Frederick the Great, and His Relations with Masonry and Other
Secrete Societies

THE BUILDER AUGUST 1921

TAKEN FROM THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE LADY CRAVEN

Elizabeth, the youngest daughter of the fourth Earl of Berkeley, was born on
December 17, 1750.  A sprightly and beautiful girl, she had many love
affairs, and was finally married to William, 6th Lord Craven.  She was
unfaithful to him, having relations with the French ambassador, Count de
Guines, but was pardoned by her indulgent husband.  After Lord Craven's death
she went to Germany and found a place in the train of the Margrave of
Anspach, to whom, after an unseemly friendship, and within three months after
the death of his wife, she was married.  There is no need to detail her
history further, or print the long codicil of her titles, save to say that,
after having seen life in many courts, among them Russia, and after having
had a most mixed career of love affairs and intrigues, the Lady published her
"Autobiographical Memoirs" in 1826, when she was in her seventy-sixth year.
From these Memoirs the following chapter, with a few irrelevant paragraphs
omitted, has been taken: for what reason, the Masonic reader will immediately
discover for himself.

The best edition of the "Autobiographical Memoirs" of the Margravine is
published by John Lane under the title of "The Beautiful Lady Craven"; the
two volumes are attractive in appearance, as most of Lane's books are, and
have been very ably edited by A. M. Broadley and Lewis Melville.

WE DISPATCHED a courier forward, after whose arrival at Berlin the King sent
eight fine horses to draw us through the sandy plains of Prussia.  The frost
and snow in Bohemia had much damaged the springs and wheels of our carriage;
but we arrived without any serious injury or accident, from a journey which
was the most terrific I ever underwent; for if any thing had ever happened to
the Margrave, I and I alone, should have been accused of doing him harm.

When we arrived at Berlin, the Carnival being ended, all the Royal family
were gone to their different villas; but His Majesty returned to meet the
Margrave at his palace; while I was left to the discretion of the Princess
Royal, afterwards Duchess of York, who had her own establishment in the Royal
Palace.

We remained here only four days, during which time I saw but little of the
Margrave, for he was constantly with the King.  He informed His Majesty that
there had existed a mysterious correspondence among some of the nobility of
Bareith, and others at Anspach the object of which he supposed was to form
more distrusts between Austria and Prussia.

Frederick William II had succeeded to the throne on the death of his uncle
Frederick the Great, in 1786. He made many salutary regulations for his
subjects and established a Court of Honour to prevent the horrible practice
of duelling in his dominions.

As I was willing to gain all the information possible respecting so great a
character as Frederick the late King, it may easily be imagined that I lost
no opportunity which could be afforded me during my residence among the Royal
Family, and which, together with the Margrave's knowledge of this illustrious
man, and that of Prince Hardenberg, afforded me much satisfaction.

After my marriage with the Margrave, we brought out from Anspach a
full-length portrait of the late King, for which he himself sat, for the
Margrave, whom he also presented another of his father, Frederick William.
The countenance and whole figure are striking resemblance of His Majesty.
The expression is surprisingly fine. I had it placed under a canopy at
Brandenburgh House, and those who have seen it can never forget it.

When Frederick ascended the throne he was only twenty-eight years of age. It
is well known to all Europe how this great Prince profited by the army left
to him by his father, and the riches which he had accumulated.  He had been
detested by the late King when he was Prince Royal, because he appeared to
apply himself to the sciences and fine arts rather than to military affairs.
Having followed his father to Wesel, he conceived the project of passing into
a foreign country.  He had probably other motives than those of gaining
instruction by travels; no doubt it was to escape the tyranny of his father:
but the latter had gained information of his design, and arrested him at the
moment of its execution.  He was tried by Commissaries who had the firmness
not to condemn him to lose his head. It might appear to be a light crime for
the presumptive heir of a kingdom to quit the realms without the permission
of his Sovereign; but such was the law.  Of four-and-twenty judges, only one
was found who voted for the sentence of death, and that was a person named
Derschau; yet such was the magnanimity of Frederick when he came to the
throne, that this man never experienced from him the slightest vengeance.

Frederick, his father, was on the point of renewing on the theatre of Europe
the scene of Don Carlos, or more recently that of Czarowitz.  The Prince was
pardoned; but the unfortunate companion of his flight, his friend and
confidant, was decapitated.

