On the Order of the Illuminati

After the Order of the Illuminati had spent slightly more than two years in such a highly restricted situation—for in the year 1776, according to the records, it counted only five members besides Weishaupt; in 1777, only four more were added; and in 1778, the list counts only 23 who had joined up to the point in time which I shall discuss shortly—the first information regarding Freemasonry was given at the end of 1778 in Augsburg by a certain Abbé Marotti to Court Councilor von Zwackh, one of Weishaupt’s most intimate disciples, who bore the name Cato Franz Xaver von Zwack (1756–1843), a legal advisor and key organizer for the Illuminati; his pseudonym Cato refers to the Roman statesman known for his moral integrity. The degrees of Freemasonry up to Scottish Master Scottish Master; a high degree in Masonic hierarchy, often considered "higher" or more prestigious than the three standard degrees of Apprentice, Fellow, and Master Mason were communicated to him. Zwackh (Cato) immediately sent word of this to Weishaupt (Spartacus), and to the latter, this discovery was so important, *)

) Weishaupt later stated, in the supplement to his printed justification, that he became a Freemason in the year 1777; and indeed, in that very year, he wrote to one of his disciples that he would come to Munich before Shrove Tuesday and would be initiated into the Masonic Order, adding: Do not fear original Latin: "Ne timeas": our cause proceeds nonetheless, and we are getting to know a new connection* original Latin: "Nexus" and shall thereby become stronger than the rest! original Latin: "reliquis fortiores" (Original Writings Refers to the "Originalschriften," the collection of seized secret documents published by the Bavarian government in 1787, page 184.) Is