:-v^!V^^!tti ^-^^^' r ^^ "-wmw «^^^vc^ \^al&: J'^. W/^: *s>^'^^. '. 0^ >i>. ' %%^' .Wf,* '^0 • ,«» ««^ '* .0*.oi:.-..'^o, ••IK-° y-^o '-^R^* o''"'^*- ••^P'<° t.*'"-' '-^m'^ J i^ %.*^^** '" «^^ o ^ -^^0^ ^^ -t^ * • - " ' -^^ <^^ '0,1* ,0^ ^^ *^t!v a <^ 'f.»- .0^ '^^ *.— V-^' v-^^ fe-^- .•i q V^ NEW ENGLAND AND THE BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI VERNON STAUFFEK, A. M. Dean and Professor of New Testament and Church Hiitory Hiram College SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE Faculty of Political Science Columbia University NEW YORK 1918 / NEW ENGLAND AND THE BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI VERNON STAUFFER, A. M. Dean and Professor oj New Testament and Church History Hiram College SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE Faculty of Political Science Columbia University NEW YORK 1918 Copyright, 1918 BY VERNON STAUFFER Gift tJniverslty J. E., R, W., AND R. F. CONTENTS Introduction CHAPTER 1 Thk Undermining of Puritan Standards and Institutions I. Rapid Disintegration of Puritanism after the Revolution. ... 13 z. Ominous Discontent with the Standing Order 33 3. Alarms due to the Spread of Religious Radicalism and Scepticism 66 CHAPTER n Political Entanglements and Hysteria 1. The Situation prior to 1798 103 2. The Situation from 1798 to 1800 122 CHAPTER HI The European Order of the Illuminat? i. The Rise and the Disappearance of the Order 142 2. The Legend of the Order and its Literary Communication to New England 186 CHAPTER IV The Illuminati Agitation in New England T . Morse Precipitates the Controversy 2. Inconclusive Developments of Morse's Second Formal Deliv- 220 erance . . 261 \. Morse Submits his Inept Documentary Evidence 287 4. Frecmasonry's Embarrassment and Protest . . 321 5. Attempts of Democrats to Fix the Countercharge 01 Illuminism upon the Federalists 345 Bibliography ^61 5] 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENT The obligations incurred in the preparation of the fol- lowing study are much too numerous and varied to admit of adequate notice. Special mention must, however, be made of my indebtedness to the staffs of the following libraries: The Boston Athenaeum, Congregational, Ma- sonic (Boston). American Antiquarian Society, Connecti- cut Historical Society, New York Historical Society, Li- brary of Congress, the public libraries of the cities of Boston and New York, the library of Hiram College, and the university libraries of Harvard, Yale, and Columbia. In addition to the many courtesies received from these sources, I have had valuable assistance from the following persons: Mr. Newton R. Parvin, grand secretary of the Grand Lodge of Iowa, A. F. & A. M., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, whose warm personal interest in my investigation has found expression in the loan of many valuable volumes ; Mr. Worthington C. Ford, of the Massachusetts Historical Society, who besides opening freely to me the unpublished treasures of the So- ciety, has given me the benefit of peculiarly stimulating sug- gestions; Mr. Walter C. Green, librarian of Meadville Theological School, who has most generously met all my drafts upon his patience and time; and Professor Guy Stan- ton Ford, of the University of Minnesota, who has made it possible for me to use his copy of Forestier's Les Illumines de Baviere et la Franc-Magonnerie alleniandc, without which in this war period, with its partial stoppage of the inflow of European literature, my chapter on " The European Order of the Illuminati " could scarcely have been written. 7] 7 8 ACKNOWLEDGMENT [8 My greatest debt is to Professor William Walker Rock- well, of Union Theological Seminary, who from the day that he suggested the theme not only has followed the pro- gress of the work with unwearied interest, but at many points has guided my efforts and helped me to avoid numer- ous pitfalls. Whatever excellencies the study contains are due to Professor Rockwell's stimulating criticism ; the faults are altogether chargeable to me. There remains to acknowledge my obligation and express my best thanks to my colleagues, Professors Ralph Hins- dale Goodale, Lee Edwin Cannon, and John Samuel Ken- yon, and to Miss Bertha Peckham, Registrar of Hiram College, who have greatly assisted me by correcting copy, reading proof, and otherwise helping to see the work through the press. To my wife a special obligation is due because of the benefits derived from her critical insight and heartening sympathy throughout the performance of the task. V. S. HnuM, Ohio. INTRODUCTION Few if any periods in our national history have been marked by a greater variety of clashing interests than the closing decade of the eighteenth century. Owing in part to inexperience in grappling with the problems of govern- ment, in part to widely belligerent and irreconcilable ele- ments among the people, in part to grave international com- plications and concerns, and in part, confessedly, to rumors and excitements for which, as events proved, no adequate grounds existed, the lives of the people of New England were tossed rudely about on rough currents and counter- currents of mingled hope and anguish. To a dispassionate observer (if anywhere on the green earth at the close of the eighteenth century such an individual might have been found) it must have seemed as though the citizens of New England were as so many bits of wood, bobbing up and down on waters excessively choppy but otherwise motionless. The agitation, however, was not merely super- ficial; issues and movements of the most profound signifi- cance were pouring their impetuous torrents through channels freshly cut and steadily deepened by new streams of human interest which the erection of the naticmal gov- ernment, in particular, had started on their tortuous ways. The development of this thesis calls for an evaluation of the more significant elements and forces which gave to the period the characteristic temper of nervous excitability by which it was stamped. The profound spirit of appre- hension, amounting to positive distress, with which for many a thoughtful religious patriot of New England the eighteenth centurj' closed, constitutes a phenomenon as im- 9] 9 IQ INTRODUCTION [lO pressive as it is curious. To isolate that spirit, to analyze it, to explain its genesis and its development, to take account of its attachments and antipathies with respect to the special interest under consideration, — this must be regarded as no inconsiderable portion of the general task. On the morning of May 9, 1798, in the pulpit of the New North Church in Boston, and on the afternoon of the same day in his own pulpit at Charlestown, the occasion being that of the national fast, the Reverend Jedediah Morse ^ 1 Reverend Jedediah Morse, born at Woodstock, Connecticut, August 23, 1761, died at New Haven, June 9, 1826, was a man of note. He was the author of the first American geography and gazetteer. His con- nection with the leading pubUc men of his times, particularly with those of the Federalist party, was both extensive and intimate. His travels and correspondence in the interests of his numerous geographical com- positions in part promoted this acquaintance ; but his outspoken and unflinching support of the measures of government during the Federal- ist regime did even more to enhance his influence. Morse was gradu- ated from Yale College in 1783 and settled at Charlestown as minister of the Congregational church in that place in 1789. His wife was Elizabeth Ann Breese, granddaughter of Samuel Finley, president of the College of New Jersey. Quite apart from all other claims to public recognition, the following inscription, to be found to this day on a tablet attached to the front of the house in Charlestown wherein his distinguished son was born, would have rendered the name of Jedediah Morse worthy of regard : " Here was born 27th of April, 1791. Samuel Finley Breese Morse. Inventor of the Electric Telegraph." W. B. Sprague's Annals of the American Pulpit, vol. ii, pp. 247-256, contains interesting data concerning Morse's activities and personaHty. Sprague also wrote Tlve Life of Jedidiah Morse, D. D., New York. 1874. (Morse's surname appears in the sources both as "Jedediah" and "Jedidiah"). Sawyer's Old Charlestown, etc., p. 299, has an engaging account of Morse's loyalty to the cause of Federalism, and of the pain- ful, though not serious physical consequences, in which in at least one instance this involved him. Cf. also Memorabilia in the Life of Jedediah Morse, D. D., by his son, Sidney E. Morse. A bibliography of thirty-two titles by Morse is appended to the sketch in F. B. Dexter, Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College, vol. iv, pp. 295-304. Il] INTRODUCTION II made a sensational pronouncement. He first discussed with his hearers " the awful events " which the European lllu- niinati had precipitated upon an already distracted world, and then proceeded solemnly to aftirm that the secret Euro- pean association had extended its operations to this side of the Atlantic and was now actively engaged among the people of the United States, with a view to the overthnjw of their civil and religious institutions. In the eyes of the distin- guished clergyman, the matter was of such serious moment that he felt moved to remark : I hold it a duty, my brethren, which I owe to God, to the cause of religion, to my country and to you, at this time, to declare to you, thus honestly and faithfully, these truths. My only aim is to awaken in you and myself a due attention, at this alarming period, to our dearest interests. As a faithful watch- man I would give you warning of your present danger.' Morse's warning by no means fell upon deaf ears. The " due attention" he claimed for the alarm which he that day sounded was promptly and generally accorded. Soon ministers were preaching, newspaper editors and contribu- tors writing, and clearheaded statesmen like Oliver Wolcott, Tiniothy Pickering. John Adams, and even the great Wash- ington, inquiring, and voicing their serious concern over the secret presence in America of those conspirators whose greatest single achievement, a multitude had come to l^e- lieve. was the enormities of the French Revolution. It is true that before two years had passed men generally began to admit the baseless nature of the alarm that Morse '^ A Scrmou, Delivered at the New North Church in Boston, in the morning, and in the afternoon at Charlestozs.'n, May Qth, 1708. being the day recommended by John Adams. President of the United States of America, for solemn humiliation, fasting and prayer. By Jcdidiah Morse, D. D.. Minister of the Congregational Church in Charlestozvn. Boston. 1708, p. 25. 12 INTRODUCTION [12 had sounded. None the less one may not dismiss the inci- dent with the Hght and easy judgment that it signified noth- ing more than the absurd fears of a New England clergy- man who, under the strain oi deep political and religious concern, and after a hasty reading of the latest volume of religious and political horrors that had just arrived from Europe,^ rushed into his pulpit and gave utterance to pre- posterous statements which his imagination for the moment led him to believe were justified. The episode has con- siderably larger and more important bearings. No man could possibly have awakened such wide-spread concern as the minister of Charlestown succeeded in awakening if it had not been true that significant concurrent and related circumstances gave both setting and force to the alarm which with such stout conviction he sounded. What previous influences and events had tended to pre- dispose the public mind favorably to Morse's alarm? What was the peculiar combination and cast of events which gave the notion of a conspiracy against religion and gov- ernment in Europe and in America a clear semblance of truth? In what ways, and to what extent, did the alarm affect the lives and the institutions of the people of New England? Finally, what were the grounds, real or imag- inary, upon which the charge of an Illuminati conspiracy rested? To answering these questions the following pages are devoted. ^ Robison, Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and Governments of Europe, carried on in the Secret Meetings of the Free Masons, Illuminati, and Reading Societies, Edinburgh, 1797. CHAPTER I The Undermining of Puritan Standards and Institutions I. rapid disintegration of PURITANISM AFTER THE REVOLUTION Back of the War of Independence was the less absorbing but scarcely less harrowing contest of the French and Indian War. Thus for a period of fully thirty years the people of New England had been subjected to the rough and un- settling experiences of military life. This consideration, taken in connection with the fact that a growing declension from the standards of the Puritan fathers had been the occasion of increasing comment and concern from the middle of the seventeenth century on/ will make explicable ^ An early and yet typical example of this unfavorable view of the moral and religious life of the people after the first generation of the Puritans was gone, may be found in The Result of 16^9, — a document prepared by the Synod in response to directions from the Massachu- setts General Court, calling for answers to the following questions : "' What are the euills that haue provoked the Lord to bring his judg- ments on New England? What is to be donn that so those euills may be reformed?" The following brief excerpt from The Result supplies the point of view : " Our Fathers neither sought for, nor thought of great things for themselves, but did seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things were added to them. They came not into the wilderness to see a man cloathed in soft raiment. But that we have in too many respects, been forgetting the Errand upon which the Lord sent us hither; all the world is witness: And therefore we may not wonder that God hath changed the tenour of his Dispensations towards us, turning to doe us hurt, and consuming us 13] 13 14 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [14 the fact that the average citizen of New England emerged from the Revolutionary struggle with the edge of his con- science dulled. The secularizing spirit of the post-Revolu- tionary period, when questions of national organization and unity, of the rehabilitation of commerce and industry, and of international relations and policies were foremost in the thought of the day, left marks upon the human spirit over which stem and rigorous adherents to the old order wept copiously and long. For one thing, the lives of the men and women of New England were never again to be as barren of diversified interests as they had been in the past. The successful issue of the struggle for political independence had so enlarged the mind of the common man that he of necessity entertained considerations of private desire and of public policy which he formerly would have rejected en- tirely. The avenue of retreat to the ancient simplicity and seclusion was forever closed. The soundness of this estimate of the rapid disintegra- tion of Puritanism will be apparent if the changing attitude of the people on the subject of theatrical entertainments is considered.^ As early as the year 1750 the General Court of Massachusetts had found it necessary to enact legislation to prevent stage-plays and other theatrical entertainments.^ That Puritan standards dominated the situation at the time is evidenced both by the reasons advanced by the framers of the law for its enactment and by the stringent penalties after that he hath done us good. If we had continued to be as once we were, the Lord would have continued to doe for us, as once he did." The entire document, together with much valuable explanatory comment, may be found in Walker, Creeds and Platforms of Congre- gationalism, pp. 421-437. Backus, History of New England, vol. i, pp. 457-461, contains a group of similar laments. ^ Snow, A History of Boston, p. 333. 2 Weeden, Economic and Social History of Nezv England, vol. ii, p. 696. I^] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS 15 attached to it. The justification of the measure was found in the economic waste, the discouraging effect upon industry and frugality, and the deleterious effect upon morality and religion which stage-plays were believed to exercise. The penalties imposed called for a fine of twenty pounds upon any owner of property who permitted his property to be used for such purposes, while a fine of five pounds was to be assessed upon any actor or spectator found in attendance upon or participating in any such exercises where more than twenty persons were assembled together.^ How meekly the craving for pleasurable excitement bowed its head in submission, there is no evidence to show ; but it is very clear that as the centur}' drew toward its close the people of Massachusetts began to manifest a decidedly intractable spirit with respect to legislative control of their amusements and pleasures. The days of the Revolution supplied thrills of their own, and the colonists gave themselves in devotion to their great task-at-arms, with little desire for the amenities of life. Accordingly, when the Continental Congress, on October 16, 1778, passed a resolution deprecating every species of public entertainment which would be likely to divert the minds of the people from the considerations of public de- fence and the safeguarding of their liberties," there was ^ Acts and Resolves, Public and Private, of the Province of Massa- chusetts Bay, vol. iii, pp. 500 et seq. The Preamble of this Act is highly interesting: "For preventing and avoiding the many and great mischiefs which arise from publick stage-plays, interludes and other theatrical entertainments, which not only occasion great and unneces- sary expenses, and discourage industry and frugality, but likewise tend generally to increase immorality, impiety and a contempt for religion, — Be it enacted ", etc. - Seilhamer, History of the American Theatre, vol. ii, pp. 51 et seq.; Winsor, The Memorial History of Boston, vol. iv, ch. v: "The Drama in Boston,'" by William W. Clapp, pp. 358 et seq. j6 NEIV ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATi [i6 nothing singular about the episode, and we may believe readily that the people of New England, fortified by their grim spirit of determination and their long tradition of self- denial, in no sense fell short of the general standard. But by the year 1 790 the people living in and about Boston had come to a very different state of mind. In that year by petition to the General Court they sought to have the pro- hibitory act of 1750 revoked.^ The incident has importance because it registers a determined effort to feed desires whose hunger-pains had grown insistent. The history of this particular effort to remove legislative restrictions in the way of harmless amusements is illuminat- ing. The petition referred to received scant consideration at the hands of the legislators of Massachusetts. The fol- lowing year certain gentlemen of Boston, to the number of thirty-nine, presented a memorial to the selectmen of that city, requesting that a vote of the citizens be taken on the questions of permitting the erection and use of a build- ing for theatrical entertainments, and the issuing of instruc- tions to Boston's representatives in the legislature calling for the repeal of the obnoxious law. Apparently the plebis- cite was not taken ; but the general question was debated in town meeting. A committee was appointed to prepare in- structions. The committee reported favorably concerning the proposed itistructions to Boston's representatives in the legislature, and these representatives later undertook the task of bringing a majority of the members of the General Court to the more liberal point of view; not, however, with immediate success. Meanwhile, to the scandal of Gov- ernor John Hancock, and doubtless many another advocate of decency and order, theatrical entertainments, " under the ^ Seilhamer, op. cit., vol. iii, p. 13; Dunlap, History of the American Theatre, vol. i, p. 244; Snow, History of Boston, pp. 22Z «t seq. I7J PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS 17 Stile & Appellation of Moral Lectures/' ^ flourished openly in Boston." It was during the progress of the debate in the legislature over the proposed repeal of the law against theatrical en- tertainments that John Gardiner, one of Boston's repre- sentatives in that body, delivered himself of sentiments touching what he styled " the illiberal, unmanly, and des- potic act " of 1750. His speech gave evidence of how fresh ajid independent the judgments of some minds had come to be. Addressing the presiding officer, Gardiner said : Sir ! I really and truly venerate ; I would rather say, I sin- cerely and almost enthusiastically admire the many great and splendid virtues of our renowned puritan ancestors . . . ; but still, Sir, they were only men; and, like all other men, were fallible ; liable to frailties, to prejudices, and to error. Some ■errors, and some unjust prejudices, they undoubtedly had. Would to God a veil was drawn over all their absurd prejudices which, like spots in the sun, tend in some small degree to be- darken and obscure the otherwise truly-resplendent glories of their character. One of these prejudices, in my opinion, was their inveterate opposition and abhorrent aversion to the theatre.^ ^ Acts an4 Latvs of the Commomvealth of Massachusetts, 1792-3, pp. 686 et seq. * The public discussion and legislative phase of the situation, together with the disorders occasioned by the determination of the supporters of the theatre to serve their enterprise at any cost, are well covered by Clapp in the chapter already cited in Winsor's Memorial History of Boston. Cf. also Seilhamer, vol. iii, pp. 14 et seq.: Dunlap. vol. i. pp. 242 et seq. ; Willard. Memories of Youth and Manhood, \ol. i, pp. 324, 325; Bentley, Diary, vol. i, pp. 340, 379, 380, 414, 415, 418, etc. * The Speech of John Gardiner, Esquire, Delivered in the House of Representatives. On Thursday, the 26th of January, 1792, Boston, 1792. p. 18. Another publication of the same year, The Rights of the Drama: or. An Inquiry into the Origin, Principles, and Consequences of The- atrical Entertainments. By Philo Dramatis (pseud.), discussed the iS NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMIN ATI [ig That Gardiner was the spokesman of a very considerable number of citizens is demonstrated by the fact that on March 28, 1793, a bill drawn to take the place of the older legislation against theatrical amusements and granting spe- cifically to the people of Boston the right to erect a theatre and to have " stage plays performed under certain regula- tions and restrictions," was enacted by the legislature of subject in different vein, but with the same object in view. In the final chapter on " The Outlines of a Theatre, it's Necessary Appendages, a Plan of Regulation, Calculation of Expenses, Profits, &c.", doubtless by way of turning the balance of public judgment in favor of the estab- lishment of a local theatre, the author suggests that the following ends may be served: the development of native genius, and thus the elevation of America to a high rank in the republic of letters ; the reservation of a certain portion of the revenues of the theatre by the Commonwealth, for the care of the poor of Boston, or of the state, and for the support of the University at Cambridge (Harvard), thus easing the burden of taxation. The closing words of this pamphlet, stripped of their bom- bast, are not unworthy to stand with Gardiner's : " Whenever I consider this subject, and contemplate the formation of a Theatre, I cannot help feeling a kind of enthusiasm ... I anticipate the time when the Garricks and Siddons of America shall adorn the Stage, and melt the soul to pity. But here let me pause. — Let the most rigid Stoic, or the greatest fanatic in religion, or the most notorious dupe to prejudice, once hearken to the tale of the tragic muse, whose office it is to soften, and to subdue the violent passions of the mind, by painting the real misfortunes and distresses, which accompany our journey through life; or attend to the laughable follies, and vain inconsistencies, which daily mark the character of the human species — the deformity of vice — the excellence of virtue — , and, from the representation of the lively Comedy, ' catch the manners living as they rise,' and then say, if he can, that lessons of instruction are unknown to the Drama. If these have no effect, let him listen, with mute attention, to the occasional symphonies, which burst from a thousand strings, and accompany, and give life and animation to the Comic scene — and then, if sunk below the brute creation, let him be fortified against the impressions of sensibility. The stoicism of man must surpass our comprehension, if the dramatic scene can be contemplated without emotion; more es- pecially when the representation of Hfe and manners is intended to correct and to enlarge the heart. ..." I^] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS ig Massachusetts.^ It is very evident that pubhc sentiment had veered round to a radically new and different view re- specting the place and function of the theatre. So much so, indeed, that some who sought to shape the thought and de- termination of the times recommended the establishment of the theatre as the only possible way of drawing the desires and interests of the people away from grosser and more in- jurious excitements toward which, it was believed, an alarming growth of frivolity and lack of moral concern was rapidly sweeping the people of New England. - This alleged declension of morals may be more vitally viewed from the standpoint of the subject of intemperance. ^ Cf. (Boston) Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser, Thursday, March 28, 1793. ~ Pseud.: Effects of the Stage on the Manners of a People: and the Propriety of Encouraging and Establishing a Virtuous Theatre. By a Bostonian, Boston, 1792. The author is insipid enough; none the less the pamphlet is by no means void of a certain practical- mindedness and good sense as the author argues for the frank accept- ance of the theatre as an institution in the city's life. The following constitute his chief contentions : The theatre, in some form or other, is bound to come, because of the fact that the people generally are interested in the subject of amusement; the tastes and appetites of the people already give painful evidence of serious debasement and cor- ruption; the acceptance of a "Virtuous Theatre" is the only possible expedient if the people are to be saved from worse debauchment. The view taken by the Reverend William Bentley, Salem's well-known minister, was less specious, though tinged with a mildly pessimistic view of popular tastes. Under date of July 31, 1792, he wrote: "So much talk has been in the Country about Theatrical entertainments that they have become the pride even of the smallest children in our schools. The fact puts in mind of the effect from the Rope flyers, who visited N. England, after whose feats the children of seven were sliding down the fences & wounding themselves in every quarter." Diary, vol. i, p. 384. Later, he wrote : " The Theatre opened for the first time [in Salem] is now the subject. The enlightened who have not deter- mined upon its utter abolition have yet generally agreed that it is too early introduced into our country." Ibid., vol. ii, p. 81. Cf. ibid., pp. 258, et seq., 299, 322. It is clear that Bentley was apprehensive. 20 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [20 Convivial habits were a fixed part of the New England character, and the sin of drunkenness was as old as the settlement of the country. The practice of brewing was numbered among the employments of the iirst settlers.^ Rum was generally used by the people, and the commercial life of the colonies was inextricably woven with its impor- tation and exportation.- Cider was the native New Eng- land beverage.^ The importation of wine was large from the first."* A general tendency in the direction of increased habits of drinking was to be expected.'' The period of the Revolution made its own special con- 1 Weeden, Economic and Social History of New England, vol. i, pp. 188, 19s; Bishop, History of American Manufactures, vol. i, pp. 245 et seq. ^ Ibid., p. 250; vol. ii, pp. 501, 502. See also Clark, History of Manufactures in the United States, p. 480. ^ Ibid. Bishop notes the fact that in 1721 a small village of forty houses, near Boston, made 3000 barrels of cider. *^ Ibid., p. 269; Weeden, 0/). cit., vol. i, pp. 144, 148 et seq. * The impression that this decline toward a general state of drunken- ness set in early will appear from the following excerpt taken from the Synod's report on " The Necessity of Reformation ", presented to the General Court of Alassachusetts in 1679: "VIII. There is much Intem- perance. The heathenish and Idolatrous practice of Health-drinking is become too general a Provocation. Dayes of Training, and other pub- lick Solemnityes, have been abused in this respect : and' not only English but Indians have been debauched, by those that call themselves Chris- tians, who have put their bottles to them, and made them drunk also. This is a crying Sin, and the more aggravated in that the first Planters of this Colony did (as in the Patent expressed) come into this Land with a design to Convert the 'Heathen unto Christ. . . . There are more Temptations and occasions unto That Sin, pubhckly allowed of, than any necessity doth require; the proper end of Taverns, &c. being to that end only, a far less number would suffice : But it is a common practice for Town dwellers, yea and Church-members, to frequent pub- lick Houses, and there to misspend precious Time, unto the dishonour of the Gospel, and the scandalizing of others, who are by such examples induced to sin against God." Cf. Walker. Creeds and Platforms of Congregationalism, p. 430. 21 ] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS 21 tribution to the gravity of the case. The soldiers of the Continental armies received regular rations of liquor/ and at the expiration of the war carried back to their respective communities the habits of intemperance which in many cases their army life had strengthened. Rum was more and more coming to be regarded as one of the necessities of life; ^ and with the revival of industry and commerce after the war the business of distilling mounted rapidly to amaz- ing proportions.^ A growing uneasiness over the social and economic con- ^ Hatch, The Administration of the American Revolutionary Army, pp. 89 et seq. The supplies of beer, cider, and rum furnished the armies were not always held to be adequate. After the battle of Brandywine, Congress ordered thirty hogsheads of rum distributed among the soldiers as a tribute to their gallant conduct in that battle. Cf. One Hundred Years of Temperance, New York, 1886, article by Daniel Dorchester on "The Inception of the Temperance Reformation", p. 113, for comments on the effects of the return of drunken soldiers to the ranks of citizenship. - Weeden, op. cit., vol. ii, p. 883, supplies the following concerning the character of the coasting and river trade, which the exigencies of the war greatly stimulated: "A cargo from Boston to Great Harrington and Williamstown contained 11 hdds. and 6 tierces of rum, 3 bbls. of wine, 2 do. of brandy, Yi bale of cotton, and i small cask of indigo. The proportion of 'wet goods' to the small quantity of cotton and indigo is significant, and indicates the prevailing appetites ". 2 In 1783 Massachusetts had no fewer than sixty-three distilleries. In 1788 this state distilled 1.475.509 gallons of spirits from foreign, and 11.- 490 gallons from domestic materials. From 1790 to 1800 in the United States, 23,148,404 gallons of spirits were distilled from molasses; of this 6,322,640 gallons were exported, leaving a quantity for home con- sumption so large as to supply its own comment. Low grain prices, together with the difficulty of gaining access to the molasses markets, hastened a transition to grain distilling near the end of the eighteenth century, with the result that in 1810 Mr. Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury, reported not less than 9,000,000 gallons of spirits as having been distilled from grain and fruit in 1801. Bishop, History of American Manufactures, vol. ii, pp. 30, 65, 83, 152; Clark, History of Manufactures in the United States, p. 230. 22 ^E^V ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [22 sequences involved in the spread of alcoholism is apparent. Under the date of July 29, 1789, the Reverend Jeremy Belknap, minister of the church in Long Lane, Boston, is found writing thus to Dr. Benjamin Rush, Philadelphia's celebrated physician and early apostle of temperance re- form : With respect to spirituous liquors I believe some good has been done, but much more remains to be done. The distilleries here are so ready a source of gain, that, till the auri sacra fames shall cease to be a ruling passion, I fear there will no end be put to them. The demand from abroad I am told increases, particularly from the north of Europe, & while the stills are kept going there will be a large home consumption. In an ex- cursion of about 80 miles into the country a few weeks since, I met many loads of pot & pearl ashes coming down, & on my return the teams which I met were loaded with dry fish, hogs- heads of salt, & barrels of rum. The thirst for spirits in the back country is so ardent, that in the fall & winter they will sell their wheat for this sort of pay, & then in the spring and sum- mer following go 40 or 50 miles after bread. However, we do what we can by way of precept & example, & we do not intend to be discouraged.^ The correspondence which the Reverend Bulkley Olcott, minister of the church in Charlestown, New Hampshire, had with Belknap is of like import.^ He had tried to ob- tain accurate statistical information from the Excise Mas- ter as to the quantity of spirituous liquors consumed in his county, and had not succeeded. However, it is a matter of his personal knowledge that many good estates have been squandered through drinking, and much time, labor, and health, and many lives destroyed in the same way. He ^ Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 6th ser., vol. iv, Belknap Papers, pt. iii, p. 440. * Ibid., p. 508. 23] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS 23 recognizes that many concurring circumstances come to the aid of spirituous Hquors in working fatal results; still the general abuse of drink is declared to be one of the heaviest and most threatening evils under which the country groans. The taverns of the day on all public occasions/ and fre- quently in the ordinary course of their business, were filled with gambling, carousing, drinking crowds. The extent to which the great occasions of state were seized upon as op- portunities for open and shameless drinking had become a scandal. The custom of granting a certain allowance of rum per day to laborers was honored in at least some sec- tions of the country." Accidental deaths due to drunken- ness, and cases of suicide and insanity traceable to the same cause, were frequently reported.^ All classes of society. ^ Diary of IViltiam Boitley, vol. ii, p. 92: May 31, 1794: "The observation of holydays at Election is an abuse in this part of the Country. Not only at our return yesterday, did we observe crowds around the new Tavern at the entrance of the Town, but even at this day, we saw at Perkins' on the neck, persons of all descriptions, danc- ing to a fiddle, drinking, playing with pennies, &c. It is proper such excesses should be checked." Cf. also ibid., pp. 58, 363, 410, 444 ct seq. Cf. also Earle, Alice Morse, Stage-coach and Tai-cni Days, New York, 1900. - Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 6th Series, vol. iv, Belknap Papers, pt. iii, p. 456. Jeremiah Libbey writes of the situation at Portsmouth, [N. H.?] : "The common allowance of rum to labourers here is half a pint per day, which has been the rule or cus- tom as long as I can remember. There are several persons in this town that are endeavouring to abolish the custom by giving them more wages in lieu of the allowance, as it is call'd ; but the custom is so rooted that it is very difficult to break it. The attachment is so great, that in general if you were to offer double the price of the allowance in money it would not be satisfactory to tha labourers, and altho' that is the case & it is the ruin of them and familys in many instances . . . untill a substitute of beer or some other drink is introduced in general, it will be difficult to get over it ". ^ Diary of William Bentley, vol. i. pp. 167, 175, 217, 218, 244, 247, 248. 255, 256, 281 et seq. 24 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [24 young and old, rich and poor, men and women, fell victims to the great scourge. The colleges were not immune. At Yale, wine and liquors were kept in the rooms of many of the students and intemperance was one of the commonest of student faults/ Clergymen, though generally restrain- ing themselves from gross indulgence, were accustomed to feel that the spirit of conviviality and the discussion of the affairs of church and state went hand in hand ; " and now and then the bounds of propriety were overstepped. Other unfavorable aspects of the situation may be found in the habits of card-playing and gambling which every- where prevailed, and in the frequent allusions to instances of social vice and illegitimacy with which the pages of the diary of such a careful observer as the Reverend William Bentley were laden. ^ 1 Autobiography and Correspondence of Lyman Beechcr, vol. i, p. 30- ^ Ibid., p. 24. The description of the meeting of the Consociation, pp. 214 et seq., is unusually vivid: "... the preparation for our creature comforts in the sitting-room of Mr. Heart's house, besides food, was a broad sideboard, covered with decanters and bottles, and sugar, and pitchers of water. There we found all the various kinds of Hquors then in vogue. The drinking was apparently universal. This preparation was made by the society as a matter of course. When the Consociation arrived, they always took something to drink round; also before public services, and always on their return. As they could not all drink at once, they were obliged to stand and wait, as people do when they go to mill. There was a decanter of spirits also on the dinner- table, to help digestion, and gentlemen partook of it through the after- noon and evening as they felt the need, some more and some less ; and the sideboard, with the spilHngs of water, and sugar, and hquor, looked and smelled like the bar of a very active grog-shop. None of the Consociation were drunk ; but that there was not, at times, a consider- able amount of exhilaration, I can not affirm." It was Beecher's judg- ment that " the tide was swelling in the drinking habits of society." Ibid., p. 215. ^Ibid., vol. i, pp. 133, 138, 163, 25s, 256, 371; vol. ii, pp. 294, 328 et seq. 25] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS 25 The opinion that the social Hfe of the period was desper- ately unsound was accepted without question by many a so- called interpreter of the times. The obsen-ations which President Timothy Dwight. of Yale, made in his Century Sermon ^ expressed the views of many minds. Dating "the first considerable change in the religious character of the people of this country " with the beginning of the French and Indian War,- he continued : The officers and soldiers of the British armies, then employed in this country, although probably as little corrupted as those of most armies, were yet loose patterns of opinion and conduct, and were unhappily copied by considerable numbers of our own countrymen, united with them in military life. These, on their return, spread the infection through those around them. Looser habits of thinking began then to be adopted, and were followed, as they always are, by looser conduct. The Ameri- can war increased these evils. Peace had not, at the commence- ment of this war, restored the purity of life which existed before the preceding war. To the depravation still remaining was added a long train of immoral doctrines and practices, which spread into every corner of the country. The profana- tion of the Sabbath, before unusual, profaneness of language, drunkenness, gambling, and lewdness were exceedingly in- creased ; and. what is less commonly remarked, but is perhaps not less mischievous than any of them, a light, vain method of thinking concerning sacred things and a cold, contemp- tuous indifference toward every moral and religious subject.^ But this sweeping judgment of Yale's president, t(^gether ^A Discourse on Some Events of the Last Century, delivered in the Brick Church in New Haven, on Wednesday, January 7, 180T. By Timothy Dwight, President of Yale College, New Haven, 1801. Cf. this author's Travels in N^ew England and Nczu York, vol. iv, pp. 353 ct seq. - Dwight's Century Sermon, p. 18. ' Ibid., pp. 18 et seq. 26 NE^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [26 with the specific explanation of the situation which he offered, are to be checked up by other and less pessimistic considerations. That there was much pertaining to the customs and manners of the times to be deplored, is not to be denied. On the other hand, that society in New Eng- land, as the eighteenth century drew toward its close, was actually lapsing from' soundness and virtue to the extent that its fundamental views and habits were being altered, is far from clear. Observers who spoke to the contrary lis- tened chiefly to the murmurs of the shallows and were un- responsive to the deeps. The fact is, new ideals and new forces were working up- ward in the common life of the age. The new sense of freedom which the War of Independence ushered in, the steadily growing prosperity of the people, the development of social intimacies as the population of the country in- creased, the intrusion and growing influence of foreign ideas and customs, the steadily diminishing domination of the clergy — these all tended to inaugurate a new order which clashed more or less violently with the old. The memories of the old Puritan regime were still sufificiently vivid to make every lapse from liberty into license appear ominous in the extreme. A general relaxing of social customs expressed itself in manifold ways over all those areas where actual stagnation had not come to pass ; but this loosening was by no means characterized by deep-seated coarseness or general immoral- ity.^ The people had begun to claim for themselves some 1 The testimony of a European traveller should prove as edifying as that of an intimate participant in the country's life. In 1788, Brissot de Warville visited America. He remarked the change which had come over the people of 'New England, of Boston in particular. The old " Presbyterian austerity, vi^hich interdicted all pleasures, even that of walking; which forbade travelling on Sunday, which persecuted men whose opinions were different from their own " was no longer to 27] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS 27 relaxation, and hence to amuse and satisfy themselves in the light of their enlarged conceptions of the freedom and be encountered. Yet no evidence of the corruption of morals pre- sented itself to the distinguished traveller. On the contrary, he re- marked the general wholesomeness and soundness of domestic Hfe, and the general poise and temperance of a people which, " since the ancient puritan austerity has disappeared ", was able to play cards without yielding to the gambling instinct and to enjoy its clubs and parties without offending the spirit of courtesy and good-breeding. The glow upon the soul of Brissot as he contemplates the prosperity and unaffected simplicity of the people of Boston is evident as he writes : " With what pleasure did I contemplate this town, which first shook off the English yoke! which, for a long time, resisted all the seductions, all the menaces, all the horrors of a civil war! How I delighted to wander up and down that long street, whose simple houses of wood border the magnificent channel of Boston, and whose full stores offer me all the productions of the continent which I had quitted! How I enjoyed the activity of the merchants, the artizans, and the sailors! It was not the noisy vortex of Paris; it was not the unquiet, eager mien of my countrymen; it was the simple, dignified air of men, who are conscious of liberty, and who see in all men their brothers and their equals. Everything in this street bears the marks of a town still in its infancy, but which, even in its infancy, enjoys a great prosperity. . . . Boston is just rising from the devastations of war, and its commerce is flourishing; its manufactures, productions, arts, and sciences, offer a number of curious and interesting observa- tions." (Brissot De Warville, New Travels in the United States of America, pp. 70-82.) Equally laudatory comment respecting the state of society in Connecticut is made by Brissot (pp. 108, 109). John Bernard, the English comedian, who was in this country at the close of the eighteenth century, found the state of society very much like that which he had left in his own country. " They wore the same clothes, spoke tlie same language, and seemed to glow with the same affable and hospitable feelings. In walking along the mall I could scarcely believe I had not been whisked over to St. James's Park ; and in their houses the. last modes of London were observable in nearly every article of ornament or utility. Other parts of the state were, however, very different." (Bernard, Retrospections of America, 1797-1811, p. 29.) Bernard found in New England abundant evidences of progress such as he had not been accustomed to in England, and splendid stamina of character (p. 30). Nothing, apparently, suggested to him that the people were not virile and sound. 28 ^V£^F ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [28 privileges of life. On the whole, their enjoyments and amusements were such as characterize a state of healthy- mindedness at a time of marked transition. In the main, the condition of the people was deplorable for what they lacked in the way of incitements to pleasurable and helpful social and cultural employments rather than be- cause of what they possessed.^ When it is recalled how considerable was the dearth of material for mental occupa- tion; how undeveloped, for example, were music and paint- ing; ' how the newspapers and magazines of the day sup- plied little or nothing of a constructive or inspiring charac- ter: how science was almost totally undeveloped,^ libraries few in number and destitute of stimulating material, the colleges for the most part mooning the years away over insipid and useless abstractions and dogmatic formulations, * Bentley, Diary, vol. i, pp. 253 et seq., discusses at length " the Puerile Sports usual in these parts of New England". Weeden, Economic and Social History of Nezv England, vol. ii, p. 696, comments on the dearth of public amusement. Cf. also ibid., p. 864. The changed attitude of the public toward dancing, as reported by Weeden, pp. 696 and 864, doubtless finds its explanation in the growing consciousness that the resources in the way of entertainment deserve to be increased. At the close of the century, however, dancing was still frowned upon. Bentley, Diary, vol. ii, pp. 17, 232, 233, 296, 322, 363. - Brissot, New Travels in the United States of America, p. 72: " Music, which their teachers formerly prescribed as a diabolic art, begins to make part of their education. In some houses you hear the forte-piano. This art, it is true, is still in its infancy; but the young novices who exercise it, are so gentle, so complaisant, and so modest, that the proud perfection of art gives no pleasure equal to what they afford." Cf. also Bentley, Diary, vol. ii, pp. 247 et seq., 292. 5 Brissot, New Travels in the United States of America, pp. 86 et seq. Brissot generously explains this fact upon the ground that in a country so new, whose immediate concerns were so compelling, and where, also, wealth is not centered in a few hands, the cultivation of the arts and sciences is not to be expected. On the side of invention the situation was far from being as bad as a reading of Brissot might seem to imply. Weeden, Economic and Social History of New England, vol. ii, pp. 847-858. 29] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS 29 the wonder is that the rebound against Puritanism, in this period of intense poHtical excitement and the growing sec- ularization of thought, was not tenfold more violent and subversive than it was.^ The impression communicated by this view is heightened when it is recalled that the struggle for political independ- ence not only had affected profoundly the status of the people of New England with respect to both their internal and their external relations ; it had also made substantial and significant modifications in the very constitution of society itself. When the reorganization of affairs after the Revo- lutionary struggle was over, it became increasingly apparent that the control of the forces and institutions of society in New England was in the hands of new leaders and arbiters. The aristocracy of unquestioned conservatism which had all society under its thumb before the Revolution, had been swept away generally in the flood of that epochal event. Up from the small towns and villages of the country to the great centers, to Boston particularly, came a small army, made up largely of squires and gentry,- to establish a new 1 Goddard, Studies in New England Transcendentalism, p. 18. While the passage cited deals with an earlier situation, the general observation made concerning the well-poised character of the New- England tj-pe of mind is as valid for the close of the eighteenth century as for the corresponding period of the preceding century ; and the failure of New England to take a " plunge . . . from the moral heights of Puritanism " is all the more impressive in the later period in view of the varietj' and character of the new incitements and impulses which the people of New England generally felt in the period following the Revolution. ' Conspicuous in this group was the new merchant class. In the wake of the Revolution came an industrial and commercial revival which profoundly affected the life of New England. While the period of the Confederation, on account of its poHtical disorganization and the chaotic state of public finance and the currency, was characterized by extreme economic depression, on the other hand, the adoption of the Con- stitution communicated to the centers of industrv ».nd commerce a 30 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [30 but less secure sovereignty, to assume control of the social and political forces of the day, and, more or less unaware of the precise significance of the turn of events, to measure its strength against those new forces of democracy which in New England, as no place else in the nation, were to find themselves compelled to fight a long and stubborn battle to secure their emancipation. feeling of optimism. The sense that a federal government had been formed, equal to the task of guaranteeing to its citizens the rights and privileges of trade, gave early evidence that the economic impulses of the country had been quickened notably. Such evidence is too abundant and too well known either to permit or to require full statement here, but the following is suggestive: The fisheries of New England, which had been nearly destroyed during the Revolution, had so far revived by 1789 that a total of 480 vessels, representing a tonnage of 27,000, were employed in the industry. At least 32,000 tons of shipping were built in the United States, a very large part of this in New England, in 1791. Before the war the largest amount built in any one year was 26,544 tons. But the record of 1791 was modest. From 1789 to 1810, American shipping increased from 202,000 to 1,425,000 tons. Because of the federal government's proclamation of strict neutrality with re- gard to the wars abroad, the carrying trade of the world came largely into the hands of shLpowners and seamen of the United States, with the result that the dockyards and wharves of New England fairly hummed with activity. The exports of 1793 amounted to $33,026,233. By 1799 they had mounted to $78,665,522, of which $33,142,522 was the growth, produce, or manufacture of the Union. Within a very few years after the adoption of the Constitution, American merchants had become the warehousers and distributors of merchandise to all parts of the world. The wharves of New England were covered with goods from Europe, the Orient, the West Indies, and from the looms, shops, and distilleries of the nation. Directed by resourceful and far-sighted men who had the instinct for commercial expansion, ships sailed from New England ports for Batavia, Canton, Calcutta, St. Petersburg, Port Louis. They carried with them coffee, fish, flour, provisions, tobacco, rum, iron, cattle, horses ; they brought back molasses, sugar, wine, in- digo, pepper, salt, musUns, calicoes, silks, hemp, duck. The situation is dealt with in detail by Bishop, History of American Manufactures, vol. ii, pp. 13-82; Clark, History of Manufactures in the United States, pp. 227 et seq.; Weeden, Economic and Social History of New Eng- land, vol. ii, pp. 816-857. 31 ] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS 31 Assuming without question the direction of affairs, this new aristocracy, after the fashion of the old leaders who were gone, addressed itself to the task of social, political, and religious control.^ Manifestly the situation was big with possibilities with respect to the effect to be produced upon the thought and habits of the people. There they dwelt in their spacious houses,' these modern aristocrats and autocrats of fashion and custom, by no means rolling in luxury and idleness, yet claiming and enjoying a degree of relaxation and social pleasure vastly more lavish than that accorded to their plebeian neighbors, occupying them- selves with their parties, their weddings and dances,^ their refinements of dress * and behavior, but with little or no disposition to abandon themselves to scandalous conduct. 1 Winsor, The Memorial History of Boston, vol. iii, pp. 191, 203; Morse, The Federalist Party in iMassachusetts, pp. 37, 38; Harvard Theological Reznew, Januarj', 1916, p. 104. * Weeden, Early Life in Rhode Island, pp. 357 et seq., calls attention to the spacious and elegant houses which were built at Providence about 1790, and to the new group of merchants which the expansion of trans-oceanic commerce called into existence there. Weeden, Economic and Social History of New England, pp. 821 et seq., deals witli the situation in a larger way. 3 Parker, History of the Second Church of Christ in Hartford, p. 172. The passage contains a vivid picture of the state of polite society in an important Connecticut center. Love. The Colonial History of Hartford, pp. 244 et seq., deals with the transformation of social life with particular reference to the disintegration of Puritanism. * An outcry against the excesses of fashion began to make itself heard. "An Old Farmer," writing to the Massachusetts Spy, March 27, 1799, complains on account of the consequent drain upon the purses of husbands and fathers : " I am a plain farmer, and therefore beg leave to trouble you with a little plain language. By the dint of industry, and application to agricultural concerns, I have, till lately, made out to keep square with the world. But the late scarcity 01 money, together with the extravagance of fashions have nearly ruined me. ... I am by no means tenacious of the old way, or of old fasliions. I know that my family must dress different from what I used to when I was young; 32 ^"^EW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [32 The constant challenge of the political necessities of the times, it may be urged, was altogether too compelling to admit of any such looseness. Still, one cannot scan the newspapers of the period, or read the story of the social commerce of the times as it pieces itself together out of the private records and correspondence of the day, or listen even to the pulpit's copious flood of denunciations,^ without a feeling of mingled admiration and astonishment that in an age everywhere characterized by upheaval and ferment there was really as little of shameless and wanton conduct in New England as the records of the period reveal. It cannot but be viewed as a notable tribute to the essential soundness and nobility of that type of moral and religious culture which Puritanism had supplied from the first that the New England character should be able to pass through a period of profound social readjustment, of the discarding of old value judgments and the adoption of new, such as came near the close of the eighteenth century, and this with- out serious loss of moral power and prestige. Manifestly, whatever hollowness and insincerity Puritanism may have yet as I have the interest of husbands and fathers at heart, I wish there might be some reformation in the present mode of female dress. ... In better times, six or seven yards of Calico would serve to make a gown ; but now fourteen yards are scarcely sufficient. I do not per- ceive that women grow any larger now than formerly. ... A few years since, my daughters were not too proud to wear good calfskin shoes; two pair of which would last them a year : But now none will suitt them but morroco, and these must be of the slenderest kind. . . . Young ladies used to be contented with wearing nothing on their heads but what Nature gave them. . . . But now they dare not appear in company, un- less they have half a bushel of gauze, and other stuff, stuck on their heads ". The letter closes with a humorous account of the writer's embarrassing experience with the trains of the ladies' dresses on the occasion of a recent visit to church. '^ Swift, Lindsay, The Massachusetts Election Sermons (Publica- tions of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, vol. i, Transactions, 1892-1894), pp. 428 et seq. 33] PURITAN STAXDARDS AND IXSTITUTIOXS 33 developed in other lands and times, it did not so cramp and fetter the human spirit in New England as to render it in- capable of self-guidance when the old restraints and limita- tions were no more/ Now that its controlling spirit of gravity and provincial- ism was being replaced by a general temper of comparative light-heartedness and open-mindedness, of unaffected en- joyment of the good things of life, of the acceptance of standards far more natural than those of the earlier day, the transition was accomplished with a relative absence of ac- compan}'ing instances of moral lapse and disaster nothing- less than remarkable. A considerable amount of the boister- ousness and heat of the day over Avhich clerical Jeremiahs and others of like conservative leanings ceased not to pour out their complaints.- is explicable on the ground of the growing habit of the mass of the people to exercise the rights of citizenship through direct participation in the affairs of the day. For far more significant than any evi- dence of moral blindness and perversity on the part of the people in general is the fact that a great, crowding, hungry democracy was knocking at the gates of the old aristocratic regime and insistently urging the consideration of its rights. 2. OMINOUS DISCONTENT WITH THE STANDING ORDER The general impression of a revolt against morality and religion in New England near the close of the eighteenth ^ Weeden, Econo-inic and Social History of Xew England, vol. ii. pp. 864 et seq. - Scudder, Recollections of Samuel Breck, with Passages from His Xote-Books, pp. 178 et seq. Breck visited New England about 1791. He was impressed with the looseness of life and gross lawlessness which he saw. A fairer judgment appears on page 182: " The severe, gloomy puritanical spirit that had governed New England since the days of the Pilgrim forefathers was gradually giving way in the principal towns ". etc. 34 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [34 century was deepened by the bitterness of spirjt which marked the last stages of the long struggle waged by dis- senters to cut the bond between church and state. ^ The Congregational Church was one of the fundamental institu- tions of New England, and from the first the sword of the magistrate had been invoked to enforce conformity to its worship and polity. Strange enough seem the terms " Es- tablishment " and " Standing Order " ^ in the history of a people whose forefathers came to America in quest of re- ligious freedom. The freedom sought, however, was to be construed as loyalty to a new order rather than as the em- bodiment of tolerance. Thus it happened that for two whole centuries the battle on behalf of the rights of dissent had to be waged in New England.^ To have this struggle construed by the aggrieved representatives of the Establish- ment as the crowning expression of what they had come to regard as the deep-seated and widespread irreligion of the 1 Lauer, Churcli and State in New England (Johns Hopkins Uni- versity Studies in History and Political Science. Tenth Series), pp. 95 et seq. ' The term " Standing Order " was generally employed in the speech and literature of the period, and had reference to the alliance between the party of the Establishment and the party of the government. *The scope of inquiry prescribed by the special object of this dis- sertation renders both unnecessary and unprofitable the tracing of this struggle in detail. Valuable special studies in this field are available. Among these the following are to be commended as of exceptional usefulness: Burrage, A History of the Baptists in New England; Greene, The Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut; Reed, Church and State in Massachusetts, 1691-1740; Cobb, The Rise of Re- ligious Liberty in America; Ford, New England's Struggle for Relig- ious Liberty. Lauer's excellent treatise has already been cited. Of contemporaneous treatments, Backus, A History of New England, with Particular Reference to the Denomination of Christians called Baptists, though deficient in literary merit, is doubtless the most trustworthy and replete. The citations made from the latter work refer, unless other- wise indicated, to the edition of 1871 (2 vols.). 35] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS 35 age, was not the least of the bitter taunts which dissenters had to bear. (a) Massachusetts In Massachusetts the eighteenth century dawned with some faint promise of a kindHer day. The Charter of 169 1 granted full liberty of conscience to all Christians except Roman Catholics.^ The practical effects of this apparently sweeping reform were largely nullified, howevei", when in the following year the General Court made it obligatory for each town to have a minister for whose support all its in- habitants should be taxed." With the removal of all bonds upon conscience and of all religious restrictions upon the right of suffrage on the one hand, but with the principle of enforced support of the institutions of religion on the other, the hallowed union of church and state in Massachusetts obviously stood in no immediate danger. The slight modi- fications speedily made in the law of 1692 did not touch the principle of taxation in the interests of religious worship.^ A measure of relief came to the Episcopalians in 1727,* ^ The Charter Granted by Their Majesties King IVilliani and Queen Mary, to the Inhabitants of the Massachusetts-Bay in New-England, Boston in New England, 1726, p. 9. The principle of church membership as a qualification for voting was set aside for a property qualification. - Backus, History of New England, vol. i, pp. 446 ct seq. Cf. Reed, Church and State in Massachusetts, 1691-1740, pp. 2;^ et seq. ^ Backus, History of New England, vol. i, p. 448. * Charters and "Acts and Laws" of the Proi-ince of Massachu- setts-Bay, With Appended Acts and Laws, Boston, 1726-1735, p. 383. The law provided that "all persons who profess themselves to be of the Church of England ", and who were so situated that " there is a Person in Orders according to the Rules of the Church of England setled [sii], and abiding among them and performing Divine Service within Five Miles of the Habitation, or usual Residence of any Per- son professing himself as aforesaid of the Church of England ", might have his rate-money reserved for the support of the Episcopal church. 36 A^£W/' ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [36 and to the Quakers and Baptists in 1728/ in the form of exemption laws. In the case of the Baptists the exemption granted was not absolute, but only for a limited period of years. With the expiration of this period the struggle for relief of necessity had to be renewed." The rights of dis- sent had begun to receive some recognition, but the limita- tions embodied in the foregoing legislation bore convincing testimony of a grudging temper of mind which would yield no ground without strong pressure. The spirit of excitement and controversy which charac- terized the revival of religion of the third and fourth dec- ades of the eighteenth century {i. e., the Great Awakening) led to new complications and difficulties. Stirred by the revival, itinerant preachers, some of them of little learning and of less tact, invaded parishes of their clerical brethren without their consent, and presumed to censure the minis- ters and congregations that had not yielded to the emotional impulses of the revival.^ A clash of parties followed, pro- ducing new antipathies and cleavages. Many who w^ere in sympathy with the revival withdrew from orthodox con- gregations to organize new churches, nominally Baptist, with a view to obtaining exemption from the obligation to support the state church. To meet this evasion in 1752 the General Court of Massachusetts passed an act which pro- vided That no person for the future shall be so esteemed an A(n)nabaptist as to have his poll or polls and estate exempted from paying a proportionable part of the taxes that shall ''^ Charters and "Acts and Laws" of the Province of Mass., etc., p. 423. The five-mile limitation formed a part of this legislation, also. 2 Burrage, History of the Baptists in New England, p. 105. ^ Palfrey, A Compendious History of N^ew England, vol. iv, pp. 94. 95- .7] PURITAX STAXDARDS AXD IXSTITUTIOXS 37 he raised in the town or place where he or they belong, but such whose names shall be contained in the lists taken by the assessors, as in said act provided, or such as shall produce a certificate, under the hands of the minister and of two prin- cipal members of such church, setting forth that they con- scientiously believe such person or persons to be of their perswasion. and that he or they usually and frequently attend the publick worship in such church on Lord's days.^ A further provision of the act denied to Baptist ministers and their parishioners the right of furnishing the required certificates unless three other Baptist churches previously should have certified that the persons granting the certifi- cates were regarded as members of that body." To make the situation more galling, if that were possible, certificates so obtained had to be lodged annually with the town clerk before the time to pay the rates arrived. i'Yom every point of view this legislation was objection- able to the Baptists. Their protest was instant and vigor- ous.^ It was decided to send one of their number as agent to England, to carry their case before the government of the mother country.* A sharp remonstrance, so plain in its language that its signers came very near ]:)eing taken into custody, was drawn up and presented to the General Court at Boston.^ But great as was the sense of injustice under which the Baptists smarted, the operations of the act appear to have been most severe in the case of those who had drawn off from the orthodox churches on account of the disturlv ances created by the Great Awakening. The position of ' Acts and Resolves, Public and Private, etc., vol. iii. p. 645. 2 Ibid. 3 Backus. History of AVtc Eiujland, vol. ii. p. 140. ♦ Ibid. •' Ibid. 38 A'£^f-' ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [38 these Separatists ^ was peculiarly vulnerable. Baptist lead- ers found themselves embarrassed when called upon to cer- tify to the Baptist affiliations of the Separatists; such a dis- tasteful judgment of the motives and scruples of others was to be avoided wherever possible." On the other hand, if the Separatists sought to set up churches and establish ministers of their own, they were confronted by the fact that a second Congregational church could not be formed in a parish without legislative permission, and the orthodox party usu- ally showed itself capable of forestalling all such sanction on the part of the state. It was left, therefore, to the Sep- aratists either for conscience' sake to bear the double burden of taxation,^ or to seek a permanent religious home in one of the recognized dissenting bodies.