Chapter III: The European Order of the Illuminati (2)

[335] _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 expected to keep in close touch with his enroller.

[336] _Ibid._, p. 31.

[337] Forestier, _op. cit._, p. 61.

[338] _Ibid._, pp. 61–64.

[339] Forestier, _op. cit._, p. 64.

[340] _Ibid._, p. 65.

[341] _Ibid._

[342] _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 nächsten Klasse [_i. e._, Minervals], dächte ich also eine Art von gelehrter Academie 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 Fähigen zu den Mysterien herausgenommen, die in dieser Klasse etliche Grundsätze und Grunderfordernisse zum menschlichen glückseligen 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 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._ _Einige Originalschriften des Illuminaten Ordens_, 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 ächte Illuminat_, p. 46.

[343] Forestier, _op. cit._, p. 66.

[344] The fantastic element in Weishaupt’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._ _Einige Originalschriften des Illuminaten Ordens_, p. 261), it is difficult to see the possibility 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.

[345] _Ibid._, p. 66.

[346] _Der ächte Illuminat_, p. 94. The notion that the supreme heads of the order, whose identity of course was concealed from the members, were individuals of exceptional purity, was kept before the minds of the “illuminated” Minervals as an added incentive.

[347] 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 supposed to be based upon their openness to the influence of their particular instructor. _Cf._ Forestier, _op. cit._, p. 70 _et seq._

[348] _Ibid._, p. 71. The principle of espionage was an important element 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._ _Endliche Erklärungen_, pp. 60 _et seq._ _Cf._ Forestier, pp. 97–99), and the principle of one member spying upon another was apparently borrowed from that source. It was Weishaupt’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._ _Der ächte Illuminat_, p. 102.) Accordingly the Novice was left to surmise just how many eyes of unknown superiors might be upon him. The duty imposed upon the Illuminated Minerval of informing upon his disciples has been noted above. Weishaupt seems never to have surmised that this policy of espionage would tend to kill mutual confidence and fraternal regard at the roots.

[349] Forestier, _op. cit._, p. 71.

[350] Weishaupt’s conception of the 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 emancipation 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, _op. cit._, pp. 311–316.

[351] _Der ächte Illuminat_, pp. 110, 123.

[352] Forestier, _op. cit._, p. 78.

[353] Forestier, _op. cit._, p. 80.

[354] In view of the connections which the enemies of the order later made between the Illuminati and the French Revolution, it is worthy of particular emphasis that Weishaupt eschewed the principle of effecting reform by political revolution, and definitely committed himself 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 Weishaupt chose. _Der ächte Illuminat_, 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._

[355] _Einige Originalschriften des Illuminaten Ordens_, p. 339.

[356] _Ibid._, p. 279.

[357] 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: “Il ne faut pas oublier que Weishaupt en fondant sa Societé n’avait pas songé seulement à faire le bonheur de l’humanité, mais qu’il avait cherché aussi à trouver des alliés dans la lutte qu’il soutenait à Ingolstadt contre le parti des ex-Jésuites. A côté du but officiellement proclamé, l’Ordre avait un autre but, auquel on pensait d’autant plus qu’on en parlait moins.” (_Op. cit._, 87. _Cf. ibid._, pp. 92, 110.)

[358] _Ibid._, p. 90.

[359] _Einige Originalschriften des Illuminaten Ordens_, 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.

[360] _Ibid._, p. 317.

[361] _Ibid._, p. 318.

[362] 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 _disciplina 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 resurrection 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, surrendering 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 wherein men live in reason’s light.

[363] “Par ses divers caractères avoués ou secrets, l’Ordre des Illuminés était l’expression d’une époque et d’un milieu. Le Système né dans le cerveau de Weishaupt avait trouvé des adeptes en Bavière parce qu’il répondait aux aspirations et satisfaisait les haines de la classe cultivée dans ce pays.” (_Ibid._, p. 99.)

[364] These new centers were Munich, Regensburg, Freising, and Eichstätt. For data concerning the early enrollment of recruits, _cf. ibid._, pp. 30 _et seq._

[365] _Ibid._, p. 45.