Frederick has been accused by his enemies as having neither shed a tear nor
used an argument to induce his father to save this victim from destruction.
But I have been assured, from those who were present at the scene, that when
the unfortunate man was led to the scaffold, the Prince Royal demanded his
pardon with the effusions of a heart broken by grief; and that he fainted
more than once during the punishment, and in fact experienced the greatest
anguish.  Before the execution he had tried every means in his power to save
him.  In his despair, he had offered to his father to renounce the throne
forever, in order to preserve the life of his friend whom he loved: but the
inflexible Monarch, not satisfied with the sentence of the judges, who had
condemned him to the galleys for life, with his own hand signed his
death-warrant, alleging that there was no justification for the crime of high
treason, and treating his son's entreaties with indignation and contempt.
Katt was the grandson of a field-marshal, and son of a general of that name
at that time both alive and in the service of the King.

Frederick the Great was born with sensibility, but he learned to suppress his
emotions and his feelings; he saw how necessary it was to be just, as well as
merciful, during his long military career; and perhaps the firmness which has
been his reproach, was the greatest triumph of his nature.

After this event he retired to Rheinsberg, applying himself to all kinds of
acquirements; and here he learned to play on the flute, on which instrument
he excelled, not as a prince, but as an amateur of the first rank.

His allowance was extremely moderate, and his father had vigorously forbidden
any one to advance him money.  This order was, however, ill observed, and it
has been objected against him that when King he never repaid the obligations
of his creditors.  But the fact was otherwise; he paid them in secret.  The
Minister of his father's finances had refused to advance him money, and when
the Prince ascended the throne this man was supposed to be ruined, and on his
coming to give in his accounts demanded permission to retire; when the young
King, to the astonishment of all round him, praised his fidelity, begged him
to continue his services, and doubled his salary.

What a different fidelity from that of the judges of poor Katt, who
considered blind obedience to the commands of their Sovereign as a proof of
fit submission to his authority!

It is a singular circumstance in the history of the House of Bradenburgh,
that during the space of 370 years, in which time the sovereignty was in
their hands, there was never experienced one minority.

Frederick enjoyed an immoderate reputation, and to a certain point even the
adoration of his contemporaries, not only as a warrior, but as a governor of
his empire, and as a profound politician.  His assiduity was indefatigable,
and his skill in affairs of government transcendent.  The Government of
Prussia appeared to rise from the seeds of despotism, and formed a lesson of
instruction to the world.  Notwithstanding his exactness and his
inflexibility in war, he obtained the affections of his soldiers, who always
denominated him their Father Fritz.  It was the name by which he was
familiarly called through the army.

The severity of his conduct towards Baron de Trenck (1) has excited the
indignation of mankind, and has been considered as a blot on his escutcheon;
but arbitrary order and rigorous detention have to be exercised in other
countries as well as in Prussia.  Without pleading this as an excuse, I shall
endeavour, with impartiality, to remark on the leading points of the
justification of Frederick's conduct, derived from those who were acquainted
with the cause of such a punishment.

M. de Trenck had been forbidden by the King, whom he acknowledged not only as
his Sovereign, but as his benefactor, to write to his uncle, who was a chief
of the Pandours.

His injunctions were violated.  The King demanded of him personally whether
he was in correspondence with his uncle.  M. de Trenck denied it.  "Do you
give me your word of honour of it?" said the King.  "Yes, Sire," was the
answer.  It was at the very time that Trenck had just written to his uncle,
that this dialogue passed. The discovery was made, and M. de Trenck was sent
to the fortress of Magdeburg: it was a punishment usual in the Prussian
service. M. de Trenck plotted his escape, and fled with an officer whom he
had seduced to desert, he killed those who pursued him.  The King's Resident
at Dantzic, whither Trenck had fled, sent him back to his Sovereign.  Trenck
had certainly violated every law - he had at first been disobedient, then
perjured - a rebel, and a murderer.

At Magdeburg, Baron de Trenck recommenced his devices: his imprisonment was
in consequence rendered more severe, and his confinement lasted for ten
years.

