Modern London Masonry during the 1720s and the 1730s affected the development of the Craft in Paris. With approval from the Grand Lodge of London, the Grand Lodge of France was established in 1725 in Paris.1 With the consent of the Modern London Grand Lodge, Lord Derwentwater, an Englishman residing in Paris, was appointed as Grand Master of the French Grand Lodge. He, in turn, named the Duke d’Antin and several English and French nobles living in Paris as officers of this new grand lodge. Derwentwater, until approximately 1736, dominated the affairs of this Parisian grand lodge.2 More importantly, the Grand Lodge of France, whose administrative operations between 1725 and 1736 were quite routine, emerged as a source of Anglophilism. This body received at this time administrative direction from the Grand Lodge of London and established lodges in Paris to promote significant ideas associated with English culture.3
The Lodges Louis d’Argent, Coustos-Villeroy, and Bussi-Aumont operated in Paris between 1727 and 1740 and were important to Masons in the French capital for several reasons. The organizational functions of these lodges resembled those of London lodges and, for the most part, permitted Parisian Masons, who were accustomed to monarchical institutions, to engage in new activities. Parisian lodges permitted Masons to elect their members and officers, to learn about natural liberties, to enact laws according to the majority rule principle, and to serve on committees. Those Masons serving as lodge officers, in many instances, were entrusted with new responsibilities and roles of leadership. Parisian lodges especially functioned as social centers. These bodies functioned as clubs, sponsoring many banquets and some lectures and thus allowing English and French Masons to interact with each other. Parisian lodges recruited many aristocrats, numerous middle class individuals, and some intellectuals. There was, however, another important facet of Parisian lodge life. Parisian Masons looked to these lodges for explanations of doctrines and symbols of the Blue Degrees.
Some concepts and symbols of the Modern degrees proved to be of special importance to Parisian Masons. These Masons seemed to perceive the Blue Degrees as a special source of the ideas of antiquity.4 Parisian Masons learned from these degrees about important ideas concerning ancient architecture, mathematics, and science; moreover, the Blue Degrees explained to them ancient concepts regarding justice, temperance, and virtue.5 Deism was quite fashionable in Paris, and the tenets of this ancient moral philosophy were well presented in the Blue Degrees. As a result of their exposure to the All Seeing Eye, to the three lesser lights of Masonry, and to the square and compasses, Parisian Masons were given ritualistic explanations concerning Deity, the powers of Nature, and the proper moral conduct of man. Ancient deistic concepts of the Blue Degrees consequently served as an alternative to the teachings of modern religion. These concepts also helped to shape the views of Parisian Masons towards the state and influenced their ethical conduct.6
Modern Enlightenment ideas appearing in the Blue Degrees stimulated the interest of Parisian Masons and, in many instances, were identified with a civil religion in France. These degrees revealed to Masons in the French capital significant Enlightenment concepts pertaining to education. In light of their exposure to the middle chamber of the Temple of Solomon and to the globe, Parisian Masons learned that knowledge is derived from reason and the senses and that Masons should strive to promote the study of the liberal arts and should probe Nature to ascertain her laws.7 To aristocratic and bourgeois Masons in Paris, the Blue Degrees contained important social and political ideas. Parisian Masons were taught to be benevolent, just, and prudent and to work for the implementation of liberty, religious toleration, and other natural rights. These Masons advanced secular interpretations in explaining the moral legends, tenets, and symbols of the Blue Degrees and, in many cases, became ardent proponents of natural liberties. Numerous Masonic symbols helped to exemplify concepts of a French civil religion based on political reforms. The square, the plumb, the gavel, and the columns of Solomon’s Temple were associated with this religion and appeared frequently during the ancien régime and the French Revolution.8
Some members of Parisian lodges during the 1720s and 1730s performed cultural functions to promote Enlightenment concepts. Established in 1727, the Parisian Lodge Louis d’Argent consisted of numerous nobles of the robe and of some middle class intellectuals. French judges belonging to this lodge meeting in the Hôtel de Bussy furthermore served as patrons of the arts and sciences. Judge Davy de la Fautrière belonged to the Club de l’Entresol, was a proponent of economic and legal reforms, and published a history of French commerce and finance. He also revealed interest in Newtonian concepts, publishing an article in 1739 in the Journal de Trévoux concerning the importance of mechanical laws to metaphysics.9 Count Chauvelin, also a judge in the Parisian Parlement, behaved as a Masonic enlightener; he was an associate member of the Academy of Sciences and also possessed interests in history and in literature. Chauvelin allocated funds for the publication of Charles XII by Voltaire. He furthermore developed a large library containing works about the Enlightenment and prior to his death donated them to the lodge.10
Two other minor intellectuals were involved with the Louis d’Argent Lodge. Jacques Pernetti was a Benedictine priest, who left Rome to reside first in Lyon and then in Paris. He was admitted to the lodge in 1730 and was known as a minor writer; Pernetti in 1732 published Repos de Cyrus, lauding the accomplishments of the ancient king. Pernetti also wrote a short work about Masonry, claiming in Les Conseils de l’Amitié that the Craft functioned to promote benevolent and cultural activities.11 The former Jesuit and poet Jean Gresset evidently envisioned Masonry as a cultural vehicle of the Enlightenment. He maintained that Masonry taught its members ancient philosophical views espoused by Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates. According to Gresset, Masonry revolved around important concepts of the Enlightenment: “Reason reigns supreme and is needed for the study of Nature…. Reason reveals to men their natural rights and liberties…. Masons, use reason to erect your spiritual temples and to improve society.”12
Montesquieu, who was inducted into the Horn Lodge in 1730, visited the Louis d’Argent Lodge in 1734. Several reasons might be suggested to explain his interest in Masonry and his visit to this Parisian lodge. Montesquieu during the late 1720s visited England, became friendly with the Duke of Richmond and Desaguliers, and evidently was convinced by these two Masonic enlighteners to affiliate with the Craft.13 From an ideological viewpoint, Montesquieu evidently sympathized with Masonic teachings pertaining to the Enlightenment. Like many Masons, he was interested in experimental science and believed that the laws of Newton could be applied to the study of other disciplines. Like many Masons, Montesquieu exhibited interest in the political thought of the ancients and in 1748 argued in L‘Esprit des lois that the Greeks and Romans should be commended for issuing constitutions, for developing viable legal systems, and for implementing the principle of the separation of powers.14 He became an Anglophile; he believed that the government of early eighteenth-century England resembled successful ancient ones and succeeded in operating in light of the doctrine of the separation of powers and in protecting the natural liberties of its citizens.15 As an enlightener and as a Mason, Montesquieu subscribed to the doctrine of religious toleration; he denounced in L’Esprit des lois the persecution of the Jews in Europe. Montesquieu also explained in Lettres persanes that the teachings of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity were similar to each other and that European monarchs during the eighteenth century should enact laws to recognize the civic rights of religious groups in their states.16 In knowing that several French enlighteners and some of his judicial colleagues from the Parlement belonged to the Louis d’Argent, Montesquieu visited this lodge. He knew, moreover, that the Louis d’Argent and other lodges in Paris sponsored some Enlightenment activities. After his visit to the Louis d’Argent, Montesquieu appeared, however, to lose interest in the affairs of the Craft and evidently was disappointed to see that no Parisian lodge functioned as a Masonic learned society.17
Established in 1736, the Lodge Bussi-Aumont consisted, for the most part, of French aristocrats affiliated with the army and of a few enlighteners. A prominent French general, Bertin du Rocheret played a central role in the lodge and recruited to its ranks French nobles of the sword.18 A member of the Rocheret circle, Charles Francois de Calvière, served as a general in the French army and displayed interest in Enlightenment activities. Admitted to the Bussi-Aumont in 1737, Calvière also belonged to the French Academy of Painting and was known for his collection of paintings and busts. An obscure English painter, Mr. Collins belonged to this lodge and presumably during the 1730s was in Paris to study art.19 The Bussi-Aumont Lodge, by and large, failed to recruit many enlighteners and consequently did not stage many cultural events. This lodge also had a small membership and engaged in minimal relations with the Lodges Louis d’Argent and Coustos-Villeroy.
The Coustos-Villeroy Lodge was established in 1736, consisted of approximately twenty French Masons, and seemed to develop into a center for numerous European Masonic aristocrats residing in Paris. Some enlighteners as well were affiliated with this lodge; a group of French opera singers was associated with the Coustos-Villeroy and consisted of Jean Guignon, Jacques Naudot, and Pierre Jeliote.20 Joseph Baur was a Huguenot banker, providing the lodge with financial assistance and writing several articles about deism.21 A friend of Baur, the lawyer Pierre Meyzieu was a minor proponent of legal reforms and a financial contributor to the Encyclopédie.22 Residing in Paris during the late 1730s, Central and East European nobles in some cases were patrons of the arts and sciences and exhibited interest in affiliating with the Coustos-Villeroy. It seemed that the Duke of Villeroi encouraged many of his aristocratic friends to become involved with the lodge. As a result of his efforts, the Coustos-Villeroy in 1737 inducted into its ranks the Venetian ambassador Count Farsetti, Prince Caraffa of Lombardy, the Swedish diplomat Baron Scheffer, the Danish ambassador Count Platte, Prince Wemille of Nassau, Prince Lubomirski of Poland, and Prince Nariskin of Russia. The lodge consequently reflected a diverse ethnic composition, and many of these aristocratic Masons also belonged to Parisian learned societies.23
There were, however, challenges posed to the operations of the Lodges Coustos-Villeroy and Louis d’Argent during the 1730s. Authorities of the Catholic Church and administrators of the Bourbon Monarchy suspiciously viewed the activities of these bodies. The alleged connection between the Jacobites and Parisian Masonry posed a serious threat to the functioning of these lodges.
