Note 91 — THE WAR OF ANTICHRIST WITH THE CHURCH AND CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION. (continued 2)
Reading edition
[18] M. Eckert (opus cit.), was a Saxon lawyer of immense erudition, who devoted his life to unravel the mysteries of secret societies, and who published several documents of great value upon their action. He has been of opinion that “the interior order” not only now but always existed and governed the exterior mass of Masonry, and its cognate and subject secret societies. He says:—“Masonry being a universal association is governed by one only chief called a Patriarch. The title of Grand Master of the Order is not the exclusive privilege of a family or of a nation. Scotland, England, France, and Germany have in their time had the honour to give the order its supreme chief. It appears that Lord Palmerston is clothed to-day (Eckert wrote in Lord Palmerston’s time) with the dignity of Patriarch.
“At the side of the Patriarch are found two committees, the one legislative and the other executive. These committees, composed of delegates of the Grand Orients (mother national lodges), alone know the Patriarch, and are alone in relation with him.
“All the revolutions of modern times prove that the order is divided into two distinct parties—the one pacific the other warlike.
“The first employs only intellectual means—that is to say, speech and writing.
“It brings the authorities or the persons whose destruction it has resolved upon to succumb or to mutual destruction.
“It seeks for the profit of the order all the places in the State, in the Church (Protestant), and in the Universities; in one word, all the positions of influence.
“It seduces the masses and dominates over public opinion by means of the press and of associations.
“Its Directory bears the name of the Grand Orient and it closes its lodges (I will say why presently) the moment the warlike division causes the masses which they have won over to secret societies to descend into the street.
“At the moment when the pacific division has pushed its works sufficiently far that a violent attack has chances of success, then, at a time not far distant, when men’s passions are inflamed; when authority is sufficiently weakened; or when the important posts are occupied by traitors, the warlike division will receive orders to employ all its activity.
“The Directory of the belligerent division is called the Firmament.
“From the moment they come to armed attacks, and that the belligerent division has taken the reins, the lodges of the pacific division are closed. These tactics again denote all the ruses of the order.
“In effect, they thus prevent the order being accused of co-operating in the revolt.
“Moreover, the members of the belligerent division, as high dignitaries, form part of the pacific division, but not reciprocally, as the existence of that division is unknown to the great part of the members of the other division—the first can fall back on the second in case of want of success. The brethren of the pacific division are eager to protect by all the means in their power the brethren of the belligerent division, representing them as patriots too ardent, who have permitted themselves to be carried away by the current in defiance of the prescriptions of order and prudence.”