#017: Concealing | Co-opting

“The great strength of our Order lies in its concealment; let it never appear in any place in its own name, but always covered by another name, and another occupation. None is fitter than the three lower degrees of Free Masonry; the public is accustomed to it, expects little from it, and therefore takes little notice of it. Next to this, the form of a learned or literary society is best suited to our purpose, and had Free Masonry not existed, this cover would have been employed; and it may be much more than a cover, it may be a powerful engine in our hands. By establishing reading societies,  and subscription libraries, and taking these under our direction, and supplying them through our labours, we may turn the public mind which way we will.”*

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*as quoted in ROBISON, JOHN. Proofs of a Conspiracy: Against all the Religions and Governments of Europe, Carried on in the Secret Meetings of Freemasons, Illuminati and Reading Societies (p. 142). George Forman. Kindle Edition.

Johann Adam Weishaupt ... 6 February 1748 – 18 November 1830) ... was a German philosopher, professor of civil law and later canon law, and founder of the Illuminati, a secret society. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Weishaupt

John Robison FRSE (4 February 1739 – 30 January 1805) was a British physicist and mathematician. He was a professor of natural philosophy (the precursor of natural science) at the University of Edinburgh. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Robison_(physicist)