Although concrete evidence has not been produced to demonstrate the precise relationship between Parisian Masonry and the Jacobite movement, there probably were some members of the Coustos-Villeroy and Louis d’Argent Lodges who supported efforts to restore the Stuarts to the English throne.24 What might be suggested is that a Jacobite faction arose in Parisian Masonry in 1736, was headed by Lord Derwentwater, and attracted support from members of the Coustos-Villeroy and Louis d’Argent Lodges. That year, another Masonic group consisting of members from both of these lodges ascended to oppose and to discredit the Jacobite faction. As a result of the successful efforts of the anti–Jacobite group, Derwentwater probably was forced to resign as Grand Master. Moreover, his successor the Duke d’Antin evidently initiated measures to suppress French Masons involved with the Jacobites and to exonerate Parisian Masonry from the attacks of political and religious authorities.25
Louis XV in 1737 was concerned about the operations of Masonic lodges in Paris. The king, who in many instances had provided assistance to sympathizers of the Stuart cause, was probably not disturbed about the alleged connection between the Jacobities and Masons, but for other motives favored the probing of Masonic activities in the French capital. Louis presumably was apprehensive about the teachings of Masonry, believing that its rites contained antimonarchistic doctrines. Moreover, he probably was concerned about the composition of Masonic lodges, thinking that many members of the Craft were frondeurs and might use these lodges to conspire for the overthrow of his throne. The 1737 Decree issued against Masonry reflected the concerns of the king. This decree stipulated that royal advisers and administrators were forbidden from belonging to Masonic lodges and that the police would be empowered to search these bodies for traitors.26
Rene Hérault, the head of the police in the French capital, conducted investigations of Parisian Masonry between 1737 and 1743 and showed that Masons were not involved with seditious activities. During these investigations, Hérault made no arrests, submitted frequent reports to L’Arsenal, and revealed important perceptions about Parisian Masonry: “The Masonic order was established in England and first appeared in Paris in 1725…. Three lodges have operated in the city, have conferred degrees based on the teachings of King Solomon, and have prided themselves for their charitable activities…. Members of the order in Paris have thought of themselves as brothers and are comprised of nobles, of merchants, and of individuals in the arts and sciences…. Important and less known individuals have been received into the order, and some of my friends have been admitted to it…. Count Maurepas, the Duke of Villeroi, and Bertin du Rocheret have been active in the order and have told me that political matters are not discussed in Masonic assemblies.”27
The reactions of Louis to the reports of Hérault were mixed; the king, on the one hand, was probably surprised to know that some prominent nobles of the robe and his friend the Duke of Villeroi actively participated in Parisian Masonry. Louis, on the other hand, evidently was relieved to be informed that the operations of the order were not subversive. For six years, he received reports from the Paris police commissioner, but as a result of the influence of Villeroi, d’Antin, and other French Masonic nobles decided in approximately 1739 not to take action to suppress the Craft. During the remainder of his reign Louis maintained cordial relations with members of the Craft and more importantly permitted the operations of Masonic lodges in Paris and in other French cities.28
Like the edict issued by the French king in 1737, the bull announced by the pope in 1738 posed a threat to the functioning of Parisian lodges. This bull of Clement XII stipulated that Catholics were forbidden to affiliate with Masonic lodges and that Catholic monarchs and clergymen should cooperate to suppress the order.29 The bull did not, however, thwart the growth of Parisian Masonry; Louis XV and ranking church officials seemed to ignore its provisions. Moreover, the gradual increase of the rosters of Parisian lodges in 1740 suggested that Catholic Masons in the French capital disregarded the provisions of the bull and that the operations and rites of the Craft satisfied their cultural and emotional needs.
The enigmatic career of Andrew Michael Ramsay illustrated quite a bit about Catholicism, Masonry, and the Enlightenment. On the one hand, Ramsay was a Catholic enlightener and, on the other, contributed to raising the status of Parisian Masonry during the late 1730s and early 1740s. The son of a Calvinist baker and an Anglican mother, Ramsay was reared in Ayr, Scotland, attended for a short time the Universities of Edinburgh and Leyden, and in light of his exposure to the views of Boerhaave became a proponent of deistic and mechanistic ideas. The incessant travels of Ramsay helped to shape his thinking; this adventurer and enlightener studied under Fenelon in Cambrai, became a Catholic, went to Rome in about 1724 to serve as a tutor for the sons of the old Pretender Charles Edward, and during his stay in Italy seemed to support the Jacobite cause. Ramsay during the late 1720s resided in England and seemed to be well received in the world of the British Enlightenment. He was awarded a doctorate in civil law from Oxford, was admitted to the Royal Society and to the Gentlemen’s Society of Spalding, and was inducted into the Horn Lodge.30 Ramsay left London in 1730 and from that year until his death in 1743 lived in Paris. As a result of his friendships with Masons who opposed the designs of Derwentwater, Ramsay in 1736 denounced the activities of the Jacobites and the next year was appointed as Orator of the French Grand Lodge. He used this position to support Parisian Masons against their political and religious foes, proclaiming that the teachings of Masonry were not subversive. Ramsay also believed as a Catholic enlightener that the principles of the Craft reflected salient doctrines of Catholicism and those of other major religions of the world.31
Like Desaguliers and other Modern English Masonic enlighteners, Ramsay perceived the ancients as significant contributors to Masonic thought. In Les Voyages de Cyrus, published in 1731, Ramsay claims that Egyptian priests, Solomon, Cyrus, and other ancient monarchs and sages were familiar with the teachings of the ancient mysteries. He further maintains that many ancient kings and philosophers worshiped the Supreme Creator, subscribed to the moral doctrines of deism, promoted the study of Nature, and thus helped to lay the foundations of Modern Speculative Freemasonry:
The teachings of the ancient mysteries were the remnants of an ancient religion practiced by Noah and the patriarchs, These teachings were transmitted from one society to another in the ancient world…. Egyptian priests held great feasts to induct candidates into their mystery cults…. Inspired by the teachings of Moses and David, Solomon ordered the erection of a magnificent temple which was dedicated to the Supreme Creator and whose parts symbolized the operations of Nature and the moral conduct of men. After the temple was completed, Solomon instructed his priests to admit learned Jews and gentiles into its chambers and to convey to these select individuals the teachings of the mysteries…. After the destruction of the first temple, Cyrus, who was initiated into the ancient mysteries by Zorobabel, ordered the rebuilding of the temple and served as a great philosopher king who attempted to improve the status of Masonry and learning in the ancient world.32
The Masonic thought of Ramsay also emphasized the importance of the Craft during the Middle Ages. In Le Discours, published in 1738 or the same year that the papal bill was promulgated, Ramsay claims that the Templars functioned as a significant brotherhood and that members of this order were loyal to the Catholic Church, lived according to the principles of Masonry, and in many cases were French nobles. To Ramsay, the Templars promoted the ancient concepts of benevolence, justice, and virtue and also believed that the teachings of Masonry were compatible with the doctrines of monarchy and with those of Catholicism.33 In Le Discours, Ramsay presented some new interpretations of Masonic philosophy and attempted to justify salient doctrines of the Craft to the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, to Louis XV, and to French aristocratic and bourgeois Catholics. Moreover, he helped to provide Masonry with new direction and to lay the foundations of Scottish Rite Masonry.
Scottish Rite Masonry, which in fact had little to do with Scotland, originated during the early 1740s in Paris.34 This new system, which by the late eighteenth century would consist of thirty-two degrees, served as an alternative to Modern Masonry in Paris. Scottish Rite Masonry developed, however, upon the foundations of Modern Masonry and used legends, ideas, and symbols from ancient and medieval history to explain in other ways major concepts appearing in the Blue Degrees. Moreover, the Scottish Rite was intended to provide Parisian Masons with a distinctive Masonic heritage and identity, but on many occasions provoked considerable dissension within the Parisian Masonic community.35
The evolution of Scottish Rite Masonry led to the formation of a new grand lodge in Paris. The English Grand Lodge of France was established in 1743 to replace the French Grand Lodge and strangely enough succeeded in securing recognition from officers of the Grand Lodge of London and in acquiring support from Parisian leaders of Scottish Rite Masonry. The Duke of Clermont that year was appointed as the Grand Master of the new grand lodge and was expected to effect a compromise between the Blue Lodge and Scottish Rite factions. A patron of the arts and sciences and a cousin of Louis XV, the Duke of Clermont seemed to be an excellent choice for this position and introduced measures to strengthen the English Grand Lodge of France.36
Clermont for several reasons issued the 1743 and 1755 statutes; he wished to centralize the new grand lodge, to entrust local lodges with the power of conferring the English and Scottish Degrees, and to secure aristocratic and bourgeois support for Parisian Masonry. The 1743 Statutes gave immense powers to the Grand Master, enabling him to hold his position for life and to appoint grand lodge officers and special committees. The statutes further confirmed the regulations specified in the 1723 Constitutions and permitted the staging of the Blue Degrees and of three Scottish Degrees.37 The 1755 Statutes reconfirmed the powers of Clermont and his grand lodge officers and defined the duties of officers of local lodges. These statutes also acknowledged the conferring of the Blue Degrees and of five Scottish Degrees and required Parisian Masons to comply with the provisions of a new ethical code issued by the grand lodge.38 The inaction of the 1743 and 1755 Statutes suggested that the English Grand Lodge of France provided Parisian Masonry until approximately 1757 with valuable administrative direction and succeeded in housing under the same roof leaders of the English and Scottish Rite factions.
However, factional disputes within the English Grand Lodge of France occurred in late 1758 and brought an end to the era of compromise in Paris. Some factions remained loyal to Clermont and continued to confer the Modern Blue Degrees and the first five Scottish Degrees. But others severed ties with the English Grand Lodge of France and established bodies known as councils and chapters to stage the higher degrees of Scottish Rite Masonry. As a consequence of these factional feuds, rivalry among lodges, chapters, and councils persisted within the Parisian Masonic community until the early 1770s.
