Modernitv (the Masonic Moment)
mixing becsmc pnriblc, morr d r a i and
craft or work.' At every turn bemasons pn
i
n
~
e
e
s
~
M
~
o
r
~
~
t
a
by spies,the auhritia of church and a t e
&&ed
widely read and performed, and while
h t i l i t i e s kame la&
static, and semq m k on new uaes,
not hys-if we d and believe the spy repam-hqn.
Insomany~civiimcictyembda~enen
siondy b h aIqm of scaq. The masonic Form b e a m the
itmet passnwrdp, gemez, rituals and s i p s . But within the
ha
&I
beam
and sinister fa- of the secdw in d d relations,
and cantradictio
Giwn the pwwcr of the old elites
c i t k w i t h t l l c i r m ~ t ~
forncwpwti~dmomaEnlightmeddrdcs~the
over the conhtemity, the salon as a cdtbratory site over the
The corxrpldtia and Wtnps of casmopolitanisan m e @ most
i d y and paradoxidly in tbe most fishionable f m n of dubwnpt
IMtmniC
ern d
l
sxreq,
o m ofguild origin, now imitative d cwrt culture, at h d
1
n
grwpitls that a d d k rmrientwl toward politiraI goah at tt-
a l h @ we, m modem clammatic d e t i e s , might. h
o
w
,@
tioar of most seact societies b & o u t the eighteenth eenturp &
seenasmtly-if~tichthelrishawafm~
mrmrstone for radiad Qdmlk and &en
Ebe MQWS
of Northern Irdpnd to this day.
p u p s , to
Secrecy and the EigMth-Century Lodges
~ u g h o uthe
t elghteenth-centwy fmmammy
~
g
any
other
~
c
r
e
t
~
i
s
t
y
~
-
Y
a
it ia
~ ythe*t h
pcople d be found who had no other mason hr
;ban m intenst in ceremony and the id& taught by
dInBo~dmingthci~~maGaptainhtrickDixon
joined by a l
dcurate.AU would have h e n
dtutbns, first pubkhd in in in London,
~bm~"meetingt~prwthe~*ginmlbsonic
merit, not blood or birth Dozens of editions appeared m
aad mangers M t initiation who had little in co
meanttobedM~and&ad,and&qcaaldbefindfor
conduct, both W e and away hthe
In England and Scotland by ~ p o
the Mges e d d out of
w.
men attracted by the luff of the ceremonb t
b
& a d
d t e d with the rnediwal guilds. Mammy, it was
l h p k of Solomon.
in the eighteenth ceatuty in
was wdl un-.
When the then aged and great
Wren took tht tide of grand masm, he probably met with fri
e
100
-4
istoomy,andit~~not~thefurther
~tookinthe~d~Tbeogmpslikt
in imitation of
cal ~
.
T
h
e
~
~
&
e
m
w
b o o k s e ~ r s f o r ~ ~ m t b e b e r & a l d ~
butad in the odd w n i c pamphlet. W~thinthc prccinas o
state, seaee), when not part ofthe a p t u s ofthe mte, dm*
made the mum all the more in-
The hqiq of state
theEumppaamurtshrthemostpart
ists, and nadphibsophefghowewr m
what a n i i d g h s or porn
#crqwas&denennetdad.Afewmonhin
theBsstille
words and e v e a t d y rituals. Freemamma
as permitting h d o m of expression and the
and enthralled the s m s a
nation. The radiarl W i b m Drcnnanhumidan entire pa
British rule in Idmi,h v h g a poPverhrllepcy of secrecy in
rcbdlion.Whcn in thenextandfinal~erwcBookatthe
republican m d n that emeqpi in theAtlantic wwld in
w t h h aii o&em of a mamnic-1
for Jmto seek out h~witbChriatians,nmyhavrbetn~beawethcse~occwd
h
t entirefy in a n w public h t was intensely privatt. What is remarkable a b u t the private and dkreet h a t of the lodges c;oncems how many
improbable people ~ n tdrawn
r
to &em,w m agcr to try their hand at o
form of s&&hy
importad horn Britain, rulc bwnd and, not lew, costly.
