e. We cannot believe that Sanhedrims, Hebrew hieroglyphics,
the contemplation of the Tetragrammaton, and other Cabalistic rites
originated in the brains of French and German aristocrats, philosophers,
and Freemasons. Let us turn, then, to events taking place at this moment
in the world of Jewry and see whether these may provide some clue.

8

THE JEWISH CABALISTS

It has been shown in the preceding chapters that the Jewish Cabala
played an important part in the occult and anti-Christian sects from the
very beginning of the Christian era. The time has now come to enquire
what part Jewish influence played meanwhile in revolutions. Merely to
ask the question is to bring on oneself the accusation of
"anti-Semitism," yet the Jewish writer Bernard Lazare has shown the
falseness of this charge:

This [he writes] is what must separate the impartial historian from
anti-Semitism. The anti-Semite says: "The Jew is the preparer, the
machinator, the chief engineer of revolutions"; the impartial
historian confines himself to studying the part which the Jew,
considering his spirit, his character, the nature of his
philosophy, and his religion, may have taken in revolutionary
processes and movements.[455]

Lazare himself expresses the opinion, however, that--

The complaint of the anti-Semites seems to be founded: the Jew has
the revolutionary spirit; consciously or not he is an agent of
revolution. Yet the complaint complicates itself, for anti-Semitism
accuses the Jews of being the cause of revolutions. Let us examine
what this accusation is worth....[456]

In the light of our present knowledge it would certainly be absurd to
ascribe to the Jews the authorship of the conspiracy of Catiline or of
the Gracchi, the rising of Jack Straw and Wat Tyler, Jack Cade's
rebellion, the _jacqueries_ of France, or the Peasants' Wars in Germany,
although historical research may lead in time to the discovery of
certain occult influences--not necessarily Jewish--behind the European
insurrections here referred to. Moreover, apart from grievances or
other causes of rebellion, the revolutionary spirit has always existed
independently of the Jews. In all times and in all countries there have
been men born to make trouble as the sparks fly upward.

Nevertheless, in modern revolutions the part played by the Jews cannot
be ignored, and the influence they have exercised will be se