Various features characterized the organizational operations and membership of Parisian lodges, councils, and chapters during the 1760s. The titles and powers of local lodge officers in Paris were similar to those of local lodge officials in London. Councils of the Emperor of the East and West and Chapters of the Rose Croix, on the other hand, gave their officers medieval titles; officers of these two bodies were known as princes, commanders, and knights and were granted powers resembling those of officials in Parisian lodges.39 Parisian lodges, chapters, and councils adhered to strict recruiting procedures, and competition for members among these bodies was excessive. Further, the composition of these three bodies somewhat differed. Parisian lodges, for the most part, consisted of middle class officers and members, while councils and chapters in the French capital conversely were comprised of aristocratic officers and members.40 Parisian chapters and councils sponsored some banquets and lectures, but the noble army leaders, judges, and royal advisers who belonged to these institutions primarily viewed them as centers for the staging of colorful ceremonies associated with the high degrees of Masonry.41
The Scottish Degrees presented new interpretations of Masonic doctrines and contained ethical concepts associated with a French civil religion. The Scottish Degrees of the Secret Master, the Perfect Master, and the Perfect Elect were conferred in Parisian lodges. These three degrees revolved around teachings concerning the Temple of Solomon and provided further insight into concepts developed in the Blue Degrees. In the Secret Master Degree, Masons learned that the secrets of the Craft and the Temple of Solomon should never be divulged to individuals not affiliated with the order. This degree further emphasized that Masons should provide for and protect their families and should obey the laws of the state.42 By stressing the civic virtues of ambition, honesty, and hard work, the Perfect Master Degree offered pertinent explanations of ethical behavior to Catholic and Protestant bourgeois Masons and illustrated to them the importance of their economic positions in French society.43 Like the Modern rites, the Perfect Elect Degree explained concepts regarding the conduct of Masons in the state. This Scottish Degree emphasized the doctrines of benevolence, justice, and liberty and encouraged members of the Craft to work for the creation of a republic of humanity.44
By emphasizing Christian doctrines in many of their degrees, councils and chapters operating in the French capital succeeded in giving to Parisian Masonry a distinctive ideological character. The Degree of the Knights of the East and West and that of the Prince of Jerusalem were staged in Parisian councils. The Knights of the East and West Degree centered on ethical teachings common to the major religions of the world. Knights of the East and West met in the Holy Land during the Crusades and were taught that Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed were great prophets and preached similar moral and religious doctrines. The knights recognized that these religious leaders were inspired by the Deity governing all nations and imbued their followers with the teachings of brotherhood, charity, justice, and virtue.45 The Prince of Jerusalem Degree was based on a meeting of Christian monarchs during the Crusades. These kings agreed that bravery, honor, and love of their religion motivated Christian knights in their efforts to secure control of Jerusalem.46 The Knight of the Rose Croix Degree was the most significant one performed in Parisian chapters and was based on the activities of the Templar Order and on those of its leader Jacques De Molai. This degree emphasized that the ancient Roman eagle symbolized honor and military strength and that the rose represented heroic conduct and the sacrificing of life in battle. The Rose Croix Degree further revealed that despite the burning of De Molai at the stake and their subsequent suppression during the early fourteenth century, French Templars during the Crusades had exhibited loyalty to the Catholic Church and to their kings.47 As a consequence of the moral and religious teachings of this degree, Parisian chapters especially enlisted the support of French Masons belonging to the armed services.
The evolution of the Scottish Degrees produced major effects upon Parisian Masonry. These degrees, on the one hand, contained Christian principles, but, on the other hand, offered vivid explanations of moral and secular concepts. The ancient and medieval tenets of these degrees concerning deism, honor, virtuous conduct, civil obedience, and religious toleration seemed to reflect a character of cultural universality and were associated with ideas of the Enlightenment. The concepts of the Scottish Degrees also were intimately involved with ethical behavior and enabled Parisian Masons to be identified with a distinctive French Masonic culture and community.48 While its degrees were associated with significant cultural functions, Scottish Rite Masonry caused jurisdictional feuds among bodies of the Craft in the French capital. These feuds, in turn, led during the early 1770s to the fragmentation of Parisian Masonry and threatened to destroy it.
The Duke of Chartres helped to resolve the factional disputes within Parisian Masonry. The Duke of Clermont, who refused to negotiate with leaders of Parisian councils and chapters, died in 1771 and that year was succeeded as Grand Master of the English Grand Lodge of France by the Duke of Chartres. Unlike his predecessor, Chartres was willing to meet with Parisian Scottish Rite leaders and in 1772 entered into parleys with them. The results of these negotiations led to the Parisian Masonic compromise of 1773. The Duke of Chartres and Scottish Rite officials agreed that the Grand Orient would be established as the new governing body of Parisian Masonry. They also wished to transform the Grand Orient into a French national grand lodge. Chartres and Parisian Scottish Rite officials consequently agreed that the Duke of Montmorency-Luxembourg, who was appointed as general-administrator of the Grand Orient, should be authorized to consult with Masonic leaders outside of Paris, so that lodges, councils, and chapters in various provinces of France could be given the opportunity to affiliate with the new grand lodge.49
Montmorency-Luxembourg, who proved to be a very capable grand lodge administrator, drafted in 1773 the constitution of the Grand Orient. According to the provisions of this document, administrators of the Grand Orient were empowered to recognize other grand lodges, were to authorize the conferring of the Blue and Scottish Degrees in local Masonic bodies, and were to work in conjunction with an annually elected grand lodge assembly to formulate policy. The constitution further stipulated that grand lodge officers were to review and to give their approval to the constitutions and rosters of local lodges and that grand lodge inspectors were to be sent to local lodges to investigate their affairs and to file reports about their operations.50
Major effects resulted during the 1770s from the effective governance and operations of the Grand Orient. By holding annual assemblies, administrators of the Grand Orient permitted representatives of local Masonic bodies to participate in the decision-making process and helped to bring stability to Parisian and French provincial Masonry. By recognizing local bodies which conferred the Blue and Scottish Degrees, leaders of the Grand Orient succeeded in reducing rivalry and internal dissension within Masonry and in transforming this body into an operable and a centralized institution. As a consequence of the efforts of the Dukes of Chartres and Montmorency-Luxembourg, the Grand Orient received the tacit support of the crown, successfully resisted the few attacks of anti–Masonic groups, and continued to induce aristocratic and bourgeois Frenchmen to affiliate with provincial and Parisian lodges.
Masonry and the Enlightenment during the middle years of the 1770s proved to be of importance to Paris. The viability of the Grand Orient and the operations of learned societies and salons in the French capital enabled Paris to evolve into a Masonic and an Enlightenment hub. Jerome Lalande, who was an Orator of the Grand Orient, realized that Parisian Masonry had enlisted the support of numerous enlighteners. In recognizing the need for a Masonic learned society in Paris, Lalande in 1776 proposed the establishment of the Lodge of the Nine Sisters and thus began his efforts to fulfill the idea of his deceased friend Helvétius.51
For varying reasons, the astronomer and Grand Orient administrator Lalande favored the creation of a Parisian Masonic learned society. He believed that the promotion of the liberal arts and sciences was a fundamental objective of Masonry. Lalande further thought that the operations of a Masonic learned society would enable this laudable aim to be accomplished and would reveal to Masons and to intellectuals not belonging to the Craft the intimate connection between Masonry and the French Enlightenment. What Lalande evidently envisioned was a Masonic lodge explicitly designed to service the cause of the Enlightenment; his intention also was to have this lodge serve as the cultural locus of Masonry in Paris. Lalande, moreover, thought that a Parisian Masonic learned society would provide prominent and obscure Masonic intellectuals with the opportunity to interact with each other, to deliver lectures about various topics, to display paintings and sculpture, to perform scientific experiments, and to sponsor special projects pertinent to Masonry and to the Enlightenment. He evidently did not anticipate problems concerning the recruitment of members for his proposed society. This enlightener expected to recruit Masons affiliated with the Paris Academy of Sciences and with other learned societies in the French capital. Lalande also thought that Masonic intellectuals belonging to French provincial academies and to European and American learned societies would like to serve as members of a Parisian Masonic academy. In light of his involvement in the Salon of Madame Helvétius, or the “Estates General of the philosophes,” Lalande knew that support of many of its Masonic enlighteners could be enlisted for his proposed society.52 “At Auteuil, an intimate academic atmosphere was created to enable the blossoming of the arts and sciences. Cabanis and Lalande were moving spirits of the salon. Volney gave historical lectures there; and Garat, Franklin, and Tracy engaged in stimulating philosophical debates. These and other guests of the salon discussed, listened, and truly philosophized….”53
Lalande on March 11, 1776, submitted to officers of the Grand Orient his proposal concerning the establishment of a Parisian Masonic learned society and met with opposition from some of its conservative administrators. Lalande responded to his opponents in terms of the language of Masonry, but failed to explain why these administrators objected to his proposal: “My proposal concerning the creation of the Nine Sisters met with opposition. I favored erecting a temple but found it necessary to imitate the example of Zorobabel. I held the trowel in one hand, and the sword in the other.”54
Motives concerning the opposition to the proposal of Lalande might be suggested. Conservative officers of the Grand Orient knew that the functions of this proposed society would vastly differ from those of regular Masonic lodges. They might have believed that if established, this Parisian learned society would be difficult to administer and might not adhere to grand lodge regulations. Opponents of this proposal realized that French Masonry just recently had been reunited and had been fortunate to operate in an atmosphere relatively free of anti–Masonic attacks; they further might have thought that members of this society would embrace political causes offensive to the French Crown and would precipitate major problems for the Grand Orient. Conservative administrators finally might have viewed the proposed name of the learned society as being strange and might have disliked Lalande.55
Officers of the Grand Orient between March and July engaged in debate about the recommendation of Lalande. There were at least three heated sessions about the establishment of the Nine Sisters, and Lalande with great adamancy defended his proposal. With obvious reluctance, officers of the Grand Orient by a five to four vote approved on July 5, 1776, the creation of the Lodge of the Nine Sisters and that same day issued its constitution.56
The constitution of the lodge explained the aims of the Nine Sisters. According to this document, Masons admitted to the society were to devote their attention to studying natural and moral laws, to investigating the arts and sciences, and to engaging in cooperative enterprises for the promotion of the Craft and the Enlightenment. These objectives were defined in the constitution in light of Masonic and ancient philosophical concepts:
The Lodge of the Nine Sisters in making virtue its base has dedicated itself to fostering the arts and sciences. The aim of the lodge is to restore them to their place of dignity. Did not the arts and sciences serve as the foundations of great civilizations and nations?
Work then with zeal to preserve and to advance civilization and our fraternity. Remember then that the base supports the edifice. Decorate both remembering that ornaments should not mask the dignity of Freemasonry.57
Appearing on the first page of the constitution, the emblem of the Nine Sisters contained Masonic symbols relating to the objectives of the society. A pyramid appeared on the lodge emblem and represented moral perfection and the orderly operations of Nature. Inscribed within the pyramid were the square, compasses, and the motto “Truth, Union, and Force.”58 By employing these tools in their work, members of the Nine Sisters were to demonstrate the validity of the ancient, Masonic, and Enlightenment belief that virtuous men could cooperate to advance the arts and sciences.59
The constitution revealed how this Parisian society would operate as a Masonic lodge. This document stipulated that the lodge would comply with the regulations of the Grand Orient, that stated meetings of the Nine Sisters would be devoted to operational matters, and that special meetings and assemblies would be held to stage degrees and cultural events. During stated meetings, the lodge was to adhere to Masonic procedures, allowing its members to hear committee reports, permitting them to engage in debate about recommendations, and enforcing the principle of majority rule for the adoption of policies and resolutions. The Lodge of the Nine Sisters was to operate according to the principle of benevolence and during stated meetings was empowered to initiate measures to require its lawyers and physicians to render their services without charge to its members.60 The constitution also provided that during stated meetings, the lodge would adhere to the principle of unanimity for the election of new members and that during special meetings and assemblies, candidates, who were elected as active members of the Nine Sisters but who were never affiliated with the Craft, could be inducted by the lodge into Masonry.
