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. München, 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 see no great plan, Scipio is negligent, and of Ajax I will not speak at all.... Confucius is worth very little: he is too inquisitive and a terrible chatterer [_ein grausamer Schwatzer_].[583] Agrippa must be quite struck off our list, for the rumour goes round ... that he has stolen a gold and silver watch together with a ring from our best fellow-worker Sulla.[584] It will doubtless be suggested at this point that all these letters merely portray the lofty idealist sorrowing over the frailties of his erring disciples, but let us hear what Weishaupt has to say about himself. In a letter to Marius (Hertel) he writes: