(6) All of their coverings uplifted were, And from them issued forth such dire laments, Sooth seemed they of the wretched and tormented. And I: "My Master, what are all those people Who, having sepulture within those tombs, Make themselves audible by doleful sighs?" And he to me: "Here are the Heresiarchs, With their disciples of all sects, and much More than thou thinkest laden are the tombs. Here like together with its like is buried; And more and less the monuments are heated." And when he to the right had turned, we passed Between the torments and high parapets.

(Pages 1 to 6 of the manuscript, containing chapters 1 - 3, are lost. The extant text starts on page 7...)

(33) The presence of hidden material in the text is often indicated by needless involvement of words. On the sixteenth unnumbered page of the 1641 edition of Du Bartas' Divine Weeks is a boar surmounting a pyramidal text. The text is meaningless jargon, evidently inserted for cryptographic reasons and marked with Bacon's signature--the hog. The year following publication of the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays in 1623, there was printed in "Lunæburg" a remarkable volume on cryptography, avowedly by Gustavus Selenus. It is considered extremely probable that this volume constitutes the cryptographic key to the Great Shakespearian Folio.

(31) It is evident also that the mispaginations in the Shakespearian Folios and other volumes are keys to Baconian ciphers, for re-editions--often from new type and by different printers--contain the same mistakes. For example, the First and Second Folios of Shakespeare are printed from entirely different type and by different printers nine years apart, but in both editions page 153 of the Comedies is numbered 151, and pages 249 and 250 are numbered 250 and 251 respectively. Also in the 1640 edition of Bacon's The Advancement and Proficience of Learning, pages 353 and 354 are numbered 351 and 352 respectively, and in the 1641 edition of Du Bartas' Divine Weeks pages 346 to 350 inclusive are entirely missing, while page 450 is numbered 442. The frequency with which pages ending in numbers 50, 51, 52,53, and 54 are involved will he noted.

(38) Many documents influenced by Baconian philosophy--or intended m 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 has long been accepted as 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 contemporaneous 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 Ralegh's History of the World (1614) (See American Baconiana.)

(1) Now onward goes, along a narrow path Between the torments and the city wall, My Master, and I follow at his back. "O power supreme, that through these impious circles Turnest me," I began, "as pleases thee, Speak to me, and my longings satisfy; The people who are lying in these tombs, Might they be seen? already are uplifted The covers all, and no one keepeth guard." And he to me: "They all will be closed up When from Jehoshaphat they shall return Here with the bodies they have left above. Their cemetery have upon this side With Epicurus all his followers, Who with the body mortal make the soul; But in the question thou dost put to me, Within here shalt thou soon be satisfied, And likewise in the wish thou keepest silent." And I: "Good Leader, I but keep concealed From thee my heart, that I may speak the less, Nor only now hast thou thereto disposed me." "O Tuscan, thou who through the city of fire Goest alive, thus speaking modestly, Be pleased to stay thy footsteps in this place.

(1) NO treatise which deals with symbolism would be complete without a section devoted to the consideration of cryptograms. The use of ciphers has long been recognized as indispensable in military and diplomatic circles, but the modern world has overlooked the important rôle played by cryptography in literature and philosophy. If the art of deciphering cryptograms could be made popular, it would result in the discovery of much hitherto unsuspected wisdom possessed by both ancient and mediæval philosophers. It would prove that many apparently verbose and rambling authors were wordy for the sake of concealing words. Ciphers are hidden in the most subtle manner: they may be concealed in the watermark of the paper upon which a book is printed; they may be bound into the covers of ancient books; they may be hidden under imperfect pagination; they may be extracted from the first letters of words or the first words of sentences; they may be artfully concealed in mathematical equations or in apparently unintelligible characters; they may be extracted from the jargon of clowns or revealed by heat as having been written in sympathetic ink; they may be word ciphers, letter ciphers, or apparently ambiguous statements whose meaning could be understood only by repeated careful readings; they may he discovered in the elaborately illuminated initial letters of early books or they may be revealed by a process of counting words or letters. If those interested in Freemasonic research would give serious consideration to this subject, they might find in books and manuscripts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the information necessary to bridge the gap in Masonic history that now exists between the Mysteries of the ancient world and the Craft Masonry of the last three centuries.