The constitution indicated how the Lodge of the Nine Sisters would function as a learned society. According to the lodge charter, the lodge was not to restrict membership to French Masons, but was to recruit members of the order from other European states and from America. Although the constitution mentioned nothing about membership quotas, the lodge during most of its history had an annual average roster of 100 members and recruited to its ranks French, European, and American Masons residing in Paris. The lodge charter stipulated that there would be active and associate members in the Nine Sisters and that newly elected active members were expected to give before the lodge presentations concerning their contributions either to the arts or to the sciences. This document also provided that assemblies and special meetings of the lodge for the most part should be devoted to cultural operations and that the lodge should award monies from a special fund to members who made outstanding contributions to science, to the humanities, and to the fine arts. According to the constitution, the lodge upon the recommendation of its officers was empowered to fund and to sponsor ancillary cultural institutions.61
Leadership played a significant role in fostering the development of the Nine Sisters. A Master, a Secretary, and the Orators served as the major officers of the Nine Sisters and generally speaking were annually elected. Masters of the Nine Sisters were entrusted with the power of conferring rites to candidates and occasionally performed this function. Lodge Masters were responsible for the coordination of the cultural operations of the Nine Sisters and were expected to assist in the recruiting of members. Jerome Lalande and Benjamin Franklin, the first two Masters of the Nine Sisters, staged numerous assemblies and meetings and were quite successful in recruiting Masons from the Paris Academy of Sciences, the Parisian Academy of Painting and Sculpture, the Académie Française, and the Salon of Madame Helvétius. The minor enlighteners Beaumont, Dupaty, and Pastoret served as Masters of the Nine Sisters during the 1780s and provided the lodge with minimal administrative direction. These three Masters became personally involved in matters concerning state reforms, but revealed little interest in recruiting new members to the lodge and in holding assemblies and special meetings to promote the cultural activities of the Nine Sisters. Orators of the lodge as well were involved with cultural functions. They were entrusted with the responsibilities of arranging lectures, scientific demonstrations, and artistic displays and of delivering eulogies of eminent enlighteners and Masons. It seemed that friends of Masters of the Nine Sisters were elected as Orators and that Orators for the most part were minor Parisian intellectuals. The Secretary of the lodge was allowed to engage in correspondence with other lodges and was expected to call the roll; he, however, was not obligated to record the minutes of lodge meetings and assemblies. In deciding against taking notes, Gébelin and other Secretaries of the Nine Sisters evidently wished to preserve the secret character of the lodge and unfortunately have provided historians with no information about the inner organizational workings and the cultural operations of this Masonic learned society.62
During his first term as Master between 1776 and 1777, Lalande cautiously governed the lodge and seemed to do little to stimulate its cultural activities. The resignation of Lalande in 1776 as Orator of the Grand Orient and the lack of cultural operations of the Nine Sisters suggested that he evidently was attempting to conciliate his grand lodge opponents. Lalande further directed his attention to the recruitment of members to the Nine Sisters and attracted to its ranks minor Masonic enlighteners connected with important cultural institutions in Paris.
Two founding fathers of the Nine Sisters were scientists. Pierre Le Changeux and Jean Chauvet evidently wished to become involved with the lodge to further their scientific careers. Minimal evidence about the career of Chauvet has been discovered. Chauvet belonged to the Bordeaux Academy of Sciences and was a corresponding member of the Paris Academy of Sciences. He came to Paris in the early 1770s and, upon the suggestion of his friend Lalande, decided to affiliate with the newly established Parisian Masonic learned society. Chauvet contributed nothing of significance either to French science or to the Nine Sisters.63 Pierre Le Changeux differed from Chauvet, publishing several minor scientific works and assuming a leadership position in the lodge. Le Changeux belonged to the Paris Academy of Sciences and to the Salon of Madame Helvétius, knew Lalande, and in 1776 was elected as an Orator of the Nine Sisters. He was a mechanist and eventually acquired some prominence in the Parisian scientific world. Le Changeux conducted experiments with the barometer, wrote an article about this instrument for the Journal de Physique, and in 1781 published Le Barométrographie et autres machines météorlogiques.64
Most of the founding fathers were writers; many were connected with Parisian literary circles and probably envisioned affiliation with the Nine Sisters as being important for the publicizing of their works. Cailhava, who wrote L‘Egoisme, and Saint-Firmin, who published La Jeune Esclave ou les Français ã Tunis, were playwrights and members of the Académie française. Both Masonic dramatists realized that scenes from their plays could be staged during lodge assemblies.65 Fallet and Garnier were two minor poets and evidently thought that their connection with the Nine Sisters would provide them with new literary opportunities. Fallet in 1775 composed “Mes premices” and the next year the heroic poem “Phaeton,” while Garnier during the 1770s wrote poems for the Mercure de France.66 It seemed, however, that these two poets never acquired prominence in the Parisian literary world and that their participation in the cultural operations of the Nine Sisters was minimal. Abbé Robin conversely became a significant member of the Nine Sisters. This minor writer published works to defend the principles of the American Revolution, played an active part in lodge projects designed to support leaders of this revolution, and at a later time delivered a lecture to the lodge about Masonic rites.67
The induction of Voltaire into the lodge in 1778 was the first major cultural operation of the Nine Sisters and was recognized as being important for several reasons. In light of his affiliation with the Paris Academy of Sciences, Lalande knew Voltaire and evidently in early 1778 was the Mason to convince this eminent enlightener to apply to the Nine Sisters. Lalande realized that the initiation of Voltaire into the Nine Sisters would impress authorities of the Grand Orient and would help to enhance the stature of the Lodge.68 Lalande also realized that numerous Masons would favorably view the lodge as a result of this initiation. Minor Parisian Masonic writers would want to join the Nine Sisters, realizing that they would be given the opportunity of meeting and of even working with the philosopher of Ferney. Lalande probably thought that, motivated by the ideas of Voltaire and by the teachings of the Craft, Parisian Masonic intellectuals from the humanities and sciences would flock to the lodge, would perform significant cultural functions, and thus would help to transform the Nine Sisters into a viable Enlightenment institution. He further believed that the affiliation of Voltaire with the Nine Sisters would prompt Masonic enlighteners from other nations in Europe to become members of the lodge and thus would enable it to evolve into an international Masonic learned society. It also appeared that some enlighteners not affiliated with the Craft would notice the connection of Voltaire with the Nine Sisters and would recognize the cultural importance of this lodge.69
Some unusual developments were associated with the induction of Voltaire into the Nine Sisters. Although not a member of the Craft, Voltaire in flagrant violation of Masonic regulations was allowed on March 21, 1778, to attend as a visitor the meeting of the Nine Sisters. After this meeting, the philosopher of Ferney, who evidently enjoyed this session of the lodge, informed Lalande that he would consent to be initiated into the Nine Sisters during its next meeting.70 The induction ceremonies of Voltaire were held on Tuesday, April 7, 1778, and were not conducted according to stated Masonic procedures. Because of the age and the poor health of the philosopher of Ferney, the Master Lalande was constrained to abbreviate the initiation ceremonies. Leaning on the arm of his guide Benjamin Franklin, the blindfolded Voltaire was escorted into the lodge chamber and was asked several questions about his moral conduct. Without being required to receive the three mandatory degrees of Blue Lodge Masonry, he was informed of the signs, secrets, and symbols of the Craft and then was proclaimed a member of the order and the Nine Sisters.71
During this meeting, more time was devoted to paying tribute to Voltaire than to inducting him into the Nine Sisters. Benjamin Franklin, Count Stroganoff, Dr. Guillotin, and other lodge members extended their congratulations to Voltaire, and then the minor painter Monnet presented this eminent enlightener with a portrait. After the lodge orchestra played several pieces, Court de Gébelin delivered a short lecture about ancient and modern Masonic ceremonies; Gébelin maintained that like Voltaire, the ancient and modern ceremonies of the Craft emphasized the importance of the Supreme Creator, natural laws, religious toleration, and natural liberties.72 Lalande then gave a major speech, explaining the importance of the occasion and assessing from a Masonic perspective the achievements of Voltaire:
My dear brother, we have marked a great moment in our lodge and have admitted to our ranks an Apollonian and a friend of humanity. We are delighted with your zeal about being admitted to the Nine Sisters and know that you will continue to promote the arts and sciences…. In entering Masonry, know that your efforts should be directed to ending fanaticism and superstition. You have raised a temple to the Eternal and were a Mason in spirit prior to receiving your degrees. You have used the square in your actions and worn the apron during your fruitful career.73
To Lalande, the lodge was fortunate to receive into its ranks the indisputable leader of the French Enlightenment and the Party of Humanity. Lalande perceived the accomplishments of Voltaire, the concepts of the Enlightenment, and the teachings of Masonry as being intimately related to each other. To Lalande, members of the Nine Sisters were perceived as disciples of Voltaire and as Masonic enlighteners. Members of the lodge relied upon reason to discover the natural laws of experimental science, revived salient philosophical teachings of the ancients, and utilized literature as a vehicle to encourage the implementation of legal and religious reforms in France.
