France[A] was a Freemason, and both his declarations and those
of the organs of Freemasonry leave no doubt of the Masonic
origin of the scheme, and of the spirit which animates it. Now
the third article of the statutes of the 'League' declares,
when speaking of the education to be given by their
association, that 'neither politics nor _religion_ shall have
any part in it.' And lest there should be any mistake as to the
meaning of this article, one of the leading Masonic journals
declares that religion is 'useless as an instrument for forming
the minds of children, and that from a certain point of view it
is _capable of leading them to abandon all moral principles_.
It is incumbent on us, therefore,' concludes this journal, 'to
_exclude_ all religion. We will teach you its rights and duties
in the name of liberty, of conscience, of reason, and, in
fine, in the name of our society.'[B] And again: 'Freemasons
must give in their adhesion _en masse_ to the excellent
Educational League, and the lodges must in the peace of their
temples seek out the best means of making it effectual. Their
influence in this way will be most useful. _The principles we
profess are precisely in accord with those which inspired that
project._'[C] In April of the same year, the same organ of
Freemasonry contained the following paragraph: 'We are happy to
announce that the Educational League and the statue of _our
brother_ Voltaire meet with the greatest support in all the
lodges. There could not be two subscription-lists more in
harmony with each other: Voltaire, the representative of the
destruction of prejudices and superstition; the Educational
League, the engine for building up a new society based _solely
upon learning and instruction_. Our brethren understood it so.'
In fine, that there may not remain upon our minds the least
doubt as to the identity of the principles of this League with
those of Voltaire, we find its founder in France proposing, at
a great Masonic dinner, a toast to the memory of that
arch-infidel; while the newspaper from which we have quoted so
largely, informs its readers that at one of the 'professional
schools,' described above, the prize for good conduct (_le prix
de morale_) was awarded to '_the daughters of a free-thinker,
who have ne