Trenck was six feet two inches high, and squinted: he was popular, and always
followed by thousands. After the death of Frederick he published his Memoirs.
At that period, all who were acquainted with the groundwork of his history
were dead: on his own testimony depends the whole of his relation.  Those
whom he cites in his narrative have probably forgotten the circumstances of
so distant a date, but without recurring to vague conjectures regarding the
truth of this affair, or of the cruelty exercised against him, M. de Trenck
avows that he had intrigued with a person of illustrious rank.  If that
person, as has been generally supposed, and which from good authority I know
to be the case, was the Princess Amelia, sister of the King; if from this
connection there were children who were deprived of life by means the most
horrible - what strong inducements might not the King have had for visiting
on Trenck a punishment of the severest kind, without being under the
necessity of explaining (from motives of decorum and decency) the reasons
which influenced him to such an act.

Frederick frequently broke his officers for causes light in appearance; but
he always had heavier charges against them, which were unknown to the rest of
mankind, and which he concealed for the purpose of preserving military
discipline.

As soon as Frederick ascended the throne, he invited into his kingdom all
those who were called les esprits forts: Voltaire, le Marquis d'Argens, the
Abbe de Prade, Maupertuis, and even the impious La Metrie. This example
encouraged the literary Germans to proclaim their sentiments, Berlin became
the asylum of the persecuted, and the nursery of truth.

The history of the secret societies of Germany was at that time little known.
It might be interesting to a philosopher, but the generality of people might
regard it as a romance: all well-informed persons can attest the reality of
it.

Towards the end of the last century an association, or secret society,
existed, which was daily gaining ground.  It was the Order of the Illumines.
The chiefs of this Order had resolved to form an association which was to
unveil the mysteries of superstition, to enlighten mankind, and to render
them happy.  Their object was to gain a superiority over the lodges of
Freemasonry, (2) and to turn these institutions from darkness to the benefit
of humanity.  They proposed to extend the sphere of knowledge universally,
not so much in depth as on the surface; to introduce reason and good sense;
to ameliorate the condition of men by an insensible operation.  No Prince,
however great or good, was to be admitted.  They swore to preserve, as much
as was in their power, Sovereigns from the perpetration of crimes, and from
the commission of errors; to abolish the slavery of despotism, to destroy
ecclesiastical jurisdiction, to favour the liberty of the press, and to
unveil mysteries of every description.

The project was great noble and sublime; but prudence was wanting in its
execution.  They expected to see a sudden effect, whilst they forgot that the
edifice was only building.  The society enlarged, the wicked and designing
were admitted; the powers of bigotry and superstition saw the force of their
enemy, and the arm of Government was called to their assistance.  Many of the
chiefs were driven from Germany, others were imprisoned, and every thing but
death and torture inflicted on them.

The dispersed members of this association soon formed another assembly; they
were again surprised, their papers taken, and their doctrines published,
without regard to the effects which they might produce.  Many sects arose
from these, which rendered discord prevalent throughout Germany.  Their
different Orders had little resemblance to Freemasonry - they were visionary,
mystical, and cabalistic.

Frederick had too sound an understanding to be caught in the snares of
enthusiasm. It is not known whether the attempt were made to conquer him, but
it is most probable that he was never tried. Nor is it certain when the area
or how the nature of the misunderstanding between this Monarch and the
superiors of the Order of Freemasonry began.  Whether he was ignorant of the
machinations of modern Masonry, of the visions and the horrors which were
latterly raised, or of the general tendency of these mysterious associations;
or whether having once adopted the Masonic costume, and having openly
protected its Orders, he did not wish, even after having seen its evil
tendencies, to retract and to separate from a society into which he had
erstwhile not disdained to enter - he refrained from excluding from his
dominions these secret associations.

Masons of every denomination - Rosicrucians, Centralists, Illuminate - had
all, under his reign, the liberty of establishing lodges and societies
according to their fancy, provided they did not disturb the public order.

Thus Berlin became the receptacle of sects, of parties, of conjurations, of
chemical mysteries, and of extravagances of every kind.

In the meantime instruction was not neglected, and Frederick supported and
protected every institution which might extend education throughout his
kingdom. Rousseau had written his Emilius - a work the most perfect of its
kind, and which places the author incontestably in the rank of the first of
benefactors to mankind; in Germany this production became as a torch which
extended its light throughout; it opened to the system of education new
views. Youth was taught not by words alone, and those in an unknown language
- but he gave them clear ideas of natural things, of moral and physical
relations, of mechanism, of history, and of geography.