o
~kmanbnshipwasnevcrtobet&nlighdy.Wthautexaptim,higa
saw it as thtir right to police WOT,
to Mltlaw lictntioumc~%
drtmkemm~,
aad what was sometime5 d e d , opa~uctp,blasphemy. Urmbership could
vPork in a life as an t
lform of digbsity, and perhap b t is why by
t h t m o s ~ ~ c a u g h t i n ~ s i w o n s , ~ w i t h ~
sion, w x drawn to lod%ts,or to groups that imitated their structures.14
Ifmmtoundmstmdkm how-,or
anextremeformofprim q , worked in the heart of d y modernity, m d to tsamk at least
one ldgc in 5om detail. Help in mhtanding tht vogue of slccrccy comes
from rnmnic ardks not seen since IN. W
j
t
b thtir akl I want to medi-
tateonthemultipkmeaningsandugestawhichd~couldbc
puL In the p m I want m complicate our u m h b d q of the publlc
sphm and arty mdemity, md the role ofseamy within bth.
The Rodmw Lodge
*Not seen since 1940" is not simply a tease. In moa I spent some weds at
the library ofthe Grand Orient of France,& 16 rue M e t in Paris. There can
now be found 750 brmwr of French masonic archives r e a d y returned from
h m w . Sin= 1945 they had been held in a secret archive. The h k t s tried
to IW these documents, and others, to barter with the Germans for the
return of the Rwim property that hrrd been stolen by the retrmting Germanafmyafmy~5Thie~ryispoignantand~ctothe~of~md
modernity. On 14 June,1944the same day that the Nazis entered Paris, tbey
bur@into the building at rue W e t and cwntdly took all its papers and
w&ws In short order similar conhations d
in We, La Rochek,
and Bordaux, among various s h throughout the country. They believed
that at the heart of the m
h mrld and its cormption lay a vast jewbhmasonicco~.h&riiaan~hltewarssetup~dthe~rds
stolen horn yqogucs, masonic
d liberal political partics in the
Ncthcchds, klgiutn, and Frana. The purpose of Nazi dwas to find
the start@ point for the mnspimcy that they said had brought about the
Preach M u t i o n and led to the decadent corruption of the 1920sand 19We doubt that the Nazis had made much progress in their mead when in
May 1945 the Red Army mupon a depository that thc Gestapo had burridly rushed from Berlin and hidden in a chateau in Silesia. It c o n b e d
Jewishand d arehiws. In t d , d from various locations, w tom
of Fmch W - f
which the 750 magonic bmaare a mall portion-~ ~ d ~ t t e d b a c k t o ~ . T h e ~ a i c ~ e n t s
took~secretjournq.as~+or,j~~p~1e,~~o
--seeing
state's desk to poam ~e~:rets
for their own &,
Atthough no one knew that the Rwshus had them, the masonic a d i m
~~
wcrepdinperfaa~n.'Iheirlmtiano~~in~~
late in Dectmbcr zooo, underthesp#terofhugedebts,tbe~began
torrturnthcaKhivestothcirfighdulowners.
These a d h a , and their -&don
through Europe,have a iat to
dl UP.Throughwt the twentieth centmy fa&t political form bdiwed&at
the
at the heart of modernity, namely the semcy associated with
masonic framnkbg, the wmet pwswds, rh&, and signs, tdd the whole
tnrth:the s e m q must haw been about a cover-up of a bidden a&
t~
~pwwWp~dingtobeusheringman@tarian~~
and demmtic jnstitutiom As we are about to see,
did provide a
&~~tthe*~teenthcen~*butthe&~uader
its mantle would have starded an earnest,uabiased inquirer, had such a m a tured&itttteBertin~fwadedthcttre~M
repression, aided by state spies, don a daily bask Unwittingly, by
t d q up the habits of wmxy, cighteentba~turyh t e s of the umm
politan gaw h
q to the future memb of dcmcmq, m y of whom
wo~intumupeseerecytothcirown~~.