* Five years later, when the exemption law of 1752 ex- pired and with it the exemption laws that previously had Ijeen passed for the relief of the Quakers, a new law was enacted governing both sects. ° Henceforth a Baptist who ^ Separatists or Separates were the names by which those were com- monly designated who withdrew from the orthodox churches on ac- count of the controversies occasioned by the Great Awakening. See Blake, S. Leroy, The Separates or Strict Congregationalists of Nezf England, Boston, 1902, pp. 17 et seq. 2 Hovey. A Memoir of the Life and Times of the Rev. Isaac Backus, p. 171. ^ Backus, History of New England, vol. ii. pp. 96 et seq. Backus himself suffered imprisonment under this act. See ibid., p. 109. * Greene, The Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut, pp. 235 et seq. The process of absorption referred to had much to do with the breaking up of the Separatist movement. Few of these congregations continued to exist until the struggle for religious free- dom was fully won. Other contributory causes in the breaking up of the movement were the poverty of the members of these congregations, the difficulties they experienced in securing pastoral care, and the dis- sensions that arose among them in the exercise of their boasted rights of private judgment, public exhortation, and the interpretation of the Scriptures. •' Backus, History of Nezv England, vol. ii, pp. 140 et seq. 39] PURITAN STAXDARDS AXD IXSTITUTIOXS 39 desired exeniptiuii must have his name upon a hst to be presented annually to the assessor and signed by the minister and three principal members of the Baptist congregation to which the applicant beh^nged, with the accmnpanying cer- tificaticm that the applicant was recognized as a c jnscientiou-^ and faithful Baptist. Quakers were placed under the same regulations. I'^or thirteen years this law was in operation, with manifold instances of distress resulting, particularly in the case of Baptists.^ Through difficulty in obtaining the certificates, goods were seized, expensive and otherwise irri- tating court trials were held, and not a few victims, either because of poverty or on account of conscientious scruples, found their way to prison. In some instances, despite the fact that the certificates were duly obtained and presented, they were waved aside and the payment of the tax required or the process of distraint invoked. ■ It is little wonder that the feeling in the minds and hearts of New England Bap- tists that there was a spiirt of iniquity back of the oppres- sive measures of the Standing Order, came to have all the significance of a settled conviction.* 1 Backus, op. cit., p. 141. = Ibid. ^ Cf. .Minutes of the Jl'arroi Association for 1769, quoted by Burrage. History of the Baptists iti Xew England, pp. 108 et seq. Cf. the fol- lowing, taken from a statement and appeal to Baptists, in the Boston Evening Post, Aug. 20, 1770: "To the Baptists in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, who are, or have been, oppressed in any way on a religious account. It would be needless to tell you that you have lonij: felt the effects of the laws by which the religion of the government in which you live is established. Your purses have felt the burden of ministerial rates; and when these would not satisfy your enemies, your property hath been taken from you and sold for less than half its value. . . . You will therefore readily hear and attend when you are desired to collect your cases of suffering, and have them well attested; such as, the taxes you have paid to build meeting-houses, to settle ministers and support them, with all the time, money and labor you have lost in waiting on courts, feeing lawyers, Szc. ; and bring or send such 40 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN JLLUMINATI [40 Further modifications in the exemption laws, made in 1770, were so slight, leaving as they did the certificate prin- ciple practically untouched/ that Baptist opposition was aroused even more deeply and the determination struck deeper root to push the battle for religious freedom to a decision. The times also were propitious. The near ap- proach of the Revolutionary struggle focused attention upon the subject of tyranny and caused acts of oppression, whether civil or ecclesiastical in character, to stand out in a new relief before the eye of the public. That dissenters were quick to see the bearing of political events will appear from the following pithy comments in the address which the Committee of Grievances" drew up late in 1774 and presented to the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts : It seems that the two main rights which all America are con- tending for at this time, are, — Not to be taxed where they are not represented, and — To have their causes tried by unbiased judges. And the Baptist churches in this province as heartily unite with their countrymen in this cause, as any denomination in the land ; and are as ready to exert all their abilities to defend it. Yet only because they have thought it to be their duty to claim an equal title to these rights with their neighbors, they have repeatedly been accused of evil attempts against the gen- eral welfare of the colony ; therefore, we have thought it ex- pedient to lay a brief statement of the case before this as- sembly. . . . Great complaints have been made about a tax cases to the Baptist Association to be held at Bellingham ; when meas- ures will be resolutely adopted for obtaining redress from another quarter than that to which repeated application hath been made unsuc- cessfully. Nay, complaints, however just and grievous, hath been treated with indifference, and scarcely, if at all credited". (Quoted by Backus, History of New England, vol. ii, p. 155.) 1 Backus, History of New England, vol. ii, pp. 156 et seq. 'This standing committee of the Warren Association is itself a token of the strengthened purpose of the Baptists. ^l] PCRlT.iX STAXDARDS AXD IXSTITUTIOXS 41 whicli the lUitisli jKirliament laid upon paper; but you require a paper tax of us annually. That which has made the greatest noise, is the tax of three pence a pound upon tea; but your law of last June laid a tax of the same sum every year upon the Baptists in each parish, as they would expect to defend them- selves against a greater one. . . . All America is alarmed at the tea tax ; though, if they please, they can avoid it by not buy- ing tea; but we have no such liberty. We must either pay the little tax. or else your people appear even in this time of exe- tremity determined to lay the great one upon us. But these lines are to let you know, that we are determined not to pay either of them ; not only upon your principle of not being taxed where we are not represented, but also because we dare not render homage to any earthly power, which I and many of my brethren are fully convinced belongs only to God. We can not give the certificates you require, without implicitly allowing to men that authority which we believe in our con- science belongs only to God. Here, therefore, w-e claim charter rights, liberty of conscience.* As the event proved, the Revolutionary period brought little legislative relief to dissenters in Massachusetts. Wher- ever the distractions of the war did not interrupt the ordi- nary course of ecclesiastical affairs, the state church con- tinued to assert its time-honored prerogatives. The new constitution of the commonwealth which was adopted in 1780 gave conclusive proof that the Standing Order still ' The address is given in full in Ilovey, A Memoir of the Life and Times of Isaar Backus, pp. 218-221. It drew a kindly response from the Provincial Congress, signed by John Hancock as president, pleading the inability of the Congress to give redress and advising the ag- grieved parties to submit their case to the General Court of Massa- chusetts at its next session. This step was taken in September. 1775; but beyond the fact that a bill, drawn to give redress, was once read in the sessions of the Assembly, nothing came of the matter. " Such ", remarks Backus, "is the disposition of mankind". (C/. Backus. History of Xew England, vol. ii, pp. 202 et seq. Cf. Burrage, History of the Baptists in Xczv England, pp. 113 et seq.) 42 ^"^ElV ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [42 had the situation well in hand. That instrument contained a bill of rights which reaffirmed the authority of the legis- lature to authorize and require the various towns and par- ishes " to make suitable provision, at their own expense, for the institution of the public worship of God";^ affirmed also that the legislature had authority to enjoin attendance upon public worship ; that towns and parishes were to have the right to elect their ministers and make contracts with them for their support; and that moneys, in the form of rates paid by the people in the support of public worship, were to be applied according to the preference of the rate- payer, " provided, there be any [minister] on whose instruc- tions he attends " ; otherwise the minister selected by the town or parish was to receive the benefit of the tax.' There is no difficulty in discerning here the outlines of the old ideal of a state church. The day of deliverance for dissent was not yet.^ What did take place during the Revolutionary period to promote the cause of religious freedom and to hasten the day of its triumph was the publication of various pamphlets and treatises devoted to the cause of toleration or cham- pioning the closely allied cause of democracy in church and state.* Several of these ^ were from the pen of the indomi- ^ The Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Passed from the Year 1/80, to the End of the Year 1800, vol. i, pp. 19, 20. 2 Ibid. ^ Backus, History of N^ezv England, vol. ii, pp. 228 et seq., for cases of persecution under the operation of the bill of rights. * The contribution made by the newspapers must not be overlooked in this connection. From about 1770 on there may be traced a growing disposition on the part of dissenters to air their grievances in the public journals. Supporters of the Establishment were not slow to respond. •"' In addition to the two specifically referred to, Backus published the following : Policy, as well as Honesty, Forbids the Use of Secular Force in Religious Affairs, Boston, 1779; Truth is Great, and Will Prevail, Boston, 1781 ; A Door Opened for Equal Christian Liberty, etc., Boston, 1783. 43] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS 43 table Isaac Backus, whose unwearied advocacy of the rights of the individual conscience was exceeded by none. The likeness of the struggle which dissenters were making for freedom of conscience to that which the colonists were making for civil liberty was a favorite notion of this doughty penman ; and such an argimient presented when the imaginations of his countrymen were stirred by the political situation, could not fail of its appeal. Three years before the war broke out, in his Appeal to the Public for Relig- ious Liberty, Backus had drawn for the benefit of the public a sharp distinction between the spheres of ecclesias- tical and civil governments. The former was armed only with light and truth, and was commissioned to " pull down the strongholds of iniquity," to gather into Christ's church those who were willing to be governed by His teachings, and to exclude those who would not be so governed ; while the latter " is armed with the szcord to guard the peace and to punish those iclio z'iolatc the same." ^ In his Goz'- ernment and Liberty Described, and Ecclesiastical Tyranny Exposed, published in 1778. he attacked the notion of men " assuming a power to govern religion, instead of being governed by it," and asserted that the essence of true re- ligion is a voluntary obedience to God.' Here was strong meat for a people for whom the word freedom was rapidly coming to have an enlarged signification. The most convincing exposition of the democratic ten- dencies of the age came from another quarter, and in a sense belonged to the past. Spurred by the fact that at the beginning of the century a resolute effort had been made, both in Massachusetts and Connecticut, to obtain more com- pact and rigid ecclesiastical control,' the Reverend John ^ Backus, op. cit., p. 13. * Quoted from Backus, History of New England, vol. ii, p. 223. •" Walker, History of the Congregational Churches in the United States, pp. 206-209. 44 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILEUM IN ATI [44 Wise, of Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1710 had issued a satir- ical tract entitled, The Churches' Quarrel Espoused, and later, in 171 7, a more serious production entitled, A Vin- dication of the Government of the New England Churches. In 1772 a neAV edition of these tracts, published by subscrip- tion, came from the Boston press/ The enduring quality of the task Wise had performed is shown by the fact that, while these two slight volumes had been conceived as a pro- test against the encroachments of ecclesiastical tyranny in the first two decades of the century, they now, a half-century later, served equally well to voice the deep passions and im- pulses of a people who for the moment were engrossed in the concerns of civil government." Wise rejected the ideals of monarchy and aristocracy for the church, and took his stand upon the proposition that democracy alone stands the test of reason and revelation.^ Of all systems, democracy alone cherishes the precious interests of man's original lib- erty and equality. It alone serv^es effectually to restrain the disposition to prey and embezzle, and to keep the adminis- 1 Cf. A indication of the Government of the New-England Churches, etc., Boston, 1772. The first edition of 500 copies was quickly sub- scribed for, and a second was published the same year. '^ An edition of Wise's tracts was published as late as i860, by the Congregational Board of Publication. From that edition the citations are drawn. The following from the " Introductory Notice " is of interest: ". . . . some of the most glittering sentences of the immortal Declaration of Independence are almost literal quotations from this essay of John Wise [i. e., J^indication of the Government of New- England Churches]. And it is a significant fact, that in 1772, only four years before the declaration was made, a large edition of both those tracts was published by subscription in one duodecimo volume. The presumption which this fact alone suggests, that it was used as a political text-book in the great struggle for freedom then opening, is fully confirmed by the list of subscribers' names printed at the end, with the number of copies annexed." Page xx et scq. 3 Ihid., pp. 48-50, 54, 56. 45] PURITAX STANDARDS AXD IXSTITUTIONS 45 tration of government firmly fixed upon the main point. " the pecuHar good and benefit of the whole." " It is as plain as daylight, there are no species of government like a democracy to attain this end." ^ Such literary assaults upon the usurpations of govern- ment, upon the violation of individual rights, and upon ob- structions erected in the path of democracy, were frontal. As has been said, they were also happily timed. The oppressed would have to content themselves a little longer with a type of toleration which seemed but the shadow of genuine free- dom ; but the broad dissemination of such principles as those proclaimed by Backus and Wise had had the effect of alter- ing appreciably the spirit of the times. The close of the struggle for political freedom gave early proof that the cause of religious toleration had passed into a new stage. Dissent had grown in numbers and influence.^ Distant voices, too, were being heard. Virginia's noble ex- ample in adopting the Act Establishing Religious Freedom had given a practical demonstration of the complete sever- ance of church and state. The impression created by this determination of the issue of religious freedom on the broadest possible basis had been profound throughout the country. When the Constitution of the United States was before the people of Massachusetts for ratification, in the fall and winter of 1787-88, they found in it a single pro- ' Wise, op. cit., p. 56. * Backus, History of New England, vol. ii, pp. 391-401, furnishes the following table of Baptist strength in New England in the year 1795 : Churches. 325; ministers, 232; members, 20,902. Methodism had emerged in New England within the last quarter of the century, and Methodist ministers were indefatigable in their labors. By the close of the century as generous-minded a Congregational minister as Bentley could not altogether cover over his chagrin on account of the growth and influence of the " sects ". Cf. Diary of William Bentley, vol. ii, pp. 127, 409, 419. 46 ^EW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [46 vision concerning religion. Article VI provided : " No re- ligious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust in the United States." So far had the eyes of dissenters in Massachusetts been opened to dangers lurking in legislative measures that a large proportion of the Baptist delegates in the state constitutional convention voted against the adoption of the instrument.^ Besides, their hearts were set on some broad and yet specific guar- antee of religious freedom under which their liberties would be safe. The First Amendment to the Constitution, which Congress proposed in 1 789, seemed to fulfil their desire. It provided that " Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." With the adoption of this law by the majority of the states, the principle of full liberty of mind, con- science, and worship, had been written finally into the law of the land. Yet this pronouncement of the national government could not bring to a full end the long struggle which had been waged. Only the sphere of the federal government was in- volved, and individual states were still free to deal with the institutions of religion and the rights of individuals as they might feel disposed, as long as the national welfare was not involved." What actually happened in Massachusetts is well expressed by Isaac Backus : " The amendment about liberty of conscience is kept out of sight." ^ The goods of Baptists continued to be levied upon to meet the ministerial tax.* Dissensions continued to arise in parishes over the settlement and support of ministers, dissenting minorities 1 Backus, History of New England, vol. ii, p. 235. Cf. Burrage, History of the Baptists in New England, pp. 121 et seq. 2 Cobb, The Rise of Religious Liberty in America, pp. 509-511. * Backus, History of New England, vol. ii, p. 341. ^Ibid., pp. 351 et seq., 379. 47] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS 47 usually contesting the right of the majority to saddle upon them clergymen for whose ministrations they had no de- sire.' The annoyances and disabilities that dissenters and disaffected members of the Establishment suffered were clearly not so numerous nor so severe as they had been in the past ; " none the less they were able to keep alive the im- pression that nothing but a spirit of bigotry and obdurate tyranny could explain the prolonged attitude and policy of the Standing Order.^ (b) Connecticut Before directing attention to the effect which this weak- ening of the forces of ecclesiastical domination had upon the minds of the leaders of the Establishment, it will be necessary to review briefly the course which affairs took in Connecticut.* Despite the fact that the founding of Connecticut had directly resulted from the ecclesiasticism of Massachusetts, the forces of ecclesiastical tyranny proved to be more strongly entrenched in Connecticut than in the parent state.'' This was due in part to the homogeneity of the population," 1 Backus, 0/1. cit., pp. 353 et scq. 2 Ibid., p. 379. 'Actual disestablishment did not come in Massachusetts until 1833. * Since the particular purpose of this chapter is to explain the bitter spirit existing between the orthodox party and dissenters in New Eng- land near the close of the eighteenth century, rather than to re-write the history of the struggle for full religious toleration, much that occurred in the long process of severing the bond between church and state may be passed over. Attention will be focused upon the character rather than the chronology of the struggle. 'Cobb, The Rise of Religious Liberty in America, p. 238; Fiske, The Beginnings of New England, pp. 123 ct seq. *' Greene, The Devclo[>ment of Religions Liberty in Connecticut, p. 121; Cobb, The Rise of Religious Liberty in America, p. 243. 48 iVEf'F ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [48 but more largely to the degree of oversight of the religious life of the people, unusual even for Puritan New England, which the General Court of Connecticut exercised from the first/ In this connection it is to be observed that the im- pulses that lay back of the oppression of dissenters in Con- necticut were not the same as those that shaped the situation in Massachusetts. The founders of Connecticut were out of sympathy with the theocratic ideal that prevailed in the mother colony; they frowned upon the harsh measures of repression which the authorities of Massachusetts adopted.^ They held before them the ideal of a state wherein the main- tenance of religion and the exercise of individual freedom should not be incompatible. Yet as the event proved, the hand of religious tyranny fell heavily upon their posterity.'^ This happened, not because they were disposed to exercise harsher repressive measures than their fathers in curbing dissent, but because, in their extraordinary devotion to the churches of their own order, in their extreme care and watchfulness to strengthen them and to safeguard the whole range of their interests, they came into open conflict with the interests of dissenting bodies.^ As early as 1669 the Congregational church was 1 Cobb, op. cit.. pp. 244, 246. ^ Ibid., pp. 240 et seq.', Greene, The Develop>iient of Religious Liberty ill Connecticut, pp. 62 et scq., 68. * It was the judgment of Isaac Backus that "oppression was greater in Connecticut, than in other governments in New England". (History of New England, vol. ii, p. 404.) * Cobb, The Rise of Religious Liberty in America, p. 244. Cobb's statement concerning the lack of harshness and ungentleness which characterized the attitude of the supporters of the state church toward dissent is extreme. The controlling spirit of the Standing Order was doubtless a positive concern for the welfare of the Establishment rather than a desire to weed out dissent; but the clash of interests became so sharp and bitter that motives did not remain unmixed, and in many an instance dissent in Connecticut was compelled to reckon with a spirit of actual persecution. 49] PURITAX Sr.iXDARDS AXD IXSTITUTIONS ^g formally adopted as the state church.' From that day for- ward an intimate and intense paternalism characterized the attitude of the civil government toward the Kstahlishment. Its most serious and permanent, as well as its lighter and occasional concerns, all were provided for with equal con- stancy. Contingencies of every description were either pru- dently anticipated or, arising suddenly, received the imme- diate and painstaking attention of the magistrates." The following list, though far from complete, will serve to illustrate this point. Without the consent of the General Court, churches could not be organized, '' nor bonds be sev- ered between pastors and their flocks.* The formation of new parishes and the fixing of their limits.'' the calling of new ministers," the determination of the time at which ar- rearages in ministers' salaries must be paid fully.' the fixing of the location of new houses of worship,^ the disposition of cases of discipline appealed from the decisions of local church courts,'' the settlement of the question as to who were to be permitted to receive the Lord's Supper,'" the proffer of counsel concerning the behavior offended mem- bers were expected to manifest toward pastors for whom they entertained no affection nor respect " — these all were regarded as part of the proper business of the General Court. ^ The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, vol. i, p. 21. - Cobb, The Rise of Religious Liberty in America, pp. 246 ct scq. ^ The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, vol. i. p. 311. * Ibid., pp. 356, 362 ; vol. ii, pp. 99, 240; vol. iii. pp. 78. S2 et seq. ^ Ibid., vol. iii, pp. 13, 18, loi, 216 et seq. ^ Ibid., vol. iv. pp. 67, 127. 136 et seq. ' Ibid., vol. vii, p. 554. ** Ibid., pp. 334. 335. ■' Ibid., vol. iii, p. 183. ^'^ Ibid., vol. i, pp. 437 et seq. ^^ Ibid., vol. iii, p. 104. CO NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [50 The dangers inherent in such a system are not difficult to divine. The churches themselves upon which such paternal legislative care was imposed generally found their affairs taken out of their hands. Civil authority disciplined them and their members, and made independent ecclesiastical rule little more than a fiction. Again, the committal of the polit- ical government to a particular type of religious polity and worship aroused antagonisms in the minds of men who hated the palest shadow of the principle that the religion of a prince or government must be the religion of the people. However tolerant toward non-conformity such a state may show itself to be — and none will deny that Connecticut rose to comparatively high levels of justice in this regard ^ — the favoritism of government puts dissent at a disadvantage; and when narrow and intolerant men are at the helm of state, disadvantage passes rapidly into positive deprivation and injury. Once more, so close an alliance between poli- tics and religion as the Standing Order in Connecticut rep- resented, invites similar combinations on the part of men, some of whom have political and some religious objects to serve, and who, therefore, in the presence of a common foe gladly make common cause. All of which we shall see illus- trated later. Another general aspect of the situation in Connecticut concerns the development of synodical government within the Congregational church. At the beginning of the eigh- teenth century, out of a sense of the decay of religion in New England, as evidenced by the loosening of discipline and the weakening of ministerial influence," the clergy of Massachusetts attempted to buttress church government and ^ Cobb, The Rise of Religions Liberty in America, p. 247. - Walker, The Creeds and Platforms of Congregationalism, pp. 465 et seq. ^I] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS ministerial authority through tlie " Proposals of 1705."' These provided for the grouping of ministers in Associa- tions which were to function in the following ways : pastors were to adopt their advice in all difficult cases; ministerial candidates were to be examined and licensed by them : pas- torless, or " bereaved " churches were to be urged to apply to them for candidates ; they were also to exercise a general oversight of religion, and to inquire into charges made against the character, conduct, or faith of any of their members. The " Proposals " also made provision for Standing Councils to be made up of delegates from these Ministerial Associations and lay members of the churches. These Standing Councils were '* to consult, advise, and de- termine all affairs that shall be proper matter for the con- sideration of an ecclesiastical council within their respective limits." Their judgments were to be accepted as final and obedience was to be enforced on penalty of forfeiting church- fellowship.^ This bold step in the direction of bringing the churches of Massachusetts under more rigorous ecclesiastical control was not destined to succeed. Liberal- izing elements stirred up powerful opposition, the legisla- ture failed to give to the " Proposals " its support, and the movement fell through." A very different situation developed in Connecticut. The yearning for the strengthening of church government in the interests of a general improvement of religion was if any- thing stronger in that commonwealth ; and a propitious hour for the inauguration of such a movement came when, in 1707. the most influential minister of the colony, Gurdon ^ Walker, A History of the Congregational Churches in the United States, pp. 202 et scq. ; Greene, The Deielot^ment of Religious Liberty in Connecticut, pp. 133 et scq. • Walker, The Creeds and Platforms of Congregationalism, pp. 491-494. e2 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILEUM IN ATI [52 Saltonstall, of New London, was raised to the governor's chair. The following May the General Court issued the call for the famous Saybrook Synod/ Ministers and mes- sengers of the churches were to assemble in their respective county towns, " on the last Monday in June next ... to consider and agree upon those methods and rules for the management of ecclesiastical discipline which by them shall be judged agreeable and conformable to the word of God." " By these county councils ministers and delegates were to be chosen to meet at Saybrook, at the commencement of the "infant college" (i. c, Yale), there "to compare the re- sults of the ministers of the several counties, and out of them and from them to draw a form of ecclesiastical discipline which by two or more persons delegated by them shall be offered to this Court ... to be considered of and con- firmed by them." " The directions of the General Court w^ere complied with. The doctrinal results of the Saybrook Synod are no part of our concern ; but this is not so with regard to its ecclesiastical formulations. The principles contained in the "Proposals of 1705 " were accepted and worked out in more complete de- tail. Churches were to be grouped in Consociations, one or more in each county as the churches might determine. Cases of discipline too difficult of management in local congrega- tions were to be heard and determined by these Consocia- tions. Refusal to answer to the summons of a Consocia- tion, or to submit to its decision, incurred excommunication, whether a church or a pastor might be the guilty party. All matters relating to the installation, ordination, and dis- missal of ministers were to be submitted by the churches to 1 Tlic Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, vol. v, pp. 51 et seq. » Ibid. » Ibid. -3 J PURJTAX ST.IXD.IRDS AXD IXSriTUTlOXS 53 these Consociations. In like maimer the ministers of the various counties were to be grouped together in .Associa- tions to consult concerning the affairs of the church, pro- vide ministerial licensure, examine complaints, and make recommendations to the legislature concerning the settle- ment of pastors with " bereaved " churches.^ The result of the deliberations of the Saybr(Kjk Synod was laid duly before the sessions of the General Court, in October, 1708, and fonnally adopted by that body in the following terms : This Assembly do declare their great approbation of such a happy agreement, and do ordain that all the churches within this government that are or shall be thus united in doctrine, worship, and discipline, be, and for the future shall be owned and acknowledged established by law. Provided always, that nothing herein shall be intended and construed to hinder or prevent any society or church that is or shall be allowed by the laws of this government, who soberly differ or dissent from the united churches hereby established, from exercising worship and discipline in their own way, according to their consciences.^ This reestablishment of the Congregational church in Connecticut determined the course of events, as far as the religious interests of the commonwealth w'ere concerned, for a hundred years to come. By this it is not meant that the ecclesiastical system which was thus worked out and im- posed upon the churches of the colony continued to operate in full force for that period; the Saybrook Platform was ' Walker, The Creeds and Platforms of Cougregatioualisiii. pp. 502-506, where " The Saybrook Meeting and Articles " are printed in full. For expositions, see Backus, History of Xeiv England, vol. i, pp. 470 et seq.\ Palfrey, A History of New England, vol. iii. p. 3+2; Dexter, The Congregationalism of the last Three Hundred Years, pp. 489. 490. ' The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, vol. v, p. 87. 54 NEIV ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [54 abrogated in 1784. But the Congregational church in Con- necticut, by the act of 1708, " attained the height of its security and power," ^ and, as one of the chief conse- quences of the act, ministerial domination was accorded a recognition and support, the tradition of which outlived by at least a quarter of a century the system by which it had been so firmly established. Thus to the paternalism of the state the authority and sense of importance of the clergy had been added. These principles established, it was to be expected that the relig- ious history of Connecticut during the eighteenth century would reveal the following characteristics and tendencies : a disposition on the part of the state to treat the clergy of the Establishment as the pillars of conservative thought and custom ; and a disposition on the part of the clergy to exercise a controlling hand over all the religious activities of the people, as well as to react violently against all radical impulses and movements which appeared to endanger cen- tralization of government, whether ecclesiastical or political. Certainly these were the tendencies, expressed in the atti- tude of mind and the activities of the Standing Order, with which the forces of non-conformity and democracy had to contend throughout the whole of the century. We may now turn to take a brief survey of the more im- portant events in the course of this conflict. The conclud- ing statement of the act whereby the Connecticut General Court adopted the recommendations of the Saybrook Synod, ^ gave evidence of a tender regard for the consciences and rights of dissenters which subsequent occurrences far from justified. The fact is, the act of reestablishment did not stand alone. Earlier in the same year (1708) the Gen- ' Greene, The Developvient of Religious Liberty in Connecticut, p. 151. 2 Cf. supra, p. S3. 55] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS eral Court had written into the law of the colony another statute whose provisions were in no way affected by the later act. For tlie worthy object of granting liberty of wor- ship to sober dissenters, a liberty which they w^ere to be permitted to enjoy " without let. or hindrance or molesta- tion." it was provided that dissenting congregations were to <:|ualify {i. c, obtain license) under the law.^ It was like- wise provided that this permission to qualify should in no way operate to the prejudice of the rights and privileges of the churches of the Establishment, or " to the excusing any person from paying any such minister or town dues, as are now, or shall hereafter be due from them." " This double burden of obtaining license and supporting the state church was not to be borne easily. An agitation to obtain relief promptly began. ^^ After two decades of effort the Episcopalians were the first to meet with any measure of success. Henceforth their rate money was to be spent in the support of their own min- isters and they were no longer to be required to help build meeting-houses for the state church.* Two years later, re- ' The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, vol. v, p. 50. It seems clear that either through neglect or evasion a considerable number of congregations failed to qualify under the law. In any event the legislature deemed itself warranted in passing an act, May, 1721, imposing a fine of five shillings on persons convicted of not hav- ing attended " the publick worship of God on the Lord's day in some congregation by law allowed." (See ibid., vol. vi, p. 248.) Churches which for doctrinal or other reasons withdrew from the Establishment suffered serious embarrassments on account of this law respecting the licensing of congregations. ^ Ibid., vol. V, p. 50. Any infraction of this law was to be punished by a heavy fine. Failure to pay the fine involved heavy bail or imprisonment. " Greene, The Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut, pp. 191 et seq. ^ The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, vol. vi. p. 106. -6 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [56 lief was granted to Baptists and Quakers. The exemption laws passed in their behalf, however, made necessary the presentation of certificates vouching for the claims of the holders that they were conscientious supporters of the prin- ciples and faithful attendants upon the worship of one or the other of these bodies/ The introduction of the custom of requiring certificates encountered the same sense of injustice and bitter resent- ment that dissenters in Massachusetts manifested. Besides, the exemption laws just referred to failed to operate in a uniform and equitable manner. Episcopalians and Baptists, particularly, found frequent occasion to complain of the miscarriage of this legislation and to groan under the double burden of taxation from which they had obtained no actual rehef.' But as in Massachusetts, so in Connecticut, the greatest hardships befell the Separatists who went out from the fold of the orthodox church. Unable to achieve within the Establishment that reformation of doctrine, polity, and spiritual life which they deemed requisite, they associated themselves together in churches committed to their own convictions. Opposition confronted them at every turn. Obstructions were thrown in the way of their efforts to obtain legal permission to constitute their churches; the civil power persisted in treating them as law-breakers and incorrigibles ; their ministers were drastically dealt with by Consociations which regarded them as wicked men filled with the spirit of insubordination.' A group of laws as severe 1 The Pub. Records of the Colony of Conn., vol. vi, pp. 2Ti7, 257. Un- like the Massachusetts exemption laws passed on behalf ©f these two bodies, these were perpetual. -Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society: Talcott Papers, vol. V, pp. 9-13; Backus, History of New England, vol. ii, pp. 98 et seq. ^ Parker, History of the Second Church of Christ in Hartford, pp. 117, 119; Papers of the New Haven Colony Historical Society, -;] PURIT.'IX STA.XDARDS AXD IXSTITUTIONS -y and intolerant as any the statute books of Connecticut ever contained were enacted in 1742-43 to curb and if possible to eradicate the Separatist defection.' Ordained ministers were forbidden to preach outside the bounds of their par- ishes unless expressly invited so to do." Ministerial Asso- ciations were restrained from licensing candidates to preach outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Association grant- ing licensure."' Ministers of the Establishment were em- powered to lodge certificates with society clerks, attesting that men had entered their parishes and preached therein without first having received permission. No provision for vol. iv : The Bradford Anitals, pp. 318 ct sec].; Backus, History of Xczv England, vol. ii, pp. 57 ct scq., 79 et scq. For the account of the diffi- culties of a particular Separatist congregation, see Dutton, The History of the North Church in Xew Haven, pp. 25-28. Cf. The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, vol. xi, pp. 323 et seq.; also Beardsley, The History of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, vol. i, p. 140. 'The bigoted and unfeeling spirit which controlled the authorities is well expressed in the act of -May, 1743. Proceeding on the assumption that the Separatists, taking advantage of the act of May, 1708, were re- sponsible for the disruptive tactics and measures of the times, by means of which " some of the parishes established by the laws of this Colony . . . have been greatly damnified, and bj' indirect means divided and parted," the General Court repealed the act in question, and put in its place the following: "And be it further enacted, that, for the future, if any of His Majesty's good subjects, being protestants, inhabitants of this Colony, that shall soberly dissent from the way of worship and ministry established by the laws of this Colony, that such persons may apply themselves to this Assembly for relief, where they shall be heard. And such persons as have any distinguishing character, by which they may be known fro)ii the Presbyterians or congrcgationalists, and from the consociatcd churches established by the laws of tliis Colony, may expect the indulgence of this Assembly [Italics mine. — V. S.], having first before this Assembly taken the oaths and subscribed the declaration provided in the act of Parliament in cases of like nature." (The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, vol. viii, p. 522. Cf. Backus, History of New England, vol. ii, p. 58.) - The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, vol. viii, p. 454. 3 Ibid., p. 456. eg NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [58 ascertaining the facts in such cases was contemplated by the law. Justices of the peace were forbidden to sign a warrant authorizing the collection of a minister's rates until they were assured that no such certificate had been lodged against the clergyman involved/ Heavy bonds were to be imposed upon ministers from outside the colony who might venture to preach within its limits without invitation, with the added provision that such men were to be treated as vagrants and bundled out of the colony as speedily as possible." Minis- ters who had not been graduated from Yale or Harvard, or some other Protestant college or university, were de- barred from all benefits of ministerial support as provided by law.^ The climax of the high-handed measures of the sup- porters of the Establishment was doubtless reached in this legislation. A retrograde movement in the cause of relig- ious toleration set in,* the direct effects of which were not quickly overcome. Henceforth dissenters were to be an- noyed and hampered as they had not been before. The necessity of appearing in person before the General Court when seeking exemption from ecclesiastical burdens,'' the embarrassments and hardships that dissenting ministers suffered in their efforts to supply religious counsel to their people.® the growing aversion of the General Court to granting permission to unorthodox and dissenting groups 1 The Pub. Records of the Colony of Conn., vol. viii, p. 456. 2 Ibid., p. 457- 3 Backus, History of New England, vol. ii, p. 57. * Cobb, The Rise of Religious Liberty in America, pp. 274 et seq. Greene, The Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut, pp. 244 et seq. f"' Cf. supra, note i, p. 57. ^ Backus, History of New England, vol. ii, pp. 59 et seq., 62, 65 et seq., 77 et seq., 81 et seq. z^g] PURITAX STAXDARDS AXD IXb'TITUTIOXS z^g to organize,' all serve to indicate the strength of the re- action that had set in. The impressions produced by this excess were even more significant than the direct results, deplorable as the latter were.- In the middle of the eighteenth century the Stand- ing Order in Connecticut had gained for themselves an un- enviable record for bigotry and persecution from which the events of the latter half of the century by no means cleared them. For a quarter of a century following the enactment of the legislative measures just considered, no advance step, general in its nature, was taken. Here and there a little larger measure of freedom was doled out to this or that aggrieved dissenting minister or church ; but the situation as a whole was not materially changed. " Restriction was the rule, freedom the exception, and government the abso- lute and irresponsible dispenser of both." ^ Finally, in I y~^ some evidence that a change in sentiment was under way appeared in the fact that Separatists were exempted from taxes to support the state church. Six years later, in 1 784. more satisfactory proof was forthcoming. That year, l)y the passing of an act entitled, " An Act for Securing the Rights of Conscience in Matters of Religion, to Chris- tians of Every Denomination in this State." * the General CcHirt tacitly abrogated the Saybrook Platform and set the institutions of religion in Connecticut upon a new base. The act declared ' Greene, The Dczclopmcut of Religious Liberty in Connecticut. pp. 248-262. The difficulties experienced by three congregations in New Haven. Canterbury, and Entield. are dealt with in detail. *.\ revision of Connecticut laws took place in 1750. The unjust legislation of 1742-43 and of the following years was quietly left out. ' Paf>ers of the Xew Haven Colony Historical Society, vol. iii, pp. 398 et seq. * Acts and Lazvs of the State of Connecticut, in America, p. 21. 6o ^^EW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [60 That no Persons in this State, professing the Christian ReHgion, who soberly and conscientiously dissent from the Worship and Ministry by Law established in the Society wherein they dwell, and attend public Worship by themselves shall incur any Penalty for not attending the Worship and Ministry so estab- lished, on the Lord's-Day, or on account of their meeting to- gether by themselves on said Day, for public Worship in a Way agreeable to their consciences. It was further declared that Christians of every Protestant denomination, " whether Episcopal Church, of those Con- gregationalists called Separates, or of the people called Bap- tists, or Quakers, or any other Denomination who shall have formed themselves in distinct Churches or Congrega- tions," and who helped to maintain their worship, were to be exempted from the support of any other church than their own. Further, all such dissenting congregations were to enjoy the same power and privileges in the support of their ministry, and in the building and repairing of their houses of worship, as those churches which were established by law. Such persons as did not belong to any of these dissenting bodies were to be taxed for the support of the state church.^ The spirit of toleration had traveled far; but that the struggle for complete religious freedom was yet by no means won will immediately appear from the following re- strictions : ( I ) Protestants only were contemplated as bene- ficiaries under the act; (2) the principle of taxation for tlie support of the state church was retained; (3) the obligation to support some form of Christian worship was required; (4) the benefits of that provision of the act which guaranteed to dissenters exemption from ecclesiastical taxation were to be available only on the condition that a certificate, signed 1 Acts and Laws of the State of Connecticut, in America, p. 21. 6iJ PURITA.\ .^TASDARDS AXD IXSriTUTIOXS 6l by an officer of a dissenting congregation, should be de- posited with the clerk of the state church near which the dissenter lived. A formidable number uf the objectionable features of the older legislation were thus retained. The state church was still in existence. Taxation for the support of religion was still the law of the commonwealth. Dissenters were still compelled tn put themselves to the trouble and humiliation of obtaining the detested certificates. Besides, the ghost of religious persecution was not yet laid. Goods and chattels of the religiously indifferent, or of conscientious dissenterS; continued to be seized and sold by officers of the law, to discharge unsatisfied levies made for the support of the Establishment.^ The principle of requiring certificates proved to be the cliief bone of contention between the Standing Order and dissenters as the century drew to its close. The rapid growth of dissenting bodies in the period following the Revolution, aided as they were by a zeal for proselyting on the part of their leaders and by a set of the public mind de- cidedly favorable to their propaganda because of their democratic leanings, was met by corresponding anxiety and sternness on the part of the supporters of the Estab- lishment. Confusing, as they habitually did. the interests of the state church with the cause of religion, the repre- sentatives of the Standing Order led themselves to believe that a contagion of irreligion was spreading alarmingly, and therefore restrictive religious legislation was in order.'- In line with this conviction, in May, 1791. the 1 Parker, History of the Second Church of Hartford, pp. 170. I7i- Cf. Beecher, Autobiography, Correspondence, etc., vol. i, p. 302. The latter's account of the situation is much softened by his sympathies with the dominant party. ' By this time dissenters and .\nti-Federalists had largely consolidated 62 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [62 legislature enacted a law requiring dissenters to have their certificates signed by at least one, and preferably two, civil officers, instead of as provided in the act of 1784. This law proved peculiarly distasteful to dissenters/ A powerful opposition developed; and the authorities, made aware of the fact that they had over-reached themselves, six months later withdrew the obnoxious act, substituting for it an- other which permitted each dissenter to write and sign his own certificate, but requiring him, as before, to file it with the clerk of the state church near which he lived. ^ The momentary wrath of dissenters was thus mollified; how- ever, the retention of the certificate principle continued to gall and to excite them. A disagreeable discussion dragged itself along, marked by acrimony, pettiness, and personal attacks on both sides ; by a consolidation of the forces and interests of dissenters and Republicans on the one hand, and a grow- ing sense of injured innocence and of concern for the fate of religion on the part of the Standing Order.^ their interests. The political program of the latter drew upon the former all the suspicions and antagonisms which the Standing Order entertained toward the foes of Federalism. The acrimonious discus- sion which arose at this time over the disposition of the Western Reserve and the funds thus derived, admirably illustrates the cross- currents of religious and poHtical agitation in the last decade of the century. Cf. Greene, The Development of Religious Liberty in Con- necticut, pp. 380-392. ' This is readily explicable in view of the fact that most of the magis- trates were adherents of the Establishment. The comment of Backus touches the pith of the matter, as dissenters saw it: "Thus the civil authority in the uppermost religious party in their State, was to judge the consciences of all men who dissented from their worship." (His- tory of New England, vol. ii, p. 345.) '^ Acts and Laws of the State of Connecticut, p. 418. 3 In September, 1818, by the adoption of the new state constitution, the long wearisome struggle was brought to an end, and State and Church in Connecticut were separated completely. 63] PURITAN STASDARDS A.\D IXSTITUTIONS 63 (c) SiDuniary By way of summary, a few general comments, based upon the situation in Massachusetts and Connecticut jointly con- sidered, are now in order. Looking back upon the activities of the Standing Order after the lapse of something more than a century, we see that they were zealously contending for an ideal which had won their whole allegiance — a body politic safeguarded and made secure by a state church. T(D prevent deterioration of the state and its people the bulwark of a religion established by law seemed imperative.^ The interests involved were far too serious to put them at the mercy of a voluntary support of the institutions of religion.^ Moreover, an established church seemed to this group of men no necessary enemy of non-conformity. The degree of toleration possible under an establishment of religion was deemed sufficient actually to favor the growth of sects, and at the same time to make the sway of orthodoxy secure.^ ' This point of view was tersely set forth in the election sermon preached by the Rev. Mr. Pay son. at Boston, May 27, 1778: "Let the restraints of religion once be broken down, as they infallibly would be by leaving the subject of public worship to the humours of the multitude, and we might well defy all human wisdom and power to support and preserve order and government in the state." — Quoted by Backus, Church History of New England, from 1620 to 1804 (ed. of 1844, Philadelphia), pp. 204 et seq. 'The state of feelings shared by the supporters of the Establishment at the time when the blow fell severing the bond between the church and state in Connecticut, is vividly expressed by Beecher : " It was a time of great depression. ... It was as dark a day as ever I saw. The injury done to the cause of Christ, as we then supposed, was ir- reparable. For several days I suffered what no tongue can tell for the best thing that ever happened to the State of Connecticut." (Autobio- graphy. Correspondence, etc., vol. i. p. 304.) * This was the view propounded by President Ezra Stiles, of Vale, in his election sermon of May 8, 1783: "Through the liberty enjoyed here, all religious sects will grow up into large and respectable bodies. 64 ^^'EW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [64 How, then, were men of such opinions to interpret the ever-groAving agitation for a larger measure of toleration, accompanied as it was by an ever-growing resentment tow^ard the political influence and activities of the Standing Order, as anything other than a covert attack upon religion itself? These bitter complainings over the religious meas- ures adopted by government, these flauntings of authority through stubborn refusal or passive resistance to the pay- ment of ecclesiastical rates, these unrelenting efforts to dis- possess the clergy of the Establishment of their traditional honors and emoluments — what were they all but so many proofs of the impiety of the age and an abominable con- spiracy to drive pure religion from the land ? As the repre- sentatives of the Standing Order saw the situation, the church was obviously in grave danger and to steady the tottering ark of the Lord was the most imperative duty of the hour. On the other hand, in the light of the growing liberality of the times, it was impossible for the forces of dissent to be patient with such men. They were men of the past, cal- lously unresponsive to the spirit of the new age. They were an embittered minority, exerting themselves to keep a struggling and confident majority a little longer under their thumb. They were mischievous meddlers in the affairs of others, using religion as a cloak to hide their social and But the Congregational and Presbyterian denominations, however hitherto despised, will, by the blessing of Heaven, continue to hold the greatest figure in America, and, notwithstanding all the fruitless labors and exertions to proselyte us to other communions, become more nu- merous than the whole collective body of our fellow protestants in Europe." (Quoted by Backus, History of New England, vol. ii, p. 312.) To this exposition and bold forecast Backus took decided objections, on the grounds (i) that persecution and not tolerance had promoted the growth of sects in America, and (2) that the numerical increase of the CongregationaHsts and Presbyterians in this country did not justify any such prediction. Cf. ibid., pp. 403-407. 65] PURITAN STANDARDS AXD IXSTITUTIONS 65 political self-seeking. As for the cry, " The church is in danger!", that was to be regarded as the most signal proof of the hypocrisy of those who raised it.^ ' Perhaps no man more boldly stated this interpretation of the motives that inspired the Standing Order than Abraliam Bishop, leader of the forces of Republicanism in Connecticut and arch-enemy of " ecclesias- tical aristocrats." " The religion of the country is made a stalking horse for political jockies . . . Thanksgiving and fasts have been often improved for political purposes and the miserable gleanings from half a year's ignorance of the true interests of our country have been palmed on the people, by the political clergy, as a pious compliance with the governor's very pious proclamations. . . . The union of Church and State . . . [is] the grand fortress of the ' friends of order and good government.'" (Oration delivered at H'alliugford, New Haven, 1801, pp. 46, dr^.) That "the church is in danger" has for some time past been one of the most frequent and frantic of all the absurd cries heard in the land, and that New England through her clannishness has produced " patriarchs in opinion " who assume the prerogative of dic- tating the opinions of the people on all subjects, are further trenchant comments of the same orator. (Ibid., pp. 13, 17.) Bishop's observa- tions respecting the alleged specious and insincere character of those public utterances by which " the friends of order and good govern- ment " sought to preserve the status quo, are equally pointed. " The sailor nailed the needle of his compass to the cardinal point and swore that it should not be always traversing. So does the New England friend of order: but he cautiously conceals the oppression and im- posture, which sustains these habits. . . . This cry of steady habits has a talismanic eflect on the minds of our people; but nothing can be more hollow, vain and deceitful. Recollect for a moment that every- thing valuable in our world has been at one time innovation, illumina- tism, modern philosophy, atheism. , . . Our steady habits have calmly assumed domination over the rights of conscience and suffrage. Cer- tainly the trinitarian doctrine is established by law and the denial of it is placed in the rank follies. Though we have ceased to transport from town to town, quakers, new lights, and baptists ; yet the dis- senters from our prevailing denomination are, even at this moment, praying for the repeal of those laws which abridge the rights of conscience." (fbid., pp. 14, 16.) 66 ^V£J^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [66 3. ALARMS DUE TO THE SPREAD OF RELIGIOUS RADICALISM AND SCEPTICISM During the eighteenth century the progress of reHgious thought in New England in the direction of Hberal positions was marked. Near the beginning of the century, in his Ratio Disciplinae, Cotton Mather was able to speak confi- dently of the solid and compact character of religious opin- ion in his generation, and felt free to dispose of the subject with a few general statements regarding the universal ad- herence of the churches of New England to the orthodox standards of the mother country. He made the added com- ment : " I can not learn, That among all the Pastors of Two Hundred Churches, there is one Arminian : much less Arian, or a Gentilist." ^ At the end of the century, it is very cer- tain that no such all-inclusive generalization, by the widest stretch of the imagination, would have been possible. In- deed, when a noted Philadelphia minister of the day, the Reverend Ashbel Green, visited New England in 1791, he found an aptitude for polemical discussion on the part of the clergy which impressed him as most extraordinary. Through his contact with the Boston Ministerial Associa- tion he encountered " Calvinists, Universalists, Arminians, Arians," and at least one " Socinian," all participating in pleasant social intercourse, despite their radical differences of religious opinion. To the mind of the visiting Philadel- phia clergyman the situation was explicable only on the basis of an extreme laxness in the matter of religious sentiments and doctrines, a judgment which obviously requires some modification in view of the predilection for doctrinal con- troversy which he himself remarked." From the days of the Great Awakening, the lines of doc- * Quoted by Walker, in his History of the Congregational Churches in the United States, p. 216. - Green, Life, pp. 224, 225. 37] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS 67 rinal cleavage had grown increasingly distinct in the relig- ous thought of New England. Apart from those effects of he revival which already have been noted/ it may be said hat the one really permanent result of that notable wave of ■eligious enthusiasm was the polemical controversy which it )recipitated." The question concerning the " means of jrace," around which the controversy in its initial stage ■aged.^ became larger and more complicated by virtue of the nassive system of theology which Jonathan Edwards de- /eloped upon the fundamental notion of the utter worth- essness of man, due to his depravity and consequent help- essness. Into the metaphysical subtleties of the Edwardean system AC are not called to go; it is sufficient to observe that the 'eaction against such a conception of human nature was 3ound to be marked in the midst of an age generally respon- sive to enthusiasms born of fresh conceptions of the essen- ^ Cf. supra, pp. 36 and 2>7 ct ^cq. ' See Walker, Creeds and Platforms of Congregationalism, p. 287. 'The lowest point of religious decline in the history of New England was reached in the lirst quarter of the eighteenth century. The absence 3f vital piety was generally remarked. The prevailing type of religious experience was unemotional and formal. The adoption of the Half- VVay Covenant in the third quarter of the previous century helped to f)recipitate a state of things wherein the ordinary distinctions between the converted and the unconverted were largely obscured. Emphasis came to be laid heavily upon the cultivation of morality as a means of promoting spiritual life. Prayer, the reading of the Bible, and church attendance were other " means ". In other words, man's part in the acquisition of religious experience came prominently into view. The promoters of the revival attacked these notions, asserting that repent- ance and faith were still fundamentally necessary and that the ex- perience of conversion, i. e., the conscious sense of a change in one's relation to God, was the prime test of one's hope of salvation. Charles Chauncy, minister of the First Church, Boston, in his Seasonable Thoughts on the State of Religion in New England (1743). championed the former position ; the great Edwards came to the defence of the latter. 68 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [68 tial dignity and worth of man. The virtue of humihty was destined to divest itself of much of that abject quahty with which the whole Calvinistic theology had clothed it, and to accommodate itself to candid and unblushing convictions of human endowments, abilities, excellencies, and prospects, because of which it would be impossible to retain the tradi- tional contempt for human nature/ The reaction against the Edwardean theology was fruit- ful in the encouragement of liberal notions along other closely related lines. The bold necessitarianism of that system could not but produce an effect generally favorable to the promotion of man's confidence in himself, in the midst of an age characterized by prodigious political initia- tive and love of liberty, and by conceptions of the Deity which stressed the very vastness of those reaches of space stretching between God and the world. The heavy emphasis which the new theological system laid upon the notion of the divine sovereignty, true as it was in spirit to the tradi- tional Puritan interest in the cause of theocracy, was doomed to find itself belated within an age beginning to glow with humanitarian passion and with enthusiasm for the ideal of democracy; and, positively considered, to give impulse in the general direction just noted. The very heat and intensity of the controversy which, from the middle of the century on, filled New England with its din and con- fusion, in itself bore witness to the degree of pressure which the more secularized notions of human Avorth and destiny had begun to exert. That a system so staggering in its assumptions, so all but invulnerable in its logical self- consistency, and withal so inexorable in its demands upon the human spirit for the abandonment of all thought of in- dependent ability and worth, having been brought to close ' Channing, Memoirs, vol. i, pp. 287-290, 387. Cf. also Goddard, Studies in Nezv England Transcendentalism, pp. 13 et seq. -xj,] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS 69 luarters with more or less vagiie and undefined, but none he less vital human interests and passions, should tend to pve rise to a variety of radical opinions and judgments, vas to be expected. And thus it operated,^ not, to be sure, vithout the assistance of significant concurrent causes. ^ Riley, American Philosophy, p. 192. Note: It is not here main- ained that radical religious ideas in New England had their arliest roots, or found their sole stimulus, in the controversy which he theological formulations incident to the Great Awakening pro- oked. Incipient religious liberalism is distinguishable as far back ,s the publication of Cotton Mather's Reasonable Religion, in 1713. n his erudite essay on " The Beginnings of Arminianism in New Eng- and," F. A. Christie adopts the position that prior to the Great Awaken- iig there were rumor and alarm over the mere arrival of Arminian doc- rines in this country; but that after 1742 the heresy spread rapidly, hiefly due to the growth of the Episcopal church, with its marked eanings to the Arminian theology. Cf. Papers of the American So- iety of Church History, Second Series, vol. iii, pp. 168 et seq. But lowever that may be, the cause of Arminianism during the eighteenth entury was promoted by men in New England who drew at least a lart of their inspiration from the writings of leaders of thought in the nother country whose theological positions inclined strongly toward ationalism. Cf. Cooke, Unitarianism in America, pp. 39, 44 ct seq., 79. harvard College, from the close of the seventeenth century on, was ncreasingly recognized as a center of liberalizing tendencies, although lone will dispute that the kernel of intellectual independence was ound, all too frequently, well hidden within the tough shell of tradi- ional conceits. Cf. Quincy, The History of Harvard University, vol. , pp. 44-57, 199 et seq. Independent impulses were largely responsible or the following events which mark the definite emergence of Uni- arianism in America: the organization of the first New England Uni- arian congregation at Gloucester, Mass., in 1779; the publication in his country, five years later, of the London edition of Dr. Charles Zhauncy's Salvation for All Men ; and the defection from Trinitarian tandards of King's Chapel, Boston, in 1785-87. Still it must be main- ained that the controversies which raged around the doctrines of the \'ew Calvinism beyond all other factors stiffened the inclinations and cndencies of the century toward liberal thinking. Such terms as 'Arminianism", " Pelagianism ", " Socinianism ", "Arianism ", etc., vhich occur with ever-increasing frequency from the fourth decade >f the century on, are in themselves suggestive of the divergencies in ■eligious opinion which the doctrinal discussion incident to the Great Awakening provoked. Cf. Fiske. .1 Century of Science and Other Essays: "The Origins of Liberal Thought in America", pp. 148 et seq. 70 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [70 The wash of the wave of the great deistic controversy on the other side of the Atlantic was not without its effect upon the religious thought of New England. The direct evidence of this is, however, much more elusive than one might at first suppose/ That the reading public was acquainted with the writings of the great English deists, Herbert, Chubb, Shaftesbury, Tindal, Wollaston, Toland, Hume, is clear from references to their works which appear with consider- able frequency in the private and public records of the day ; but invariably these references are made in a more or less casual manner, and, for the most part, in connection with sweeping generalizations made by the clergy respecting the prevailing scepticism of the age. Apart from such allusions and the appearance of titles in the lists of booksellers who were advertising their stocks in the' newspapers, it would be difficult to cite specific evidence, Thomas Paine's Age of Reason alone excepted, to the effect that the impact of Eng- lish deism upon the thought of New England was anything like direct. The amount of independent literary expression which the doctrines of deism obtained in New England was practi- cally negligible." The quality was even less noteworthy. ^ As a typical illustration the comment of Lyman Beecher may be cited : " The Deistic controversy was an existing thing, and the battle was hot, the crisis exciting." (Autobiography, Correspondence, etc., vol. i, p. 52.) The date is about 1798. In the same connection Presi- dent Dwight of Yale is referred to as "the great stirrer-up of that [t. e., the deistic] controversy on this side the Atlantic." (Ibid.) It is certain that Dwight had some acquaintance with the works of the leading English deists, and that he opposed their views. Cf. Travels in Nezv England and New York, vol. iv, p. 362; but his main target was infidelity of the French school. Beecher fails to distinguish be- tween the two. ^ One discovers no convincing evidence that the deistical views of Benjamin Franklin produced any direct effect upon the thought of New England. As respects Thomas Jefferson the case was different. But 71 ] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS ji Ethan Allen's Reason the Only Oracle of Man,^ published in 1784, was perhaps the only production of native origin to which anything like general attention was accorded ; and the evident inability of this work to root itself deeply in the thought of the people, despite the prestige due to the author's Revolutionary record, was demonstrated the mo- ment Paine's more serious work began to circulate in this countr>-. The crudeness of Allen's style, coupled with the ferocity of his onslaught on the advocates and absurdly credulous devotees of supernaturalism, as Allen regarded the orthodox party of his day, went far toward determin- ing the attitude of contempt and high-minded scorn with which his work was generally treated, when leaders of con- servative thought deigned to notice it at all." New England Federalists were so successful in keeping public attention fixed on Jefferson's fondness for French political and religious philo- sophy, that his alleged " French infidelity " rather than his opinions concerning natural religion became and continued to be the bone of contention. That he was regarded as a deist is, however, not to be questioned. Bentley. Diary, vol. iii, p. 20. ' Allen's book of some 477 pages bore the following pretentious and rambling title : Reason the only Oracle of Man, or a Compendiiis Sys- tem of Natural Religion. Alternately Adorned with Confutations of a I'ariety of Doctrines inconilyatible to it; Deduced from the Most Exalted Ideas which we are able to form of the Divine and Human Characters, and from the Universe in General. By Ethan Allen, Esq. Bennington, State of Vermont. The Preface is dated July 2, 1782. Evans records the fact that the entire edition, except about thirty copies, was destroyed by fire, said to have been caused by lightning, an event which the orthodox construed as a judgment from heaven on account of the nature of the book. Cf. American Bibliography, vol. vi, p. 266. The author's aim has been interpreted as an effort " to build up a system of natural religion on the basis of a deity expressed in the external universe, as interpreted by the reason of man, in which the author includes the moral consciousness." (Moncure D. Conway in Open Court [magazine], January 28. 