A Mainstream Review of Perfectibilists (sort of)
From Patrick Webb, editor of the Daily Astorian:
[...] Before seeing the movie [Angels & Demons], I have been researching the background by dipping into “Perfectibilists,” the definitive book about the Illuminati, those shadowy 18th-century Bavarian fellas. Look closely and you will discover the year of their founding appears on every American dollar bill (yoiks!), along with the unfinished pyramid and the all-seeing eye, both symbols with Freemason connections. Proof indeed?
The book is written by Canadian resident Terry Melanson, who runs the Internet Illuminati conspiracy archive, and is published by Kris Millegan of Walterville, a tiny Oregon town in Lane County. Millegan told me he began publishing conspiracy theory books after his father, a disillusioned CIA operative in the 1950s, revealed some interesting fireside tales.
The book traces the criss-crossing paths of the Illuminati and prominent European Freemasons, but certainly doesn’t convince me that we need to shut down all the Masonic lodges.
Odd how seemingly unconnected things flash into your head. Reading Melanson’s Illuminati book, which clearly is the product of months, if not years, of research, I admired the effort if not the outcome. Then I suddenly thought of Tom Lehrer, a musical wordsmith I greatly admire, who describes himself as “well known in academic circles for his masterly translation into Latin of ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ which remains even today the standard Latin version of that work.”
Tags: Perfectibilists
PERFECTIBILISTS: The 18th Century Bavarian Order of the Illuminati
The Ascendancy of the Scientific Dictatorship
Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism
Fire in the Minds of Men: Origins of the Revolutionary Faith
America's Secret Establishment: An Introduction to the Order of Skull & Bones
April 6th, 2009 at 10:50 am
I’ve noticed a pretty good review of your book by the author of Freemasons For Dummies on the books’ Amazon page.
He had a few reservations with the book and gave you a 4/5 ratting which isn’t bad at all, IMO. From the few discussions we had in the past, you seem to be well aware of the different types of Freemasonry that were around in Europe at the time, but I’ll reserve judgment until I’ve read it for myself.
I should get my copy any day now and can’t wait to give it a read!
April 6th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Still haven’t gotten it yet! Wow! It must have been confiscated by the Chinese!
Thanks. I did see that review. Good enough for me. I think what he means by the different flavors of Masonry, is that I haven’t followed the standard way of retelling the history of Freemasonry. In fact, I did not included it on purpose. Every single Freemasonry book that I’ve ever read tediously recounts the same tired history of Masonry during the 18th Century. It bores the hell out of me having to re-read the same thing over and over and over again. If people want an account of the evolution of Freemasonry in Europe they can seek it out themselves.
As far as his objection to the Skull and Bones “chapter”: it is not a chapter in of itself - it’s included in a chapter called “Treacherous Offspring?” (with a question mark) in which the reader is specifically told that this is “speculative areas of investigation”. The chapter begins with a tangible identification of what became of the Bavarian Illuminati in the hands of J.J.C. Bode and then Karl Reinhold, but then goes on to speculate about the all-important activities of Philip Buonarroti and ends in Skull and Bones speculation. For my money, the Buonarroti section is the most important part of the book, as it utilizes the new data of the Illuminati cell in France called the Philadelphes (revealed in my book for the first time in the English language), which allows for a reinterpretation of revolutionary activity during the first half of the 19th century.
But regarding the Skull and Bones section, one person had this to say: “your section about Skull & Bones was the most thorough collection of circumstantial evidence that I’ve seen yet for its Illuminati origins.” That may be so, but the Buonarroti section of the chapter is much more convincing and important. For if Buonarroti is confirmed as having been a member of the Illuminati (which I’ve come as closest as anyone to proving) then his revolutionary activity for his entire life takes on a dimension which confirms, in certain respects, the master complot thesis put forth for the Illuminati by the Nesta Webster et al.
April 8th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Lol, if the Chinese confiscated it, they now know what we know!!
Benjamin Fullford’s 6 million ninjas should kick into action anytime now…
April 14th, 2009 at 11:33 am
And now a thread on ATS. They are missing you over there.
