minerval would do in the Order^ and the whole goes on with fylle- matic regularity. The famous Jacobin Club was jud one of thofe Lodges, as has been already ob- ferved ; and as, among individuals one commonly takes the lead, and contrives for the refb, fo it has happened on the prefent occafion, that this Lodge, fupported by Orleans and Mirabeau, was the one that (lepped forth and diewed itfelf to the world and thus became the oracle of the party ; and all the reft only echoed its dlicourfcs, and at iail 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 wert lliumi- nati, ( Relig, BegeLenh, 1703. p. 448.) before the Revolution, and correfponded with another Lodge at Strafburg ; and thefe two produced mighty ef- fedls during the year 1790. In a performance call- €»] Memoires Pojlhiimes de Ciifline it is faid, that when that general v/as bending his courfe to Hol- land,
'^gS THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP, i\%
land, the Illuminati at Straiburg, Worms, and Spire, immediately formed clubs, and invited him into that quarter, and, by going to Mentz and en- couraging their brethren in that city, they railed a party againft the garrifon, and actually deliver- ed up the place to the French army.
A little book, juil now printed with the title Paragraphan^ ^'^ys, that Zimmerman, of whom I have fpoken more than once, went to France to • preach liberty. He was employed as a miffionary of Revolution in Alface, where he had formerly been a mod fuccefsfui miilionary of llluminatifm. Of his former proceedings the following is a curi- ous anecdote. He connected himfelf with a highly accompliflied and beautiful woman, whofe con- verfation had fuch charms, that he fays (he gained him near a hundred converts in Spire alone. Some perfons of high rank, and great exterior dignity of charadler, had felt more tender impreffions — 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 paffed for her hufoand or took the fcandal on himfeif. He made above 1500 Louis d'ors in this way. When he returned, as a preacher of Revolution, he u(cd to mount the pulpit with a fabre in his hand, and bawl out, '^ Behold, Frenchmen, this is your God. This '^ alone can fave you.'* The author adds, that when Cuiiine broke into Germany, Zimmerman got adm!iiion to him, and engaged to deliver Manheim into his hands. To gain this purpofe, he oiVered to fet ibme corners of the city on fire, and affurcd him of fupport. Guiline declined the offer. — Zimmerman appeared againft him before the F^evolutionary Tribunal, and accuicd him of treachery to his caufe. — Cuilinc's anfv^er is ra- re mark able.
CHAP. iv. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. ^p
markable. *' Hardly," faid he, " had I let my " foot in Germany, when this man, and all the " fools of his country, befieged 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 was neutral ?" Zim- merman found his full account in Robefpierre's bloody fway — but the lliort term of his attrocities v/as alfo the whole of Zimmerman's carreer. He was arrefled, but again liberated, and foon after again imprifoned, after which 1 can learn no more of him. The fame thing is pofitively aflerted in another performance, called Cri de la FMifon^ and in a third, called Les Majques Arrachees, Ob- ferve too, that it is not the clubs merely that are accufed of this treachery, but the Illuminati. De la Metherje alfo, in his preface to the Journal de Phyjiqueiox 1790, fays exprefsly, that " the caufe " and arms of France were powerfully fupported *• in Germany by a fe£t of philofophers called tiie
Illuminated." In the preface to the Journal for 1792, he fays, that '• Letters and deputations were
received by the AlTembly from feveral Correi- *' ponding Societies in England, felicitating them " on the triumph of Reafbn and Humanity, and
*f promifing them their cordial affiflance."
