though you pledge your fhare in paradise, that I have no hand in that hellish work.— It is betraying one's brethren to praise them on fuch an occafion.” "O my brethren, we should march closed, as the Macedonian phalanx; it was only vanquifhed when it opened. Let the real philofophers unite in a brotherhood like the Free-Mafons; let them affemble and support each other; let them be faithful to the affociation. Such an academy will be far fuperior to that of Athens, and to all thofe of Paris." Aware of the evils of diffentions among the brethren, Voltaire was anxious for a reconciliation between the Atheists, Deifts, and Spinozifts, or at least an agreement not to disclose their differences. And Rouffeau declares he wrote the New Eloifa for this exprefs purpose. Wishing to animate the other Chiefs, their eager Principal would write, "I fear you are not fufficiently zealous; you bury your talents; you feem only to contemn, whilst you fhould abhor and destroy the monster.-Such is our fituation, that we fhall be the execration of mankind, if we have not the better fort of people on our fide. We must gain them, coft what it will. Labour therefore in the vineyard." He who " knows no other difference between himself and his dog than their dress," wishes

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wishes to "die on a heap of Chriftians immolated at his feet." "The fecret watchword of the confpirators was, "Ecrafez l'Infame" ("Crush Chrift"), while the "cri de guerre" ("call to arms") was toleration, humanity, reafon." When Voltaire gives his reafons for tolerating the Socinians during this war with Chrift, he fays, it is, "becaufe Julian would have favoured them; and that he hates what Julian would have hated, and defpifes what Julian would have defpifed." ⠀ Voltaire at firft did not pretend to enlighten houfemaids and fhoemakers," "equally contemning the rabble, whether for or against them." But we fhall find, that in the progress of their work, the rabble become an object of the greatest importance. The cautious D'Alembert complains that Voltaire" fhews his fangs too much in the Encyclopedia," and reprefents that this is the time for ftepping back to make the better leap" he fays, however, "without doubt we have feveral wretched articles in our divinity and metaphyfics; but with divines for cenfors, and a privilege (permiffion from the King to publifh), I defy you to make them better. There are articles lefs expofed where all is fet to rights again." In 1762 Voltaire urges more direct measures: "You have now a fair opportunity of filling

the

the Encyclopedia with those truths that we fhould not have dared to utter twenty years ago." But finding it neceffary on some occafion to write in favour of the Chriftian reli

gion, he bitterly laments being obliged to write directly contrary to what he thinks.”

The liberty he enjoyed in Holland to print his blafphemous and licentious productions, first gave Voltaire a bias in favour of republics; for he had defended monarchy till he found himself thwarted in his great defign upon Christianity by the prefs of France. Of this prefs however he afterwards took poffeffion, having by his intrigues gained all the aca demicians and all the minifters of state except one (M. de Muy), to be partizans in the caufe of reafon and liberty, according to his defini tion of these terms. But when he had tried the strength of his principles upon Geneva, which was conveniently fituated in his neighbourhood, we find him writing thus upon government. "The moft tolerable, without doubt, is the republican, because under that form men approach the nearest to the equality of nature." 26

Let us now look into fome of the books expressly written for general circulation: and

fo

there we fhall find the following doctrines, fome of them standing alone in all their naked horrors, others furrounded by sophistry and meretricious ornament, to entice the mind into their net before it perceives their nature. "The univerfal Caufe, that God of the Philofophers, of the Jews, and of the Chriftians, is but a chimera, and a phantom." "The phenomena of nature only prove the existence of God to a few prepoffeffed men ; far from befpeaking a God, they are but the neceffary effects of matter prodigiously diverfified." "It is more reasonable to admit with Manes, of a twofold God, than of the God of Christianity." "We cannot know whether a God really exifts, or whether there is the smallest difference between good and evil, or vicé and virtue." 'Nothing can be more abfurd than to believe the foul a fpiritual being." "The immortality of the foul, fo far from stimulating man to the practice of virtue, is nothing but a barbarous, defperate, fatal tenet, and contrary to all legislation."

All ideas of justice and injustice, of virtue and vice, of glory and infamy, are purely arbitrary, and dependant on cuftom." "Confcience and remorse are nothing but the forefight of those physical penalties to which crimes expofe us. The man who is above

the law can commit without remorfe the difhonest act that may serve his purpose. "The fear of God, fo far from being the beginning of wisdom, would be the beginning of folly." The command to love one's parents is more the work of education than of nature." "Modefty is only an invention of refined voluptuoufnefs." "The law which condemns married people to live together, becomes barbarous and cruel on the day they ceafe to love one another." Thefe extracts from the fecret correfpondence and the public writings of these men, will furely fuffice to prove that their fyftem fpeaks as the dragon." Their end was univerfal demolition; their means deceit, fraud, and falfehood.

When time had ripened the plot fo far as almost to ensure impunity, if not fuccefs, they inftituted a club at the house of Baron Holbach in Paris, about the year 1764, of which Voltaire was elected honorary and perpetual prefident. To conceal their real defign, which was the diffufion of this new philosophy, they called themselves Economifts. From this club was iffued an inundation of books and pam, phlets, calculated to impair and overturn religion, morals, and government; and which spreading over all Europe imperceptibly took

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poffeffion