Leo Taxil ( Fr. Léo Taxil , real name Marie Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogan-Pagès , Fr. Marie Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès ; March 21, 1854 - March 31, 1907 ) - French writer and public figure, journalist, well-known opponent of Catholicism and clericalism , the author of anti-religious works published repeatedly in the USSR [1] . In the West, Taxil is known primarily for the 12-year large-scale "anti-Masonic" Russian rally in order to discredit the Roman Catholic Church , the victims of which were the Pope and many French priests [2] .
| Leo Taxil | |
|---|---|
| Leo taxil | |
 Leo Taxil, circa 1880 | |
| Date of Birth | March 21, 1854 |
| Place of Birth | Marseille , France |
| Date of death | March 31, 1907 (53 years old) |
| A place of death | So , France |
| A country | |
| Occupation | writer, journalist, public figure |
Content
- 1 Biography
- 2 Anti-religious parodies
- 3 The hoax of exposing Freemasonry
- 4 Cultural Heritage
- 5 Bibliography
- 6 notes
- 7 Literature
Biography
Born in Marseille in the family of a poor employee. From the age of five, Gabriel Pages was raised in a Jesuit monastery .
Anti-Religious Parodies
In 1879, his book “ Skufja and skufeiki” was published in Paris, which was to show readers the negative aspects of the papacy. In the Russian edition of the book is called "The Holy Nativity Scene". This is a peculiar history of the papacy for almost nineteen centuries. Taxil's goal was to show a gloomy picture:
| ... lies, betrayal, murder, money-grubbing, debauchery - these are the main deeds of those who proclaimed themselves governors of God on earth, preached patience, meekness and humility. |
In the years 1879-1884, satirical anti-religious pamphlets were also written: “The Love Stories of Pope Pius IX”, “The Son of the Jesuit”, “The Borgia Family”, “The Poisoner Leo XIII and Five Million Canonics” and others.
Also among the works of Leo Taxil “The Funny Bible ” ( French La Bible amusante , 1882 ), where Taxil ridicules the text of the Old Testament , in addition, pointing out inaccuracies in the understanding of this book by people, and “The Funny Gospel, or the Life of Jesus” ( 1884 ) , where the subject of the parody is the New Testament [3] .
Taxil's books were repeatedly translated in the USSR and other socialist countries during the period of state atheism . A characteristic commentary on the Soviet edition of the Funny Gospel:
| In a bright, witty form, the author reveals the numerous contradictions of the New Testament, the mythicity of the gospel legends about the "life and deeds" of the Christian messiah. The reader has no doubt that the gospel does not contain anything divine, but is a collection of ancient legends written by different people and at different times. |
The Hoax of Exposing Freemasonry
In 1885, Leo Taxil announced his conversion to Catholicism , was accepted into the fold of the Catholic Church and renounced his previous works, which he wrote for the Anticlerical Union. This was the reason for his exclusion from the union three months later. In the 1890s, he wrote a number of works that exposed Freemasonry , described the secret connections of Masons with Satan , the hidden prosperity of Satanism among the followers of the Templars . Taxil’s biggest work during this period was the book Devil in the 19th Century, co-authored with Karl Hux, which described the revelations of Miss Diana Vaughan, the repentant high priestess of the Palladium Masonic secret society, whose members indulged in satanic rituals and hatched plans for a world dominion. The book was written under the pseudonym "Dr. Bataille" and was a great success. He also published the book "The Antichrist, or The Origin of Freemasonry." These books have been translated into many languages [4] .
In 1896, he became one of the organizers of the Anti-Masonic Church Congress in Trento . Some delegates to this congress questioned the existence of Diana Vaughan and the veracity of her book. In response, Taxil promised to introduce Miss Vaughan to the public at a meeting in the Great Hall of the Geographical Society in Paris on April 19, 1897 . In a speech at this meeting, he stated that he had been playing the Catholic Church over the past twelve years with the help of two friends, Dr. Karl Hux and professional typist Diana Vaughan, who played the role of a repentant “palladist”. Subsequently, this speech was completely reprinted by leading French newspapers. Despite their own disclosure, many refused to believe Taxil’s confessions, and the elements of the conspiracy theory of palladium masons he created are still used by proponents of such theories [2] [5] .