He read fome of thefe manifeftos, and fays, that " one of tliem recommended (Irongly the " political education of the children, who (liould " be taken from the parents and trained up " for the fhate." Another lamented the bale- ful influence of property, faying, that " the ef- " forts of the Affembly would be fruitlefs, till the " fence was removed with which the laws {o *' anxiouily fecured inordinate wealth. They *' (hould rather be directed to the fupport of ta- " lents and virtue; hecaufe property would al-
" ways

CI
30O -THE FRENCH REVOLUTION^ CHAP. 1V»
" ways fiipport itfelf by the too great inflaence " which it had in every corrupted (late. The " Jaws (hoLild prevent the too great accumulation
" of it in Particular families.'' In fnort, the
counfcl was almoft verbatim what the Abbe Cof- fandey declared to have been preached in the meetiffgs of the Illuminali, which terrified him and his colleagues, and made them quit the aifo- ciation. Anarcharfis Cloots, born in Prufiian Weft- phaiia, a keen llluminatus, carne to Paris for the cxprefs purpofe of forwarding the great work, and by intriguing in the (lyie of the Order, he got himfelf made one of the Reprefentatives of the Nation. He feems to have been one of the com- pleted fanatics in Cofmo-politifm, and jull fuch a tool as Weifnaupt would choofe to employ for a coarie and arduous job. He broke out at once in- to all the filly extravagance of the unthinking herd, and his whole language is juft the jargon of Illumination. Citizen of the world — Liberty and
Equality, the imprefcripitible Rights of Man
Morality, dear Morality — Kings and Priefls are ufelefs things — they are Defpots and Corrupters, Sec. — ^He declared himfelf an ath^ilf , and zealouf- ly laboured to have atheifm eflablifhed by law. He condu£lcd that farcical procedion in the true ftyle of the moil childifh ritual of Philo, where counterfeited deputies from all quarters of the world, in the dreiTcs of their countries, came to congratulate the nation for its vi£lory over Kings and Priefls. It is alfo worthy of remark, that by this time Leuchtfenring, whom we have feen (b zealous an llluminatus, after having been as zea- 'lous a Protedant, tutor of Princes, Hofrath and Hofmeiilcr, was p,ow a fecretarv or clerk in one of the Bureaus of the National Aflembly of France.
I may
CHAP. iV. THE FRENCH REVm-UTIO^^ 301
I may add as a finifliing touch, that the National Aflembly of France was the only body of men that I have ever heard of u'ho openly and fyftematically propofed to employ affaiTination, and to inftitute a band of patriots, who fliould exercife this profeflion either l)y fword, piilol, or poifon ; — and though the propofal was not carried into execution, it might be conlidered as 'he fentiments of the m.eeting ; for it was only delayed till it fhouid be conndered how far it might not be imprudent, becaufe they might ex- ped reprifals. The Abbe Dubois engaged to poifon the Comte d'Artois ; but was himfelf robbed and poifoned by his accomplices. — There v;ere flrong reafons for thinking that the Emperor of Germany was poifoned- — and that Mirabeau was thus treated by his pupil Orleans, — alfo Madame de Favras and her fon. — This was copying the Illuminati very carefully.
After all thefe particulars, can any perfon have a doubt that the Order of Illuminati formally inter- fered in the French Revolution, and contributed greatly to its progrefs? There is no denying the in- folence and opprefTion of the Crown and the Nobles, nor the mifery and flavery of the people, nor that there were fufficient provocation and caufe for a to- tal change of meafures and of principles. But the rapidity with 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 in arbitrary trifles, can hard- ly be explained in any other v/ay. It may indeed be faid ^' que les beaux genies fe rencontrent^ — that ** wits jump. The principles are the fame, and *' the condud of the French has been fuch as the *' Illuminati would have exhibited ; but this is all *' «— the Illuminati no longer e.xiiled," En®ugh has
2 P been
302 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. IV.