[366] The term _Areopagite_ was applied to the men who shared with Weishaupt the supreme direction of the order. Each was assigned a pseudonym. With one exception, Xavier Zwack (Danaus), they seem to have been men of very ordinary ability. Forestier, _op. cit._, p. 232.

[367] _Ibid._, pp. 231 _et seq._, 112 _et seq._

[368] Weishaupt’s original plan had been to leave the matter of financial support to the discretion of the members. _Einige Originalschriften des Illuminaten Ordens_, p. 16. Time, however, proved the imprudence of this arrangement, and hence fixed dues, very modest in their character, were imposed. Forestier, pp. 130 _et seq._

[369] _Ibid._, pp. 132 _et seq._

[370] Engel gives the date of the admission of Knigge as July, 1780. _Cf._ _Geschichte des Illuminaten-Ordens_, p. 114. Forestier is less specific. _Les Illuminés de Bavière, &c._, p. 217.

[371] Baron Knigge (born near Hannover, October 16, 1752; died at Bremen, May 6, 1796) was a man of considerable distinction in his day. He had studied law at Göttingen, and later had been attached to the courts of Hesse-Cassel and Weimar. Retiring subsequently to private life, he made his home successively at Frankfort-on-the-Main, Heidelberg, Hannover, and Bremen. He was an author of note, a writer of romance, popular philosophy, and dramatic poetry. His best known work, _Ueber den Umgang mit Menschen_ (Hannover, 1788), a volume filled with a discussion of practical principles and maxims of life and characterized by a narrow and egoistical outlook, enjoyed a considerable notoriety in its time. (Knigge’s complete works were assembled and published in twelve volumes at Hannover, 1804–1806). He had a decided bias for secret societies, and at the earliest moment that his age permitted had joined a lodge of the Strict Observance, one of the Masonic branches of the period. The Strict Observance was particularly devoted to the reform of Masonry, with special reference to the elimination of the occult sciences which at the time were widely practised in the lodges, and the establishment of cohesion and homogeneity in Masonry through the enforcement of strict discipline, the regulation of functions, _etc._ (Later, the leaders of the Strict Observance found themselves compelled to yield to the popular clamor for the occult sciences which were all but universal in European Freemasonry, and adopted them. Their presence and practice had been influential in attracting Knigge to the Masonic system. _Cf._ Forestier, _op. cit._, p. 207.) Knigge’s Masonic career proved to be of such a nature as to leave him restless and unsatisfied. Because he was not permitted to enjoy the advancement in the order of the Strict Observance that he coveted, he temporarily lost his interest in Masonry only to have it revived a little later by being chosen to assist in the establishment of a new Masonic lodge at Hanau. Meantime his interest in the subjects of theosophy, magic, and particularly alchemy, grew apace. On this account he was led to make an effort to affiliate himself with the Rosicrucians, a branch of Freemasonry notorious for the absurdity of its pretensions and its shameless pandering to the popular desire for occultism. Knigge’s advance did not happen to be received with favor; and the result was that, finding himself compelled for the moment to be content with his membership in the Strict Observance, he renounced his interest in alchemy and devoted his reflections to the development of a form of Masonry which should teach men rules of life by the observance of which they might gradually regain that perfection from which their original parents fell. It was at the moment when Knigge’s mind was occupied with this project that his membership in the Order of the Illuminati was solicited. _Cf._ Forestier, pp. 214 _et seq._ As to the personality of the man, the following estimate by Forestier is excellent: “ ... gentilhomme democrate, dilettante par temperament, homme de lettres par necessité, ecrivain abondant et mediocre, publiciste, moraliste, romancier sentimental et satirique, ... un personnage interessant moins encore en lui-meme que comme representant d’une caste en dissolution.” (_Op. cit._, p. 202.)

[372] Weishaupt himself, overcoming his earlier antipathy to Freemasonry, had joined the Masons at Munich, in 1777, influenced particularly by his desire to find suggestions for the working out of the higher grades of his order. Out of this connection, and under the persuasion of Zwack, the plan of forming an alliance between the Illuminati and Freemasonry had occurred to Weishaupt’s mind before Knigge joined the order. One Masonic lodge, that of Theodore of Good Counsel, located at Munich, had, by the middle of 1779, come so completely under the influence of members of the Illuminati that it had come to be regarded as a part of the order. _Cf._ Forestier, p. 200. But here again the situation waited upon the energetic leadership of Knigge.

