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12 VIOLENCE AND THE LABOR MOVEMENT
how extensive this secret organization actually became,
but Bakounin said in 1864 that it included a number of
Italian, French, Scandinavian, and Slavic revolutionists.
As a scheme this secret organization is remarkable. It
included three orders : I. The International Brothers ;
II. The National Brothers; III. The semi-secret, semipublic
organization of the International Alliance of Social
Democracy. Without Bakounin's intending it, doubtless,
the International Brothers resembled the circle of
gods in mythology the National Brothers, the circle of
;
heroes ;
while the third order resembled the mortals who
were to bear the burden of the fighting. The International
Brothers were not to exceed one hundred, and
they were to be the guiding spirits of the great revolutionary
storms that Bakounin thought were then imminent
in Europe. They must possess above all things
"revolutionary passion," and they were to be the supreme
secret executive power of the two subordinate organizations.
In their hands alone should be the making
of the programs, the rules, and the principles of the revolution.
The National Brothers were to be under the direction
of the International Brothers, and were to be
selected because of their revolutionary zeal and their
ability to control the masses. They were "to have the
devil in them." The semi-secret, semi-public organization
was to include the multitude, and sections were to
be formed in every country for the purpose of organizing
the masses. However, the masses were not to know
of the secret organization of the National Brothers, and
the National Brothers were not to know of the secret
organization of the International Brothers. In order to
enable them to work separately but harmoniously, Bakounin,
who had chosen himself as the supreme law-giver,
wrote for each of the three orders a program of princi-