been faid on this point already. — The fads are as have been narrated. The Ilkiminati continued as an Order, and even held aflemblies, though not fo frequently nor fo formally as before, and though their Areopagus was no longer at Munich. But lei us hearwhat the French themfeivesthoughtof the matter. In 1789, or the beginning of 1790, a manifejl^ was fejit from the G^AND National Lodge of Free Mafons (fo it is entitled) at Paris, figned by the Dtike of Orleans as Grand Majfer, addreffedand fent to the Lodges in all the refpe£lable 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 pra6iica- hiiity of the thing, 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 firil of all in a work called, Hochjle wichtige Erinnerungen "zur rechten Zeit uber einige der aller- ernfihafteften Angelegenheiten diefes Zeitalters^ vqu L, A. Hoffmann, Vienna, 1795*-
The author of this work fays, " That every thing *' he advances in thefe memorandums is conliflent with his own perfonal knowledge, and that he is ready to give convincing proofs of them to an)? refpedabie perfon who will apply to him perfon- ally. He has already given fuch convincing do- cuments to the Emperor, and to feveral Princes, that many of the machinations occafioned by this manifeiio have been deteded and (lopped ; and be would hzv^ no fcruple at laying the whole be- fore the public, did. it not unavoidably involve feverai worthy perfon s who had fuifered them- feives to be milled, and heartily repented of their
41 «*
41
* M-aH important Memoraadumss i» proptr Se?ifon, eonccrn- iag SfU€, of the islo^ fenoys Occurreaces of tlic prefent Age, by L,
iL. HoSTasaaa, Yieaaa, 1795. /
*•' errors/'
CHAP. IV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 009
*' errors." He^s naturally (being a Catholic) very fevere on the Froteftants, (and indeed he has much reafon,) and by this has drawn on himfelf many bitter retorts. He has however defended himfelf againil all 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 tjie flanderers.
Hoffmann fays, that *' he faw fome of thofe mani- " feflos ; that they were not all of one tenor, fome ''• being addrelTed to friends, of whofe fuppcrt they *' were already aflured." One very important arti- cle of their contents is Earnejl exhortations to eflahlijh in every quarter ft'cret Jchools of political education^ and fchools for the public education of the children cf the people^ under the direction of well-principled inaf- ters ; and offers of pecuniary affiftance for this purpofe^ and for the encouragement of writers in favour cf the Revolution^ and for indemnifying the patriotic hookfel lers who Juffer by their endeavours to fupprefs publi- cations which have an eppofite tendency. We know very well that the iramenfe revenue ot the Duke of Orleans was fcattered among ail the rabble of the Palais Royal, Can we doubt of its being employed in this manner? Our doubts muft vanifh, when we fee that not long after this was publicly faid in the National AfTembly, '' that this method was the moft effedual for accomplilhing their purpofe of fetting Europe in a flame." *' But much expence," iays the fpeaker, '' will attend it, and much has al- '' ready been employed, which cannot be named " becaufe it is given in fecret." The Affembly' had given the Illumination war-hoop — '' Peace with '' cottages^ but war voith palaces' — A pouvoir revolu- iionnaire is mentioned, which fuperfedes all narrow thoughts, all ties of morality. Lequinio publifiies the moll dete liable book that ever itlued from g
printip^
^04 T"^2 FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. IV.
•printing prefs, Les Prejuges vaincus^ comaining ail the principles, and expveded in the very words of liluroinatifni.
