Membership in the Order was based upon a series of "degrees" or levels of enlightenment with only the bold and ruthless reaching the top and learning the true purpose of the Order. Upon joining, members were required to take an oath swearing blind obedience to their superiors, surrender of their own will, and perpetual silence. Through a system of required autobiographies and internal spying, the superiors carefully selected those suited for advancement to higher degrees. Secret police were organized and used to assassinate those members who went astray. Their symbol was an eye above a pyramid, the same as appears ‘on the back of the U.S. one dollar bills. My circumstances necessitate, . . . that I should remain hidden from most of the members as long as I live. I have two immediately below me into whom I breathe my whole spirit, and each of these two has again two others, and so on. In this way I can set a thousand men in motion and on fire in the simplest manner, and in this way one must impart orders and operate on politics.* 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.* 29 The Illuminati As was the case with secret societies, the real leaders hid their identity, thus Weishaupt wrote: A prime target for the Illuminati was the control of the schools, libraries, printing-houses, bookshops, and any