Secret Societies And Subversive Movements Part 19

Further, men must learn not only to be independent of kings but of each other:

Who has need of another depends on him and has resigned his rights.

So to need little is the first step to freedom; therefore savages and the most highly enlightened are perhaps the only free men. The art of more and more limiting one's needs is at the same time the art of attaining freedom....[535]

Weishaupt then goes on to show how the further evil of Patriotism arose:

With the origin of nations and peoples the world ceased to be a great family, a single kingdom: the great tie of nature was torn.... Nationalism took the place of human love.... Now it became a virtue to magnify one's fatherland at the expense of whoever was not enclosed within its limits, now as a means to this narrow end it was allowed to despise and outwit foreigners or indeed even to insult them. This virtue was called Patriotism....[536]

And so by narrowing down affection to one's fellow-citizens, the members of one's family, and even to oneself:

There arose out of Patriotism, Localism, the family spirit, and finally Egoism.... Diminish Patriotism, then men will learn to know each other again as such, their dependence on each other will be lost, the bond of union will widen out....[537]

It will be seen that the whole of Weishaupt's theory was in reality a new rendering of the ancient secret tradition relating to the fall of man and the loss of his primitive felicity; but whilst the ancient religions taught the hope of a Redeemer who should restore man to his former state, Weishaupt looks to man alone for his restoration. "Men,"

he observes, "no longer loved men but only such and such men. The word was quite lost...."[538] Thus in Weishaupt's masonic system the "lost word" is "Man," and its recovery is interpreted by the idea that Man should find himself again. Further on Weishaupt goes on to show how "the redemption of the human race is to be brought about".

These means are secret schools of wisdom, these were from all time the archives of Nature and of human rights, through them will Man be saved from his Fall, princes and nations will disappear without violence from the earth, the human race will become one family and the world the abode of reasonable men. Morality alone will bring about this change imperceptibly. Every father of a family will be, as formerly Abraham and the patriarchs, the priest and unfettered lord of his family, and Reason will be the only code of Man. This is one of our greatest secrets....[539]

But whilst completely eliminating any idea of divine power outside Man and framing his system on purely political lines, Weishaupt is careful not to shock the susceptibilities of his followers by any open repudiation of Christian doctrines; on the contrary, he invokes Christ at every turn and sometimes even in language so apparently earnest and even beautiful that one is almost tempted to believe in his sincerity.

Thus he writes:

This our great and unforgettable Master, Jesus of Nazareth, appeared at a time in the world when it was sunk in depravity....

The first followers of His teaching are not wise men but simple, chosen from the lowest cla.s.s of the people, so as to show that His teaching should be possible and comprehensible to all cla.s.ses and conditions of men.... He carries out this teaching by means of the most blameless life in conformity with it, and seals and confirms this with His blood and death. These laws which He shows as the way to salvation are only two: love of G.o.d and love of one's neighbour; more He asks of no one.[540]

So far no Lutheran pastor could have expressed himself better. But one must study Weishaupt's writings as a whole to apprehend the true measure of his belief in Christ's teaching.

Now, as we have already seen, his first idea was to make Fire Worship the religion of Illuminism; the profession of Christianity therefore appears to have been an after-thought. Evidently Weishaupt discovered, as others have done, that Christianity lends itself more readily to subversive ideas than any other religion. And in the pa.s.sages which follow we find him adopting the old ruse of representing Christ as a Communist and as a secret-society adept. Thus he goes on to explain that "if Jesus preaches contempt of riches, He wishes to teach us the reasonable use of them and prepare for the community of goods introduced by Him,"[541] and in which, Weishaupt adds later, He lived with His disciples.[542] But this secret doctrine is only to be apprehended by initiates:

No one ... has so cleverly concealed the high meaning of His teaching, and no one finally has so surely and easily directed men on to the path of freedom as our great master Jesus of Nazareth.

This secret meaning and natural consequence of His teaching He hid completely, for Jesus had a secret doctrine, as we see in more than one place of the Scriptures.[543]

Weishaupt thus contrives to give a purely political interpretation to Christ's teaching:

The secret preserved through the Disciplinam Arcani, and the aim appearing through all His words and deeds, is to give back to men their original liberty and equality.... Now one can understand how far Jesus was the Redeemer and Saviour of the world.[544]

The mission of Christ was therefore by means of Reason to make men capable of freedom[545]: "When at last reason becomes the religion of man, so will the problem be solved."[546]

Weishaupt goes on to show that Freemasonry can be interpreted in the same manner. The secret doctrine concealed in the teaching of Christ was handed down by initiates who "hid themselves and their doctrine under the cover of Freemasonry,"[547] and in a long explanation of Masonic hieroglyphics he indicates the a.n.a.logies between the Hiramic legend and the story of Christ. "I say then Hiram is Christ," and after giving one of his reasons for this a.s.sertion, adds: "Here then is much ground gained, although I myself cannot help laughing at this explanation [_obwohl ich selbst uber diese Explication im Grund lachen muss_]."[548]

Weishaupt then proceeds to give further interpretations of his own devising to the masonic ritual, including an imaginary translation of certain words supposed to be derived from Hebrew, and ends up by saying: "One will be able to show several more resemblances between Hiram and the life and death of Christ, or drag them in by the hair."[549] So much for Weishaupt's respect for the Grand Legend of Freemasonry!