iloiTmann lays, that the French Ptvpaganda had many erniliarics in Vienna, and many friends whom he could point oat. Mirabeau in particu- lar had many connc^lions in Vienna, and to the certain knowledge of Hoffmann, carried on a great correfpondence in cyphers. The progrei? of Illumination had been very great in the Aullrian States, and a llatefman gave him an account of their proceedings, ( qui font redrcfjer Its cheveux ) which makes one's hair ftand on end. *' I no lon- '• ger wonder," fays he, " that the Neuefts Arhei- *' tung des Spartacus und Philo was forbidden. '' O ye almighty Illumiuati^ what can you net " accomplifn by your ferpent like infinnation and «' cunning !" Your leaders fay, " This book is " dangerous, becaufe it will teach wicked men " the mofl: refined methods of rebellion, and it " mud never get into the hands of the common " people. They have faid v/ith the moil impu- " ceive the deeper-laid reaibn for fuppreliing the " book. The leaders of the Illuminati are, not ** without reafon, in anxiety, left the inferior *' reprifals for having been fo bafely tricked, by " keeping them back and in profound ignorance ••^ of their real defigns ; and for working on '* them by the very goodnei's of their hearts, to '* their final ruin ; and left the Free Mafons, •' whom they have alfo abiifed, ihoukl think of " revenp-inp- themfelves, when the matchlcfs vil- '' lainy of their deceivers has been fb clearly ex- *' pofed. It is in vain for them to talk of the danger ^' of inftrucling the people in the methods of fo-
■* menting
CHAf. IV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 305
** meriting rebellion by this book. The aims are " too apparent, and even in the neighbourhood of *' Regeniburg, where the ilrength of the Illumi' *' nati lay, every pcrfon faid aloud, that the IHu- *' minatifni difcovered by this book was High Treafon, and the mod unheard of attempt to annihilate every religion and every civil go- vernment.'' He goes on: '' In 1790 I was as '* well acquainted with the fpiritof the IHumina- *' tion-fNilem as at prefent, but only not fo docu- " mented by their conflitutional acts, as it is now '' by tlic Neiiejle Arheitiing des Spartacus iind " Philo^ My Mafonic connections were formerly *' extenfive, and my publication entitled Eighteen " Paragraphs Concerning Free Mafonry^ procured *' me more acquaintance with Free Mafons of *' the greatefl v/orth, and of Illuminati equally '• upright, perfons of refpeclability and knovv- '' ledge, who had difcovered and repented the " trick and inveigling condu£l of the Order. All " of us jointly fwore oppofition to the Illuminati^ *' and my friends conhdered me as a proper in- *' ftrument for this purpofe. To whet my zeal, " they put papers into my hands which made me *' fhudder, and raifed my difiike to the higheft " pitch. I received from them lifts of the mem- " berSj and among them faw names which I la- '' mented exceedingly. Thus ftood matters in ^* 1790, when the French Revolution began to *' take a ferious turn» The intelligent faw in the '' open fyflem of the Jacobins the complete hid- den fyftcm of the illuminati. Wc knew that this fyftem included the whole world in its alms, and France was only the place of its firll explofion. The Propaganda works in every corner to this hour, and its emiffaries run about in all the four quarters of the world, and are to
*' be
u
305 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP. iVi
be found in numbers in every city that is a feat of government. '^
" He farther relates how they in Vienna want- ed to enhfl; him, and, as this failed, how they have abufed him even in the foreign nevvf- papcrs.
" 1 have perfonal knowledge (continues he) that in Germany a {Ixond Mirabcau, Mauvil- Ion, had propofed in detail a planof revohition, entirely and precifely fuited to the prefent n:at(!j of Germany. This he circulated among feve- ral Free Mafon Lodges, among all the Illumi- nated Lodges which flill remained in Germany, and through the hands of all the emifTaries of the Propaganda, who had been already dif- patched to the frontiers (vorpojlen) of evt-ry didridt of the empire, with means for ftirring up the people.'* (N. B. In 1792, Mauvillon, finding abundant fnpport 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 difcontented in every flate, came boldly forward, and, in the Brunfwick Jour- nal for March 1792, declared that *' he heartily *' rejoiced in the French Fvevolution, widied it all " 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 Os^ober 1790, there are many proofs of the machinations of emifTaries from the Ma- fon LGdocs of Paris among the German Free Ma- Tons — Sec pages 836, 963, 1087, c-'C. It appears that a cud:) luis taken the name of Propaganda* and meets once a week at Icaft, in the form of a
Mafon
GHAP. IV. THE FRENCH KlVOLUTlON. 307
Mafon Lodge. It confiflsof perfons of all nations, and is under the diredlion of the Grand Mafter, the Duke of Orleans. De Lcii re is one of the Wardens, They have divided iiiirope into colo- nies, to which they give revoliiiionary names, llich as the Cap, the Pike^ the Lantern, Sec, They have minifters in thcfe colonies. (One is pointed out in Saxony, by marks which I prelume are well underftood.) A fecret preis was found in Saxe Gotha, furnidied with German types, which prior- ed a feditious work called the J our 7ml of Huma- nity, This journai w^as found in the mornings lying in the llreets and highways. The houfe be- longed to an Illimiinatus of the name of Duport, a poor fchoolmafter — -he w^as alTociated with an- other in Straibiiro-, who was alfo an lUuminatus. —
tj J
His name was Meyer, the winter of the Strafom-^^ Newfpaper. He had been fomc time a teacher in Salzmann's accademy, who we fee was aifo an II- luminattis ^ but difpieafed with their proceedings almoil at fArft, (Private Correfpondence.)
