Yale’s Skull and Bones (Various Photographs)
Another potential link between the Bavarian Illuminati and Skull and Bones involves The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759-67). This particular classic by Laurence Sterne was recommended reading to Illuminati initiates, and the second head of the Illuminati, J.J.C. Bode even translated the work for his Germanspeaking audience. Bonesmen happen to revere the work as well. The most important figure during Skull and Bones initiations is “Uncle Toby,” one of the prime characters in Tristram Shandy. Bonesmen take turns as Uncle Toby; he directs the entire proceedings of initiation, and indeed is the master of everything that takes place within the Tomb on a day-to-day basis.83
aliases throughout the years, such as Dr. Slop, Yorick and Sancho Panza, “can be traced to characters and references in Laurence Sterne’s 1760 novel Tristram Shandy.”85
However, the most striking similarity—as someone who has studied the Illuminati in depth and is thus well-versed enough in its lore to even spot such a thing—is the fact that Skull and Bones seems to have its own version of the Quibus licet confessionals/diary (which are eventually turned into life histories). The indoctrination of Illuminati initiates was centered on the initiate’s notebook, in which his deepest thoughts and aspirations were kept for his own psychological advancement, as well as for purposes of control by his superiors. It amounted to a form of therapy, “semiotics of the soul,” but was also utilized by those in the higher classes as a powerful means of manipulation.
Skull and Bones fraternization, too, centers on “autobiographical sessions.” Uncle Toby takes notes (in his Black Book) on all tomb gatherings…
— Terry Melanson, in Perfectibilsists, pp. 154-5
User: William Huntington Russell (1809-1885). I would like very detailed information on his entire life, including college say in Germany and his membership in Skull and Bones. Thanks in advance.
ChatGPT 3.5: Certainly! Here is some detailed information on the life of William Huntington Russell, including his college experience in Germany and his membership in Skull and Bones:
William Huntington Russell was born on August 12, 1809, in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. He was the son of General William Russell, a prominent businessman and politician. Russell came from a privileged background and grew up in a family with deep roots in American society.
In 1823, at the age of 14, Russell entered Yale College (now Yale University) in New Haven, Connecticut. He was a bright student and actively engaged in various intellectual pursuits during his time at Yale. After completing his undergraduate studies, he embarked on a journey to Europe to further his education.
In 1831, Russell traveled to Germany, where he enrolled at the University of Göttingen. He studied there for two years, immersing himself in German culture and intellectual traditions. During his time in Germany, Russell became exposed to secret societies that were prevalent in European universities.
Upon returning to the United States in 1833, Russell co-founded one of the most notorious secret societies in American history: the Order of Skull and Bones. He, along with fellow Yale classmate Alphonso Taft, established the society with the goal of fostering a tight-knit community of influential individuals who would go on to hold positions of power and influence in various sectors of society.
Skull and Bones, also known as “The Order” or “The Brotherhood of Death,” is a highly exclusive secret society at Yale University. Its members are carefully selected from the senior class each year. The society’s rituals and activities are shrouded in secrecy, giving rise to numerous conspiracy theories and speculations.
Russell’s involvement in Skull and Bones marked a turning point in his life. The society’s influence extended far beyond the confines of the university, with many of its members going on to occupy prominent positions in politics, business, and academia.
After his time at Yale, Russell focused on his business pursuits. He engaged in various ventures, including the China trade, coal mining, and manufacturing. He also served as a bank director and involved himself in local politics.
William Huntington Russell passed away on May 19, 1885, at the age of 75, leaving behind a legacy intertwined with the founding and early development of Skull and Bones. His contributions to the society and its secretive traditions have made him a subject of fascination and speculation among researchers and conspiracy theorists alike.
It’s important to note that while the information provided above is based on historical records, the secretive nature of Skull and Bones means that certain details about the society and its members remain undisclosed to the public.