1892, article: "Ethan Allen's Oracles of Reason," p. 31 19.) = The Literary Diary of Ezra Stiles, vol. iii, p. 345- The comment of Yale's president is fairly representative: "And the 13th Inst died 72 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [72 But Thomas Paine' s attack upon the foundations of in Vermont the profane & impious Deist Gen Ethan Allen, Author of the Oracles of Reason, a Book replete with scurrilous Reflexions on Revelation. 'And in Hell he Uft up his Eyes being in Torments.' " (Ibid.) In 1787, at Litchfield, Connecticut, where Allen's home had once been, there was published an anonymous sermon, from the text: "And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks which the swine did eat." (Luke 15: 16.) The sermon was planned to counter- act the effect produced by the " prophane, prayerless, graceless infidel," Allen, through the publication of the book in question. The author, "Common Sense" (apparently Josiah Sherman), adopts for his ser- mon the caption, "A Sermon to Swine," and explains in the Advertise- ment the temper of his mood : " By way of apology, I hope Gen. Allen will pardon any reproach that may be supposable, in comparing him to the Prodigal Son, sent by the Citizen into his fields to feed Swine with husks, when he considers, what an infinitely greater reproach he casts upon the holy oracles of God, and upon his Prophets, Apostles and Ministers, and upon the Lord of Ufe and glory himself; at whose tribunal we must all shortly appear ; when he represents Him as an im- postor and cheat, and all the blessed doctrines of the gospel as false- hood and lies." {A Sermon to Szvine: From Luke xv: 16 . . . Con- taining a concise, hut sufficient answer to General Allen's Oracles of Reason. By Common Sense, A. M., Litchfield, 1787.) An amusing albeit suggestive episode is recorded by WiUiam Bentley in his Diary, in connection with certain reflections on the dangers in- volved in the loaning of books: "Allen's oracles of reason .. .v^as lent to Col. C under solemn promise of secrecy, but by him sent to a Mr. Grafton, who was reported to have died a Confirmed Infidel. . . . The book was found at his death in his chamber, examined with horror by his female relations. By them conveyed to a Mr. Williams ... & there examined — reported to be mine from the initials W. B., viewed as an awful curiosity by hundreds, connected with a report that I encour- aged infidelity in Grafton by my prayers with him in his dying hour, & upon the whole a terrible opposition to me fixed in the minds of the devout & ignorant multitude." (Ibid., vol. i, p. 82.) The following extract from Timothy Dwight's poem on The Triumph of Infidelity supplies another interesting contemporaneous estimate of Allen's assault upon revelation : " In vain thro realms of nonsense ran The great Clodhopping oracle of man. Yet faithful were his toils : What could he more? In Satan's cause he bustled, bruised and swore; And what the due reward, from me shall know. For gentlemen of equal worth below." 7Z] PURIT.IX STANDARDS AND IXSTITUTIONS siipernaturalism was by no means taken lightly. From the time of its arrival in this countn,-, the Age of Reason pro- duced an amount of excited comment which gave to its ap- pearance and circulation all the elements of a sensation.^ The natural interest of the pul)lic in the appearance of the production was admittedly great ; but at least a partial ex- planation of the attention which the book received is to be found in the fact that its author was able to effect plans to have the work published cheaply abroad and extensively circulated iu this country.^ In any event, whatever may A foot-note explains the point in the last two lines : " In A n's Journal, the writer observes, he presumes he shall be treated in the future world as well as other gentlemen of equal merit are treated : A sentiment in which all his countrymen will join." (The Triumph of Infidelity: A Poem. [Anonymous], 1788, pp. 23 et seq. The copy re- ferred to is dedicated by the author " To Mons. de Voltaire.") ^ The Age of Reason: Part I, appeared in America in 1794. Cf. The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine, edited by Moncure Daniel Conway, New York, 1901, p. vii ; also advertisements of its offer for sale, Massachusetts Spy (Worcester), Nov. 19, 1794. The Connecticut Courant (Hartford), Jan. 19, and Feb. 9, 1795, contains examples of pained newspaper comment. Jl'oleott Papers, vol. viii, 7. ' At least fifteen thousand copies of the second part of the book arrived in America in the spring of 1796, despatched from Paris by Paine, consigned to his Philadelphia friend, Mr. Franklin Bache, Re- publican printer, editor, and ardent servant of radicalism generally. It was clearly Paine's purpose to influence as many minds in America as possible. Cf. Conway, The Writings of Thomas Paine, vol. iv, p. 15; Paine's letter to Col. Fellows, in New York, explaining the forwarding of the books. This effort to obtain a general circulation of the Age of Reason did not escape the attention of men who were disturbed over the prevailing evidences of irrcligion. In a fast day sermon, delivered in April, 1799, the Reverend Daniel Dana, of Newburyport, Massachu- setts, called attention to the matter in the following fashion : "... let me mention a fact which ought to excite universal alarm and horror. The well-known and detestable pamphlet of Thomas Paine, written with a professed design to revile the Christian religion, and to diffuse the poison of infidelity, was composed in France, was there printed in English, and an edition containing many thousand of copies, con- veyed at a single time into our country, in order to be sold at a cheap 74 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [74 have been the precise influences which promoted the distri- bution and perusal of the book, the Age of Reason aroused an immediate pubHc interest, chiefly antagonistic, the like of which probably had been accorded to no other volume cir- culated in America before its day. The bumptious and mili- tant nature of its deism, as well as its raw and unceremon- ious ridicule of much that passed in the thought of the times for essential orthodoxy, drew popular attention from the worthier and more exalted passages in the volume,^ and rate, or given away, as might best ensure its circulation. What bane- ful success has attended this vile and insidious effort, you need not be told. That infidelity has had, for several years past, a rapid in- crease among us, seems a truth generally acknowledged." (Two Ser- mons, delivered April 25, 1799: the day recommended by the President of the United States for National Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer. By Daniel Dana, A. M., pastor of a church in Newburyport, 1799, p. 45). Cf. also ihid., p. 20. ^ The Age of Reason was written from the standpoint of a man who believed that the disassociation of religion from political institutions, and the elimination from it of fiction and fable, would bring in the true religion of humanity. The following excerpt sets out the au- thor's approach and aim : " Soon after I had published the pamphlet, ' Common Sense ', in America I saw the exceeding probability that a revolution in the system of government would be followed by a revo- lution in the system of religion. The adulterous connection of church and state, wherever it had taken place, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, had so effectually prohibited by pains and penalties every dis- cussion upon established creeds, and upon first principles of religion, that until the system of government should be changed those subjects could not be brought fairly and openly before the world ; but that whenever this should be done a revolution in the system of religion would follow. Human inventions and priestcraft would be detected ; and man would return to the pure, unmixed, and unadulterated behef of one God and no more." {The Writings of Thomas Paine, vol. ii, pp. 22 et seq.) Paine's exposition of the tenets of natural religion was far from scholarly, and as soon as the public became aware of the eccen- tric and uneven character of the book, the storm of criticism speedily blew itself out. The recoil of Paine's ugly attack upon Washington, in the same year in which the Age of Reason was extensively circulated in this country, materially helped to discredit the book. J-] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS 75 irritated the opposition beyond control. A vociferous chorus of hostile criticism arose. ^ Clerg^'men poured out ' .\ partial list of the books and pamphlets, separate discourses not included, which were published in this country immediately following the appearance of the Age of Reason will serve to emphasize the depth of the impression which Painc's book made: (i) Priestley, Joseph, An Answer to Mr. Painc's Age of Reason; being a Continuation of Letters to the Philosophers and Politicians of France, on the Subject of Religion; and of the Letters of a Philosophical Unbeliever. Second Edition. Northumberlandtown, America, 1794; (2) Williams, Thomas, The Age of Infidelity: an Answer to TJiomas Painc's Age of Reason, By a Layman (pseud.). Third Edition, Worcester. Mass.. 1794; (.t) Stihvell, Samuel, A Guide to Reason, or an Examination of Thomas Paine's Age of Reason, and Investigation of the True and Fabulous Theology, New York, 1794; (4) Winchester, Elhanan, Ten Letters Ad- dressed to Mr. Paine, in Answer to His Pamphlet, entitled The Age of Reason, Second Edition, New York, 1795; (5) Ogden, Uzal, Antidote to Deism. The Deist Unmasked; or an Ample Refutation of all the Objections of Thomas Paine, Against the Christian Religion; as Con- tained in a Pamphlet, intitled (sic), The Age of Reason, etc., Two volumes, Newark, 1795; (6) Broaddus, ."Andrew, The Age of Reason and Revelation; or Animadversions on Mr. Thomas Paine's late piece, intitled "The Age of Reason", etc. . . . Richmond, 1795; (7) Muir, James, An Examination of the Principles Contained in the Age of Reason. In Ten Discourses, Baltimore, 1795; (8) Belknap, Jeremy, Dissertations on the Character, Death & Resurrection of Jesus Christ ...witli remarks on some sentiments advanced in a book intitled " The Age of Reason," Boston, 1795; (9) Humphreys. Daniel, The Bible Needs no Apology; or Watson's System of Religion Refuted; and the Advo- cate Proved an Unreliable One, by the Bible Itself: of which a short view is given, and zvhich itself gives a short answer to Paine: in Four Letters, on Watson's Apology for the Bible, and Paine's Age of Reason, Part the Second, Portsmouth, 1796; (10) Tytler, James, Paine's Second Part of the Age of Reason Anstvered, Salem, 1796; (11) Fowler, James, The Truth of the Bible Fairly Put to the Test, by Confronting the Evidences of Its Owti Facts, Alexandria, 1797; (12) Le\'>'. David, A Defence of the Old Testament, in a Scries of Letters, addressed to Thomas Paine, Author of a Book entitled, The Age of Reason, Part Second, etc. . . . New York, 1797; (13) Williams. Thomas. Christian- ity Vindicated in the admirable speech of the Hon. Theo. Erskine, in the Trial of J. Williams, for Publishing Paine's Age of Reason, Philadel- phia. 1797; (14) Snyder, G., The Age of Reason Unreasonable ; or the Folly of Rejecting Revealed Religion, Philadelphia, 1798; (15) Nelson, -6 -V£f^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [76 the vials of their wrath and execration, despite their evident desire to appear undisturbed; newspaper editors and con- tributors gave voluminous expression to their sense of chagrin and pained disappointment that so scandalous and impious a publication should be in circulation ; ^ observers of and participants in the college life of the day felt called upon to lament the extent to which unsettling opinions of the nature of those expressed by Paine had laid hold of the imaginations and altered the convictions of youthful minds. ^ The impression that Paine had aided and abetted the cause of impiety and irreligion was general.^ D., An Investigation of that False, Fabulous and Blasphemous Mis- representation of Truth, set forth by Thomas Paine, in his two volumes, entitled The Age of Reason, etc. (This volume appears to have been published pseudonymously. Advertised in Lancaster, Pa., Intelligencer and Advertiser, October, 1800) ; ( 16) Boudinot, Elias, The Age of Revelation, Or, The Age of Reason shewn to be an Age of Infidelity, Philadelphia, 1801. 1 Cf. Morse, The Federalist Party in Massachusetts, Appendix I, pp. 217 et seq., for a detailed and fairly satisfactory statement of the character and extent of the discussion which Paine's book precipitated in New England. 2 Channing, Memoirs, vol. i, pp. 60, 61. On the latter page it is asserted that in order to counteract such fatal principles as those expressed in the Age of Reason, the patrons and governors of Harvard College had Watson's Apology for the Bible published and furnished to the students at the expense of the corporation. This was in 1796. Beecher's Autobiography, Correspondence, etc., vol. i, pp. 30, 35, 52, touches upon the situation at Yale. Cf. Dwight, Theology: Explained and Defended, vol. i, pp. xxv, xxvi. The extensive prevalence of in- fidelity among Yale students is commented upon and the statement made that a considerable proportion of the class which President Dwight first taught (179S-96) "had assumed the names of principal English and French Infidels; and were more familiarly known by them than by their own." (Ibid.) Cf. Dorchester, Christianity in the United States, p. 319. ' The impression lingered on after the stir caused by the appearance of the Age of Reason. In 1803 Paine was in southern New England. His presence was disturbing, as the following comment of William 77] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS -j-j It was not the doctrinal controversies of the period, how- ever, nor yet the intrusion of the principles of natural re- ligion, by which the unsettling tendencies of the times were bcHeved to be promoted most directly and pcjwerfully. In the judgment of practically every leader of conservative thought in New England, and of all America for that mat- ter, that unholy preeminence belonged to the effect produced upon the public mind in this country by the French Revolu- tion, and more especially the impious principles of infidelity and atheism by which, they concluded, that colossal over- turning of institutions was stimulated and guided. No single phenomenon of our national history stands out in sharper relief than the impression which the great Euro- pean convulsion made, first upon the imaginations and later upon the political and religious ideals of the citizens of this young republic in the West, who followed the earlier for- tunes of the French Revolutionary cause with breathless in- terest and concern. The memory of the recent struggle of the American colonists for independence, for the happy issue of which France had made such timely and substantial contributions, in itself supplied a pledge of profound sym- pathy for that country. That the spark of revolution had been communicated originally by America to France was, moreover, one of the favorite conceits of the day. Grati- tude, the lionds of political friendship and alliance, the sup- posed similarity of popular enthusiasms and passions — all the essential factors requisite for the development of a spirit of tender and affectionate regard were clearly present. Bentley will show : " Reports are circulated that Thomas Paine intends to visit New England. The name is enough. Every person has ideas of him. Some respect his genius and dread the man. Some rever- ence his political, while they hate his religious, opinions. Some love the man, but not his private manners. Indeed he has done nothing which has not extremes in it. He never appears but we love and hate him. He is as great a paradox as ever appeared in human nature." (Diary, vol. iii, p. 37. Cf. ibid., vol. ii. pp. 102. 107. 145.) 78 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [78 Thus it happened that from the hour when the first rum- blings of the impending European revolution were heard on this side of the Atlantic, the citizens of these states evinced an earnest and sympathetic concern; ^ and as the revolu- tionary drama unfolded through its earlier scenes the en- thusiasm and lively sympathy of the people grew apace. The atmosphere was electric. Anticipations of citizens ran high. Liberty was again in travail.^ The institutions of freedom were about to descend upon another nation. The shackles of political and ecclesiastical tyranny were being torn from the limbs of twenty-five millions of slaves.' Having revolutionized France, America's ideals might be expected to leaven the whole of Europe.* The millennium could not be far away. Admiration for the French cause and devotion to it swept all before them. So much so that when, in the autumn and winter of 1792-93, the thrilling news of the successes achieved by the French armies in re- pelling the invaders of the new republic began to arrive in America, a wave of irresistible and uncontrolled enthusiasm swept over the land." The " French Frenzy," with its maudlin outbursts of professed attachment for the great watchwords of the Revolution — Liberty, Equality, Frater- nity — with its pageants and civic feasts, its cockades and liberty caps, its ribald singing of republican songs and dra- matic intertwinings of the standards of the two sister repub- lics, deserves a place altogether by itself as an extraordinary expression of the public mind. 1 Hazen, Contemporary American Opinion of the French Revolution, pp. 141 et seq. 2 Ibid., p. 143. 3 Dwight, Travels, vol. iv, p. 361. * Writings of Thomas Jefferson, vol. v, pp. 154, 274; Massachu- setts Historical Collections, Sixth Series, vol. iv, Belknap Papers, p. 503. *The entire episode is treated with great fullness and equal vivid- ness by Hazen, Contemporary American Opinion of the French Revolu- tion, pp. 164-188. 7(j] PURITAN STANDARDS AND INSTITUTIONS jg To this wild riot of tumultuous and spectacular enthu- siasm an effectual check was soon to be given. With the execution of Louis XVI, in January, 1793, the admiration of the more thoughtful observers of the Revolution, who had accustomed themselves to pass soberly but apologetically over the earlier excesses of the revolutionists as unavoidable concomitants of a struggle necessarily desperate in its char- acter,^ received a rude shock.* The brutal death of a mon- arch whose personal services on behalf of their own cause during the days of deep necessity had been considerable, brought home to American citizens their first clear convic- tion respecting the excessively bloody and relentless spirit of the forces in control of the Revolution. The day of dis- illusionment had dawned. Leaders of thought made no effort to conceal their sense of mingled horror and regret. The amount of popular sympathy for the cause of the Revo- lution was still too great to allow an}i:hing approaching a general condemnation; but none the less a decided chill was felt.^ 1 Writings of Thomas Jefferson, vol. vi, pp. 153 ct seq. * From the first, devotion to the French cause had not been quite unanimous. Here and there, scattered through the country, a man might be found who from the beginning of the Revolution had cherished misgivings as to the essential soundness of the principles of the French in the conflict they were waging with despotism. Occasionally a man had ventured to speak out, voicing apprehension and doubt, although usually preferring to adopt the device of pseudonymity. Conspicuous in this by no means large group were the elder and the younger Adams, the former declaring himself in his "Discourses on Davila " (Cf. The Life and IVorks of John Adams, vol. vi, pp. 223-403), and the latter in the " Publicola" letters, written in 1791, in response to Paine's treatise on " The Rights of Man ". Morse, John Quiney Adams, p. 18. But events, much more than political treatises, were to break the spell which the Revolution in its earlier stages cast over the people of America. 'No better testimony concerning the unfavorable impression created by the execution of the French king could be had than that supplied by 8o '^EW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [80 The murder of the king soon enough appeared to Amer- icans a mere incident in a wild orgy of unbridled violence and blood-letting. A stream of information concerning the swift march of events in France, mostly having to do with enormities and excesses which gave all too patent proof of the fury of the currents of passion upon which the par- ticipants in the Revolution were being tossed, began to pour its waters through the channels of public utterance the comment of Salem's republican minister, the Reverend William Bentley. Under date of March 25, 1793, he wrote : " The melancholy news of the beheading of the 'Roi de France is confirmed in the pubHc opinion, & the event is regretted most sincerely by all thinking people. The french lose much of their influence upon the hearts of the Ameri- cans by this event." (Diary, vol. ii, p. 13. Cf. Hazen, Contemporary American Opinion of the French Revolution, pp. 254 et scq.) This thrill of public horror also found expression in the following lines taken from a broadside of the day : " When Mobs triumphant seize the rheins, And guide the Car of State, Monarchs will feel the galling chains, And meet the worst of fate : For instance, view the Gallic shore, A nation, once polite See what confusion hovers o'er, A Star, that shone so bright. Then from the scene recoil with dread. For LOUIS is no more, The barb'rous Mob cut off his head, And drank the spouting gore. Shall we, the Sons of FREEDOM dare Against so vile a Race? Unless we mean ourselves to bare (sic) The palm of their disgrace. No ! God forbid, the man who feels The force of pity's call, To join those Brutes, whose sentence seals, Whose hearts are made of gall." (The Tragedy of Louis Capet, and Printed next the venerable Stump of Liberty Tree, for J. Plumer, Jun., Trader, of Newbury-port.) (In Vol. 21 of Broadsides, Library of Congress.) 8i] PURITAN STAXDARDS AXD INSTITUTIONS 8 1 and discussion in America. The atrocities of the Reign of Terror brought fully home to the American pubhc, to the conservative-minded particularly, the conviction that the Revolution had become diverted from its original principles and aims, and had descended to the plane of brutal despot- ism, reprehensible both in principle and practice above any- thing the eyes of mt-n had ever beheld.' The leaders of the Revolution clearly were not the high-minded patriots and emancipators their admirers on this side of the ocean had adjudged them to be. The terms " assassin," *' savage," " monster." " regicide." began to be employed as the only tit terms whereby to characterize the leading figures in an awful spectacle of butchery and rapine." But not until the religious aspects of the French Revolu- tion are considered, is the deep revulsion of feeling which took place in Xew England completely laid bare. This fea- ture of the situation had been regarded with deep solicitude from the beginning ; '"' and as time went on through the cloud of confusion raised by the dust and smoke of the political developments of the Revolution, it l:>€came increas- ^ Wchster, Tlir Rczolutioii in I'rancc considered in Resf^ecl to its Progress and Effects, New York, 1794. Webster's discriminating pamphlet is one of the most suggestive of all .American contemporaneous flocuments. Cf. Hazcn. Contemporary American Opinion of the French Revolution, p. 259. - For characteristic outbursts of this nature, cf. Adams, Life and Works, vol. ii, p. 160; Gibbs, Memoirs of the Administrations of Washington and John Adams, vol. i, p. 90. Typical newspaper com- ment similar in vein may be found in the Jl'estern Star (Stockbridge, Mass.). March 11, 1794, and the Gazette of the United States (Phila- delphia), .^pril 13, 1793. 'As early as 1790 John Adams had spoken of the French nation as a "republic of atheists." (Works, vol. ix, p. 563.) Other leaders responded to similar sentiments. (Hazen, Contemporary American Opinion of the French Resolution, p. 266.) Familiarity with French philosophical and religious opinions before the French Revolution had supplied a basis for this concern. 82 A'-Ef^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [82 ingly clear to the conservative class in New England that an alliance between the forces of anarchy and impiety had been effected. What else could explain the rapid development of a fierce reforming spirit, which in turn, within the space of not more than two or three years at the most, stood forth as a spirit of overt persecution in the handling of all eccle- siastical affairs? The vociferous affirmation of deistical and atheistical principles on the part of Revolutionary lead- ers in the councils of clubs and in sessions of the National Assembly, the reiteration and growing boldness of the de- mand for the elimination of the ancient system of religious faith, the successive efforts to supplant that system, first with the cult of Reason and later with the cult of the Supreme Being, — how were these to be construed other than as the expressions and performances of men who were bent upon the utter abolition of the Christian faith ? There was wanting in New England, of course, intimate knowledge of the true state of French religious affairs and of the re- actionary spirit displayed by the higher clergy and their de- votion to the cause of monarchy. Little was known of the growing sense of resentment felt by a people who had begun to contemplate frankly the burdens which had been imposed upon them under the ancient regime, the multiplication of religious offices and establishments, the absorption of the land into vast ecclesiastical estates, and the indifference of the spiritual guides of the nation to private and public distress. It was hardly to be expected that spectators as far removed from the scene as the shores of New England would be able to interpret correctly the essential spirit of a people who had grown weary of the abuses of a religious system in whose principles and purer forms they still be- lieved, despite the momentary violence of their leaders.^ 1 Aulard, Le culte de la Raison et de I'Etre suprhne, pp. 17 et seq. Cf. Sloane. The French Revolution and Religious Reform, pp. 53, 79. 83] fURITAX STANDARDS A\D IXSTITUTIONS 83 By the year 1794 the belief that the revolutionists in France had added atheism to their program (j1 anarchy was well established in New England. The dit'liculty of weigh- ing this opinion exactly is greatly enhanced on account of the political handling which the situation received. Over the question of fc^reign alliances the Federalists and Repub- licans had split violently in 1793. The war which had broken out between England and France, regarded from any point of view, was of vast consecjuence in the eyes of the citizens of this young nation, just beginning to cope with the problems of diplomacy and international relations. The outbreak of hostilities between the two European nations with which the United States had had and must continue to have its most intimate and important inter- course forced an alignment among its citizens so sharp and decisive as to constitute the outstanding political feature of the country for years to come.' For reasons which we shall not now pause to consider, Federalists championed the cause of England in the European conflict, and Republicans the cause of France. Seizing upc^i the issue of '* French in- fidelity," Federalist editors were disposed to see in it the gravest peril by which the American people were threatened. The anti-religious spirit of the French Revolutionary lead- ers represented a danger-point of infection against which every citizen must needs be warned. On the other hand, F^epublican editors felt it incumbent upon them to do their utmost to minimize the genuineness and importance of all such damaging views of the case.^ 9" The effort to dechristianize the institutions of religion in France is admitted by both writers, but the superficial occasion of this hostile effort is made clear. ' Cf. infra, pp. 103 et seq. '^ The practice of looking to the religious situation !n France for aniir.imition to serve the artillery of political partie? in America, is 84 NEIV ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [84 But considerations of party advantage fall far short of furnishing a full explanation of the general sense of alarm the people of New England experienced on account of the open hostility to religion which they saw manifest in France. Out of France came a series of reports which taken together were calculated to raise their fears to the highest pitch. The confiscation of the property of the church, the abolition of religious vows, the promulgation of the "Civil Constitu- tion of the Clergy," ^ the banishment of non-juror priests, the infamy of the Goddess of Reason, the abolition of the Christian Sabbath, the secularization of festivals ' — here were evidences of impiety as shameless as they were shock- well illustrated in the following instances : The Western Star of March 25, 1794, dwelt at length upon the depravity of French irreligion, and asserted that the lack of public alarm in this country must be accepted as convincing evidence that the American public has already yielded itself to the seductive influence and power of atheistical opinions. On the other hand, the Independent Chronicle^ issues of March 6 and July 24, 1794, pounces upon Robespierre's scheme for the rehabilitation of religion under the guise of the cult of the Supreme Being, and with great gusto asserts that here is the positive and sufficient proof that the charge of atheism which has been lodged against the Revolution- ists is as baseless as it is wicked. An examination of the newspaper comment of the day supplies abundant warrant that this crying up and crying down of the charge of French infidelity went far in the direction of investing the political situation in New England with those characteristics of bitter and extravagant crimination and recrimination with which all political discussion in that section, as in fact throughout the entire country, near the close of the eighteenth century, was so deeply marked. ' By the adoption of this measure the Catholic clergy in France were turned into state officials. The relation of the Pope to the French clergy became that of a spiritual guide and counsellor only. The prin- ciple of territorial limitation on the part of ecclesiastics was also abolished. Cf. Sloane, Tlie French Revolution and Religions Reform, pp. 121 ct seq. * Aulard, The French Revolution, vol. iii, pp. 152-191, gives an ex- cellent resume of the dechristianizing movement. 85 J PURITAN STANDARDS AXD INSTITUTIONS 85 ing. ' Such principles and measures appeared as so many deadly thrusts at the Christian faith. It was difficult, if not impossible, for the most sympathetic admirers of France to find a way to explain this ominous cast of events.' How thoroughly the fear of " French infidelity " had gripped the imaginations of men in New England will ap- pear more clearly if the following considerations are weighed. The prcsumpti(tn that the intimate relations which Amer- icans had been having with the people of France had pro- duced a serious blight of morals and religion among the former, seemed to find its justification in the currents of skepticism and irreverence which, by common consent, had set in among the youth of the land. This phase of the situa- tion as reflected in conditions within the colleges was held to be particularly deplorable. It was the settled conviction of President Dwight of Yale that *' the infidelity of Vol- taire and his coadjutors " had a special attractiveness for youth, for reasons which do not impress one as being highly charitable, to say the least : Youths particularly, who had been liberally educated, and who with strong passions, and feeble principles, were votaries of sensuality and ambition, delighted with the prospect of unre- strained gratification, and panting to be enrolled with men of fashion and splendour, became enamored of these new doc- trines. The tenour of opinion, and even of conversation, was to a considerable extent changed at once. Striplings, scarcely fledged, suddenly found that the world had been involved in a general darkness, through the long succession of the preceding 'The conservative press of .America saw to it that this information (lid not escape the attention of its readers. Cf. Hazen. Contemporary American Opinion of the French Revolution, pp. 267 ct seq. Cf. Morse, The Federalist Party in Massachusetts, pp. 80-87. 98 et seq. -Hazen. Contemporary .Iniericnn (')pinioii "1 the Freuch RnnJu- tion. pp. 269 et seq. 86 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [86 ages ; and that the light of wisdom had just begun to dawn upon the human race. All the science, all the information, which had been acquired before the commencement of the last thirty or forty years, stood in their view for nothing. . . . Religion they discovered on the one hand to be a vision of dotards and nurses, and on the other a system of fraud and trick, imposed by priestcraft for base pui-poses upon the ignorant multitude. Revelation they found was without authority, or evidence ; and moral obligation a cobweb, which might indeed entangle flies, but by which creatures of a stronger wing nobly disdained to be confined.^ This somewhat theoretical view of the case was not un- supported by tangible evidence. The students of Yale were sceptical.' In the religious discussions of the lecture-rooms the cause of infidelity stood high in student favor.^ Of seventy-six members of the class that graduated in 1802 only one was a professed Christian at the time of matricu- lation.'* At the time President Dwight entered upon the leadership of the college, the college church was practically extinct. ° Altogether the situation was highly alarming to the friends of Christianity.^ The condition of affairs at Harvard showed little if any improvement. When William Ellery Channing matric- ulated in that institution in 1794 he found the thought and ' Dwight. Travels, vol. iv, p. 362. 2 Beecher, Autobiography, Correspondence, etc., vol. i, p. 30. ^Baldwin, A)inals of Yale College . . . From Its Foundation to the Year 1S31, New Haven, 1831, p. 146. * Field, Brief Memoirs of the Members of the Class Graduated at Yale College in September, 1802. {Printed for private distribution) , p. 9- " Beecher, Autobiography, Corresponden£e, etc., vol. i. p. 30. ^ Sprague, Annals of the American Pulpit, vol. ii, pp. 164, 165. Cf. Sketches of Yale College, zvith Numerous Anecdotes .. .l\ James Abercrombie's Fast Day Sermon, May 9, 179S, Phila- delphia, Philadelphia, (n. d.) ; Eliphalet Porter's Fast Day Sermon of the same date, at Roxbury, Boston, 1798, p. 22; Samviel Miller's Fast Day Sermon, also of the same date, at New York, New York, 1798. 97] PURITAN STAXDARDS A.\D LXSTITUTIONS 97 causes of this baneful condition of affairs, the clerg)' be- lieved they were to be found mainly in the dissemination of revolutionary opinions issuing from IVancc, but in i)art also in native tendencies to exalt reason and thri>\v off the restraints of government in church and state. Before taking leave of the subject, a few tinal illustra- tions may be considered by way of fixing upon the mind the strength of this general impression which the New England clerg)- entertained. On the occasion of the general fast. May 4, 1797, at West Springfield. Massachusetts, the Reverend Joseph Lathrop preached a sermon to which he gave the expressive title, God's Challenge to Infidels to Defend Their Cause.^ The inspiration of the discourse was drawn from the conviction that " this is a day when infidelity appears with unusual boldness, and advances with threatening progress, to the hazard of our national freedom and happiness, as well as to the danger of our future salvation."" According to this in- terpreter of the signs of the times, the dissemination of in- fidelity was to be regarded as the outstanding fact in the life of America, as well as in the life of the world. An unusually lugubrious view of the situation was that taken by the Reverend Nathan Strong, in the sermon which he preached, April 6, 1798, on the occasion of the Connec- ticut state fast. In the eyes of this modern Jeremiah, the situation was desperate almost beyond remedy : There are dark and ominous appearances. I do not mean the wrath and threatening of any foreign nations whatever, for if we please God and procure him on our side, we may bless ' God's Challenge to liiHdcls to Defend Their Cause. Illustrated and Applied in a Sermon, delivered in IVest Springfield, May 4, 1797- being the day of the General Fast. Ry Joseph T.athrop. minister . . . Second Ed.. Cambridge. 1803. ■ Ibid., p. 4. 98 ^V£H^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [gg his providence, and hear human threatenings without emotion. But the dark omens are to be found at home. In our hearts, in our homes, in our practice, and in a Hcentious spirit disposed to break down civil and religious order. In affecting to depend on reason in the things of religion, more than the word of God; so as to reject all evangelical holiness, faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the ministrations of the spirit in the heart. In substituting anarchy and licentiousness, in the room of ra- tional and just liberty. In supposing that freedom consists in men's doing what is right in their own eyes; even though their eyes look through the mist of wicked ambition and lust. Here is our real danger, and these are the omens that augur ill to us.^ Far less subjective in its analysis was the sermon which the now celebrated minister of Medford, the Reverend David Osgood, preached not many days later, on the occa- sion of the national fast.^ Once more the eyes of his hear- ers were invited to contemplate the horrible spectacle abroad. It had now become certain that the legislators of France had abolished the Christian religion. Preposterous indeed was the idea of those who supposed that they were engaged in anything so beneficent as " stripping the whore of Baby- lon, pulling dow^n the man of sin, destroying popery,^ and * A Sermon, preached on the State Fast, April 6th, 1798. ... By Nathan Strong, pastor of the North Presbyterian Church in Hartford. Hart- ford, 1798, pp. 14 et seq. ^ Some Facts evincive of the Atheistical, Anarchical, and in other respects. Immoral Principles of the French Republicans, Stated in a sermon delivered on the gfh of May, 179S. ... By David Osgood . . . Boston, 1798. ^One of the curious results of the reflection of the American clergy on the significance of the French Revolution was a marked disposition to treat the Roman Catholic Church with unwonted sympathy and re- spect. Osgood's implied apology not infrequently received an unblush- ingly frank statement. Cf. for example, Nathan Strong's Connecticut Fast Day Sermon, cited above. y<^j FUIench gov- ernment." That these were not the pulpit utterances of men of pecu- liarly morbid dispositions, who stood apart from the main currents of thought and life in their day, would seem to be proved by the following instances of formal declarations issued by associations of churches. On the 17th of May. 1798, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, then in session in the city of Philadelphia, issued an address to the mem- bers of its various congregations scattered throughout the country, urging attention to the extraordinarily gloomy aspect of affairs. The situation was interpreted as follows : 1 This estimate of the case appealed to Osgood's mind and satisfied his fancy. A year later he was heard on the following subject: The Dei-il Let Loose: or The Wo occasioned to the Inhabitants of the Earth by Flis Wrathful Appearance among Them. For lurid rhetoric Osgood outdid himself on this occasion. " Not in France only, but in various other countries, is the devil let loose ; iniquity abounds ; un- clean spirits, like frogs in the houses and kneading-troughs of the Egyptians, have gone forth to the kings and rulers of the earth, . . . the armies of Gog and Magog are gathered together in open hostility against all unrighteousness, truth and goodness." ( The Devil Let Loose, etc. Illustrated in a Discourse, delivered on the Day of the \ational Fast, April 25, 179Q, Boston, 1799, pp. 13 ct seq.) 'Some Facts F.z-incive, etc.. pp. 13. 16 et seq. lOO ^E^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [loo The aspect of divine providence, and the extraordinary situ- ation of the world, at the present time, indicate that a solemn admonition, by the ministers of religion and other church offi- cers in General Assembly convened, has become our indis- pensable duty. When formidable innovations and convulsions in Europe threaten destruction to morals and religion ; when scenes of devastation and bloodshed, unexampled in the his- tory of modern nations, have convulsed the world; and when our own country is threatened with similar calamities, insen- sibility in us would be stupidity ; silence would be criminal. The watchmen on Zion's walls are bound by their commission to sound a general alarm, at the approach of danger. We therefore desire to direct your awakened attention, towards that bursting stream, which threatens to sweep before it the religious principles, institutions, and morals of our people. We are filled with a deep concern and an awful dread, whilst we announce it as our real conviction, that the eternal God has a controversy with our nation, and is about to visit us in his sore displeasure. A solemn crisis has arrived, in which we are called to the most serious contemplation of the moral causes which have produced it, and the measures which it be- comes us to pursue.^ x-Vs to the " moral causes " referred to, the address pro- ceeds to define them as " a general defection from God and corruption of the public principles and morals," the evi- dences whereof are such as a general dereliction of relig- ious principle and practice, a departure from the faith and simple purity of manners for which the fathers were re- markable, a visible and prevailing impiety, contempt for the laws and institutions of religion, and " an abounding in- fidelity." ' The same year, on May 31, the Congregational clergy of 1 Acts and Proceedings of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, May 17, 179S, pp. 11 et seq. ' Ibid. joij PURITA.\ STANDARDS AXD IXSTITUTIONS jqi Massachusetts, assembled in annual convention, " without a dissenting vote " adopted an address to their churches, wherein they expressed their deep sorrow and concern on account of " those atheistical, licentious and disorganizing principles which have been avowed and zealously propa- gated by the philosophers and politicians of France ; which have produced the greatest crimes and miseries in that im- happy countr}', and like a mortal pestilence are diffusing their baneful influence even to distant nations." ^ A year later the same body of clergy, again assembled in their an- nual convention, formulated and later published an address similar in tone, but strongly emphasizing the American aspects of the case. The growing disbelief and contempt of the Gospel are loudly lamented : the lack of exemplary piety and morality even among the members of churches, and the dissipation, irreligion. and licentiousness prevalent among the youth of the day, are accounted to be of so much weight as to constitute a national apostasy. " The voice of G(k1 to us in these events," continues the address, " is em- phatically this : Come out of the infidel, antichristian world. my people ; that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." ^ 'The \fdssiichusctts yfcrctiry ^ Boston), June 19. 179^'. contains the address in full. 'This address may be found in the Independent Chronicle of July 4, 1/99, and the Newbury port Herald of June 28, 1709. A further com- ment, of more than average significance, on the unparalleled degener- acy of the times may be found in the sermon preached by the Reverend William Harris, of Marblehead, Massachusetts, before the annual con- vention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, held in Boston, May 28. i/W- Lf. A Scninni (Irlk'crcd tit Trinity Church, in Hostoii. ... By William Harris, rector of St. Michael's Church, Marblehead. Boston. 17P9. A decade and a half later Lyman Beecher preached his famous sermon on " Building Waste Places." The impression which lingered in his mind concerning the period under survey is worthy of con- .«ideration After having discussed the unhappy condition of religious life in the churches of New England during the first half of the eigh- I02 ^'E^' ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [102 To a very considerable number of earnest lovers of re- ligion in New England and elsewhere throughout the nation, the century's sun seemed to be setting amid black and sullen clouds of the most ominous character. teenth century, he said : "A later cause of decline and desolation has been the insidious influence of infidel philosophy. The mystery of iniquity had in Europe been operating for a long time. The unclean spirits had commenced their mission to the kings of the earth to gather them together to the battle of the great day of God Almighty. But when that mighty convulsion [Foot-note: The French Revolution] took place, that a second-time burst open the bottomless pit, and spread darkness and dismay over Europe, every gale brought to our shores contagion and death. Thousands at once breathed the tainted air and felt the fever kindle in the brain. A paroxysm of moral madness and terrific innovation ensued. In the frenzy of perverted vision every foe appeared a friend, and every friend a foe. No maxims were deemed too wise to be abandoned, none too horrid to be adopted; no founda- tions too deep laid to be torn up, and no superstructure too venerable to be torn down, that another, such as in Europe they were building with bones and blood, might be built. . . . The polluted page of in- fidelity everywhere met the eye while its sneers and blasphemies as- sailed the ear. . . . The result was a brood of infidels, heretics, and profligates — a generation prepared to be carried about, as they have been, by every wind of doctrine, and to assail, as they have done, our most sacred institutions." Cf. Beecher, Autobiography, Correspond- ence, etc., vol. i, pp. 239, 240. CHAPTER II Political Entanglements and Hysteria I. the situation prior to 1798 Part\' history in New England, as elsewhere throughout the Union, began with the inauguration of the new govern- ment in 1789/ Such differences of opinion concerning matters of public policy as had previously existed were con- fined to unorganized groups whose leaders depended chiefly on the devotion of their personal following to mould pop- ular opinion. But the setting up of the Federal government and the fixing of national standards brought to light issues which challenged fundamental conceptions and interests, and a definite rift in public sentiment was not long in ap- pearing. By 1793 the main line of political cleavage was plainly visible. The Federalists, who stood for the impor- tance of a strong central government, found themselves con- fnwted with an organized opposition to which in time the terms Anti-Federalists. Republicans, and Democrats were applied." In 1793 the war between England and France came into American p(~)litics. providing issues for party controversy for years to come. The svTnpathies of the Federalists, who 'Robinson, Jcffcrsoniau Democracy in New England, p. i; Chan- ning. History of the United States, vol. iv, p. 150. ' The term ".Vnti-Federalist " was born out of the struggle which de- veloped over the adoption of the national constitution. The term " Re- publican " was one of the by-products of the discussion which arose in this country, from 1792 on. over French revolutionary ideals. Cf. John- ston, American Political History, pt. i, p. 207. 103] 103 1 04 ^EW ENGLAND AND BA VARIAN ILL UMINA TI [ 1 04 numbered in their ranks the conservative and aristocratic elements in the population, inclined strongly toward Eng- land ; whereas the sympathies of Republicans, who attracted to their standard the radicals of the qountry concerned in the democratization of government, were disposed with equal warmth toward France. The promulgation of the Neutrality Proclamation ^ of President Washington, April 22, 1793, seemed to settle the question of foreign alliances before the matter had become acute. On the whole, the response which New England gave to the President's proclamation was gratifying. Mes- sages of cordial approval came pouring in from many quar- ters." The majority of the people rejoiced in the course of prudence and foresight which the national government had been led to pursue. Still New England was not wholly satisfied. The senti- ments of all her people had not been served. An opposition of respectable proportions developed. The columns of the public press carried numerous articles " voicing varjous de- grees of hostility to the President's cause of neutrality and affording ample evidence that instead of solidifying the sentiments of the people on the subject of foreign alliances, the proclamation had the effect of widening the breach be- tween the political forces of the country. This aspect of the case was much aggravated by two important circumstances, one of which developed simul- taneously with the publication of the proclamation cA neu- trality, and the other came to light soon after. These two ^ American State Papers: Foreign Relations, vol. i, p. 140. * The issues of the Columbian Centinel for 1793 abound in addresses of this character. " Cf. for example, the issues of the Connecticut Courant for July 29, Aug. 5 and 26, 1793, and of the Independent Chronicle for May 7, 16 and 23, 1793. Cf. Channing, History of the United States, vol. iv, p. 128. I05] POLITICAL EXTANGLEMENTS AND HYSTERIA 105 circumstances were the coming of Genet and the rise of the Democratic Societies. In no part of the C(juntry was the news of the arrival of the French minister received with less suspicion than in New England.' Republican newspapers were, of ctjurse, loud in their exclamations of satisfaction over the Wi^rd that came out of the south concerning the arrival and subsequent activities of the amazing French diplomat, so young, so ardent, so eloquent, and so absurd. Editors of Federalist journals, while in no mood to be swept off their feet l)y the latest excitement of the hour, yet showed no disposition to cavil or express distrust. Such, however, were the exceptional performances of this altogether exceptional diplomat, who insisted on comport- ing himself more like a ruler of the people of this nation than an accredited representative to their government, that the day of revulsion and deep resentment could not long be postponed.* The stir created by the activities of Genet, great as it was, soon was swallowed up in the excitement produced by the sudden emergence of a new factor in American politics; z'ic, indigenous political organizations that were secret. Co- incident with the arrival of Genet, and with a view to capital- 'The Connecticut Courant of May 13, 1793, contains the hrst announce' ments of Genet's arrival which that paper made. Subsequent issues are fairly well occupied with accounts of Genet's arrival in Phila- delphia, the unconfined expressions of cordiality and heated enthusiasm which he encountered there, the congratulatory address which the citizens of that place presented him. Genet's response, etc. In the issue of August 12 mention is made of the Frenchman's arrival in New York. Thus far not the slightest trace of a suspecting attitude of mind is discoverable. -The issues of the Connecticut Courant for August lO and 26, and November 11, 1793, contain articles that admirably illustrate the rising temper of the New England Federalists as they contemplated Genet's absurdities and improprieties. Io6 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMIN ATI [io6 izing the state of public feeling that his arrival and reception brought to a head, there sprang up in various parts of the country a group of organizations devoted to the propagation of ultra-democratic ideals. These Democratic Societies, or Clubs, were destined to exert a degree of baneful influence upon political feeling out of all proportion to their actual number and weight/ Needless to say, the excited state of public feeling, together with the total unfamiliarity of Amer- ican citizens with political agencies of a secret character, were responsible for this result. The embarrassments under which the French cause in America momentarily suffered on account of reports concerning the multiplied atrocities of the Reign of Terror and the swelling tide of popular re- sentment because of the indiscretions of Minister Genet, might induce the judgment that the times were unpropitious for the development of organizations whose sympathy for the principles of the French Revolution was notorious.^ But there was another side to the situation. The heated public discussions provoked by Madison's Commercial Resolutions, Clarke's Non-Intercourse Resolution, and the appointment of John Jay as Minister Extraordinary to Great Britain, set free such a torrent of anti-British feeling that the spirit of republicanism lifted its head with renewed vigor and stim- ulated a public sentiment decidedly favorable to the rapid formation and spread of the new organizations. From the day that the first of these sinister Societies was established, ' Luetscher, in his Early Political Maxrhivery in the United States, p. S3, asserts that not more than twenty-four separate organizations of this character were formed within the two years which followed their first appearance. These were fairly well distributed throughout the Union. One was in Maine, one in Massachusetts (Boston), three in Vermont, two in New York, one in New Jersey, five in Pennsylvania, one in Delaware, one in Maryland, two in Virginia, one in North Carolina, four in South Carolina, and two in Kentucky. - McMaster, A History of the People of the United States, vol. ii, pp. 175 et seq. I07J POLITICAL ENTANGLEMENTS AND HYSTERIA 107 and its statement of principles blazoned f(;rth in a multitude of newspapers throughout the country.' the public mind found itself wrought upon by a new species of excitement, by suggestions of tricks and plots, by appeals to passion and unreasoning fear, all conspiring to inject into the national spirit an element (^f haunting suspicion irl>n^ which it was not soon to be cleared. The fact that at least five of these Democratic Societies were located in New England strongly suggests the imme- diate concern which the people of that section were bound to have because of these unexpected and ominous secret political associations.* The creation of the Boston Society became at once the occasion of virulent opposition and in- furiated comment. Organized in the late fall of 1793 ^ un- der the innocent title, the Constitutional Club, the principles and alliances of the organization became quickly known, with the result that the already agitated waters of local party feeling were disturbed beyond all previous experience. Citizens whose sympathies were fully with the conduct of affairs under the Federalist regime were quick to believe that henceforth they might expect to be threatened, brow-beaten, and checkmated in a ruthless and scandalous fashion because of the activities of this pernicious Club.* They anticipated ' Hazen, Coutcmf>orary .hiiericoii Opinion of the French Revo- lution, pp. 189 et seq. -Robinson, Jeffersonian Democracy in New Englaiui, p. 10. for significant comments upon the effect of the establishment of the Demo- cratic Societies on general political interest. The vote was appreciably increased and elections were more hotly contested on account of the emergence of the Clubs. Cf. also New England Magazine. January. 1890. p. 488. -Morse. The Federalist Party in Massachusetts, p. 75; IVolcotl Papers, vol. vii, 5, letter of Jedediah Morse to Oliver Wolcott. The Independent Chronicle of Jan. 16, 1794, contains the Rules and Regu- lations and the Declaration of this Society. * Massachusetts Mercury, Nov. 29. 1793. Cf. Works of Fisher Ames. vol. ii. pp. 146 et seq. Io8 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMIN ATI [io8 an amount of secret and dastardly political interference on the part of the Club, because of which the lives of their public officials would be filled with distraction and the minds of decent men aspiring to public office would be thrown into a state of disinclination and repugnance. Nor in this did they prove to be false prophets. News- paper innuendoes, sharp and poisonous as deadly arrows, were let fly with abandon; town meetings were disturbed and the opponents of democracy and French republicanism put to rout ; the public mind was so altered that Democrats who sought to deprive Federalists of their hold upon the " Boston Seat " in the legislature were completely success- ful in their efforts. In these and similar ways the citizens of Boston were given tangible proofs of how effective an instrument of political action such an organization as the Constitutional Club could be.'^ ' Jedediah Morse did not fail to observe the appearance of the Boston organization nor to divine its character and general scope of action. In a letter to Oliver Wolcott, Secretary of the Treasury, and Alorse's intimate friend, a letter written close to the date of the organization of the Constitutional Club. Morse wrote optimistically but seriously of the situation : " Charlestown, Dec. i6th, 1793 . . . The body of the people repose great confidence in the Wisdom of the President — of Congress, & of the heads of Departments. May they have Wisdom to direct them ! The President's speech meets with much approbation — It is worthy of himself — We have some grumhle- tonians among us — who, when the French are victorious, speak loud & saucy — but when they meet with a check — sing small. — They form a sort of political Thermometer, by whh we can pretty accurately deter- mine, what is, in their opinion, the state of French politics. — The French lause has no enemies here, — their conduct has many. — There are some who undistinguishly [sic] & unboundedly approve both — & most bit- terly denounce, as Aristocrats, all who do not think as they do. — This party, whh is not numerous — nor as respectable as it is numerous — are about forming a Democratic Club^ — whh I think they call " the Massts. Constitutional Society" — T don't know their design, but sup- pose they consider themselves as guardians of the Rights of Man — & 109] PO^^TICAL ENTANGLEMENTS AND HYSTERIA 109 The address which President Washington deUvered be- fore both houses of Congress, November 19, 1794, wherein he traced a causal connection between the Demcxratic Soci- eties and the W hiskey kebellion, characterizing the former as " self-created societies " which had " assumed a tone of condemnation " of measures adopted by the government, being actuated by *' a belief that, by a more fonnal concert " they would be able to defeat those measures/ proved to be a mortal blow to these secret organizations, and in New England, as elsewhere throughout the country, had conse- quences beyond the disappearance of the Clubs. Eagerly and with unconcealed joy, Federalist editors and orators seized upon the President's denunciation and turned it to immediate political account." A flood of condemnation and answering vituperation was instantly released. The cham- pions of Federalism were at pains to secure publication oT the discussions which took place in the national congress respecting the p^'ecise character of the response to be made to the President's address, with special reference to his con- demnation of the Democratic Clubs.'' They were at equal pains, also, to lay hold of the President's pregnant phrase, " self-created societies," and turn it to account : that phrase overseers of the President, Congress, & you gentlemen in the several principal departments of State — to sec that you don't infringe upon the Constitution. — They don't like, nor see through your borrowing so much money of Holland — They are very suspicious about all money matters .... Your friend. Jed** Morse." IVolcott Papers, vol. viii, 5. 1 Annals of Congress, vol. iv. p. 787. * The President's address was printed in full in leading New England journals. Cf. for example, Columbian Centinel, Nov. 29, 1794: fndr- pendcnt Chronicle, Dec. r, 1794; Connecticut Couranf. Dec. r, I794- ^Columbian Centinel, Dec. 6, 10. 1794: Connecticut Courant. Dec. 8, 24. I79.t. no NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [no should be regarded as a designation equally applicable to the odious Jacobin Clubs of France.^ Henceforth the whole democratic faction might reasonably be expected to work under cover " to unhinge the whole order of government, and introduce confusion, so that union, the constitution, the laws, public order and private right would be all the sport of violence or chance." ^ Mortified and discomfited Republican editors made such response as they could. The members of the Clubs were declared to be independent citizens who were acting within their rights in so banding together. They were " proceed- ing in the paths of patriotic virtue with a composure and dignity which become men engaged in such important and timely services " ; " whereas their opponents were men who hungered for the loaves and fishes of the government and who shared the secret fear that they would be discovered or have their plans deranged.* The continual harping of the Federalist press on the phrase " self-created societies " particularly touched the raw. Was not the Society of the Cincinnati self-created ? And are not many of the members of that organization war-worn sol- diers of the American Republic? In a state of society in which we see such veterans toiling for their daily susten- ance, while other men, enjoying the hard-earned property of the former, riot in all the luxuries of life, how can one but exclaim, O Tempora! O Mores! ^ The national congress, moreover, might well be expected to be engaged in much 1 Coluiiibiaii CcntincI, Dec. 13, 1794. ^ Ibid., Dec. 20. 1794. 3 Independent Chronicle, Sept. 18, 1794. Cf. also issues of this paper for Sept. I, 4, 8, and 15, Dec. 4, 8, and 15, 1794. ■♦ Ibid., Aug. 25, 1794. f* Ibid., Dec. 8, 1794. I J 1 J POLITICAL ENTANGLEMENTS ASD HVSTERJA i , , more serious and timely business than to be burdening its sessions with discussions respecting the affairs of private societies.* The hostile attitude that the Federahst clergy took toward the Democratic Societies gave special irritation to the editors of the Indcpnuicnt Chronicle. Because he ventured in his thanksgiving sermon of November 20 (1794) to denounce all Constitutional Societies, the rector of the Episcopal congregation in Boston was held up to ridicule in the columns of the Chronicle as a " ci-dcvant lawyer " and '* a certain Episcopalian ' thumper of the pulpit drum.' " whose pastoral care many of his substantial members had already renounced because of his injection of political discussion into the sacred sphere of the pulpit ; while others had given evi- dence of their disposition to follow the example of the more courageous members of the flock. " if virulence is to take the place of religion." - But the Reverend David Os- good, Bedford's " monk," on account of his more extended and violent treatment of the Democratic Societies in his thanksgiving day sermon,^ gave much deeper offence. That he should have represented these organizations as controlled by the same principles as the incendiar}- French Jacobin Clubs, and as set to watch the Federal government and plot its overthrow through the support of pernicious and invet- erate faction, was more than ardent democratic patriots could endure. " A Friend to the Clergy and an Enemy to Ecclesiastical Presumption," together with " A Friend of Decency and Free Inquiry," sought entrance to the willing columns of the Chronicle in order to express their contempt for " a Rev. gentleman " who could lend himself to the ' fudepciident Chronicle, Dec. 11, 1794. * Ibid., Nov. 27, 1794. * Cf. supra, pp. 89 et seq. 112 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [112 peddling of such illiberal sentiments and could show him- self capable of acting in a manner unbecoming the character of a Christian and a gentleman, and also in order to draw conclusions derogatory to his reputation as a scholar.^ The castigations of " Stentor " were not less caustic. The red- hot anathemas of the Reverend Parson Osgood, whining preacher of politics that he was, had no other effect than to singe and sear the reputation of their author. " On the Constitutional Society their influence has been as small as though they had been issued in the form of a Bull from the Chancery of the Pope." - Thus were protracted for a time the frantic efforts of Democratic editors and scribblers to repair the damage which " the clownish Bishop of Medford " ^ and his clerical confederates were supposed to have effected.