Approximately seven weeks after his induction into the Nine Sisters, Voltaire on May 30, 1778, died. Similar to other Parisian learned societies, the lodge on November 28, 1778, held a special meeting to pay tribute to this deceased brother. Ninety-five members of the Nine Sisters and 150 Masonic visitors were present during the lodge of mourning directed by Lalande. During this meeting, La Dixmerie delivered the major eulogy, the lodge orchestra played the march from the opera Alceste, and the bust of Voltaire done by Houdon was placed on display.74
The lodge in 1778 sponsored other cultural activities. A lodge banquet was held in July at Passy to honor Benjamin Franklin. During this session, a plaque containing the silhouettes of Helvétius and Voltaire was presented to this American enlightener, and then theatrical performances were staged.75 The lodge on September 30, 1778, held a special banquet to celebrate St. Jerome’s Day and to honor its Master Jerome Lalande. Many speeches were given about his contributions to science. These speeches praised Lalande for publishing Traité sur la Navigation and for writing articles in the Encyclopédie about Egyptian astronomy and about the manufacturing of paper. In their addresses, members of the lodge also referred to his observations of Venus and to his views about the parallax of the moon.76 La Dixmerie sang a song in honor of Lalande and well portrayed this Masonic mechanist: “Do you know in this canton a certain savant and a fine gentleman, who, from his study of Copernicus and Newton, wrote a tome? We know him as Monsieur Jerome. The body that he observed so closely was the planet Venus. All these things are known about this genius…. When he speaks and writes, we applaud him in great chorus.”77 La Dixmerie as well spoke of the Masonic achievements of this astronomer; he claimed that Lalande helped to develop French Masonry into a significant cultural institution and that his Mémoire historique sur la Maçonnerie and his article regarding the order in the 1777 supplement of the Encyclopédie well explained the importance of Masonry during the ancien régime. Before this session closed, La Dixmerie sadly announced that Lalande was serving his final term as Master of the Nine Sisters.78
Prior to the conclusion of his third term, Lalande in April 1779 presided over a session to honor the lodge members Vernet and Lemierre. Vernet was a painter, and Lemierre was a writer who was admitted to the Académie française two years hence. During this celebration, Cubières presented a brief oration and identified these two Masonic enlighteners with their ancient counterparts: “Muses, open your temple, to these two distinguished artists. One imitated Linnus, the other Zeuxis: One teaches by precepts and writings, the other by his brilliant paintings.”79
With the departure of Lalande as Master, the lodge needed a prominent Masonic enlightener to direct its cultural operations and thus on May 21, 1779, elected Benjamin Franklin as his successor. Members of the Nine Sisters were certainly familiar with the reputation of Franklin as an enlightener; they knew about his electrical experiments, his invention of the lightning rod, his founding of the Pennsylvania Academy, and his creation of the American Philosophical Society.80As members of the Nine Sisters realized, Franklin was an active Mason. As a young man, he was inducted in 1731 into the St. John’s Lodge of Philadelphia, published on his printing press copies of the Constitutions, and served in 1749 as Deputy Grand Master of Pennsylvania.81 While in Paris during the late 1770s to secure financial and military assistance for the Second Continental Congress, Franklin displayed interest in Enlightenment and Masonic activities. He frequently participated in the Salon of Madame Helvétius, met at Auteuil many prominent members of the Nine Sisters, and willingly consented to become involved in the cultural operations of the lodge and to serve as its Master.82
During the mastership of Franklin between 1779 and 1780, two major assemblies devoted to cultural activities were held. The activities of August 16, 1779, revolved around literature and the fine arts. Greuze and Houdon arranged an impressive display for this session. Greuze showed his recent paintings of French villages and his portraits of eminent Frenchmen, and Houdon exhibited his busts of Franklin, La Dixmerie, and other lodge members.83 La Dixmerie, who was reelected as a lodge Orator, gave his Éloge de Montaigne, and Roucher read stanzas from his poem “Novembre.” In this poem, he explained to members of the lodge the importance of state reforms and encouraged them to work for their implementation.84 After the reading of this poem, Abbé Robin delivered a lecture concerning the relationship between ancient literature and Masonic rites. In presenting to the lodge important ideas from his Recherches sur les initiations anciennes et modernes, published in 1779, Robin claimed that important myths and legends of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman literature constituted the foundations of Modern Speculative Freemasonry.85
The cultural operations of this assembly and those of the May 1, 1780, session revealed that the Nine Sisters would function as a center for Masonic supporters of the American Revolution. These activities flagrantly violated Masonic regulations, but for unknown reasons were never questioned by Grand Orient authorities. The cultural operations encouraged by Franklin conversely permitted the lodge and French Masonry to become identified with this American political and cultural movement. During the August assembly, Hilliard d’Auberteuil read the preface of his Essais historiques et politiques sur les Anglo-Americains, one of the first works about America to appear in France.86 In the preface of this detailed work composed from newspaper accounts, d’Auberteuil perceives Americans as advocates of natural liberties and virtue; he further is impressed with the operations of American state assemblies and with American efforts to detach themselves from the British monarchy87:
State assemblies are elected and are designed to operate for the welfare of their citizens…. Most state legislatures are empowered to collect taxes and to levy monies for state projects….
Americans are fighting against the tyranny of the English king and nation. This nation has enslaved her American colonies economically and politically. If these virtuous colonies are to end this enslavement by George III and his minister Pitt, French assistance is needed…. Since 1763, the English have dominated the economic and political institutions of the American colonies and Canada and have posed a threat to the French colonies of Guadeloupe and Martinique.88
D’Auberteuil admired the constitutions of New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The constitutions of these three states embodied the republican principles of the separation of powers, of legislative representation, and of freedom of speech, press, and religion.89 D’Auberteuil as well was present during the lodge feast of May 1780. He gave a lecture about the contributions of Franklin and Washington to the American Revolution and maintained that these two Masons had activated the principles of the Enlightenment and those of the Craft. After this speech, John Paul Jones was honored by members of the Nine Sisters and received tribute from La Dixmerie for “his meritorious service and heroic deeds.”90
After the mastership of Franklin, members of the Nine Sisters still continued to display interest in America and during two sessions in 1785 engaged in significant cultural activities. During the mastership of the obscure lawyer Elie de Beaumont, a Lodge of Mourning was convened on March 7, 1785, to honor the memory of the Americanophile and lodge Secretary Court de Gébelin. As a tribute to him, Roucher, the new Secretary of the lodge, read his ode entitled “L’Immortalité de l’homme.” This ode confirmed the Masonic belief concerning the afterlife and referred to the sprig of acacia: “Man knows that at the end of life on Earth, the spirit separates from the body and seeks its destiny in heaven…. There a Voice informs the immortal soul of its triumphant earthly glories.”91
A lodge assembly was convened in June to honor Franklin prior to his return to the United States. Louis Alexandre, the Duke of Rochefoucauld d’Anville presented to the lodge his translations of American republican writings; the duke distributed to lodge members copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and six state constitutions. Rochefoucauld maintained that these documents well explained concepts concerning natural liberties, bicameralism, unicameralism, and the separation of powers and in his view were considered as major contributions to the political thought of the Enlightenment.92 Before this assembly terminated, Houdon displayed his marble statue of Washington, and Beaumont announced that the lodge would offer a prize of 600 livres for the best paper on the topic of “Benjamin Franklin vivant.”93
It appeared to be unusual that with the exception of these two meetings, the lodge between 1781 and 1789 held no other assemblies for the staging of cultural events. Administrators of the Grand Orient perhaps discouraged officers of the Nine Sisters from holding assemblies and were worried that the activities of the Nine Sisters might revolve around French political problems and consequently would pose a threat to the monarchy. The election of minor enlighteners as Masters of the Nine Sisters during this decade also appeared to be related to the minimal cultural operations of the lodge. The Masters Milly, Dupaty, Beaumont, and Pastoret were not of the stature of Lalande and Franklin and were not that well known in Parisian cultural circles. Dupaty, Beaumont, and Pastoret were proponents of state reforms, but did not hold lodge assemblies to propagandize the cause of reform.94 These three Masters continued, however, to promote the special projects of the lodge.
Members of the lodge financed and edited Affaires de l’Angleterre et de l’Amérique. Edited by Jean Robinet, Rochefoucauld, and Gébelin, this journal was published between 1776 and 1780 and was intended to furnish news about the War of Independence and to support the cause of the American revolutionaries. The journal contained descriptive accounts about military and political developments in America and summaries of political events in England and in France. The volumes of Affaires also contained an occasional editorial and many translations of important American political documents. By publishing the Declaration of Independence and the constitutions of several American states, the Masonic editors of this journal succeeded in revealing to their French subscribers American perceptions of natural liberties and of republican institutions. After securing diplomatic recognition and financial assistance from Louis XVI, Franklin during his second term as Master of the Nine Sisters convinced the editors of this journal to terminate its publication.95
Support of the Nine Sisters was extended to the Gallo-American Society. A member of the lodge, Brissot de Warville established this society in 1787 with the intention of fostering mutual understanding and commercial relations between America and France. The society succeeded in encouraging a few Parisian Masons to purchase land in America and in stimulating several lodge members to write articles about American society. This society however was ephemeral and with the outbreak of the French Revolution no longer functioned.96
The operations of educational institutions sponsored by the Nine Sisters were more successful than those of the Gallo-American Society. Masonic and Enlightenment ideas explained why the lodge decided to operate schools. Members of the Nine Sisters believed that orders of the Catholic Church dominated French education and that the state should fund and control the educational system. They further believed that state schools should be open to the public, should be inexpensive, and should place emphasis upon the humanities and sciences. In recognizing that the French Crown had done little to promote public education and that a valuable need would be filled, Franklin recommended that the lodge allocate funds for the creation and the maintenance of a school. After the members of the lodge approved this proposal, Franklin on November 17, 1780, announced the opening of the Apollonian Society. This school was open to the public and offered inexpensive courses. Many members of the Nine Sisters were involved with the Apollonian Society; Gébelin frequently lectured about linguistics and ancient philosophy. The teaching of ancient music by Rozier and that of European literature by La Dixmerie suggested that the Apollonian Society emphasized the importance of courses in the liberal arts. Prior to closing its doors in 1781, the society also published a journal which probably contained significant lectures given by members of the Nine Sisters who taught in the schoo1.97
The lodge during the 1780s sponsored two musées. A musée under the direction of Gébelin was opened in late 1781 and, similar to the Apollonian Society, offered an envisaging program in the humanities; students attending the musée took ancient philosophy from Gébelin, European literature from Saint-Firmin, and French drama from Cailhava. This musée held several special events. It sponsored lectures, displayed many busts sculptured by Houdon, and honored Benjamin Franklin for negotiating the 1783 Treaty of Paris.98 The lodge in 1782 opened a second musée and after the death of Gébelin decided in 1784, probably for financial reasons, to merge the operations of both schools. Officers of the lodge appointed Pilâtre de Rozier to supervise the operations of the newly created Musée de Paris. This school was designed to promote the arts, sciences, and commerce and offered a wide selection of courses. Students took physics from Sue and chemistry from Fourcroy.99 Students enrolled in scientific courses were granted permission to utilize the facilities of the Paris Academy of Sciences. The Musée de Paris also offered courses in mathematics, in anatomy and physiology, in geography, in ancient and modern literature, and in textile manufacturing. After the death of Rozier in 1785, this school was closed.100
In 1785 the lodge established the Lycée de Paris to replace the musée of Rozier. The lycée was known for offering extensive programs in the arts and sciences both to male and female students. This school also was known for its well qualified faculty; Condorcet, Fourcroy, La Harpe, and Marmontel held chairs in the lycée. This institution operated until the outbreak of the French Revolution and proved to be a successful project sponsored by the lodge.101
There were not many mechanists associated with the Nine Sisters. Several physicians belonged to the lodge. While the cultural activities and projects of the Nine Sisters were not directly related to medicine, physicians retained their affiliation with the lodge and evidently were interested in the various facets of its Enlightenment operations. The lack of astronomers and physicists in the Nine Sisters certainly was attributed to the shift of interest from mechanistic to materialistic concepts and paradigms.102 While not presenting many papers or experiments during lodge assemblies, some mechanists, however, supported projects of the lodge and taught in its schools.
