On Jesuits, Freemasons, and German Rosicrucians

...must be extremely important to every citizen of the world Original: "Weltbürger." In the 18th century, this term described the "cosmopolitan" ideal—a person who thinks beyond national borders for the benefit of all humanity., whatever can bring about a revolution Original: "Revolution." Here, the author uses the term in its older sense of a major "turning" or fundamental change in a system, rather than specifically a violent uprising. in any of these matters.

Almost all peoples of the earth have
laws, state constitutions, systems,
institutions, which are modified by great events,
handled by certain people, and according to the course
of the world, improved,
worsened, or changed;
and a good citizen contributes—as much as his head,
heart, and his situation allow—to
working on all these things in his
age for the best of the whole. Where
states exist, people
have united for a purpose, and whatever
weakens or divides this connection
causes more or less a revolution in
that which is important to the citizen of the world.

If, therefore, besides the public in-
stitutions, secret societies Original: "geheime Verbindungen." Literally "secret connections," referring to the various fraternal and political orders common in the late 1700s. still prevail among
members of the state, it is
worth the effort to know whether these ev-