In this manner Weishaupt demonstrates that "Freemasonry is hidden Christianity, at least my explanations of the hieroglyphics fit this perfectly; and in the way in which I explain Christianity no one need be ashamed to be a Christian, for I leave the name and subst.i.tute for it Reason."[550]

But this is of course only the secret of what Weishaupt calls "real Freemasonry"[551] in contradistinction to the official kind, which he regards as totally unenlightened: "Had not the n.o.ble and elect remained in the background ... new depravity would have broken out in the human race, and through Regents, Priests, and Freemasons Reason would have been banished from the earth."[552]

In Weishaupt's masonic system, therefore, the designs of the Order with regard to religion are not confided to the mere Freemasons, but only to the Illuminati. Under the heading of "Higher Mysteries" Weishaupt writes:

The man who is good for nothing better remains a Scottish Knight.

If he is, however, a particularly industrious co-ordinator [_Sammler_], observer, worker, he becomes a Priest.... If there are amongst these [Priests] high speculative intellects, they become Magi. These collect and put in order the higher philosophical system and work at the People's Religion, which the Order will next give to the world. Should these high geniuses also be fit to rule the world, they become Regents. This is the last degree.[553]

Philo (the Baron von Knigge) also throws an interesting light on the religious designs of the Illuminati. In a letter to Cato he explains the necessity of devising a system that will satisfy fanatics and freethinkers alike: "So as to work on both these cla.s.ses of men and unite them, we must find an explanation to the Christian religion ...

make this the secret of Freemasonry and turn it to our purpose."[554]

Philo continues:

We say then: Jesus wished to introduce no new religion, but only to restore natural religion and reason to their old rights. Thereby he wished to unite men in a great universal a.s.sociation, and through the spread of a wiser morality, enlightenment, and the combating of all prejudices to make them capable of governing themselves; so the secret meaning of his teaching was to lead men without revolution to universal liberty and equality. There are many pa.s.sages in the Bible which can be made use of and explained, and so all quarrelling between the sects ceases if one can find a reasonable meaning in the teaching of Jesus--be it true or not. As, however, this simple religion was afterwards distorted, so were these teachings imparted to us through Disciplinam Arcani and finally through Freemasonry, and all masonic hieroglyphics can be explained with this object. Spartacus has collected very good data for this and I have myself added to them, ... and so I have got both degrees ready....

Now therefore that people see that we are the only real and true Christians, we can say a word more against priests and princes, but I have so managed that after previous tests I can receive pontiffs and kings in this degree. In the higher Mysteries we must then (_a_) disclose the pious fraud and (_b_) reveal from all writings the origin of all religious lies and their connexion....[555]

So admirably did this ruse succeed that we find Spartacus writing triumphantly:

You cannot imagine what consideration and sensation our Priest's degree is arousing. The most wonderful thing is that great Protestant and reformed theologians who belong to ? [Illuminism]

still believe that the religious teaching imparted in it contains the true and genuine spirit of the Christian religion. Oh! men, of what cannot you be persuaded? I never thought that I should become the founder of a new religion.[556]

It is on the "illuminized" clergy and professors that Weishaupt counts princ.i.p.ally for the work of the Order.

Through the influence of the Brothers [he writes], the Jesuits have been removed from all professorships, and the University of Ingoldstadt has been quite cleansed of them....[557]

Thus the way is cleared for Weishaupt's adepts.

The Inst.i.tute of Cadets also comes under the control of the Order:

All the professors are members of the Illuminati, ... so will all the pupils become disciples of Illuminism.[558]

Further:

We have provided our clerical members with good benefices, parishes, posts at Court.

Through our influence Arminius and Cortez have been made professors at Ephesus.

The German schools are quite under [the influence of] ? and now only members have charge of them.

The charitable a.s.sociation is also directed by ?.

Soon we shall draw over to us the whole Bartholomew Inst.i.tute for young clergymen; the preparations have already been made and the prospects are very good, by this means we shall be able to provide the whole of Bavaria with proper priests.[559]

But religion and Freemasonry are not the only means by which Illuminism can be spread.

We must consider [says Weishaupt], how we can begin to work under another form. If only the aim is achieved, it does not matter under what cover it takes place, and a cover is always necessary. For in concealment lies a great part of our strength. For this reason we must always cover ourselves with the name of another society. The lodges that are under Freemasonry are in the meantime the most suitable cloak for our high purpose, because the world is already accustomed to expect nothing great from them which merits attention.... As in the spiritual Orders of the Roman Church, religion was, alas! only a pretence, so must our Order also in a n.o.bler way try to conceal itself behind a learned society or something of the kind.... A society concealed in this manner cannot be worked against. In case of a prosecution or of treason the superiors cannot be discovered.... We shall be shrouded in impenetrable darkness from spies and emissaries of other societies.[560]

In order to give a good appearance to the Order, Weishaupt particularly indicates the necessity for enlisting esteemed and "respectable"

persons,[561] but above all young men whom he regards as the most likely subjects. "I cannot use men as they are," he observes, "but I must first form them."[562] Youth naturally lends itself best to this process.

"Seek the society of young people," Weishaupt writes to Ajax, "watch them, and if one of them pleases you, lay your hand on him."[563] "Seek out young and already skilful people.... Our people must be engaging, enterprising, intriguing, and adroit. Above all the first."[564]

If possible they should also be good-looking--"beautiful people, _caeteris paribus_...."