Frederick did not lose sight of the good effects of such a system of
education; and to promote it, established a Consistory, which was to
superintend every institution, and at the head of which he placed himself.
He procured masters, and did not blush to render homage to the superiority of
the institution which he had promoted. The example of the Sovereign excited
the nobility and gentry of the nation, and Frederick inspired in his subjects
an admirable and laudable competition.

It was in one of those moments which in human life are so contradictory to
the general sentiments of the mind, that Frederick, hearing the news of the
proscription of the Jesuits in France, by the public functionaries,
exclaimed, "Pauvres gens! ils ont detruit les renards qui les defendaient des
loups, et ils ne voient pas qu'ils vont etre devores."

Frederick had sanctioned and approved the writing of the philosophers; he had
become a philosopher himself.  Heveltius had published his work De I'Esprit
in France, and to avoid punishment had fled to England.  Le Contrat Social of
Rosseau had found protection among the magistracy; and the Parliaments had
defended Doderpt's declaiming against despotism.  The Court and Clergy had
admired Voltaire's ridiculing the Parliaments.  There has been exaggeration,
when it has been said that the philosophers proposed by a regular plan to
subvert the foundations of societies and thrones: they worked to that effect
without being sensible of it. They did not wish to be the destroyers, but the
preceptors, of monarchs: and had Montesquieu only produced his work Sur les
Romains, and his Esprit des Lois; had Beccaria only written his Traite des
Delits et des Peines; had Voltaire only refuted Machiavel, and defended
Calas, Scriven, and Lally; had pleaded the cause of nature, of morality, and
of religion; and had the Encyclopedists respected the principles of religion
alone - they would have been entitled to the indulgence of the world. But the
discussion of one subject led to a another, and in the correction of abuses
they proceeded beyond the bounds which they had prescribed.  Then it was,
that one of the greatest Kings who ever wore a crown figured in the
correspondence of philosophy: then it was, that he pronounced in his Academy
the eulogy of the man who wrote L'Homme Machine, ("Man, a Machine"-Ed.) and
that he compelled his churches to celebrate obsequies of the man who had
endeavored to undermine the foundation of Christianity.

This influence spread throughout Europe: it penetrated into every class.
Diderot, D'Alembert, and Condoreet, united their forces in the operation.
Then the sects of the Illuminate, who had associated for the destruction of
revealed religion, overthrew its foundations, as far as regarded themselves,
and introduced a new code founded on natural morality, which led to the
system of primitive equality.

Even Frederick himself proved that a king, though a man of letters, could not
sustain with dignity the sceptre of literature.  Some unfortunate members
defiled the character of his Academy; but Euler and La Grange were an eternal
honour to it.  Some men of high estimation were associated with others of
obscure and even ridiculous talents: their inequalities were great.

It was a prejudice generally spread throughout Germany, that the province of
Prussia, and Berlin in particular, was peopled with Atheists.  Because
Frederick encouraged freedom of thought in his dominions; because he
collected and united about his person men of genius; because, under his
reign, some irreligious books escaped from the Prussian press - this
conclusion, as absurd as precipitate, was adopted.  M. Nicolai, a
distinguished writer and bookseller of Berlin, (a union very rare, though it
were to be desired that it were more general,) had depicted Berlin in a
romance with great truth; and his work displays excellent notions on the
manners of Germany.  He has shown, that if, in general, there are some
Freethinkers in the Prussian provinces, the people at large are attached to
the national religion.

Towards the end of the seven years' war, a man named Rosenfeld, in the
service of the Margrave of Schwedt, quitted the service of that prince, and
began to inform the populace that he was the new Messiah; that Jesus had been
a false prophet; that the preachers were rogues and liars, who preached
death; that for himself he preached life, since his adherents never died;
that the King of Prussia was the Devil; that the time approached when he
(Rosenfeld) should assemble together the twenty-four Elders, and should
obtain the sword, and govern the world with their assistance.

Rosenfeld prevailed on some of his adherents to deliver over to him seven
girls, of whom the zealous fanatics were the fathers.  It was, he said, to
open the seven seals that he required seven virgins.  With these he formed a
seraglio: one of them was his favorite Sultana; he made the others work, and
lived upon the profit of their labours.  After having carried on the trade of
a Messiah for twenty-nine years, under different mischanges; first poor, then
imprisoned, afterwards entertained by the presents of his votaries, and
living habitually by means of the wool which his mistresses spun; after
acquiring disciples in Berlin and its environs, in Saxony, and even at
Mecklenburg - one of his faithful followers, who had in vain expected to reap
the fruit of his splendid promises - even one of those who had delivered over
to him three of his daughters, accused him before Frederick; that is to say,
denied his Messiah, who he believed to be the true God, before the King, whom
he believed to be the true Devil. This very accuser always regarded Rosenfeld
as the real Messiah, and only wished that the King could compel him to
realize his prodigious offers.

