Enlightenment-era Freemasonry aspires to be cosmopolitan . Practitioners of the Royal Art [ Les ouvriers de l ’ Art Royal ⁸⁴ ] want to erect a new Tower of Babel , a perfect temple of Harmony and Humanism . As Abbé Prévost puts it in his work The Universal Language [ Le Langage Universel ], “ Two Freemason brothers can recognize each other as brethren thanks to a universal language of Masonic signs and touches , before finally reverting to the language of worldly and diplomatic communication : French .” During the Age of Enlightenment , Freemasons put the founding text of their Order into practice : “ allowing men [ to recognize each other ], who would otherwise remain at a perpetual distance .” A genuine universal Republic of Freemasons is established whose resources perfectly meet the expectations and wishes of travelers , diplomats , students , traders , and artists who are crisscrossing Europe . Hence the captivating and intriguing notion of Masonic cosmopolitanism . ⁸⁵

Up to now , this cosmopolitanism has only been studied and investigated in the context of a certain sociability : European nobility , merchants , traders , ⁸⁶ or the army . ⁸⁷ We are familiar with the mechanisms of these Masonic European relations . ⁸⁸ In a recent work , Daniel Roche states : “ The perception and place of foreigners are ambiguous and little known .” ⁸⁹ Masonic certificates , bona fide “ passports to Light ” [ passeports pour la Lumière ] are particularly sought out . The lodge directories [ les annuaires ] include the addresses of their Masters [ Vénérables ], and this enables brothers to obtain Masonic letters of recommendation . These rolls create a system that allows a network of fraternal assistance that can be activated at a distance to solicit hospitality . At the end of the Age of Enlightenment , the Masonic passport is to the traveler what the scallop shell was to the medieval pilgrim . They all bear in mind the advice from the great traveler Casanova : “ Every well-born young man who wishes to travel and know the world and what is called the greater world must be initiated into Freemasonry .”’ But in this utopian universal Republic , citizens are not all on equal footing . Casanova travels Europe in luxury and comfort . The young Danish count Frédéric de Molke , who was initiated into the Göttingen lodge La Triple Lumière , can go on his Grand Tour and enjoy the best travel conditions and accommodation . ⁹⁰ More modestly , the secretary of a lodge in Calais

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ⁸⁴ L ’ Art Royal , the Royal Art is a XVIIIth century French allegorical expression to designate

Freemasonry . ⁸⁵ Pierre-Yves Beaurepaire , L ’ Autre et le Frère , l ’ étranger et la Franc-maçonnerie en France au XVIIIe siècle ( Paris : H . Champion , 1998 ), 868 p . ⁸⁶ Pierre-François Pinaud , “ Quant la rumeur devient soupçon . Initiation et spéculation , 1777 – 1792 ,” in Mélanges offerts à Daniel Ligou ( Paris , 1998 ), 337-347 . ⁸⁷ Jean-Luc Quoy-Bodin , L ’ armée et la Franc-maçonnerie au déclin de la monarchie sous la Révolution et l ’ Empire ( Paris : Economica ; Edic ., 1987 ), 344 p . ⁸⁸ Pierre-Yves Beaurepaire , L ’ Europe des francs-maçons , XVIIIe-XXIe siècle ( Paris : Belin , 2002 ), 319 p . ⁸⁹ Daniel Roche , Humeurs vagabondes . De la circulation des hommes et de l ’ utilité des voyages ( Paris : Fayard , 2003 ), 394 p ., ch . VII , 359-477 . ⁹⁰ Pierre-Yves Beaurepaire , « “ Le Cosmopolitisme maçonnique dans les villes méditerranéennes au XVIIIe siècle »,” in Cahiers de la Méditerranée ( Nice , 2005 ), vol . 67 .

Ritual, Secrecy and Civil Society Volume 1, Number 1, Spring 2013 | Page 35