^ But the main injury had by no means come from that quarter. Such was the veneration for the name and person of the great Wash- ington throughout New England that few men had the hardihood to launch their resentment and abuse against him ; yet it was his hand, and none other, that wrote the word Ichabod across the brow of these secret political asso- ^ C/. Independent Chronicle, Dec. 22, 25. and 29, 1794: Jan. 8 and 15, 1795- * Ibid., Jan. 12, 1795. ^Ibid., Jan. 15, 1795. *A more detached and better balanced judgment of the importance of the part played by the clergy in the suppression of the Democratic Societies is that recorded by William Bentley : " When I consider the rash zeal with which the clergy have embarked in the controversy re- specting Constitution &: Clubs, I could not help thinking of a place in this Town, called Curtis' folly. The good man attempting to descend a steep place, thought it best to take off one pair of his oxen & tackle them behind. But while the other cattle drove down hill, they drew the others down hill backwards & broke their necks. Had the French clergy continued with the people & meUorated their tempers they would have served them & the nobility." {Diary, vol. ii, p. 130.) J 13] POLITICAL ENTANGLEMENTS AND HYSTERIA 113 ciations. From the day that his address reproaching them was made, their doom was sealed. That doom might tarry for a season, hut it could not long be averted. The apolo- gists and defenders of these organizations which the presi- dential censure had made odious, might fiercely exert them- selves to show how innocent they were of the offences charged and how unimpaired in usefulness they remained after the thrust had been made. This was but whistling to keep up their courage. The prestige of the Societies had been effectually destroyed by the President's denunciation; in a surprisingly short time these ambitious and trouble- making organizations sank into desuetude and were lost to view. The deep impression they had made upon the j)ublic mind was, however, much less readily effaced. That impression resolved itself into a memor}' most unpleasant and disturb- ing. For us the significance of these organizations is found chiefly in the fact that, appearing at a time when the twf> great opposing political parties were developing, and having vehemently espoused the cause of France in a rabidly demo- cratic spirit, they consequently added enormously to the passion and the suspicion of the day. To the Federalists they were dangerous intruders, groups of unprincipled dem- agogues organized for unpatriotic purposes, working in the dark, ashamed to stoop at nothing in the way of duplicity and subterfuge, of deception and intrigue, if by any means the vicious designs of their hearts could be furthered. Thus they not only helped to make the strife of parties vitupera- tive and bitter ; in addition they made familiar to the thought of a great body of citizens in America the idea that the in- trigues of secret organizations must needs be reckoned with as one of the constant perils of the times. Henceforth it would be easier to fill the public mind with uneasiness and gloomy forebodings on account of the supposed presence of 114 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [114 hidden hostile forces working beneath the surface of the nation's Hfe. Should inexperienced and unsuspecting souls profess their incredulity, the appeal to the example of the Democratic Societies might be expected to go far toAvard dissolving all indifference and trusting unconcern/ ^ That a certain depth of impression was made upon the mind of Jedediah Morse by the agitation that developed over these secret or- ganizations will appear from the following letter which he wrote to Oliver Wolcott, late in 1794. It is quite true that the letter shows no trace of apprehension as respects the future; but the man's interest had been keenly solicited and the future was to have suggestions and ap- peals of its own. My dear Sir: " Charlestown, Dec. 17th, 1794 I take the liberty to enclose you Mr. Osgood's Thanksgiving sermon, with whh I think you will be pleased. It will evince that the sentiments of the clerg>' this way (for so far as 1 am acquainted he (Mr. Osgood) speaks the sentiments of nine out of ten of the clergy) agree with those of the President, Senate, & house of Representatives, in respect to the Self-created Societies. The Thanksgiving sermons in Boston & its vicinity, with only two or three exceptions, all breathed the same spirit — though their manner was not so particular & pointed as Mr. Osgood's. His sermon is now the general topic of conversation — it has grievously offended the Jacobins. — Poor fellows ! they seem to be attacked on all sides. They must I think feel it to be a truth — that " there is no peace for the wicked." — They still make a noise — but it is like the groans of despair. I could wish, if you think it proper, that the sermon might, in a suitable way, be put into the hands of our most worthy President. with this remark accompanying it, that the clergy in this Commonwealth generally approve of the same sentiments. I wish it because it may possibly add to his satisfaction — & will certainly to our honor in his view .... Your friend, Jed^i Morse. To Oliver Wolcott, Comptroller of the U. S. Treas^. Philadelphia, Pa." Wolcott Papers, vol. viii. 9. The explicit proof that the mind of this man, whose personality is of large importance for the purpose in hand, received permanent impressions from the activities of the Demo- cratic Societies, on account of which he found it not difficult to con- 112] POLITICAL ENTANGLEMENTS AND HYSTERIA 1 1 - To trace in detail the increasingly bitter party strife in New England would not only call for the canvassing of material already well known, but would lead us far afield from the special object of this investigation. Only the main features of the case need to be noted. The temporary check the Demcx:rats suffered on account of the suppression of the secret political clubs was soon re- moved by the wave of anti-British sentiment that swept the country upon the publication of the treaty which John Jay negotiated between Great Britain and the I'nited States, late in the autumn of 1794.' The truth is, nothing less than a howl of rage went up from the throats of the people of the United States, and the voices of the men of New England were by no means lost in the chorus." Nothing that could have been said to inflame ceive of like secret combinations a few years later, is found in his references to the political clubs in his Fast Day sermon of May 9, 1798, p. 24. Cf. also " Note F"," p. 67, of his Thanksgiving Sermon of Nov. 29, 1798. ' An interesting coincidence aj)pears in this connection. The treaty was actually concluded on the very day that President Washington made his address dealing with the uprising in western Pennsylvania (November 19, 1794). It was not submitted to the Senate, however, until June 8 of the following year. On June 24, 1795, it was recom- mended by that body for ratification, with a special reservation as to the twelfth article. Cf. Macdonald, Docionoilary Source Book of A)neri- can History, p. 244. The promulgation of the treaty came later, as will appear. For comment on the popular resentment which the pub- lic announcement of the provisions of the treaty stirred up, cf. Mc- Master, A History of the People of the United States, vol. ii, pp. 212 et seq. For contemporary newspaper reports of the situation, cf. the Independent Chronicle, July 9, 13, 16, 23 and 27, 1795. For per- tinent observations by Jedediah Morse regarding the apprehensions which the vehement popular disapproval of the treaty awakened in his mind, cf. ll'olcott Papers, vol. viii, 11. ' William Rentley, whose Democratic leanings must not be overlooked, delivered himself in characteristic fashion: "The public indignation is roused, & the papers begin to talk of lost liberties. . . . The Secrecy 1 1 6 NEW ENGLAND AND BA VARIAN ILLUMINA TI [ 1 1 6 the blind and passionate anger of the people was omitted. The United States, it was asserted, had been resolved back into the colonies of Great Britain.' The Senate had bar- gained away the blood-bought privileges of the people for less than the proverbial mess of pottage. It had signed the death-warrant of the country's trade and entailed beggary on its inhabitants and their posterity forever.^ Tlie people's cause had been most perfidiously betrayed. Tlie trading class, whose pecuniary interests would be jeopardized if England were to be left free to prey upon our commerce, especially if the way should remain open for the two coun- tries to drift into actual war, might show itself disposed to make a choice of the lesser of two evils and accept the treaty; but the great mass of the people were indignantly hostile, it must be added, to the point of unreason." The promulgation of the treaty by Washington, February 29, 1796, as the law of the land, had the effect of bringing to a close a period of agitation which deeply affected the national life.* For one thing, the violence of party spirit under which this business has been covered has served to exasperate the public mind, upon the discovery. . . . The bells tolled on the 4 of July instead of ringing, & a mournful silence prevailed through the City. In this Tovv^n the men who hold securities under the govern- ment are sufficiently influential against the disquiets & angry expressions of more dependent people." (.Diary, vol. ii, p. 146.) 1 Independent Chronicle, July 16, 1795. 2 Cf. reprint of the handbill circulated at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the Independent Chronicle of July 20, 1795. 2 Cf. extracts from the speech of Fisher Ames in the House of Representatives, April 28, 1796. Quoted by Channing, History of the United States, vol. iv, pp. 145 et seq. 4 As a matter of fact, as far as Congress was concerned, the dis- cussion over the treaty was continued for some time to come, because of the measures that were necessary to be taken to put the treaty into effect. Cf. Bassett, The Federalist System, p. 134. The country, how- ever, showed a disposition to accept the treaty as inevitable when the President's signature was finally affixed. 117] POLITICAL ENTANGLEMENTS AND IIYSTERL^ i 17 had been so augmented that henceforth there were to be no limits to which men would not go in the expression of their antipathies and prejudices. Even the great Washington had not been able to escape the venom of the tongue of the partisan in the c<.)ntroversy which had raged over the treaty.^ A condition of the public mind which not only permitted but supported the burning in efhgy of its public servants; which consented to brutal campaigns of newspaper calum- niation, so unrestrained and indecent that the reader looks back upon them with shame; to the circulation of incendiary handbills and scurrilous pamphlets ; to participation in law- less gatherings in which riotous utterances of the most vio- lent character were freely made and disgraceful actions taken * — this could not possibly make for a wholesome dis- cipline of the passions of the people.^ ^ McMaster, A History of the People of the United States, vol. ii, pp. 248 et seq. Cf. Works of Fisher Ames, vol. i, p. 161. - Morse, The Federalist Party in Massachusetts, pp. 153 et seq. 3 Travelers from abroad who were in the country at this time re- marked the extreme virulence of public and private discussion. De La Rochefoucault-Liancourt, Travels through the United States of North America, vol. ii, pp. 231 et seq. Cf. ibid., pp. 75 et seq., 256, 359, 381; vol. iii, pp. 23, 33 et seq., 74 et seq., 156, 163 et seq., 250, 274, 366 et seq. Cf. Weld, Travels through the States of North America . . . during the years 1795, 1796, and 1797, p. 62. Writing specifically of the excited state of the public mind in February, 1796, the latter observer of our national life said: " It is scarcely possible for a dozen Americans to sit together without quarrelling about politics, and the British treaty, which had just been ratified, now gave rise to a long and acrimonious debate. The farmers were of one opinion, and gabbled away for a long time: the lawyers and the judge were of another, and in turns they rose to answer their opponents with all the power of rhetoric they possessed. Neither party could say anything to change the sentiments of the other one; the noisy contest lasted till late at night, when getting heartily tired they withdrew, not to their respective chambers, but to the general one that held five or six beds, and in which they laid down in pairs. Here the conversation was again re- vived, and pursued with as nuich noise as below, till at la<;t sleep closed Il8 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [ng For another thing, the spirit of devotion to the cause of France had been greatly refreshed and quickened by the agitation over the treaty. From the moment that informa- tion concerning the nature of the treaty began to circulate, the cry of " British faction " was taken up by the Demo- crats and used with telling effect. That the treaty was an infamous instrument arranged for no other purpose than to injure the French cause was generally believed.^ From beginning to end, Democrats could find nothing in the treaty which had not been directly inspired by hostility to France. Apart from the damage that would ensue to Amer- ican commerce, the treaty would work for the elevation of monarchical and the undoing of republican principles.^ Once again George the Third had become the master of the citizens of America, and thus the great accomplishments of the American Revolution had been made to count for nought. British gold had succeeded in effecting the betrayal of the republican cause in this country, and thus had worked itself into a strategic position where it could more easily their eyes, and happily their mouths at the same time. ..." {Ibid., pp. 58 et seq.) Such unfavorable reflections are not to be dismissed as representing prejudiced views of the case. A habit of intolerance toward political opponents and of all men who shared contrary opinions, had become one of the characteristics of the times. The agitation over the treaty went far toward fixing this habit. The Alien and Sedition Acts, which came a little later, were the result of an unrestrained free- dom of discussion scarcely more perceptible when they were passed in 1798 than at the time of the heat produced by the treaty. 1 Gibbs, Memoirs of the Administrations of Washington and John Adams, vol. i, p. 226, Oliver Ellsworth's letter to Oliver Wolcott. Ellsworth reports that the "argument and explanation [of the treaty], that ' 'tis a damned thing made to plague the French,' has by repetition, lost its power." This could have been true only in a local sense. 2 Cf. McMaster, A History of the People of the United States, vol. ii, pp. 227 et seq., for an ample discussion of this view of the situation. ligj POLITICAL ENTANGLEMENTS AND HYSTElilA uq Strangle the life out of the spirit of republicanism in Europe, now so sorely beset in France.^ One other by-product of the agitation that arose over tlu- treaty has been dwelt upon at length in another connection, but it should be adverted to briefly here. It was inevitable that a discussion so vital, so heated, and so protracted as that of which wc have just been taking account, should draw into it those guardians of morals and mentors (^f public spirit in New England, the Federalist cler_g}^- The disturb- ance of the public mind over the treaty had been marked by two features full of grave import in the clerical view : vic- ious attacks upon the officers and measures of the existing government, and a reinvigorated crying-up of I-'rench polit- ical and religious notions. ' That this fierce indictment of " British faction " and appeal to re- l)ublican sentiment was by no means without practical effect, is shown in the result of the general election of 1796. The outcome of that election gave ground for great encouragement to the Democrats ; for while their hero and idol. Thomas Jefferson, was not summoned to the presidency, none the less, to the deep chagrin of the Federalists. his opponent, John Adams, received his commission to succeed Wash- ington on the basis of a majority in the electoral college of only three votes. There could be no question that a spirit of confident and un- daunted republicanism was abroad in the land, and the good ship Federalism was destined to encounter foul weather. The state contest held in Massachusetts that same year was even more ominous. After a campaign marked by great vigor on the part of the Federalists, in an effort to rally popular support to their candidate. Increase Sumner, it developed that Samuel Adams, whose enemies had stressed the charge that he desired to enjoy a life tenure of the gubernatorial office, was reelected by a handsome Democratic majority of 5,000 votes. Cf. Morse, The Federalist Party itt Massachusetts, p. 161. Jedediah Morse showed himself to be a fairly astute prognosticator in connection with this election. He is found writing Wolcott, in October, 1705. to the effect that he is conscious of the fact that a severe storm is brewing. It is his conviction that the storm has been gathering for some time and is now about to burst forth. " Disorganizers " have been behind the opposition to the treaty. They have worked subterraneanly, trying to keep opposition alive. Cf. JVolcott Papers, vol. viii, 14. 2 Cf. supra, p. 93. I20 ^EW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [120 The offices of government were all, or nearly all, in the hands of Federalists. This being the case, their occupants were doomed to be the chief targets of resentment and villi- fication by men who found such a measure of government as Jay's Treaty obnoxious in the extreme. But if officers of government were to be pilloried in the stocks of public slan- der and abuse, how then was the government itself to com- mand the respect and obedience of its citizens? The Fed- eralist clergy of New England saw the pathway of duty shining clear : they must hold up the hands of government at any hazard. Hence it happened that the outcry against "political preaching" grew rapidly in volume from 1795 on.^ As for the renewed zeal of the Democrats in the interests of French revolutionary ideals, that found a special point of interest and concern for the Federalist clergy in the promi- nence which the rapid growth of republicanism secured for Thomas Jefferson. An ardent friend of the French Revo- lution, a lover of French philosophy, the enemy of religious * As early as the winter of 1795 William Bentley made the disgusted comment : " The Clergy are now the Tools of the Federalists." Diary, vol. ii. p. 129. Commencing with the participation of the clergy in the discussion over the treaty, Democrat newspapers like the Inde- pendent Chron'ulc began to administer mild rebukes to the clergy for the unwisdom of their conduct in favoring the British. Cf. the issue of the Chronicle for July 20, 1795, for one of the earliest utterances of this sort. The spirit of resentment grew apace. Three years later this spirit of moderation had been fully discarded, and the clergy were being lashed unmercifully for their folly. For typical outbursts of this character, cf. the Independent Chronicle of Dec. 3, 1798. Jedediah Morse paid tribute to the political concern and service of the clergy in a letter to Wolcott, written Dec. 23, 1796: "Very few of yc Clergy of my acquaintance seem disposed to pray for the success of the French, since they have so insidiously and wickedly interferred in the management of our political affairs, & I apprehend the complexion of the thanksgiving sermons throughout N Engd. this year, are different from those of the last, in respect to this particular. I can speak of more than one with authority." {Wolcott Papers, vol. viii, 20.) 1 2 1 ] POLITICAL ENTANGLEMENTS AND HYSTERIA i _> i intolerance, in personal faith a deist — were not these sutti- cicnt to damn the man as an unbeliever and an atheist in the eyes of New England clergymen, to whom the faintest breath of rationalism was al)horrent and the very notion of toleration suspect? Accordingly the Xew England clergy launched a fierce attack upon him as the arch-apostle of the cause of irreligion and free-thought.^ In language carefully guarded, his name usually being omitted. Jefferson was pointed <7ut as the leader of the hosts of infidelity whose object was the extermination of the institutions of religion and the inauguration of an era wherein every man should think and do that which was right in his own eyes." 1 Morse, The Federalist Party in Massachusetts, p. 121. ' Pamphleteers and newspaper writers were much more explicit. The Pretensions of Thomas Jefferson to the Presidency Examined: and the Charges against John Adams Refuted, was one of the well known political pamphlets of the day. According to Gibbs, in his Memoirs of tlic Administrations of Washington and Jolin Adams, vol. it p. .379. it was prepared by Oliver Wolcott and William Smith, the latter of South Carolina. It marshalled the reasons why Jefferson should not be elected to the presidency. Among these " reasons " the charge of a close alliance between Jefferson and the men of the country who were notoriously interested in the cause of irreligion was boldly affirmed. Cf. page 36 et seq. This pamphlet was pub- lished in 1796. Later the charge of impiety was lodged against Jefferson with great frequency. Typical utterances of this nature may be found in the Library of American lAicraturc, vol. iv, pp. 249-251 : "The Imported French Philosophy" (from "The Lay Preacher" of Joseph Dennic). This disquisition was much quoted in the news- papers of the day. From the position that the leaders of the Demo- crats were irreligious, it was easy for the Federalists to glide over to the position that the spirit of infidelity, believed to be spreading far and wide through the country, was consciously and deliberately backed by the restless and unscrupulous elements which, in the view of the Federalists, formed the opposition. The Connecticut Courant of Janu- uary ig, 1795. reflects this attitude. "The blench", it is asserted, "are mad in their pursuit of every phantom which disordered intellects can image. Having set themselves free from all human control, they would gladly scale the rampart'* of heaven, and dethrone ALMIGHTY 122 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMIN ATI [122 2. THE SITUATION FROM 1 798 TO 180O Very few of the events in our national affairs which link together the history of the last decade of the eighteenth century are significant for our purpose. Having sought to discover the chief occasions for the apprehension and dis- tress which weighed upon the minds of the citizens of New England, we may now proceed to focus attention exclusively upon the last three years of the century, within which de- veloped that special disturbance of the public mind with which we are primarily concerned. And first let it be said, we are approaching a period of as intense strain and nervous excitability as this nation in all its history has known. When Thomas Jefferson, in No- vember, 1796, wrote Edward Rutledge of his deep personal JEHOVAH. Our own Democrats would do just so, if they dare." Cf. also the issue of the Cottrant for January 5, the same year, for a characterization of the program of the Democrats as " a crazy system of Anti-Christian politics." The offence given to the Demo- crats by such accusations was great. No man, perhaps, stated the stinging resentment which they felt better than Benjamin Franklin Bache in his Aurora of August 15, 1798: "No part of the perfidy of the faction, the insidious monarchical faction, which dishonors our country, and endangers our future peace, is so bare faced as their perpetual railing about a party acting in concert with France — a party of democrats and Jacobins — a party of disorganizers and atheists — a party inimical to our independence ! What is the plain intent of these impudent and ignorant railings? It is to impose upon the ignorant, to collect and concentre in our focus all the vice, pride, superstition, avarice, and ambition in the United States, in order to weigh down by the union of such a phalanx of iniquity, all that is virtuous and free in the nation." Abraham Bishop, whose repudiation of the Federalist charge that Jefferson was to be the High Priest of Infidelity was par- ticularly vehement, saw in this cry that an alliance had been made between the forces of democracy and the forces of infidelity, the evidences of a shameless hypocrisy that stripped its makers of all right to be styled Christians. The cry that infidelity abounded meant nothing more nor less than that new electioneering methods were being employed. Oration Delivered in IVallingford on the nth of March, 1801 ... by Abraham Bishop, pp. 36, ^,7. 123] i'^^'lTlCAL ENTANGLEMENTS AND HYSTERIA 123 satisfaction that he had escaped the presidency, he may have been inlluenced by unworthy but certainly not l)y imag- inary constraints. " The newspapers," so his letter runs. *' will permit me to plant my corn. peas. &c., in hills or drills as I please . . . while our Eastern friend will be struggling with the storm which is gathering over us; per- haps be shipwrecked in it. This is certainly not a moment to covet the helm." ' Never has a defeated candidate for the presidency had more solid grounds for the justification of his fears, or shall we say, his hopes? The severe strain of domestic strife was about to be enormously augmented by a series of untoward and alarming events in the field of foreign relations, certain of which must receive our partic- ular attention. The complete change in the character of the relations be- tween the Ignited States and France is for us a matter of the first importance. The publication of the treaty nego- tiated between the United States and Great Britain by Jay produced definitive results as respects the attitude of France. With some reason that instrument was interpreted as inim- ical to the interests of the latter country, and the govern- ment and people of this nation were not long left in doubt of the fact.- By the employment toward her former ally of a 1 The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, vol. vii, pp. 93 et seq. Iti similar strain. Jefferson wrote Adams a day later, offering his best wishes for his administration, but with the thought of the impending " storm " still well fixed in his mind. Cf. ibid., pp. 95 ct seq. Cf. Jefferson's letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, ibid., pp. 113 et seq. ^ The following clause in the treaty seemed to afford ample protec- tion to the rights of France: "Nothing in this treaty contained shall, however, be construed or operate contrary to former and existing public treaties with other sovereigns or states." ( United States Statutes at Large, vol. viii, p. 128: Article XXV of the treaty. ) But France was unable to blind her eyes to the practical consideration that her Euro- pean enemy, Great Britain, and an .American government, suspicious of if not positively antagonistic to French influence, were to be the inter- preters of the treaty. 124 ^^^^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [124 policy of coercion, of which two chief instruments were the destruction of American commerce upon the high seas and the overbearing and insolent conduct of diplomatic negotia- tions, France speedily addressed herself to the task of at- tempting to gain by pressure what she conceived she had lost in the way of prestige and material advantage. The result was, to the discomfiture and disgrace of the Democrats in particular and to the alarm of the country in general, that the United States was made aware of the fact that its gov- ernment was being driven into a comer from which, as far as a human mind could foresee, the only avenue of honor- able escape would be recourse to arms. The damage which American commerce sustained at the hands of French privateers is rendered appreciable when the following circumstances are taken into account. Within the year following the publication of the extraordinary decrees against the commerce of neutral nations, which the French Directory promulgated, beginning with June, 1796, some- thing over three hundred American vessels had been cap- tured. The crippling blow to American commerce was by no means the sole consideration in the case. In numerous instances the crews of captured vessels were treated in such an outrageous and brutal manner as to inflame and gall the American spirit beyond endurance. On account of abuses which American shipping and commerce had suffered pre- viously, by virtue of methods adopted by England and France to gain control of the seas, the strain imposed upon the nation had been severe; but now that a sweeping and utterly ruthless policy of commerce-destruction had been in- augurated by the French, forbearance was no longer pos- sible. In his maiden speech in the national congress, Har- rison Gray Otis, Massachusetts' gifted young representative, put the case with dramatic eloquence : If any man doubted of the pernicious measures of the French 125] POLITICAL ENTANGLEMENTS AND HYSTERIA 125 nation, and of tlie actual state of our commerce, let him inquire of the ruined and unfortunate merchant, harassed with prose- cutions on account of re\enue, whicli he so long and patiently toiled to support. If any doubted of its effects upon agricul- ture, let him in(iuire of the farmer whose produce is falling and will be exposed to perish in his barns. \\ here . . . are your sailors? Listen to the passing gale of the ocean, and you will hear their groans issuing from French prison-ships.^ It was not to be expected that a deeply injured pcDple. to whose just sense of wrong and indignation the youthful Federalist orator had given such exact expression, could long be restrained from acts of reprisal and war. To the sense of injustice was added the burden of fear. The idea began to take possession of the minds of leaders of thought in America that France had darker and more terrible purposes in her councils than the blighting of Amer- ican commerce in retaliation for the treaty-alliance which had recently been concluded with Great Britain ; she sought zvar, war which would supply to her the opportunity to visit upon this nation the same overw-helming disasters which her armies had heaped upon the nations of Europe. The {•"rench. it was believed, were busy with .schemes for employ- ing the world in their favor and were drunk with the vision of universal dominion." The true explanation of French violence and arrogance w-as to be sought in her aims at uni- versal empire.^ Her ravenous appetite could not be satis- fied; she had resolved to make of the United States another ' Annals of Congress, vol. vii, p. 103. ^Gibbs, Memoirs of the Administrations of IVashington and John Adams, vol. i, p. 416, letter of Uriah Tracy to Oliver Wolcott. 3 Works of Fisher Ames. vol. i, pp. 232 et seq.. .\mcs' letter to Timothy Pickering. 126 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMIN ATI [126 mouthful.^ What reason had the citizens of this country to claim exemption from the general deluge ? Having fast- ened the chains of slavery upon nation after nation in Europe, the generals of France were now planning fresh triumphs; with our armies of the Mississippi and Ohio, of the Chesapeake and Delaware, her forces would contest the held on American soil."^ Had not her geographers already partitioned the country according to the new system of gov- ernment which would here be imposed ? " Did not her agents and spies fill the land, constantly exerting themselves to thwart the purposes of the American government and to render fruitless its policies of administration ? * Such fears may not be brushed aside as silly and chimer- ical, in view of the steady stream of information which came across the Atlantic, announcing the downfall of one nation after another as the result of French intrigue and the prowess of French arms." Besides, there was probably not 1 Cf. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, vol. vii, pp. 127 et seq., letter of Jefferson to Thomas Pinckney. Even Jefferson's steadfast faith and loyalty to France was tnomentarily put to rout. ^ Cf. Morison, The Life and Letters of Harrison Gray Otis, vol. i, p. 69, letter of Otis to Gen. William Heath. This letter was published in full in the Massachusetts Mercury of April 17, 1798. 2 Morison, The Life and Letters of Harrison Gray Otis, vol. i. p. 69. * The Works of John Adams, vol. viii, pp. 615, 620. President Adams was fully persuaded that French notions of domination " com- prehended all America, both north and south". (Ibid.) Cf. also Annals of Congress, vol. vii, p. 1147, speech of Otis on Foreign Intercourse; American Historical Association Report for i8<)6, p. 807, Higginson's letter to Pickering. ^ One of the pamphlets of the day, frequently referred to, much quoted in the newspapers, and evidently much read, bore the horrific title: The Cannibals' Progress; or the Dreadful Horrors of French In- vasion, as displayed by the Republican Officers and Soldiers, in their Perfidy, rapacity, ferociousness & brutality, exercised towards the In- nocent inhabitants of Germany. Translated from the German, by An- 127] POLITICAL ENTANGLEMENTS AND HYSTERIA 127 a solitary Federalist leader in the United States who did not thoiiy Anfrer(e), Esq. . . . The Connecticut Courant, in announcing a new edition of this work as just ofY the press, offered the following description of its character : " This work contains a circumstantial ac- count of the excesses committed by the French Army in Suabia. At the present moment, when our country is in danger of being overrun by the same nation, our people ought to be prepare bery, burning of towns, and the violation of female chastity, in forms too dreadful to relate, in instances too numerous to be counted, arc among them. Five thousand copies of this work were sold in Phila- delphia in a few days, and another edition of ten thousand is now in the press in that city." Cf. the issue of the Courant for July 2, 1798. Another book of horrors which deserves mention in this connection, although it came to public attention in America a little later, was the following: The History of the Destruction of tlie Helvetic Union and Liberty. By J. Mallet Du Pan. This work was first printed in Eng- land in 1798, and the following March was reprinted in Boston. A sen- tence or two taken from the author's preface will convey a fair notion of its nature: "In the Helvetic History, every Government may read its own destiny, and learn its duty. If there be yet one that Hatters itself that its existence is reconcilable with that of the French Republic, let it study this dreadful monument of their friendship. Here every man may see how much weight treaties, alliances, benefactions, rights of neutrality, and even submission itself, retain in the scales of that Directory, who hunt justice from the earth, and whose sanguinary rapacity seeks plunder and spreads ruin ahke on the Nile as on the Rhine, in Republican Congresses as well as in the heart of Monarchies." Like The Cannibals' Progress, this work was much quoted in the news- papers and caught the sympathetic eye of many clergymen, Jedediah Morse among the number. July 29, 1799, Chauncey Goodrich, of Hart- ford, Connecticut, wrote Oliver Wolcott to the effect that " the facts . . . in Du Pan, Robinson, Barruel, have got into every farm house ; they wont go out. till the stories of the indian tomahawk & war dances around their prisoners do." (IVolcott Papers, vol. v, 77.) Nathaniel Ames did not think highly of the veracity of The Cannibals' Progress, yet he paid tribute to its influence in the following fashion: "July 31. 1798. Judge Metcalf with his cockade on came down to see Gen. Wash- ington expecting to get a Commission to fight the French & infatuated 128 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMIN ATI [128 believe that French ministers and agents were in secret league with influential representatives of the Democratic party. The bullying treatment which the French Directory ac- corded the ministers and envoys of this nation added much to the heat as well as to the dark suspicions which character- ized public feeling in America. A government which boldly assumed to treat with impudent indifference and coldness one accredited minister of the United States, while at the same time it lavished the most extravagant expressions of friendship upon another whose disappointed executive had reluctantly summoned him home/ was obviously pursuing a course so high-handed and insolent as to stir the last dor- mant impulse of national honor. But the hot flame of public indignation which burst forth in this country when it be- came known that its Minister Plenipotentiary. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. after months of painful embarrass- ment and hazard, marked by neglect, evasions, and threats of arrest, was returning home, defeated in purpose, was as nothing to the lava-like stream of infuriated anger which swept through the land when it became known how treach- erously the three envoys of the national government, Pinckney, Marshall, and Gerry, had been used. By common consent the publication of the X.Y.Z. de- spatches, early in April, 1798, put the top sheaf upon a long series of intolerable actions which this nation had suffered at the hands of the government of France. Like a flash it was made clear that not mere whimsicality and offended at the slanders of the Progress of the Cannibals that the French skin Americans to make boots for their Army, &c." {Dedham Historical Register, vol. ix: Diary of Ames, p. 24.) 1 Channing, History of the United States, vol. iv, pp. 176 et seq., gives a brief but entertaining account of the political jockeying on the part of our government which lay back of Monroe's recall and the despatch of Pinckney to France. 129] POLITICAL EXTANGLEMESTS AX D UYSTEIUA 129 hauteur were at the bottom of the unsatisfactory deahngs which our ministers had had with the French : we had sent our ambassadors to negotiate with men who knew how to add bribery to threats. Though the government of France might seek to save its face on the pretext that the mysterious French emissaries had acted without proper warrant, yet back of the negotiators was Talleyrand, and back of Talley- rand the Directory. The revulsion of feeling in the United States was complete. All innocent delusions were shattered ; all veils torn away. What the French government desired in its negotiations was not political sympathy, not commer- cial cooperation, not a fraternal alliance between two sister republics in order that the flame of liberty might not perish from the earth ; what it desired was money — money for the pockets of the Directory and its tools, " for the purpose of making the customary distribution in diplomatic affairs,'' money for the public treasury that the Directory might find itself in a position to give a '' .softening turn " to certain irritating statements of which President Adams had de- livered himself in his message to the Fifth Congress.' The passion for war with France became the one passion of the hour. Only abandoned men, men whose desire for " disorganization " was the one yearning of their hearts, were unresponsive to the spirit of militant patriotism which swayed the people's will : -' such at least was the confident 1 Gibbs, Memoirs of the Administrations of Washington and John Adams, vol. ii, pp. 15 et seq. Cf. McMaster, History of the Peof^le of the United States, vol. ii, pp. 368 et seq. - Cf. JVorks of Fisher Ames. vol. i. p. 225. letter of Ames to H. G. Otis. Ames' comment on the discomfiture of the Democrats was char- acteristically vigorous: "The late communications [i. e., the X. Y. Z. despatches] have only smothered their rage; it is now a coal-pit, lately it was an open fire. Thachor would say, the effect of the despatches is only like a sermon in hell to awaken conscience in those whose day of probation is over, to sharpen pangs which cannot be soothed by hope." 130 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [13Q and boastful view of Federalist leaders, and for once they were able to gauge accurately the depth and power of the currents of popular sympathy. That hour had passed when men could say, as Jefferson had but a brief day before President Adams turned over to Congress the astounding despatches, " The scales of peace & war are very nearly in equilibrio." ^ The heavy weight of the despatches had sent the bowl of war to the bottom with a resounding thud. So it seemed at the moment; and yet, though there has seldom been an hour in our national history when all purely factional counsels were more effectually hushed and when the war fever mounted higher, an amazing period of uncer- tainty and of conflicting impulses and passions immediately set in. Addresses and memorials to the President came pouring in, pledging to the government the full confidence of its citizens and unswerving loyalty and support. Volunteer military companies sprang into existence in every quarter over night. War vessels were purchased, or their construc- tion provided for, by public subscription and presented to the government. The white cockade, new emblem of an aroused public spirit, generally appeared. The fierce slogan, " MilHons for defence, but not one cent for tribute!" and the tuneful strains of " Hail Columbia " and " Adams and Liberty " went ringing through the land. Within a brief period of little more than three months, Congress passed no less than twenty acts for the strengthening of the national defence.* * The IVritings of Thomas Jefferson, vol. vii, p. 228, Jefferson's letter to Edmund Pendleton. - The elation of Jedediah Morse over the turn affairs seemed to be taking was great. Under date of May 21, 1798, he wrote Wolcott, dilating on " the wonderful and happy change in the public mind. Op- position is shrinking into its proper insignificance, stripped of the sup- port of its deluded honest friends. I now feel it is an honour to be an American." {Wolcott Papers, vol. viii, 23.) 131] POLITICAL EN TAN CLEMEN TS A ND H YSTERIA j 3 1 This was one side of the matter; there was another, as events soon made clear. The President, it appeared, was not at une with the more ardent leaders in his own political camp, whose resolution for war was unbounded ; he ex- hibited an attitude of indifference to the whole notion of open war with France that became increasingly manifest as the weeks went by. The IVesident would temporize; he would try to avoid the crisis by sending new commissioners to I'rance to reestablish friendly relations. Against such a policy many of his advisers protested furiously. Besides, the problem of supplying the army with leaders who should serve with Washington had resulted in an unseemly struggle as to whether this or that patriot should stand next to the great hero of Mount Vernon. The President's policy of conciliation took on the appearance of shameless procras- tination ; ' the imbroglios of the Federalist leaders aroused ' Jedcdiah Morse was far from comfortable over the unwillingness of the President to proceed with vigor in handling affairs with PVance. .\n ill-concealed vein of impatience is discoverable in the following letter which he wrote to Wolcott, under date of July 13, 1798: "He [Washington] will unite all honest men among us. It gladdens the hearts of some at least, to my knowledge, of our deluded, warm demo- crats. They say, ' Washington is a good man — an American, & we will rally round his standard ! ' . . . The rising & unexpected spread of the American spirit has dispelled all gloom from my mind, respecting our country. I rejoyce at the crisis, because I believe, the issue will be, the extinction of French inUuence among us, & if this can be effected, treasure & even blood, will not be spilt in vain. — The government is strengthening every day, by the confidence and assertions of the people. — We are waiting with almost impatience to liaz-c zi'ar declared agt. France, that we may distinguish more decidedly between friends & foes among ourselves. I believe there is energy enough in government to silence, & if necessary exterminate its obstinate & dangerous enemies." {IVolcott Papers, vol. viii, 27.) Eleven months later Morse expressed to Wolcott his grave fears on account of the disposition of the national government to reciprocate the " pacific overtures of the French govt." (JVoUott Papers, vol. viii, 24.) It is not French arms, but their "principles" which he holds in dread. (Cf. ibid.) Back of the fire-eating spirit of this New England clergyman was a genuine moral and religious concern. 132 A^-Sr-F ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [132 public suspicion, and invited to the garnished hearth the spirits of confusion and clamor. Those evil spirits, however, which most effectively co- operated to make the last state worse than the first came as the result of the extraordinarily stupid and blundering measures which the Federalists adopted to curb the activities of resident aliens and the abuse of free speech. Beginning with the Naturalization Act of June 18, 1798, there fol- lowed in quick succession three otlier repressive measures, the Act Concerning Aliens of June 25, the Act Respecting Alien Enemies of July 6, and the Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes against the United States (the Sedition Act) of July 14.^ The purpose of these famous acts has 1 The texts of these various acts may be found in United States Statutes at Large, vol. i, pp. 566-569, 570-572, 577-578, 596-597. The Naturalization Act extended from five to nineteen years the period of residence neces- sary for aliens who wished to become naturalized ; that is to say, four- teen years of residence, to be followed by an additional five years of residence after the declaration of intention to become a citizen had been filed. It is obvious that this measure was intended to defeat the process by which the Democrats had been absorbing the foreign vote. The Act Concerning Aliens empowered the President " to order all such aliens as he should judge dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States, or should have reasonable grounds to suspect were con- cerned in any treasonable or secret machinations against the govern- ment thereof, to depart out of the territory of the United States within such a time as should be expressed in such order." Penalties in the form of heavy imprisonment and the withdrawal of the opportunity to become citizens were attached. The Act Respecting Ahen Enemies gave the president power when the country was in a state of war to cause the subjects of the nation at war with the United States "to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as alien enemies." The Sedition Act, not only in point of time but in sinister significance as well, stood at the apex of this body of legislation. It provided that fines and imprisonments were to be imposed upon men who were found guilty of unlawfully combining or conspiring for opposition to measures of government, or for impeding the operation of any law in the United States, or for intimidating an officer in the performance of his duty. The penalty was to be a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, and 133] POLITICAL ENTANGLEMENTS AND HYSTERL4 133 already been indicated ; the impulse out of which they grew is not so easily determined. Was it that the heads of the national government really anticipated danger on account of the presence of a multitude of foreigners and the unlicensed freedom of action and public utterance which thus far had been allowed? ' Was it that the memory of mc^rc than four years of biting satire and vicious calumny which the oi)po- sition had visited upon the heads of Federalist leaders had filled the latter with longings for revenge? Or was it that, conscious of their undisputed control of national affairs and carried away by the sense of their power, the Federalist leaders proposed to show how strong and effective a cen- tralized government could become? No single alternative, doubtless, suggests the full truth. Xo matter; the effect imprisonment not exceeding five years. Penalties were also provided for publishing false, scandalous, and malicious v^rritings against the gov- ernment. * At the time the country numbered among its population a very large number of aliens. French refugees from the West Indies, to the num- ber of perhaps 25,000, were here. Cf. Report of the American Histor- ical Association for 1912: " The Enforcement of the Alien and Sedi- tion Laws," by F. M. Anderson, p. n6. England, also, had her quota of citizens here, not a few of whom were fugitives from justice, and some of whom, like William Cobbett and J. Thomson Callender (^/. McMastcr, History of the People of the United States, vol. ii, p. 338), either drew the tire of the advocates of French principles or busied themselves in the affairs of government on this side of the ocean. The amount of scurrilous abuse, aimed at the heads of govern- ment, which issued from the public press had become appalling. No innuendoes were too indelicate, no personalities too coarse, no slanders too malicious, no epithets too vile to be of service in the general cam- paign of villification. The prostitution of the public press in America has never been more abject than it was at the close of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. (Duniway, T!ic Development of Freedom of the Press in Massachusetts, pp. 143, 144.) Unfortunately, Federalists compromised their position and scandalized their cause by writing as scurrilous and libelous articles as their ene- mies; but the agencies of administration were in their hands, and, as the Democrats charged, their offences were not noticed. 134 NEIV ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [134 which these measures produced is, with us, the main point, and to that we turn. No milder word than maddening will adequately describe the effect of these measures. All the old wounds were opened, all the old antipathies aggravated. Editors and pamphleteers, statesmen and demagogues, tore at each others' throats as they had never done before and have never done since. A veritable " reign of terror " filled the land.^ Insult and violence were everywhere. Mobs tore down liberty-poles which Federalist hands had erected and put in their place other poles bearing symbols of defiance to "British faction" and tyrannous Federal government; or the action was reversed, with Federalist mobs tearing down the standards of the opposition. White cockades were snatched from the hats of men who supported the government, and once more the black cockade blossomed forth. Toasts were drunk over tavern bars and on public occasions to the con- fusion of the British Eagle or the Gallic Cock ; to the health and prosperity of the Federal government or to the downfall of tyrants; to the alien and sedition laws, with the fervent wish that " like the sword of Eden [the}^] may point every- where to guard our country against intrigue from without and faction from within " ; - or to " freedom of speech, trial by jury, and liberty of the press," " according as the adherents of one faction or the other were assembled for patriotic or convivial purposes. Raucous and ribald out- breaks of party feeling burst out in the theaters to the in- terruption of performances, the confusion of performers, 1 Morison, Tlie Life and Letters of Harrison Gray Otis, vol. i, pp. T06 ct seq. Morison's treatment of this tempestuous period is char- acterized by keen discrimination and fine balance. It is one of the most satisfying as well as one of the most vivid accounts of the situation to be found. -Connecticut Courant, July 8, 1799. ^ Independent Chronicle, Dec. 3, 1798. 135] POLITICAL ENTANGLEMENTS AND II YSTERIA j 3 - and the breaking of not a few heads. Such was the Hghter and more kidicrous aspect of affairs. But beneath this effervescence honest and whole-heartetl antagonism to the odious legislation surged in countless breasts. In the power of an anger which scorned all friv- olous and tawdry action, men declared their deep and irre- vocable opposition to such measures of government. That respectable and well-meaning aliens, from lack either of in- clination or opportunity to become citizens, should be ex- pelled from the country, or remaining here should become the targets of suspicion and the victims of political oppres- sion ; that opposition to government must henceforth wear a muzzle, with a heavy bludgeon meanwhile held menacingly over its head; that the damage done by favored partisan scribblers was not to be repaired by answering opponents : and all this under the guise of laws which, whatever their intention, operated to the enormous disadvantage of one of the two great political l)odies of the day — these were things not to be endured by men to whom liberty was the very breath of life. The actual amount of personal injury inflicted by the operation of the alien and sedition laws was not enormous, though certainly not negligible. A considerable body of aliens fled the country, either during the period when the alien laws were pending or immediately after they went into effect.' Probably something more than a score of in- dividuals were arrested under the sedition law, less than half of whom were compelled to stand trial." But once ^ Rcfort of the American Historical Association for igu: " Tlie Enforcement of the Alien and Sedition Laws," by F. M. Anderson, pp. 115 et seq. Cf. The Writings of Thomas Jeiferson, vol. vii, pp. 256 ct seq., 262, letters of T^Ionroe to Jefferson. 'Anderson, who appears to have made a painstaking examination of the available records, states his conclusions thus : " I have made a special effort to discover everj' possible instance and to avoid confus- 136 ^ElV ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [136 again popular judgment was based upon qualitative rather than quantitative grounds. The popular sense of personal liberty had been outraged by these acts/ The Federalist leaders by their precipitate and inconsiderate action had very much overshot the mark and were about to bring their house tumbling down about their heads. As for the oppo- sition, those of its leaders whose highest political interest was party advantage lived to bless the day when, blinded by hysteria or lust of power, the Federalist party made the alien and sedition acts the law of the land. Six months after these unsavory measures were passed, discerning Democrats were able to rejoice that this body of legislation was operating as a powerful sedative to quiet the inflamma- tion which that '' God-send " to the Federalists, the X.Y.Z. despatches, had incited." By their own blunder in party strategy the Federalists had alienated the sympathies of the people and given to the ground-swell of republican principles a tremendous impetus which carried them to a speedy triumph. Once again our special interest must be allowed to center ing Federal and State cases. There appears to have been about 24 or 25 persons arrested. At least 15, and probably several more, w^ere in- dicted. Only 10, or possibly 11, cases came to trial. In lO the accused were pronounced guilty. The eleventh case may have been an acquittal, but the report of it is entirely unconfirmed." (Report of the American Historical Association for 1912, p. 120. Cf. Bassett, The Federalist System, p. 264.) An important phase of the judicial aspects of the situa- tion, as respects the forming of public opinion, was the widespread publication in the newspapers of the charges made to grand juries by Federal judges who exerted themselves to defend the alien and sedition laws, and whose utterances received caustic criticism at the hands of Democrat writers. 1 Duniway, The Development of Freedom of the Press in Massa- chusetts, pp. 145, 146. - The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, vol, vii, pp. 331 et seq., Jefferson's letter to Elbridge Gerry. 137] POLITICAL ENTANGLEMENTS A\L) HYSTERIA ,37 upon a secondary element in the situation. /'. ('., tlie over- wrought tension of nerves because of which the most fan- tastic and unHkely of happenings seemed wholly within the circle of reason and probability. The circumstances which have just been considered were, in the main, upon the sur- face. As such they were capable of being evaluated and weighed. But who was to say that they were not attended by subterranean influences and designs? Affairs everv- where, be it remembered, were moving with incredible swiftness. In every ([uarter the licleaguered forces of con- servatism found themselves surrounded and hemmed in by radical elements which manifested a spirit of militancy and a resolute will to conquer. With the European situation to lend strong emphasis to the suggestion of sinister tendencies and secret coml)inations, it cannot ht thought cxtraijrdinary that here in America, where traditional opinions and insti- tutions were as certainly being undermined, the conviction should take root that beneath all this commotion over for- eign and domestic policies secret forces must be at work, perfecting organizations, promoting conspiracies, and ready at any hour to leap forth into the light to throttle govern- ment and order. There is, of course, no desire to make it appear that ap- prehensions concerning hidden designs and movements were generally shared by the citizens of the United States. There was then, as there has always been, a very large body of citizens whose faith in the stability and high destiny of the nation made them inmiune to such fears ; calm and philo- sophic souls who were equally unmoved by the rant of the demagogue or the distracted mood of the self-deceived alarmist. Their sympathy for and their faith in the demo- cratic tendencies of the age inhibited every impulse to de- spair. But there were also other men, as has been the case in every deeply agitated generation, who were fully per- 138 ^^'^^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [138 suaded that they were able to catch deeper tones than their neighbors, to whom the gift had been given to read the signs of tlie times more accurately than their fellows. For them the conclusion was inescapable that no postulate which did not leave room for secret combinations was adequate to explain the peculiar cast of events in the United States at the end of the eighteenth century. To dismiss the case of such men with the casual judgment that they were tempera- mentally susceptible to such impressions, is to rule out of account the extraordinary character of the age to which they belonged. Apropos of this observation, the two fol- lowing items are deserving of notice. Some time previous to the celebration of the national fast of 1798, three anonymous letters were flung into President Adams' house, announcing a plot to bum the cit}^ of Philadelphia on the day of the approaching fast. Convinced that the matter was of moment, the President made the contents of the letters publicly known. As a re- sult, many people of the city packed their most valuable be- longings and prepared to make a quick departure in the event that the threats made should come to fulfilment.^ Was this a mere " artifice to agitate the popular mind," the work of " war men " who were restless and impatient for an im- mediate declaration of hostilities against France? Quite possibly. Such, at least, was the private opinion of Thomas Jefferson.- But who was to knozvF The true lay of the land was not easily to be discovered in the midst of an age when, in the language of a contemporary, " all the passions of the human heart are in a ferment, and every- rational ' The report of this episode may be found in the Connecticut Courant of May 14, 1798. Cf. The JVritings of Thomas Jefferson, vol. vii, pp. 252 et seq., Jefferson's letter to Madison. '' Ibid. 1^9] POLITICAL EXTAXGLEMENTS AXD HYSTERIA lyj being from the throne to the cottage is agitated by the pic- turesque circumstances of the day. " ^ Alexander Hamilton left among his manuscripts certain comments which he had made upon the character and im- port of the I'Vench Revolution. Before we turn to consider the European Illuminati and the outcry against its alleged presence in the United States, we may, by perusing this document, throw a little added light upon the gnawings of anxiet}- and fear which were felt at the time by very rational gentlemen in America. Facts, numerous and unequivocal, demonstrate that the pres- ent AERA is among the most extraordinary which have oc- curred in the history of human affairs. Opinions, for a long time, have been gradually gaining ground, which threaten the foundations of religion, morality and society. An attack was first made upon the Christian revelation, for which natural re- ligion was offered as a substitute. The Gospel was to be dis- carded as a gross imposture, but the being and attributes of God, the obligations of piety, even the doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments, were to be retained and cherished. In proportion as success has appeared to attend the plan, a bolder project has been unfolded. The very existence of a Deity has been questioned and in some instances denied. The duty of piety has been ridiculed, the perishable nature of man asserted, and his hopes bounded to the short span of his earthly state. DEATH has been proclaimed an ETERNAL SLEEP; " the dogma of the immortality of the soul a cheat, in- ^ An Aiiszvcr to Alexander Hainiltou's Letter, Conccrniitg the Public Conduct and Character of John Adams. Esq., President of the United States, New York, 1800. p. 3. In this connection it may be noted that as ardent and hopeful a Democrat as Nathaniel Ames seriously con- templated the outbreak of civil war in the United States as the result of the tense party situation near the end of 179^- Cf. Dedham Histor- ical Register, Diary of Ames, vol. ix, p. 6^. I40 '^'EW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [140 vented to torment the living for the benefit of the dead." Irre- ligion, no longer confined to the closets of conceited sophists, nor to the haunts of wealthy riot, has more or less displayed its hideous front among all classes. . . . A league has at length been cemented between the apostles and disciples of irreligion and anarchy. Religion and govern- ment have both been stigmatized as abuses; as unwarrantable restraints upon the freedom of man ; as causes of the corrup- tion of his nature, intrinsically good ; as sources of an artificial and false morality which tyrannically robs him of the enjoy- ments for which his passions fit him, and as clogs upon his progress to the perfection for which he is destined. . . . The practical development of this pernicious system has been seen in France. It has served as an engine to subvert all her ancient institutions, civil and religious, with all the checks that served to mitigate the rigor of authority; it has hurried her headlong through a rapid succession of dreadful revolu- tions, which have laid waste property, made havoc among the arts, overthrown cities, desolated provinces, unpeopled regions, crimsoned her soil with blood, and deluged it in crime, poverty, and wretchedness ; and all this as yet for no better purpose than to erect on the ruins of former things a despotism unlimited and uncontrolled ; leaving to a deluded, an abused, a plun- dered, a scourged, and an oppressed people, not even the shadow of liberty to console them for a long train of substan- tial misfortunes, or bitter suffering. This horrid system seemed awhile to threaten the subversion of civilized society and the introduction of general disorder among mankind. And though the frightful evils which have been its first and only fruits have given a check to its progress, it is to be feared that the poison has spread too widely and penetrated too deeply to be as yet eradicated. Its activity has indeed been suspended, but the elements remain, concocting for new eruptions as occasion shall permit. It is greatly to be apprehended that mankind is not near the end of the mis- fortunes which it is calculated to produce, and that it still I4ij POLITICAL EXTANGLEMENTS AND HYSTERIA i^i portends a long train of convulsion, revolution, carnage, de- vastation, and misery. Symptoms of the too great prevalence of this system in the United States are alarmingly visible. It was by its in- fluence that eliforts were made to embark this country in a common cause with France in the early period of the present war; to induce our government to sanction and promote her odious principles and views with the blood and treasure of our citizens. It is by its influence that every succeeding re- volution has been approved or excused ; all the horrors that have been committed justified or extenuated ; that even the last usurpation, which contradicts all the ostensible principles of the Revolution, has been regarded with complacency, and the despotic constitution engendered by it slyly held up as a model not unworthy of our imitation. In the progress of this system, impiety and infidelity have advanced with gigantic strides. Prodigious crimes hereto- fore unknown among us are seen ^ ' The Works of Alexander Hamilton, vol. vii, pp. Z7A-277'. Fragment on the French Revolution. The Fragment is undated. It could not have been written later than 1804, of course. There arc some shght traces that it was compiled at the time the excitement over the Illu- minati was prevalent in America. CHAPTER III The European Order of the Illuminati I. the rise and the disappearance of the order That great European movement in the direction of the secularization of thought to which the expressive term, the Aufkldrung or Enhghtenment, has been appHed, and which reached its apogee in the latter half of the eighteenth cen- tury, encountered a stubborn opposition in southern Ger- many in the electorate of Bavaria. The pivot of Bavarian politics, particularly from the beginning of the sixteenth century, had been the alliance which had been effected be- tween the clerical party and the civil power. The counter reformation which followed in the wake of the Lutheran movement was able to claim the field in Bavaria without the necessity of a combat. In the third quarter of the eighteenth century Bavaria was a land where sacerdotalism reigned supreme. Religious houses flourished in abundance; the number of priests and nuns was incredibly large. ^ So easy were the ways of life in that fertile country that a lack of seriousness and inten- sity of feeling among the masses flung open the door for 1 Forestier, Les Illumines de Bavicre et la Franc-Magonnerie alle- mande, p. 103. This author, upon whose recent painstaking re- searches much reliance is placed in this chapter, relates that one trav- eler who was in Bavaria at this time, found 28,000 churches and chapels, with pious foundations representing a total value of 60,000,000 florins. Munich, a city of 40,000 inhabitants, had no less than 17 con- vents. When a papal bull, issued in 1798, authorized the elector to dis- pose of the seventh part of the goods of the clergy, the Bavarian gov- ernment, in executing the pope's directions, deducted 25,000,000 florins, and it was remarked that this amount did not equal the sum which had been agreed upon. Cf. ibid., pp. 103 et seq. 142 [142 143] ^^^ EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILIUM IS ATI [_^t^ superstitious practices which made the popular reHgion little better than gross fetichism. So-called "miraculous" images were commonly paraded through the streets; innumerable statues and sacred relics were exposed to the gaze of crowds of the faithful; the patronage of the saints was assiduously solicited. Among the educated there was a widespread con- viction that the piety of the people was ignorant and that their trustful attitude made them the prey of many im- postors. The degree of power to which the representatives of the Society of Jesus had been able to attain in Bavaria was all but absolute.^ Members of the order were the confessors and preceptors of the electors; hence they had a direct in- fluence upon the policies of government. The censorship of religion had fallen into their eager hands, to the extent that some of the parishes even were compelled to recognize their authority and power. To exterminate all Protestant influence and to render the Catholic establishment com- plete, they had taken possession of the instruments of public education. It was by Jesuits that the majority of the Bavarian colleges were founded, and by them they were controlled. By them also the secondary schools of the countr}' were conducted." The prevailing type of education in Bavaria had little more to commend it than the popular type of religion.' ' Forcstier, o/j. cit., p. io8: "Dans aucun pays du monde.si Ton excepte Ic Paraguay, les fils de Loyola n'avaient obtenu une victoire plus complete, ni conquis une autorite plus grande." Cf. Mounier, De I'iiiHuence attribuce aux Phihsoplies aux fraiic-iiiacoiis et aux illumines siir la rez'olutioii de France, p. 189. -Ibid., pp. 109, 100. Duhr, B., Gcschichtc dcr Jcsuitcn in den Liindcrn detitscher Zunge im 16, Jahrhundert, Freiburg, 1907, discusses the earlier development. The work of F. J. Lipowsky, Gcschichte dcr jcsuiten in Baicru, Miinchen, 1816, 2 vols., is antiquated and is little more than a chronicle. 3 Engel, Gcschichtc dcs Illnminatcn-Ordcns, p. 29. 144 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [144 The pedagogical aim of the Jesuits was the development of the memory with scant regard for other faculties of the mind. To learn the catechism, or in the case of advanced pupils to receive unquestioningly the dogmatic instruction offered by clerical pedagogues, was the ideal honored throughout the Bavarian schools. Books which bore the slightest taint of Protestant influence, or which in any other way gave evidence of a liberalizing spirit, were ruthlessly banned.