The King sent Rosenfeld to a natural tribunal, which condemned him to be
whipped, and shut up for the remainder of his days at Spandau.  The Supreme
Tribunal commuted this sentence, and pronounced that this new Messiah should
be sent to the House of Correction, where he should be flogged as often as he
at attempted to have an adventure of gallantry, and after two years that a
report should be made of his manner of conducting himself.  The defenders of
the accused appealed: the King revised the process, and confirmed the severer
sentence of the first tribunal.  He imagined, without doubt, that it was
necessary that Rosenfeld should be punished in the sight of the people, to
prevent them from being in future deceived through similar visions.

But the most absurd opinions are often the most tenacious, because they have
no perceptible basis by which they may be measured; and this spectacle did
not undeceive any of the adherents of Rosenfeld, a great number of whom
remained attached to him.

He went afterwards to preach his doctrines at Charlottenberg, hardly a mile
from the capital; but he found that this theatre was too small for two
fanatics like himself and Musenfeld.  The Government, without doubt, tired
with his persevering enthusiasm, overlooked his folly and left him in repose.

Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick, (3) the conqueror of Creveldt and of Minden, was
induced, by the persuasion of the Baron de Hund, who was a Reformer, to place
himself at the head of the reformed Lodges of Freemasonry, which has taken
the appellation of the Strict Observance.  It was supposed to be an Order of
Freemasonry which was a continuation of the Society of Knights Templar: the
highest step was that of a Templar, with all the ceremonies of ancient
chivalry.  Doctors of divinity and professors of Physic were received as
Chevaliers d'Epee. It is hardly possible to conceive that reasonable beings
could lend themselves to ideas so ridiculous; example, however, did
everything, and enthusiasm was contagious.  In this branch of the Order there
reigned a monastic despotism, and men who led away by rites and ceremonies.
The members alone possessed the secret; those out of the Order could never
tell where or what it was.

As no woman can possibly be a Mason, every woman has a right to endeavour to
penetrate the mystery. (4) It is admitted that Adam was the first Mason; he
founded the first lodge - he had all the instruments necessary for the
purpose - he produced the mortar;- without Eve there would have been no
lodge.  Where is the mystery of Masonry, if the idea be followed up? Having
created the lodge, he made members for it: those members created others, and
the society extended over the globe; and while the globe exists, members will
never be wanting.  Over this secret I will throw the apron!

When the minds of men were sufficiently heated, the actor of this drama
caused to appear upon the scene the Thaumaterges, or miracle-workers.  These
appeared to have ordinarily no relation with Freemasonry in general, but
attached themselves to personages eminent for rank or fortune.  One of the
first of these charlatans was Schroepfer, a coffeehouse-keeper of Leipsic, on
whom Duke Charles of Courland (5) had inflicted corporeal punishment; but who
afterwards so fascinated this Prince, and a greater part of the principal
personages of Dresden and of Leipsic, that he compelled them to act a
principal part with him.

At that time were reproduced on the theatre of Europe the follies of Asia and
of China - the universal medicine - the art of making gold and diamonds - the
beverage of immortality.  The peculiar qualification of Schroepfer was the
invocation of manes; he commanded spirits, and caused the dead and the
invisible powers to appear at his will.  The denouement of his drama is well
known. After having consumed immense sums which he obtained from his
adherents, and alienated their senses, when he found that he could no longer
sustain the imposture, he shot himself through the head with a pistol, in a
wood near Leipsic.

To Schroepfer succeeded Saint-Germain, who had been before announced by the
Comte de Lambert.  This Saint-Germain had lived a thousand years; he had
discovered a tea, before which all maladies disappeared; he made, for his
amusement, diamonds of immense magnitude! He attached himself to Prince
Carles of Hesse; (6) but, like his predecessors, he forgot not to die.