(581) 1551 To say: This thy cavern there is the broad-hall of Osiris N.. 1551 which brings the wind. The north wind refreshes; 1551 it raises thee as Osiris N. 1552 Ssm.w comes to thee, bearing water and wine; 1552 nti-mnwt.f (comes) bearing the vases which are before the two 'itr.t-palaces. 1552 Thou standest, thou sittest like Anubis, chief of the necropolis. 1553 Aker stands up for thee; Shu dries (lit. something like. "lies down," Wb. V 366) for thee. 1553 They tremble who see the inundation (when) it tosses; 1554 (but) the marshes laugh; the shores are become green; 1554 the divine offerings descend; the face of men brightens; the heart of the gods rejoices. 1555 "Deliver N. from his bandages, which restrain (?) the living, O gods," 1555 (is) in the mouth of those who run to them on the good day of running (while running is good). 1556 "Set is guilty; Osiris is justified," 1556 (is) in the mouth of the gods, on the good day of the going upon the mountain. 1557 (When) inundations are upon the land, 1557 he who hastens with his soul goes to his cave; 1557 (but) thou marchest behind thy spirit towards Knm-'iwnw, 1557 like the successor of Hrti, chief of [Ns].t.

(42) Leaf 26. This page, which concludes that part of the Hermetic manuscript bearing the symbols of the Secret Work, contains a number of emblems not directly correlated. At the top is the head of the King--the most common of alchemical figures. To the right of the King is an alchemical vessel designated the Hermetic Seal. Below is the head of a ferocious bird, here designated a griffon. To the left of the King is a headless figure elevating a Sun, or spiritual face. This figure is the world, which must be headless, since its spiritual and rational part is not material and consequently, is invisible. Below is a circle unaccompanied by descriptive matter. Directly under the King's head is a vase of flowers, in which rises the golden plant of the Philosophers. At the bottom of the page is additional alchemical equipment, this also being termed a Hermetic Seal.

(19) Upon moving the altar to one side a brass cover was disclosed. Lifting this revealed a body, presumedly that of C.R.C., which, although it had lain there 120 years, was as well preserved as though it had just been interred. It was ornamented and attired in the robes of the Order, and in one hand was clasped a mysterious parchment which, next to the Bible, was the most valued possession of the Society. After thoroughly investigating the contents of the secret chamber, the brass plate and altar were put back in place, the door of the vault was again sealed, and the Brothers went their respective ways, their spirits raised and their faith increased by the miraculous spectacle which they had beheld.

(2) No better way can be found of introducing to the "Royal Art" a seeker after the mysteries of symbolical philosophy than to place at his disposal an actual example of alchemical writing. The text of this manuscript is as enigmatic as are its diagrams; but to him who will meditate upon the profound significance of both, the deeper issues of mysticism in due time will be made clear. An unknown person through whose hands this manuscript passed wrote thus of it:

(11) Leaf 1. The top line reads: "Our earliest medicine was made of natural objects." About the king and queen appears the statement that to them a son shall be born "in two trees of the vine," resembling his father and without equal in all the world. About the vase is written: "Green and white." "The vase flame color, the flowers green." "Our water, our silver." The lines below read: "The material of the Philosopher's Stone is that thick, viscous water, which either heat or cold congeals. It is Mercury boiled down and thickened, cooked in neutral earth with sulphurous heat and is called the Prime Material of the metals. In caverns yet dark, and forbidding mountains, if a Stone be found which a thousand years ago Nature made out of her fruits, it will bring him that has it out of trouble. * * * Listen carefully to all my verses; I speak them without veil and without deception.

(8) "The Cryptomenysis and Cryptography of Gustavus Selenus in 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 fine hand of the Rosicrucians was behind its publication. At the bottom of the picture is a nobleman (Bacon?) placing his hat on another man's head. In the oval at the top of the plate, it is possible that the lights are beacons, or a play upon the name Bacon. 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."

(34) [pages 109 and 110 are missing in NHC III, replaced here by the corresponding section in the Berlin Gnostic Codex, the beginning of which is somewhat different from the final partial sentence of NHC III 108 (the broken off sentence)]

(42) Evidence points to the existence of a group of wise and illustrious Fratres who assumed the responsibility of publishing and preserving for future generations the choicest of the secret books of the ancients, together with certain other documents which they themselves had prepared. That future members of their fraternity might not only identify these volumes bur also immediately note the significant passages, words, chapters, or sections therein, they created a symbolic alphabet of hieroglyphic designs. By means of a certain key and order, the discerning few were thus enabled to find that wisdom by which a man is "raised" to an illumined life.