^ Such were the conditions of life under which the great mass of the people lived. There was, however, a relatively small group of cultivated people in Bavaria who, despite the clerical oppression and bigotry from which they suf- fered, had contrived to share in the liberalizing spirit of the larger world. The censorship exerted by the Jesuits had found no adequate means to guard against the broadening influences of travel or of contact with travelers from other lands, or even to prevent the introduction of all contraband journals and books. The effect of the former had been to create a humiliating and galling sense of inferiority on the part of liberal-minded Bavarians," while the latter had served to stimulate a thirst for the new knowledge which the rationalism of the age made available. To this small group of discontented and ambitious spirits the ancient faith had ceased to be satisfactory, and the burden of cler- icalism had become insufferable. The University of Ingolstadt, established in 1472, was destined to become a rallying point for these radical tenden- cies. In the middle of the sixteenth century the Jesuits had ^ The suppression of the Jesuits by Pope Clement XIV, in 1773, did not greatly diminish the influence and power of the order in Bavaria, Refusing to accept defeat, the new intrigues to which they gave them- selves inspired in their enemies a new sense of their cohesion, with the result that they appeared even more formidable than before their suppression. - Forestier, op. cit., pp. 105 et seq. I^-] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE II.LL'MINATI 145 gained control of its faculties of philosophy and theology, and for two centuries thereafter the university had been counted upon as the chief fortress of clericalism in Bava- ria/ By the middle of the eighteenth century the deaden- ing effect of the rigorous censorship exerted by the Jesuits had produced its full fruitage at Ingolstadt. The university had fallen into a state of profound decadence.' With the accession of Maximilian Joseph " as elector, in 1745, the breath of a new life soon stirred within its walls. For the position of curator of the university the elector named a well-known and resolute radical of the day. Tiaron Johann Adam Ickstatt, and charged him with the respon- sibility of reorganizing the institution upon a more liberal basis.* Measures were adopted promptly by the latter look- ing to the restoration of the prestige of the university through the modernization of its life. The ban was lifted from books whose admission to the library had long been prohibited, chairs of public law and political economy were established, and recruits to the faculty were sought in other universities. ° ^ Forcstier, op. cit., p. 19. - Ibid., p. 18. Cf. l*"ngel, of>. cit., pp. 19. 28, 2(j. * In the person of Maximilian Joseph, Bavaria found an elector whose •earlier devotion to liberal policies gave promise of fundamental reforms. Agriculture and manufactures were encouraged; judicial reforms were undertaken; the despotism of the clergy was resisted. The founding of the Academy of Science at Municli. in 1759. represented a definite response to the spirit of the Aufkldrung. However, the elector was not at all minded to break with the Catholic faith. All efforts to in- troduce Protestant ideas into the country were \-igorously opposed by the government. In the end the elector's program of reform mis- carried. At the time of his death, in 1777 (the date given by Forcstier. p. 106, is incorrect; cf. Allgcmeine Deutsche Biographie, vol. xxi. p. 30; also Brockhaus. Konversations-Lexikon. vol. xi, p. 683.), the absolute power of the clergy remained unshattered. •♦ Forestier, op. cit., p. 107. ' -As a result of this effort, George Weishaupt, father of Adam, came to the University of Ingolstadt as professor of imperial institutions and criminal law. 146 ^^f^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [146 It was, of course, not to be expected that the clerical party, whose power in the university, as has been intimated, was particularly well entrenched in the faculties of phil- osophy and theology, would retire from the field without a struggle/ A sharp contest arose over the introduction of non-Catholic books, into which the elector himself was drawn, and which in addition to the substantial victory that Ickstatt won, had the further effect of aligning the two parties in the university squarely against each other.^ It was only a few years after this episode, when the Jesuits were still chafing under the sharp setback which their poli- cies had suffered, that the name of Adam Weishaupt first appeared (in 1772) on the roll of the faculty of the uni- versity as professor extraordinary of law. Weishaupt (born February 6, 1748; died November 18. 1830) entered upon his professional career at Ingolstadt after an educational experience which had made him a pas- sionate enemy of clericalism. His father having died when the son was only seven, his godfather, none other than Baron Ickstatt, compelled doubtless by the necessities of the case, had turned the early training of the boy over to the Jesuits. The cramming process through which he thus passed was destined to prove unusually baneful in his case ' on account of certain influences which penetrated his life from another quarter. Accorded free range in the private library of his godfather, the boy's questioning spirit was deeply impressed by the brilliant though pretentious works of the French " philosophers " with which the shelves were plentifully stocked.* Here was food for the fires of imagination just beginning to flame up in this unsophisti- 1 Engel, op. cit., pp. 19 et seq. - Forestier, op. cit., pp. 19 et seq. Cf. Engel, op. cit., pp. 20 et seq. 2 Ibid., pp. 22 et seq. ■* Forestier, op. cit., pp. 16 et seq. 1^7] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMLWATI 147 cated and pedantic youth. Here, also, -.vere ready solvents for the doubts with which his experience with Jesuit teach- ers had filled his mtnd. The enthusiasm of the most sus- ceptible of neophytes seized him : he would make prose- lytes, he would deliver others from their bondage to out- worn beliefs, he would make it his duty to rescue men from the errors into which the race had long been plunged.' His object in life thus early determined, he threw himself with great zeal into the study of law, economics, politics, history, and philosophy. He devoured every book which chanced to fall into his hands." After graduating from the University of Ingolstadt in 1768, he served for four years in the capacity of tutor and catechist until his elevation to the rank of assistant instructor took place. The favor he was permitted to enjoy as the protege of Ickstatt ^ brought him more rapid advancement than that to which his native abilities entitled him. In 1773 he was called to the chair of canon law. which for a period of ninety years had been held by representatives of the Jesuits.* Two years later, when he was but twenty-seven years of age, he was made dean of the faculty of law. Such a rapid improvement in his professional standing proved far from salutary. The young man's vanity was immensely flattered and his reforming resolution unduly encouraged. His sense of personal worth as the leader of the liberal cause in the university quite outran his merit. "^ 1 Forestier, o/>. cit., p. 18. 2 Ibid. ' Ickstatt withdrew from direct participation in the affairs of the University of Ingolstadt in 1765, but he continued to exercise a con- trolHng influence over the policies of the institution for some time to come. The son of one of his former pupils, Lori, a man of liberal notions, was later chosen co-director of the institution, and with him Weishaupt made common cause in his campaign against the Jesuits. * Forestier, of^. cit., p. 21. Cf. Engel, o/). cit., p. 33. ' No clearer illustration of Weishaupt's lack of nobility is needed 1 48 A'5 ^^ ENGL A ND A ND BA J 'A RIA N ILL UMINA TI [ 1 48 Meantime the Jesuits, observing with deep resentment Weishaupt's meteoric rise/ together with a growing dispo- sition on his part to voice unrestrained criticism of eccle- siastical intolerance and bigotry, entered into intrigues to checkmate his influence and undermine his position." The payment of his salary was protested and the notion that he was a dangerous free-thinker industriously disseminated.^ On his part, Weishaupt did not scruple to furnish Ickstatt's successor, Lori, with secret reports calculated to put the Jesuit professors in the university in an unfavorable light.* A disagreeable squabble resulted, marked on the one hand by clerical jealousy and pettiness and on the other by Weis- haupt's imprudence of speech ^ and indifference to consid- erations of professional honor. The effect of this unseemly strife upon Weishaupt was to establish firmly in his mind the conviction that as the university's most influential leader against the cause of ecclesiastical obscurantism he was being made a martyr for free speech.*"' In no way disposed to be sacrificed to the animosity of enemies whose power he greatly over- estimated, he arrived at the conclusion that a general offen- sive against the clerical party ought immediately to be than his treatment of his protector and patron, Ickstatt. Owing to a marriage which he had contracted in 1773 against the wishes of Ickstatt, a decided chill came over the relations between the two men. All con- siderations of gratitude were carelessly tossed aside by Weishaupt. Later, in utter disregard of the anticlericalism of his benefactor, Weis- haupt entered into an intrigue with the Jesuit professor Stadler, to obtain a coveted ecclesiastical position for the latter. Ickstatt, hearing of this, renounced Weishaupt as an ingrate. Forestier, op. cit., pp. 22 et seq. 1 Engel, op. cit., p. 3i- 2 Forestier, op. cit., p. 21. 3 Ibid. Cf. Engel, op. jrit., p. 32. * Ibid., p. 22. 3 Ibid; p. 25. « Ibid. I 149] '^^^^ EUROPEAN ORDER OP THE ILLUMIXATI l^^J undertaken. A secret association was needed which, grow- ing mure and more powerful through the increase of its members and their progress in enhghtenment, should be able to outwit the manceuvres of the enemies of reason not only in Ingolstadt but throughout the world. Only by a secret coalition of the friends of liberal thought and progress could the forces of superstition and error be overwhelmed. Over the scheme of such an association con- secrated to the cause of truth and reason, the self-esteem of Weishaupt kindled anew as he contemplated none other than himself at its head.^ ' The motives wliich led Weishaupt to consider the formation of a secret organization of the general character indicated were not all of a kind. In part they were creditable, in part discreditable. That he had a genuine interest in the cause of liberalism and progress, born largely of the personal discomfort and injury he had experienced at the hands of intolerance and bigotry, there can be no honest doubt. But a thirst for power was also a fundamental element in his nature. The despotic character of the order which he attempted to build up is in itself a sufficient proof of this. Besides, the cast of his personal affairs at the time the organization was launched smacks loudly of the man's over-weening vanitj"^ and yearning for personal conquest. His break with Ickstatt had been followed by a breach between him and Lori on account of the constant recriminations in which Weishaupt engaged against his enemies in the university. The secret alliance he had formed with the Jesuit Stadler likewise soon dissolved. His com- plaints because of alleged infringements of his freedom of speech as a teacher were vehement. His interference in university affairs outside the proper sphere of his authority was frequent and involved him in numerous acrimonious verbal battles. (Engel seeks to relieve Weis- haupt of part of the odium of these charges by shifting somewhat of the burden to other shoulders. (C/. Geschichte des Illumiiwteu- Ordens, pp. 29-54.) His partiality is, however, sufficiently accounted for by the fact that at the time his work was published, he was the head of the revived Order of the Illuminati. Cf. op. cit., p. 467; cf. Religion in Geschichte und Ccgcnwart. vol. iii : article, " Illuminaten "). Yet none of these experiences brought home to the mind of Weishaupt that he was to blame. As to the matter of motive, Forestier's com- ment is much to the point: "Ainsi le hardi confesseur de la verite .se trouvait seul a luttcr visiere Icvce contre la tourbe des bigots. Une I^O NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMIN ATI [150 His imagination having taken heat from his reflections upon the attractive power of the Eleusinian mysteries and the influence exerted by the secret cult of the Pythagoreans, it was first in Weishaupt's thought to seek in the Masonic institutions of the day the opportunity he coveted for the propagation of his views. From this original intention, however, he was soon diverted, in part because of the diffi- culty he experienced in commanding sufficient funds to gain admission to a lodge of Masons, in part because his study of such Masonic books as came into his hands persuaded him that the " mysteries " of Freemasonry were too puerile and too readily accessible to the general public to make them worth while/ He deemed it necessary', therefore, to launch out on independent lines. He would form a model secret organization, comprising " schools of wisdom," concealed from the gaze of the world behind walls of seclusion and mystery, wherein those truths which the folly and egotism of the priests banned from the public chairs of education might be taught with perfect freedom to susceptible youths.- volonte moins bien trempee aurait laisse sombrer dans une resignation inerte ou dans la manie de la persecution ce modeste professeur d'une Universite sans prestige, perdu dans un coin de la Baviere, mal paye, mal vu de la majorite de ses coUegues, mal note par le Curateur, surveille, soup^onne par tous ceux que scandalisait le radicalisme de ses opinions. Mais I'ame de Weishaupt disposait de deux puissants ressorts: la soif du proselytisme et la volonte de puissance." {Op. cit., pp. 25 et scq.) The view adopted by Kluckhohn is not essentially dif- ferent: " Rachsucht, Ehrgeiz, Herrschbegier mischten sich in ihm mit dem Drange, grosses zu wirken und ein Woltater der Menschheit zu werden." (Herzog-Plitt, Real-Encyklopddie. fitr protestaiitische Theo- logie und Kirche, 2. Aufl., vol. vi, Leipzig, 1880: article, " Illuminaten," p. 699.) 1 Forestier, op. cit., p. 28. Weishaupt readily detected the disparate character of current Freemasonry, and for a brief time he v^^as en- thusiastic over the project of developing a rarified type of Masonry to which only men of superior talents should be admitted. For the reasons given, the idea was abandoned. - Ibid., p. 29. ,-[] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI 151 By the cunstitution of an order whose chief function should l)e that of teachinf^. an instrument would he at hand iov attaining- the goal of human progress, the j)erfection of morals and the felicity of the race/ On May i, 1776, the new organization was founded, under the name of the Order of the Illuminati," with a membership of five all told. The extremely modest begin- ning of the order in respect to its original membership was more than matched by the confusion which existed in Weis- haupt's mind as to the precise form which the organization had best take. Only three elementary grades, or ranks, had been worked out by him, and these only in a crude and l)ungling fashion, when the enterprise was launched. A feverish regard for action had full possession of the foun- der of the order; the working-out of his hazy ideas of organ- ization might wait for quieter days.^ ^ Forestier. op. cit., p. 75. Tlie teacIiiiiR function of the order is well set out by Forestier in the following : " Faire de rhomme actucl, reste sauvage et ferocement egoiste sous le vernis d'une civilisation apparante, un etre veritablement sociable, c'est-a-dire respectucux des droits de ses semblables et amcne dans ses rapports avec eux, enseigner a ses mem- bres 'I'art de realiser le bien sans trouver d'opposition, de corriger leurs defauts, d'ecarter les obstacles, d'attaqucr le mal a la racine, de faire en un mot ce que jusqu'a present I'education, I'enseignement de la morale, les lois civiles et la religion meme ont etc incapables d'accom- plir,' leur apprendre ' a soumettre leurs desirs au controle de la raison.' tel est done en dernicre analyse ce que I'Ordre considere comme sa fin supreme. Scfciete d'enseignement par les occupations qu'il impose a ses adeptes, il est essentiellement, par le but qu'il se propose, un institut d'education sociale." (0/>. cit., p. 78.) - It was Weishaupt's original purpose to style the new order the " Perfectibilists ", but this he later renounced as too bizarre and lack- ing in the element of mystery. ^ Forestier, op. cit., p. 46: "Au moment ou Weishaupt avait fondc son Ordre, I'organisation de tout le Systcme etait a peine ebauchce dans son esprit. Quand il s'etait subitement decide a jeter les bases de son edifice, il avait bativement redige des Statuts provisiores, se promettant de les remanier et d'arrcter deimitivement dans le silence du cabinet le plan general." Cf. Engel, op. cit., p. 90: " Die ersten Ordensstatuten. welche 1-2 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [152 Out of the voluminous and rambling expositions which Weishaupt at various times made of the three primary grades, ms., Novice, Minerval, and Illuminated Minerval, the following brief descriptions are extracted. To the grade of Novice youths of promise were tO' be admitted, particularly those who were rich, eager to learn, virtuous, and docile, though firm and persevering.^ Such were to be enrolled only after their imaginations and desires had been artfully aroused by suggestions concerning the ad- vantages to be derived from secret associations among like- minded men, the superiority of the social state over that of nature, the dependence of all governments upon the consent of the governed, and the delight of knowing and directing men.' Once enrolled, the instruction of each Novice was to be in the hands of his enroller, who kept well hidden from his pupil the identity of the rest of his superiors. Such statutes of the order as he was permitted to read impressed upon the mind of the Novice that the particular ends sought in his novitiate were to ameliorate and perfect his moral character, expand his principles of humanity and sociability, and solicit his interest in the laudable objects of thwarting the schemes of evil men, assisting oppressed virtue, and helping men of merit to find suitable places in the world.^ Having had impressed upon him the necessity of maintain- ing inviolable secrecy respecting the affairs of the order, einen Einblick geben iiber das, was Weishaupt wollte, bestanden nur kurze Zeit; sie waren recht diirftig und unklar." It was not until Baron Knigge came to his assistance, four years later, that Weishaupt was able to rescue the organization of the society from the mire of puerility into which his impractical nature had plunged it. ^ Engel, op. cit., pp. 56 ct seq. The recruiting of women, Jews, pagans, monks, and members of other secret organizations was forbidden. Weishaupt preferred the enrollment of men who were between the ages of 18 and 30. - Cf. Exnige Origlnalschriftcn dcs lUuminaten Ordens, pp. 49, 50, 56. 3 Ibid., p. 26. j-^j THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMIXATI 1-3 the further duties of subordinating his egoistic views and in- terests and of according respectful and complete obedience to his superiors were next enjoined. An important part of the responsibility of the Novice consisted in the drawing-up of a detailed report (for the archives of the order), containing complete information concerning his family and his per- sonal career, covering such remote items as the titles of the books he possessed, the names of his personal enemies and the occasion of their enmity, his own strong and weak points of character, the dominant passions of his parents, the names of their parents and intimates, ctc.^ Monthly reports were also required, covering the benefits the recruit had re- ceived from and the services he had rendered to the order." For the building-up of the order the Novice must undertake his share in the work of recruitment, his personal advance- ment to the higher grades being conditioned upon the success of such efforts.^ To those whom he enrolled he became in turn a superior; and thus after a novitiate presumably two years in length,* the way was open for his promotion to the next higher grade. The ceremony of initiation through which the Novice passed into the grade Minerval was expected to disabuse the mind of the candidate of any lingering suspicion that the order had as its supreme object the subjugation of the rich and powerful, or the overthrow^ of civil and ecclesias- tical government.'' It also pledged the candidate to be use- 1 Eiuige Originalschriftcn dcs lUumiuaten Ordciis, pp. 61-65. - Ibid., p. 63. From time to time the Novice was required to submit to his superiors notations he had made upon interesting portions of books which he had read, in order that his instruction might be properly directed. Cf. ibid., pp. 62, 65. In the pursuit of the art or science that he had chosen as his principal occupation, he was ex- pected to keep in close touch with his enroller. 3 Ibid., p. 31. * Forestier, op. cil., p. 61. ° Ibid., pp. 61-64. I-_j. NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [154 ful to humanity; to maintain a silence eternal, a fidelity in- violable, and an obedience implicit with respect to all the superiors and rules of the order; and to sacrifice all per- sonal interests to those of the society/ Admitted to the rank of Minerval, the candidate received into his hands the printed statutes of the order, wherein he learned that in addition to the duties he had performed as novice, his obli- gations had been extended with special reference to his studies." These were to be more highly specialized, and the fruits of his researches from time to time turned over to the superiors. In the prosecution of difficult labors of this character, he was to be free to call to his assistance other Minervals in his district.^ He might also count upon the assistance of his superiors in the form of letters of recom- mendation in case he undertook travels in the pursuit of his studies; and should he form the resolve to publish his material, the order pledged itself to protect him against the rapacity of booksellers who might show themselves dis- posed to overcharge him for the works he wished to con- sult, as well as to render assistance in attracting the atten- tion of the public to his work.* 1 Forestier. op. cit., p. 64. ~ Ibid., p. 65. 3 Ihid. * Ibid., p. 66. It was in the mind of Weishaupt to make a sort of free university out of this grade. He himself declared : " In der nachsten Klasse [i. c, Minervals], dachte ich also eine Art von gelehrter Academic zu errichten : in solcher wird gearbeitet, an Karakteren, historischen, und lebenden, Studium der Alten, Beobachtungsgeist, Abhandlungen, Preisfragen, und in specie mache ich darinnen jeden zum Spion des andern und aller. Darauf werden die Fahigen zu den Mysterien herausgenommen, die in dieser Klasse etliche Grundsatze und Grunderfordernisse zum menschlichen gliickseligen Leben sind." (Quoted by Engel from Weishaupt's correspondence with Zwack, p. 76.) The grade Minerval is therefore to be regarded as designed to supply the opportunity par excellence for imparting the revolutionary ideas of which the founder of the order boasted. Under the direction of their superiors the Minervals were to continue the study of the I--] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMIXATI 15- In the assemblies of this grade the Minerval for the first time came into contact with the members of the order. In other words, his Hfe within the society actually began/ The thirst for the sense of secret association with men of like interests and aims, which the member's long novitiate had developed, began to find its satisfaction.* Ordinary MincrvaJs and " illuminated " Minerv'als mingled together in these assemblies " and mutually devoted their delibera- tions to the affairs of the order. To the grade Illuminated Minerv-al were admitted those Minervals who in the judgment of their superiors were worth V of advancement. Elaborate initiatory ceremonies fixed in the candidate's mind the notions that the progres- sive purification of his life was to be expected as he worked his way upward in the order.* and that the mastery of the humanities which they began as Novices; they were to study the works of the ancients, to prepare dissertations upon subjects in those fields to which their special talents were suited, etc., — in a word, to show themselves worthy of membership in an academy of savants. Cf. Eiiiigr Origiiialschriftcn dcs Illuiiiinatcii Ordcns. p. 216. Cf. Forestier, op. cit.. p. 74. Weishaupt entertained extremely ambitious notions of a system of special libraries under the control of the order, and in which the literary and scientific productions of the order should be assembled and preserved. Cf. Der achtc Illuminat, p. 46. 1 Forestier, o/>. cit., p. 66. * The fantastic element in Weishaupl's mind is well illustrated at this point. In view of the fact that he particularly sought the recruitment of youths between the ages of 15 and 20 years (cf. Eiiiigc Origiml- schriften des lUuminaten Ordcns, p. 261), it is difficult to see the pos- sibility of sustained satisfaction in such associations. We shall see later that Baron Knigge substantially modified the character of the organization in this particular. Weishaupt did not scruple to employ outright deception with reference to the reputed age and power of the order to enhance in the minds of the members the sense of the value of these secret associations. Forestier, op. cit., p. 82. •■' Ibid., p. 66. *Dcr lichtc Illioiiinat, p. 94. The notion that the supreme heads of the order, whose identity of course was concealed from the mem- bers, were individuals of exceptional purity, was kept before the minds of the "illuminated" Minervals as an added incentive. 156 'V£rF ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [156 art of directing men was to be his special pursuit as long as he remained in the new grade. To accomplish the latter, /. e., to become an expert psychologist and director of men's consciences, he must observe and study constantly the actions, purposes, desires, faults, and virtues of the little group of Minervals who were placed under his personal direction and care/ For his guidance in this difficult task a complicated mass of instructions w^as furnished him.- In addition to their continued presence in the assemblies of the Minervals, the members of this grade came together once a month by themselves, to hear reports concerning their disciples, to discuss methods of accomplishing the best results in their work of direction and to solicit each other's counsel in difficult and embarrassing cases. ^ In these meet- ings the records of the assemblies of the Minervals were reviewed and rectified and afterwards transmitted to the superior officers of the order. 1 From two to four Minervals were given to each Illuminated Minerval, to receive his instructions in the principles and objects of the order. The selection of these pupils in a given instance was sup- posed to be based upon their openness to the influence of their particular instructor. Cf. Forestier, op. cit., p. 70 ct scq. - Ibid., p. 71. The principle of espionage was an important ele- ment in the administration of the order. Weishaupt acknowledged his indebtedness to the ideal of organization which the Society of Jesus had set before him (Cf. Endlichc Erklarungcn, pp. 60 ct seq. Cf. Forestier, pp. 97-99), and the principle of one member spying upon another was apparently borrowed from that source. It was Weis- haupt's theory that dissimulation and hypocrisy could best be eradicated by proving to the members of the organization the inutility of such courses of life in view of the incessant surveillance under which all the members lived. {Cf. Dcr dclie Illuminat, p. 102.) Accordingly the Novice was left to surmise just how many eyes of unknown su- periors might be upon him. The duty imposed upon the Illuminated Minerval of informing upon his disciples has been noted above. Weis- haupt seems never to have surmised that this poHcy of espionage would tend to kill mutual confidence and fraternal regard at the roots. 3 Forestier, op. cit., p. 71. I^j] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMIXATI D/ Such, in brief, was the system of the Illuminati as it came from the brain of Weishaupt. its founder. By means of such an organization he proposed to effect nothing less than the redemption of the world. In its assemblies the truths of human equality and fraternity were to l)e taught and practised.' Its members were to be trained to labor for the welfare of the race; to strive for a civilization, not like that of the present, which left men savage and ferocious under its thin veneer, but one which would so radically change their moral dispositions as to put all their desires under the con- trol of reason — the supreme end of life, which neither civil nor religious institutions had been able to secure." The study of man was to be made at once so minute, so compre- hensive, and so complete "' that two immense advantages * Weishaupt's conceiition of tlie content of these terms left room for a recognition of the benefits to be derived from society, but denied the value of the state. Man had moved forward, not backward, from his primitive condition. The satisfaction of his needs had supplied the motive force to his progress. In the state of nature, it is quite true, man enjoyed the two sovereign goods, equality and liberty. However, his disposition and desires were such that a continuance in the state of nature was impossible. The condition of misery into which he came resulted from his failure to acquire the art of controlling his faculties and curbing his passions, and from the injustice which he suffered the state to impose upon him. With the erection of the state had come the notions of the subjection of some men to the power and authority of others, the consequent loss of the unity of the race, and the replacement of the love of humanity with nationalism, or patriotism. But political revolutions were not needed to accomplish the emancipa- tion of the race; such revolutions had always proved sterile because they touched nothing deeper than the constitutions of states. Man's nature needed to be reconstituted. To bring life under the control of reason would enable men again to possess themselves of equality and liberty. A return to man's primitive state is both impossible and undesirable. Social life is a blessing. Only let men learn to govern themselves by the light of reason, and civil authority, having been found utterly useless, will quickly disappear. Forestier, o{>. cit., pp. 311-316. - Dcr dchtc Illuininat, pp. no, 123. ''' Forestier, op. cit., p. 78. 1^8 ^^EW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [j^g would result : first, the acquisition of the art of influencing favorably the wills of one's fellows, thus making social reformation possible; and second, self-knowledge.^ That is to say, the thorough scrutiny of the instincts, passions, thoughts, and prejudices of others, which the order im- posed upon him, would react in turn upon the member's judgment of his own personal life. As a result his con- science would be subjected to frequent examination, and the faults of his life might be expected to yield to correc- tion. From both of these advantages, working together, a moral transformation of the whole of society would result, thus securing the state of universal well-being." But this conception of the order as essentially an instru- ment of social education requires to be balanced by another, znz., its anticlericalism. Its founder professed that at the time when the idea of the order was taking shape in his mind he was profoundly influenced by the persecutions which honest men of unorthodox sentiments had been com- pelled to suffer on account of their views. ^ Considerations growing out of his own personal embarrassments and im- agined peril on account of his clashings with the Jesuits were also admittedly weighty in his thought.* It is there- 1 Forestier, op. cit., p. 80. ' In view of the connections which the enemies of the order later made between the lUuminati and the French Revolution, it is worthy of particular emphasis that Weishaupt eschewed the principle of ef- fecting reform by political revolution, and definitely committed him- self to the ideal of moral and intellectual reformation. The slow process of ameliorating the unhappy condition of humanity through the leavening influence of the ideas propagated in the order, i. e., by reshaping private and public opinion, was the pathway which Weis- haupt chose. Der achte Illuniinat, pp. 10, 205. Such, at least, was the theory in the case. In practise the order abandoned the policy of non- intervention and sought to influence government by putting its members in important civil positions. Forestier, op. cit., pp. 329 et seq. ^ Einigc Originalschriftcn des lUuminatcn Ordens, p. 339. * Ibid., p. 279. jc,g] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI i^q fore to be regarded as a substantial element in his jjiirpose to forge a weapon against the Jesuits, and in a larger sense to create a league defensive and offensive against all the enemies of free thought.' Accordingly, the expression of utterances hostile to Chris- tian dogmas was early heard within the assemblies of the order.- and only the difficulty experienced in working out the supreme grade of the order inhibited Weishaupt's in- tention of converting it into a council of war to circumvent and overwhelm the advocates of supernaturalism and the enemies of reason. ■* The pure religion of Christ, which, doctrinally conceived, had degenerated into asceticism and. from the institutional standpoint,'* had become a school of fanaticism and intolerance, was pronounced a doctrine of reason, converted into a religion for no other purpose than to make it more efficacious.'" To love God and one's neigh- bor was to follow in the way of redemption which Jesus of J Forestier, op. cit., p. 88. The anticlerical spirit of the order did not receive an official emphasis commensurate with its importance and weight, doubtless because of Weishaupt's desire to work under cover against his enemies as completely as possible. Forestier's comment seems thoroughly just: " II ne faut pas oublier que Wcishaupt en fon- dant sa Societe n'avait pas songe seulement a faire le bonheur do I'humanite, mais qu'il avait cherche aussi a trouver des allies dans la lutte qu'il soutenait a Ingolstadt contre le parti des ex-Jesuites. A cote du but officiellement proclame, I'Ordre avait un autre but, auquel on pensait d'autant plus qu'on en parlait moins." (Op. cit., p. 87. Cf. ibid., pp. 92, no.) - Ibid., p. 90. 3 Einigc OriginaUchriftcn des Illuminatcn Ordciis, p. 216. The order was to be used in the circulation of anticlerical and antireligious books and pamphlets, and the work of the priests and the monks was to be held in mind as constituting the chief obstacle to intellectual and moral progress. Forestier, op. cit., pp. 91, 92. * Ibid., p. 317- 5 Ibid., p. 318. l6o A^£^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [i6o Nazareth, the grand master of the Illuminati, marked out as constituting the sole road which leads to liberty.^ The objects of the order were such as to appeal to the discontented elements in a country suffering from intellec- tual stagnation due to ecclesiastical domination.- Despite this fact, its growth during the first four years of its exist- ence was anything but rapid. By that time four centers of activity, in addition to Ingolstadt, had been established, and a total of possibly sixty members recruited.^ While its visionary founder considered that a solid basis for encour- agement had been laid,* as a matter of fact at the termina- tion of the period just indicated the organization was seri- ously threatened with failure. Fundamental weaknesses had developed from within. Chief among these was the tension which existed almost from the first between Weis- haupt and the men whom he associated with him in the 1 Forestier, op. cit., p. 318. This was treated as the esoteric doctrine of Christ, coming to the surface here and there in His teachings and acts, and revealed in the discipliiia arcani of the early church. It is only when this secret teaching is grasped that the coherence of Jesus' utterances and the significance of the true doctrines of man's fall and his resur- rection can be understood. It was because man abandoned the state of nature that he lost his dignity and his liberty. In other words, he fell because he ceased to fight against his sensual desires, sur- rendering himself to the rule of his passions. His work of redemption will be accomplished when he learns to moderate his passions and to limit his desires. The kingdom of grace is therefore a kingdom where- in men live in reason's light. '^ " Par ses divers caracteres avoues ou secrets, I'Ordre des Illumines etait I'expression d'une epoque et d'un milieu. Le Systeme ne dans le cerveau de Weishaupt avait trouve des adeptes en Baviere parce qu'il repondait aux aspirations et satisfaisait les haines de la classe cultivee dans ce pays." {Ibid., p. 99.) 3 These new centers were Munich, Regensburg, Freising, and Eichstatt. For data concerning the early enrollment of recruits, cf. ibid., pp. 30 ei seq. * Ibid., p. 45. j5i] the EUROPEAN order of the ILLUMIN ATI i6i supreme direction of the affairs of the order.' The thirst for domination, which was native to the soul of Weishaupt, converted the order into a despotism ag^ainst which men who had been taught by their leader that they shared with him the innermost secrets of the organization, rebelled. The result was the constant breaking-out of a spirit of in- subordination and a scries of quarrels between the founder and his associates which rendered the future progress of the order very precarious.'*' The extreme poverty of the organization constituted another serious obstacle to its rapid growth. With a view to demonstrating the genuine disinterestedness of the society, an effort had been made from the beginning to emphasize the financial interests of the order as little as possible." The rules of the organiza- tion were far from burdensome in this regard, and it is by no means surprising that many of the proposed measures of the leaders in the interests of a more extensive and effec- tive propaganda proved abortive for the ver\' practical reason that funds were not available to carry them into effect.* A decidedly new turn in the wheel of fortune came some time within the compass of the year 1780,'* with the enroll- ' The term Areopagitc was applied to the men who shared with Weishaupt the supreme direction of the order. Each was assigned a pseudonym. With one exception, Xavicr Zwack (Danaus), they seem to have been men of very ordinary ability. Forestier, op. cit., p. 232. ^ Ibid., pp. 231 ct scq., 112 ct Si-q. 'Weishaupt's original plan had been to leave the matter of financial support to the discretion of the members. Einigc Origitmlschriften des Illuvtiiiateii Ordens, p. 16. Time, however, proved the imprudence of this arrangement, and hence fixed dues, very modest in their char- acter, were imposed. Forestier. pp. 130 ct seq. * Ibid., pp. 132 ct seq. 3 Engel gives the date of the admission of Knigge as July. 1780. Cf. Geschiclite de.. cit., pp. 114 et seq. Soon after Knigge was admitted to the order, Weishaupt found himself driven to make to the former a most humiliating confession. Knigge hesi- 164 NEW. ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATl [164 justified the high regard of his brethren, Knigge threw him- self into the task of elaborating and rendering compact and coherent the childish ideas of organization which Weishaupt had evolved. The general plan of the order was so shaped as to throw the various grades or ranks into three principal classes/ To the first class were to belong the grades Minerval and Illuminatus Minor; to the second,^ (i) the usual three first grades of Masonry, Apprentice, Fellow, and Master, (2) Illuminatus Major, and (3) Illuminatus Dirigens, or Scot- tish Knight ; and to the third class were reserved the Higher Mysteries, including (a) the Lesser Mysteries, made up of the ranks of Priest and Prince, and (b) the Greater Mys- teries, comprising the ranks of Magus and King.^ A detailed description of the various grades of Knigge's system would far outrun the reader's interest and patience.* The present writer therefore will content himself with mak- tated for some time before becoming a member, and to bring him to a decision Weishaupt painted the objects and character of the order before him in flaming colors. The Illuminati represented the greatest advancements in science, the most marvelous speculative philosophy, and a truly wonderful system to carry its purposes into effect. Having joined the order, Knigge's suspicions were aroused on account of the feeble and trifling character of its organization ; and Weishaupt, upon being repeatedly pressed for an explanation concerning the nature of the so-called higher grades, had finally to confess to Knigge that they did not exist. Cf. Forestier, pp. 218-226. Knigge's resolution viras staggered, but his courage was finally rallied because of the confidence which Weishaupt and the other leaders reposed in him. Cf. ibid., pp. 228 et seq. 1 Nachtrag von weiteren Originalschrifteii, vol. i, p. to8. Cf. Forestier, op. cit., p. 250; lEngel, op. cit., p. 117. * The ligament to bind the Illuminati and Freemasonry together was supplied by Knigge in the grades of the second class. Cf. Engel, op. cit., p. 115. ' Apparently these grades were never worked out. See Forestier, p. 250. * Forestier devotes more than forty well-packed pages to a discussion of this phase of the subject. Ibid., pp. 251-294. 165] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMIN ATI 165 ing such comments as seem best suited to supply a general idea of the revised system. The grade Novice (a part of the system only in a pre- paratory sense) was left unchanged by Knigge, save for the addition of a printed communication to be put into the hands of all new recruits, advising them that the Order of the Tlluminati stands over against all other forms of con- temporary Freemasonry as the one type not degenerate, and as such alone able to restore the craft to its ancient splen- dor.^ The grade Minerval was reproduced as respects its statutes but greatly elaborated in its ceremonies under the inrtuence of Masonic usages with which Knigge was famil- iar.' The grade Illuminatus Minor was likewise left iden- tical with Weishaupt's redaction, save in unimportant par- ticulars as to special duties and in the Avorking-out and explanation of its symbolism." The three symbolic grades of the second class seem to have been devised solely for the purpose of supplying an ave- nue whereby members of the various branches of the great Masonic family could pass to the higher grades of the new order.* ]^Iembership in these grades was regarded as a mere formality, the peculiar objects and secrets of the order having, of course, to be apprehended later. ^ Der dchtc Illuiuinat, p. 14. Pages 17-37. ibid., contains the descrip- tion of this grade as revised by Knigge. - Ibid., pp. 39-78. •'Ibid., pp. 82-138. * Knigge had, of course, to provide a new ritual and code for these grades. These have not been preserved. They were doubtless similar to those of other Masonic systems, in their Blue Lodge features. " La Franc-Magonnerie bleue etant le sol commun ou poussaient les vegeta- tions luxuriantes et diverses des hauts grades et le terrain oil tous les Franc-Magons pouvaicnt se rencontrer, les differcnts Systemes, pre- occupes d'ctablir leur authenticite et aussi pour ne pas derouter les transfuges des autres sectes, avaient soin de respecter les formes et les usages traditionnels. La Franc-Ma<;onnerie Illuminee obeit vraisembla- blement aux mC-mes considerations." (Forestier, op. cit., p. 262.) l66 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [i66 A candidate for admission to the grade of Illuminatus Major was first to be subjected to a rigorous examination as respects his connections with other secret organizations and his objects in seeking advancement. His superiors being satisfied upon these points, it was provided that he should be admitted to the grade by means of a ceremonial highly Masonic in its coloring. His special duties were four in number : ( i ) to prepare a detailed analysis of his character, according to specific instructions furnished him; (2) to assist in the training of those members of the order who were charged with the responsibility of recruiting new members; (3) to put his talents and his social position under tribute for the benefit of the order, either by himself stepping into places of honor which were open or by nomi- nating for such places other members who were fitted to fill them; and (4) to cooperate with other members of his rank in the direction of the assemblies of the Minervals.^ Advanced to the grade of Illuminatus Dirigens, or Scot- tish Knight, the member bound himself with a written oath to withhold his support from every other system of Ma- sonry, or from any other secret society, and to put all his talents and powers at the disposition of the order.^ His obligations in this rank were purely administrative in their character. The inferior grades of the order were territor- ially grouped together into prefectures, and upon these the authority of the Illuminatus Dirigens was imposed. Each Illuminatus Dirigens had a certain number of Minerval 1 Forestier, op. cit., p. 272. Der dchte Illiiminat, pp. 139-212, contains the ritual and statutes of this grade. * The initiatory rites of this grade were followed by a banquet, which in turn was concluded by a ceremony fashioned after the pattern of the Christian Eucharist. Bread and wine were given to the members, and an effort was made to throw an atmosphere of great solemnity about the observance. Cf. Forestier, pp. 278 et seq. Christian enemies of the order took special umbrage at this ceremony. i57] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATl 167 assemblies antl lodges assigned to him. and for the welfare of these he was responsible to the superiors of the order. The members of this grade constituted the " Sacred Secret Chapter of the Scottish Knights," from which issued the patents of constitution for the organization of new lodges.^ To the first grade of the third class, that of Priest,* were admitted only such members as, in the grade Minerval, had given proof of their zeal and advancement in the particular sciences which they had chosen.'' The initiatory ceremonies of the grade emphasized the wholly unsatisfactory char- acter of existing political and religious systems and sounded the candidate's readiness to serve the order in its efforts to lead the race away from the vain inventions of civil constitutions and religious dogmas fn^m which it suf- fered.' Relieved entirely of administrative responsibilities, the members of this grade devoted themselves exclusively to the instruction of their subordinates in the following branches of science: physics, medicine, mathematics, nat- ural history, political science, the arts and crafts, and the • KTCult sciences. In brief, the final supervision of the teach- ' The Chapter was placed under obligation to see that Blue Lodges, not to exceed thirty all told, were established in all the important centers of its district. They had also to see that the Order of the Illuminati secretly obtained a preponderating influence in the lodges of other systems, to reform them if possible, or, failing in this, to ruin them. A Prefect, or Local Superior, who furnished regular re- ports to his superiors, presided over the Chapter. Cf. Forestier, pp. 279-^81. *The members of this class were usually referred to as Epopts, and their immediate superiors as Hierophants. These superiors were technically known as Deans. Ibid., pp. 287, 281. * Their admission to the rank was further conditioned upon their advancement in Masonry and the effectiveness of their service in the lower grades of the Illuminati. Cf. ibid., p. 281. *Thc rites of initiation into this grade expressed a growing tendency in the direction of sacerdotal pomp. Cf. ibid., pp. 283-286. 1 68 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMJNATI [i68 ing function of the order was in their hands, subject only to the ultimate authority of their supreme heads/ Knigge's statutes provided that only a very small number of members were to be admitted to the grade of Prince.''' From this group the highest functionaries of the order were to be drawn : National Inspectors, Provincials,^ Prefects, and Deans of the Priests. Over them, in turn, at the apex of the system and as sovereign heads of the order, ruled the Areopagites.* So much for the external structure of the system which Knigge reshaped. With respect to the aims and principles of the order the modifications introduced by him were consid- erable, although scarcely as comprehensive as in the former case.^ In certain instances the ideas of Weishaupt were 1 "Comme toutes les demandes de renseignemeiits leur etaient trans- mises, ils devaient s'efforcer de satisfaire leurs gens et d'etablir des theories solidement construites en faisant etudier et elucider par leurs subordonnes les points restes obscurs." (Ibid., p. 288.) Free entree to all the assembhes of the inferior grades of the order was accorded the Priests, but only in the ceremon}^ of reception into the grade of Scottish Knight did they appear in costume. On other occasions they were not obliged to make their official character known. 'The prefectures were grouped together into provinces, of which there seem to have been twelve, to each of which, as to the prefectures and their capitals, pseudonymous names were given. For the geogra- phical divisions of the Illuminati system, cf. Forestier, pp. 295 ct seq. ' The title of Regent was also used in this connection. ■* Provincials, as the term suggests, had control over the various provinces. * An important modification in the government of the order was made by Knigge with respect to its general form. Knigge found the order a despotism, and this he regarded as a fundamental weakness and error. The Areopagites, who chafed excessively under Weishaupt's immoder- ate zeal to command, and between whom and their leader constant and perilous divisions arose, eagerly sided with Knigge in his efforts to distribute authority. At the latter's suggestion a congress was called at Munich, in October, 1760, at which the position and authority of the Areopagites were definitively settled. The territory, present and 169] ^^^ EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI 169 retained and developed; ' in others significant alterations were made or new ideas introduced. Of the new ideas the two following were unquestionably of greatest weight:' the notion of restricting the field of recruiting solely to the young was abandoned, and this phase of the propaganda was widened so as to include men of experience whose wis- dom and inrtuence might be counted upon to assist in attaining the objects of the order: '' the policy was adopted that henceforth the order should not (xcupy itself with canij)aigns against particular political and religious systems, but that its energies should be exerted against superstition, despotism, and tyranny.'' In other words, the battle for prospective, of the order was divided into twelve provinces, cacli of which was to he governed b}- a Provincial. The posts of Provincials were thereupon distributed among the Areopagites. Each Provincial was to be left free to administer his province without direct inter- ference on the part of Weishaupt, who remained the supreme head. Cf. Forestier, pp. 231-234; cf. ibid., p. 244. Knigge was thus per- mitted to take pride in the fact that whereas he found the order a monarch}', he left it under '" une espece de gouvernement republicain." {Cf. ibid., p. 305.) * To illustrate : The teaching function of the order was fully worked out and made effective by centering its direction in the grade of Priests. Forestier also notes Knigge's retention of the founder's in- sistence upon the knowledge of man as " la science par excellence." The principle of espionage was likewise retained. Cf. Forestier, pp. 298-304. '' The remodeling of the order in order to graft it on to the stem of Freemasonry has already been indicated. No practical result of Knigge's work exceeded this. ' Certainly at this point Knigge's feet were planted more solidly upon the earth than those of his fanciful predecessor. Cf. Forestier. pp. 240 ct seq. * The practical considerations w hich impelled Knigge to adopt this position were dictated by diplomatic rather than by conscientious reasons, although the latter were not wholly wanting. Knigge was well aware of the conditions in Catholic countries like Bavaria which gave rise to the violent anticlerical sentiments that the leaders of the Illuminati echoed. Nor was he out of sympathy with the men of his lyo ^EW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [170 tolerance and enlightenment should be waged along uni- versal and not local lines. Accordingly, the esoteric teach- ing of the order, under Knigge's revision, was reserved to the higher grades. The progress of the order from 1780 on ^ was so rapid as to raise greatly the spirits of its leaders. The new method of spreading Illuminism by means of its affiliation with Masonic lodges promptly demonstrated its worth. Largely because of the fine strategy of seeking its recruits time who protested against religious intolerance and bigotry. But a spirit of anticlericalism readily enough becomes transmuted into a spirit essentially anti-religious, and Knigge saw that any manifestation of this sort would seriously embarrass the propaganda of the order in Protestant as well as in Catholic lands. Knigge's personal religious views appear to have been liberal rather than ultra radical. For a full and lucid discussion of the whole topic, cf. Forestier, pp. 238 et seq. ^ Knigge's proposed modifications of the organization and principles of the order were adopted by the Areopagites, July 9, 1781. Cf. Forestier, p. 240. This action amounted to a virtual defeat for Weis- haupt and a corresponding triumph for Knigge. In other words, a new epoch had begun. Engel's observations on the significance of the new policies and the respective services rendered by the two men is characteristically biased : " Weishaupt war tatsachlich der einzige im Orden, der streng darauf achtete, sein System der Notwendigkeit unterzuordnen, wohl wissend, dass dadurch allein der Bestand des Ordens gesichert wiirde. Phantastische Grade entwerfen, ohne eine Spur der Notwendigkeit, dass durch diese der Zweck der Vereinigung sicherer erreicht werde, dann die Mitglieder in die Aeusserlichkeit dieser Form einpressen und einschniiren, ist leider ein vielfach noch jetzt angewandtes, unbrauchbares Rezept, dem auch Knigge huldigte. Letzterem war es ebenso wie vielen Areopagiten nur darum zu tun, viele Mitglieder zu haben, um dadurch Eindruck zu erzielen, die geistige Qualitat stand in zweiter Linie." {Geschichte des Illuminaten- Ordcns, pp. 123 et seq.) Knigge brought more than organizing skill to the languishing order. His accomplishments as a winner of recruits materially helped to fan the smouldering fires of enthusiasm among the earlier leaders. As early as November, 1780, he had begun to enroll adepts (the term commonly applied to members of the order, new and old), and some of these turned out to be most effective propagandists. Cf. Forestier, pp. 343 et seq. 17 1 J THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI lyi among the ofticers and (jther intluential personages in the lodges of Freemasonry, one after another of the latter in quick succession went over to the new system.^ New pre- fectures were estabHshed. new provinces organized, and Provincials began to report a steady and copious stream of new recruits." From Bavaria into the upper and lower Rhenish provinces the order spread into Suabia. Franconia. Westphalia, Upper and Lower Saxony, and outside of Germany into Austria '" and Switzerland. Within a few 'Forestier is disposed to explain the power of appeal which the new system had for the members of rival Masonic systems on the following grounds: (i) it at least pretended to take more seriously the doctrines of equality and liberty; (2) it emphasized the period of adolescence as the best of all ages for the winning of recruits; (3) it made appreciably less of financial considerations; and (4) it tended to turn attention away from such chimeras as the philosopher's stone, magic, and knight-templar chivalry, which filled with weak heads and visionary spirits the high grades of most of the other systems. Cf. ibid., p. 340. German Freemasonry was far from being in a wholesome and promising condition when the order of the Illuminati emerged. From its introduction into that country sometime within the second quarter of the eighteenth century, it had developed two general types; t'ir., English Freemasonry and the French high grades. The former was generally disposed to be content with simple organizations. Its lodges were little more than secret clubs whose members had their signs of recognition and their simple rituals, and whose ideals were represented by the terms fraternity and cooperation. The latter de- veloped an excess of ceremonies and " mysteries ", and thus opened the door for the introduction of impostures of every sort. Visionaries and charlatans flocked to the French lodges, and alchemy and thauni- aturgy found in their secret quarters a veritable hot-house for their culture. It is Forcstier's opinion that this activity and influen-^e of dreamers and mountebanks within the Masonic lodges is to be regarded as a reaction from the dreariness and sterility of current rationalism. Cf. ibid., p. 146. However that may be, in the third quarter of the eighteenth century German Freemasonry generally was catering to a popular thirst for mystery, and the Order of the Illuminati was able to draw advantage from that fact. Certainly the very novelty of the new system had much to do with its attractiveness. - Forestier, of>. cit., p. 344- •Engel's treatment of the situation would seem to be inadequate and JJ2 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [172 months after Knigge rescued the order from the moribund condition in which he found it, the leaders were able to re- joice in the accession of three hundred members, many of whom by their membership immensely enhanced the prestige of the order. Students, merchants, doctors, pharmacists, lawyers, judges, professors in gymnasia and universities, preceptors, civil officers, pastors, priests — all were gener- ously represented among the new recruits/ Distinguished names soon appeared upon the rosters of the lodges of the new system. Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick, Duke Ernst of Gotha, Duke Karl August of Saxe-Weimar, Prince August of Saxe-Gotha, Prince Carl of Hesse, Baron Dal- berg,- the philosopher Herder, the poet Goethe,^ the edu- cationist Pestalozzi,* were among the number enrolled. By the end of 1784 the leaders boasted of a total enrollment of between two and three thousand members,"' and the estab- lacking in accuracy. Cf. E'ngel, op. cit., p. 352. Forestier submits ample proofs of the expansion of the order to include Austria and Switzerland, notably the former. Cf. Forestier, op. cit., pp. 346 et seq., 398 et seq. 1 Ibid., pp. 349 et seq. ' Engel identifies Dalberg as the last elector of Mainz, and, in the time of Napoleon I, grand duke of Frankfort. See ibid., p. 354. Forestier extends the list of civil notables to include Count Metternich, imperial ambassador at Coblenz; Count Brigido, governor of Galicia; Count Leopold Kolowrat, chancellor of Bohemia; Baron Kressel, vice- chancellor of Bohemia; Count Poelffy, chancellor of Hungary; Count Banffy, governor of Translyvania; Count Stadion, ambassador at Lon- don; and Baron Van Swieten, minister of public instruction. (The last seven were members of the lodge established at Vienna.) Cf. ibid., pp. 400 et seq. ' Goethe's connection with the order is fully established by both Engel (cf. ibid., pp. 355 ^i seq.) and Forestier (cf. ibid., pp. 396 et seq.). The question whether Schiller belonged to the Illuminati is answered in the negative by Engel. Cf. ibid., p. 356. * " Un pedagogue celebre, Pestalozzi, figurait parmi les membres de rfeglise Minervale de Lautern." (Forestier, p. 349.) 5 Ibid., p. 399. J 73 J THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI 173 lishment of the . cit., p. 161, where the edict in full may be found. Cf. Forestier, p. 453. The Bavarian monarch's bold and, at first blush, precipitate action is explained by the following facts: Flushed with a sense of their growing influence and power, the Bavarian Illuminati for some time past had been guilty of extremely imprudent utterances which had excited the public mind. To certain of their critics, notably the priest l-Vank and the canon Dantzer, director of the schools of 176 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILEUM IN ATI [176 acter, and the Bavarian Illuminati were glad to believe that their system was not specially involved : by lying low for a season the squall would speedily blow over and the activ- Bavaria, they had not deigned to make a specific reply. (Dantzer, not wholly unfairly, charged the members of the order with inter- ference in the affairs of the public school system of the country). A lofty tone of assumed indifiference characterized the leaders; but a spirit of boasting which led the members to profess the exercise of a controlling influence in civil affairs, together with less guarded ex- pressions respecting the extreme religious and political ideals of the order, served to arouse public suspicion. To this extent the Bavarian Illuminati had themselves to blame for the ruin of the order. Cf. Forestier, pp. 430-438. On the part of the government, the situation in its main outlines developed somewhat as follows : Early in October, 1783, the duchess dowager, Maria Anna, was made the recipient of a document that contained detailed accusations against the Illuminati of Bavaria, charging them with holding such vicious moral and reli- gious sentiments as that life should be controlled by passion rather than reason, that suicide is justifiable, that one may poison one's enemies, and that religion should be regarded as nonsense and patriotism as pueriHty. Finally, and much more seriously from the particular point of view of the duchess, the Bavarian Illuminati were accused of being in the service of the government of Austria, whose eflforts at the time to extend its hegemony over Bavaria had created considerable tension in the latter country. For a copy in full of the famous letter, cf. Engel, pp. 183-187. Cf. Forestier, pp. 440 et seq. The author, or at least the inspirer of the document seems to have been one Joseph Utzschneider (Engel disallows this; see op. cit., pp. 187 et seq.) who, discontented on account of his slow advancement and enraged by exac- tions imposed upon him to prove his loyalty, had withdrawn from the Order of the Illuminati, in August, 1783. Later, Utzschneider persuaded several other members, among them Griinberger and Cosandey, fellow professors with him in the Academy of Santa Maria, to follow him in the course he had taken. Obtaining from his associates the ritual of the higher grades of the order, he prepared and despatched his pre- sentment to the duchess. Cf. Forestier, pp. /\ /\/\ et seq. The latter, greatly alarmed by the document, carried the accusations, particularly the charge of intrigues in the interests of Austria, to the duke, who thus far had manifested an attitude of indifiference to the suspicions that had been engendered concerning the order. His fear being awak- ened by the considerations of danger to his person and throne that were urged, the duke resolved to bring matters to an immediate crisis. Cf. ibid., p. 452. I-j] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OE THE H.LIJMINATI y-j ities of the order might safely he resumed.' These antici- pations, however, were doomed to disappointment. Hav- ing surrendered himself completely to the spirit of reaction, and spurred jjy reports of the covert disobedience of the order which his entourage spread ])efore him,* the Bava- rian monarch, on March 2 of the following year, issued another edict that specifically designated the Illuminati as one of the branches of Freemasonry, all of which were severely upbraided for their failure to yield implicit obe- dience to the will of the sovereign as expressed in the pre- vious edict, and a new ban, more definite and sweeping in its terms than the former, was thereby proclaimed.^ ^ Engcl, of. cit., p. 161. The leaders of the order in Bavaria exerted themselves to disarm the suspicions of the government with reference to any lack of loyal submission to the interdict. Circular letters con- taining copies of the edict and commanding the lodges to suspend their labors were addressed to the brethren. .-V lack of sincerity showed itself, however, in the efforts of the leaders to convey the impression to their subordinates that the sudden tempest would soon pass and that care therefore must be observed to preserve the cohesion of the order. In one important particular this effort to allay suspicion over-reached itself. In July, 1784, certain members of the order inserted an article in a Bavarian journal, the Rcahciiuntj of Erlangen. of the nature of a counter-attack upon the Jesuits, and claiming that the latter, in defiance of the government, were continuing their secret associations. To this a recriminating answer was promptly made, and a war of newspaper articles and pamphlets was soon on. All of this tended, of course, to lend color to the suspicion that the operations of the order continued unabated. Cf. Forestier, pp. 454 ct scq. Cf. Engel, pp. 240 et scq. The duchess, Maria Anna, moreover, continued her efforts to strengthen the purpose of the duke. Cf. Forestier, p. 467. * The precise occasion, if any existed, for the launching of the second edict remains wholly in doubt. Tn a final effort to clear the order from the suspicions and calumniations raised against it, an appeal was made to Carl Theodore, in February, 1785, to permit representatives of the order to appear before him and furnish proofs of its innocence. This last desperate device failed. Cf. Engel, pp. 283-2. cit., p. 305, for a copy of the order. This measure seemed to be rendered necessary by the fact that the lists of Illuminati which Cosandey and Renner furnished the government contained the names of several officers and other military personages. A later decree called upon ex-members of the order in the army to furnish information concerning the teachings and membership of the order, and to present such papers and insignia as might be at hand. Cf. Forestier, p. 481. 'Those who made a frank acknowledgment of their membership in the order were to be pardoned, while those who hesitated or showed themselves contumacious were not only to lose their positions but to suffer other penalties. Cf. Forestier, p. 478. 3 Ibid. * Ibid. ^ Ibid., p. 475- igo NEJV ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [igo against the men who had betrayed the order and the gov- ernment which had ruined it. Taking recourse to his pen, with incredible rapidity he struck off one pamphlet and volume after another/ in a feverish effort, offensive and defensive, to avert if possible total disaster to the cause which, despite all his frailties, he truly loved. The one clear result of his polemical efforts was to draw the fire of those who defended the denunciators of the afflicted order and who supported the clerical party and the government. A war of pamphlets developed, the noise and vehemence of which were destined to add, if possible, to the embarrass- ment and pain of those members of the order who still re- mained in Bavaria. Once more the suspicions of the gov- ernment were aroused ; a search was made by the police for further evidence, and in the month of October, 1786, at Landshut, in the house of Xavier Zwack," one of the order's most prominent leaders, decisive results were achieved. A considerable number of books and papers were discovered,*' the latter containing more than two hundred letters that had passed between Weishaupt and the Areopagites. dealing ^ Forestier gives the title of nine such productions that came from Weishaupt's pen within the space of a few months. Cf. op. cit., p. 484. The most notable of these were: Apohgic dcr Illuiiiinatcn, Frankfort and Leipzig. 