Anton von Geusau ’ s Conversations with Ramsay
this might well have happened if indeed the international general assemblies of the brotherhood had continued here . At that time however , Cardinal Fleury requested in very gracious terms a postponement of this general assembly , whereupon he responded that it was a major rule of their brotherhood to respect the sovereign and his deputies , and that the convention would not go ahead for that reason . If however His Eminence had the slightest scruple regarding the institution itself , such as that it might be detrimental to the state or church , the entire brotherhood would be willing to accept His Eminence as a member , dispensing of all ceremonies , since he would then be able , by attending the meetings , to come to a thorough understanding of the matter . To which the Cardinal replied that the King was highly pleased with the brotherhood ’ s docility . Regarding the offer to be initiated , how ever , he would like one day to speak to [ Ramsay ] in person about it and have a good laugh together . [ Ramsay ] also informed us on this occasion that while the peculiar secrets of the brotherhood could never be revealed to anyone other than someone who had been initiated into it , the pope and crowned heads were exempted from this requirement , and if they asked to learn the secrets and agreed to swear on their word as pope or
33 king to observe silence then one would be able to reveal them to them . He estimated the number of brethren in all of Europe at 3,000 and told us that he had proposed that each member pay 10 louis d ’ or annually to further the principal purpose of the society , which would raise 30,000 louis d ’ or each year and thus enable the society to do something worthwhile for the good of humanity . For example , he had wanted to begin by using these funds to publish a universal encyclopaedia in French containing everything that might in some way be useful for the history and study of the above-mentioned four arts . At our prompting he reported that a supper is held in conjunction with the meetings ( which usually take place monthly and at which , on each occasion , a lecture is given on one of those four arts ). At these suppers the members , whatever their rank in society might be , are seated solely according to the date of their initiation to remind them that , in accordance with their creation , all men are equal to one another . Good order and sobriety are kept at these suppers : everyone gets his one bottle and has to be content with that . When , at one such meeting , a local duke asked if he could have one more bottle the grand master asked him to warn the brotherhood about the importance of moderation . He did this extempore , taking the theme