[373] _Ibid._, pp. 133 _et seq._ _Cf._ Engel, _op. 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 hesitated 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 was 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._

[374] _Nachtrag von weiteren Originalschriften_, vol. i, p. 108. _Cf._ Forestier, _op. cit._, p. 250; Engel, _op. cit._, p. 117.

[375] 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.

[376] Apparently these grades were never worked out. See Forestier, p. 250.

[377] Forestier devotes more than forty well-packed pages to a discussion of this phase of the subject. _Ibid._, pp. 251–294.

[378] _Der ächte Illuminat_, p. 14. Pages 17–37, _ibid._, contains the description of this grade as revised by Knigge.

[379] _Ibid._, pp. 39–78.

[380] _Ibid._, pp. 82–138.

[381] 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-Maçonnerie bleue étant le sol commun où poussaient les végétations luxuriantes et diverses des hauts grades et le terrain où tous les Franc-Maçons pouvaient se rencontrer, les différents Systèmes, préoccupés d’établir leur authenticité et aussi pour ne pas dérouter les transfuges des autres sectes, avaient soin de respecter les formes et les usages traditionnels. La Franc-Maçonnerie Illuminée obéit vraisemblablement aux mêmes considérations.” (Forestier, _op. cit._, p. 262.)

[382] Forestier, _op. cit._, p. 272. _Der ächte Illuminat_, pp. 139–212, contains the ritual and statutes of this grade.

[383] 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.

[384] 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 reports to his superiors, presided over the Chapter. _Cf._ Forestier, pp. 279–281.

[385] 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.

[386] 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.

[387] The rites of initiation into this grade expressed a growing tendency in the direction of sacerdotal pomp. _Cf. ibid._, pp. 283–286.

[388] “Comme toutes les demandes de renseignements leur étaient transmises, ils devaient s’efforcer de satisfaire leurs gens et d’établir des théories solidement construites en faisant étudier et élucider par leurs subordonnés les points restés obscurs.” (_Ibid._, p. 288.) Free _entrée_ to all the assemblies of the inferior grades of the order was accorded the Priests, but only in the ceremony 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.

[389] 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 geographical divisions of the Illuminati system, _cf._ Forestier, pp. 295 _et seq._

[390] The title of Regent was also used in this connection.

[391] Provincials, as the term suggests, had control over the various provinces.

[392] 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 immoderate 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, 1780, at which the position and authority of the Areopagites were definitively settled. The territory, present and prospective, of the order was divided into twelve provinces, each of which was to be governed by 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 interference on the part of Weishaupt, who remained the supreme head. _Cf._ Forestier, pp. 231–234; _cf. ibid._, p. 244. Knigge was thus permitted to take pride in the fact that whereas he found the order a monarchy, he left it under “une espèce de gouvernement républicain.” (_Cf. ibid._, p. 305.)

[393] 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 insistence upon the knowledge of man as “la science par excellence.” The principle of espionage was likewise retained. _Cf._ Forestier, pp. 298–304.

[394] 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.

[395] Certainly at this point Knigge’s feet were planted more solidly upon the earth than those of his fanciful predecessor. _Cf._ Forestier, pp. 240 _et seq._

[396] The practical considerations which 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 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._

[397] 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 Weishaupt 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 tatsächlich der einzige im Orden, der streng darauf achtete, sein System der Notwendigkeit unterzuordnen, wohl wissend, dass dadurch allein der Bestand des Ordens gesichert würde. 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 einschnüren, 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 Qualität stand in zweiter Linie.” (_Geschichte des Illuminaten-Ordens_, 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._

[398] 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: (1) 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; _viz._, 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 developed 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 thaumaturgy found in their secret quarters a veritable hot-house for their culture. It is Forestier’s opinion that this activity and influence 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.

[399] Forestier, _op. cit._, p. 344.

