The illuminatus! trilogy Read Free

leadership of Fra Dolcino in the 15th century they became violent, plundered the rich and announced the imminent reign of the Spirit. “In 1507,” he concludes, “they were vanquished by the ‘forces of order’—that is, an army commanded by the Bishop of Vercueil.” He makes no mention of any Illuminati movement in earlier centuries or in more recent times.
    I’ll have more later today.
    Pat
    P.S. I found a little more about Joachim of Floris in the back files of the
National Review
. William Buckley and his cronies think Joachim is responsible for modern liberalism, socialism and communism; they’ve condemned him in fine theological language. He committed the heresy, they say, of “immanentizing the Christian Eschaton.” Do you want me to look that up in a technical treatise on Thomism? I think it means bringing the end of the world closer, sort of.
    ILLUMINATI PROJECT: MEMO #2
    7/23
    J.M.:
    My second source was more helpful: Akron Daraul,
A History of Secret Societies
(Citadel Press, New York, 1961).
    Daraul traces the Illuminati back to the 11th century also, but not to Joachim of Floris. He sees the origin in the Ishmaelian sect of Islam, also known as the Order of Assassins. They were vanquished in the 13th century, but later made a comeback with a new, less-violent philosophyand eventually became the Ishmaelian sect of today, led by the Aga Khan. However, in the 16th century, in Afghanistan, the Illuminated Ones (Roshinaya) picked up the original tactics of the Order of Assassins. They were wiped out by an alliance of the Moguls and Persians (pages 220-223). But, “The beginning of the seventeenth century saw the foundation of the Illuminated Ones of Spain—the Allumbrados, condemned by an edict of the Grand Inquisition in 1623. In 1654, the ‘illuminated’ Guerinets came into public notice in France.” And, finally—the part you’re most interested in- the Bavarian IIluminati was founded on May Day, 1776, in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, by Adam Weishaupt, a former Jesuit. “Documents still extant show several points of resemblance between the German and Central Asian Illuminists: points that are hard to account for on grounds of pure coincidence” (page 255). Weishaupt’s Illuminati were suppressed by the Bavarian government in 1785; Daraul also mentions the Illuminati of Paris in the 1880s, but suggests it was simply a passing fad. He does not accept the notion that the Illuminati still exist today.
    This is beginning to look big. Why are we keeping the details from George?
    Pat
    Saul and Muldoon exchanged glances. “Let’s see the next one,” Saul said. He and Muldoon read together:
    ILLUMINATI PROJECT: MEMO #3
    7/24
    J.M.:
    The Encyclopedia Britannica
has little to say on the subject (1966 edition, Volume 11, “Halicar to Impala,” page 1094):
    Illuminati
, a short-lived movement of republican free thought founded on May Day 1776 by Adam Weishaupt, professor of canon law at Ingolstadt and a former Jesuit…. From 1778 onward they began to make contact with various Masonic lodges where, under the impulse of A. Knigge (q.v.) one of their chief converts, they often managed to gain a commanding position….
    The scheme itself had its attractions for literary men like Goethe and Herder, and even for the reigning dukes of Gotha and Weimar….
    The movement suffered from internal dissention and was ultimately banned by an edict of the Bavarian government in 1785.
    Pat
      Saul paused. “I’ll make you a bet, Barney,” he said quietly. “The Joseph Malik who vanished is the J.M. these memos were written for.”
    “Sure,” Muldoon replied scornfully. “These Illuminati characters are still around, and they got him. Honest to God, Saul,” he added, “I appreciate the way your mind usually pole-vaults ahead of the facts. But you can ride a hunch just so far when you’re starting from nothing.”
    “We’re not starting from nothing,” Saul said softly. “Here’s what we’ve got to start with.