I was frequently tempted to interrupt the course of this extract by my reflexions; but what reader is there that will not ask himself, What zeal, what strange ardour is this, that can have led Weishaupt to combine and dictate means so powerful to captivate the minds of his pupils? Is there a parent, is there a preceptor, whose love for his child or his pupil ever suggested more efficacious rules? These, however, are only a few of the lessons which the Minor Illuminee is always to have present to his mind to direct him in the training of the young adepts. He is not alone entrusted with the task. All the Brethren of the same degree partake in the care of watching over the lower ones, and each notes on his tablets even the most insignificant circumstances. Their several observations are compared, and of the whole a general statement is formed, according to which each pupil will be judged by his superiors. 4 Meanwhile, it is natural to ask, what can these principles be for which the youth is so carefully trained? What can be the sublime virtue that is to be the result of so much care? We shall soon discover them, the principles of shameless villainy. This sublime virtue is the combination of every art that can plunge mankind into corruption, and immerse him in all the horrors of universal anarchy. Yes, we shall see the man who says to his disciples, employ the same means for a good purpose which impostors employ for evil, proved to be the arch-impostor, training his disciples to every crime, and preparing the most terrible disasters for society with more ardour and more artifice than ever the upright man has been seen to employ zeal and wisdom in the cause of virtue and the support of the laws.

The better to dispose the young adepts, the Minor Illuminee is assisted in his functions and overlooked by the Major Illuminee, that is to say, by the adepts of the highest degree among those of the preparatory class.

p. 452

 


Footnotes

452:1 The true Illuminee, Instructions for the Superiors of this degree.

452:2 Discourse on this Degree.

452:3 Extract from the Instruction C. and D. for the Minor Illuminees.

452:4 Instruction C. Sect. II. A. 2.

 


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