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Francis Bacon,
Baron Verulam, Viscount St. Albans
From Bacon’s Advancement
of Learning
Lord Bacon was born in 1561 and
history records his death in 1626. There are records in
existence, however, which would indicate the probability that
his funeral was a mock funeral and that, leaving England, he
lived for many years under another name in Germany, there
faithfully serving the secret society [Rosicrucians] to the
promulgation of whose doctrines he had consecrated his life.
Little doubt seems to exist in the minds of impartial
investigators that Lord Bacon was the illegitimate son of
Queen Elizabeth and the Earl of Leicester.
MPH |
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A Baconian
Signature
From Alciati Emblemata
The curious volume from which
this figure is taken was published in Paris in 1618. The
attention of the Baconian student is immediately attracted by
the form of the hog in the foreground. Bacon often used this
animal as a play upon his own name, especially because the
name Bacon was derived from the word beech and the nut of this
tree was used to fatten hogs. The two pillars in the
background have considerable Masonic interest. The two A’s
nearly in the center of the picture—one light and one
shaded—are alone almost conclusive proof of Baconian
influence. The most convincing evidence, however, is the fact
that 17 is the numerical equivalent of the letters of the
Latin form of Bacon’s name (F. Baco) and there are 17 letters
in the three words appearing in the illustration.
MPH |
A Cryptic Headpiece
From Raleigh’s History of
the World
Many documents influenced by
Baconian philosophy—or intended to conceal Baconian or
Rosicrucian cryptograms—use certain conventional designs at
the beginning and end of chapters, which reveal to the
initiated the presence of concealed information. The above
ornamental scroll has long been accepted as proof of the
presence of Baconian influence and is to be found only in a
certain number of rare volumes, all of which contain Baconian
cryptograms. These cipher messages were placed in the books
either by Bacon himself or by contemporary and subsequent
authors belonging to the same secret society which Bacon
served with his remarkable knowledge of ciphers and enigmas.
Variants of this headpiece adorn the Great Shakespearian Folio
(1623); Bacon’s Novum Organum (1620); the St. James Bible
(1611); Spencer’s Faerie Queene (1611); and sir Walter
Raleigh’s History of the World (1614).
MPH |
The Droeshout
Portrait of Shakspere
From Shakespeare’s Great
Folio of 1623
There are no authentic portraits
of Shakspere in existence. The dissimilarities in the
Droeshout, Chandos, Janssen, Hunt, Ashbourne, Soest, and
Dunford portraits prove conclusively that the artists were
unaware of Shakspere’s actual features. An examination of the
Droeshout portrait discloses several peculiarities. Baconian
enthusiasts are convinced that the face is only a caricature,
possibly the death mask of Francis Bacon. A comparison of the
Droeshout Shakspere with portraits and engravings of Francis
Bacon demonstrates the identity of the structure of the two
faces, the difference in expression being caused by lines of
shading. Note also the peculiar line running from the ear down
to the chin. Does this line subtly signify that the face
itself is a mask, ending at the ear? Notice also that the head
is not connected with the body, but is resting on the collar.
Most strange of all is the coat: one-half is on backwards. In
drawing the jacket, the artist has made the left arm
correctly, but the right arm has the back of the shoulder to
the front. Frank Woodward has noted that there are 157 letters
on the title page. This is a Rosicrucian signature of first
importance. The date, 1623, plus the two letters "ON" from the
word "LONDON," gives the cryptic signature of Francis Bacon,
by a simple numerical cipher. By merely exchanging the 26
letters of the alphabet for numbers, 1 becomes A, 6 becomes F,
2 becomes B, and 3 becomes C, giving AFBC. To this is added
the ON from LONDON, resulting in AFBCON, which rearranged
forms F. BACON. MPH |
Headpiece showing
light and shaded A's
From Shakespeare’s King
Richard The Second, Quarto of 1597
The ornamental headpiece shown
above has long been considered a Baconian or Rosicrucian
signature. The light and the dark A’s appear in several
volumes published by emissaries of the Rosicrucians. If the
above figure be compared with that from Alciati Emblemata on
the following page, the cryptic use of the two A’s will be
further demonstrated. MPH. |
The Title Page of
the First Edition of Sir Walter Ralegh's History of the World
From Ralegh’s History of
the World
What was the mysterious knowledge
which Sir Walter Ralegh possessed and which was declared to be
detrimental to the British government? Why was he executed
when the charges against him could not be proved? By those seeking the keys to this great controversy,
he seems to have been almost entirely overlooked. His
contemporaries are unanimous in their praise of his remarkable
intellect, and he has long been considered one of Britain’s
most brilliant sons.
