Order, but this is not
the contention of Mr. Gould, who expressly states that "all the
prominent members of this association were estimable men both in public
and in private life." These further extracts from their correspondence
may be left to speak for themselves.

Character of the Illuminati

In June 1782 Weishaupt writes to "Cato" as follows:

Oh, in politics and morality you are far behind, my gentlemen.
Judge further if such a man as Marcus Aurelius[579] finds out how
wretched it [Illuminism] appears in Athens [Munich]; what a
collection of immoral men, of whoremongers, liars, debtors,
boasters, and vain fools they have amongst them. If he saw all
that, what do you suppose the man would think? Would he not be
ashamed to find himself in such an association, in which the
leaders arouse the greatest expectations and carry out the best
plan in such a miserable manner? And all this out of caprice,
expediency, etc. Judge whether I am not right.[580]

[Illustration: Diagram of Weishapt's System. From _Nachtrag von
weitern Originalschriften der Illuminatensekte_, p. 32. Munchen,
1787.]

From Thebes [Freysing] I hear fatal news; they have received into
the lodge the scandal of the whole town, the dissolute debtor
Propertius, who is trumpeted abroad by the whole "personnel" of
Athens [Munich], Thebes and Erzerum [Eichstadt]; D. also appears
to be a bad man. Socrates who would be a capital man [_ein Capital
Mann_] is continually drunk, Augustus in the worst repute, and
Alcibiades sits the whole day with the innkeeper's wife sighing and
pining: Tiberius tried in Corinth to rape the sister of Democedes
and the husband came in. In Heaven's name, what are these for
Areopagites! We upper ones, write, read and work ourselves to
death, offer to (*) our health, fame and fortune, whilst these
gentlemen indulge their weaknesses, go a whoring, cause scandals
and yet are Areopagites and want to know about everything.[581]

Concerning Arminius there are great complaints.... He is an
unbearable, obstinate, arrogant, vain fool![582]

Let Celsus, Marius, Scipio, and Ajax do what they will ... no one
does us so much harm as Celsus, no one is less to be reasoned with
than Celsus, and perhaps few could have been so much use to us as
Celsus.... Marius is obstinate and can