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread452114/pg1
Someone cleverly inserted there Amazon affiliate ID in the link… lol
April 14th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
A while ago I set up a new username and posted once, but shortly after the password didn’t work again. They probably knew that both Fire in the Minds and the new one had the same IP (I forgot to erase my cookies beforehand). Now I’m thinking that I should have uses a proxy server to sign up and post. What do you think? That’s the main reason people use proxies - to conceal their IP.
April 14th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
lol
I think your knowledge would give you away pretty quickly. You’d have to come back as yourself. IMO, you should be made a conspiracy master or a FSME. (forum expert)
April 14th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Actually before that section with the experts was created, it evolved from ATS interviewing experts on conspiracy subjects. In 2005 they approached me to do one of those interviews. I don’t know what happened. The guy who contacted me was all confused (and confusing) and I didn’t know how to proceed (or how they were going to proceed). Never heard from them after awhile and just forgot about it.
April 16th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
For any ATSers coming from here. …. Emsed1 said: “Well the last post he made on ATS was a protest on my thread ‘Ask A Mason’. I hope he wasn’t banned over that.”
Ya, that would be the one. Two mods - one a Mason, the other professes not - came to Emsed1’s rescue and summarily pronounced a post ban - two of them (one after the other). Not banned entirely, but: “You are unable to post a new topic or reply to current posts, as your posting privledges have been removed.” And so it has remained since last summer, without a peep or further clarification from said mods.
For those who are not aware of the shenanigans that go on in the Secret Societies forum at ATS, both from Masons and so-called Antimasons, see this.
I actually liked posting there. Even though sometimes I got into it pretty good with the Masons and sometimes felt like they ganged up on me, I learned a lot from them, and vice versa; and came to respect the knowledge and arguments of some Masons there, like JoshNorton, Masonic Light and AugustusMasonicus.
April 17th, 2009 at 3:47 am
Can’t take the heat so you destroy the post entirely. Typical of (Masonic) tyrants. The mods I referred to above were intrepid and Mirthful Me. The latter, a Mason; the former, a coadjutor.
They all love their servitude over at Above Top Secret.
April 17th, 2009 at 3:58 am
The one thing dictators all have in common is zero tolerance of criticism. And that’s how it works at ATS. First you get censored, and then if you protest and call out the despots, you are immediately censored again (for back talk; like a little child) and summarily done away with completely. I had the nerve to respond to the despotism - in my own home (out of their reach) - so the only thing they could do as a response is disappear the thread down the memory hole.
April 17th, 2009 at 11:28 am
Incredible! It probably got thrashed because the discussion was more about you being banned than a discussion on the book itself. (ATS doesn’t allow discussions of banned members) Usually, a Mod says to keep the discussion on topic and to refrain from discussing banned members. - the thread shouldn’t be “disappeared.” IMO, it’s very disrespectful to thrash a thread as it shows that someone on ATS’s staff care little for people’s time and effort.
Looks like someone over there as a personal grudge against you.
In your case, it seems to be one of ATS’s infamous “stealth bans”. Your profile doesn’t mark you as “banned”. Very strange.
When I do get the book, I will start another thread. I’m sure if we keep the discussion on topic, it’ll be ok. The OP was a cut and paste job from Amazon’s comment section. It shouldn’t be too hard to make a better one.
I’m learning a lot from JoshNorton, Masonic Light and AugustusMasonicus myself. Masonic Light can give extremely detailed specifics, which is always a bonus. All three are obviously extremely smart individuals. (ML and I are pretty much aligned politically)
April 17th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Terry I asked for no help in banning you . I was relatively naive and just wanted to provide a mason point of view. and answer questions as much as I could. I think all of us that are active at ATS are seeking the truth and I want to hear what you think, particularly with the Shards threat. I just want you to know I didn’t try to run you off and I am very interested in your work if it can get us to the truth.
Mike
April 17th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
> ATS doesn’t allow discussions of banned members
Because it is a dictatorship. All kinds of things aren’t “allowed.” Thus there are numerous excuses for a multitude of actions. A convenience for the oppressors.
> When I do get the book, I will start another thread.
I think it’s pretty clear how that will turn out. Either way, I look forward to it, if for nothing but entertainment.
> Terry I asked for no help in banning you
That’s a weird statement: “asked for no help.”
> want to hear what you think, particularly with the Shards threat.