Chabanneau was one of the few physicists to belong to the lodge. He was a minor physicist, not holding membership in any important scientific society and evidently perceiving affiliation with the Nine Sisters as being important to his career. Chabanneau during the early 1780s taught in Paris, was admitted to the Nine Sisters, and became friendly with the Masonic and Spanish enlightener Count Pena Florida. As a result of the efforts of Pena Florida, Chabanneau in 1785 was granted a chair in physics in the University of Madrid and five years later published in Spanish a comprehensive work concerning significant eighteenth-century discoveries in physics.103
The astronomer Jean Bailly affiliated with the Nine Sisters for several reasons. He belonged to the Paris Academy of Sciences and knew Lalande. The occasional visits of Bailly to the Salon of Madame Helvétius also suggested his connection to an important circle of the Nine Sisters and helped to explain why he became friendly with Roucher and Gébelin. Like these two officers of the Nine Sisters and other members of the lodge, Bailly subscribed to deistic ideas. He believed that the study of ancient astronomy and mythology would reveal pertinent insights about the attributes of the Supreme Creator and about His relationship to Nature and to man.104
Bailly became an important contributor to the astronomy of the French Enlightenment. In 1759 he determined the orbit of Halley’s Comet and in the following year determined from his observatory in Paris the positions of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. In cooperation with his friend and teacher Lacaille, he also observed in 1760 the transit of Venus—a development enabling a more accurate measurement of the parallax of the Sun.105 Five years later, Bailly delivered lectures to members of the Paris Academy of Sciences about the moons of Jupiter and in detail described their inclinations and nodes.106
Cardinal ideas of Bailly appeared in Histoire de l’astronomie ancienne. In this work published in 1775, he maintains that the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Greeks shared similar astronomical views; astronomers of these ancient civilizations devised lunar and solar calendars, made records of lunar eclipses, identified seven planets of the solar system, and offered speculations about the distances between the Earth and the fixed stars.107 In this history, Bailly claims that ancient astronomers and philosophers became advocates of the great order and advanced myths to explain how the universe, Nature, and man functioned. He describes some important myths. Prosperine is known for living both above and below the Earth and symbolizes the appearance of the Sun in the morning and its disappearance in the evening. The struggle between Hercules and the Amazons represents the conflict between the forces of light and those of darkness. The tales of Adonis and Osiris reveal the themes of life, death, and resurrection.108 As attested to by these and other myths, the ancients, according to Bailly, believed that moral and natural laws were closely interrelated to each other and were to be traced to a Single Cause.
The several physicians of the Nine Sisters believed that clinical and pathological studies would help in determining mechanistic principles relating to the operations of the body. These doctors further worked to improve facilities of Parisian hospitals and to promote the public health movement in the French capital.109 Victor de Seze was a minor Parisian physician connected with the circle of Guillotin and espoused mechanistic ideas. In Recherches philosophiques sur la sensibilité ou la vie animale, published in 1786, De Seze maintains that physicians should investigate and classify body organs and sensations in light of their functions.110 While known for his device for decapitation, Dr. Joseph Guillotin made other significant contributions to Parisian medicine and Masonry. He served as one of the founders of the French Academy of Medicine, was appointed as a regent of the University of Paris Medical School, and played an active role during the 1780s in attempting to improve the conditions of hospitals in the French capital. Guillotin as well denounced Mesmer and his followers as quacks and believed that they would thwart the advancement of Parisian clinical medicine. He identified Masonry as a reform institution, served as master of the Parisian Lodge Concorde Fraternelle, but was not actively involved in the cultural operations and projects of the Nine Sisters.111
Like many members of the lodge, Dr. Pierre Jean George Cabanis was an intellectually versatile individual. Cabanis was interested in ancient literature and in 1777 was honored by the Académie française for his French translation of The Iliad. He further during the late 1770s earned his medical degree, became the “adopted son” of Madame Helvétius, and gave frequent lectures in her salon about the sensationalistic philosophy of John Locke.112 As a result of his friendships with Lalande, with Franklin, and with other Masons of this salon, Cabanis in 1779 decided to affiliate with the Nine Sisters. He envisioned the lodge as being a significant institution for the promotion of his medical ideas.
The philosophy of Cabanis was significant to Parisian medical thought; he believed that inductive techniques and sense observations were essential for the proper practice of medicine: “Until the appearance of Sydenham, inductive techniques in medicine were unknown. This seventeenth century English physician gave to medicine the true spirit of observation. Locke adhered to the observational techniques of Sydenham…. Locke showed that babies at birth have a clear mind and in light of their sense observations acquire knowledge.”113
To Cabanis, medicine as well was indebted to the natural philosophy of Newton, utilizing its “precise language and reasoning procedures for the examination of the parts of the body and for the treatment of diseases.”114 According to this medical philosopher, clinical investigations enabled numerous French physicians to discover new remedies for diseases.115 Cabanis maintains that clinical studies enabled physiologists to classify organs and parts of the body and to explain digestion, muscular movements, and the functioning of nerves and veins. According to Cabanis, French physicians probed the mind and explained its operations in light of sense impressions.116
Numerous proponents of materialism affiliated with the Nine Sisters. Most materialists of the lodge held membership in the Paris Academy of Sciences and belonged to the circles of Fourcroy and Rozier. Some materialists offered courses in schools sponsored by the Nine Sisters. Materialists for the most part wished to utilize the lodge as a vehicle for the promotion of their chemical writings.
Antoine Fourcroy made significant contributions to late eighteenth-century French chemistry. His Elémens served as one of the major texts of inorganic chemistry during the late eighteenth century and contained many and varying experiments regarding metals, acids, alkalis, and salts.117 A member of the Paris Academy of Sciences, Fourcroy in 1777 delivered to this eminent society a lecture concerning the reaction of iron salts to alkalis and acids. He maintained that iron salts reacted more to acids than to alkalis and that upon exposure to acids, these salts emitted an inflammable gas.118 As Fourcroy explained to members of the academy, these experiments suggested that iron ores could be decomposed. In other experiments, he ascertained the properties of gold, silver, platinum, and mercury and showed that when mixed with strong acids, these chemicals were difficult to decompose.119 Fourcroy also studied human blood. He succeeded in determining the properties of blood and advanced the view that additional chemical investigations of this substance might lead to an understanding of the causes of various diseases.120
The Englishman John Forster, who spent considerable time in Paris during the 1780s, and Claude Berthollet were connected with the circle of Fourcroy. The influence of Fourcroy evidently explained why both of these chemists chose to affiliate with the Nine Sisters and why Cadet de Vaux, a lodge member and an editor of Journal de Paris, decided to publish some of their experiments.121 Berthollet performed valuable experiments concerning bleaching and dyeing. He demonstrated that if placed in a tub of muriatic acid, cloth containing vegetable colors would be bleached: “When vegetable colors are immersed in oxygenated muriatic acid, they are completely destroyed. A mixture of different colors, in a similar exposure, suffers from the same change…. We may conclude that the coloring vegetable matters, which have been acted upon and deprived of their properties of producing color, have taken away the oxygen from the acid by a strong chemical attraction, and have, by means of this combination, acquired new properties, whilst they have lost that of producing color.”122
Berthollet and Forster believed that experiments would lead to an understanding of some chemical compounds and would demonstrate their usefulness. Forster developed methods for assaying metals. He performed experiments with iron ores and showed that when exposed to fire, iron could be separated from compounds and could be used for industrial purposes. The experiments of Forster further demonstrated that substances could be classified into four groups: earths, salts, metals, and gases.123
Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier belonged to the Nine Sisters and the Paris Academy of Sciences, were members of the scientific circle of Rozier, and demonstrated that heated gases could propel their aerostatic balloon. The Montgolfiers in 1782 conducted experiments concerning the density of heated air and concluded that an object filled with hot air could rise from the surface of the Earth. On June 5, 1783, they gave a public demonstration of their machine. When inflated with hot air and released, their aerostatic machine, made of paper and approximately thirty-five feet in diameter, ascended to a height of about 6,000 feet and descended gradually as the air in it cooled. As a result of the excitement aroused by this flight, Louis XVI insisted that the Montgolfiers present a demonstration of their invention to the royal family. With animals as its passengers, the aerostatic balloon on September 19, 1783, was released at Versailles, ascended to a height of 1,500 feet, and then fell to the ground without injuring its passengers.124
Rozier wished to experiment with the machine of his two friends. He was a minor scientist in Paris during the 1780s and was known for teaching chemistry to ladies, for inventing the phosphoric candle, and for experimenting with hydrogen. Rozier in October 1783 offered his services to the Montgolfiers and evidently recognized that he could acquire fame for being the first person in history to make a successful flight in an aerostatic balloon. Rozier that year made two successful ascents, rising on October 15th to a height of eighty-three feet. During his second ascent on November 21st, Rozier was accompanied by the Marquis d’Arlandes, remained in the air for twenty-five minutes, crossed the Seine at 3,000 feet, and descended safely having completed a trip of six miles. After several ascents in 1784, Rozier was convinced that he could direct a flight across the English Channel. In an effort to accomplish this objective, he was launched in an aerostatic balloon on June 16, 1785, and reached a height of 1,700 feet. Rozier then encountered problems with fire, crashed the balloon several miles from Boulogne, and was instantly killed.125
Members of the Nine Sisters associated with the humanities and the fine arts shared in common several important beliefs; they believed that the revival of ancient ideologies and paradigms would enable them to become modern enlighteners. These enlighteners concentrated their efforts on portraying the features of Nature and the qualities of humans and probably realized the importance of Masonic teachings regarding the ancients and Nature. Many of these enlighteners actively participated in the assemblies of the Nine Sisters and were provided with splendid opportunities to read their poems, to stage scenes from their plays, and to exhibit their paintings and statuary. Most of these savants of the lodge held membership in Parisian learned societies and belonged to varying cultural circles in the French capital.