1786, and Vollstdndige Geschichte der Verfolgung der Illuminaten in Baycrn, Frankfort and Leipzig, 1786. The latter was planned to consist of two volumes, but only one appeared. ' Zwack's name had been on the list of members which Renner had put into the hands of the government. He was at the time a councillor of state. A short time before his house was invaded by the police and his papers seized, he had been deposed from his position on account of his relations with the Illuminati. At the time of the seizure he was living at Landshut in circumstances of disgrace and suspicion. Cf. lEngel, p. 303 ; Forestier, pp. 480, 498. 'These documents were published by the Bavarian government, under the title: Einige Originalschriftcn des Illuminaten Ordens, Munich, 1787. Engel, pp. 259-262, publishes the list compiled by the government. iSi] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLVMIS'ATI jKi with the most intimate affairs of the order, together with tables containing the secret symbols, calendar, and geo- graphical terms belonging to the system, imprints of its in- signia, a partial roster of its membership, the statutes, in- struction tor recruiters, the primary ceremony of initia- tion, etc.^ Here was the c(-mplete range of evidence the authorities had long waited for. Out of the mouths of its friends, the ' Among these papers were found two smaller packets which gave ri foundation for the most inveterate hostility to the order. These con- tained intimations of the order's right to exercise the law of life and death over its members, a brief dissertation entitled, Gcdankcn iiber den Selbstmord, wherein Zwack, its author, had recorded his defence of suicide {cf. Engel. p. 262). a eulogy of atheism, a proposal to establish a branch of the order for women, the description of an infernal machine for safeguarding secret papers, and receipts for pro- curing abortion, counterfeiting seals, making poisonous perfumes, secret ink, etc. (Cf. Forestier, pp. 499 ct scq.) The receipts for procuring abortion were destined to have a very ugly personal association in the public mind. Weishaupt, while still a resident of Ingolstadt, had stained his private life because of a liaison with his sister-in-law. On the 8 of February, 1780. his first wife had died. Her sister, who was his house-keeper at the time, continued in the household, and during the time that Weishaupt was waiting for a papal dispensation, per- mitting his marriage with her, she was found to be with child. Thrown into a panic on account of the failure of the dispensation to arrive (as a matter of fact it did not reach Ingolstadt until three years after it was lirst applied for), Weishaupt contemplated recourse to the method of procuring an abortion, in order to extricate him.self from his painfully embarrassed position. In August, 1783, he wrote Ilertel, one of the prominent members of the order, admitting the facts just stated. This letter fell into the hands of the authorities and was published by them in the volume entitled, Nachtrag von weitcren Origiualsrhriftcn, Munich, 1787, vol. i, p. 14. The stigma of a new disgrace was thus attached to the order. Weishaupt made a pitifully weak eflfort to suggest extenuating circumstances for his conduct, in his volume. Kurze Rcchtfcrtiguiig vicincr Absichtcn, 1787, pp. 13 ct scq. Taken in connection with the objectionable papers referred to above, this private scandal of the head of the order made the accusation of gross immorality on the part of the Illuminati difficult to evade. A spirit of intense revulsion penetrated the public mind. l82 ^^'EJV ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [182 accusations which its enemies made against the order were to be substantiated. By the admissions of its leaders, the system of the Illuminati had the appearance of an organiza- tion devoted to the overthrow of reHgion and the state, a band of poisoners and forgers, an association of men of disgusting morals and depraved tastes. The publication of these documents amounted to nothing less than a sensation.^ New measures were forthwith adopted by the government. Leading representatives of the order, whose names ap- peared in the telltale documents, were placed under arrest and formally interrogated. Some of these, like the treas- urer, Hertel, met the situation with courage and dignity, and escaped with no further punishment than a warning to have nothing to do with the organization in the future under fear of graver consequences.^ Others, like the pol- troon Mandl,^ adopted the course of making monstrous " revelations " concerning the objects and practices of the order. Still others, like Massenhausen, against whom the charge of poison-mixing was specifically lodged,* sought safety in flight. As a final blow against the devastated order, on August ' Other secret documents of the order were seized by the poHce in a search of the quarters of Baron Bassus, whose membership in the order on account of his close friendship with Zwack, brought him under the government's suspicion. The police visitation referred to yielded no very important result, apart from establishing more solidly the gov- ernment's claim that the order had not obeyed the first edict. The papers seized in this instance were published by the government under the title, Nachtrag von zveitcrcn Originalschriften . . . Zwei Ahtheilungen, iVIunich, 1787. 2 Forestier, pp. 504 et scq. ' Miindl, in the most cowardly fashion, charged the order with un- mentionable practices. He seems to have been the Judas in the order's inner circle. Cf. Forestier, pp. 505 ct scq. Cf. Engel, pp. 331 et seq. * Massenhausen was Ajax in the order. The papers seized by the police identified him as one of Weishaupt's intimates. ,83] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI 183 16, 1787, the duke of Bavaria launched his third and last edict against the system/ The presentments of the former interdicts were reemphasized. and in addition, tt'* give maximum force to the sovereign's will, criminal process, without distinction of person, dignity, state, or quality, was ordered against any Illuminatus who should be discovered continuing the work of recruiting. Any so charged and found guilty were to be deprived of their lives by the sword ; while those thus recruited were to have their goods confis- cated and themselves to be condemned to perpetual banish- ment frum the territories of the dukc.^ L'ndcr the same j>enalties of confiscation and banishment, the members of the order, no matter under what name or circumstances, regular or irregular, they should gather, were forbidden to assemble as lodges.'"' The end of the order was at hand. So far as the situa- tion within Bavaria was concerned, the sun of the Illumi- nati had already set.^ It remained for the government to stretch forth its hand as far as possible, to deal with those fugitives who. enjoying the protection of other govern- ments, might plot and contrive to rebuild the ruined system. Accordingly, Zwack. who had sought asylum first in the 'The "revelations" of Miindl appear to have been immediately re- sponsible for the edict. Cf. Forestier, p. 507. - Engel, op. cit., p. 280. * " Unter der nemlichcn confiscations — und relegations Straf werden die illuminaten Logen, sie mogen glcich auf diesen oder anderen Namen umgetauft seyn, ebenfalls verbothcn. worauf man auch anenthall)cn gute Spehr' fSpiiher] bestellen, und die Gesellschaften, welche ent\veid Einrichtungen, Frankfort and Leipzig, 1787. " Kurce Rcihtfcrtigutig mcincr Absichicn. Frankfort and Leipzig, 1787. ' A sympathetic and moving account of the last years of Weishaupt's life appears in Engel, op. cit., pp. 380-402. 2 Forestier, op. cit., pp. 543 et seq. l86 ^"^ElV ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [i86 " Nachtrag zur Rcchtfertigung meiner Absichten, Frank- fort and Leipzig, 1787. Bassus, Vorstellung denen hohen Standeshmptern der Erlauchten Republik Graubiinden, Nuremberg, 1788. Knigge, Philo's endliche Erkl'drung und Antwort aiif verschiedene Anfordcrungcn ttnd Fragen, Hanover, 1788. II. Documents of the order, published by the Bavarian government or otherwise, and hostile polemics. Einige Originalschriften des Illuminaten Ordeiis,, Munich, 1787. Nachtrag von weiteren Originalschriften, Munich, 1787. Der dclite Illuminat, oder die wahren, unverbcsserten Ritnale der Illuminaten, E'dessa (Frankfort-on-the-Main), 1788. Cosandey, Renner, and Griinberger, Drei mcrkwiirdige Aussagcn die innere Einrichtung des Illnminatenordens, Munich, 1786. Same (with Utzschneider), Grosse Absichten des Ordens der Illuminaten mit Nachtrag, I, II, III, Munich, 1786. Der neuesten Arbeiten des Spartacus und Philo, Munich, 1793. Illuminatus Dirigcns, oder Schottischer Ritter. Ein Pendant, etc., Munich, 1794. III. Historical treatments of the precise character and significance of the order. Mounier, De I'infliience attribuce aux philosophes, aux franc- magons ct aux ilhiinines, sur la revolution de France, Tubingen, 1801. Moimier, J. J., On the Influence attributed to Philosophers, Free- masons, and to the Illuminati, on the Revolution of France. . . . Translated from the Manuscript, and corrected under the inspection of the author, by J. Walker, London, 1801. Engel, Geschichte des I lluminaten-Ordens, Berlin, 1906. Forestier, Les Illumines de Baviere et la Franc-Magonnerie alle- mande, Paris, 191 5. 2. THE LEGEND OF THE ORDER AND ITS LITERARY COMMU- NICATION TO NEW ENGLAND Although the Order of the Illuminati was dead, the world had yet to reckon with its specter. So intense and wide- spread was the fear which the order engendered, so clearly did the traditionalists of the age see in its clientele the welding together into a secret machine of war of the most mischievous and dangerous of those elements which were discontented with the prevailing establishments of religion iSj] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI 187 and civil government, that it was impossible that its shadow should pass immediately.' The emcrg^ence of the order had attracted public attention so abruptly and sharply, and its downfall had been so violent and so swift, that public opinion lacked time to adjust itself to the facts in the case. In Bavaria, particularly, the ene- mies of the order were unable to persuade themselves that the machinations of the llluminati could safely be regarded as wholly of the past.- The documents of the order were ap- pealed to. to supply proof that its leaders had made delib- erate calculations against the day of possible opposition and temporary disaster and with satanic cunning had made their preparations to wring victory out of apparent defeat.' Be- sides, the depth of the government's suspicions and hostility was such that additional, though needless measures of state * kept very much alive in that countr}'^ the haunting fear of the continued existence of the order. * " Es muss die Furcht vor dem verschrieencn Tlluminatismus geradezu wie ein Druck in der Luft gehangen haben, denn der Orden selbst existierte in seiner fcsteren Organisation schon lange nicht mehr, als sich die Gespensterfurcht vor ihm in so allgemeiner Weise breit machte." (Engcl, o/". cit.. p. 425.) - Forestier, op. cit., p. 613. ^ Ibid., pp. 613 et scq. * As late as November 15, 1790, incited tliereto by the priest Frank, the duke of Bavaria proclaimed a new interdict against the order. The threat of death as a punishment for membership in the order or activity on its behalf was again imposed. Cf. Engel. p. 371 ; Forestier, pp. 614 et seq. The following year the police of the city of Munich compiled a list of ninety-one names (Forestier gives the number as ninety-two, cf. ibid., p. 615), of members of the order who were sup- posed to be still active, and proceeded to apply the policy of banishing those who were held to l)e most dangerous. A number suffered in this way. Cf. Engel, pp. 371 ct scq. Cf. Forestier, pp. 615 ct scq. A spirit of reckless denunciation ruled in Munich, because of which no suspected man's person was safe. Not until the death of Carl Theodore, in 1799. did this period of hostility to the order on the part of the Bavarian government finally come to an end. l88 ^EW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [i88 Outside of Bavaria numerous factors contributed to create the same general impression in the public mind. Among these were the efforts of the Rosicrucians to pla}'- upon the fears that the Illuminati had awakened, the mistaken connections which, in the Protestant world, were commonly made between the members of the Order of the Illuminati and the representatives and promoters of the Aufkl'drung, and the emergence of the German Union. To each of these in turn a word must be devoted. Following the suppression of the Jesuits in 1773, mem- bers of that order in considerable numbers, attracted by the rapid growth and the pretentious occultism of the Rosicru- cians.^ had united with the latter system." The result was the infusion of a definite strain of clericalism into the order of the Rosicrucians and, in consequence, a renewal of the attack upon the Illuminati. In Prussia, where the Rosicru- cians had firmly established themselves in Berlin, King Frederick William II was under the influence of Wollner, one of his ministers and a leading figure in the Rosicrucian *A reorganization of the Rosicrucian system had taken place in 1767, which stressed the antiquity, sanctity, and superior character of the order in its relations to the rest of the Masonic fraternity. According to their claims, the Rosicrucians alone were able to explain the hieroglyphics, symbols, and allegories of Freemasonry. The structure of the order was greatly elaborated at the time indicated, and thus supplementing its traditional appeal to the thirst for alchemy and magic, the order grew rapidly. Cf. Forestier, pp. 187-191. Cf. Engel, p. 240. ^Vehse, in his GcscJmhte dcs Preussischen Hofes, vol. ii, p. 35, puts the matter thus : " In den Landern nun, wo sie aufgehoben waren, brauchten die Exjesuiten das Mittel in den geheimen Gesellschaften Aufnahme zu suchen. Sie bildeten hier eine schleichende und deshalb um so sichere Opposition gegen alle Aufklarungstendenzen. In dem Freimaurerorden stifteten sie die sogenannten ' inneren Systeme.' Hier waren sie als Proselytenmacher ganz in der Stille tatig und arbeiteten mit Macht darauf hin, das obscurante Ffaffentum und die despotische Hierarchic in beiden Konfessionen, im Protestantismus sowohl als KathoHzisraus wieder herzustellen." (Quoted by Engel, pp. 241 ct seq.) 1 8,^] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMIXATI iSg system.' Through the latter's relations with IVank, who at the time stood at the head of the Rosicrucian order in Bava- ria, the Prussian monarch was easily persuaded that the operations of the Illuniinati had not only been extended to his own territories, hut throughout all ( Icrniaiiy.- Encour- aged by \\ ollner. b'rederick William took it upon himself to warn neighboring monarchs respecting the peril which he believed threatened, a course which bore at least one definite result in the measures taken by the elector of Saxony to investigate the situation at Leipzig where, according to the king of Prussia, a meeting of the chiefs of the lUutninati had been effected. ' Thus the notion that the order of the Illuniinati was still in existence was accorded the sanction of influential monarchs. The disposition of orthodox Protestants to confuse the advocates of rationalism with the membership of the Illu- minati finds its suggestion of plausibility at a glance and stands in little need of specific historical proof. The gen- eral effect of the undermining of traditional faiths, for which the dominating influences of the period of the Auf- klarung were responsible, was to create the impression ' Foresticr. <;>/>. cit.. p. 191. Engel. of. cil.. p. 24J. -' Ibid., p. 242. '•^ Ibid., pp. J47 ct seq. Forestier brings into connection with this effort of the king of Prussia to check the supposed operations of the Illuminati, a further reproach which came upon the order on account of the course pursued by the Rosicrucians in spreading tlie report in the Masonic world that the Eclectic .Alliance, an ill- fated effort to unite and dominate German Freemasonry, launched in 1783, was a survival of the Order of the Illuminati. The unpopularity and suspicion which the Eclectic .\lliance incurred were due in part to its attempts to eliminate the high grades of Masonry, but more especially to the charges made against it by representatives of rival Masonic systems that it had at heart the undermining of the Christian religion. Cf. ibid., pp. 617 ct seq., 383-388. The Illuminati had had affiliations with the Eclectic Alliance, and hence a certain justification had been given for the accusations which were transferred from the former to the latter. igo NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [i^q among the more simple-minded and credulous elements in the Protestant world that a vast combination of forces was at work, all hostile to the Christian religion and all striving to supplant faith by reason. So vast and significant a move- ment of thought naturally enough tended to engender vari- ous suspicions, and among these is to be numbered the naive conviction that the order which the Bavarian government had felt compelled to stamp out, on account of its alleged impiety and its immoral and anarchical principles, was but a local expression of the prevailing opposition tothe estab- lished systems and orthodox doctrines of the age/ The excitement occasioned by the appearance of the Ger- man Union {Die Deutsche Union), on account of its defi- nite connections with one of the former leaders ' of Weis- haupt's system and the unsavory private character and avowed unscrupulous designs of its originator, gave still more specific force to the Illuminati legend. Charles Fred- erick Bahrdt.^ a disreputable doctor of theology, in 1787, at ' The loose use of the term " Illuminati " involved in these statements is only partially illustrated in the following comment of Mounier: "On a donne par derision la qualite d' Illumines a tous les charlatans mystiques de ce siecle, a tous ceux qui s'occupent d'alchimie, de magic et de cabale, de revenans, de relations avec des esprits intermediaires, tels que les Saint-Germain, les Cagliostro, les Swedenborg, les Rose- croix et les Martinistes : mais il a existe une autre espece d'illumines en Allemagne" (j. e., Weishaupt's system). {De I'infltience attribuee aux philosophes, aux franc-viagons et aux illumines, sur la revolution de France, p. 169.) Not these systems alone, but the representatives of the diffused forces of the Enlightenment were appointed to share the mantle of the ambiguous term. * Baron Knigge. In responding to Bahrdt's appeal to assist him in working out the system of the German Union, Knigge violated the pledge he had made to the Bavarian government not to concern him- self again with secret organizations. For his indiscretion he paid the penalty of an unpleasant notoriety. Cf. Forestier, p. 629. ' Bahrdt's career was objectionable from almost every point of view. He had been first a pastor, and later a professor of sacred philology at the University of Leipzig. Here, as at Erfurt, the place of his jQl] THE EUROPEAN ORDER or THE ILLUMIN ATI iqi Halle, proposed to reap advantage from the ruin of Weis- haupt's system and to recruit among its former members the supporters of a new league, organized to accomplish the en- lightenment of the people principally by means of forming in every city secret associations of men ' who were to keep in correspondence with similar groups of their brethren and who, by the employment of reading-rooms, were to famil- iarize the people with those writings which were speciall}- calculated to remove popular prejudices and superstitions, and to break the force of appeals to tradition. Further, these associations were to supply financial assistance to writers who enlisted in the Union's campaign, and to fill the palms of booksellers who for the sake of a bribe showed themselves willing to prevent the sale of the works of authors who withheld their cooperation. ■ As an organization the German Union scarcely emerged from the stage of inception ; but the absurd policy of pub- licity pursued by its founder gave to the project a wide air- ing and provoked hostile writings ^ that added immensely next professional labors, his dissolute conduct involved him in public scandals which lost him his post. In 1771 he went to Gicssen as preacher and professor of theology. Later, after numerous changes of location and in the character of his educational activity, he took refuge at Halle, where he conducted courses in rhetoric, eloquence, declama- tion, and ethics. A man of low tastes, his life was without dignity and solid convictions. Cf. Forestier. pp. 624 etscq.; Mounier, pp. 201 ct seq.; P. Tschackert. in Herzog-Hauck, Rcalciuyklopiidic, 3. Aufl., ii, (1897), PP- 357-359- ' These associations were to be divided into six grades : Adolescent, Man. Elder, Mesopolite, Diocesan, and Superior. A ritual was pro- vided and the low initiation fee of one thaler imposed. The system, never fully developed, conveys the impression of crudeness and absurdity. - ^^ounier, pp. 201 ct scq. Forestier makes the added suggestion that Rahrdt saw in the formation of the Union a chance to further his own literary ambitions and pecuniary interests. Cf. Forestier, p. 627. = Ibid., pp. 629, 630. ig2 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [192 to the importance of the matter. The new system was boldly denounced as continuing the operations of the odious order dissolved in Bavaria, with a shrewd change of tactics which substituted " innocent " reading-rooms for the novi- tiate of Weishaupt's organization, and thus, it was urged, the way was opened for the exertion of a really powerful influence upon the thought of the German people/ By such means, and in such widely diverse and irrational ways, the popular belief in the survival of the defunct Order of the Illuminati was kept alive and supplied with definite points of attachment ; but it remained for the French Revo- lution, in all the rapidity and vastness of its developments and in the terrifying effects which its more frightful aspects exercised upon its observers, to offer the most exciting sug- gestions and to stimulate to the freest play the imaginations of those who were already persuaded that the secret asso- ciations that plagued Bavaria still lived to trouble the earth. ^ The supposed points of connection between the Order of the Illuminati and the French Revolution were partly tan- gible, though decidedly elusive," but much more largely of the nature of theories framed to meet the necessities of a case which in the judgment of dilettante historians posi- tively required the hypothesis of a diabolical conspiracy against thrones and altars {i. e., the civil power and the church), though the labors of Hercules might have to be exceeded in putting the same to paper. 1 Ibid. - Mounier, p. 186. ' " Die merkwiirdigste, aber auch gleichzeitig groteskeste Beschuldi- gung, die jemals dem Illiminatenorden nachgesagt worden ist, war die, dass er die franzosische Revolution zur Explosion gebracht habe. Es gehorte recht viel Kombinationsvermogen und Taschenspielerei in der Logik dazu, um den Beweis fiir diese wundersame Behauptung zusam- menzulcimen, aber in jener Zeit wurde tatsachlich alles geglaubt, sobald es sich darum handelte, dem Illuminatismus eine neue Schurkerei auf- zuhalsen." (Engel, pp. 402, 404. Cf. Mounier, pp. 124, 215 et seq.) j(^2] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILEUM IN ATI 193 Of the exiguous resources of interpreters of the Revolu- tion who made serious efforts to trace its impious and anar- chical principles and its savage enormities to their lair in the lodges of the Illuminati, the following are perhaps the only ones worthy of note. The public discussion of the affairs and principles of Weishaupt's organization, to which attention has already been called in various connections, continued with unabated zeal even beyond the close of the eighteenth century. At the very hour when the Revolution was shocking the world by its lapse from its orignal self-control into its horrible massacres, execution of monarchs, guillotine-lust, and fero- cious struggles between parties, new pamphlets and reviews bearing on the demolished order's constitution and objects found their way into the channels of public communication. Conspicuous among these were the following : Die neuesten Arbcitcn dcs SparfacKS und Philo in dcm- lUnniinafen Orden, jetzt cum erst en Mai gedruckt und cur Beherzigung bei gegenwdrtigen Zeitl'duften herausgcgehen,^ and Illuminatus ■ Dirigens oder Schottischer Ritter,' announced as a contin- uation of the former. These works, published at the insti- gation of the authorities at Munich, attracted public atten- tion anew^ to the most extreme religious and social doc- trines ^ of the order. Thus the revolutionary character of Illuminism received heavy emphasis * synchronously with ' Published anonymously at Munich, in 1794. "Title in full: Illuminatus Dirigens oder Schottischer Ritter. Ein Pendant cu der nicht unwichtigen Schrift: Die neuesten Arbeiten, etc., Munich, 1794. ' The grades of Priest and Regent were reproduced in the first of these two works. The most objectionable principles of the order were reserved to these two grades. * Forestier brings into connection with the publication of these pamphlets the appearance of certain brochures of Knigge's, wherein he espoused with great ardor the cause of the French Revolutionists. The special import of this requires no comment. Cf. ibid., pp. 636 ct scq. 1^4 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [194 contemporary events of the utmost significance to the im- perilled cause of political and religious conservatism. In Austria an independent literary assault upon Illumin- ism developed. At Vienna, Leopold Hoffman/ editor of the Wiener Zeitschrift, fully convinced that the Order of the Illuminati had exercised a baneful effect upon Free- masonry, to which he was devoted, abandoned his chair of language and German literature at the University of Vienna to dedicate his talents and his journal to the overthrow of Illuminated Freemasonry." Finding a zealous collaborator in a certain Dr. Zimmerman, a physician of Hannover, a radical turned an extreme conservative by the developments of the French Revolution, the two labored energetically to stigmatize the Illuminati as the secret cause of the political explosion in France. The discontinuance of the IViener Zeitschrift in 1793 by no means marked the end of the campaign. A deluge of pamphlets ' had ])een precipitated, all based upon the as- sumption that the order Weishaupt had founded had sub- sided only in appearance. Declamation did not wait upon evidence. It was alleged that the lower grades of the Illu- minati had been dissolved, but the superior grades were still practised. Under cover of correspondence, recruits of the system were now being sought. Freemasonry was being subjugated by Illuminism only that it might be forced to serve the ends of its conqueror. Journalists partial to the interests of the AufkWrung had been enlisted for the same purpose. The German Union was thus only one of the en- ' Hoffman had himself been a member of the Illuminati, at Vienna. Cf. Forestier, op. rit., p. 646. ~ The date was early in 1792 ( !). Cf. ibid., p. 646. 'Forestier, whose treatment at this point is characteristically thorough, gives the titles, or otherwise refers to not less than fourteen pamphlets or brochures, in addition to numerous magazine articles. Cf. ibid., pp. 649-658. ^C)5] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATJ i en- terprises fostered by the Illuminati to further their designs. The dogmas of the order had been spread secretly in I' ranee by means of the chibs of that country, and the effectiveness of the propaganda was being vividly demonstrated in the horrors of the Revolution. Unless German princes should promptly adopt rigorous measures against the various agents and enterprises of the order in their territories, they might confidently expect similar results to follow.' Much more of like character was foisted upon the read- ing public. As for contemporary historians who searched for specific evidence of an alliance betw'een the Illuminati of Germany and the Revolutionists in France, their energies were chiefly employed in the development of a clue which had as its kernel the supposed introduction of Tlluminism into France at the hands of the French revolutionary leader, Mirabeau, and the German savant, Bode.* Unfolded, this view of the case may be stated briefly as follows : Mirabeau. during his residence at Berlin, in the years 1786 and 1787. came into touch with the Illuminati of that city and was received as an adept into the order. Upon his return to Paris he made the attempt to intnxluce Illuminism into that particular branch of Masonry- of which he w^as also a member, the Philalethes or Amis Rcunis.^ To give force to his purpose, he called upon the Illuminati in Berlin to ^ Forestier, o{>. cil., pp. 649-658. ' Johann Joachim Cliristoph Rode ( 1730- 179. V). by no means a dis- tinguished representative of the German literati of his period, occupied a fairly important role in the- history of the Order of the Illuminati. After Weishaupt's flight to Ingr>lstadt he was the most active leader in the ranks of the persecuted order. Cf. Forestier, pp. 543 et scq. He was profoundly interested in Masonry. In 1790 he projected a plan for the union of all the German lodges of Masonry. The effort proved futile. * The Philalethes were conspicuous among IVench Freemasons for their unequalled devotion to alchemy and theurgy. The order was founded about 1773. igS NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATl [196 send to his assistance two talented and influential represen- tatives of the order. The men chosen by the Illuminati- circle in Berlin, Bode and von dem Busche/ arrived in Paris in the early summer of 1787. To conceal their pur- pose from prying eyes, they spread the report that they had come from Germany to investigate the subjects of magnet- ism and the extent of the influence exerted by the Jesuits upon the secret societies of the age. Meantime, the lodges of the Philalcthcs, and through them the French Masonic lodges in general, were inoculated with the principles of Illuminism. French Freemasonry thus became committed to the project of forcing the overthrow of thrones and altars. So transformed, these lodges created secret com- mittees who busied themselves with plans for the precipita- tion of a great revolutionary movement. To these com- mittees belonged the subsequent leaders and heroes of the French Revolution — de Rochefoucauld, Condorcet, Petion, the Duke of Orleans (Grand Master of French Masonry), Camille-Desmoulins, Danton, Lafayette, de Leutre, Fauchet, et al. Through these and their associates the connection be- tween the lodges of Illuminated French Freemasonry and the powerful political clubs of the country was effected. Thus Illuminism was able to inspire Jacobinism. Finally, on the 14 of July, 1789, the revolutionary mine was sprung, and the great secret of the Illuminati became the possession of the world." ' Staack, in his Der Triumph der Philosophie int 18. Jahrhundert (1803), vol. ii, p. 276, represents von dem Busche as a military official in the service of the Dutch government, and as a member of Weis- haupt's order. Mounier (p. 212) refers to him as a major in the service of the landgrave of 'Hesse-Darmstadt. His figure is of no historical importance apart from its chance connection with the Illu- minati legend. *This bizarre and preposterous explanation of the genesis of the French Revolution was a favorite with contemporarj' German and French writers of the special-pleader type. It was used, as we shall lyj] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI ^jj At ever}- point this fantastic exposition suffered the fatal defect of a lack of historical proof. Even the specific asser- tions of its inventors which were most necessary to their hypothesis were disproved by the facts brought to light by more cautious and unbiased investigators who followed. E. g., the idea of Mirabeau's intimate connection with the program of the Order of the Illuminati and his pro- found faith in it as the best of all instruments for the work of social amelioration is rendered untenable the mo- ment the rash and unrepublican temper of his spirit is called seriously to mind.' Again, the real object of Bode's visit see later, by botli Robison and Barrucl in tlieir discussions of the role played by the Illuminati in the great I'Yench political and social debacle. Its classic statement was made a few years later by Staack. in his Der Triumph dcr Philosophic ini i8. Jahrhnudcrt, vol. ii, pp. 348 ct scq. A more silly exposition of the relation of the Illuminati to the French Revolution is that found in the fabulous tale related by the notorious Sicilian impostor, Giuseppe Balsamo ("Count" .Messandro Cagliostro), who, in \~\)0, having been arrested at Rome and interro- gated by officials respecting his revolutionary principles, attempted to divert suspicion by recounting experiences he claimed to have had with two chiefs of the Illuminati, at Mitau, near Frankfort, Germany. Revelations had been made to him at that time (1780), he alleged, to the effect that the Order of the Illuminati was able to number 20,000 lodges, scattered through Europe and America; that its agents were industriously operating in all European courts, particularly, being lavishly financed with funds drawn from the immense treasures of the order; and that the nt.xt great blow of the order was to be delivered against the government of France. Cf. Sierke, Schwdrtucr und Schwindlcr cu Endc des 18. Jahrhunderts, pp. 407 ct seq. Both F.ngel (pp. 420 ct scq.) and Forestier (pp. 658 ct seq.) devote an unneces- sary amount of space to CagHostro's foolish " revelations ". It is suf- ficient for our purpose to remark in passing that, in any case, Cagliostro was not discussing the affairs of Weishaupt's order, but the affairs of the Strict Observance whose growing credulity and occultism caused the term " Illuminati " sometimes to be applied to them. ' " Ses principcs etaient directement contraires a ceux des illumines; il n'etait pas homme a placer ses esperances dans un intervalle de millc ans. II n'a jamais pense qu'un people put devenir assez vertueux pour se passer de lois et de magistrats. II a soutenu la vraie thcorie de la igg ^ElV ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [i^g to Paris, a matter of vital importance in the Illuminati- French Revolution hypothesis, was not to communicate Illuminism to French Freemasons, but to attend an assem- bly of representatives of the Philalethes, called to consider the results of an inquiry previously undertaken, respecting the occult interests and tendencies of that order. Convinced that that branch of French Masonry was yielding to an in- ordinate passion for the occult sciences, Bode had been pre- vailed upon by German Masons, von dem Busche ^ among the number, to make a journey to Paris to warn his French brethren of their mistake. A subsidiary personal interest in the newly-discovered " science " of animal magnetism ^ helped to form his decision to make the trip.^ The much more important contention that the Illuminati balance des pouvoirs, ct conibattu le despotisme populaire, toutes les fois que I'amour de la celebrite et I'interet de son ambition ne le fais- aient pas agir contra sa propre doctrine, et les illumines n'auraient ete capables, ni d'ajouter a ses lumieres, ni de changer sa theorie, ni de corriger ses vices." (Mounier, pp. 216 et seq.) This judgment of a sensible and impartial critic of the French Revolution, first sub- mitted to the public in 1801, is as valid now as then. ^ Without citing his authority, Forestier makes the statement that von dem Busche's interest in the reform of the debased order of the Philalethes led him not only to accompany Bode but to offer to pay his expenses. Cf. Forestier, p. 666. - The theories and seances of the empiric, Mesmer, were greatly agitat- ing Paris at the time and attracting attention throughout Europe. 3 Mounier, pp. 212 et seq. Cf. Forestier, pp. 664 et seq. While Bode was in Paris he kept in close correspondence with his German friend, Frau Hess, of Hirschberg. Engel, who made an examination of this correspondence in the Royal Library at Dresden, was unable to discover the slightest intimation that Bode's mind, while he was in Paris, was occupied with anything more revolutionary than the turning of the Philalethes away from their craze for alchemy, cabala, theosophy, and theurgy, or in Mesmer's theories. Cf. Engel, pp. 409- 415. When Bode returned to Germany it is undeniable that he carried with him an unfavorable opinion of French Masonry. Cf. Forestier, p. 668. 199] ^^^ EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILEUM I NAT! 199 were instrumental in starting the I'Vcnch Revolution, shows a lack of historical perspective that either leaves out of account or obscures the importance of the economic, social, political, and religious causes, tangible and overt, though complex, that rendered the Revolution inevitable. Yet the legend of llluininistn as tlie responsible author of the French Revolution found numercnis vindicators and in- terpreters.' to the efforts of two of which, because of their intimate relation to the interests of the investigation in hand, our attention in the remainder of this chapter is to be con- fined. In the \'ear 1797 there appeared at Edinburgh. Scotland, a volume bearing the following title : Proofs of a Conspir- acy against All the Religions and Governments of Europe, carried on in the Secret Meetings of the Free Masons, Illu- ' In addition to the two olal)oratcd upon in the remainder of this chapter, the following are most worthy of note: Staack, Dcr Triumph dcr Philosophie iin 18. Jalirhuiidcrt, vols, i, ii. 1803 (already noted) ; Proyard. Louis Xl-'I et scs vertus aux prises avec la perz-ersite du siccle, Paris. 1808 (4 vols.) : De Malet, Recherches politiques et his- toriqucs qui prouz'ettt I'existence d'uue secte revolutionnaire, son antique originc, ses moycus, ainsi que sou but, ct dcvoilent entierement I'uuique cause de la Rei'olution Fratt(aise, Paris, 1817; De Langres. Des Societes Secretes en AUcmague ct dans d'autrcs contrces, de la Sectc des Ilhimincs, du Tribunal Secret, de I'assassinat de Kotzebue, 1810; Le Couteulx, Les Sectes et Soeietcs politiques et rcligieuscs, Paris, 1863; Deschamps, Les Societes Secretes et la So^ictc, vols, i, ii. iii. Avignon, 1874- 1876. As late as 1906, in an article in the Edinburgh Retiew of July of that year, Una Birch traversed much of the ground covered thus far in this and the preceding chapter and, on the theory that an event as spontaneous (?) as the French Revolution must have originated in a definite coordination of ideas and doctrines, reaffirmed the general notion that the Masonic lodges of France, having been inoculated with the doctrint-s of the lUuminati, became the principal points of associative agitation for, and thus the direct cause of. the French Revolution. This essay may also be found in the volume of essays entitled, Secret Societies and the French Rc-.-olutiou (London and New York, 191 1), by the same author. 200 ^EW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [200 minati, and Reading Societies.^ Its author, John Robison,^ ^ Later editions of this work, which in their number and geographical extent strongly suggest the degree of interest the subject had for the reading public, appeared as follows: second edition, London, 1797; third edition, London, 1798; fourth edition, London and New York. 1798; a French translation, London, 1798-99 (2 vols.) ; a German translation, Konigslutter and Hamburg, 1800; a Dutch translation. Dordrecht (n. d.). See Wolfstieg, Bibliographie der Freimaurerischen Literatur, vol. i, pp. 192, 193. * Robison was a mathematician, scientific writer, and lecturer in the field of natural philosophy, of considerable ability and distinction. The son of a Glasgow merchant, he was born in Scotland in 1739. He received the benefits of a thorough education, graduating from Glasgow University in 1756. The connections he enjoyed throughout his life were of the best. Subsequent to his graduation he became tutor to the son of Sir Charles Knowles, the English admiral, and later was appointed by the government to service in the testing out at sea of the newly completed chronometer of John Harrison, the horologist. Still later he v.ent to Russia as private secretary to Sir Charles. While in Russia he was called to the chair of mathematics established in connection with the imperial sea-cadet corps of nobles. Abandon- ing this post, he returned to Scotland, and in 1773 became professor of natural philosophy in Edinburgh University, lecturing on such sub- jects as hydro-dynamics, astronomy, optics, electricity, and magnetism. His distinction in this general field seems clearly demonstrated by the fact that he was called upon to contribute to the third edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica articles on seamanship, the telescope, optics, waterworks, resistance to fluids, electricity, magnetism, music, etc., as well as by the fact that when the Royal Society of Edinburgh was organized under royal charter in 1783, Robison was elected general sec- retary of that distinguished organization, an oflice he continued to hold until within a few years of his death. The versatility of the man is further evidenced by the fact that he was deeply interested in music, attaining the mastery of several instruments, and in the writing of verse. His reputation was not confined to Great Britain. In 1790 the College of New Jersey (Princeton University) conferred upon him the degree of LL.D. (C/. General Catalogue of the College of New Jersey, 1746-1896, p. 177. The Dictionary of National Biography, vol. xlix, p. 58, incorrectly gives the date for the bestowal of this degree as 1798.) Later, his alma mater, Glasgow University, bestowed upon him a like honor. In addition to his encyclopaedia articles and his book on the Illumi- nati, Robison edited and published the lectures of Dr. Black, the chemist, and the following scientific works, the product of his own intellectual 2oi] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE lUMMINATI joi an English savant and Freemason, whose position in the academic world entitled his statements to respect, had had his curiosity regarding the character and effects of conti- nental Freemasonry greatly stimulated by a stray volume of the (lerman periodical. Religions Hrf/cbcnhcitcu,^ which came under his notice in 1795. and in which he found ex- positions of Masonic systems and schisms so numerous and so seriously maintained by their advocates as to create deep wonderment in his mind." Rent upon discovering hwth the activity: Outlines of a Course of Lectures o>i Mechanical I'liilosof>hy, Edinburgh, 1797, and. Elements of M efhanical Philosophy, Edinburgh, 1804. The latter was intended to be the initial volume of a series, but its successors were not forthcoming. A posthumous work of four volumes entitled, A System of Mechanical Philosophy, with Xotes by David Brewster, LL.D., was published at Edinburgh in 1822. The death of Robison occurred in 1805. (For the material incorporated in the foregoing the writer is chietly indebted to the Dictionary of Xational Biography, vol. xlix, pp. 57, 58, and to casual references in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, vols, i-v.) ^ " Die Neuesten Religionsbegebenheiten mit unpartheyischen Anmer- kungen mit Beihiilfe mehrerer von H. M. G. Koster, Professor in Giessen, herausgegeben Jg. 1-20 Giessen. 1778-97 verfolgten gleichfalls den Zweck. von den wichtigstcn Vorfjillen aus der Religionsgeschichte der Gegenwart eine deutliche. griindliche und niitzlichc Beschreibung zu lief em. doch beschriinkten sie sich dabei vornchmlich auf Deutscli- land und richteten sich in erster Linic an Laien und Xichttheologen " (Ilerzog-Hauck, Rcalencyklopiidie. 3rd ed., vol. xxiv, Leipzig, 1913. p. 673). 'Though a Mason. Robison was by no means an ardent supporter of Freemasonry. The English Masonic lodges with which he was ac- quainted impressed him as having no higher function than that of supplying "a pretext for passing an hour or two in a sort of decent conviviality, not altogether void of some rational occupation." He found the lodges on the continent, however, "matters of serious concern and debate." Cf. Proofs of a Conspiracy, etc., pp. i et seq. (The edition of Robison's book here as elsewhere referred to is the third [London] edition of 1708.) Robison professed to have visited lodges at Liege. Valenciennes. Brussels. Aix-la-Chapclle. Berlin. Konigsberg, and St. Petersburg. Everywhere he found .in elaboration of ritual, joined with a spirit of grave interest in the affairs of Freemasonry, which filled him with astonishment and seemed to call for explanation. Cf. ibid., pp. 2 et seq. 202 ^"^EW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [202 occasion and the significance of this tangled mass. Robison obtained possession of other volumes of the periodical men- tioned ^ and set himself the task of elucidating the problem presented by Masonry's luxuriant growth and its power of popular appeal. The conclusions Robison came to are best stated in his own words : I have found that the covert of a Mason Lodge had been em- ployed in every country for venting and propagating senti- ments in religion and politics, that could not have circulated in public without exposing the author to great danger. I found, that this impunity had gradually encouraged men of licentious principles to become more bold, and to teach doc- trines subversive of all our notions of morality — of all our confidence in the moral government of the universe — of all our hopes of improvement in a future state of existence — and of all satisfaction and contentment with our present life, so long as we live in a state of civil subordination. I have been able to trace these attempts, made, through a course of fifty years, under the specious pretext of enlightening the world by the 1 Robison, op. cit., p. 7. Robison also made use of several of the works which the disturbances occasioned by the Bavarian Illuminati called forth on the continent. Conspicuous among these were the documents of the order pubHshed bj' the Bavarian government. Cf. ibid., pp. 133, 185, 186, 205, etc. He also made use of Hoffman's violently hostile sheet, the Wiener Zeitschrift. Cf. ibid., pp. 358, 393. Robison's knowledge of the German language was, however, far from perfect, as he himself freely admitted {Cf. ibid., pp. 14, 499), so that his handling of his sources must be viewed as neither capable nor com- plete. The meagerness of his resources is perhaps best illustrated in his treatment of the conspiracy which he assumed underlay the French Revolution. Such " proofs " as he made use of in this connection amounted to little more than the political manifestoes of certain secret lodges and clubs, fugitive revolutionary documents which chanced to blow across his path, current historical conjecture and gossip, eic. The whole was pieced together in the spirit of one who ventured to hope that his " scattered facts " might be of some service to his generation. {Cf. ibid., pp. 493-496.) I 203J THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI 203 torch of philosophy, and of dispeUitig the clouds of civil and religious superstition which keep the nations of Europe in darkness and slavery. I have observed these doctrines gradu- ally diffusing and mixing with all the different systems of Free Masonry; till, at last, AN ASSOCIATION HAS BEEN FORMED for the express purpose of ROOTING OUT ALL THE R1-:LIGI0US ESTABLISHMENTS, AND OVER- TURNING ALL THE EXISTING GOVERNMENTS OF EUROPE. I have seen this Association exerting itself zeal- ously and systematically, till it has become almost irresistible : And I have seen that the most active leaders in the French Revolution were members of this Association, and conducted their first movements according to its principles, and by means of its instructions and assistance, formally requested and ob- tained: And, lastly, I have seen that this Association still exists, still works in secret, and that not only several appearances among ourselves show that its emissaries are endeavouring to propagate their detestable doctrines, but that the Association has I^odges in Britain corresponding with the mother Lodge at Munich ever since 1784. . . . The Association of which I have been speaking is the order of ILLUMINATI, founded, in 1775 \sic], by Dr. Adam Weishaupt. professor of Canon-law in the University of Ingolstadt, and abolished in 1786 by the Elector of Bavaria, but revived immediately after, under an- other name, and in a different form, all over Germany. Tt was again detected, and seemingly ])roken up ; but it had by this time taken so deep root that it still subsists without being detected, and has spread into all the countries of Europe.* The " proofs " to which Robison appealed to support these conclusions betrayed the same lack of critical mind * ' Robison. o/>. a'/., pp. 10, 11. 15. *An illustration of the carelessness with wliich Robison handled his dates is found on pages 15 and 133 {cf. p. 103) of the Proofs of a Consf^iracy, etc., in the matter of the date of the founding of the Order of the Illuminati. Far more serious in its reflection on the author's 204 ^^^^^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [204 with which all the advocates of the Illuminati-French Revo- lution hypothesis are to be charged. Only the more signifi- cant elements are here brought under survey/ That inclination for a multiplication of the degrees and an elaboration of the ceremonies of simple English Free- masonry which Robison found operative among French Freemasons from the beginning of the eighteenth century on," had resulted in making the lodges attractive to those elements in France whose discontent over civil and ecclesias- lack of accuracy and insight is such looseness and general unsound- ness of treatment as permitted him to represent the Jesuits as fre- quenters of English and French Masonic lodges, while at the same time indicting the latter as fully committed to a free-thinking propaganda which sought nothing less than the eradication of religion, not to speak of its institutions. Cf. ibid., pp. 22 et seq. Robison's super- ficial explanation of the anticlericalism of Weishaupt might be cited as another illustration of the blundering method pursued in the book. Cf. ibid., pp. loi, 103 ct seq. His weak and practically pointless digres- sion in order to find opportunity to comment on the educational pro- jects of Basedow will serve to illustrate the discursive quality in his work. Cf. ibid., 85 et seq. ' Robison's exposition of the elements of uncontrolled curiosity and conjecture as elements in his purpose in writing the book is not with- out significance : " I must entreat that it be remembered that these sheets are not the work of an author determined to write a book. They were for the most part notes, which I took from books I had borrowed, that I might occasionally have recourse to them when occupied with Free Masonry, the first object of my curiosity. My curiosity was diverted to many other things as I went along, and when the Illuminati came in my way, I regretted the time I had thrown away on Free Masonry. (But, observing their connection, I thought that I perceived the progress of one and the same design. This made me eager to find out any remains of Weishaupt's Association. I was not surprised when I saw marks of its interference in the French Revolution.) In hunting for clearer proofs I found out the German Union — and, in fine, the whole appeared to be one great and wicked project, fermenting and working over all Europe." (Ibid., pp. 493 et seq.) Encouraged by his friends, Robison " set about collecting my [his] scattered facts." (Ibid., p. 494.) - Ibid,, pp. 28 et seq. 205] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI 205 tical oppressions had grown great.' Under the pressure im- posed upon private and public discussion by the state and by the church, men of letters, avocats au parloncnt. unbene- ficed abbes, impecunious youths, and self-styled philosophers thronged the halls of the lodges, eager to take advantage of the opportunity their secret assemlilies afforded to discuss the most intimate concerns of politics and religion,' Despite the wide contrariety of minor views thus represented, one general idea and language, that of " cosmopolitanism," was made familiar to a multitude of minds. Worse still, the popular interest of the period in mysticism, theosophy, cabala, and genuine science was appealed to, in order to ' Robison does not wholly miss the true point in his survey of the backgrounds of the French Revolution. He points out numerous " co- operating causes " which served to make the Revolution inevitable. " Perhaps there never was a nation where all these cooperating causes had acquired greater strength than in France. Oppressions of all kinds were at a height. The luxuries of life were enjoyed exclusively by the upper classes, and this in the highest degree of refinement; so that the desires of the rest were whetted to the utmost. Even religion ap- peared in an unwelcome form, and seemed chiefly calculated for pro- curing establishments for the younger sons of insolent and useless nobility. For numbers of men of letters were excluded, by their birth, from all hopes of advancement to the higher stations in the church. These men frequently vented their discontents by secretly joining the laics in their bitter satires on such in the higher orders of the clergy, as had scandalously departed from the purity and simplicity of manners which Christianity enjoins. Such examples were not un frequent, and none was spared in those bitter invectives. . . . The faith of the nation was shaken ; and when, in a few instances, a worthy Cure uttered the small still voice of true religion, it was not heard amidst the general noise of satire and reproach. The misconduct of admin- istration, and the abuse of the public treasures, were every day grow- ing more impudent and glaring, and exposed the government to con- tinual criticism." ( Robison. pp. 60 ct scq. Cf. ibid., pp. 362 ct seq.) These " cooperating causes " receive little emphasis, however, in Robi- son's zealous effort to trace the revolutionary spirit to its lair in the Masonic lodges of France. 2 Ibid., pp. 40 et scq. 2o6 ^^^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [206 provide a more numerous clientele among whom might be disseminated the doctrines of atheism, materialism, and dis- content with civil subordination/ Thus the Masonic lodges in France were made " the hot-beds, where the seeds were sown, and tenderly reared, of all the pernicious doctrines which soon after choaked every moral or religious cultiva- tion, and have made . . . Society worse than a waste. . . ." ' The introduction of French Freemasonry into Germany, according to Robison, was followed by similar results."^ Thither, as to France, simple English Freemasonry had first gone, and because of its exclusive emphasis upon the prin- ciple of brotherly love the Germans had welcomed it and treated it with deep seriousness ; ^ but the sense of mystery and the taste for ritualistic embellishments which the advent of French Masonry promoted, speedily changed the temper of the German brethren.' A reckless tendency to innova- 1 Robison, op. cit., pp. 43 et seq. ^ Ibid., p. 51. Robison's account of this phase of the situation has Httle to commend it. Upon his own unsupported assertions many of the Revolutionary leaders, as, for example, Mirabeau, Sieyes, Despre- menil, Bailly, Fauchet, Maury, Mounier, and Talleyrand, are brought into direct connection with one or another of the French Masonic systems. Cf. Robison, pp. 49 et seq. Similarly, it is maintained, it was among Masonic lodges that the ideas contained in such books as Robinet's La Nature, ou I'Hojiime moral et physique, Condorcet's Le Progrcs dc I'Esprit humaiii, Lequinio's Les prejugcs vaincus par la raison, and the book Des Erreurs et de la Vcrite, were first dissemin- ated. Indeed, some of these books are said to have sprung out of the very bosom of the lodges. Cf. ibid., pp. 43 et seq. 3 Ibid., pp. 67 et seq. Comparison with Forestier, pp. 141 et seq., will make clear the paucity of the data upon which Robison drew in attempting to write the earlier chapters of the history of German Freemasonry. •* Robison, op. cit., p. 64. ' Robison's language is absurdly strong. " In half a year Free Masonry underwent a complete revolution all over Germany." {Ibid., p. 70.) jOj] T'/ZE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI 207 tion set in. Ilic love <>f stars and rihlxms,' and the desire to learn of ghost-raising, exorcism, and alchemy,- became the order of the day. Rosicrucianism flourished. " rival sys- tems appeared, and questions of precedency split German Freemasonry into numerous fiercely hostile camps.' Meantime, on account of the propaganda carried on by the I'Jilighteners,'' a revolution of the public mind took place in Germany, marked by a great increase of scepticism, in- fidelity, and irreligion, not only among the wealthy and luxurious but among the profligate elements in the lower classes as well." Rationalistic theologians, aided and abetted by booksellers and publishers and by educational theorists,* cooperated to make the ideas of orthodox Christianity di.s- tasteful to the general public.** To give elYect to this cam- paign of seduction, the lodges of Freemasonry' were invaded 'The sheer puerility of the treatment is indicated by the following; "A Mr. Rosa, a French commissary, brought from Paris a complete wagon-load of Masonic ornaments, which were all distributed before it had reached Berlin, and he was obliged to order another, to furnish the Ix)dges of that city. It became for a while the most profitable business to many French officers and commissaries dispersed over Germany, having little else to do." ( Robison. op. cit., pp. 69 ct scq.) - Ibid., p. 73. ^ Ibid., pp. 65 ct scq. * Ibid., pp. jS, 79. Robison read into this situation a deliberate effort on the part of the leaders of French Freemasonry to extend the hegemony of the latter. He surmised that political uses and benefits were thus aimed at. Cf. ibid. '■■ Robison's term for the representatives of the Aufkliintng. Cf. Robison, p. 8r. " Ibid., p. So. This declension of faith and murals Robison. more wisely than he was aware, traced in part to the clash between the Roman Catholic and Protestant systems in Germany and the spirit of free inquiry which was thus promoted. See Robison, pp. 80 et seqq. ' It is in this connection that Basedow is brought into relations with Robison's devious exposition. Cf. ibid., pp. 85 ct scq. * ibid., pp. 82 ct scq. 2o8 NE.W ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [208 and their secret assemblies employed to spread free-thinking- and cosmopolitical ideas/ Thus German Freemasonry be- came impregnated with the impious and revolutionary ten- dencies of French Freemasonry." At such an hour, according to Robison, Weishaupt founded his Order of the Illuminati.^ Employing the op- portunities afforded him by his connections with the Masons,* he exerted himself to make disciples and to lay the foundations of an " Association . . . which, in time, should govern the world," ° the express aim of which " was to abolish Christianity and overturn all civil government." ® 1 Robison, o/>. cit., pp. 92 et seq. "... Germany has experienced the same gradual progress, from Religion to Atheism, from decency to dis- soluteness, and from loyalty to rebellion, which has had its course in France. And I must now add, that this progress has been effected in the same manner, and by the same means; and that one of the chief means of seduction has been the Lodges of the Free Masons. The French, along with their numerous chevaleries [sic], and stars, and ribands, had brought in the custom of haranguing in the Lodges, and as human nature has a considerable uniformity everywhere, the same topics became favorite subjects of declamation that had tickled the ear in France; there were the same corruptions of sentiments and manners among the luxurious or profligate, and the same incitements to the utterance of these sentiments, wherever it could be done with safety ; and I may say, that the zealots in all these tracts of free- thinking were more serious, more grave, and fanatical. These are assertions a priori. I can produce proofs." {Ibid., pp. 91 et seq.) The " proofs " here referred to concern the Masonic career of Baron Knigge, whose antagonism to orthodox Christianity Robison distorts both as to its temper and its effect. ^ Ibid., pp. 126 et seq. ^ Ibid., pp. 100 et seq. * Ibid., pp. loi et seq. These connections Robison almost wholly misconceived. Cf. supra, pp. 150, 163 et seq. ^ Robison, op. cit., p. 103. * Ibid., p. 105. The ulterior object of the order is later stated by Robison in the following manner : " Their first and immediate aim is to get possession of riches, power, and influence, without industry; and, to accomplish this, they want to abolish Christianity; and then dissolute 2og] THE EVROPE.W ORDER OF THE HJ.VMINATI 209 To accomplish this end a most insinuating pedagogy' was adopted/ the members were trained to spy upon one an- other,- and hypocrisy which did not stop short of positive villainy was ])ractised.^ As a fitting climax to a program that involved the complete subversion of existing moral standards, women were to be admitted to the lodges."* manners and univH.-rsal profligacy will procure them the adherence of all the wicked, and enable them to overturn all the civil governments of Europe; after which they will think of further conquests, and ex- tend their operations to the other quarters of the filobe, till they have reduced mankind to a state of one indistinguishable chaotic mass." Robison, pp. 209 et seq. ' Ibid., p. 126. - Ibid., p. 2\2. ^Robison omitted nothing in his eflfort to fasten the stigma of moral obliquity upon the order. The published papers of the order w'ere ap- pealed to to show that crimes of bribery, theft, and libertinism were not uncommon on the part of the leaders. See Robison, pp. 144 et seq. The unsavory documents of the order referred to on page iSi of this dissertation likewise received Robison's zealous attention. Cf. ibid., pp. 138 ct seq. Weishaupt's personal immorality in his relations with his sister-in-law is made to do full duty as " a brilliant specimen of the ethics which illuminated" the leaders. Cf. ibid., pp. 164 ct seq. (If a particular illustration of Robisnn's bungling way of handling his German sources were needed, that might be found in the fact that our author identified the victim of Weishaupt's lust as the sister-in-law of Zwack. Cf. ibid., p. 167.) * To Robison's mind this constitutor! the crowning infamy of the order. "There is nothing in the whole constitution of the llluminali that strikes me with more horror than the proposals of Hercules and Minos to enlist women in this shocking warfare with all that 'is good, and pure, and lovely, and of good report '. . . . Are not the accursed fruits of Illumination to be seen in the present humiliating condition of women in France? . . In their present state of national moderation (as they call it) and security, see Madame Tallien come into the public theatre, accompanied by other beautiful women, ( I was about to have misnamed them Ladies), laying aside all modesty, and present- ing themselves to the public view, with l)arcd limbs, a la Sauvage, as the alluring objects of desire . . . Was not their abominable farce in the church of Notre Dame a bait of the same kind, in the true spirit of Weishaupt's ErotcrionV (Robison, pp. 243. 251, 2},2.) 2IO NEIV ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [210 Following an analysis of the grades of the order/ lifted little if any above the general plane of ineptitude upon which the author moved, Robison incorporated into his history of the Bavarian Illuminati a table of the lodges that had been established prior to 1786." Drawing professedly upon the private papers of the order as published by the Bavarian government, he worked out a list which included five lodges in Strassburg; four in Bonn; fourteen in Austria; " many" in each of the following states, Livonia, Courland, Alsace, Hesse, Poland, Switzerland, and Holland; eight in Eng- land; two in Scotland; and "several" in America.^ The suppression of the Illuminati by the Bavarian gov- ernment was regarded by Robison as merely " formal " in its nature : * the evil genius of the banned order speedily reappeared in the guise of the German Union. ° Into the discussion of the German Union Robison read the " proofs " of an enterprise truly gigantic both as to its proportions and its baneful influence. The illuminated lodges of Free- masonry were declared to have given way to reading soci- eties wherein the initiated, i. c., the members of the Union, actively employed themselves, apparently to accomplish the noble ends of enlightening mankind and securing the de- thronement of superstition and fanaticism,'' but actually to secure the destruction of every sentiment of religion, moral- ^ Robison, op. cit., pp. 110-200. - Ibid., pp. 201 et seq. 3 Ibid. Although offered to the public with every show of con- fidence, Robison's list was largely chimerical. He had depended upon isolated references in the papers of the order, many of which he must have misread. Doubtless in numerous cases he took the hopes of the ambitious leaders of the order as sober statements of fact. The importance of the reference to America will, of course, appear later. * Ibid., p. 272. ^ Ibid., p. 286. ^ Ibid., p. 290. 21 1 ] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI _. r i ity and loyalty^ The higher mysteries of Bahrdt's silly and abortive project were declared to be identical with those of Weishaiipt's order : natural religion and atheism were to be substituted for Christianity, and political principles equally anarchical with those of the Illuminati were fos- tered." Although Robison confessed himself driven to pronounce Bahrdt's enterprise " coarse, and palpably mean," ■' and although the archives and officers of the Union were held to be " contemptil)le," * none the less an elaborate though most disjointed tale Avas unfolded by him. This involved the organization of the German literati and the control of the book trade, with a view to forming taste and directing public opinion; ' and the establishment of reading societies to the number of eight hundred or more,'"' among whose members were to be circulated such books as were calculated to fortify the mind against all disposition to be startled on account of the appearance of " doctrines and maxims which are singular, or perhaps opposite to those which are current in ordinary societies." ' Thus it would be possible "to work 1 Robison, op. cit., pp. 315 ct scq. - Ibid., p. 22-^. 'Ibid., p. 321. * Ibid., p. 317. "All the Archives that were found were the plans and lists of the members, and a parcel of letters of correspondence. The correspondence and other business was managed by an old man in some inferior office or judicatory, who lived at bed and board in Bahrdt's house for about six shillings a week, having a chest of papers and a writing-desk in the corner of the common room of the house." (Ibid.) ° Ibid., pp. 291. 296, 297. " Ibid., p. 299. Bahrdt's fantastical program called for the division of these societies into Provinces or Dioceses, each directed by its Diocesan, and subordinate to a central organization. Cf. ibid., p. 292. ' Ibid., p. 294. 