He conceived the idea of combating his foes with their own weapons, and forming a society of young men, enthusiastic in the cause of humanity, who should gradually be trained to work as one man to one end--the destruction of evil and the enhancement of good in this world. Unfortunately he had unconsciously imbibed that most pernicious doctrine that the end justifies the means, and his whole plan reveals the effects of his youthful teaching.... The man himself was without guile, ignorant of men, knowing them only by books, a learned professor, an enthusiast who took a wrong course in all innocence, and the faults of his head have been heavily visited upon his memory in spite of the rare qualities of his heart.[517] One can only conclude that these extraordinary exonerations of an Order bitterly hostile to the true aims of Masonry proceed from ignorance of the real nature of Illuminism. In order to judge of this it is only necessary to consult the writings of the Illuminati themselves, which are contained in the following works: 1. _Einige Originalschriften des Illuminatenordens_ (Munich, 1787). 2. _Nachtrag von weitern Originalschriften, etc._ (Munich, 1787). 3. _Die neuesten Arbeiten des Spartacus und Philo in dem Illuminaten-Orden_ (Munich, 1794). All these consist in the correspondence and papers of the Order which were seized by the Bavarian Government at the houses of two of the members, Zwack and Bassus, and published by order of the Elector. The authenticity of these documents has never been denied even by the Illuminati themselves; Weishaupt, in his published defence, endeavoured only to explain away the most incriminating passages. The publishers, moreover, were careful to state at the beginning of the first volume: "Those who might have any doubts on the authenticity of this collection may present themselves at the Secret Archives here, where, on request, the original documents will be laid before them." This precaution rendered all dispute impossible. Setting Barruel and Robison entirely aside, we shall now see from the evidence of their own writings, how far the Illuminati can be regarded as a praiseworthy and cruelly maligned Order. Let us begin with their attitude towards Freemasonry. Illuminism and Freemasonry From the moment of Weishaupt's admission into Freemasonry his whole conduct was a violation of the Masonic code. Instead of proceeding after the recognized manner by successive stages of initiation, he set himself to find out further secrets by underhand methods and then to turn them to the advantage of his own system. Thus about a year after his initiation he writes to Cato (alias Zwack): "I have succeeded in obtaining a profound glimpse into the secret of the Freemasons. I know their whole aim and shall impart it all at the right time in one of the higher degrees."[518]