The Diffusion and Expansion of the Enlightenment 335philosophy for a more general audience. Thus the academies contributed
to the development of a sense that reforms in France were possible.
Masonic lodges, another medium for the ideas of the philosophes, had
begun in Scotland, perhaps as early as the sixteenth century, as stonemasons’
guilds. They now brought together freethinkers and others who opposed the
influence of the established churches in public life. Masonic lodges prolifer
ated in Europe during the middle years of the eighteenth century. Members
took vows of secrecy, although their meetings, membership lists, and rituals
were widely known. In some places women were admitted as affiliated or
adopted members. Members held a variety of political opinions, but they
shared a general faith in progress, toleration, and a critical view of institu
tionalized religion. In Scotland in particular, clubs, coffeehouses, and taverns
also provided the setting for discussion of the new ideas.
Still, several obstacles limited the dissemination of Enlightenment ideas.
Books and even pamphlets were expensive. Censorship, although erratic and
varying greatly from place to place, also discouraged publication. In France
and Spain, among other countries, censored books were burned, and those
who published material officially considered blasphemous could be, at least
in principle, sentenced to death. Far more frequently, officials closed print
ers’ shops. Even the relatively tolerant Dutch Republic banned Diderot’s