Artists of the Nine Sisters identified major concepts of the ancients with themes of naturalism. Many of these artists became known for their vivid portrayals of ancient and modern leaders and society. Many painters of the lodge as well belonged to the French Royal Academy of Painting. Claude Notté belonged to this society and acquired prominence as a portrait painter. Notté did portraits of Franklin, Milly, Dupaty, and other modern enlighteners of the lodge. Claude Vernet painted a few portraits, but was elected to the Royal Academy of Painting as a result of other works. Vernet conveyed themes of naturalism in his paintings of French port cities, rivers, farms, and forests.126
Jean Greuze was recognized as the most noted artist in the Nine Sisters. After studying in a studio in Lyon, Greuze in 1747 at age twenty-two moved to Paris, became known for Un Écolier endormi sur son livre and for Portrait de M. Sylvestre and consequently in 1755 was elected to the Royal Academy of Painting.127 He became involved in the salon life of Paris during the 1760s and painted several important portraits. In Comte d’Angivillers, Greuze superbly depicted the cold and stern qualities of this French noble. Praise was offered in 1765 for La Mère Bien-aimée; this work well conveyed the half-open mouth, the swimming eyes, and the relaxed position of the subject.128 He also painted in 1765 Sévère et Caracalla which showed Severus reproaching his son for attempting to assassinate him. Greuze during the 1770s painted two portraits of members of the Nine Sisters; he did colorful portraits of Benjamin Franklin and Count Stroganoff.129 Some of the paintings of Greuze during the late 1770s revealed astute perceptions of French society. In L‘Accordée de Village, Greuze portrayed the life of French peasants and exhibited concern for their plight. In The Death of the Paralytic, Greuze recreated the scene of a dying middle class man and in cleverly using colors conveyed the ruefulness expressed by the immediate members of the family.130
Features of naturalism were embodied in the sculpture of Jean Antoine Houdon. In addition to doing busts of American Revolutionary heroes, he sculptured statues of French enlighteners involved with the Nine Sisters. Ancient and modern legal expressions and symbols appeared in his statutes of Dupaty and Pastoret and suggested his concern for the cause of natural liberties. Perceived as the modern Phidias, Houdon sculptured an enormous statue of Jerome Lalande, portraying this Masonic astronomer as he viewed the heavens with his telescope.131
The few musicians of the Nine Sisters belonged to the Royal Academy of Music and expressed interest in the ideas of the ancients. They were involved with the lodge orchestra, staged several operas based on ancient legends, and during lodge assemblies gave musical renditions of ancient lyrics. Nicolas Piccinni served as conductor of the lodge orchestra and became a spokesman for dramatic opera. He believed that the legends and heroes of ancient civilizations should be emphasized in a modern operatic setting. Piccinni was known for revising the operas Atys and Didon to conform to his standards and presented to the lodge select acts from these two works. The singing of Pierre Tirot and Jean Lays and the violin solos of Pierre Lahoussaye were featured to dramatize the themes of these operas.132 Like Piccinni, John Palza and Charles Turschmidt served as conductors of the lodge orchestra, composed several minor pieces, and in 1786 left Paris to accept positions in the orchestra of Frederick William II. The departure of these two conductors and the lack of musicians in the Nine Sisters suggested that the lodge did not develop into a major center of Parisian music.133
Minor Parisian poets belonged to the lodge and displayed great interest in the ideas and models of their ancient counterparts. Most of these poets participated in Parisian salons and evidently envisioned the Lodge of the Nine Sisters as another cultural agency enabling them to reveal their literary talents. Some of these poets were given the opportunity to read eulogies and lyrics during lodge assemblies. Others attended meetings of the lodge as interested observers, but were known in Paris for stimulating interest in ancient ideas through their translations. Jacques Delille was educated in the classics and translated into French the “Georgics” of Vergil. Voltaire regarded this translation as one of the finest works in French literature. Indicative of his interest in the ancients, Delille also rendered a translation of the “Aeneid” and wrote the poem “L’Homme des Champs ou les Georgiques françaises.”134 Louis Fontanes believed that many poems of Alexander Pope contained significant ideas of the ancients. Fontanes in 1783 translated into French “An Essay on Man.”135 He further composed in 1778 “Forêt de Navarre” and in this poem praised the ancients for their views concerning Nature.136
Jean Roucher wrote “Les Mois” in 1779 and explains in this poem that ancient and modern enlighteners were involved in the study of Nature. He pays tribute to ancient Greek and Roman natural philosophers and to Newton. Roucher maintains that the laws of Newton enabled modern enlighteners to explain the systematic operations of Nature: “Before Newton, Nature concealed her laws…. Newton made the heavens his domain and through his discoveries made the world humane…. All men can understand his system, for gravity, motion, and attraction serve as the basis of the solar system…. Attest then to the honor and the glory of his work…. Oh, man and Nature be indebted to this genius.”137
Like Roucher, the obscure Masonic poet Barthelemy Imbert perceived the importance of the contributions of Newton to the Enlightenment. Imbert offered praise to Newton and to French enlighteners in “L’Utilité des découverts dans les sciences et dans les arts sous le regne de Louis XV.”138
Francois Turpin and Constantin Volney, who did not play an active role in the activities of the lodge, were known in Paris for their works concerning political and cultural developments in ancient history. Members of the Nine Sisters perceived Turpin as the Plutarch of eighteenth- century France.139 Turpin was in fact a minor enlightener, and little evidence has been discovered about his career. He published in 1769 Histoire du gouvernement des anciennes républiques and envisioned ancient monarchs as being capable administrators. To Turpin, these monarchs selected qualified advisers, did not usurp the powers of legislatures, and assisted the courts in promoting justice.140 Turpin and Volney viewed ancient history somewhat differently. An active participant in the Salon of Madame Helvétius, Volney, like Gébelin and other members of this circle, emphasizes in Les Ruines the importance of ancient myths. Volney maintains that Egyptian priests and Greek and Roman philosophers developed myths to explicate the operations of Nature and the concepts of civic morality. He also believes that the decline of cultural and moral values led to the demise and to the eventual collapse of the political and economic institutions of ancient civilizations.141
The works of Gébelin concerning ancient language, myths, and mystery cults revealed the efforts of this minor enlightener to promote the study of linguistics and anthropology. In Histoire Naturelle De La Parole, published in 1776, Gébelin explains salient functions of language. He maintains that humans were endowed by the Creator with the ability to speak and thus differed from animals. To Gébelin, humans utilized language to reveal their thoughts and sentiments: “God gave man those organs necessary to speak. Speech is the painting of our ideas and constitutes the essence and glory of man. Animals and men eat, drink, and sleep, but only men through speech can convey their pleasures, pains, and thoughts.”142
He maintains that language allowed individuals to understand the operations of Nature and to engage in the study of the arts and sciences. Gébelin also believes that language was needed to permit humans to function in society and to achieve their material and moral objectives through secular and cultural institutions.143 “Language enables humans to express ideas derived from hearing, seeing, smelling, and touching…. Words convey ideas and thoughts about the beauties in Nature and in the heavens…. Speech allows individuals to express their thoughts about experiences in society.”144
Monde Primitif was the voluminous dictionary published by Gébelin in 1773 and contained detailed explanations about words from varying ancient languages. In this work, Gébelin cogently demonstrates that the origins and meanings of words were related to specific functions performed in ancient civilizations. He as well shows that the meanings of words reflected significant cultural concepts, morals, and social values of ancient civilizations: “Language and words provide the anthropologist with an understanding of the functions of a specific society. Social customs, cultural heritage, and scientific discoveries of a civilization are revealed through the study of language and words.”145
In this dictionary, Gébelin examines nouns, verbs, and adjectives from Chinese, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin; he develops an etymological scheme to classify ancient words and to compare their meanings. Words are categorized according to their universal meanings, to their nuances, and to their prefixes and suffixes: “The Greeks developed the study of etymology. They studied the meanings and the structure of ancient words and showed that the meanings of words were associated with the knowledge of Nature…. The Greeks discovered that words from Egyptian, Hebraic, and Chinese civilizations conveyed similar meanings…. The knowledge of ancient words thus contributed to the development of the arts and sciences.”146
Monde Primitif contained a lengthy account about the Eleusinian Mystery Cult. Gébelin recognizes that this ancient cult and Modern Masonry possessed similarities; both societies performed valuable cultural functions, conveying in their rites important moral doctrines and cultural values of ancient civilizations. Both societies as well functioned as cohesive communities and admitted into their ranks enlighteners.147 “The sacred rites of the Eleusinian Mystery Cult were administered with great pomp and embodied cultural ideals cherished in ancient empires. The Eleusinian Mysteries served as a rallying point for the ancients and emphasized the beliefs of virtue, justice, and human liberty.”148
Gébelin explains activities pertaining to the conferring of the Eleusinian rites in Greece. Prior to his entry into this ancient cult, the initiate pledged that he would aspire to purify his soul and to lead a virtuous life. As an indication of his desire to cleanse his soul, the candidate submerged himself in a river near the plains of Attica; he then received a wreath of flowers, a symbol of the purity of Nature. The candidate proceeded to the Temple of the Gods, went to its altar, and drank a glass of wine. Hierophant, the head priest administering the Eleusinian mysteries, told him that wine symbolized the fertility of the Earth. Hierophant then offered prayers to the Supreme Being, the Sun, and the Earth and explained to the candidate the secrets of the cult. This priest escorted the new member of the order to the banquet hall and ended the lengthy ceremonies with a feast: “The Eleusinian Mysteries revealed the fecundity of Nature and agriculture and symbolized the prosperity of ancient civilizations…. Candidates were required to acknowledge the Attributes of the Supreme Creator and the powers of the Earth and other heavenly bodies. Candidates recognized the importance of the forces of Nature and of the harmony of bodies moving in the heavens.”149
In light of his studies regarding ancient civilizations, Gébelin became a proponent of the great order. He believed that the ancients established similar secular institutions, developed similar languages, and endorsed similar cultural and moral teachings. Gébelin maintained that like modern enlighteners, those in the ancient world advanced theories to explain how the universe, Nature, and man were interrelated to each other. To Gébelin, the ancients and the moderns were deists and realized that an Omnipotent Spirit governs the operations of the great order.150
Some writers of the Nine Sisters envisioned America as a utopia of the Enlightenment and belonged to the Americanophile faction of the lodge. Many writers of this group were recruited from the Salon of Madame Helvétius and directly supported lodge operations to popularize the cause of the American Revolution. Several members of the American faction however only wrote about this nation.