In the meantime Gessner, religious miracle-worker, appeared in the environs
of Ratisbon.  He did not belong to the Freemasons, nor did he attach himself
to any of the principal members of the Order; but he was equally useful to
it, - for all the prodigies of which he was heard to speak corroborated the
general faith of miracles, which was one of the great springs of the machine.
 
In the heart of Switzerland lived a preacher of an ardent imagination - of a
penetrating mind - of immeasurable ambition - of undaunted pride; am ignorant
man, but gifted with the talent of speech - intoxicated with mysticism -
eager after prodigies - and made up of credulity.  He imagined that, with
faith, miracles might at this time be effected.  Servants, peasants, Roman
Catholic priests, Freemasons - all combined in his mind as contributing to
the gift of miracle-working, whenever he discovered the slightest appearance
of anything extraordinary.

M. Lavater (7) gained a great party, particularly among the women; these
brought him the men - and he had soon thousands, and subsequently millions,
of followers after his visionary ideas.

After these, succeeded Mesmer (8) and Cagliostro (9) (whose tricks and
extravagances are well known), without reckoning the crowds of madmen, of
charlatans, of jugglers of every kind, who sprang up on all sides.

This concourse of knaves, far from appeasing the divisions of Freemasonry,
augmented the fermentation.  A new branch arose in the dominions of
Frederick: it was called the Lodge of Zizendorf, from the name of its
founder.  This Zizendorf had been formerly a member of the Templars, from
which Order he detached himself, and formed a great party, assuring them that
he alone had the true rites and the true mysteries.  Each of these branches
decried the other. This new agitation attracted the attention of men of sound
understanding (at least of the Order), who immediately formed a new
association under the name of Eclectic Masonry.  They professed a general
toleration of all sects of the Order; and this system, which was the only
solid one (if any system of the kind can be so), gained in a short time many
partisans.  This was the cause of the fall of the Order of Templars, who soon
saw their machine in ruins. Frequent Chapters were held, where the deputies
of the provinces deliberated; and, with surprise, the first question they
found they had put to the Grand Master was, What is the true end of the
Order, and its real origin? Thus the Grand Master, and all his assistants,
had laboured, for more than twenty years, with incredible ardour, for an
object of which they neither knew the true end nor the origin.  Thus puzzled
and perplexed, the system of the Templars was abandoned, and an Order
instituted of the Chivalry of Beneficence.

Every secret association has something of resemblance to a conspiracy, and it
is incumbent on every Government to watch over it.  But some consideration
must be paid to the characters of the members.  If they will not bear the
test of inspection, doubtless measures should be taken to prevent their
increase, with moderation and prudence.  And when it is more-over remembered
that Sweden lost its constitution from these associations, which are
frequently composed of men profound in design and indefatigable in
perseverance, no means should be laid aside which may develop their plans.

(1) Frederick von der Trenck (1726-1794), a native of  Konigsberg. His arrest
at Dantzic in 1754 caused a great sensation throughout Europe. He was not
liberated until 1756. He was denounced as a spy in France, and guillotined
July 25, 1794. (2) Frederick the Great was, however, an ardent Freemason, and
as such was instrumental in arranging the initiation into, the Order of more
than one member of the British Royal Family. (3) Charles William Ferdinand,
Duke of Brunswick (1735 - 1806) killed at the battle of Jena. He was an
ardent Freemason, and entered into friendly relations with the English Grand
Lodge. (4) The Margravine in this instance is mistaken.  Masonry of Adoption,
or Feminine Freemasonry, was extensively practised in France and on the
Continent.  Marie Antoinette and her sister Caroline, Queen of Naples, both
belonged to the Order of which the unfortunate Princesse de Lamballe was for
a time Grand Mistress. (5) Charles, Duke of Courland (b. 1728). (6) Brother
of the reigning Landgrave William IX. Born 29 Dec, 1744. (7) Johann Caspar
Lavater (1741-1801). (8) Friedrich Anton Mesmer (1734-1815). (9) Alexander
Cagliostro (1745-1795).  His connection with Freemasonry is fully, but not
exhaustively, described in Mr. W.R. H. Trowbridge's biography (1910). (10) La
Metrie wrote a book called "Man, a Machine." It was published in this country
by the Open Court Company of Chicago.