[400] Engel’s treatment of the situation would seem to be inadequate and lacking in accuracy. _Cf._ Engel, _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._

[401] _Ibid._, pp. 349 _et seq._

[402] 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 Transylvania; Count Stadion, ambassador at London; 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._

[403] Goethe’s connection with the order is fully established by both Engel (_cf. ibid._, pp. 355 _et 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.

[404] “Un pédagogue célèbre, Pestalozzi, figurait parmi les membres de l’Église Minervale de Lautern.” (Forestier, p. 349.)

[405] _Ibid._, p. 399.

[406] In its efforts to obtain a decisive triumph over rival systems of Freemasonry, substantial progress had been made. At Munich, the Secret Chapter of the dominant Masonic fraternity in that city capitulated to the new system. At Vienna, Masons eagerly enrolled as Illuminati with a view to blocking the attempt of the Rosicrucians to extend the hegemony of that branch. The important general congress of Freemasons, held at Wilhelmsbad, in July, 1782, for the purpose of arriving at some conclusion concerning the claims of rival systems, yielded to the Illuminati a double advantage: the pretensions of the Order of the Strict Observance, its most dangerous rival, were disallowed and the opportunity which the congress offered in the form of a field for winning new recruits was adroitly seized by representatives of the Illuminati, with the result that its emissaries retired from the congress completely satisfied. Further, the Order of the Illuminati had apparently put itself on the high road to a complete victory in the Masonic world by securing the enlistment of the two most important personages in German Freemasonry, Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick and Prince Carl of Hesse. The full extent of the order’s conquests among the various branches of Masonry is impossible of full and accurate statement, for the principal reason which Engel gives: “Nur wenige Dokumente existieren als Nachweis, denn es ist natürlich, dass solche in der Verfolgungszeit in Bayern vernichtet wurden, um nicht verdächtigt zu werden und äussere Verbindungen ziemlich schroff abgebrochen wurden, als sich die Skandalsucht erhob und dem Orden und deren Leiter all erdenlichen Schlechtigkeiten andichtete. Im Laufe der Zeit sind dann die betreffenden Schriften von den Logen als minderwertig missachtet und beseitigt worden, so dass eine Aufklärung heute ungemein erschwert ist.” (_Op. cit._, pp. 349 _et seq._) Still, Forestier, in his chapter on “L’Action sur les Loges Allemandes” (pp. 343–388), from which the foregoing isolated facts are drawn, gathers together a very considerable body of evidence, all tending to show that Illuminated Freemasonry was permitted to enjoy a very gratifying, though brief, period of prosperity.

[407] Writing of the condition of the order at the hour of its apogee, in 1784, Forestier says: “La situation de l’Ordre à cette époque paraît donc des plus prospères. Solidement établi en Bavière, il s’étend sur toute l’Europe Centrale, du Rhin à la Vistule et des Alpes à la mer du Nord et à la Baltique. Il compte au nombre de ses membres des jeunes gens qui appliqueront plus tard les principes qu’il leur a inculqués, des fonctionnaires de tout ordre qui mettent leur influence à son service, des membres du clergé auxquels il enseigne la tolérance, des princes dont il peut invoquer la protection et qu’il espère diriger. Il semble que le Grand Architecte de l’Univers ait spécialement veillé sur lui....” (_Op. cit._, p. 401.)

[408] The term was no longer in official use, but the men remained. In other words, Weishaupt’s Areopagites were Knigge’s Provincials.

[409] Forestier, _op. cit._, pp. 411–413.

[410] Engel asserts that the chief apple of discord was the grade of Priest. Weishaupt believed that Knigge had injected into the ritual of the order at that point expressions of radical religious sentiment which, if once discovered to the public, would be found extremely injurious to the order. _Cf. ibid._, pp. 133 _et seq._ _Cf._ Forestier _op. cit._, p. 415. But this was only one of many bones of contention. At bottom the two men were inordinately jealous, both as to their positions in the order and the systems which they had worked out.

