On the Order of the Illuminati

...wrote to one of his favorite disciples two years after the foundation, he assured him that through this Order, one would gradually see the emergence of its own morality, education, statistics Statistics: In the 18th century, 'Statistik' referred to the comprehensive study of the political and social state of a nation, rather than just numerical data. and religion; that the purpose of the Order was to be free, and that if the members continued as they had done so far, they would soon have their fatherland in their power. Since the Order had been given the attractive name of the Illuminati meaning "the Enlightened ones" and its members were praised as particularly enlightened people who were called to fight against darkness and to fulfill the purpose of the Order—namely, that there be light original: "daß es Licht werde"; a reference to the biblical "Let there be light," here used to signify secular enlightenment., as Weishaupt also said—and since Freedom and Equality were ultimately the motto of the Order, one should no longer be surprised that there was no shortage of people who were caught in its snares. However, if one notes that from the very beginning Weishaupt had introduced the Persian or Yezdegerdian calendar Yezdegerdian calendar: An ancient Persian solar calendar named after the last Sasanian king, Yazdegerd III. The Illuminati used this system to date their correspondence, replacing Christian months and years to appear more "ancient" and "oriental." into his Order, and that in the third year after its foundation he compared its higher mysteries—which only then actually contained the full secret of wickedness—with the Order of the Parsis or the mysteries of Mithras Mithras was a Roman mystery god associated with the sun; his cult involved secret initiatory grades and subterranean rituals., and if one considers along with this that Voltaire also [connected] the secret of his gang original: "Rotte"; a derogatory term used by the author to describe Voltaire’s circle of Enlightenment thinkers. with