made against my former account of the Order and also to show its connexion with earlier secret societies.
Now, the main contentions of those writers who, either consciously or unconsciously, attempt to mislead the public on the true nature and real existence of Illuminism are:
Firstly, that the case against Illuminism rests solely on the works of Robison, and of Barruel and later Catholic authorities.
Secondly, that all these writers misinterpreted or misquoted the Illuminati, who should be judged only by their own works.
Thirdly, that in reality the Illuminati were perfectly innocuous and even praiseworthy.
Fourthly, that they are of no importance, since they ceased to exist in 1786.
In the present chapter I propose therefore to answer all these contentions in turn and at the same time