A Postscriptural Preachment by the Editor:

The editor begs indulgence of the veteran Masonic student while he
administers a preachment to the young students in the Craft, using the above
as a text for the same.  Those young students are asked to use the Lady
Craven article as a kind of laboratory task whereby to examine two or three
rather important canons of historical study.  They are asked, nay, urged to
sharpen their young critical faculties on the intriguing paragraphs of the
Beautiful Lady, for they will not soon encounter again so useful a specimen.

They are asked to note first, that the Lady Craven received nearly all her
information at second-hand, and then not often from authoritative sources.
This, at one stroke, removes her narrative, which is so well-informed upon
the surface of it, from the class of genuine historical sources, and renders
all she says (with all due respect to the memory of the clever grande madame)
more or less suspect.  What is gossip worth as evidence? Nothing! In history
gossip is almost useless, more especially in those passages whereabout much
controversy has raged.  When you undertake the study of Masonic authors bear
in mind that you are ever to stand on your guard against the easy sin of
accepting gossip at its face value.  Ascertain first of all if your author
had access at first-hand to his sources of information: if he did not, next
ascertain, if you can, how reliable were his informants.  Accounts of
Masonry, no more than any other chapters of history, are not to be taken on
anybody's mere say-so, even though the say-soer himself wore the apron.  In
other words, the laws of evidence are in full force in the Masonic province.
Masonic Scholarship! what crimes have been committed in thy name by those who
have forgotten this simple fact! In the second place, it is always necessary
to ascertain the competency of the author himself (or herself) to deal with
the matter in hand.  Facts themselves are useless to one incapable of
thought.  What impression of the intellectual capacities of the Beautiful
Lady do you gain from the above, especially from that diverting paragraph in
which she develops a quite Jesuit bit of argument drawn from the eventful
experiences of Adam and Eve? Does it anywhere appear that she knows anything
about Masonry herself? Would a well-informed writer have mixed together the
Illuminati, the Thaumaterges, the Messiah Worshippers and all that into one
whole and dubbed the thing Masonry? It is evident that the Beautiful Lady
knew nothing about her subject, even though more than once she clearly
attempts to make the reader believe that she has seen behind the curtains of
it all.  When one is being invited to receive a palpable deceit it is well
that he become sceptic at once and read on with a grain of salt.

Note another thing, not closely connected with the above.  Suppose that you
have read another account of Frederick's doings in Masonry, etc., and that,
as would be very sure to happen, your author's account would violently
disagree with that furnished by the Beautiful Lady: how would you decide in
your mind which of the two to believe, or whether either one might be true in
his (or her) statements? In such a dilemma it is wise to refer the matter to
the experts.  The experts may disagree, that is true.  They often do, and in
that case one must let his judgment hang in suspense: but usually on
important matters, and where there is much available data, the experts are
sure to be in general agreement, and if so it is seldom difficult to learn
what are their conclusions. (THE BUILDER exists in order, among other things,
to make accessible to Masonic students the work of Masonic experts).  It
happens that THE BUILDER published. recently an opinion by an expert on some
of the very things about which Lady Craven writes so engagingly.  In the
month of December for last year you will find Arthur Edward Waite's reply
(and what a thrilling reply it was!) to the canards against Freemasonry
published by the London Morning Post.  Look up that article and read what
that "master of those who know" had to say about Frederick the Great, and the
Illuminati, etc. (Wouldn't it be "rich" to read a reply from Brother Waite to
the article on Freemasonry published in the Roman Catholic Encyclopedia? Such
a reply would surpass the one referred to above, and would be worth going
miles to see!)

Lastly, when the beginner makes his debut into the field of Masonic lore he
soon grows dizzy at the complexity of it all, begins to realize too keenly
his own ignorance, and is tempted to abandon it all at the start.  Brother
Beginner, do nothing of the kind.  Put up with your helpless sense of
bewilderment while you doggedly wade through six or seven volumes of Masonic
history: After awhile the country will begin very gradually to disclose
itself; you will see the great landmarks emerging from the mist; and finally
the highways will stand clearly revealed.  After that it is no trouble to
walk therein.  You will gain confidence in yourself; you will not abase
yourself any more at the feet of every author you encounter; you will come at
last to have an informed judgment on Masonic matters and to trust that
judgment.  Long before you have reached that satisfactory stage you will have
learned enough to see that any writer who lumps together a great variety of
secret societies, religious cults, and private fanatics and calls the whole
thing Freemasonry, is not a writer whose pages are to be taken seriously.