212 A^-EW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [212 in silence upon all courts, families, and individuals in every quarter, and acquire an influence in the appointment of court-officers, stewards, secretaries, parish-priests, public teachers, or private tutors." ^ Robison was unable to present anything beyond the most tenuous " proofs " that a direct relation existed between Weishaupt's system and Bahrdt's enterprise;" still he did not hesitate to affirm that, on account of the emergence of the latter, it had been made clear that the suppression of the Illuminati had been futile/ " Weishaupt and his agents were still busy and successful." * Arriving finally at the subject of the French Revolution, Robison devoted something more than sixty pages to an effort to coiniect the system of Weishaupt with the great European debacle. Approaching the matter with uncon- cealed dubiety,'^ he found his confidence and boldness grow- ing as he proceeded. Relying chiefly upon such uncritical and promiscuous sources as the Religions Begebenheifen, the Wiener Zeifschrift. and the Magacin des Literatur et Kunst 1 Robison, op. cit., p. 297. -Ibid., pp. 322 ct scq. "...although 1 cannot consider the German Union as a formal revival of the Order under another name, I must hold those United, and the members of those Reading .Societies, as llliiininati and Mincrvals. I must even consider the Union as a part of Spartacus's work." (Ibid.) "' Ibid., pp. 355 ct seq. " Thus I think it clearly appears, that the suppression of the Illuminati in Bavaria and of the Union in Branden- burgh were insufficient . . . The habit of plotting had formed itself into a regular system. Societies now acted everywhere in secret, in correspondence with similar societies in distant places. And thus a mode of cooperation was furnished to the discontented, the restless, and the unprincipled in all places, without even the trouble of formal initiations, and without any external appearances by which the exist- ence and occupations of the members could be distinguished." (Ibid.) *Ibid., p. 355- Cf. ibid., p. 286. •"' Ibid., p. 358. 213] ■^^^^' EUROPEAN ORDER OP THE II.U'MISATI _, I ^J (,sic), and a work entitled Mcmoircs Posthioiics dc Custinc, he sought a point of direct contact between the llluminati and the I'Vench revolutionary movement by stressing the enlistment of Mirabeau/ the mission of Bode and von Busche," and the instructions which, he alleged, were given by the latter to the Amis Rcunis and the Pltilalctlics through their chief lodges at Paris."' The mission of Bode and von Busche. according to Kobi- son. had been undertaken at the request of Mirabeau and the Abbe Perigord ^ (Talleyrand). When Wcishaupt's plan was thus communicated to the two French lodges mentioned, " they saw at once its importance, in all its branches, such as the use of the Masonic Lodges, to fish for Minervals — the rituals and ranks to entice the young, and to lead them by degrees to opinions and measures which, at first sight, would have shocked them." ' By the beginning oi ij^^) the lodges of the Grand Orient '' had received the secrets of the lllu- minati.' The Duke of Orleans, who had been " illumin- ated " by Mirabeau."* and whose personal political ambitions were strongly stressed by Robison," gave hearty support to the enterprise; and thus in a very short time the Masonic lodges of France were converted into a set of secret affiliated societies, all corresponding with the mother lodges of Paris, and ready to rise instantly and overturn the government as ' Robison, ofj. cit., p. 371. - Ibid., pp. 393 et seq. ^ Ibid., pp. 397 ct seq. * Ibid., p. 374. » Ibid., p. 398. • The Grand Orient, according to Robison, represented tlie association of all the improved Masonic lodges of France. Its Grand Master was the Duke of Orleans. Cf. ibid., p. 381. ' Ibid., pp. 400 et seq. •■* Ibid., p. 376. ^ Ibid., pp. 376 ct seq. 214 ^'^^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [214 soon as the signal should be given. ^ The political commit- tees organized in each of these *' illuminated " lodges famil- iarized not only their brethren but, through them, the coun- try in general, with the secret revolutionary program." Thus it happened that the '' stupid Bavarians " became the instructors of the French " in the art of overturning the world " ; ^ and thus, also, it happened that " the whole nation changed, and changed again, and again, as if by beat of drum." * Such in its main outlines and in its " principal links " of evidence is the Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Re- ligions and Governments of Europe. Yet to obtain a just appraisal of the book it must not be overlooked that its author wrote an additional one hundred and fifty pages, not of " proofs " but of argument, partly to defend errors of judgment he may have committed in his treatment of the subject, but chiefly to persuade his fellow countrymen that the principles of Illuminism were false and to urge them to turn a deaf ear to these doctrines. We turn now to consider another and much more elabor- ate exposition of the Illuminati-French Revolution legend. Almost at the moment of the appearance of Robisons book, there appeared in French, at London and Hamburg, a far 1 Robison, op. cit., p. 405. - Ibid., p. 402. Robison regarded the famous Jacobin Club in Paris as "just one of those Lodges." (Robison, p. 406. Cf. ibid., p. 402.) He allowed his statement to stand, however, without making any effort to substantiate it. Further, he held that the political com- mittees in these " illuminated " lodges of France were in correspondence with similar committees in Germany, Holland, Austria, and Switzerland. Cf. ibid., pp. 406 et seq., 414 et seq., 420. The contradictory character of his " evidence " is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that he treats the Masonic lodges of Paris as trying to seduce the lodges of German Freemasons. Cf. Ibid., p. 418. ^ Ibid., p. 402. * Ibid., p. 405. 215] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI 215 more finished production, devoted to the same thesis and bearing the title, Memoires pour scrvir a I'Jiistoire du Jacohi- nisme.^ Its author, the Abbe Barruel," who had been trained 1 The London edition of 1797-8(4 vols.) was reprinted in five volumes at Hamburg, Augsburg and Braunschweig; and a new edition, revised and corrected by the author, was issued at Lyons in 1818. Barruel himself put forth an English translation at London in 1798; and this was reprinted at Hartford, Conn., New York, and Elizabeth-town, X. J., the following year. Continental allies of the ex-Jesuit must have been responsible for translations into Polish, Dutch and Portuguese, which enjoyed but one printing apiece, as well as for the three editions of the Spanish translation, and for two of the three Italian editions. During the anti-Masonic campaign of the swindler Leo Taxil (1887), the Italian translation was re- printed at Rome by the Tipograiia de Propaganda Fide. Abridgements and excerpts were also circulated in several lan- guages, including English. In this connection the following titles may also be noted : Application of Barrucl's Memoirs of Jacobinism to the Secret Societies of Ireland and Great Britain, London, 1798; The Anti-Christian and Antisocial Conspiracy. An extract from the French of Barruel. to which is prefixed " Jachin and Boaz," Lan- caster, (U. S.), 1812. Cf. Sommervogel, C, Bibliothcquc de la Compagnie de Jesus, i, Bruxelles, 1890, coll. 938-941 ; also Wolfstieg, Bibliographie der Frei- maurerischen Literatur, vol. i, pp. 324, 325. 'Augustin Barruel (1741-1820) was a French controversialist and publicist, whose zeal was aroused in the defence of traditional eccles- iastical institutions and doctrines, in opposition to rationalistic ten- dencies manifest in the eighteenth century. Barruel entered the Society of Jesus in 1756 and was later driven from France when that order was suppressed by the French government in 1773. Permitted the next year to terminate his exile, he gave himself to literary pursuits. As might be expected, the turbulent condition of public affairs in France drew him into the currents of political discussion. His loyalty to the inter- ests of the church would brook no silence. Tlie civil oath demanded of ecclesiastics and the promulgation of the civil constitution in the earlier period of the Revolution specially roused his spirit, and led to the publication of a number of pamphlets from his pen. His eccles- iastical loyalties and political antagonisms were such that when the full fury of the revolutionary storm broke, Barruel became an emigre and sought asylum in England. There he continued his literary em- ployments, and pul)lished in 1794 his well-known Histoire du clcrgc dc France, pendant la revolution franqaisc. In that same year he 2i6 ^^E^i' EXGLAKD AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [216 as a Jesuit, enjoying literary talents much superior to those of Robison and relying upon documentary evidence more copious if not more convincing, defined his purpose in the following manner : We shall show that with which it is incumbent on all nations and their chiefs to be acquainted : we shall demonstrate that, even to the most horrid deeds perpetrated during the French Revolution, everything was foreseen and resolved on, was com- bined and premeditated : that they were the offspring of deep- thought villainy, since they had been prepared and were pro- duced by men, who alone held the clue of those plots and con- spiracies, lurking in the secret meetings where they had been conceived, and only watching the favorable moment of bursting forth. Though the events of each day may not appear to have been combined, there nevertheless existed a secret agent and brought out an English translation at London. This work Barruel dedi- cated to the English people in grateful recognition of the hospitable treatment which they accorded the persecuted ecclesiastics of his own land. Later, and while still in England, he wrote his Memoirs of Jacobinism. The number of editions through which this work passed is in itself a gauge of its claim upon popular interest. After the fall of the Directory, and after he had given his pledge of fidehty to the new government, Barruel again was permitted to return to France. With a view to healing the schism in the French church which the Revolution had produced, he championed the cause of the govern- ment in a work entitled, Du Pape et ses droits religieux, 1803. As the Napoleonic regime drew towards its close, Barruel came to be regarded as an emigre priest, and suffered arrest at the hands of the government. In August, 1816, Barruel was allowed to make his profession in the Society of Jesus. Shortly before this he wrote to its General: "Je m'etais toujours regarde comme lie par mes voeux, sans cesser d'etre vraiment Jesuite, ce qui heureusement a fait pour moi une douce illusion dans laquelle je remercie Dieu de m'avoir laisse vivre jusqu' au moment ou vous vous pretez avec tant de bonte a la demande que j'ai faite pour ma profession." {La Compagnie de Jesus en France, Histoire d'lin Steele, 1814-1914, Par Joseph Burnichon, S.J., Tome i"", Paris, 1914, pp. 74 et seq.) The last years of Barruel's life were spent in retire- ment. A list of his writings may be found in Querard's La France Litteraire, Tome Premier, pp. 196, 197, and a more elaborate one, in Sommervogel, op. cit., i, coll. 930-945. 2iy] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OP THE ILI.VMIXATI 2\'J a secret cause, giving rise to each event, and turning each cir- cumstance to the long-sought-for end. Though circumstances may often have afforded the pretense of the occasion, yet the grand cause of the revolution, its leading features, its atrocious crimes, will still remain one continued chain of deep-laid and premeditated villainy.^ The amazing breadth of Barruel's canvass, as well as the naivete of the artist, are immediately disclosed in his fore- word respecting the " triple conspiracy " which he proposes to lay bare.- To present this " triple conspiracy '* in his own w^ords will do more than define the abbe's conception of his task : its transparent incoordination will make it ap- parent that much of the work of examination that might otherwise seem to be called for is futile. I St. Many years before the French Revolution, men who styled themselves Philosophers conspired against the God of the Gospel, against Christianity, without distinction of worship, whether Protestant or Catholic, Anglican or Presbyterian. The grand object of this conspiracy was to overturn every altar where Christ was adored. It was the conspiracy of the So [clusters ■■•■ of Impiety, or tlie AXTICHRISTI.\X CON- SPIRACY. 2dly. This school of impiety soon formed the Sophisters of Rebellion: these latter, combining their conspiracy against kings with that of the Sophisters of Impiety, coalesce with that ancient sect whose tenets constituted the whole secret of the Occult-Lodges of Free-Masonry, which long since, impos- ing on the credulity of its most distinguished adepts, only initiated the chosen of the elect into the secret of their un- relenting hatred for Christ and kings. 3dly. From the Sophisters of Impiety and Rebellion arose Sophisters of Impiety and Anarchy. These latter conspire 1 Barruel, op. cit.. pp. i, vi. 2 Jbid., pp. xiii ct scq. •Barruel's term was Sophistcs. 2i8 ^V£W/ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [218 not only against Christ and his altars, but against every re- ligion natural or revealed: not only against kings, but against every government, against all civil society, even against all property whatsoever. This third sect, known by the name of Illumines, coalesced with the Sophisters conspiring against Christ, coalesced with the Sophisters who, with the Occult Masons, conspired against both Qirist and kings. It was the coalition of the adepts of impiety, of the adepts of rebellion, and the adepts of anarchy, which formed the CLUB of the JACOBINS. . . . Such was the origin, such the progress of that sect, since become so dreadfully famous under the name JACOBIN. In the present Memoirs each of these three conspiracies shall be treated separ- ately ; their authors unmasked, the object, means, coalition and progress of the adepts shall be laid open.^ The sole proposition which Barruel proposed to maintain is thus made clear enough. All the developments of the French Revolution were to be explained on the basis of the following postulate : The Encyclopedists, Freemasons, and Bavarian Illuminati, working together, not unconsciously but with well-planned coordination, produced the Jacobins, and the Jacobins in turn produced the Revolution. Over all, embracing all, the word " conspiracy " must needs be writ- ten large. The first volume of the Memoirs was devoted to the con- spiracy of the philosophers. Voltaire, D'Alembert, Fred- erick II, and Diderot — " Voltaire the chief, D'Alembert the most subtle agent, Frederick the protector and often the ad- viser, Diderot the forlorn hope " - — these were the men who originally leagued themselves together " in the most invet- erate hatred of Christianity." ^ Bringing out into bold re- lief the most malignant and brutal of the anticlerical and ' Barruel, o/>. At., pp. xiv, xv. ^ Ibid., p. 2. » Ibid., p. I. 2X9 J -^^^^^ EUROriLAN ORDER OP THE ILLUMINATI 219 anti-Christian utterances of Voltaire and his friends.' as well as all available evidence of a crafty strategy on the part of the conspirators to avoid detection of their plan/ Barruel was emboldened to affirm a desperate plan to overturn every altar where Christ was adored,- whether in London, Geneva, Stockholm. Petersburg, Paris, Madrid, Vienna, or Rome, whether Protestant or Catholic.^ The first definite step in this campaign of the philosophers is declared to have been the publication of L' Encyclopedic; ' the second, the suppression of the Jesuits and the widespread elimination of religious houses; ^ and the third, the capture of the French Academy by the philosophers and the diver- sion of its honors to impious writers." The foregoing were measures which primarily concerned " the chiefs," or '' better sort." ' Efforts to extend the con- spiracy to the hovel and the cottage were also made. Ac- cordingly, appeals to toleration, reason, and humanity be- came the order of the day.^ These were intended to im- ' Barruel's main reliance is the correspondence of Voltaire, as pub- lished in the edition of Kehl. - Barruel, op. cit., vol. i, pp. 25 ct seq. 3 Ibid., pp. 26. 27, 33. ■* Ibid., pp. 54 ct sec]. Barruel represents the Encyclopedists as arguing that force could not be employed until there had tirst been a revolution in all religious ideas ; hence L'Encyclopcdie, with all its insinuating doubts, its artful cross-references, its veiled impiety, was planned to give the first great impulse in that direction. Thus the old forms of thought would perish " as it were, by inanition : " later, the laying of the axe to the altar would not be hazardous. ' Ibid., pp. 75 ct seq. " Ibid., pp. 127 ct scq. ^ Ibid., pp. 163 ct scq. According to Barruel, the conspirators numbered among their adepts the following: Joseph II of Germany. Catherine II of Russia, Christian VII of Denmark. Gustave III of Sweden, Poniatowski, king of Poland, and the landgrave Frederick of Ilesse-Cassel. '^ Ibid., p. 154- 220 ^^E^^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [220 press the populace and, by a show of sympathy with those who complained of their condition, prepare the way for the days of rebelHon, violence, and murder which were yet to come/ Free schools were established, directed by men who, privy to the great conspiracy, became zealous corrupters of youth.- All was carefully calculated and planned to render possible the full fruitage of the designs of the conspirators when the harvest day should come. Having thus dealt with the conspiracy against altars, Barruel turned in his second volume to consider the plot against thrones. The great inspirers of this covert attack upon monarchy were Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. V^oltaire, though by nature a friend of kings, whose favor and caresses were his delight, yet, since he found them standing in the way of his efforts to extirpate Christianity, was led to oppose them, and to substitute the doctrines of equality of rights and liberty of reason for his earlier em- phasis upon loyalty to sovereigns.^ Unwittingly, through his Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu had helped on the anti- monarchical resolution by his heavy emphasis upon the essential differences between monarchies and democracies, thus for the first time suggesting to the French people that they lived under a despotic government and helping to alienate them from their king.^ As for Rousseau, in his Social Contract he had widened the path which Montesquieu had opened.' His doctrines had the effect of placing mon- 1 Barruel, 0/'. cit., p. 157. - Ibid., pp. 321 et seq. 3 Ibid., vol. ii, pp. 9, 10. 13 rt sec].. 21. •* Ibid., pp. 52 et seq., 66, 76. Barruel labors hard to save him- self from the cruel necessity of including Montesquieu in the list of conspirators. He finds it "painful to apply such a reproach to this celebrated writer." (Ibid., p. 76.) With some cleverness he remarks: "He [Montesquieu] did not conspire by setting up his systems, but his systems formed conspirators." (Ibid., p. 98.) 5 Ibid., p. Id. 22 1 ] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILEUM IX ATI 22 1 archy in an abhorrent light. They filled the minds of the people with a passion for Liberty and Eciuality. The systems of Montesquieu and Rousseau, particularly, induced the Sophisters of Impiety to combine the task of overthrowing monarchy with the task of overthrowing re- ligion.* A sweeping attempt to popularize the leveling prin- ciples embodied in those two systems immediately devel- oped. A flood of antimonarchical writings appeared,' gov- ernments were sharply criticized, despotism was roundly denounced, the minds of the people were agitated and in- flamed, and the notion of revolution was rendered familiar both by precept and example.'' Some powerful secret agency was needed, however, to promote this vast conspiracy. The lodges of Freemasonry suggested a tempting possibility. The members of the craft gave ample evidence that they were susceptible." The occult IcKlges,'^ moreover, already had traveled far toward the goal of revolution. All their protests to the contrary, their one secret was: " Equality and Liberty; all men are equals and brothers; all men are free." " Surely it would not be difti- ' Barrucl, op. cit., pp. 130, 131. »57 ct -«^'/- - Ibid., pp. 159 ct seq. • Barruel contended that the popular uprisings of the period in Geneva, Bohemia, Transylvania, and even among the negroes of St. Domingo, were all directly due to the conspiracy. Cf. jjarruel. pp. -'05 cl scq.. 255 ct seq., 260 ct seq., 271. * Barruel's estimate of Freemasonry was appreciably lowtr than lliat of Robison. Its mysteries were to be traced to Manes, and to the introduction of Manichaeism into Europe in the period of Frederich 1 1 (1221-1250). Condorcet was appealed to for proof in this connection. Cf. Barruel, pp. 399 ct scq. The general idea that the I'rccmasons were responsible for the campaign against monarchy and the Catholic religion which, many believed, characterized the greater part of tlie eighteenth century, had already been made familiar to the French by the ecclesiastics Larudan and Lefranc. Cf. Forestier. pp. 684 ct scq. * By the occult lodges Barruel meant those whose members had re- ceived the higher mysteries and degrees. Cf. Barruel, vol. ii, p. 293- • Ibid., pp. 276, 277, 278, 279. 222 ^^^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [222 cult for the enemies of thrones and altars to reach the ears of men who cherished such a secret, and to convert their lodges into council-chambers and forums for the propaga- tion of the doctrines of impiety and rebellion. An alliance was speedily consummated/ and a fresh tor- rent of declamation and calumnies, all directed against the altar and the throne, began to pour through these newly discovered subterranean channels." The Grand Orient con- stituted a central committee which as early as 1776 in- structed the deputies of the lodges throughout France to prepare the brethren for insurrection.^ Condorcet and Sieyes placed themselves at the head of another lodge, to which the Propaganda was to be traced.* In addition, a secret association bearing the title Amis des Noirs created a regulating committee, composed of such men as Condorcet, the elder Mirabeau, Sieyes, Brissot, Carra, the Due de la Rochefoucauld, Claviere, Lepelletier de Saint-Fargeau, Va- lade, La Fayette, and Bergasse.'^ This regulating committee was also in intimate correspondence with the French lodges of Freemasonry. Thus a powerful secret organization was at hand, composed of not less than six hundred thousand members all told, at least five hundred thousand of whom could be fully counted upon to do the bidding of the con- spirators, '' all zealous for the Revolution, all ready to rise at the first signal and to impart the shock to all other classes of the people." ° However, all these machinations might have come to naught had it not been for the encouragement and direction 1 Ibid., pp. 436 ct scq. ~ Ibid., p. 436. 3 Ibid., p. 438. * Ibid., pp. 444 et seq. 5 Ibid., pp. 455 et seq. ^ Ibid., pp. 471 et seq. Cf. ibid., p. 437. 223] ■^^'^ EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILEUM IX ATI 223 supplied by the Illuminati. In the latter Barruel saw the apotheosis of infamy and corruption.' With diabolical in- genuity the chiefs of the Illuminati succeeded in evolving an organization which put into the hands of the conspirators, /. e., the philosophers and Freemasons, the very instrument they needed to give full effect to their plans. The superiority of that organization was to be seen in its principles of gen- eral subordination and the gradation of superiors, in the minute instructions given to adepts and officers covering every conceivable responsibility and suggesting infinite op- portunities to promote the order's welfare, and in the abso- lute power of its general.'' Thus was built up a hierarchy of savants, an association held under a most rigid discipline, a formidable machine capable of employing its maximum power as its governing hand might direct.' With the close '"Under the name of ILLUMINES a band of Conspirators had coalesced with the Encyclopedists and Masons, far more dangerous in their tenets, more artful in their plots, and more extensive in their plans of devastation. They more silently prepared the explosions of the iRevolutionary volcano, not merely swearing hatred to the .\ltar of Christ and the Throne of Kings, but swearing at once hatred to every God, to every Law, to every Government, to all society and social compact; and in order to destroy every plea and every foundation of social contract, they proscribed the terms MINE and THINE, acknowl- edging neither Equality nor Liberty but in the entire, absolute and universal overthrow of all PROPERTY whatever." (Barruel, o/>. cit., p. 478. Cf. vol. iii, pp. 17, 22 et seq.) ' Barruel attributed little or no success to the efforts which Weis- haupt's associates made to strip him of much of his despotic power. Cf. Barruel, ch. xviii. ' The discussion of the character of the order fills the entire third volume of the Memoirs. It is not too much to say that Barruel's analysis of the organization is characterized by no little soundness of judgment as well as by literary skill. The documents upon which he draws are not only those published by the Bavarian government, but also the apologetic writings of Weishaupt and Knigge, as well as a considerable part of the polemical Hterature which developed after the suppression of the order. Yet it need scarcely be said, the author's bias is nowhere obscured. On page after page he conveys 224 '^'^^^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [224 of the third vokime Barriiel considers that he has been able to present a " complete academy of Conspirators." ^ Barruel's last volume, the most formidable of all, was devoted by its author to the forging" of the final link in his chain : the coalescence of the conspiring philosophers, Free- masons, and Illuminati into the Jacobins. To establish a connection between the " illuminated " Masons and the im- mediate " authors and abettors of the French Revolution," ■ i. c, the Jacobins, Barruel had recourse to the familiar in- ventions of the reappearance of the Bavarian Illuminati the impression that he is dealing with the sum of all villainies. His judgment of Weishaupt was, of course, severe: "An odious phenomenon in nature, an Atheist void of remorse, a profound hypocrite, destitute of those superior talents which lead to the vindication of truth, he is possessed of all that energy and ardor in vice which generates con- spirators for impiety and anarchy. Shunning, like the ill-boding owl, the genial rays of the sun, he wraps around him the mantle of dark- ness; and history shall record of him, as of the evil spirit, only the black deeds which he planned or executed. . . . Scarcely have the magistrates cast their eyes upon him when they find him at the head of a conspiracy which, when compared with those of the clubs of Voltaire and D'Alembert, or with the secret committees of D'Orleans [sic], make these latter appear like the faint imitations of puerility, and show the Sophister and the Brigand as mere novices in the arts of revolution." (Barruel, o/'. cit., pp. 2, 3, 7.) ^ Ibid., p. 293. Cf. ibid., p. 413 : " Will not hell vomit forth its legions to applaud this last Spartacus, to contemplate in amazement this work of the lUuminizing Code? Will not Satan exclaim, 'Here then are men as I wished them " | ?]. -Ibid., vol. iv, p. 379. Cf. ibid., p. 387: "... in this den of con- spirators . . . we find every thing in perfect union with the Occult Lodges, to which it only succeeds. Adepts, object, principles, all are the same ; whether we turn our eyes towards the adepts of impiety, of rebellion, or of anarchy, they are now but one conspiring Sect, under the diastrous name of Jacobin. We have hitherto denominated some by the name of Sophisters, others by that of Occult Masons, and, lastly, we have described those men styled Illuminees. Their very names will now disappear ; they will in future all be duly described by the name of Jacobin." 225] ^^^ EUROPEAN ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI 225 after its suppression/ the rise and corrupting influence of the German Union.'* that treacherous " modification of Weishaupt's Mitierval schools." ^ and. particularly, the pre- tended mission of Bode and von Busche to Paris/ With respect to this last invention, no more worthy of our conmient than the others except for the fact that it was supposed to supply the direct point of contact between the conspirators and the French Revolution. Barruel w^as obliged to admit that he was unable to place before his readers evidence of the precise character of the negotiations that took place betw^een the deputation from Berlin and the French lodges : '^ " facts " would have to be permitted to speak for themselves." These " facts " were such as the following: the lodges of Paris were rapidly converted into clubs, with regulating committees and political committees; '' the resolutions of the regulating committees were commu- nicated through the committee of correspondence of the Grand Orient to the heads of the Masonic lodges scattered throughout l*>ance ; " the day of general insurrection w'as thus fixed for July 1 4, 1 789 : " on the fatal day the lodges were dissolved, and the Jacobins, suddenly throwing (^ff their garments of secrecy and hypocrisy, stood forth in the clear light of day.'° Tlis last two liundred pages were devoted by Rarruel to 1 Barruel, ot>. cit., ch. ix. 2 /&/(/., ch. X. ''Ibid., p. 326. * Ibid., ch. xi. * Ibid., p. 370. * Ibid., pp. 370 et scq. '' Ibid., pp. 37 •, ct scq. 8 Ibid., p. 376. 9 Ibid., p. 377- 10 Ibid., p. 379. 226 NE^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [226 arguments shaped chiefly to show that the principles of the Revolutionary leaders were identical with the principles of the illuminated lodges ; ^ that the successes of the Revolu- tionary armies, of Custine beyond the Rhine, ^ of Dumou- riez in Belgium,^ of Pichegru in Holland,* and of Bona- parte in Italy, in Malta, and in Egypt.' were explicable only on the ground of treacherous intrigues carried on by the agents of Illuminism; and that no countr}^, moreover, need flatter itself it would escape the seductions and plots of the conspirators. The dragon's teeth of revolution were already sown in Switzerland, in Sweden, in Russia, in Poland, in Austria, in Prussia, and in America.^ With Barruel's com- ment upon America, ' our discussion of the Memoirs of Jaco- binism may well come to a close. As the plague flies on the wings of the wind, so do their triumphant legions infect America. Their apostles have in- fused their principles into the submissive and laborious negroes; and St. Domingo and Guadaloupe have been con- verted into vast charnel houses for their inhabitants. So numerous were the brethren in North America, that Phila- delphia and Boston trembled, lest their rising constitution should he obliged to make way for that of the great club ; and if for a time the brotherhood has been obliged to shrink back into their hiding places, they are still sufficiently numerous to 1 Barruel, op. cit., passim. 2 Ibid., pp. 468 et seq. 3 Ibid., pp. 472 et seq. * Ibid., pp. 476 et seq. ^ Ibid., pp. 482 et seq. ® Ibid., pp. 493-551. Barruel found no difficulty in making the con- spiracy broad enough in Prussia to take in Immanuel Kant. Cf. ibid., pp. 523 el seq. The Professor of Konigsberg and the Professor of Ingolstadt developed systems which ultimately lead to the same end (!). Cf. ibid., p. 526. ' Ibid., pp. 493 et seq. 227] THE EUROPEAN ORDER OP TUE ILLUMIN ATI > ,-7 --/ raise collections and iransniit them to the insurgents of Ireland ; ' thus contributing toward that species of revolution which is the object of their ardent wishes in America.^ God grant that the United States may not learn to their cost, that Republics are equally menaced with Monarchies ; and that the immensity of the ocean is but a feeble barrier against the universal conspiracy of the Sect ! NoTi-: : The literary relationship Ijctween the works of Robison and Barruel is of sufficient interest and signihcance to warrant some comment. Robison's volume was pub- lished before its author saw Barruel's composition in its F"rench text.^ Later, Robison was moved to rejoice that Barruel had contirmed his main positions and contentions. A few things in the Memoirs of Jacobinism, however, im- press him as startling. He confesses that he had never be- fore heard the claim seriously made that " irreligion and unqualified Liberty and Equality are the genuine and orig- inal Secrets of Free Masonry, and the ultimatum of a reg- ular progress through all its degrees." * He is driven to assert that this is not the secret of Masonry as he has learned it from other sources. Robison also recognizes dif- ferences in the two works respecting the exposition of cer- tain Masonic degrees. For his part he is not willing to admit that his sources are unreliable.'' Barruel, on the other hand, did not get sight of Robison's volume until just as his third volume was going to press.* ' The reference is to llic United Irishmen, ati orpanization whose affairs frot somewhat mixed with the discussion of the Illuminati in America. Cf. infra, pp. 271 et J»'(/. * .A. foot-note connects the French minister, Adtt. with the llUiminati campaign in Xorth America. Cf. ibid., p. 494. ^ Robison, off. cit., p. 535. *Ibid., p. 537. 5 Ibid., p. 538. " Barruel, op. cit., vol. iii. p. xiv. 228 ^£^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [228 He comments in part as follows : " Without knowing it, we have fought for the same cause with the same arms, and pursued the same course; but the Public are on the eve of seeing our respective quotations, and will observe a remark- able difference between them." ^ That difference Barruel attempts to explain on the ground that Robison had adopted the method of combining and condensing his quotations from his sources. Besides, he thinks his zealous confederate '* in some passages . . . has even adopted as truth certain assertions which the correspondence of the Illuminees evi- dently demonstrate to have been invented by them against their adversaries, and which," he continues, " in my His- torical Volume I shall be obliged to treat in an opposite sense." " Barruel also differs with Robison respecting the time of the origin of Masonry.^ But all such matters are of slight consequence; all suggestions of opposition and dis- agreement between Robison and Barruel are brushed aside by him in the following summary fashion : ". . . It will be perceived that we are not to be put in competition with each other; Mr. Robison taking a general view while I have attempted to descend into particulars : as to the substance we agree." * It was one of the most confident boasts of the supporters of the idea of a " conspiracy against thrones and altars " that these two writers, Robison and Barruel, had worked at the same problem without the knowledge of each other's effort, and thus following independent lines of investigation, had reached the same conclusion. The merit of the claim may safely be left to the reader's judgment. 1 Barruel, op, cit., vol. iii, p. xiv. ^Ibid., p. XV. 2 Ibid., pp. XV, xvi. * Ibid., p. xviii. CHAPTER IV The Illuminati Agitation in New England I. MORSE precipitates THE CONTROVERSY The fast day proclamation oi President John Adams, issued March 23, 1798, expressed unusual solemnity and concern. Therein the United States was represented as " at present placed in a hazardous and afflictive position." ^ The necessity of sounding a loud call to repentance and ref- ormation was declared to be imperative, and the people were fervently urged to implore Heaven's mercy and benediction on the imperiled nation. On the day appointed, the gth of May. among the multi- tude of pastors who appeared before their assembled flocks and addressed them on topics of national and personal self- examination, was the Reverend Jedediah Morse. The de- liverance which he made to his people ^ was destined to have far more than a passing interest and effect. He took for his text fragments of the language that King TIezekiah addressed to the prophet Isaiah, as found in H Kings 19: 3, 4: " This is a day of trouble, and of rebuke (or revil- ing), and blasphemy. . . . Wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left." Then the well-known minister of Charlestown proceeded to suggest a parallel between the desperate state of affairs within the little kingdom of Judah when the Assyrians, fresh from their triumph over the ' The Works of John Adams, vol. ix, pp. 169 et seq. ' Cf. supra, p. 10. 229] 229 230 N^^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [230 armies of Egypt, renewed their insolent and terrifying campaign against the city of Jerusalem, and the unhappy and perilous condition of affairs within the United States/ From this general observation Morse proceeded to take specific account of the circumstances that made the period through which the nation was passing " a day of trouble, of reviling and blasphemy." The main source from which the day of trouble had arisen, as the President's fast day proclamation had indicated, was the very serious aspect of our relations with France, owing to the unfriendly disposi- tion and conduct of that nation. Here, and not elsewhere, was to be found the occasion of the unhappy divisions that existed among the citizens of the United States, disturbing their peace, and threatening 'the overthrow of the govern- ment itself.- The settled policy of the French government, that of attempting the subjugation of other countries by injecting discord and division among their citizens before having recourse to arms, had been faithfully adhered to with respect to America. Their too great influence among us has been exerted vigor- ously, and in conformity to a deep-laid plan, in cherishing party spirit, in vilifying the men we have, by our free suffrages, elected to administer our Constitution; and have thus en- deavoured to destroy the confidence of the people in the con- stituted authorities, and divide them from the government.-'' 1 A Sermon, Delivered at the New North Church in Boston, in the morning, and in the afternoon at Charlestown, May 9th, 1798, being the day recommended by John Adams, President of the United States of America, for solemn humiliation, fasting and prayer. By Jedidiah Morse, D. D., minister of the congregation in Charlestown, Boston, 1798, pp. 5- 12. -Ibid., p. 13. •Morse was one of those New England clergymen whose earlier enthusiasm for the French Revolution had been pronounced. In a sermon preached on the occasion of the national thanksgiving of I795i jy] ILLUMINATI AGITATION IN NEW ENGLAND 23 1 They have abused our honest friendship for their nation, our gratitude for their assistance in our revolution and our confi- dence in the uprightness and sincerity of their professions of regard for us ; and, by their artifices and intrigues, have made these amiable dispositions in the unsuspecting American people, the vehicles of their poison.' Emboldened by its knowledge of the power which the French party in America has acquired, Morse continued, the government of France has shown itself disposed to adopt an increasingly insolent tone toward the government of this nation. The insurrections which the government of France has fomented here, its efforts to plunge the United States into a ruinous war, its spoliation of our commerce upon the high seas, its insufferable treatment of our ministers and commissioners as shown in the lately published state papers " — these all tend t(j show how resolute and confident in its determination to triumph over us the French govern- ment has become.^ If. said Morse, a contributory cause for the present "hazardous and afflictive position" of the C(xmtry is sought. he confessed his profound interest in the French cause, on account of what that people had accomphshed in breaking the chains of civil and ecclesiastical tyranny. .\t the same time he voiced his concern because a spirit of 7-andalisni had lately arisen in France, by which all the salutary results of the Revolution were gravely imperiled. Still, hi.'- hopes for the recovery of the nation's self-control were strong Cf. The Present Situation of Other Nations of the World, Contrasted with our Otvn. A Sermo>i, delivered at Charlestown, in the Common- wealth of Massachusetts, February ig, 1795; being the day recommended by George Washington, President of the United States of .imerica. for Publick Thanksgii'ing and Prayer. By Jedidiah Morse, D. D., minister of the congregation in Charlestown. Boston, 1795, pp. 10-16. Cf. also the Preface to Morse's Fast Day Sermon of .\pril 2^, lyrnr ^ Morse, Sermon on the National Fast, May 9. 1798. p. 13. 'The X. Y. Z. despatches. ' Morse, Sermon on the National Fast, May 9, 1798, pp. 14 et srq. 232 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMJNATI [232 it will readily be found in " the astonishing increase of irreligion/' ^ The evidence of this, in turn, is to be found, not only in the prevailing atheism and materialism of the day, and all the vicious fruits which such impious senti- ments have borne, but as well in the slanders with which newspapers are filled and the personal invective and abuse with which private discussion is laden, all directed against the representatives of government, against men, many of whom have grown gray in their country's service and whose integrity has been proved incorruptible. It is like- wise to be discovered in the reviling and abuse which, coming from the same quarter, has been directed against the clergy, who, according to their influence and ability, have done what they could to support and vindicate the government. Nothing that the clergy has done has been of such a character as to provoke this treatment. And how " can they be your friends who are continually declaiming against the Clergy, and endeavouring by all means — by falsehood and misrepresentation, to asperse their characters, and to bring them and their profession into disrepute?" " When the question is raised respecting the design and tendency of these things, their inherent and appalling im- piety is immediately disclosed. They give " reason to sus- pect that there is some secret plan in operation, hostile to true liberty and religion, which requires to be aided by these vile slanders." ^ They cannot be regarded as mere excres- cences of the life of the times; they are not detached hap- penings ; they go straight down to the roots of things ; they are deadly attacks upon the civil and religious institutions whose foundations were laid by our venerable forefathers. They mean that all those principles and habits which were 1 Morse, op. cit., p. 17. ' Ibid., p. 19. ^ Ibid., p. 20. 233] ILLUMINATI AGITATION IN NEW ENGLAND 2},}^ formed under those institutions are to be brought into contempt and eventually swept aside, in order to give a clear field *' for the spread of those disorganizing opinimis, and that atheistical philosophy, which are deluging the Old World in misery and blood." ^ That this preparatory work has begim, that progress in the direction of its fatal completion has been made, that what is now going on in America is part of the same deep- laid and extensive plan which has been in operation in Rurope for many years — these, Morse continued, are rea- sonable and just fears in the light of the disclosures made " in a work written by a gentleman of literary eminence in Scotland, within the last year, and just reprinted in this country, entitled. " Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and (Governments of Europe '.*' " The following facts are brought to the light of day in this volume: For more than twenty years past a society called The Illumi- nated has been in existence in Germany ; its express aim is " to root out and abolish Christianity, and overthrow all ' Morse, op. cit., p. 20. ' Morse's first acquaintance with Robison's volume is thus explained by him : " The first copies which were sent to America, arrived at Philadelphia and New York, at both which places the re-printing of it was immediately undertaken, and the Philadelphia edition was com- pleted ready for sale in the short space of 3 weeks. This was about the middle of April. Happening at this time to be in Philadelphia, and hearing the work spoken of in terms of the highest respect by men of judgment, one of them went so far as to pronounce it the most interesting work that the present centurj'- had produced ; T was in- duced to procure a copy, which I brought home with me. . . ." (Inde- pendent Chronicle, June 14, 1798.) In Sprague's Life of Jedediah Morse, pp. 223 ct scq., it is affirmed that Dr. Erskine, one of Morse's Scottish correspondents, wrote Morse in January. 1797, informing him of the alarm which had sprung up in Europe with respect to the "conspiracy", and calling attention to Robison's volume which was then being prepared for the press. 234 ^"^^^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [234 civil government " ; ^ it approves of such atrocious prin- ciples as the right to commit self-murder and the promis- cuous intercourse of the sexes, while it condemns the prin- ciples of patriotism and the right to accumulate private property ; ^ in the prosecution of its infamous propaganda it aims to enlist the discontented, to get control of all such cultural agencies as the schools, literary societies, news- papers, writers, booksellers, and postmasters ; ^ it is bent upon insinuating its members into all positions of distinc- tion and influence, whether literary, civil, or religious.* Practically all of the civil and ecclesiastical establish- ments of Europe have already been shaken to their foun- dations by this terrible organization; the French Revolu- tion itself is doubtless to be traced to its machinations: the successes of the French armies are to be explained on the same ground.*^ The Jacobins are nothing more nor less than the open manifestation of the hidden system of the Illu- minati.* The order has its branches established and its emissaries at work in America.^ Doubtless the " Age of Reason and the other works of that unprincipled author " are to be regarded as part of the general plan to accomplish universal demoralization : the fact that Paine's infamous works have been so industriously and extensively circu- lated in this country would seem to justify fully this con- clusion.® The affiliated Jacobin Societies in America have ' Moise. Sermon on the National Fast, May 9, 1798, p. 21. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid., pp. 22 et seq. * Ibid., p. 23. 5 Ibid. ® Ibid., p. 24. ' Robison's reference to the " several " societies established in America pievious to 1786 (cf. supra, p. 210) is specifically referred to. Cf. Sermon on the National Fast, May 9. 1798, p. 23. ■^ Ibid., p. 24. 235] ILLUMINATI AGITATION IN NEW ENGLAND 235 doubtless had as the t>bject of their estabHshment the prop- agation of " the principles of the illuminated mother club in France. " ' Before making room for the admonitions which Morse based upon this exposition of the underlying significance of " this . . . day of trouble, . . . rebuke . . . and blasphemy," his treatment of the Masonic bearings of the subject should be noticed. As delivered by Morse, the fast day sermon of May 9, 1798, contained no reference to the rela- tions alleged to exist between the Order of the Illuminati and the lodges of Freemasr)nry. The Charlestown pastor's silence upon this important phase of the matter is best ex- plained in the light of the pains which he took, when the sermon was committed to type, to handle this delicate and embarrassing aspect of the case." Extended foot notes dealing with the omitted topic and expressive of great reserve and caution comprise a substan- tial part of the printed sermon. In these Morse repeated the charge which Robison had made before him that the Order of the Illuminati had had its origin among the Freemasons, but hastened to add that this was because of corruptions which had crept into Freemasonry, so that Tlluminism must be view'ed as " a vile and pestiferous scion grafted on the stock of simple Masonry." ' As if further to ward off the blows of incensed and resentful members of the craft, Morse proceeded to dilate upon the artifice which men of ^ Morse, op. i-it., p. 24. * Morse had been at pains in his sermon to reconimeiui Robison's volume as throwing a flood of hght upon " the causes which have brought the world into its present disorganized state." (Ibid., pp. 24 et seq.) Later it must have occurred to him that the silence he had maintained in the pulpit respecting Masonry's part in the con- spiracy was bound to be noticed by all who upon his recommendation read Robison's volume. 'Ibid., p. 21. 236 ■'V£^F ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [236 wicked purpose commonly resort to in attempting " to pervert and bend into a subserviency to their designs ancient and respectable institutions." ^ The Illuminati, it is suggested, may thus have taken advantage of the schisms and corruptions with which European Masonry has been cursed, and have employed many members of the lodges to serve as " secret conductors of their poisonous principles " : the high estimation in which the order of Masonry is gen- erally held may be construed as making such a presumption probable.^ And in this country, if one may base his judg- ment upon the considerations that the immortal Washing- ton stands at the head of the Masonic fraternity in America and that the Masons of New England " have ever shown themselves firm and decided supporters of civil and relig- ious order," then it may safely be assumed that the leaven of Illuminism has not found its way into the American lodges, at least not into the lodges of the Eastern States.^ If it should be found true that some of the branches of Masonry have been corrupted and perverted from their original design, need that circumstance occasion more seri- ous humiliation and embarrassment than Christians face as they contemplate the apostacies of which certain churches in Christendom have been guilty ? * Finally, the readers are urged to keep in mind that Robison's book has been commended, not because of its animadversions upon Free- masonry, but for the reason that " it unveils the dark con- 1 Morse, op. cit., p. 21. ~ Ibid., p. 22. 3 Ihid., pp. 21, 22. For the time being Morse was content to follow the example of Robison. The latter, in his discussion of English Freemasonry, made a fairly sharp distinction between the English system and the Masonic systems of the continent. That distinction, on the whole, was decidedly favorable to English Freemasonry. By every consideration of precedent and prudence Morse must have felt strongly impelled to pursue the same course. ♦ Ibid., p. 22. j^yj ILLUMINATI AGITATION IN NEW ENGLAND 237 spiracies of the Illiwitnati against civil government and Christianity. . . . and because it is well calculated to ex- cite in this country a just alarm for the safety and welfare of our civil and religious privileges, by discovering to us the machinations which are employed to subvert them." ' Thus having canvassed the situation abroad and at home, the sermon drew tovvard its close in the following manner: l>y these awful events — this tremendous shaking among the nations of the earth, God is doubtless accomplishing his prom- ises, and fulfilling the prophecies. This wrath and violence of men against all government and religion, shall be made ulti- mately, in some way or other, to praise God. All corruptions. in religion and government, as dross must, sooner or later, be burnt up. The dreadful fire of Illnminatism may be permitted to rage and spread for this purpose. . . . But while we con- template these awful events in this point of view, let us be- ware, in our expressions of approbation, of blending the en J with the mcavs. Because atheism and licentiousness are em- ployed as iiistntnioits. by divine providence, to subvert and overthrow popery and despotism, it does not follow that athe- ism and licentiousness are in themselves good things, and worthy of our approbation. While the storm rages, with dreadful havoc in Europe, let us be comforted in the thought, that God directeth it, and that he will, by his power and wis- dom, so manage it, as to make it accomplish his own gracious designs. While we l^hold these scenes acting abroad, and at a distance from us. let us be concerned for our own welfare. . . . We have reason to tremble for the safety of our polit- ical, as well as our religious ark. Attempts are making, and are openly, as well as secretly, conducted, to undermine the foundations of both. In this situation of things, our duty is plain, and lies within a ^hort compass. - With one heart, as citizens to cleave to the national gov- ernment and as Christians to be alert to the open and secret ^ Morse, op. cit., p. 25. - Ibid., pp. 25 ct seq. 238 ^V£^F ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [238 dangers which threaten the church, these, according to the last word of the preacher, were the paramount concerns of the hour. Such was Jedediah Morse's fast day sermon of May 9, 1798. Such at least it was when it came from the press; surely not even by the widest stretch of the imagination an epoch-making sermon; not even notable, except when viewed from a single angle. Nothing could be clearer than that the sermon moved, for the most part, well within the circle of conventional ideas to which on state occasions the minds of the clergy of New England generally made re- sponse. But for the introduction of one element it is safe to say the deliverance of Charlestown's minister would have passed for one of the ordinary " political sermons " of the day, and so have accomplished nothing perhaps beyond helping to swell the chorus of protests from disgusted Democrats against " political preaching." That element, needless to say, was Illuminism. The public sanction which Morse gave to the charge that the Illuminati were responsible for the afflictions of both the Old World and the New was a new note on this side of the Atlantic. Sounded in New England at a time when Europe was in convulsion and when the shift from tradi- tional social, political, and religious positions in America was extremely rapid in its movement, this new alarm could not fail to arrest attention. We have seen that the air of New England was already surcharged with notions of im- placable hostility to the forces in control of church and state, ^ and with gloomy forebodings bom of surmises of intrigue and conspiracy.* The hour was electric. The hard-pressed forces of religious and political conservatism were bound to receive the new shibboleth w^ith unquestion- 1 Cf. supra, ch. i, 2. 2 Cf. supra, pp. 125 et seq. 239] ILLIMIXATI AGITATION IN NEW ENGLAND 239 ing and eager joy. Henceforth their arsenal would be en- larged to include a new weapon. Tiiey would be able to point to the villainies, impieties, and blood-lettings in Europe, to the tlauntings, contumelies, and crafty counter-manani- verings which the clergy and the heads of government had to suffer in America, and assert that back of all these and binding all together into a single vicious whole was a con- spiracy whose object was nothing less than the complete overthrow of civil government and ortlnxlox ("hristianity. To be able to brand political and religimis radicalism with a word as detestable as this new word " Illuminism " which had just come across the Atlantic, sh(»uld indeed prove sufficient to damn that cause. The inmiediate effect produced by the sermon fell con- siderabl} short of a sensation. For one thing the subject of the llluminati was new and unfamiliar in New England. Much more significant, however, is the fact that at the time the sermon came to public attention, the long-expected X.Y.Z. despatches were passing through the newspaper presses of the country and inflaming the national spirit to an incredible degree. In view of the fact that innumerable public assemblies were being held and innumerable patriotic addresses drawn up and presented to the President, all in- spired by the prospect of and the demand for an immediate rupture with France, it is not surprising that the minister of Charlestown did not succeed in creating a more instant and widespread alarm than he did. l^owever. he had no reason to be disappointed. The spark which he had communicated to the tinder might seem to smoulder for a season,' but in due course it was bound t^ ^ The editor of as loyal and resourceful a Federalist sheet as the Columbian Centinel, for example, insisted upo« treating as a whole the performances of the clergj' on the occasion of the national fast, and refused to make discriminations with respect to the special import or merit of any particular minister's performance: "Wednesday last 240 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [240 burst into flame. That Morse was himself well content with the degree of interest which the public manifested in his disclosure of the " conspiracy " is evident from the follow- ing letter that he addressed to Oliver Wolcott, within a fortnight of the date of the national fast : Charlestown, May 21, 1798. Dear Sir, I enclose for your acceptance my Fast Sermon, & one on the death of my worthy friend Judge Russell, both whh. together with one other occasional discourse, besides two com- mon sermons. I was obliged to compose after my return from Phila., and under the disadvantage of general fatigue. — I owe you and myself this apology. — The fast discourse was received with very unexpected approbation — & with no opposition even in Charlestown, whose citizens many of them have been the most violently opposed to the measures of Govt. & the most enthusiastic in favor of France. — This same discourse deliv- ered two months ago would have excited such a flame, as would in all probability have rendered my situation extremely unpleasant, if not unsafe. — I hope it has done some good, & that it may have a chance of doing more, however small, I have permitted its publication. . . . The fast was celebrated in this quarter with unexpected solemnity & unanimity. Its effects, I hope & believe will be great both as respects our civil & religious interests. . . . Your friend, T^ TT r^ -11- JeD^ MoRSE.^ To Honorable Oliver vVolcott, -^ Comptroller of the Treasury. was observed throughout the United States as a day of Fasting and Prayer. (Within the sphere of our information we can say, that on no occasion were there ever exhibited more moral patriotism, and more ardent devotion.) The Clergy on this occasion came forward with a zeal which added greatly to the high character they have long enjoyed, as Patriots. We could instance numerous traits of Federalism, which would do them honour; but when all of them are entitled to praise, it would be invidious to make distinctions." (Columbian Centinel, May 12, 1798.) 1 Wolcott Papers, viii, 23. 24 1 ] II-L UMIXA TI A CI TA TlOX /.V \'E!V ENGLAND 24 1 Here and there Morse's sermon promptly became the occasion of piil)lic C(jinnient. To illustrate : The Reverend John Thayer, beloved and trusted shepherd of the Catholic riock in Boston, following the patriotic example of the Protestant clergy, preached a sermon on the occasion of the national fast appropriate to the solemnity of the day.' In the published text of this sermon Thayer took occasion to commend Morse " for his interesting abridgement of the infernal society of the Illuminati." * For the most part, however, the comment of the clergy was reserved for sub- sequent occasions when the clerical mind should have had opportunity to inform itself more fully concerning the matter. As for the newspapers, they began to pay their respects to Morse's sensational utterance soon after the latter's fast day sermon came from the press. Thus " An American '' contributed an article of generous length and of somewhat hostile tone to the Indcpnidcnf CJironiclc of May 24 ( 1 798) , calling upon Morse to substantiate more fully the charge he had made. This pseudonymous contributor professed to have experienced great astonishment upon reading Morse's sermon and finding that Robison's Proofs alone had been relied upon as a source of information and authority. So serious a matter seemed to demand fuller evidence. Thinking that perhaps Dr. Morse had been im- posed upon and that the work in question was possibly apocryphal, the writer had been constrained to search through foreign literary journals with a view to discover- ing how the " performance " attributed to Robison was regarded abrtDad. Thus employed he had come across an ^ A Discourse, Delivered at the Roman Catholie Chureh in Boston on the 9th of May. 1798. . . . By the Reverend Jolin Thayer, Catholic Missioncr, Doston. 1798. ' Ibid., p. -\r 242 A^£PF ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [242 article in The Critical Review, or Annals of Literature, London, 1797, wherein he found severe strictures upon Robison's volume. In view of this, " since the Doctors of Europe and America differ so widely in their estimation of its importance," but a single course of honor and obligation would seem to be open to Dr. Morse. Having stood sponsor for the authenticity of such an extraordinary publication, he should now submit to the public decided proofs of the authority and correctness of the book in question.^ To this sharp challenge of " An American," Morse was not indifferent. Replying to his critic in a subsequent issue of the Chronicle,- he expressed the hope that the public would not form its judgment respecting Robison's volume before reading the same, or at least not until it shall have heard further from its " humble servant, Jedidiah Morse." Meantime, if his readers shall be pleased to peruse the ob- servations clipped from the New York Spectator by which his (Morse's) letter to the Chronicle is accompanied they will learn that " there is at least one other person in the United States who has read this work, [and] whose opin- ion of it accords with " his own.^ A few days later, through the columns of the same paper,* Morse replied at greater length to the criticisms which "An American " had brought to public attention. That he had not " too hastily recommended Professor Robison's late ' Op. cit. 2 Independent Chronicle, May 31, 1798. 3 Ibid. The " observations " referred to really threw no new light upon the situation. They amounted to nothing more than proof of the fact that the editor of the New York Spectator had accepted the idea of the Illuminati conspiracy. This being the case he was anxious to warn his readers that if they would escape from the designs of the French government they must make their choice, and that speedily, between " INDEPENDENCE and SUBMISSION." * Independent Chronicle, June 14, 1798. 243] ^^^-^'■^^l-^'-'iTI ACITATIOX IX XEIV ENGLAND 243 work " Morse regards as sufficiently demonstrated by the fact that he had had a copy of the book in his possession since the middle of the previous April. This he had exam- ined with care, and he had satisfied himself that it was en- titled to the recommendation he had given it in his fast day sermon. So far as the hostile criticism of the authors of The Critical Rcznciv is concerned, he has no doubt that their caricature of Robison's book is to be construed as ex- pressive of their determination to destroy its reputation and thus prevent its circulation, since it probably exposed and thwarted their favorite schemes. Besides, over against the contemptuous estimate that the authors of 77k" Critical Re- inciv had seen fit to place upon Robison's volume, Morse was able to oppose a very different judgment. The London Reineiv of January, 1798, extracts from which he was glad to be permitted to offer in evidence,^ placed an estimate upon Robison's book which was both accurate and just. From this '' An American " will be able to gather that " ' the Doctors in Europe and America ' " do not " differ so widely in their estimation " of the importance of Robi- son's volume as had been asserted. The observations that Morse is now offering to the public, it is his expectation, will serve to effect his personal justification; but if doubts still remain in the minds of any, he can only recommend as the best and perhaps the only sure means of dissolving them that such persons read Proofs of a Consp^iracy for themselves.^ ' The extracts in question boldly championed Robison's cause, and while admitting that all the tenets and secret manoeuvers of the Illuminati could not be said to have been fully brought to light, Morse did not hesitate to draw the following summary conclusion : " There is however sufficient known to call forth the indignation of every person who professes to be a friend to religion or virtue, and to put every one on their guard who knows and respects the rights of private property, and of good government." (Ibid.) 2 Ibid. 244 ^'^^^^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [244 With respect to the inception of the Illuminati agitation in New England, the utterances of two other clergymen require attention. One of these, the Reverend David Tappan, professor of divinity at Harvard, in a dis- course ^ delivered before the senior class of that institution on the 19th of June, 1798, cautioned the young people be- fore him who were about to quit the life of the college to guard against the dangers of speculative principles, the pleasures of idleness and vicious indulgence, the degrading tendency of selfish sentiments, and " a more recent system, which . . . has for its ostensible object the regeneration OF AN OPPRESSED WORLD TO THE BLISSFUL ENJOYMENT OF EQUAL LIBERTY." This " more recent system," Tappan explained, was the philosophy of the Order of the Illu- minati. Drawing, as he professed, upon Morse's fast day dis- course and upon President Dwight's sermons on infidel philosophy,"' Tappan essayed a sketch of the objects and operations of the Illuminati, from the time of the founding of the order by \\'eishaupt to its supposed connections with the French Revolution, and the successes which it had enabled the French armies to accomplish through its intrigues " in various and distant parts of the world." The conspiracy,, it is true, might not be as extensive in its scope as had been claimed ; but even so, the undoubted aspects of the situation were sufficient to afford ground for most grave apprehen- 1 A Discourse delivered in the Chapel of Harvard College, June ig, 1798, Occasioned by the Approaching Departure of the Senior Class from the University. By David Tappan, D. D., Hollis Professor of Divinity in said College, Boston, 1798. ^ Ibid., pp. 4-13- •■' As far as the present writer has been able to discover, President Dwight did not deal publicly with the Illuminati charge until a little later. Tappan's reference must therefore be to general discussions of infidelity, a favorite topic with Yale's president, as we have seen. 24:;] ILLVMIXATl ACITATIOX IX XfUV EXGLAXD 245 sion. '' If these and >imilar facts," the clergyman con- tinued, " do not evince so early and broad a system of wickedness as this writer ' supposes (the truth of which in all its extent the speaker is not prepared to support), yet they indicate a real and most alarming plan of hostility against the dearest interests of man.' '■ The question of the general credibility of the claims which Robison had made, as well as the implication of the Masons in the " conspiracy," came in for sj>ecial considera- tion by Tappan when his sermon was prepare'ing the iniquitous con- duct of their persecutors. I know not that any person holds it, and all other persecutions, more in abhorrence. Neither have I a doubt of the integrity and piety of multitudes of the unhappy sufferers. In my view they claim, and I trust will receive, the commiseration, and, as occasion offers, the kind offices of all men possessed even of common humanity." (Ibid., p. 9.) The truth is that in some cases Protestant clergymen in New England, out of their concern for Christianity in general, went so far as to deprecate the persecutions which Roman Catholicism suffered. 