Already successfully debunked him. That that thread has been going on for so long is a testament to the credulity of the people on that board. It is quite the sight to behold. Guy comes along and makes up a load of crap, and you lap it up with glee, humour him and encourage more lies and deceit at your own expense. Classic.
April 17th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
> IMO, it’s very disrespectful to thrash a thread
> as it shows that someone on ATS’s staff care
> little for people’s time and effort.
That’s about the size of it. Starting to get the picture?
April 17th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Because it is a dictatorship.
> All corporations are dictatorships.
>Already successfully debunked him.
That’s about where I lost interest as well. Although, I read interesting tibids when reviewing some of Cadbury’s last posts. (I usually check my friends’ posts). Apparently Maban died in Russia somewhere.
Your work in that thread is a great example of why you were so appreciated on the forums, I think.
Informed conspiracy theorists are becoming a rarity nowadays.
April 17th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Thanks.
I think informed conspiracy theorists have always been a rarity. In my work over the Illuminati, I’m in a rare position that the entire Order’s raison d’etre was to conspire, subvert and infiltrate. Theorizing is at a minimum; the overwhelming facts that have not been told (to English audiences) are the main body of the text.
If more people specialized in a particular topic, in a scholarly manner, there are many areas of investigation that can be undertaken which heretofore have been labeled as a conspiracy theory. By taking this approach there is always the chance that cherished beliefs will be demolished, and it is probably the reason why “conspiracy theorists” rarely produce thorough and meticulous monographs on a single subject following tried and true academic standards. To even begin to take it to the next level - for one - they first have to stop the circular citations - i.e. conspiracy theorists quoting other conspiracy theorists as “proof.”
April 20th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
I logged on at ATS and the thread about Terry’s book is gone completely. The fact that Terry incites that kind of reaction now makes me want to read the book!
In my opinion there is never enough scholarly criticism and skepticism as far as conspiracies are concerned. It’s unfortunate that most of the overwhelming material about the illuminati is purely speculation and that nobody has taken the time or made the effort before to do what Terry is attempting with this book.
In that spirit, I can’t wait to read it with an open mind. No matter what opinion you have on this subject you have to have admiration and respect for Terry’s passion for the topic and for the hard work he puts into his books.
April 20th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Thanks.
May 25th, 2009 at 12:51 am
Hey Terry, congrats on getting your book out. I did not realize it had been published, I just ordered it on Amazon. I appreciate your kind remarks and it is a shame that you are no longer able to post on ATS. I missed the debates/conversations we had and found you to be very articulate and knowledgeable. Any chance of you turning out a hardcover version of this book?
May 25th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Thanks for stopping by, for the compliments, and ordering the book. No chance of a hardcover. Too expensive I guess.
February 12th, 2010 at 4:14 am
A short note from a freemason.
I will find this book hard to access, but I hope readers find some value in the contents.
Two points:
1. Freemasonry is universal, but not all jurisdictions practise it in the same way. The most common element in their ‘modern’ mission may well be to take good men and make them better and more serviceable men.
2. ATS as a website is neither Masonic nor anti-Masonic, but every day it proves itself to be un-Masonic, and no freemason would knowingly support its objectives.
August 30th, 2010 at 8:33 am
There are 2 things you could have addressed, which are utterly interesting:
1) Leon Trotsky, in “My Life”, said “In the eighteenth century, freemasonry became expressive of a militant policy of enlightenment, as in the case of the Illuminati, WHO WERE THE FORERUNNERS OF REVOLUTION; on its left, it culminated in the Carbonari.” (http://marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1930/mylife/ch08.htm)
2) Consider the document “Red Symphony” (an excerpt from the minutes of the NKVD interrogation of prominent Bolshevik and Trotskyite Christian Rakovsky, which had been discovered by a Spanish volunteer):
October 12th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
Terry, nice work on the Pike/Manzinni letter. Your work just made the rounds at ATS and is turning out to be as well researched as your other material.
October 14th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
Thanks for stopping. Glad you like the article.
December 1st, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Red symphony: http://americandeception.com/index.php?action=downloadpdf&photo=PDFsml_AD/Red_Symphony-Landowsky-1968-30pgs-POL.sml.pdf&id=340