Strike, but hide the hand... The end sanctifies the means... Endeavor to gain or ruin ever rising character... The society of the Illuminati was founded in Bavaria in the 1770s, operating covertly within the unknowing veil of honest Masonry. The Illuminati's goals were the overthrow of all government and religion, by any means at their disposal. Their methods included theft, embezzlement, murder, and assassination. Deceit, secrecy, and subterfuge were their common tools. Linked with the Jacobians in Paris, and appearing in numerous countries under the cover of other secret societies, the Illuminati formented the terrors of the French revolution and other overthrow of the Swiss Republic, causing destruction and death across Europe. The sect was uncovered and outlawed in 1790, which only drove it to greater secrecy. The poison of the Illuminati was announced and decried by the French Jesuit Abbe Barruel and the eminent English scientist Doctor Robison. These two men, so different in character, politics, and religion, had reached the same conclusion about the evils and effects of Illuminism. For their efforts, both were defamed and ridiclued, their characters questioned. Seth Payson's Proof of the Illuminati draws from Barruel, Robison, and an array of other sources to show that rather than being stamped out, the Illuminati's pernicious influence was actively spreading its noxious decay. Originally written in 1802, this book still has a stark warning message that rings of truth to this day.