Index
Previous
Next
p. 169
The Cryptogram
as a factor in Symbolic Philosophy
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.
The arcana of the ancient
Mysteries were never revealed to the profane except through the media of
symbols. Symbolism fulfilled the dual office of concealing the sacred truths
from the uninitiated and revealing them to those qualified to understand the
symbols. Forms are the symbols of formless divine principles; symbolism is the
language of Nature. With reverence the wise pierce the veil and with clearer
vision contemplate the reality; but the ignorant, unable to distinguish
between the false and the true, behold a universe of symbols. It may well be
said of Nature--the Great Mother--that she is ever tracing strange characters
upon the surface of things, but only to her eldest and wisest sons as a reward
for their faith and devotion does she reveal the cryptic alphabet which is the
key to the import of these tracings.
The temples of the ancient
Mysteries evolved their own sacred languages, known only to their initiates
and never spoken save in the sanctuary. The illumined priests considered it
sacrilege to discuss the sacred truths of the higher worlds or the divine
verities of eternal Nature in the same tongue as that used by the vulgar for
wrangling and dissension. A sacred science must needs be couched in a sacred
language. Secret alphabets also were invented, and whenever the secrets of the
wise were committed to writing, characters meaningless to the uninformed were
employed. Such forms of writing were called sacred or Hermetic alphabets.
Some--such as the famous angelic writing--are still retained in the
higher degrees of Masonry.
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
A FAMOUS CRYPTIC TITLE PAGE.
From Selenus'
Cryptomenytices et Cryptographiæ.
One year after the publication of the
first Great "Shakespearian" Folio, a remarkable volume on cryptogram, and
ciphers was published. The title page of the work is reproduced above. 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 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."
p. 170
who translated the cipher
manuscript of the friar, declared: "There are drawings which so accurately
portray the actual appearance of certain objects that it is difficult to
resist the inference that Bacon had seen them with the microscope. * * * These
are spermatozoa, the body cells and the seminiferous tubes, the ova, with
their nuclei distinctly indicated. There are nine large drawings, of which one
at least bears considerable resemblance to a certain stage of development of a
fertilized cell." (See Review of Reviews, July, 1921.) Had Roger Bacon
failed to conceal this discovery under a complicated cipher, he would have
been persecuted as a heretic and would probably have met the fate of other
early liberal thinkers. In spite of the rapid progress made by science in the
last two hundred and fifty years, it still remains ignorant concerning many of
the original discoveries made by mediæval investigators. The only record of
these important findings is that contained in the cryptograms of the volumes
which they published. While many authors have written on the subject of
cryptography, the books most valuable to students of philosophy and religion
are: Polygraphia and Steganographia, by Trithemius, Abbot of
Spanheim; Mercury, or The Secret and Swift Messenger, by John Wilkins,
Bishop of Chester; dipus Ægyptiacus and other works by Athanasius
Kircher, Society of Jesus; and Cryptomenytices et Cryptographiæ, by
Gustavus Selenus.
To illustrate the basic
differences in their construction and use, the various forms of ciphers are
here grouped under seven general headings:
1. The literal cipher.
The most famous of all literal cryptograms is the famous biliteral cipher
described by Sir Francis Bacon in his De Augmentis Scientiarum. Lord
Bacon originated the system while still a young man residing in Paris. The
biliteral cipher requires the use of two styles of type, one an ordinary face
and the other specially cut. The differences between the two fonts are in many
case so minute that it requires a powerful magnifying glass to detect them.
Originally, the cipher messages were concealed only in the italicized words,
sentences, or paragraphs, because the italic letters, being more ornate than
the Roman letters, offered greater opportunity for concealing the slight but
necessary variations. Sometimes the letters vary a trifle in size; at other
times in thickness or in their ornamental flourishes. Later, Lord Bacon is
believed to have had two Roman alphabets specially prepared in which the
differences were so trivial that it is almost impossible for experts to
distinguish them.
A careful inspection of the
first four "Shakespeare" folios discloses the use throughout the volumes of
several styles of type differing in minute but distinguishable details. It is
possible that all the "Shakespeare" folios contain ciphers running through the
text. These ciphers may have been added to the original plays, which are much
longer in the folios than in the original quartos, full scenes having been
added in some instances.