(609) 1703 To say: N., thy mother Nut has given birth to thee in the West; 1703 thou hast descended in the West in company with the lord of veneration (?); 1703 thy mother Isis has given birth to thee at Chemmis; 1703 thy hand which is (full of) the north wind takes (Possession) of thee 1703 overflowing thee, behind the north wind, father N. 1704 The Lake of Reeds is full; the Winding Watercourse is inundated; 1704 the mn`-canal of N. is open, 1704 whereby he may ferry over to the horizon, to the place where the gods will be born, 1704 and where thou wilt be born with them. 1705 The two reed-floats of heaven are placed for R`, 1705 that he may ferry over therewith to the horizon to the place where the gods will be born, 1705 and where he will be born with them. 1706 The two reed-floats of heaven are placed for N., 1706 that he may ferry over therewith to the horizon to the place where they will be born, 1706 and where he will be born with them. 1707 Thy sister is Sothis; thy mother (bearer) is the morning star; 1707 thou sittest between them on the great throne, 1707 which is at the side of the Two Enneads. 1708 Behold, let these four dwellers of the region (or, height) be brought, 1708 who sit upon their d`b-sceptres, who come forth on (or, from) the eastern side of the sky, 1708 that they may proclaim this thy goodly utterance to Nb-k.w, 1708 which thy daughter, (m.t), said to thee, and 1708 Nb-k.w shall proclaim this thy goodly utterance 1708 to the Two Enneads. 1709 It is Hpnti, he who lays hold of thy hand when thou descendest into the boat of R`, 1709 descending into the boat with an offering which the king gives; descending and ferrying over. 45. THE DECEASED KING ON EARTH AND IN HEAVEN

(522) 1227 To say: Sees-behind-him, His-face-behind-him, 1227 behold thou, N. is come to life. 1227 He has brought to thee this eye of Horus, bound in the field of wrestlers. 1227d, Bring it to N., namely, the "work of Khnum." 1228 O pi, 'Im.ti, Dw-mut.f, b-n.w.f, 1228 bring it to N., namely, the "work of Khnum," 1228 which is in the Winding Watercourse. 1229 O devourer, open the way to N.; 1229 O rr-serpent, open the way to N.; 1229 O Nekhbet, open the way to N. 1230 Greetings to thee, good one, (come) in peace. 1230 Love N. as N. loves thee. 1230 Unwanted (?) art thou, evil one; 1230 if thou avoidest N., N. will avoid thee. 25. MISCELLANEOUS TEXTS CHIEFLY ABOUT THE DECEASED KING'S RECEPTION AND LIFE IN HEAVEN,

(582) 1558 To say: N. is come to thee, Horus, 1558 that thou mayest recite for him this great and good word, which thou didst recite for Osiris, 1558 by which N. may be great; by which he may be powerful. 1559 His hm is within him; his ba is behind him; 1559 his pd is upon him, which Horus gave to Osiris, 1559 that N. may rest in heaven, as a mountain, as a support. 1560 He shall fly as a cloud to heaven, like a heron; 1560 he shall pass by the side-locks of the sky; 1560 the feathers on the two arms of N. shall be like knives. 1561 shall give him his arm, 1561 Sothis shall take his hand; 1561 the ground shall be hoed for N.; an offering shall be made for N.; 1561 the two nomes of the god shall shout for N. 1562 He will be more at the head than he who is at the head of the Two Enneads; 1562 he sits upon his firm throne, 1562 his sceptre glittering in his hand. 1563 If N. raises his hand towards the children of their fathers, 1563 they stand up for N.; 1563 if N. lowers his hand towards them, they sit down. 1564 The face of N. is like that of a jackal; the middle (of his body) is like that of b.wt; 1564 N. judges like Sebek in Crocodilopolis, 1564 like Anubis in Tb.t (Hypselis?). 1565 When N. calls for a thousand, 1565 there come to him the blessed dead (?) with salutations, 1565 while they say to him: "Who is it who has done this to thee?" 1566 It is the mother of N., the great wild cow, she with the two long feathers, 1566 with the brilliant head-dress, with the two hanging breasts, 1566 who has lifted N. up to heaven--she did not leave N. on the earth- 1566 among the glorious gods, 1567 that N. may see their spirit and that he may be a spirit likewise. 1567 N. [is protected] by his, father Osiris (just as) the blessed dead (?) protect N.

(4) Secret alphabets were not entirely satisfactory, however, for although they rendered unintelligible the true nature of the writings, their very presence disclosed the fact of concealed information--which the priests also sought to conceal. Through patience or persecution, the keys to these alphabets were eventually acquired and the contents of the documents revealed to the unworthy. This necessitated employment of more subtle methods for concealing the divine truths. The result was the appearance of cryptic systems of writing designed to conceal the presence of both the message and the cryptogram. Having thus devised a method of transmitting their secrets to posterity, the illuminati encouraged the circulation of certain documents specially prepared through incorporating into them ciphers containing the deepest secrets of mysticism and philosophy. Thus mediæval philosophers disseminated their theories throughout Europe without evoking suspicion, since volumes containing these cryptograms could be subjected to the closest scrutiny without revealing the presence of the hidden message.

(18) The following morning the door was opened and the members entered a vault with seven sides and seven corners, each side five feet broad and eight feet high. Although the sun never penetrated this tomb, it was brilliantly illuminated by a mysterious light in the ceiling. In the center was a circular altar, upon which were brass plates engraved with strange characters. In each of the seven sides was a small door which, upon being opened, revealed a number of boxes filled with books, secret instructions, and the supposedly lost arcanum of the Fraternity.