I have perfonal knowledge (continues Pro- feflbr Hoffman) that in 1791, during the tem- ^' porary dearth at Vienna, ieveral of thefe emil- faries wxrc bufy in corrupting the minds of the *' poor, by telling them that in like manner the court had produced a famine in Paris in i^Sp, I dete£i:ed fome of them, and expofed them in my Patriotic R€77iarhs on the Prtfent Dearth^ ** and had the fatisfadion of feeing my cndea- *' voors of confiderable efle
Surely thefe fa^tS (liow that the Anarchifts of France knew of the German Illuminati, and con- fided in their fupport. They alfo knew to what particular Lodges thty could addrefs themfelvcs with fafcty and confidence. — But what need is there of more argument^ when we know the zeal
of
3o8 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAP* iv«
of the niuminati, and the unhoped for opportu- nity that the Revolution had given them of ail- ing v^ith immediate effed: in carrying on their great and darling work? Can vv^e 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. Mentz, Worms, Spire, Frank- fort, actually interfered, and produced great ef- fe£ls. In Switzerland too they were no Icfs adlive. 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.
I conclude this article with an extra£t or two from the proceedings of the National AfTembly and Convention, which make it evident that their principles and their pra£lice are precifely thofe of the Illuminati, on a great fcale.
When the afTumption of the Duchy of Savoy as an 84th Department was debated, Danton faid to the Convention.
" In the mom.ent that we fend freedom to a " nation on our frontier, we muft fay to them you " muft 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- " mittce for the general infurrection of the peo- *' pie."
On
CHAP. IV. THE FRENCH lEVOLUTION, 309
On the 19th of November 1792 it was de- creed, " That the Convention, in the name of *' the French nation, tenders help and fraternity '* to all people who would recover their liberty.'* On the 21(1 of November, the Prefident of the Convention faid to the pretended deputies of the Duchy of Savoy, " Reprefentatives of an hide- pendent people, important to mankind was the day when the National Convention of France pronounced its fentence. Royal dignity is abo^
lifJied, From that day many nations will, in
future, reckon the era of their political exift- ence. — From the beginning of civil eftablifh- ments Kings have been in oppofition to their nations — but now they rife up to annihilate Kings. — Reafon, when (lie darts her rays into
every corner, lays open eternal truths She
alone enables us to pafs fentence on defpors, hi- thert© the fcare-crow of other nations." But the mod diftindl exhibition of principle is to be feen in a report from the diplomatic com- mittee, who were commiflioncd to deliberate on the condudt which France was to hold with other nations. On this report w&s founded the decree of the 15th of December 1793. The Reporter ad- dreffes the Convention as follows;
*' The Committees of Finance and War aflc in the beginning — What is the obje£l: of the war which we have taken in hand ? Without all doubt the objed: is the annihilation of
ALL PRIVILEGES, WAR WITH THE PALACES,
PEACE WITH THE COTTAGES. Thcfc are the principles on which your declaration of war is founded. All tyranny, all privilege, muft be treated as an enemy in the countries where we fet our foot. This is the genuine refult of our " principles. — But it is not with Kings alone that
2 Q^ '' we
31 0 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, CHAP. iv
" we are to wage war — were thefe our fole ene- ** mies, we (hould only have to bring down ten '' or twelve heads. We have to light with all '' their accomplices, with the privileged orders, " who devour and have oppreiTed the people dur- " ing many centuries.