[411] Knigge withdrew from the order April 20, 1784. In July of the same year he put his name to an agreement, pledging himself to restore such papers of the order as he possessed and to maintain silence concerning what he knew of the order’s affairs. _Cf._ Forestier, p. 428. Freed from his responsibilities to the order, Knigge resumed his work as a writer, by which he managed to maintain himself very indifferently in funds. He was finally accorded a government post, as inspector of schools, at Bremen, where he died. _Cf. ibid._, pp. 549–551.

[412] Carl Theodore, successor to Maximilian Joseph, as Elector Palatinate had been ruler of the provinces of the Rhine since 1742. When he became duke of Upper and Lower Bavaria in 1777, he had established a reputation as a liberal-minded sovereign. The first two years of his rule in Bavaria gave promise of a tolerant reign; but reactionaries, in the persons of his confessor, the ex-Jesuit Frank, a certain Baron Lippert, who was devoted to the cause of ultramontanism, and the duchess dowager of Bavaria and sister of the duke, Maria Anna, worked upon his spirit and easily persuaded the well-meaning but weak-willed monarch to reverse his former policy and come to the defence of the cause of clericalism. See the comments of Professor August Kluckhohn, quoted by Engel, p. 4.

[413] _Cf._ Engel, _op. 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 Frank and the canon Dantzer, director of the schools of Bavaria, they had not deigned to make a specific reply. (Dantzer, not wholly unfairly, charged the members of the order with interference in the affairs of the public school system of the country). A lofty tone of assumed indifference 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 expressions 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 religious 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 puerility. 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 efforts 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 exactions 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 Grünberger 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 presentment to the duchess. _Cf._ Forestier, pp. 444 _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 indifference to the suspicions that had been engendered concerning the order. His fear being awakened 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.

[414] Engel, _op. 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 containing copies of the edict and commanding the lodges to suspend their labors were addressed to the brethren. A 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 _Realzeitung_ 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 _et seq._ _Cf._ Engel, pp. 240 _et seq._ The duchess, Maria Anna, moreover, continued her efforts to strengthen the purpose of the duke. _Cf._ Forestier, p. 467.

[415] The precise occasion, if any existed, for the launching of the second edict remains wholly in doubt. In 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. 283–290, for a copy of this letter. _Cf._ Forestier, pp. 465 _et seq._

[416] Engel, as in the former instance, copies the second edict in full. _Cf. op. cit._, pp. 161–164. _Cf._ Forestier, pp. 468, 469. The terms of the second interdict provided that, in view of the alleged degenerate character of the Order of the Illuminati, as well as of the disorders it had occasioned, all its financial resources should be confiscated, half to be given to the poor and half to the informer against the order, “wenn er gleich selbst ein Mitglied wäre ... und solcher keineswegs geoffenbart, sondern in Geheim gehalten werden solle.” (Engel, p. 164.)

[417] Forestier’s comment is trenchant: “Par une ironie du sort, le gouvernement, si indifferent ou si tolerant jusqu’alors, ne commença à servir que lorsque le danger était passé et, après avoir respecté si longtemps l’organisme vivant, il s’acharna sur le cadavre.” (_Op. cit._, p. 469.)

[418] Cosandey and Renner (the latter also a professor associated with Cosandey on the faculty of the Academy of Santa Maria) were two of the men who supplied important information in this manner. Engel, pp. 291–304, prints their declarations. In this way, also, lists of names of members of the order came into possession of the government. _Cf._ Engel, pp. 303 _et seq._

[419] A considerable amount of the most valuable papers of the order were either carefully concealed or devoted to the flames immediately after the launching of the second edict. _Cf._ Forestier, p. 469. Later, the government obtained important assistance in its campaign by coming into possession of a considerable portion of those that were spared. _Cf._ Engel, pp. 259 _et seq._, 276 _et seq._

[420] _Cf._ Forestier, p. 475. Weishaupt was well out of harm’s way when the inquiry began in his home city. He brought lasting discredit upon himself by resorting to precipitate flight two weeks before the proclamation of the second ban. It is evident that he saw the storm gathering, and was resolved to put himself beyond personal danger, whatever might happen to his associates. The excuse he seems to have trumped up to justify his early flight had reference to a difficulty that arose between him and the librarian of the University of Ingolstadt over the latter’s failure to purchase two books which Weishaupt held he needed for his classes. He fled across the border to Regensburg, and finally settled at Gotha.