AI Buddy
Perfectibilists, pp. 151-3:
skulls surrounded by Masonic symbols, a picture said to be “a gift of the German chapter.” “Wer war der Thor, wer Weiser, Bettler oder Kaiser? Ob Arm, ob Reich, im Tode gleich,” the slogan reads, or, “Who was the fool, who the wise man, beggar or king? Whether poor or rich, all’s the same in death.”
Imagine my surprise when I ran into that very slogan in a 1798 Scottish anti-Illuminatist tract reprinted in 1967 by the John Birch Society. The tract (Proofs of a Conspiracy by John Robinson) prints alleged excerpts from Illuminist ritual manuals supposedly confiscated by the Bavarian police when the secret order was banned in 1785. Toward the end of the ceremony of initiation in the “Regent degree” of Illuminism, according to the tract, “a skeleton is pointed out to him [the initiate], at the feet of which are laid a crown and a sword. He is asked whether that is the skeleton of a king, nobleman or a beggar. As he cannot decide, the president of the meeting says to him, The character of being a man is the only one that is importance” [Rosenbaum’s italics].76
First of all, the “alleged excerpts” from the Regent degree (literally: Ruler degree), are indeed real. One can find the same ritual, with only slight differences in translation, printed in Abbé Barruel’s 1798 Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism and in René Le Forestier’s Les Illuminés de Bavière et la Franc-Maçonnerie Allemande (Paris: 1914); both these, in turn, are based upon the primary material in the 1793 book by ex-Illuminatus Grolman: Die neuesten Arbeiten des Spartacus und Philo in dem Illuminaten-Orden. Furthermore, Rosenbaum is obviously a skeptic who’s not particularly versed in the very real history and rituals of the Bavarian Illuminati— evidenced by the hesitant descriptions of “alleged excerpts” and “manuals supposedly confiscated.” This makes his observations all the more significant: they are not indicative of a fanciful (or wishful) interpretation by an “Illuminati conspiracy theorist.”
There’s no doubt that this is indeed an intriguing correlation: that the rites of the Regent Illuminati are seemingly captured for posterity in a painting presented as a gift “from the German chapter,” from which Skull and Bones acknowledges its descent.
William Huntington Russell (1809-1885) had studied in Germany (1831-32) before he returned to Yale to found Skull and Bones in 1832. Quoting from an 1876 pamphlet exposing the Order—the details of which were culled from a Tomb break-in—the late Hoover Institute scholar Antony C. Sutton wrote, “[within the tomb] … the walls are adorned with pictures of the founders of Bones at Yale and of the members of the Society in Germany when the Chapter was established here in 1832 […] Bones is a chapter of a corps in a German University. It should properly be called, not Skull & Bones Society but Skull & Bones Chapter. General R—— (Russell), its founder, was in Germany before Senior Year and formed a warm friendship with a leading member of a German society. He brought back with him to college, authority to found a chapter here. Thus was Bones founded.”77
The previously-mentioned painting (Wer war der Thor, wer …) hangs in the Order’s inner sanctum, Room 322 in the “Tomb” (clubhouse) at Yale. This number is extremely important to Skull and Bones. The “Skull and Bones,” “Brotherhood of Death,” “Chapter 322” or simply “The Order,” has the number 322 below a skull and crossbones motif for a logo. It alludes to Demosthenes who, of course, died in 322 BC. Indeed, in honor of the Greek statesman and orator, “records are dated by adding 322 to the current year, i.e., records originating in 1950 are dated Anno – Demostheni 2272.”78
Once inside the inner sanctum of the Order, “immediately in front of the door lies an inlaid floor mosaic of the number 322, which mirrors the 322 engraved beneath Greek letters spelling out Demosthenes’ name on the opposite wall.”79 Also present within Room 322 is a bronze statuette of Demosthenes. 80 Basically, it is a shrine dedicated to the ancient Greek rhetorician.
Terry Melanson
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