" We rniifl therefore declare ourfelves for a " revolutionary power in all the countries into ^' which we enter— r(Loud applaufes from the Af- *' (embly)— Nor need we put on the cloak of hu- " manity — we difdaln fuch little arts. — We muit *' clothe ourfelves with all the brilliancy of rea- *' fon, and all the force of the nation. We need '* not mafk our principles- — -the defpots know ^' them already. The lirft thing we mull: do is to ^* ring the alarum bell, for infurredion and up- *' roar.-^ — "We mufl, in a folemu manner, let the ^* people fee the banilhment of their tyrants and
*■ privileged cafts otherwife, the people, ac>
^* cuflomed 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 " againfl: the rights of the people muil be over- *' thrown at our entry-r-We mult difplay our prln- " ciples by actually deftroying all tyranny ; and " our generals after having chafed away the ty- *' rants and their fatellites, mud proclaim to the ^' people that they have brought them happinefs; ^' and then, on the fpot, they mufi fupprefs tithes, ^^ feudal rights, and every fpecies of fervitude,"
*' But we fhall have done nothing if we llop " here. Ariftocracy ftill domineers — we mufl ^' therefore fupprefs all authorities exifting in the
* ' hands
CpUP. iV; THE FRENCH REVGLUTlOr^; 3II
" hands of the upper clafTes^ — When the Revc- ** lutionary Authority appears, there niafl: nothing '' of the old ertabli(lin:ient rc:main. — A popular '^' fyflem mull be iiitroclaced — every office mu(t ^' be occupied by new functionaries-— and the " Sans Guliottes inuil every v^here have a iliare '' in the AdminiftraTion.
" Still nothing is dont^, till we declare aloud " the prtcifion of our principles to luch as want " only half freedom,^ — We mufl: fay to them— If you think of compromihng with the privileged cads, wc cannot fuller fuch dealing with ty- rants—They are our enemies, and we mud treat " them as enemies, becaufe they are neither for *' Liberty nor Equality. — Show yourfclves dif- pofcd to receive a Ix^q conftitution— and the Convention will not only (land by you, but will give you permanent fupport; we will defend you againil the vengeance of your tyrants—* againfl their attacks, and againil their return. —Therefore aboliOi from among you the No- bles, and every ecclefialtical and military in- corporation. They arc incompatable with Equa- lity.— Henceforward you are citizens, all equal in rights — equally called upon to rule^ to de- fend, and to ferve your country.— The agents
i( &c
u
u
" of the French Republic will iniirudl and affill " you in forming a free conftitution, and afTare " you of happinefs and fraternity."
This Report v^as loudly applauded, and a de- cree formed in precife conformity to its princi- ples. Both were ordered to be tranflated into all languages, and copies to be furnilhed to their generals, with orders to have them carefully dif- pcrfed in the countries which they invaded.
And, in completion of thefc decrees, their ar- mies found it eafy to colledt as many difcontented
or
3l2 THE FBENGH KS volution. CHAP. iV.
or worthlefs perfons in any country as fufliced for fetting up a tree of liberty. This they held as a fufficient 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' conflitu- tion, the nation was forced to acquiefce in a form dictated at the point of the bayonet, in which they had not the fmallefl liberty to choofc — and they were phindered of all they had, by way of compenfating to France for the trouble (lie had
taken. And this they call Liberty, — It needs no
comment. —
Thus have I attempted to prove that the pre- lent awful iituation of Europe, and the general fermentation of the public mind in ail nations, have not been altogether the natural operations of difcontent, opprellion, and moral corruption, al- though thefe have been great, and have operated with fatal energy; but that this political fever has been carefully and fyflematically heightened by bodies of men, who profeiled to be the phyficians of the State, and, while their open practice em- ployed cooling medicines, and a treatment which ail approved, adminifiered in fecret the mofl 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 fame perfons, 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 fuggefl a few thoughts, which may enable us to draw fome advantage from this fhocking mafs of information.
General
GHAP. IV. THE FRENCH REVOLUTIO.V. OJ^^
General Reficdlions.