Secret Societies Illuminati, Freemasons, and the French Revolution »

This book is an invitation to the secret world behind the veil of daily events. In its pages you will meet the legendary Cagliostro and the Comte de Saint-Germain as they travel through the royal courts and Masonic lodges of eighteenth-century Europe, fomenting Revolution and working to overturn the social order of their day. Alchemists, magicians, Illuminati adepts, mystics, and Freemasons joined forces with politicians, journalists, scientists, writers, philosophers and libertines in a movement that forever altered the cultural landscape of Western civilization.

Inaugurating two centuries of revolution and upheaval, the French Revolution of 1789 put an end to the concept of the divine right of kings, led to the formal separation of church and state, destroyed the remnants of medieval feudalism, and heralded the values of the Enlightenment as the triumphant banner under which the modern world would be born. Yet it was accompanied by a level of violence whose ferocity spoke more of an exorcism than a political restructuring.

What lessons does the Revolution hold for us today? Do the forces of secret societies and silent conspiracies continue to influence the world? Historian Una Birch's classic account was originally published in 1911. Her proximity to and sympathy with the events offer a unique perspective. Secret society expert James Wasserman has made this work accessible to the modern reader with extensive annotations, a history of the Revolution, an introduction that places the Illuminati in context, and biographical sketches of the main participants.

Introduction     11
A Brief History of the French Revolution     23
Who Was Una Birch?     49
A Note on the Text     51
Secret Societies and the French Revolution     57
A Search for Causes     59
Freemasonry     66
Non-Masonic Secret Societies and the Influence of Women     74
The Illuminati     80
The Comte de Saint-Germain     95
The Man of Mystery     97
Saint-Germain as Secret Agent     107
Saint-Germain as Illuminati Agent     117
Religious Liberty and the French Revolution     123
Oppression by Church and State     125
The Tables Begin to Turn     132
The Triumph of the Revolution     139
Madame de Stael and Napoleon: A Study in Ideals     165
The Defeat of the Revolution     167
Reducing Chaos to Order     170
The Campaign against Tyranny     182
The Fall of the Empire     190
Appendices
Cast of Characters     203
The Diamond Necklace Affair     238
An Overview of Political Charters     240
A Brief Summary of the Cahiers     244
Declaration of the Rights ofMan     246
The Bill of Rights     249
Universal Declaration of Human Rights     251
Liber Oz     258
Author Bibliography     259
Editor Bibliography     262
Index     266