Timeless Quandary
Sam Aurelius Milam III
 The origin of this document is lost in obscurity. Whether it is the work of a group of men sitting in session as it purports to be, or of one man of literary genius and masterly intellect, or is a collection of rules and precepts which have come down through the centuries, we do not know.—from the first Prologue in The Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion |
I recently acquired a copy of The Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion, published in 1920 by The Beckwith Company, at 162 East Twenty-third Street, City of New York. While I was reading the book, I decided to write a short review of it. Note that
I’m not a historical expert on the peoples, institutions, philosophies, conflicts, and so forth, that are associated with the contents of the book.
My comments are based entirely on my reading of the specific edition of the book that’s in my possession. A brief glimpse of the larger context is included in the Epilogue to the book.
I regard that Epilogue as being more interesting than the
main body of the book, but this review focuses only on the main body
of the book, and not on the Epilogue.The Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion purports to reveal the secret plans, or at least to hint at them, of an ancient cabal of allegedly wise men, presumably on behalf of the so-called
chosen people. The purported agenda is to establish a permanent
authoritarian kingdom on Earth and, thereby, to acquire absolute control
of all human societies which, as I understand it, will then become
one world-wide society. The book is filled with hints of the
masterful wisdom and irresistible manipulations of the so-called wise
men who, presumably, are merely waiting until the time is right.
Then, they’ll spring into action and openly assume control of the world,
which they’re secretly preparing in advance. As I read the book,
I became skeptical. The book, increasingly, seemed to me more like
the fanatical ravings of a clever but frustrated aspirant to power, a man
who had delusions of ability, a lone and lonely man who was bent on the
absolute subjection of people to whom he fancied himself inherently superior.
I could be wrong but that’s my impression of the author. I didn’t see anything in the book that seemed like it would have been much of a secret, prior to the publication of the book, or even anything new. Some of the characteristics of the society allegedly planned by the cabal reminded me of 1984, by George Orwell, Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, and various other things that I’ve read. The most noteworthy thing about the book is that the people and institutions described in it as existing at the time, all of those years ago, are indistinguishable from the people
and institutions of today. It seems that not much has changed. Thus, whether or not the book can teach us anything about some long-planned religious coup d’etat, it might teach us a lot about ourselves. If there is such a cabal, and if it’s as secret as is claimed in the book, then why would it publish its plans in a book,
for all to read? If its wise men are as wise as is claimed in the
book, then why would they fail to foresee such publication by someone
else, and fail to block it? If the cabal is as successfully manipulative as is claimed in the book, then why is it still in hiding? By
now, it could be in control of the world. Even if it succeeded in
acquiring such control, I doubt that it would be any worse than the multitude
of other brutal tyrannies, religious or secular, that have risen to power
throughout the known history of human societies, continue to do so today,
and will probably continue to do so for as long as our species endures. Of course, there are and always have been rumors of secret
societies and shadow governments. Who knows? Maybe this
particular rumor is true. Maybe the secret cabal mentioned in
the book has already assumed control of the world, and has done so with
such finesse that we don’t even know that we’re under its control.
If the conspirators are as wise as is suggested in the book, then maybe
they concluded that they can rule more comfortably from hiding. Why
come out in the open and become targets? It would be consistent with
their alleged wisdom and dedication to secrecy, as I understand those things
from reading the book, to let people speculate and publish things about
them, just to serve as camouflage, and to preserve an illusion of the freedoms
of speech and of the press. It doesn’t seem likely but I suppose that
it’s possible. Sometimes, a conspiracy theory might be true.
| January 2025 | Frontiersman,0c/o 4984 Peach Mountain Drive, Gainesville, Georgia 30507 http://frontiersman.org.uk/ | Page 1 |