W e can diitmce aurselvcs fhm the paranoid tintasits of the actlwnt
right without h r a second imagining that saecy and d u s i v i t y are mrpmblematic To esraminc masonic secrecy as lived ia the eighteenth antury
let u s f m first on a m d o c u m a t 6rom what I sball d t h e ~ c o l
lection. It is an extract made in the d y nineteenth oentury from the minuta of the entire eighteenth c e n q that then dfor tht Loge Anglak,
founded in Bordeaux in imi6
The origrnal rr#)rds haw &pprcd, but
tbe summary made in 1817 has an tht marks of authmtiaty in that 80 numy
oftbetntriesmj~whatyouwuldclprcahm~l~.~Whatis
hard to find for any lodge arc complete records for the entire cmtury.
The L a g h d a k believed itself to be the OM
properly d M e d
French ladge, and that claim is still probably true. The 1817 doarmeat was
1
Sexmy and the h d w r at the Haat.r qfM h i t y
103
the nanaes mcorded by the FreaEh-spdhg lodge were alterand EqW,P
&
Godon, Wm. Barrey~e,M.Boucher, and
of the routineacthities of the hip entailed the admission of new
and the ekaion of new o&cers, Sometima sueh W o n red k e h n , as when on 25 September 1745 the -1
admitted we
Ihr Dqucsnoy rcligieux cdestin.'' The admhion d just a few
the if38 ppl eondemnatim of fteemwnry. Ignoring the ha
of detsymcn joined this lodge and many others, and d i s m h n
@btdymade their l k s k.
Ofkidly (as we saw in Apigmn), the
bk Church remained h d e to the fhmamm and cmdemed mem$ as a violation of church deems With its *tion
to absolutism
and state the Roman church saw the hip as aitamtive fom
E
nCe and
-
$hB t
k Bordeaux records tcll us, the clergy could also be willful brothIr
of griefwithin a -,
For ampie, the curd ofRions "was
CIsmed I . .for his w r d i n a r y indiscdon
to have led women
. ..
... sfts
a three-
@ mspemh. Whatever the priest's motive^ and his dati&ps with
~dre~d~0~eawithinfreemmry,arswesball~~1~]uld
#mdymh.ed.Asidefrom women, other, far m o t e p v d d foras
~~gtbe~.hAugust17qzhe~hadbeeninstrud
~ i n ~ t u f G u i e a o e t o & hielfdown
se
byordaofthekiag.
b
t would enme if the order were to be
Tbe hd&s
-.
ma
were watchhg tbe
but in a cat-and-mousekiwl of way.
tsitutiontoa m a c h s e m e c y m u l d b e j u s t a s ~ a s t m l i t t l e .
&hadtobtsure~tnothrng~tothemtcor&urch
#ed at ib meetings or muld be imagined as warning, The repwsk
w
-4
moment~fl~~wm~~efminigttrofs~att,
d his Counter-R&&n
stanee. He was dead the
~r~ts,~ltastoneludge~dedt)rat~muldmt
out n a e n b e h g m t d t h a t p q m n t mmen n o t b e d d
106
Chpit~q
aadbwasdf-Wbed~theLt.Thc~&laPairm
undtrhisptcrnal~pQearfysceracyin~~opmcda
At times secrecy did complex ura,
the nm publk by b+ng
~~
bro~ttosocrsll~ttaeyhoped~~d
bawctn the i d d of toleration and intqption,
d&m b e d upon digion or gender or d
throughout thc hiptory of
could offer o p p r t u n i but
~ it
among those who M i e d
tia common among murts and eIiw The
to the
the possible &on
evw honored, oAen in the bmch rather than in the
vrtcy. Withifi every ldge thew was the persistent k w of
or~do.On~nitreachedoutsideth
funds to 1 0 4 cur& for ~ i t i o aPr.ivate m
-,at
least asthetermsoftbcgift~~aebeingncgoticrteditdid
it doe now.
