or him. It would be
further quite in keeping with his policy to get rid of the man as soon
as he had served his purpose, lest he should betray his secrets.

At any rate, whatever were the methods employed by Frederick the Great
for obtaining control over Masonry, the fruitful results of that "very
trifling circumstance," his initiation at Brunswick, become more and
more apparent as the century advances. Thus when in 1786 the Rite of
Perfection was reorganized and rechristened the "Ancient and Accepted
Scottish Rite"--always the same Scottish cover for Prussianism!--it is
said to have been Frederick who conducted operations, drew up the new
Constitutions of the Order, and rearranged the degrees so as to bring
the total number up to thirty-three[415], as follows:

26. Prince of Mercy.
27. Sovereign Commander of the Temple.
28. Knight of the Sun.
29. Grand Scotch Knight of St. Andrew.
30. Grand Elect Knight of Kadosch.
31. Grand Inspector Inquisitor Commander.
32. Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret.
33. Sovereign Grand Inspector-General.

In the last four degrees Frederick the Great and Prussia play an
important part; in the thirtieth degree of Knight Kadosch, largely
modelled on the Vehmgerichts, the Knights wear Teutonic crosses, the
throne is surmounted by the double-headed eagle of Prussia, and the
President, who is called Thrice Puissant Grand Master, represents
Frederick himself; in the thirty-second degree of Sublime Prince of the
Royal Secret, Frederick is described as the head of Continental
Freemasonry; in the thirty-third degree of Sovereign Grand
Inspector-General the jewel is again the double-headed eagle, and the
Sovereign Grand Commander is Frederick, who at the time this degree was
instituted figured with Philippe, Duc d'Orleans, Grand Master of the
Grand Orient, as his lieutenant. The most important of these innovations
was the thirty-second degree, which was in reality a system rather than
a degree for bringing together the Masons of all countries under one
head--hence the immense power acquired by Frederick. By 1786 French
Masonry was thus entirely Prussianized and Frederick had indeed become
the idol of Masonry everywhere. Yet probably no one ever despised
Freemasonry more profoundly. As the American Mason Albert Pike shrewdly
observed:

There is no doubt that Frederick came to the conclusion that the
great pretensions of Masonry in the blue degrees were