[421] _Cf._ Engel, _op. 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.

[422] 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.

[423] _Ibid._

[424] _Ibid._

[425] _Ibid._, p. 475.

[426] 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: _Apologie der Illuminaten_, Frankfort and Leipzig, 1786, and _Vollständige Geschichte der Verfolgung der Illuminaten in Bayern_, Frankfort and Leipzig, 1786. The latter was planned to consist of two volumes, but only one appeared.

[427] 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._ Engel, p. 303; Forestier, pp. 480, 498.

[428] These documents were published by the Bavarian government, under the title: _Einige Originalschriften des Illuminaten Ordens_, Munich, 1787. Engel, pp. 259–262, publishes the list compiled by the government.

[429] Among these papers were found two smaller packets which gave a foundation for the most inveterate hostility to the order. These contained intimations of the order’s right to exercise the law of life and death over its members, a brief dissertation entitled, _Gedanken über 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 procuring abortion, counterfeiting seals, making poisonous perfumes, secret ink, _etc._ (_Cf._ Forestier, pp. 499 _et seq._) 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, permitting 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 first applied for), Weishaupt contemplated recourse to the method of procuring an abortion, in order to extricate himself from his painfully embarrassed position. In August, 1783, he wrote Hertel, 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 weiteren Originalschriften_, Munich, 1787, vol. i, p. 14. The stigma of a new disgrace was thus attached to the order. Weishaupt made a pitifully weak effort to suggest extenuating circumstances for his conduct, in his volume, _Kurze Rechtfertigung meiner Absichten_, 1787, pp. 13 _et seq._ 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.

[430] Other secret documents of the order were seized by the police 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 government’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 weiteren Originalschriften ... Zwei Abtheilungen_, Munich, 1787.

[431] Forestier, pp. 504 _et seq._

[432] Mändl, in the most cowardly fashion, charged the order with unmentionable practices. He seems to have been the Judas in the order’s inner circle. _Cf._ Forestier, pp. 505 _et seq._ _Cf._ Engel, pp. 331 _et seq._

[433] Massenhausen was Ajax in the order. The papers seized by the police identified him as one of Weishaupt’s intimates.

[434] The “revelations” of Mändl appear to have been immediately responsible for the edict. _Cf._ Forestier, p. 507.

[435] Engel, _op. cit._, p. 280.

[436] “Unter der nemlichen confiscations—und relegations Straf werden die illuminaten Logen, sie mögen gleich auf diesen oder anderen Namen umgetauft seyn, ebenfalls verbothen, worauf man auch allenthalben gute Spehr’ [Späher] bestellen, und die Gesellschaften, welche entweder in Wirth—oder Privathäusern mit versperrten Thüren oder sonst auf verdächtige Weise gehalten werden, als wahre Logen behandeln lassen, und die so leer als gewöhnliche Ausrede, das es nur ehrliche Compagnien von guten Freunden sind, zumal von jenen, welche sich des Illuminatismi und der Freygeisterei vorhin schon suspect gemacht haben, nicht annehmen wird....” Quoted by Engel, p. 280.

[437] Forestier, _op. cit._, p. 509.

[438] Forestier, _op. cit._, pp. 511 _et seq._ _Cf._ Engel, _op. cit._, pp. 378 _et seq._

[439] _Ibid._, p. 369. _Cf._ Forestier, pp. 511 _et seq._

[440] _Ibid._, p. 512.

[441] _Ibid._, pp. 512 _et seq._ An effort to secure the extradition of Weishaupt was defeated by an appeal to Duke Ernst. _Cf._ Engel, pp. 231 _et seq._

[442] The most significant of these were the following: _Einleitung zu meiner Apologie_, 1787; _Bemerkungen über einige Originalschriften_, published soon after the former; _Das verbesserte System der Illuminaten mit allen seinen Graden Einrichtungen_, also soon after the first mentioned work; _Kurze Rechtfertigung meiner Absichten_, 1787; _Nachtrag zur Rechtfertigung meiner Absichten_, 1787.