~dkreet~ut&arityfmdsgivenorrrtcivtd
many a s p to mdamndR,egalarly,brothers an4
f o ~ w d m t n d ~ "i m
o rg l h r o r * * ~
s t i t u t i o n s h r n a f o ~ ~ ~ . ~ s e m d
Sacracy and tkt hdac at the Hart of Modem+
to us, but this sccrccy within secrecy re&
107
wme elucidation
tme du temple" (a8 Rbruary 1744). The b g c h g h k not only
the erraat brother who had been attendingk bastard l+
in thig
by S. M m e z de Pquals, and by acchmthn, hc had bcm rdusad
into the [masonid temple,"The M g e had even pshed the mayor
the r
n
w that g r i p p i many a
in the eighmth century. h k t h a de hqda was a
of shadowy, but it was bdicved at the h e , Portugutsc
h of masonry that was highly rit.He had l i d for a time in Bordeaux
wisdom that long
his d a b
inroads in the life of Preach,indeed it muld
WiPdOm.~~ryfarmsd~~~ftht@frwn
prow
m i G w l e ~ e n o t ~
o f t h e ~ ~ y , t h c I n t ~ t
pvmmcnt o%dahMOut af it sprang a
~
a
n
d
i
t
s
~
~
~
d
b
y
~ ~ p i r i t u a l t e n d L e s ~ ~ ~
# w e ~ u a ~ r t b a m m t h t ~ ~ y a d o p t d b y t h e
[ I Q c ~ d t h e ~ S a c i a y d ~ ~ f w h i E b w
~ i n t h t a n c i t t l t ~ w h l c h h a w H f o r u s t h e the
~of
Churchw W q p d in the m d e of secrecy, the t f t e h with
l'=
~ d u p ~ ~ ~ E r r r m d a n c b t a n d m 6 d ~ h ~ ~ f e t & d i t s ~ n , T t y
the f o u n d h ofWr opinion on the occult &we.. .and to
~ . , . ~ d t ~ ~ ~ o f a n d t n t P b i b o o p b y , d ~ t h e
ed
botlt ofwhich Mamqhas b e e n e a a b l e d a m T b e p l ~ a W
@& of all k m i q , a new, c o m m p h m *world reIigioa titat dl the
~
n
f
~
~
o
n
a
n
e
m
~
P
~
p o n t c B & a t ~ ~ t g O f m C Y ~ F ~ ~ ~ h
~i0isttm~~irrmginetfremduring~1'/80s~em~ana
~
~
~
t
h
p
t
~
~
b
r
i
n
i%ioll,toaaewditynotq~~f~woxW.au~ththatd
~
w
i
t
b
~ r t l n y w e n o ~ d u d t t h a t m o ~ t y ~ c o n ~ r y
once r a t i d a n d irrational, both - d i n
*of
~ a d i n ~ c u l - & ~ M ~ i m ~ a r
pmmtintheBordearucmmr&.WheapskrhyWifflits~
t l i f h t B a w i l o f ~ a n d ~ m ~ & I m ~
F
kkdl
~~hpk~WDI%h~untildlhhthetwmti-
pY-befwr=3s
~thercbmotbu~of~thencordsofthe~~f~
uo
*-4
t aspirations. Thip would be to see ks PhWetks arr pw
h.In tbese r e c o d there is hady a wink in the direction of
d
w,tnstesd,in~esrchofanew'buththebrothe~harelcvdedtb
playing a d in such a way that all wrts of
even m y d d and irrational owi-cm be
of sociability and secrecy. In such a spirit& mhme,
W, might not dl hi&+&hk of the Jewish W c r
6nd a berth?ConceivaMy, The mystical may not have been
that Voltaire in k k , or the h i s h reformer in Berlin, M o s e
had in mind whcn d q preached toletatioa Ya
the spirituality of ILS Phihlkha was ~~
the muddle of i c h that well-intentimedpeople,
digiosity and p o d of litde theobgid tmhing, brin
their spirihral adywg. In its univlersaliam h P b i h M
vague religiapitV or scntimen&+x perhaps lack &redpmpleofmaayfaiths~ytoinhabit h e s a m e d p m . &
of what in a f
m short p i x would become the Wd regime" we k
Wrapped in tbe cocoon of well-inttntioned
M g m ever empe hng
pdrop h e
of secrecy?Did the
dghtencdcircbepergivcwaytotherealityo
teenth century, nwntbs in th
such n reality and,akr
~~
~m,
and leave wfitten recmds of their c o n v u s a h ~ ~ ~ .