Some Soviet sources claim that after the recognition of Taxil, Pope Leo XIII excommunicated him [6] and anathematized [7] :
We, the papal bull said, proclaim that we excommunicate and anathematize that villain called Leo Taxil, and expel him from the door of the holy church of God ... May he be cursed wherever he is: in the house, in field, on the big road, on the stairs, in the desert and even on the doorstep of the church. May he be damned in life and at the hour of death. May he be damned in all his affairs, when he drinks, when he eats, when he is hungry and thirsty ... May he be cursed in all parts of his body, internal and external ... May he be cursed in all joints of his members so that they would nibble him from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet ...
- Introductory article by M. S. Belenky to the “Funny Bible”, 1976 [8]
Cultural Heritage
Mikhail Orlov in the book “The History of the Relationship of a Man with the Devil” ( 1904 ) quite seriously talks about pseudo-Masonic rites taken from the work of “Dr. Bataille” “The Devil in the 19th Century” in the final, fourth section of the book entitled “Demonism in the Last Centuries”.
Umberto Eco describes the story of the creation of anti-Masonic works by Leo Taxil in his novel Prague Cemetery .
Bibliography
- L. Taxil, The Entertaining Bible. t. 1-3. M., Atheist, 1925-1928
- L. Taxil. Entertaining gospel. M., Atheist, 1930
- L. Taxil, The Funny Bible . M., State Political Publishing House, 1961
- L. Taxil, The Funny Gospel M., Political Publishing House, 1963
- L. Taxil, The Sacred Nativity Scene. M., Atheist, 1930
- L. Taxil, The Sacred Nativity Scene. M., Politizdat, 1965
Notes
- ↑ Novikov, 1985 , Taxil, Leo (real name - Gabriel Antoine Zhogan-Pazhes, 1854-1907) - French writer and public figure, anti-clerical. <...> In the future, he continued to publish anti-religious works, among which the Funny Bible deserves special attention (Russian translation, 1962); The Funny Gospel (Russian translation, 1963); The sacred nativity scene (Russian lane, 1965), p. 434.
- ↑ 1 2 Novikov, 1985 , In 1897 Taxil made a self-disclosure, announcing that he had been engaged in hoax for 12 years in order to discredit the church., P. 434.
- ↑ Novikov, 1985 , Taxil, Leo (real name - Gabriel Antoine Zhogan-Pazhes, 1854-1907) - French writer and public figure, anti-clerical. <...> In the future, he continued to publish anti-religious works, among which the Funny Bible deserves special attention (Russian translation, 1962); The Funny Gospel (Russian translation, 1963); The sacred nativity scene (Russian lane, 1965), p. 434.
- ↑ Novikov, 1985 , In 1895, Taxil declared that he repented of his former anti-church and anti-religious activities and was ready to serve the church in the field of exposing Freemasonry as the “synagogue of Satan.” He has published several books about heinous crimes allegedly committed by Masons in alliance with the devil. “Revelations” were enthusiastically received by the church, p. 434.
- ↑ AE Waite: Devil Worship in France , 1896, introduction
- ↑ Taxil Leo . Great Soviet Encyclopedia . Date of treatment June 26, 2014.
- ↑ Shakhnovich M.I. Modern mysticism in the light of science . - Science , 1965 .-- S. 37 .-- 205 p.
- ↑ Belenky M.S. Taxil, Leo // Funny Bible . - 3rd. - M .: Politizdat , 1976. - S. 7. - 431 p. - ( Library of atheistic literature ).
Literature
- Kryvelev I.A. Gabriel the Satanist. Chronicle of the time of Pope Leo XIII. - M.: “ Soviet Russia ”, 1978. - 144 p.
- Taxil, Leo // Atheistic Dictionary / Abdusamedov A.I., Aleinik R.M., Alieva B.A. et al .; Under the total. ed. M.P. Novikova . - 2nd ed., Rev. and add. - M .: Politizdat , 1985 .-- 512 p.
- “Twelve Years Under the Banner of the Church: Exposing Palladism. Miss Diana Vaughan and the Devil Among Freemasons ” // Le Frondeur , 04.25.1897 - text of a press conference of Leo Taxil in the hall of the Paris Geographical Society.
- “Leo Taxil. Cursed by the church. ” // The Art of Living Magazine