ECONOMISTS, a sect of philosophers in France, who have made a great noise in Europe, and are generally believed to have been unfriendly to religion. The founder of this sect was a Dr Duquesnay, who had so well insinuated himself into the favour of Louis XV. that the king used to call him his thinker. The sect was called economists, because the economy and order to be introduced into the finances, and other means of alleviating the distresses of the people, were perpetually in their mouths. The Abbé Barruel admits, that there may have been some few of them who directed their speculations to no other object; but he brings very sufficient proof that the great aim of the majority of the sect was to eradicate from the minds of the people all reverence for divine revelation.
"Duquesnay (says he) and his adepts had more especially undertaken to persuade their readers, that the country people, and mechanics in towns, were entirely destitute of that kind of instruction necessary for their
professions; that men of this class, unable to acquire knowledge by reading, pined away in an ignorance equally fatal to themselves and to the state; that it was necessary to establish free schools, and particularly throughout the country, where children might be brought up to different trades, and instructed in the principles of agriculture. D'Alembert, and the Voltairean adepts, soon perceived the advantages they could reap from these establishments. In union with the economists, they presented various memorials to Louis XV. in which not only the temporal but even the spiritual advantages of such establishments for the people are strongly urged. The king, who really loved the people, embraced the project with warmth. He opened his mind on the subject to Mr Bertin, whom he honoured with his confidence, and had entrusted with his privy purse; and it was with great difficulty that this minister could convince him of the dangerous designs of the sect.
"Determined (says he) to give the king positive proof that the economists imposed upon him, I fought to gain the confidence of those pedlars who travel through the country, and expose their goods to sale in the villages, and at the gates of country seats. I suspected those in particular who dealt in books to be nothing less than the agents of philosophism with the good country folks. In my excursions into the country I fixed my attention above all on the latter. When they offered me a book to buy, I questioned them what might be the books they had? Probably catechisms or prayer-books? Few others are read in the villages? At these words I have seen many smile. No, they answered, those are not our works; we make much more money of Voltaire, Diderot, and other philosophic writings. What! said I; the country people buy Voltaire and Diderot? Where do they find the money for such dear works? Their constant answer was, we have them at a much cheaper rate than prayer-books; we can sell them at ten sols (5d.) a volume, and have a pretty profit into the bargain. Questioning some of them still farther, many of them owned that those books cost them nothing; that they received whole bales of them without knowing whence they came, but being simply desired to sell them in their journeys at the lowest price."
"Louis XV. warned by the discovery made by his minister, was at length satisfied that the establishment of these schools, so much urged by the conspirators, would only be a new instrument of seduction in their hands. He abandoned the plan; but, perpetually harassed by the protecting sophisters, he did not strike at the root of the evil, and but feebly impeded its progress. The pedlars continued to promote the measures of the conspirators; yet this was but one of the inferior means employed to supply the want of their free schools, as a new discovery brought to light one far more fatal.
"About the middle of the month of September 1789, little more than a fortnight antecedent to the atrocious 5th and 6th of October, at a time when the conduct of the National Assembly, having thrown the people into all the horrors of a revolution, indicated that they would set no bounds to their pretensions, Mr Le Roy, lieutenant of the King's Hunt, and an academician, being at dinner at the house of Mr D'Angervilliers, intendant of the buildings of his majesty, the
conversation turned on the disasters of the revolution, and on those that were too clearly to be foreseen. Dinner over, the nobleman above-mentioned, a friend of Le Roy, hurt at having seen him so great an admirer of the sophisters, reproached him with it in the following expressive words: Well! this, then, is the work of Philosophy! Thunderstruck at these words—Alas! cried the academician, to whom do you say so? I know it but too well, and I shall die of grief and remorse! At the word remorse, the same nobleman questioned him whether he had so greatly contributed towards the revolution as to upbraid himself with it in that violent manner? 'Yes (answered he), I have contributed to it, and far more than I was aware of. I was secretary to the committee to which you are indebted for it; but I call heaven to witness, that I never thought it would go to such lengths. You have seen me in the king's service, and you know that I love his person. I little thought of bringing his subjects to this pitch, and I shall die of grief and remorse!'
"Prested to explain what he meant by this committee, this secret society, entirely new to the whole company, the academician resumed: 'This society was a sort of club that we philosophers had formed among us, and only admitted into it persons on whom we could perfectly rely. Our fittings were regularly held at the Baron D'Holbach's. Left our object should be surmised, we called ourselves economists. We created Voltaire, though absent, our honorary and perpetual president. Our principal members were D'Alembert, Turgot, Condorcet, Diderot, La Harpe, and that Lamoignon, keeper of the seals, who on his dismissal shot himself in his park.'
"The whole of this declaration was accompanied with tears and sighs; when the adept, deeply penitent, continued: 'The following were our occupations; the most of those works which have appeared for this long time past against religion, morals, and government, were ours, or those of authors devoted to us. They were all composed by the members or by the orders of the society. Before they were sent to the press, they were delivered in at our office. There we revised and corrected them; added to, or curtailed them, according as circumstances required. When our philosophy was too glaring for the times, or for the object of the work, we brought it to a lower tint; and when we thought that we might be more daring than the author, we spoke more openly. In a word, we made our writers say exactly what we pleased. Then the work was published under the title or name we had chosen, the better to hide the hand whence it came. Many, supposed to have been posthumous works, such as Christianity Unmasked, and divers others attributed to Freret and Boullanger after their deaths, were issued from our society.'
"When we had approved of those works, we began by printing them on fine or ordinary paper, in sufficient number to pay our expences, and then an immense number on the commonest paper. These latter we sent to hawkers and booksellers free of cost, or nearly so, who were to circulate them among the people at the lowest rate. These were the means used to pervert the people, and bring them to the state you now see them in. I shall not see them long, for I shall die of grief and remorse!'
This recital is too well authenticated to be called in question, and too plain to need a commentary. Let it be a warning against all secret societies, by whatever title of benevolence they may be designed by those who form them.