The Final Fate of the Masonic Order

you read and reflect on these principles. But judge also for yourselves the guile and the snake-like nature of these new apostles of unbelief and rebellion, since even men of insight could be deceived by them! The most wonderful thing, wrote Weishaupt Adam Weishaupt (1748–1830), the Bavarian professor who founded the Order of the Illuminati. himself, is that great Protestant and Reformed theologians who belong to the Order actually believe that the religious instruction provided therein contains the true and genuine spirit and meaning of the Christian religion. Oh! Mankind, what can you not be persuaded to believe! (*)

Philo's The code name for Baron Adolph von Knigge, who was instrumental in organizing the Illuminati and recruiting Freemasons. merit, however, went even further; from then on, he became the most zealous maker of proselytes for his "Enlightened" ones. Many of us know it ourselves, how he wandered from city to city, from lodge to lodge, indeed from one Freemason to another, in the costume of a prophet in the most unassuming attire, and recommended the "new wisdom" as the end of all knowledge and research, and as full satisfaction for head and heart, with his own characteristic eloquence. And even from his reports and his own explanation, it is clear (**) how a great multitude of Freemasons he led to the Illuminati. Since ex-Jesuits were Weishaupt's enemies, and it was believed that they would work most strongly against Illuminatism in Catholic countries—and since the Rosicrucian A rival secret society emphasizing mysticism and alchemy, which often competed with the Illuminati for members. party among the Freemasons clung most to religiosity, and Knigge’s opinion