booknetsaWebster-secretSocietiesAndSubversiveMovements

Of course on their face value the Illuminati appear wholly admirable, of course there is nothing easier
than to find innumerable passages in their writings breathing a spirit of the loftiest aspiration, and of course
many excellent men figured amongst the patrons of the Order. All this is the mere stock-in-trade of the
secret society leader as of the fraudulent company promoter, to whom the first essentials are a glowing prospectus
and a long list of highly respectable patrons who know nothing whatever about the inner workings
of the concern. These methods, pursued as early as the ninth century by Abdullah ibn Maymun, enter
largely into the policy of Frederick the Great, Voltaire, and his " brothers " in philosophy-or in Freemasonry.
The resemblances between Weishaupt's correspondence and that of Voltaire and of Frederick the Great
are certainly very striking. All at moments profess respect for Christianity whilst working to destroy it.
Thus just as Voltaire in one letter to d'Alembert expresses his horror at the publication of an anti-Christian
pamphlet, Le Testament de Jean Meslier,[38] and in another urges him to have it circulated in thousands all
over France,[39] So Weishaupt is careful in general to exhibit the face of a benign philosopher and even of
a Christian evangelist; it is only at moments that he drops the mask and reveals the grinning satyr behind it.
Accordingly in the published statutes of the Illuminati no hint of subversive intentions will be found; indeed
the " Obligation " expressly states that " nothing against the State, religion, or morals is undertaken."
Yet what is Weishaupt's real political theory? No other than that of modern Anarchy, that man should
govern himself and rulers should be gradually done away with. But he is careful to deprecate all ideas of violent
revolution-the process is to be accomplished by the most peaceful methods. Let us see how gently he
leads up to the final conclusion: The first stage in the life of the whole human race is savagery, rough nature,
in which the family is the only society, and hunger and thirst are easily satisfied,... in which man enjoys the
two most excellent goods, Equality and Liberty, to their fullest extent.... In these circumstances... health was
his usual condition.... Happy men, who were not yet enough enlightened to lose their peace of mind and to
be conscious of the unhappy mainsprings and causes of our misery, love of power... envy... illnesses and all
the results of imagination.
The manner in which man fell from this primitive state of felicity is then described: As families increased,
means of subsistence began to lack, the nomadic life ceased, property was instituted, men established
themselves firmly, and through agriculture families drew near each other, thereby language developed
and through living together men began to measure themselves against each other, etc.... But here was the
cause of the downfall of freedom; equality vanished. Man felt new unknown needs....[40]
Thus men became dependent like minors under the guardianship of kings; the human must attain its majority
and become self-governing: Why should it be impossible that the human race should attain to its
highest perfection, the capacity to guide itself? Why should anyone be eternally led who understands how
to lead himself?[41]
Further, men must learn not only to be independent of kings but of each other: Who has need of another
depends on him and has resigned his rights. So to need little is the first step to freedom; therefore savages
and the most highly enlightened are perhaps the only free men. The art of more and more limiting one's
needs is at the same time the art of attaining freedom....[42]
Weishaupt then goes on to show how the further evil of Patriotism arose: With the origin of nations and
peoples the world ceased to be a great family, a single kingdom: the great tie of nature was torn.... Nationalism
took the place of human love.... Now it became a virtue to magnify one's fatherland at the expense of
whoever was not enclosed within its limits, now as a means to this narrow end it was allowed to despise and
outwit foreigners or indeed even to insult them. This virtue was called Patriotism....[43]
And so by narrowing down affection to one's fellow-citizens, the members of one's family, and even to
oneself: There arose out of Patriotism, Localism, the family spirit, and finally Egoism.... Diminish Patriotism,
then men will learn to know each other again as such, their dependence on each other will be lost, the
bond of union will widen out....[44]
It will be seen that the whole of Weishaupt's theory was in reality a new rendering of the ancient secret
tradition relating to the fall of man and the loss of his primitive felicity; but whilst the ancient religions
taught the hope of a Redeemer who should restore man to his former state, Weishaupt looks to man alone
for his restoration. " Men," he observes, " no longer loved men but only such and such men. The word was
quite lost...."[45] Thus in Weishaupt's masonic system the " lost word " is " Man," and its recovery is interpreted
by the idea that Man should find himself again. Further on Weishaupt goes on to show how " the redemption
of the human race is to be brought about ": These means are secret schools of wisdom, these were
from all time the archives of Nature and of human rights, through them will Man be saved from his Fall,
princes and nations will disappear without violence from the earth, the human race will become one family
Nesta H. Webster — Secret Societies and Subversive Movements — Part I
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