Translated from Le Frondeur, April 25, 1897
by
Alain Bernheim, A. William Samii, and Eric Serejski
Reprinted from Heredom
The Transacations of the
Scottish Rite Research Society
vol. 5, 1996, pp. 137-168
(c) 1997 Scottish Rite Research Society
All Rights Reserved
1733 16 St., N.W., Washington, DC 20009-3103
Australian Introduction
We thank those involved in producing this document and post it on this page for all Australians to read. This is the full article originally published in the French journal Le Frondeur, April 25, 1897. Taxil's hoax caused a great deal of misunderstanding of Freemasonry and Freemasons have an obligation to point out the truth in this matter and to demonstrate that Freemasonry is good.
In brief, Leo Taxil created a hoax that caused a great deal of damage to the reputation of Freemasonry during the late 19th century. Although he admitted to this hoax in 1897, anti-Masonic writers have continued to draw on his hoax - either directly or through secondary sources - to sustain misinformation about the objectives of Freemasonry.
Due to its size, this article is posted on this plus six other sites. It is best to read the Introduction first and then move to the following sites in order (part 6 provides 20 translators notes that would be useful along side the previous 5 parts):
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6 - translator's notes, list of refences, and publications that rely on Taxil's hoax as evidence that Freemasonry is evil.
If you have any questions or comments regarding this issue, please use this form:
Later Taxil, in an interview, says:
"The public made me what I am, the arch-liar of the period, for when I first commenced to write against the Masons my object was amusement pure and simple. The crimes laid at their door were so grotesque, so impossible, so widely exaggerated, I thought everybody would see the joke and give me credit for originating a new line of humour. But my readers wouldn't have it so; they accepted my fables as gospel truth, and the more I lied for the purpose of showing that I lied, the more convinced became they that I was a paragon of veracity."