“Circles Behind . . .” and Final Thoughts

The fit among groups whose existence is inferred by scholars from the contents of written works and those groups attested in historical sources is discussed. We now acknowledge the contemporaneous existence of various groups. We detect the existence of secret groups and the influence their existence may have on our understanding of STPsociety. Once we accept the existence of secret knowledge and secret groups, then their existence in turn changes the character of knowledge in the society within whose boundaries given secret traditions exist. The existence of the secret society and the way it is structured are results of the existence of knowledge, whether conceptual or practical, that a group of people is convinced must be kept hidden.