kmgwasbdto~toanewmlehrthe
U g e respnded to p d i c even& Ody m l y did
into tbe Ufe ofthelodge t h e ~ ~ c e the
o f
Samcyandthe~~attJEeHwrtofMcdmrity m
debrasd Theytbe king u a "semiF e k of the French" The p p l e must also be
nowbQan~withtfitoldodu
..tttk--w
by the M
a
n uf the
Jmuprvm bJms
mtesEhedthechy
Thtlsumetbsbofd
rrfiriendofhrnnonitp
inadatemmractk&-
n2
*w4
had gum too far for the I.qe AngI;rise. Iu
and mrcdufiomqpmass hiid mared a new and
society, private, eaethq and with a history of prjudioe, miji&
not bend. U h d y t h e Mge rejectedthe implications ofkmmi
all citizensandrefwedtoadmit Jwisb
teenth cmtarp, pmctk that had oncrt
nowdtosubv*rtthekt@cdits~~.
T h c ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t
o
~
t
o
t
where *liberty will be d e h M Pwsp
t b h ~ m o ~ 1 & ~ ~ n o l o n g E r t o b e ~ a s
~Eo;ems~to?umbleintothcamplcasamyvhriu
a brother to the fro&
~ ~ ~ t 0 i m b u d c t 8 t ~ " o f ~ t y P A t t h e
a dd&an -thg
-the people" did the -1
The h d
it.Tbtvmy~dtbctemplehdtobt~d
thepatriotictridar.Newppn~startedinthe
Bvinw*&itSpkonthe~&*
dbanquet had to be postponed in the
of "1
meet~~oEthe~fcimandvigor
W~~,Wc~tbtFrmcfi
IMgh-t
as a
amanent with
Q e n ~ t a t h e ~ ~ f ~ n r y t b e ~ w o
arce,or the
the m m i d e d Rrlqsin t h e ~ m d o n g w i t the
h birthof
~ w i t h i n c i v i l ~ ~ ~ o r & , t o a c e e p t .
demands of public vttue.
doEkonthemo~e~tic~onsofthei~tht
bttheri&ttorempkothcr~onits&nr.Ithdto
~andtkehrabatthtHmrtqfMahity uf
the G m t h its h q u e t room,and the hdgc's fhaam were
t o b e i n a p i W t ~ t e . O n d ~ m t h e h o f ~
the~miledthcwa~and,onceaeaia,thelodgep~
dmdO~~.It-ashowatherw+tbedifitsgirmifiesntJ4shcommunityh~qfa~Anglaisc
cdebratethcretumoftbt~~b~tothe~throm.
a~thatatlerrstupto18x~hadcometo~~of~
the M u t i o n w deeply problemtic Yet in t
k ame ptriad and
aftbe~d~dladgeofFran~newlodps
would ever be able to emb-
the d m q h g right-
mrly $8 1789" But at some later date,when w t i - m h
th Luge h g l d s e or some other lodge might ham hagh bad mmething shbter to do with their own mlutionuy
u r k d h ofthe Mghtement, and then of the Fmch
dwapPounderantheprhcypennittad,lndkadrequired,
u b l i e ~ , W h i l e ~ ~ , a n d ~ m a y
perilous W or shield it frutn the pryiq eyw of the
cdhpravideafffuge
~~
appear in t
of the late
h e p ~ o f t b t ~ l ~
r---alw*ys
~ ~ t b t l a r e o f ~
t a o k ~ i n 1 p s 7 a B ~
Itq
*pw4
French,American, Dutd~,W,even En&& repe f f d d y separated out from national identity.
.
.
S t w q and Modem Political Radicalism
4
Inthc~~thepckof~ithinthedomaino
d
e
~ it new
w mcanhg. Its political potential ws
by reforming p u p s , paradaaidy lacatad in the
change.Mter 1800 subwmk dew often
Wherepmtected voluntary
hinp the state or to engender in it the paranoid fantmks
only personal, private bellcfs rends people truly t h t
in the hean Qustning among t
k like-mhdd a d d
shrouds innet beliefs and in tbe final
the most part they were private men who dipped tfr
piithat EmnmasKlnryo&red.
Inodm~tkimpo~ofsecrecyaad
a h inspire. Their vimcs dawned
my, partid& on p p l e caught in the
forms of bdida d authority. On the
o
ikged clergy ruled I q d y unch
Ireland, Yet it was also there
ation were put to their merest te& and m n i c
model that would m h r m the sectarian into the co
&than times onward En
designated piantatios, largely in the northern part of the
thwc stttlrrs wcrc
and the entirely Catholic -try
st& the old Angkm e l h
vast b d e d mats.