248 ^EW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [248 filment not less remarkable in the open and professed war against God and his kingdom, in which Voltaire, Frederick II, the Encyclopedists, and the Societies of the Illuminati had confederated/ This systematical design to destroy Christianity, which Voltaire and his accomplices formed, found its first expres- sions in the compilation of the Encyclopedic, the formation of a new sect of philosophers to engineer the assaults upon the church, the prostitution of the French Academy to the purposes of this sect, and the dissemination of infidel books and other publications, all of which were so prepared " as to catch the feelings, and steal upon the approbation, of every class of men." - Eventually the labors of this group of men and their disciples were widened so as to include not only religion but morality and civil government as well, with the object in view of unhinging " gradually the minds of men, and destroying their reverence for everything hereto- fore esteemed sacred." ^ Simultaneously the Masonic Societies of France and Germany had been drawn away from the pursuit of the ob- jects of friendly and convivial intercourse for which they were originally instituted, to the employment of their secret assem1>lies in the discussion of " every novel, licentious, and alarming opinion "- that innovators and other restless spirits might choose to advance. Thus, Minds already tinged with philosophism were here speedily blackened with a deep and deadly die; and those which came fresh and innocent to the scene of contamination became early ' Dwight offered as his sources of authority Robison's Proofs and an article on Barruel's Memoirs of Jacobinism which he had discovered in the British Critic. - Cf. Dwight's Sermon, p. 11. ' Ibid. 4 Ibid. 249] iLLUMlXATI AG IT. IT 10 \ IX XEll' ESCLAXD j^,^ and irremediably corrupted. ... In tlicse liot beds were sown the seeds of that astonishing Revolution, and all its dreadful appendages, which now spreads dismay and horror throughout half the gioU-.' The Society of the Illuniinati, springing up at this time and professing itself to be a higher order of Freemasonry, availed itself of the secrecy, solemnity, and mysticism of Masonry, of its system of correspondence, to teach and propagate doctrines calculated to undermine and destroy all human happiness and virtue. Thus (iud's being was de- rided, while government was pronounced a curse, civil soci- ety an apostasy of the race, the possession of private prop- erty a robbery, chastity and natural afifection groundless prejudices, and adultery, assassination, poisoning and other infernal crimes not only lawful but even virtuous." To crown all, the principle that the end justifies the means was made to define the sphere of action for the members of the order. The triumphs of this system of falsehood and horror, Dwight continued, have already been momentous. In Ger- many "the public faith and morals have been unhinged; and the political and religious affairs of that empire have assumed an aspect which forebodes its total ruin." '' In France the affairs of the people have been controlled by the representatives of this hellish society. Xot only this. Imt by means of the establishment of the order in those countries which France has opposed, the French g(n'ernment has been able to triumph in its military campaigns and to over- throw religion and governments in the countries which have been attacked. Neither Fngland nor Scotland have escajied ' Cf. Dwight's Sermon, pp. n. u. - Ibid., p. 12. ' Ibid., p. 13. 250 ^^'EJy ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [250 the foul contagion; and private papers of the order, seized in Germany, testify to the fact that several such societies had been erected in America prior to the year 1786.^ When the preacher passed to the head of improvement, it was therefore natural that he should prescribe as one of the " duties " that especially needed to be observed, the breaking off all connection with such enemies as had been mentioned. The language in which this particular duty was enforced certainly did not lack boldness and vigor. The sins of these enemies of Christ, and Christians, are of numbers and degrees which mock account and description. All that the malice and atheism of the Dragon, the cruelty and rapacity of the Beast, and the fraud and deceit of the false Prophet, can generate or accomplish, swell the list. No personal or national interest of man has been uninvaded ; no impious sentiment, or action, against God has been spared; no malignant hostility against Christ, and his religion, has been unattempted. Justice, truth, kindness, piety, and moral obli- gation universally have been, not merely trodden under foot, . . . but ridiculed, spurned, and insulted, as the childish bug- bears of drivelling idiocy. Chastity and decency have been alike turned out of doors; and shame and pollution called out of their dens to the hall of distinction and the chair of state. . . . For what end shall we be connected with men of whom this is the character and conduct? Is it that we may assume the same character, and pursue the same conduct? Is it that our churches may become temples of reason, our Sabbath a decade, and our psalms of praise Marsellois [sic] hymns? ... Is it that we may see the Bible cast into a bonfire, the vessels of the sacramental supper borne by an ass in public procession, and our children, either wheedled or terrified, uniting in the mob, chanting mockeries against God, and hail- ing in the sounds of Ca ira the ruin of their religion, and the loss of their souls? . . . Shall we, my brethren, become par- 1 Cf. Dwight's Sermon, p. 15. 2-i] ILLi'MIXATI AulTATlOS IX SEW EXCLA.\D 25 1 takers of these sins? Shall we introduce them into our gov- ernment, our schools, our families? Shall our sons become the disciples of Voltaire, and the dragoons of Marat; or our daughters the concubines of the lUuniinati?' With equally fiery speech, all doubting Thomases are urged to . . . look for conviction to Belgium ; sunk inlo the dust of in- significance and meanness, plundered, insulted, forgotten, never to rise more. See Batavia wallowing in the same dust : the butt of fraud, rapacity, and derision, struggling in the last stages of life, and searching anxiously to find a quiet grave. See \'enice sold in the shambles, and made the small change of a political bargain. Turn your eyes to Switzerland, and behold its happiness and its hopes, cut off at a single stroke, happiness erected with the labour and the wisdom of three centuries ; hopes that not long since hailed the blessings of centuries yet to come. What have they spread but crimes and miseries; where have they trodden but to waste, to pollute, and to destroy? -' From these excerpts and this extended survey of Presi- dent Dwight's sermon it will readily appear that his espousal of the notion that the Illuminati were immediately respon- sible for the riotous overturnings and bitter woes of the age was as unequivocal as it was vigorous. To this view of things he boldly committed himself, and that on a great national anniversary occasion when public interest was bound to be peculiarly alert. Moreover, the crisis through which his country was passing had seemed to him to require that his countrymen should especially be put on their gtiard respecting this new peril which threatened. Though he had been silent respecting personal observations and evidence of ' Cf. Dwight's Sermon, pp. 20, Ji. - ll'id., p. 22. -."5- NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [252 his own bearing on the operations of this infamous organ- ization in the United States, nevertheless he had given his hearers to understand that he accepted at its face vahie Robi- son's statement regarding the existence of the Order of the Illuminati in this countr}^ Here, then, was a man high in the councils of the church,^ of education, and the state, lending the full weight of his personality and his office to this fresh and startling explanation of the true cause of the agitations and disorders of the day." The undoubted effect was to give more solid standing to the sensational charge that Jedediah Morse had made. But preachers were not the only public characters who early caught up and echoed the new alarm. Orators, too, lent the aid of their voices in an effort to persuade the people that their liberties and institutions were in danger of a deadly thrust from this new quarter. A number of these, on the Fourth of July just referred to, delivered themselves of sentiments similar to those which President Dwight ex- pressed. Thus at Sharon, Connecticut, the orator of the ^ Tlie commanding position that Dwight occupied in the Standing Order, as well as the unenviable distinction which in the eyes of the opposition belonged to him, is certified to by the fact that he was com- monly referred to as " Pope Dwight." Cf. Beecher, Autobiography, Correspondence, eU-., vol. i, p. 289. Cf. Stiles, Diary, vol. ii, p. 531. 'The Connecticut Journal of July 11, 1798, comments as follows upon New Haven's celebration of the previous Fourth: "The exercises of the day at the Meeting-house were a Sermon by President Dwight, from the i6th chapter of Revelations, 15th verse, accompanied with prayers. An Oration by Noah Webster, jun., Esq., and sundry pieces of excellent music. We forbare [sic] to remark particularly on the Sermon and Oration, as the public eye will be speedily gratified in perusing them. . . . We shall only say that an enlightened audience, composed of the citizens of New-Haven, the members of our univer- sity, and many clergymen, civilians, and other respectable inhabitants from the adjacent towns, listened with profound attention while Doct. Dwight and Mr. Webster exposed to their view, in a feeling manner, those principles of modern philosophy which desolate Europe, and threaten the universe with mighty evils." _,:;3] ILLVMINATI ACITATIOX IX XFAi' liXGLAXD j-3 day. a certain John C. Smith, supplied a new thrill to his patriotic address by intormint,' his hearers that the l*^-encii Revolution was the result ciiiefiy of a combinaiion lotuj since founded in Europe, by In- fidels and Atheists, to root out and effectually destroy Religion and Civil iiorernnient, — not this or that creed of religion, — not this or that form of government, — in this or that partic- ular country. — hut all religion. — all government, — and that through the world.' At Hartford, riieodore J)\vight, brother to bale's presi- dent, publicly averred it was a fact well ascertained that the French Revolution " was planned by a set of men whose avowed object was the overthrow of Altars and Thrones, that is. the destruction of all Religion and Ciovernment." ' At the midnight orgies of the " mo^'-'^Tl AGITATIOX IN NEW ENGLAND 255 rent of irreligion and the abuse of everj'thing gocxl and praiseworthy which threatens to overwhelm the world. For all these assertions, " Censor " inquired, where were the evidences ? ' The tone of " Censor's " article was decidedly hostile. The spirit of cynicism and distrust had lifted its head, not apologetically but boldly. The evidence in the case was called for. To Jedediah Morse, original and chief sponsor for the outcry against the llluminati. it must have seemed clear that the obligation of meeting the issue thus joined rested squarely upon his own shoulders. Nor was he minded to evade responsibility. And thus it happened that the columns of the Massachusetts Mercury, for some weeks to come," carried a succession of articles over Morse's ' That " Censor's" tone of moderation was assumed and not genuine is further evinced by his assertion of contempt for Robison's absurd supposition that the llluminati had kindled the French Revolution and for his "unjustifiable attacks upon certain worthy characters."' If the llluminati had never existed the Revolution would have occurred on account of the arbitrary and excessive despotism of the old French government, the insupportable weight of taxation, the luxury and dissipation of the nobility and clergj', the prohibition of free religious and political discussion, and the dissemination of liberal sentiments during the previous tifty years. That Robison, without sufficient war- rant, should have attacked such characters as " the worthy La Fayette," " the venerable Duke de Rochefoucault," Dr. Priestley, et ai. caused his hook to appear as one born of "incorrigible prejudices, acting upon an inflamed imagination." As for the author of the fast day sermon, he may judge for himself whether he was too hasty in recommending such a book to the public. The times may be full of peril, but surely this does not justify those who terrify their fellow citizens by means of groundless alarms. One's fellow citizens also need to be put on their guard against the danger of becoming " the dupes of every fool- ish tale which the prejudices or ignorance of Europeans may fabricate." Such were further comments by " Censor." Cf. Day, o(>. cit. * These articles began in the issue of the Mercury for .August 3, and were continued through the issues of August 10, 14, 17, 21, 28, and 31. Because of an effort which the Reverend Josiah Bartlett made to ab- solve the Masons of this country of the suspicion that had been cast 256 ^^ElV ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [256 signature, all laboring to prove that the judgment their author had passed upon Robison's volume had not been hasty, but was well grounded in reason. To these articles, rambling and inconclusive as they were, we must now de- vote attention. Expressing first his gratitude that Professor Robison's Proofs of a Coiispiracy had attracted the attention of so large and respectable a portion of the community, Morse thereupon professed surprise that his own commenda- tion of that work in his late fast day sermon should have exposed him to the necessity of vindicating both the author of the Proofs and his own composition.^ He had assumed that every reader of Robison's production would be im- pressed as he had been with the evidence of the author's talents, views, candor, and integrity. The sensitiveness and irritation w^hich members of the Masonic fraternity had shown had also astonished him. His hope had been that the notes by which his published fast day sermon had been accompanied would forestall censure from that quarter. However the necessity to vindicate Professor Robison and his book had been imposed upon him, and that he would proceed to do. He would first introduce extracts from his fast day sennon to show that he had recommended Robi- son's book, not because of any observations unfavorable to the Masons which it contained, but for the sole reason that it exposed the dark conspiracies of the Illuminati against civil government and Christianity.' The vindication of Professor Robison's character and upon them, they found a certain continuation in the issues of the Mercury for September 7, 14, 18, 21 ; but these are reserved for the special treatment of the Masonic aspects of the case. Cf. infra, pp. 330 et seq. ^ Massachusetts Mercury, Aug. 3, 1798. 2 Ibid. 257] ILLUMINATI AGITATION IN NEW ENGLAND 257 rq)Utation as a man and writer was next undertaken. These points Morse considered to be fully established by the positions that Robison occupied as Secretary of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Pnjfessor of Natural Philosophy in one of the best universities of the world. If further proof should be required, the contributions that Robison had made to the lincyclopccdia Britannica certainly vouched for his respectability and prominence. Beyond this Morse could go no further than to add that private advices which had come to him from one of his foreign correspondents, the Reverend Dr. Erskine, of Edinburgh, fully confirmed the reputation of the Scotch professor.^ But since it was likely to be remarked in this instance that " great men are not always wise," Morse proposed to deal next with the marks of the book's credibility. As to external marks, the approbation and support of the book by very respectable men in England and Scotland, and its ap- proval and recommendation by clergy-men and laymen of discernment and ability in America, he argued, were to be weighed as impressive considerations.^ If by way of re- joinder it should be urged that the English reviewers were not of one mind respecting the merits of the book, then his reply would be that having read on both sides of the contro- versy that had been waged in the English journals, he had been forced to the conclusion that " the balance of candor and truth are [sic] clearly on the side of those who are in favor of Professor Robison. and give credit to his work." ' ^Massachusetts Mercury, Aug. 3, 1798. - Ibid., .^ug. 10. ' Ibid. In this connection Morse seeks to extract comfort from the fact that the editors of the British Critic, having compared Robison's Proofs and Barruel's Memoirs of Jacobinism, have recorded their ver- dict that the two works are highly confirmatory of each other, " barring certain unimportant particulars." lie likewise observes that the marks of precipitation and certain faults of style and expression which some 258 -^ElV ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [258 Resi>ecting the favorable reception which the book had been accorded in x\merica, he was glad to be privileged to point to the sentiments of Professor Tappan/ President D wight,* and Theodore D wight, Esq.^ It is true that in America the book had excited warm, even virulent opposition; but cer- tainly it had received respectable support, " such as ought to exempt any person from the charge of weakness or credulity who believes it authentic." * An effort to marshal the internal evidence of the book's credibility is next promised by Morse.^ This anticipation remained a promise, however, for the disingenuous reason that Morse offered that a book which has met such a flatter- ing reception as Robison's Proofs absolves its friends and of the impartial English reviewers have been able to point out, have yet not been allowed to alter their judgment that the book as a whole is a credit to its author, and contains much valuable information. The clamor that has arisen against the book, Morse insists, is to be traced to the hostility of men who have been incensed because their secrets have been exposed. At this point it may be said in passing that Morse allowed himself to be drawn into the expression of a sentiment, gratui- tous in its nature, which served to precipitate the very thing he had been anxious to avoid, vis., a break with the Masons. Irritated by his critics, he wrote: " The Free Masons can not be angry with him [Robi- son]. ... If therefore any are really angry here, it must l>e because he has touched and exposed their secret friends." ' The reference is to Professor Tappan's sermon before the senior class of Harvard. Cf. supra, pp. 244 et seq. - In this instance the reference is not to President Dwight's Fourth of July sermon: that sermon had not yet been seen by Morse; but to an allusion made by Dwight to Robison's book in a note appended to the following pamphlet : The Nature and Danger of Infidel Philosophy. Two Discourses, to the Candidates for the Baccalaureate, in Yale Col- lege, September 9, 179/. . . . New-Haven, 1798. Cf. Massachusetts Mercury, Aug. 17, 1798. 3 Theodore Dwight's Fourth of July oration is referred to. Cf. supra, pp. 246 t'^ seq. * Massachusetts Mercury, Aug. 17, 1798. ^ Ibid., Aug. 21, 1798. 259] ILLUMINATI AGITATION IN NEW ENGLAND 259 supporters of the necessity of defending its contents as well as the authenticty of the documents from which it has been drawn. The burden of proof rests upon those who have nothing to offer against the work in question but b(;ld assertions, contemptuous sneers, and vihfv-ing epithets/ Professor Robison's critics have failed to take sufficient account of the fact that he was engaged in a delicate and arduous undertaking. He was attempting to unveil a deep and dark conspiracy.^ It is not pretended that all the links in the chain of evidence have been discovered; nor is it claimed that there has been an entire absence of confusion, disconnection, and imperfection in the work of ferreting out the conspiracy. But certainly enough has been accom- plished to merit confidence in the eft"ort, and to justify serious alarm on the part of the friends of the civil and religious interests of the C(iuntry.' ^ Massachusetts Mercury, Aug. Ji, 1798. Morse's article in this issue of the Mercury, perhaps more discursive and less convincing than any- thing he had previously written on the general subject, at various points descends to the level of abuse, in which Robison's hostile English reviewers, the Reverend William Bentley (for reasons that will appear later), and "Censor" arc made to share. -Massachusetts Mercury, Aug. 28, 1798. In explanation of the delicacy and difficulty of such a task as Robison's, Morse offered to his readers the following: "The schemes and views of Conspirators arc often veiled in language and signs intelligible only to themselves; they correspond under fictitious names; their papers are sparingly multiplied, artfully detached, and most cautiously concealed." (Ibid.) The apolo- getic motive is evident. 2 Ibid. With a " summary account " of the documents upon which Robison had relied in the composition of his book and of which M^orsc had no first-hand knowledge, and with an examination of the alleged differences between the accounts of the "conspiracy" by Robi- son and Barruel (cf. ibid., Aug. 31, 1798), Morse's prolix discussion of the subject came to a close. During the time that his articles were in process of publication, " Censor " contributed a fresh article to the Mercury, admitting that his faith in the existence of the European Illuminati was growing, but still protesting that Robison was to be 26o ^■Ef^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [260 This, it need scarcely be said, did not amount to a satis- factory handling of the case. In truth, from the stand- point of the main issue involved, viz., the reliability of Robison's " proofs," it was little more than so much dust thrown into the air. Evidence had been asked for. In its place arguments, and it must be confessed very inconclusive arguments at that, were submitted. The vital questions in the case had scarcely been touched. Were the Illuminati still in existence? If so, did they actually aim at the uni- versal overthrow of religion and civil government? Was the French Revolution the result of their machinations? More momentous still to the interests of Americans, had the net of conspiracy been thrown over this country, with the result that nefarious secret organizations were at work among her people, corrupting them and plotting the down- fall of their institutions? No definite, independent word had yet been spoken in America in answer to these ques- tions. Thus far the issue was joined over the merits or demerits of a book,^ — a book that had recently come across the Atlantic and whose readers in America, according as they were credulous or incredulous, boldly asserted or as vehemently denied that the questions which have just been propounded should be answered in the affirmative. Thus matters stood in the early fall of 1798. The news- papers generally had begun to take hold of the subject, and the volume of public discussion steadily increased. But as to progress in the clarifying of the fundamental questions at issue, no advance was made. No additional facts were regarded as extremely blameworthy on account of the false and calum- nious attacks that he had made on worthy private characters in his Proofs. Cf. the Massachusetts Mercury of August 28 for this article by " Censor." What degree of unmixed comfort this may have afforded Morse, we may guess. ' As yet Barruel's Memoirs of Jacobinism was known to Americans only in the literature of English reviews. 26i] ILLUMIN ATI AGITATION IN NEW ENGLAND 261 forthcoming; no new light was shed. The alarm that Morse and his allies had raised may be said Id have been something like a ship which has been able to make its way out as far as the harbor mouth, but lingers there becalmed, waiting for a favoring gale to speed it on its way. Or was it that the winds were ample, but wholly unfavorable? in the late summer and the fall of 1798 ])ractically every other public interest in New England was eclipsed by two sur- passingly important concerns: the bitter agitation over the Alien and Sedition Acts, and the distress and terror of the people over the ravages of an epidemic of yellow fever which was sweeping the towns and cities of the Atlantic seaboard, extending well up along the New England coast. 2. INCONCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENTS OF MORSE's SECOND FORMAL DELIVERANCE With the approach of the anniversary thanksgiving in Massachusetts, late in November. 1798, public discussion of the Illuminati broke out afresh. Once more the columns of the Massachusetts Mercury became the chief medium of communication. Stirred, it appears, by the announcement from abroad that the first three volumes of the Abbe Bar- ruel's Memoirs of Jacobinism had been translated into Eng- lish, a contributor to the Mercury took occasion to comment at length on the marvelous corroboratory evidence ^^hich that work was about to supply to the English reading public with respect to the great and terrible conspiracy which Pnv fessor Robison had laid bare.^ This advance commendation of Barruel's composition was not destined to be received with unanimous approval. "A Friend to Truth " was unable to restrain the impulse t<> exclaim : ^Massachusetts Mercury, Nov. 3, 1798: article by "A Customer." 262 ^E^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [262 The paper signed " A Customer " could find but one man con- temptible enough to write it. It has his ignominy and his guilt. . • . No excuse can be made for the late publication. If Barruel's work be not yet in America, why not wait till it comes? . . . The public are cautioned against all anonymous defamers, from whom our Country has suffered its greatest evils. ^ Time and space were claimed by this writer to call atten- tion also to alleged discrepancies of a serious nature between Robison's account of the rise of the Illuminati and its early relations with Freemasonry and the account of the same matters by Barruel, as reflected in English reviews of the latter's work. Quite incidentally " A Friend to Truth " threw out the suggestion that Robison was not always in command of his reason." Such an indecisive passage at arms obviously called for further hostilities. The aspersion upon Robison's sanity must immediately be branded as infamous, and the charge that Barruel had contradicted Robison boldly pronounced a lie."^ " Trepidus " felt drawn to enter the combat at this juncture, with satire as his principal weapon. He knew of nothing so amazing and so wonderful as the discoveries which Mr. Robison and his commentators had made re- specting the achievements of the Illuminati in America.* Surely there was nothing half so dreadful about the Catali- narian conspiracy, the Sicilian Vespers, the massacre of St. 1 Massachusetts Mercury, Nov. 13, 1798. 2 Ibid. ^ Ibid., Nov. 16, 1798. Extracts from Barruel's Memoirs, garnered from English reviews, were offered in evidence by this writer. The charge of contradiction was hotly commanded by him to give place to the darker charge of designed perversion on the part of Robison's enemies. * Ibid., Nov. 30, 1798. 263] ILLUMINATl AGITATION IN NEW ENGLAND 263 Bartholomew, or the Gunpowder IMot. But he. too, had a mysterious cabal to expose. The people who were vulgarly called " Quakers." but who had assumed the suspicious name of *' hViends," were they not conspirators? The Illuniinati esteem all ecclesiastical establishments profane, irreligious, and tyrannical ; so do the Quakers. They hold also the obligations of brotherly love and universal benevolence. The Quakers not only profess these Atheistical principles, but actually reduce them to practice. The Illuminati hold the enormous doctrine of the Equality of mankind. So do these Quakers. They, like the Illuminati, have a general corres- pondence through all their meetings, delegates constantly mov- ing, and one day, at every quarterly meeting, set apart for private business; and I engage to prove at the bar of any tribunal in the United States, that these Friends, these men so horribly distinguished for benevolence and jihilanthropy. (Ah! philanthropy!) have held, and do still hold a constant corres- ix)ndence with their nefarious accomplices in Europe. . . . Aivake, arise, or be fore^rer fallen! ^ These, however, were the sentiments of mere scribblers. Such were able to handle the subject seriously or lightly ac- cording as their sympathies or their prejudices were most appealed to. It was evident that in either case such men charged themselves \xhh no personal responsibility to get at the precise facts. What was needed was the testimony and counsel of one who. recognizing the gravity of the interests involved and having accumulated and weighed the evidence, should be able to speak the language of enlightened convic- tion, backed by the force of a position among his fellow citizens which would entitle his words to respect. An attempt to meet that need was about to be made, how suc- cessfully we shall soon be in a position to judge. On the day of the anniversan,- thanksgiving referred to 1 Massachusetts Mercury, Nov. 30, 1798. 264 ^^^^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN JLLUMINATI [264 in the beginning of this chapter, the Reverend Jedediah Morse was again before his people in his Charlestown pul- pit, to speak to them under the inspiration of another high occasion in the commonwealth's life. Of what would he speak? The day had, of course, its own definite sugges- tions. Governor Increase Sumner, in appointing it, appar- ently had felt that Massachusetts' measure of providential mercies had been well filled.^ The earth had yielded a suffi- cient supply for the wants of the people, and the efforts of industrious husbandmen had been well rewarded. The state's fisheries had been prospered, and its commerce, al- though much interrupted by the violence and rapacity of unreasonable men, had been generally attended with success. Order and tranquillity had continued to reign in the common- wealth, and although a mortal contagious disease had been permitted for a time to afflict the city of Boston, yet Provi- dence had been pleased to set bounds to the progress of the plague, and once more the voice of health and plenty was generally heard. The constitutions of civil government were still enjoyed; the life and usefulness of the nation's chief magistrate had been spared and continued; and de- spite the past impenitence of the people, they were still in- dulged with the Christian religion." Would these considerations engage the thought of the minister of Charlestown and inspire his tongue to speak the language of thanksgiving and praise? Only in part.* 1 Massachusetts Mercury, Oct. 26, 1798. 2 Ibid. 3 A Sermon, Preached at Cliarlcstown, November 2g, 1798, on the Anniversary Thanksgiving in Massachusetts. With an Appendix, de- signed to illustrate some parts of the Discourse; exhibiting proofs of the early existence, progress, and deleterious effects of French intrigue and influence in the United States. By Jedediah Morse, D. D., pastor of the church in Charlestown. . . . Boston, December, 1798. Two re- prints of the sermon were issued early in the next year. 265] ILLUMINATI AGITATION IN NEW ENGLAND 265 Morse's mind was occupied, not so much with the thought of mercies bestowed as with that of perils to be faced. Passing hghtly over the more favoral)le and reassuring aspects of the state of pubHc affairs, he seized upon various items in the governor's proclamation to point out those untoward elements in the situation which seemed to him to supply ample warrant for alarm. The proclamation of the governor had referred to the uninterrupted order and tranquillity of the state. True: this was a mercy with which, under the favor of Provi- dence, the people of Massachusetts had been blessed. Yet, unhappily, serious differences in political and religious opin- ions had been permitted to exist. Men might call these differences a mere war of words; but words are often cal- culated to bring on a more serious conflict. Such party zeal and animosities as had been raging would now somewhat abate, let it be hoped, and thus the heat of battle would be found to be past. But undeniably the crisis had been grave.* The '* Constitutions of Civil Government " were still en- joyed ; but they had been, and still were seriously threat- ened. The main sources from which such dangers issue deserved to be pointed out. The vices and demoralizing principles of the people generally, their selfish spirit as con- spicuously expressed in their insatiable ardor to become rich, the spread of infidel and atheistical principles in all parts of the country, the increase of luxury, extravagance, and dissipation, the spirit of insubordination to civil author- ity, — these constituted the perils against which the most powerful precautions must be taken." The people of the United States were not sufficiently aroused to a sense of the high importance of the experiment of free government which they were making before the eyes of the world. * Morse, op. cit., p. 9. ^Ihid., pp. 10-14. 266 ^^^'^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [266 Unless prompt reformation took place, they must make their choice between a voluntary increase in the power of gov- ernment on the one hand, and revolution, anarchy, and military despotism on the other. ^ The real nub of the matter, however, was yet to be con- sidered. " The blessings of good government have been most imminently and immediately endangered by foreign intrigue." ' Enlarging upon this proposition, Morse argued that for twenty years and more foreign intrigue had been the bane of the country's independence, peace, and prosper- ity. By it, insidious efforts had been made to diminish the nation's limits, its importance, and its resources. By it, national prejudices had been kept alive. By it, efforts had been made to render efficient government impossible.' This spirit, which in other nations had brought about their down- fall and left them, like the republics of Europe, prostrate at the feet of France,* had thus far been thwarted here only by means of the administration of government, wise, firm, dignified, and " supported by the enlightened and ardent patriotism of the people, seasonably manifested, with great unanimity, from all quarters of the Union, in patriotic ad- dresses, in a voluntary tender of military services, and lib- eral means of naval defence." ^ As to the country's continued indulgence with the Chris- tian religion,*' it should be said that this blessing was 1 Morse, op. cit., p. 15. » Ibid. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid., p. 16. » Ibid., p. 18. • The sermon was preached in two parts, morning and afternoon, and concerning Morse's discussion of the Christian religion this explana-. tory note appears in the printed report : " The last article, respecting the Christian Religion, which constituted the whole of the forenoon 267J ILLUMINATI AGirATIOX IN NEW ENGLAND 267 regularly recognized in the governor's proclamation, and always called for loudest praise. However, at that partic- nlar hour there were extraordinary reasons why the jjraise of citizens should be unusually fervent ; for were not those times . . . when secret and systematic means have been adopted and pursued, with zeal and activity, by wicked and artful men. in foreign countries, to undermine the foundations of this Re- ligion, and to overthrow its Altars, and thus to deprive the world of its benign influence on society, and believers of their solid consolations and animating hopes; when we know that these impious conspirators and philanthropists have completely effected their purposes in a large portion of Europe, and boast of their means of accomplishing their plan in all parts of Christendom, glory in the certainty of their success, and set opposition at defiance : when we can mark the progress of these enemies of human hapi)iness among ourselves, in the corrup- tion of the princii)les and morals of our youth ; the contempt thrown on Religion, its ordinances and ministers ; in the in- crease and boldness of infidelity, and even of Atheism ? ' The foregoing abstract takes account of all the important points in the text of Morse's anniversary thanksgiving ser- mon. The reader will not need instruction as to the com- monplace character of Morse's pulpit performance. The distinguishing character of the production, however, is not to be sought in the sermon proper, but in the astonishing array of supplementary material by which it was accom- panied when it appeared in its printed form. This material sermon, being a common, though always interesting subject, has been considerably abridged." ( Ibid., p. 4.) This is only one nf many mark* of the great care ^forsc took to get the printed report of the sermon before the public in the most impressive form possible. He was fully conscious of the fact that he had an allegatitm to defend as well as a demurrer to oppose. ' Morse, of. cit., pp. 20-22. 268 ^EW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [268 consisted of numerous foot notes and a bulky appendix of some fifty pages. The foot notes frequently commented upon passages in the works of Robison and Barruel. Since they throw no light upon the fundamental questions at issue, we may pass them by. One, however, was unique ; and be- cause of its suggestiveness for the future trend of public discussion respecting the Illuminati, it must be cited in full. The probable existence of Illuminism in this country was asserted in my Fast Discourse of May last. The following fact, related by a very respectable divine, while it confirms what is above asserted, shews that my apprehensions were not without foundation. " In the northern parts of this state [Massachusetts] as I am well informed, there has lately ap- peared, and still exists under a licentious leader, a company of beings who discard the principles of religion, and the obliga- tions of morality, trample on the bonds of matrimony, the separate rights of property, and the laws of civil society, spend the sabbath in labour and divertion, as fancy dictates ; and the nights in riotous excess and promiscuous concubinage, as lust impels. Their number consists of about forty, some of whom are persons of reputable abilities, and once, of decent charac- ters. That a society of this description, which would disgrace the natives of Caffraria, should be formed in this land of civi- lization and Gospel light, is an evidence that the devil is at this time gone forth, having great influence, as well as great wrath." Cf. a Sermon on " the Dangers of the times, especi- ally from a lately discovered Conspiracy against Religion and Government. By Rev. Joseph Lathrop, D, D., of West Spring- field." ^ • Morse's Anniversary Thanksgiving Sermon, pp. 22 et seq. The ser- mon of Lathrop referred to bears the following title : A Sermon, on the Dangers of the Times, from Infidelity and Immorality; and especially from a lately discovered Conspiracy against Religion and Governmeni. delivered at Wett-Springiield and afterward at SpringHeld. By Joseph Lathrop, D. D., Springfield, September, 1798. The statement that Morse 269] ILLUMINATI AGITATION IN NEW ENGLAND 269 This foot note speaks for itself. The Appendix, or sup- plement of Morse's sermon, was made up of a curious mix- ture of heterogeneous documents, such as an original survey of the history of the United States from the time that the Federal government was established, extracts from the con- fidential correspondence which passed between French agents in this country and the French government.' and ex- tracts from the correspondence of various pul)lic characters in the United States, all tending to enforce the point that from the beginning of the relations between our govern- ment and that of France, the controlling aim and spirit of the latter had been to work despicable and ruinous intrigue. - quotes appears on page 14 of Lathrop's sermon. Cf. Cunningham. Abner, Practical InUdelity Portrayed and the Judgments of God Made Manifest, (3rd. edition), New York, 1836, pp. 42-46, where a somewhat similar situation in Orange County, New York, is referred to, and with suggestions of secret revolutionary designs not unlike those made by Lathrop. The situation referred to by Cunningham is also dealt with by F. M. Ruttenber, in his History of the County of Orange, iviih a History of the Town and City of Ncwbnrgh . . . Newburgh. N. Y., '875, pp. 164 et SCQ. Woodbridge Riley's article on Early Free-Thinking Societies in America (Harvard Theological Review, July, 1918, pp. 247- 284) came to the attention of the author of this study when the entire dissertation was in page proof. ' Some of these dated as far back as 1782, and none of them need have been disturbing to a calm mind. * The following letter, written by Morse to Timothy Pickering, throws considerable light upon the sources from which the most of these docu- ments were derived and the manner and spirit in which they were , compiled. •' Charlestown, Tan. 22^, 1799. Dear Sir, I take the liberty to enclose for your acceptance a copy of my Thanks- giving Discourse. The Appendix contains some documents not before published. I hope the publication of them, in the manner I have done, will not be deemed premature. I did it by the advice of some of the wisest & best informed men in this vicinity. I think it my duty, confidentially to make known to you the sources from which I obtained my information, that you may better know how to appreciate its authenticity. It will rest with you. Sir. to make what use of it 30U may think expedient. I wish it may be communicated to the President. 270 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [270 All of this, it may be said, was fairly typical of the pab- ulum which Federalist leaders were regularly serving up to the people in 1798, and signified little or nothing concerning the existence of French conspirators wearing the Illuminati brand who may, or may not, have been at work in America at the time. One section of the Appendix, however, supplied some evidence of a definite effort to leave generalities and deal intimately with the point at issue. In this section ^ Morse sought to connect the Illuminati with " the Jacobin Clubs Mr. J. Jackson, Supervisor, favored me with Mr. Marbois' Letter, & the Letter p. 41 whh is from Mr. Adams. — I should not have published the latter, had it not before appeared in print in a political pamphlet printed in Phila lately. The member of Congress from whom I de- rived the documents contained between pages 43 & 52, is Mr. S. Hig- ginson, who also wrote the Letters whh follow to page 56. Note E, p, 66 & G, p. 69 & H, p. 70 were furnished (at least the information they contain) by Mr. G. Cabot. The Letters under Note H, from a diplo- matic character in Europe, are from Mr. K — g — . [Rufus King?] The Emigrant mentioned p. 69 — was the Duke de Liancourt, whose name I see in Porcupine's Gazette of January 11, as about to revisit this Country. The American was Mr. G. C. above mentioned. The note concerning Volney, p. 21 was furnished by Genl. K — x [Gen- eral Henry Knox?] & iMr. G. C. The fact mentioned p. 68 relative to Paine's Age of Reason, 15,000 copies of which are asserted to have been poured into this Country at one time from France, rests chiefly on the authority of a well written piece published last summer in Porcu- pine's Gazette. I wish, Sir, if you are knowing to the fact, or can ascertain the truth, you would do mc the favor to furnish me with the evidence. I know not that it will be controverted, but should it be it is well to have it in my power to substantiate it. I feel prepared to sub- stantiate all other of my assertions. I am persuaded, Sir, you will properly appreciate my motives in making the above communication, as also in publishing the Sermon & Appendix. I live among a people many of whom err in Sentiment & Conduct through their want of information. It was especially for their benefit that the Appendix was compiled. With great and very sincere respect, I am. Sir, your most Obd. Servt, Jedh Morse." Pickering Papers, vol. xxiv, 29. 1 Morse's Thanksgiving Sermon, " Note F." pp. 67 et seq. 2yi] ILLUMINATI AGITATION IN NEW ENGLAND j^i instituted by Genet." ' Like their sister organizations in France they had been constituted after the manner and with the principles of tiie luiropean IHuminati. Ihe fact that the members of these American organizations have been the leading disseminators of the principles of Illuminism in this country, as well as the circulators of all those publications, like Paine's Age of Reason, wlmse object is to discredit and throw contempt upon the Christian religion, clearly fixes their status as " the apostles of Illuminism." * Frowned upon by the Federal government, these American organiza- tions have ceased to act openly; *' but, like their parent society in Bavaria which, when suppressed under one form, was soon revived again under the name of the German Union," ^ so their offspring in the United States now hypo- critically mask themselves under the name of The Amer- ican Society of United Irishmen.* 1 Morse's Thanksgiving Scnnoi, p. 67. The reference is, of course, to the Democratic Clubs. * Morse's Thanksgi'dug Sermon, pp. 68 et seq. * Ibid., p. 67. •• Ibid. This secret organization referred to by Morse was founded in Ireland about 1791. It was in part the outgrowth of republican sentiments which the b'rcnch Revolution inspired in the Irish people, in part of similar sentinu'iits earlier received. Cf. Madden, The I'ltited Irishmen, vol. i, pp. 3-44. The object of the organization was to obtain complete emancipation for both Catholics and Dissenters, and to re- form the Irish parliament. The group manifested a bold revolutionary spirit. When the English government resorted to strong repressive measures, many of its members came to .America. The Irish Relicllion of 1798 sent other Irish political exiles here; with the result that liy many in this country the situation was adjudged to be alarming. Wil- liam Cobbett ("Peter Porcupine") was one of the most aggressive opponents of the movement in America. The Proceedings of the Soci- ety of the United Irishmen of Dublin was published at Philadelphia in 1795. The same year Cobbett published .•/ f^one to Gnau; for the Democrats: or Observations on a Pamphlet entitled "The Political Progress of Britain." Part ii of Cobbett's pamphlet was devoted to the Proceedings just mentioned. Cobbett's paper. Porcupine's Gazette, to a 2^2 NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [272 Taken by itself, it would be impossible to state how favorably this presentation of the case against Illuminism impressed the public mind/ But as a matter of fact, on the occasion of the Massachusetts anniversary thanksgiving re- ferred to, Morse was by no means compelled to bear his testimony alone. By the time that occasion came round, considerable extent was devoted to the raising of an alarm against the United Irishmen. Cobbett urged that the United Irishmen represented a conspiracy on the part of France to ruin the United States. See Porcupine's Gazette, May 8, 10, 1798. Since Cobbett was one of the men in America deeply interested in Robison's Proofs of a Conspiracy (cf. particularly Porcupine's Gazette for May 18, July 14, and Aug. 13, 1798), and since Cobbett printed in his paper much that Morse pub- lished on the subject of the Illuminati (see, for example, Porcupine's Gazette for Aug. 9 and 13, 1798; Feb. 25, 26, and June 3, 1799), it is at least believable that Morse took from Cobbett the suggestion about the identification of the Illuminati with the United Irishmen. The Com- mercial Advertiser of New York was another newspaper that gave attention to the subject of the United Irishmen. The issue of that paper for Nov. i, 1798, carried an extended article copied from the Gazette of the United States, calling upon the citizens of this country to be on their guard against the United Irishmen. The author of this article identified the United Irishmen and the French party in the United States as one. Cf. also the Commercial Advertiser for Nov. 5, 1798. Thus Morse had abundant warrant in precedent if not in fact for the suggestion he made at this point in the Appendix to his thanks- giving sermon. * One may be sure that the following caustic comment of the editor of the Independent Chronicle is to be set down to instinctive repug- nance and hostility, and is thus representative only of rabid partisan- ship: "Actions speak louder than words. If the parish observe the Minister busy about many things; if they find him more anxious about the geographical description of the City of Washington or the Georgia Lands, than the New- Jerusalem or the Land of Canaan; if they find him neglect his parish on a Sunday and employ himself during the week, to collect ridiculous fables to swell an appendix to a political publication. If he will do these things, he must expect that his Flock will not increase, and that at the year's end, while he is exploring the territory of the United States, and hunting up Robinson's [sic'\ strag- gling Illuminati, he must not be surprised if some of his own sheep have strayed across the river, and become the care of a more attentive shepherd." {Ibid., Jan. 7, 1799.) 273] ^^'^'t^-^^^-V.-JT/ AG IT ATI ox I\ XEIV ENGLAND 273 the subject of Illiiminisni had solicited the attention and concern of the FederaHst clergy generally; on which account it happened that a considerable amount of clerical artillery was unlinibered and trained upon the new foe. At Haverhill, the Reverend Abiel Abbott, in language emphatic, if somewhat high-flown, voiced his alarm: Upon the authority of a respectable writer in l"-urope and of corroboratory testimonies, it is now generally believed that the present day is unfolding a design the most extensive, flagitious, and diabolical, that human art and malice have ever invented. Its object is the total destruction of all religion and civil order. If accomplished, the earth can be nothing better than a sink of impurities, a theatre of violence and murder, and a hell of miseries. Its origination was in Germany ; its hot-l)ed now is Paris. Its nursing fathers are the French Government ; its aix)stles are their generals and armies. Its fruits have Ijeen seen in France : Oiristianity expelled ; its priesthood seized and murdered, or hunted down in neutral countries and de- manded of their hospitable protectors at the peril of war and ruin. — And now, were our first magistrate an Illuminatus, a conspirator in league with the horde in iCurope, the grand master of the demoralizers in America, how soon might the American re])ul)lic have lieen degraded to the deploral)le state of the French ? ' .\t Deerfield, the Reverend John Taylor dwelt upon " the good efifect . . . produced upon the public mind b}- the fortunate discovery of a secret conspiracy in Europe, against all the religions and governments on earth." " One * A Memorial of Divine Benefits. In a Sermon, delifcred at Exeter, on the i^th. and at Haverhill, on the 39th of November, J79S, days of Public Thanksgiving, in Xcrv-IIampshire and Massachusetts. By Abiel Abbot, pastor of the First Church in llaverhill. Haverhill, Massachu- setts, 1798, pp. 18 et seq. ^A Sermon, delivered on the day of Public Tlianksgiving. at Deer- field; Nov. 29, '98. By John Taylor, A. M.. pastor of the church at Deerfield. Greenfield ( n. d), p. 13. 274 ^^^^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [274 of the evidences of this salutary impression, he said, was to be found in the fact that even the confirmed infidels in America had been shocked.^ At Andover, the Reverend Jonathan French did not consider his full duty discharged when he had uttered a general warning against men of treachery, slander, and falsehood in the nation, men who have spared no pains in fomenting difficulties and divisions.^ He believed it to be incumbent upon him to strike out at that " envenomed serpent in the grass," France, whose tools, said he, were here, according to two writers of eminence and credit, Professor Robison and the Abbe Barruel.^ The works of these two authors, French's hearers were in- formed, " ought to rouse the attention, awaken the vigi- lance, and excite the endeavors of every friend to religion, to develop the dark designs, and to guard against the bane- ful influence of all such dangerous secret machinations." * Through the pulpit ministrations of the Reverend Joseph Eckley, auditors at the Old South Church in Boston had their attention drawn to the same topic, although the lan- guage employed by this clergyman was somewhat less spe- cific than that which has just been noted. ^ Other pastors, while refraining from definite reference to the Illuminati, took occasion to exploit the subject of French intrigue, with a view to awakening in their hearers a keen sense of instant alarm. Of such, the efforts of the Reverend 1 Taylor's Thanksgiving Sermon, p. 13. ~A Sermon, delivered on the Anniversary Thanksgiving, Novem- ber 2g, 1798, with some additions in the historical part. By Jonathan' French, A. M., pastor of the South Church in Andover. Andover, 1799, p. 23. 3 Ihid., pp. 22, et seq. * Ibid. 5 A Discourse, delivered on the Public Thanksgiving Day, No- vember 2(), 1798. By Joseph Eckley, D. D., minister of the Old South Church, Boston. Boston, 1798, pp. 9, 15, 18. 275] ^LLUMINATI AGITATION IX NEW ENGLAND 275 Nathan Strong, pastor of the North Presbyterian Church in Hartford,' and the Reverend Henry Cumings, pastor of the church in Billerica, deserve mention. Strong contended that foreign iniUience, if not promptly checked, would work here the same havoc it had wrought in I'Vance, /. c, the demoralizing principles of infulelity and political engage- ments and alliances would chain the people of the United States to " a burning pile " ; - and Cumings developed the idea that the war impending between this country and France possibly amounted to an act of intervention (^n the part of God to rescue the United States as a brand from the burning.'' By the breaking out of war a providential check would be put ... to that alarming inundation of impiety and infidelity, which, having overwhelmed a great part of Europe, has lately rolled its swelling waves across the Atlantic . . . threatening our happy country with an universal devastation of every re- ligious sentiment, moral principle, and rational enjoyment, together with the consequent introduction of that wretched unhallowed philosophy which degrades a man to a level with the beasts that perish," ■* etc. ' Connecticut kept a state thanksgiving at the same time as Massa- chusetts. -Political Instruction from the Prophecies of God's Word, — a Ser- mon, preached on the State Thanksgiving, Nov. 29, 179S. By Nathan Strong, pastor of the North Presbyterian Church in Hartford, Connec- ticut. Hartford, 1798. This sermon is characterized by an ingenious effort to remove the stigma " mother of harlots " from the Catholic hierarchy and attach it to the Revolutionary leaders in France. " It is the Talleyrands and their associates," said Strong, " whom I conceive to be the most properly designated by the mother of harlots, in the present period of the great apostacy." (Ibid., p. 17.) 3 A Sermon preached at Billerica, November 29, 179S. being the day of the Anniversary Thanksgiving throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. By Henry Cumings. A. M., pastor of the church in said town. Boston, 1798, p. 22. * Ibid. 2^^^ NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILEUM IN ATI [276 On the whole, the idea of secret and systematic plottings against the hberties and institutions of the people of the United States was extensively promoted by clerical agency during the autumn and winter of 1798-99. For it is not to be lost sight of that such pulpit utterances as have just been noticed were considerably more than mere pulpit pro- nouncements. Issued from the presses of New England, these sermons were scattered widely through the country ^ and, no doubt, were widely read. Some representatives of the clergy, as we have seen, spoke out with distinctness regard- ing the Illuminati, asserting that this organization would have to be reckoned with by their fellow citizens. Others committed themselves no farther than to emphasize foreign intrigue of the French stripe, and to characterize it as a vital thrust at the country's peace and prosperity. The total effect was to invite a general airing of the issue which Jedediah Alorse had raised in his fast day sermon of May 9. 1798, and to render imperative a sifting of evidence. The part played by the newspapers is less easily inter- preted, since it calls for the survey of a much less solid body of opinion. Some journals adopted an attitude of dis- creet silence, apparently waiting for the mists which en- veloped the subject to clear. Others opened their columns impartially to champions and antagonists, willing to be used to let light in upon a dark and perplexing matter. The policy (the word seems strangely out of place in connection with the average New England newspaper of the period) ' The following excerpt from a letter of Jedediah Morse to Timothy Pickering, under date of Feb. 11, 1799, is significant in this connection: " Aji! editn. of 450 of my Sermon and Appendix is nearly gone — & a second of 800 is in the press. A number of gentlemen in Boston have thought it might be useful to send a copy to every clergj'man in the commonwealth, & have agreed with the printer to furnish them, & they will be distributed when tlie members of the Legislature return home." (Pickering Papers, vol. xxiv, 71.) 2-7] ILLL'MIXATl ACITATIOX IS .\ filV liXGLAND 277 of several of these journals can ])est he stated in terms y)i their own hehavior. The course pursued by the Columbian Ccntiyicl ' left nothing to be desired as respects impartiality. As early as August 1 1 . 1 798, there appeared in this paper the following sarcastic " epistles " : Epistle from Professor Kobison, in Scotland, to IVofessor Morse, in America : " Dear Brother, Will you scratch my back? Yours affectionately, J, ROBISON." Another Epistle, from Professor Morse, in America, to Pro- fessor Robison, in Scotland : " Dear Brother, ril scratch your back, if you will scratch my elbow. Yours affectionately. Jed. Morse." A few weeks later there appeared in the same paper an * The full title of this journal was The Columbian Ccntinel and Massachusetts Federalist. Mere was an instance in which .Masonic affiliations quite overrode ardent Federalist loyalty. To this the fol- lowing letter of editor Benjamin Russell to William Bentlcy testifies: " Boston. .\ug. 9, 1798. ... As to Morse, I think him meddling in an affair which hut little concerns him, and of which he has less knowledge. It would he better to let him flounder on, and he will speedily blow himself out. He can- not hurt the craft, — and his wit is as pointless, as his holy zeal is un- changeable. Although I wish not to engage in a controversy, which has no politick in its ingredients, I should nevertheless have published your communication had I received it. — As it is it may he best that the con- troversy should be carried on in one paper. You will see by this day's Mercurj', that M. is still floundering. — I intend to barb him a little at the Installation at Reading, if he is present. If not he shall hear of a toast or two." {William Bentlcy Corrcspondouc, vol. iv, 117). 278 A'-E^^^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [078 article whose author professed that having read " The Cannibals' Progress, the Freemason's illuminati, and some other documents of the French nation," he had been brought round to the conclusion that the depravity of the human race was astounding. He could no longer doubt that the conspiracy against religions and governments was not only deeply laid, but was likewise spreading far and wide. He was convinced that the proofs of its existence in America were to be observed generally throughout the country, " in every society where there is the least prospect of success, in misleading and dividing our citizens." ^ To this another contributor was given opportunity to respond with an ex- pression of sentiments intended to sweep the views of the former aside as inordinately nonsensical and silly.' After the autumn crop of thanksgiving sermons had re- vived interest in the subject of the Illuminati, the Ccntincl published one article which really shed a modicum of light upon the subject. This consisted of a letter w^hich had originally been received in England from Germany, to- gether with certain observations from the pen of the anon- ymous contributor who offered it in evidence." The letter bore the signature of one Augustus Bottiger, who identified himself as " Counsellor of the Upper Consistory, and Pro- vost of the College of Weimar." * It concerned itself with the amused astonishment with which, according to its author, Professor Robison's Proofs of a Conspiracy had , been received in Germany, in view of the fact that from 1790 on every interest in the Illuminati had ceased in that countr}\ The Freemasons of Germany, Bottiger asserted, had had absolutely nothing to do with Illuminism from the ^ Columbian Centinel, Sept. 8, 1798. - Ibid., Sept. 12, 1798. " Ibid., Jan. 5, 1799. * Ibid. 279] ^LLUMINATI AGITATION IX NEIV ENGLAND 279 date mentioned. In the observations which accompanied this letter the information was advanced that in England all public interest in Illuminism had likewise died out, owing to the contemptuous estimate which the people of that coun- try had come to place upon the works of Robison and Barruel.' In the heat which had arisen over the subject of Illumin- ism it was impossible that this bit of evidence should pass without being sharply challenged. A rough and scurrilous rejoinder to these productions appeared in the Ccntinel of January 19, 1799. Questions were boldly raised concern- ing the identity of the addressee of the Bottiger letter; how the letter had chanced to find its way to America; where it had been translated ; what were the religious and political sentiments of the author; who was the person that penned the remarks by which it had been accompanied in the Centinel; how the latter had come into possession of his pretentious stock of information respecting the state of public opinion in England, ct cetera, et cetera. Neither the writer nor his friends were favorably impressed. " The naked declaration of an unknown paragraphist. probably enough an emigrant illuminatist, will not be sufficient with enlightened Americans to convict Professor Robison or Abbe Barruel of criminality or even of error in their pub- lications." ^ Another newspaper that soughl to hold to a non- committal course was the Massachusetts Mercury, as might have been anticipated in view of circumstances already re- lated. After the generous hearing which this journal, in 1 Columbian Centinel, Jan. 5, 1799. This communication including the Bottiger letter, was promptly copied by the Massacluisctts Mercury, and thus given a wider publicity. Cf. the Mercury of Jan. 11, 1799. 'Op. cit. 28o '^'^^^^ ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [280 the summer and fall of 1798, accorded to both sides in the controversy, a marked diminution of its interest for a season is noticeable. A search through its files for the winter of 1798-99 discloses nothing more than an occasional article bearing on the subject. One of these came to light in the issue of December 7.^ " Anti-Illuminism " solicited the public ear that he might testify to the change that had taken place in his personal convictions. An examination of Robison's volume and reflection upon the amount of abuse which that author had been compelled to suffer had per- suaded him that there was positive truth in the charge of conspiracy that had been made. He was now certain that the Masons were not the harmless persons he had formerly believed them to be. The vociferous attempt which had been made to vindicate American Freemasonry impressed him as decidedly premature. It was clear to him that all secret societies were dangerous. It might have been expected that a Democratic sheet as violent and aggressive as the Independent Chronicle would range itself squarely against the alarmists, and seek, if not by argument at least by unlicensed vituperation, to distract the public interest. But as a matter of fact, the Chronicle elected to adopt a very different attitude.^ Morse and his ' Somewhat later the Mercury offered to its readers relevant passages from Lathrop's sermon of the preceding September and from French's thanksgiving sermon. Cf. the Mercury for Jan. 11 and Feb. 26, 1799. * The attention of Thomas and Abijah Adams, editors of the Inde- pendent Chronicle, during the fall and winter of 1798-99 was mostly occupied with very pressing personal considerations. In October, 1798, Thomas Adams was arrested under the Sedition Act. While his trial was in progress objectionable comments on the state and federal gov- ernments continued to appear in the Chronicle, with the result that his clerk and acting editor, Abijah Adams, was Hkewise arrested and put on trial. Thomas Adams died before his case was concluded; but Abijah Adams was later convicted and had the sentence of the court imposed upon him. Duniway, The Development of Freedom of 28i] ILLUMIXJTI AGITATION IX XFJl' EXGLAND jgl associates in the special cause which he aiui they were pleading should be treated with contemptuous indifference. The bctc noire of the editors of the Chronicle was " polit- ical preaching." This new agitation over Illuminism, for which the clergy were chiefly responsible, was but one other proof of their inctirrigible impertinence in turning aside from their legitimate functions. In displaying " his over- heated zeal ... in silly tales about the ' illuminati '," * Morse was but holding true to type." At Hartford, next to Boston the main center of the Illu- minati agitation in New England, two papers, the American Mercury and the Connecticut Courant, assisted materially in giving publicity to the controversy. The former at first gave some evidence of a disposition to treat Morse's presen- tation of the case with respect. Extracts from the latter's fast day sermon of May 9, 1798, were given to this jour- nal's readers; "' and the annual poem which at the begin- ning of the new year (1799) it furnished to its patrons, testified to the widespread interest that the general public in Connecticut had come to have in the subject of the Illu- minati.'' It was not long after this, however, that Elisha the Press in Massachusetts, pp. 144 et seq. These facts supply a new- angle from which to view the relative silence of the Independent Chronicle with regard to the Illuminati controversy. 1 Independent Chronicle, .Vpril 15, 1799. Cf. ibid.. Jan. 7. 1799. 'Outside of Boston the newspapers of Massachusetts appear to have been generally content to furnish their readers an occasional article bearing on the controversy, copied in most cases from the columns of Boston or Hartford journals, or from papers which entered Xew I.ng- land from without, particularly from New York and Philadelphia. Some of these Massachusetts newspapers are to be noticed later in connection with the effort that the Masons made to clear themselves of guilt. ^American Mercury, .Aug. 16, 1798. * The following quotation bears upon the topic, and does full justice to the abilities of the rhymster, although offering only slight sugges- NEW ENGLAND AND BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI [282 Babcock, editor of the Mercury, found reason to become rabidly hostile to Morse and his agitation/ As for the Connecticut Courant, its behavior was pre- cisely what one should expect from a journal breathing always a spirit of arrogant and unreasoning Federalism. Quick to take advantage of any new issue which gave promise of offering discomfiture to the Democrats, and all too often impatient to the point of exasperation over so slight a question as the essential soundness of the facts in- volved, from the first day that it was made aware of the agitation against the Illuminati, the Courant gave every en- couragement to the men who were trying to awaken the tion respecting the variety of subjects which the poem, after the man- ner of its kind, touched upon: "Of late the pulpits roar'd like thunder To bring the Whore of Bab'lon under ; But now she's down, the tone is turn'd, And the old Whore is sadly mourn'd. This brings us on to Politicks, — For fruitful argument, — (sweet chicks!) The Jacobin's head-end we've had, To see his tail, most would be glad. Of late, Old England was a moon, To bay and snarl at, night and noon : That's over : — now her Queenship seems A splendid Sun with golden beams. But pauvre Sanscolotte [sic] is given A diff'rent lot, by will of heaven. From Anno Liicls till our time, Masonic Treason's been a crime : Now Robison's in every pocket, And up he's flown to fame, like rocket." Cf. American Mercury, Jan. 3, 1799: "Ode on lEnds; or, The Boy's Address, who carries the American Mercury." 1 Babcock's adverse attitude is dealt with on pp 313 et scq. of this dissertation. 283] ILLUMISATl AGIT.rriOX IX XEW ENGLAND 283 people of the country to a sense of the gravity of the peril that threatened. The books, pamphlets, sermons, orations, and leading newspaper contributions that appeared upon the subject, these the Counint urged upon the attention of its readers, and gave such assistance as it was able in the exposition of their respective merits.^ The political possibilities in the situation supplied the chief, if not the only animus for this playing-up of the case by the Courant. On this point little room for doubt is left. One contributor who heard Theodore DAvight's Fourth of July oration asserted that not till then had his eyes been opened to see in Mr. Jefferson '' anything more than the foe of certain men, who were in possession of places to which he might think himself entitled:" but Dwight con- vince