sons.

way on his road, but do not travel right through; though I doubt if the French Revolution would have occurred in the last century, had it not been for the association of FreemaThere were many causes at work, which, when combined, produced that revolution, and much of its direction arose from those secret associations; but the form of the government, its oppressions on the people, with the exactions of the priesthood were the first and most powerful causes of that revolution. The secret associations were seized on as a means of facilitating that; which the more sensible part of the French people saw to be necessary. The associations did not generate the revolutionary spirit,.but fell in with it and lent it their aid.

Many a mason and the priests generally have attributed that revolution to the writings of the antichristian philosophers. When the revolution was otherwise brought about, I grant, that these writings operated powerfully in its favour; but they operated to good and no where to evil; and they were not a first cause of that revolution. The same and similar writings will produce revolutions in all countries; but where they act alone, they will revolutionize by moral means, quietly, and by the power and influ ence of knowledge; but wherever they act in conjunction with other causes, they will direct the influence of those causes to the annihilation of state religion, as they did in France. The religion of individuals can only be annihilated by knowledge, by powerful arguments and facts, against their religion, shewn to the individuals; but a state religion, as it is preserved by bayonets, balls, gunpowder and the sword, so by the same can it be overthrown, or, in the absence of such support, it is a monstrous compound that will naturally fall to pieces. So, it is clear, that the revolution of France was not brought about by the antichristian writings alone, not by the Masonic associations alone; but by both, and a variety of other prior causes acting together and working to a crisis.

All the writings which I have read, written by those who are called the French Philosophers of the eighteenth century, have been strictly moral, as all antichristian writings must of necessity be; and they have uniformly sought to soften down the ferocity of mankind and to inculcate what we call bumane principles, or the most complete forbearance, where crime and error arise from ignorance. Therefore it is like attributing a pestilent disease to the sun, which the filth

of mankind had in reality engendered, to attribute the
ferocities and massacres of that revolution to the writ

ings of the French Philosophers. But, on the other
hand, we know, that the masonic associations have taught
assassination as one of their principles, and the practi-
tical part of the principles of the Duke of Orleans, or
Egalite, has been indisputably traced to those associa
tions. This Royal Ruffian was the principal cause of
all that was horrible in the French Revolution, and deserv
edly fell by the hands of those murderers, whom he had
trained and fed. And all this too from a principle which
has ever existed with monarchy, an effort to remove one
branch of the royal family, that he might reach the
crown and the throne for his own head and tail. This
was the real equality at which he aimed.
been a uniform vice with monarchy, and a general cause of
war. Can a sensible and humane man desire any other
ground to wish the universal extinction of monarchy

This has

All that relates to history, in the ceremonies of masonry, if we take the literal sense, is founded on fable. The first fourteen books of the Bible are clearly fabulous, a piece of invention altogether. They correspond with no historian that wrote before the existence of those books, or before the Babylonian Colonization of the Jews at Jerusalem. Neither Jews nor books are mentioned by any historian that existed before that colonization. See the foundation of the religion of Europe and America! See the foundation of Masonry! I am a graud architect of the universe; but I build nothing with or upon fable. I build nothing with speculative masonry, nothing with religion, nothing with the aid of God or Gods, nothing with the aid of spirits. My materials are more solid than those of any rock or any mine they are made of the realities of history mixed up with the realities of existing things. Matter and men were the same three, four, or five, or ten thousand years ago, as they now are, allowing for the variation of human knowledge. I see them to be the same in all genuine history; and, marvellous or miraculous tales of matter and men, I down as fables. This is truth, and the test of truth. writer, I believe it is John Stewart, the first English st that reasoned rationally upon matter and man, on that part of man, which we call mind, has

set

Some

Material..

particularly

laid it down, as

history that corre bility or experience;

a useful rule, to admit the correctness of all sponds with our ideas of analogy, proba unless we have counter proofs, that

the circumstances narrated did not in reality exist, and to reject whatever is marvellous, or that does not correspond with our ideas of analogy, probability or experience. Bring all fables to this test and they will cease to do mischief.