~andtfpCAtrodaxat~~qfMoldsmi~
~&ui~,ofrp~~Bordeola*urethinkaf
~
w
p
w
r
g
x
p
d
~
~
b
D u M I t r ~ ~ ~ P O P P 1 P t i Q P Q f ~ ~ - o o o
~
l
P
s
thrM*dthch*M*
b d b y ~ ~
l
m
t
m
h
e
~
d
~
a
~
b
n
*
d
~
~
t
~
h
m
~
~
rqdian8arsBty~inh-w
o f * m = ~ B c ) 8 s d . X n t b e d ~ ~
i n ~ a r t b r p d i d I n ~ s r n d ~
~
A
a
o
n
e
~
m-ptlt
~
~
w
h
c
mdtde=bd-ThcpM
Braree's~pvareIcc&&dby**-
brother-in-law, Marthra and Sam McTier. The Dmmim
r
r
-4
James Nappcr T*
and the Emmet brothem
hanged by the British government for his part in
By lm,
when the surviving cormpndcm within
~
~
w
C
a
~
~
(
L
ttaathadtobeqwcmLShcetbexmm
m
t
w
s WlEe D
m had been ardent Whigs, By 1791, in hb
dubs in Ireland had fdd miserably to address the people's
had l a all Mow feeling for the people, and tidy
both ~ Wa dC
Romrant??At that moment his experhW
sonry p r o d c r i w .
h t h c ~ ~ t a n i ~ l i k e ~ h a d t
~ t o t h e t a d r ~ h m t h e d c b d g e &
Dreman m o t e to his brother-inworld or any other at the time was ulhately a
plan of action. First, a nnu and Msm&y
which Cathdics and Promstants auld be integratd *I s h d
that a ~ c t were
y instituted in this city havbq much of tht
t e curiosity, mcmmhty, qcctation to the
men, so mwh impressive and d d n g m n y in its
without imreal busha? might & the so
O u t o f h i s ~ ~ D ~ f o u n d a
d & h g that could strike the heart, move
the minds of rmoomembets, induce mcerhhty
busheas would kdeeply politid *a bemvoht
people* *no Whig Clubn*no party titlen*the Bro
rights of man and the -test
happinmi of the
i t 9 ~ e n d , d ~ t o ~ a n d
puqmxPWNow in Idand, late in thc &hem&
of cightenth-emturyudightcned wciabhg had
e
ceremony as the way out of tha rd&us and p i i t i d
in Ireland then-and to some extent now. The new g e ~ ~ e t
became in 1794 the United Irishmen, needed to work *
ppejudim slnd bigotry of the land we live in wouM permit,
added -de
d rnmydorn to the
1mthesec~ecyimq@dbpDwere fwzt and b-5
Both sides cxptriencad "uni
uIbe of rehilion, 1
4by the United Whmen, came the b
fbrmed and equally sect.e9 Orslnge Order and a pro
ciliation bPr~#&mts and
1800 retreat from the ~ m o p o l i t a n
haunt northern Irish histo
Yet more than Mureb to be 1
-4 from the expcticn
among thc *tend:
the NaturaI state of humanity
perfectly, no M,wilJ wia tolerated.w The dilemma p
liedsudyiuourseehgodydisguise,aadnot~~,inh
espedally whea Eombinedwith arcane ceremonk and e q m s h
saae. Yet the e v i k mmmts that late in the Mteenth
their aprons, robes, dbadgta Esoteric
conjured up t
h
~ & w h i s p c r c d h m s p r t o e p r ~ ~ ~ *
ofthe imagination and never let g
p I n their harts they could
ine themsehres to be as good as their Men. Yet Dbe habits
became the sine qua non of politid and military a d v i m
mwdations. Sccrct and radial politicalorpaidom
~~imrmtipn,buthplaca~Irclandthqr
how p
d and dangemus they could be.
The lodges offed another expcrimcc of
I
~ and
S bepad: b en^^^
nent lodge in Amsterdam for which the slgDed wtors