The title page reproduced above
was used by Ralegh’s political foes as a powerful weapon
against him. They convinced James I that the face of the
central figure upholding the globe was a caricature of his
own, and the enraged king ordered every copy of the engraving
destroyed. But a few copies escaped the royal wrath;
consequently the plate is extremely rare. The engraving is a
mass of Rosicrucian and Masonic symbols, and the figures on
the columns in all probability conceal a cryptogram. More
significant still is the fact that on the page facing this
plate is a headpiece identical with that used in the 1623
Folio of "Shakespeare" and also in Bacon’s Novum Organum.
MPH |
A Famous Cryptic
Title Page
From Selenus’
Cryptomenytices et Cryptographiae
One year after the publication of
the first Great "Shakespearian" Folio, a remarkable volume on
cryptograms and ciphers was published. The title page of the
work is reproduced here. The year of its publication (1624)
was during the Rosicrucian controversy. The translation of the
title page is as follows: "The Cryptomenysis and Cryptography
of Gustavus Selenus in the nine books, to which is added a
clear explanation of the System of Steganography of John
Trithemius, Abbot of Spanheim and Herbipolis, a man of
admirable genius. Interspersed with worthy inventions of the
Author and others, 1624."
The author of this volume was
believed to be Augustus, Duke of Brunswick. The symbols and
emblems ornamenting the title page, however, are conclusive
evidence that the Rosicrucians were behind its
publication. At the bottom of the picture is a nobleman
placing his hat on another man’s head. In the two side panels
are striking and subtle "Shakespearian" allusions. On the left
is a nobleman (possibly Bacon) handing a paper to another man
of mean appearance who carries in his hand a spear. At the
right, the man who previously carried the spear is shown in
the costume of an actor, wearing spurs and blowing a horn. The
allusion to the actor blowing his horn and the figure carrying
the spear suggest much, especially as spear is the last
syllable of the name "Shakespeare."
MPH |
An Example of
Biliteral Writing
In the above sentence note
carefully the formation of the letters. Compare each letter
with the two types of letters in the biliteral alphabet table
reproduced from Lord Bacon’s De Augmentis Scientiarum
(see also below -
The Bilateral Alphabet).
A comparison of the "d" in "wisdom" with the "d" in "and"
discloses a large loop at the top of the first, while the
second shows practically no loop at all. Contrast the "i" in
"wisdom" with the "i" in "understanding." In the former the
lines are curved and in the latter angular. A similar analysis
of the two "e’s" in "desired" reveals obvious differences. The
"o" in "more" differs only from the "o" in "wisdom" in that a
tiny line continues from the top over towards the "r." The "a"
in "than" is thinner and more angular than the "a" in "are,"
while the "r" in "riches" differs from that in "desired" in
that the final upright stroke terminates in a ball instead of
a sharp point. These minor differences disclose the presence
of the two alphabets employed in writing the sentence.
MPH |
A Modern Wheel, or
Disc, Cipher
The above diagram shows a wheel
cipher. The smaller, or inner, alphabet moves around so that
any one of its letters may be brought opposite any one of the
letters on the larger, or outer, alphabet. In some cases the
inner alphabet is written backwards, but in the present
example, both alphabets read the same way.
MPH |
The Biliteral
Alphabet
From Bacon’s De Augmentis
Scientiarum
This plate is reproduced from
Bacon’s De Augmentis Scientiarum, and shows the two
alphabets as designed by him for the purpose of his cipher.
Each capital and small letter has two distinct forms which are
designated "a" and "b". The biliteral system did not in every
instance make use of two alphabets in which the differences
were as perceptible as in the example here given, but two
alphabets were always used; sometimes the variations are so
minute that it requires a powerful magnifying glass to
distinguish the difference between the "a" and the "b" types
of letters. MPH |
|
The Key to the
Biliteral Cipher
From Bacon’s De Augmentis
Scientiarum
After the document to be
deciphered has been reduced to its "a" and "b" equivalents, it
is then broken up into five-letter groups and the message read
with the aid of the above table. MPH |
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