Solomon's Temple is the literal pivot of speculative masonry, and though, in the history or Bible account of building that temple, nothing but human accomplishments and human means are introduced; yet, the absence of all other history upon the subject, and the miraculous circumstances stated in this same Bible, induce me to reject the tale. Here, we have also counter proofs, in the absence of all mention of such a people as Jews or Israelites existing at such a place as Jerusalem, by historians, who were or would have been their neighbours, had such a people existed, and who travelled over the very territory mentioned. Therefore, your Temple, your wise and rich Solomon, and your skilful Hiram Abiff, are fables, or allegories, such as those which abound in the Jewish Talmuds, and such as is the name and story of Jesus Christ. By all that I can see, the Jews were the first writers of romantic history, and finding it more eagerly swallowed, and more interesting as it became more romantic and marvellous, they went on to all excesses, until now, the Christians have so completely improved upon the trade, as to make a state religion of a fiction, and to make nine tenth of their literary traffic a dealing in fiction, wilfully delivered and as wilfully received as fiction! Strange, horrid propensity! To this day, the Jews feel as if they were entitled to subsist by fraud. Rare indeed is it to see one of them pursuing a calling that is useful in a social sense. And, very believe, that the Christians would be similar chracters, if they were not the majority, and if all could subsist by fraud. Throughout Europe and America, the system of fraud is carried as far as ever it can be made profitable, and honesty is every where its prey, whether it exists voluntarily or by compulsion.

!

Had

Masons have multiplied the fables of the Bible, in adding an assassination of Hiram Abiff, with the circumstances and the names of his assassins; and in many other instances. the Bible been with them a real subject of reverence, they could not have done this. It was what Holy Saint John called an addition to the book of life, and such as should bring down the curse of its author. The Bible has been introduced into the masonic ceremonies as a mere clap-trap

7

for weak and religious minds, or to ward off the fury of the Christian Priests.

The boasted morality and brotherhood of masonry is also a subsequent addition, to cloak the trick of paying for the pursuit of a secret, that is never to be found. All virtue, all morality, all brotherhood, all humanity, all liberty consists in the pursuit of happiness; not only in receiving, but in communicating happiness. That is the grand secret for man to know, and masons cannot add to it. Whatever communicates mutual happiness between individuals, without immediate or ultimate injury or pain to any person, that is virtue. I carry the maxim to those ridiculous notions of chastity which the Jewish and Christan Religions have introduced among us, and say, that wherever that pretended chastity engenders pain that might be avoided, it is unchaste, foul and foolish, it is vicious, wicked, sinful, or will bear any phrase that may be attached to the catalogue of errors and crimes. The pretended morality of masons is erroneous inasmuch as it is confined. They make a little circle of brotherhood, and exclude the mass of mankind from all but compelled morality. And, proceeding upon this confined sphere of action, they engender nothing but bad passions among themselves, that lead to disputes, divisions and all sorts of mutual recriminations. Real virtue, or morality, or brotherhood, strikes at the root of all sectarianism. That which does not do this is neither brotherhood nor morality. All sectarianism has its root in error. Shew me two members of any two sects, disputing with each other on certain tenets, in which they cannot satisfy each other, and I will in all cases, without exception, infallibly shew both to be in error. Therefore, the lodge which I wish to open for masons is one, that shall unite all mankind, in the confession, that we are all ignorant enough, too ignorant for our happiness, and that shall lead on all, upon this confession, in the pursuit of real knowledge, mutually instructing each other, and thus pursue those yet secret powers of matter which remain hidden from us, and which will remain hidden from us so long as such errors and follies as masonic associations, state religions, and other certain sources of sectarianism and quarrel exist among us.

Were I to make a volume of this charge, I could say no more to you than I have said. You must be all aware, that you have no secrets in masonry which are now hidden from me, unless you have lately invented more idle signs, words and grips. And even if you have done, or do this you may

see that you can never set up again the idea of any other concealed purpose in masonry, but that of trick and cheat. Speculative Masonry, apart from its political purposes, has never been any thing but a permanent hoax. The legislature should sweep it down, and include in the same act, Orangism, Druidism and Odd fellowship, as the last of secret associations existing in this country, where the parties, as an association, assume publicity and are bound together by an oath to observe certain marks of distinction. This is the peculiar duty of a legislature, which in all its acts should legislate for the benefit of all. It is ridiculous to call masonry a charitable institution. The good of educating a hundred or two of children bears no parison with the evil that is brought on thousands by the expenses of such an association, by the joint waste of time and means which the ceremonies occasion. There ought to be no such charities in existence: they degrade us. All the children in the country might be legislatively fed, clothed and educated, with one half of the means that are now squandered in what are called charities. There is a distressing waste of means in this country, arising from the joint evils of error and abuse, corporated abuses and religious, moral and legislative errors.

Thus are you charged by one of the grand architects of the universe. Thus have I put out the artificial lights of maSoury. And thus I desire to reclaim you, to make you good and useful men, for the benefit of yourselves, your wives and your children.

RICHARD CARLILE.