Abbé Robin was known for participating in Americanophile activities of the lodge and for writing Nouveau voyage dans l’Amérique Septentrionale. In this work published in 1782, Robin perceives America as a major center of the Enlightenment. He maintains that the colleges of this nation and the American Philosophical Society significantly contributed to the arts and sciences and that reason motivated Americans to make new discoveries about the operations of Nature. Robin lauds American political institutions for functioning in light of precisely defined constitutional principles and for protecting natural liberties. He also equates the commercial activities conducted in American cities with material progress.151 “The commerce of Bostonians consisted of a variety of articles and was extensive prior to the outbreak of the American Revolution. Bostonians supplied England with timber, codfish, beef, and turpentine. The town has a superb wharf which extends two thousand feet into the sea and which permits the city to have a large amount of commerce.”152
The views of Brissot de Warville about America resembled those of Robin. Brissot in Nouveau Voyage regards this nation as a paradise of the Enlightenment. To Brissot, America consisted of reasonable and virtuous citizens and served as a mecca of republicanism and science. He further perceives Philadelphia as the nucleus of the American Enlightenment.153 “Philadelphia may be considered as the major metropolis of the United States. It is certainly the finest town and the best built in America; it is the most wealthy, although not the most luxurious. You find here men of great political and scientific knowledge.”154
There were other American propagandists in the lodge. Jean Démeunier was known for his French translations of American writings and for his Essai sur les États-Unis. Démeunier in this work emphasizes the achievements of state legislatures in America, maintaining that these bodies consisted of elected representatives, enacted laws to guarantee the economic, political, and religious rights of their citizens, and asserted their position against the English crown.155 The dramatist Sébastien Chamfort reveals in La Jeune Indienne his interest in America. In this play, Chamfort presents portrayals of Indians, merchants, and Quakers; he perceives these three groups as being advocates of the concepts of American liberalism.156 After the Académie française staged a performance of this play, Chamfort told Franklin that “America was the place in the universe where the rights of man are best understood.”157
Several members of the Nine Sisters hoped that France would become a nation in which the inalienable rights of man could be respected. Spokesmen of state reforms from the Nine Sisters were familiar with American republican and natural rights ideologies and certainly believed that some American doctrines could be applied to improve conditions in France. These Masonic advocates of reform were not connected, however, with the Salon of Madame Helvétius. They envisioned their affiliation with the lodge as being essential for the dissemination of their views, but were not involved either with any important Parisian cultural groups or with any monarchical institutions. These Masonic enlighteners exhibited minimal interest in the physiocratic views of the royal minister Turgot, but championed major reform proposals of Voltaire and those of the Milanese philosophe Beccaria and thus helped to promote the concepts of a civic morality.
It was evident that in light of their views regarding religious toleration, Louis Sébastian Mercier and Elie de Beaumont drank from the same bottle as their Masonic brother Voltaire. Mercier was a minor Parisian satirist and became known for his L’an deux mille quatre cent quarante. In this work published in 1771, he maintains that Frenchmen should do penance for the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre and for the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Mercier further claims that Louis XV should recognize the religious and civil liberties of the Huguenots and that their emancipation was required for the improvement of French banking and commerce.158 The persecution of the Huguenot Jean Calas disturbed Beaumont. A minor Parisian trial lawyer, Beaumont published in 1762 Memoire pour les Calas and argues that “an innocent man had been convicted and executed because of religious prejudice.”159 He as well implored Louis XV to end the religious and civil disabilities of French Protestants. The commitment of Beaumont to the cause of reform well explained why he became involved in the Nine Sisters. This disciple of Voltaire and Master of the lodge, however, never wrote another work about state reforms, appeared to be frightened of Grand Orient and royal authorities, and consequently decided against holding lodge assemblies to advance the reform movement.
A Master of the lodge, Dupaty wrote about legal reforms, and his problems with the crown justified the concerns of Beaumont. Dupaty served in the Bordeaux Parlement between approximately 1768 and 1774 and at this time distinguished himself as a writer. He wrote a eulogy dedicated to L’Hopital and was elected to the La Rochelle Academy. Dupaty in 1774 left Bordeaux to reside in Paris and three years later issued a French translation of Dei delitti e delle pene by Beccaria. Major views advanced in this work were important to Dupaty. He like Beccaria believed that criminals were entitled to fair trials, that punishments should be determined in light of the severity of crimes, and that prison conditions should be improved.160 The year 1785 was a significant one for this Masonic spokesman of reform. Dupaty served as Master of the Nine Sisters, published Réflexions sur le Droit criminel, and, in light of pressure from royal officials who disapproved of the views advanced in this work, was constrained to leave France and to reside in Italy for approximately a year. He criticized the crown in Réflexions, arguing that trial procedures of French courts were unjust, that criminal laws and punishments were stern, and that Louis XVI displayed minimal concern about implementing legal reforms. After his return to France, the obstinate Dupaty refused to alter his position regarding legal reforms; the Rouen Parlement arrested, tried, and convicted him for treason. Before receiving his sentence, Dupaty in September 1788 died, believing that “the French Parlements lacked dignity, honesty, and tolerance.”161
Claude Pastoret served as Master of the Nine Sisters between 1786 and 1789 and wrote to vindicate the cause of legal reforms. This Parisian lawyer during the early 1780s issued short works about Zoroaster, Confucius, Mohammed, and Voltaire. Pastoret perceived these philosophers as enlighteners and as advocates of justice.162 While serving as Master of the Nine Sisters, Pastoret was writing Des Lois Pénales and in 1790 published it. He maintains in this work that the legal institutions of ancient Greece and Rome functioned according to principles of justice and that legal and penal systems of modern France were degenerate. Pastoret exhibited concern for Frenchmen accused and convicted of crimes: “The condemnation of the innocent is unfair. Until a judgment of condemnation is rendered, a defendant is considered innocent. Proof against the accused must be accurate and decisive. If the accused is proven guilty, the punishment should be equivalent to and not greater than the crime. Punishments should be just, constructive, and useful. Punishments should be assigned for rehabilitative purposes.”163
In Des Loix Pénales, he calls for the termination of cruel punishments in France. Pastoret condemns the cutting of feet, the mutilation of ears and noses, and the throwing of bodies into scalding water. He implores Louis XVI and French representatives in the National Assembly to end inhumane techniques of capital punishment: flogging until death, burning in the public square, and decapitation.164 Pastoret further believes that capital punishment for minor crimes was wrong and was excessively used in France and that the French king and legislature, similar to those in ancient history, should be empowered to grant pardons.165
Most members of the Nine Sisters probably agreed with the reform proposals advanced in Des Loix Pénales and realized that Pastoret during his mastership discreetly managed the affairs of the lodge; they knew that the paucity of lodge meetings during the late 1780s was related to pertinent developments occurring in France. Members of the Nine Sisters realized that with the eruption of the French Revolution, the lodge eventually might be forced to cease its operations: “As spring gives way to the heat of summer and to the harvest of the fall, the muses of our lodge await the opportunity to relive their golden years.”166
Such proved to be the case. During the heat of revolution, the lodge found it difficult to function. The lodge by early 1790 significantly decreased its activities; this body discontinued funding the lycée and staged few sessions. The attitudes of lodge members towards the Nine Sisters explained why lodge meetings were infrequently conducted. Most members were concerned about the affairs of the French Revolution and not about those of the Nine Sisters.167 Other members did not want to become involved in the revolution and refused to attend meetings of the Nine Sisters. They believed that their participation in the lodge would result in attacks from political and anti–Masonic authorities.
Administrators of the Grand Orient first tried to justify the operations of the lodge and then decided to terminate them. Officers of the Grand Orient changed in late 1790 the name of the lodge to the Société Nationale des Neuf Soeurs. This action was taken to demonstrate to leaders of the National Assembly that the society was involved with cultural and social activities rather than with political matters.168 The Grand Orient even permitted this new society to hold open meetings, but discovered that former members of the Nine Sisters were not interested in its activities. In recognizing that the few sessions of the Société Nationale des Neuf Soeurs were poorly attended and that the Jacobins, who viewed the Craft as a threat to their regime, would act to suspend Masonic activities, officers of the Grand Orient in November 1792 issued an edict to dissolve this society and thus to end “the golden age of the muses.”169
Even before the French Revolution, both achievements and failures characterized the operations of the Lodge of the Nine Sisters. In light of major organizational functions of the lodge, its members made some contributions to the Enlightenment in Paris. During assemblies and banquets of the Nine Sisters, members behaved as Masonic enlighteners; they performed scientific experiments, suggested state reform proposals, read poems and eulogies, and saw new works of art and sculpture. Yet, the most significant organizational function of the Nine Sisters revolved around the lodge’s sponsorship of surrogate institutions; the lodge succeeded in promoting educational institutions and in supporting groups which favored the cause of the American Revolution. Failures too marked the cultural operations of the Nine Sisters. Unlike its counterpart in Vienna, the Lodge of the Nine Sisters failed to publish journals containing articles about the Enlightenment and Masonry and consequently did little to encourage its members to write as enlightened Masons.
Born and other Viennese Masons knew about the operations of the Lodge of the Nine Sisters and in some respects designed the True Harmony Lodge to resemble its Parisian counterpart. Like the Lodge of the Nine Sisters, the True Harmony Lodge functioned to promote Enlightenment activities within the context of Masonry and recruited to its ranks many Masons from the Habsburg Empire. The organizational and cultural functions of the True Harmony Lodge differed, however, in many respects from those of the Nine Sisters.
In the next chapter, the origins, structure, and cultural functions of this lodge will be examined. Attention in that chapter will also be directed to the organization, rites, and operations of eighteenth-century Austrian and Bohemian Masonry.