[443] A sympathetic and moving account of the last years of Weishaupt’s life appears in Engel, _op. cit._, pp. 380–402.

[444] Forestier, _op. cit._, pp. 543 _et seq._

2. THE LEGEND OF THE ORDER AND ITS LITERARY
COMMUNICATION TO NEW ENGLAND

Although the Order of the Illuminati was dead, the world had yet to reckon with its specter. So intense and widespread 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 and civil government, that it was impossible that its shadow should pass immediately.[445]

The emergence 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 enemies of the order were unable to persuade themselves that the machinations of the Illuminati could safely be regarded as wholly of the past.[446] The documents of the order were appealed to, to supply proof that its leaders had made deliberate 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.[447] Besides, the depth of the governments suspicions and hostility was such that additional, though needless measures of state[448] kept very much alive in that country the haunting fear of the continued existence of the order.

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 play 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 _Aufklärung_, 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, members of that order in considerable numbers, attracted by the rapid growth and the pretentious occultism of the Rosicrucians,[449] had united with the latter system.[450] 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 Rosicrucians had firmly established themselves in Berlin, King Frederick William II was under the influence of Wöllner, one of his ministers and a leading figure in the Rosicrucian system.[451] Through the latter’s relations with Frank, who at the time stood at the head of the Rosicrucian order in Bavaria, the Prussian monarch was easily persuaded that the operations of the Illuminati had not only been extended to his own territories, but throughout all Germany.[452] Encouraged by Wöllner, Frederick 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 Illuminati had been effected.[453] Thus the notion that the order of the Illuminati 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 Illuminati finds its suggestion of plausibility at a glance and stands in little need of specific historical proof. The general effect of the undermining of traditional faiths, for which the dominating influences of the period of the _Aufklärung_ were responsible, was to create the impression 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 movement of thought naturally enough tended to engender various suspicions, and among these is to be numbered the naïve 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 to the established systems and orthodox doctrines of the age.[454]

The excitement occasioned by the appearance of the German Union (_Die Deutsche Union_), on account of its definite connections with one of the former leaders[455] of Weishaupt’s system and the unsavory private character and avowed unscrupulous designs of its originator, gave still more specific force to the Illuminati legend. Charles Frederick Bahrdt,[456] a disreputable doctor of theology, in 1787, at Halle, proposed to reap advantage from the ruin of Weishaupt’s system and to recruit among its former members the supporters of a new league, organized to accomplish the enlightenment of the people principally by means of forming in every city secret associations of men[457] who were to keep in correspondence with similar groups of their brethren and who, by the employment of reading-rooms, were to familiarize the people with those writings which were specially 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 coöperation.[458]

As an organization the German Union scarcely emerged from the stage of inception; but the absurd policy of publicity pursued by its founder gave to the project a wide airing and provoked hostile writings[459] that added immensely 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 novitiate 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.[460]

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 Revolution, 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 suggestions and to stimulate to the freest play the imaginations of those who were already persuaded that the secret associations that plagued Bavaria still lived to trouble the earth.[461]

The supposed points of connection between the Order of the Illuminati and the French Revolution were partly tangible, though decidedly elusive,[462] but much more largely of the nature of theories framed to meet the necessities of a case which in the judgment of dilettante historians positively _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.

Of the exiguous resources of interpreters of the Revolution who made serious efforts to trace its impious and anarchical 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 original self-control into its horrible massacres, execution of monarchs, guillotine-lust, and ferocious 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 Arbeiten des Spartacus und Philo in dem Illuminaten Orden, jetzt zum ersten Mal gedruckt und zur Beherzigung bei gegenwärtigen Zeitläuften herausgegeben_,[463] and _Illuminatus Dirigens oder Schottischer Ritter_,[464] announced as a continuation of the former. These works, published at the instigation of the authorities at Munich, attracted public attention anew to the most extreme religious and social doctrines[465] of the order. Thus the revolutionary character of Illuminism received heavy emphasis[466] synchronously with contemporary events of the utmost significance to the imperilled cause of political and religious conservatism.