The biliteral cipher was not
confined to the writings of Bacon and "Shakespeare," however, but appears in
many books published during Lord Bacon's lifetime and for nearly a century
after his b death. In referring to the biliteral cipher, Lord Bacon terms it
omnia per omnia. The cipher may run through an entire book and be
placed therein at the time of printing without the knowledge of the original
author, for it does not necessitate the changing of either words or
punctuation. It is possible that this cipher was inserted for political
purposes into many documents and volumes published during the seventeenth
century. It is well known that ciphers were used for the same reason as early
as the Council of Nicæa.
The Baconian biliteral cipher
is difficult to use today, owing to the present exact standardization of type
and the fact that so few books are now hand set. Accompanying this chapter are
facsimiles of Lord Bacon's biliteral alphabet as it appeared in the 1640
English translation of De Augmentis Scientiarum. There are four
alphabets, two for the capital and two for the small letters. Consider
carefully the differences between these four and note that each alphabet has
the power of either the letter a or the letter b, and that when
reading a word its letters are divisible into one of two groups: those which
correspond to the letter a and those which correspond to the letter
b. In order to employ the biliteral cipher, a document must contain five
times as many letters as there are in the cipher message to be concealed, for
it requires five letters to conceal one. The biliteral cipher somewhat
resembles a telegraph code in which letters are changed into dots and dashes;
according to the biliteral system, however, the dots and dashes are
represented respectively by a's and b's. The word biliteral
is derived from the fact that all letters of the alphabet may be reduced to
either a or b. An example of biliteral writing is shown in one
of the accompanying diagrams. In order to demonstrate the working of this
cipher, the message concealed within the words "Wisdom and understanding are
more to be desired than riches" will now be deciphered.
The first step is to discover
[he letters of each alphabet and replace them by their equivalent a or
b in accordance with the key given by Lord Bacon in his biliteral
alphabet (q.v.). In the word wisdom, the W is from the b
alphabet; therefore it is replaced by a b. The i is from the
a alphabet; therefore an a is put in its place. The s is
also from the a alphabet, but the d belongs to the b
alphabet. The o and the m both belong to the a alphabet
is replaced by a. By this process the word WISDOM become baabaa.
Treating the remaining words of the sentence in a similar manner, AND becomes
aba; UNDERSTANDING, aaabaaaaaabab; ARE, aba; MORE,
abbb; TO, ab; BE, ab; DESIRED, abaabaa; THAN, aaba;
RICHES, aaaaaa.
The next step is to run all the
letters together; thus: baabaaabaaaabaaaaaabababaabbbabababaabaaaabaaaaaaa.
All the combinations used in the Baconian biliteral cipher consist of groups
containing five letters each. Therefore the solid line of letters must be
broken into groups of five in the following manner: baaba aabaa aabaa aaaab
ababa abbba babab aabaa aabaa aaaaa. Each of these groups of five letters
now represents one letter of the cipher, and the actual letter can now be
determined by comparing the groups with the alphabetical table, The Key to the
Biliteral Cipher, from De Augmentis Scientiarum (q.v.): baaba =
T, aabaa = E, aabaa = E; aaaab = B; ababa = L;
abbba = P; babab = X; aabaa = E, aabaa = E; aaaaa
= A; but the last five letters of the word riches being set off by a
period from the initial r, the last five a's do not count in the
cipher. The letters thus extracted are now brought together in order,
resulting in TEEBLPXEE.
At this point the inquirer
might reasonably expect the letters to make intelligible words; but he will
very likely be disappointed, for, as in the case above, the letters thus
extracted are themselves a cryptogram, doubly involved to discourage those who
might have a casual acquaintance with the biliteral system. The next step is
to apply the nine letters to what is commonly called a wheel (or disc) cipher
(q.v.), which consists of two alphabets, one revolving around the other in
such a manner that numerous transpositions of letters are possible. In the
accompanying cut the A of the inner alphabet
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. 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 "r's" in "desired" reveals obvious
differences. The "o" in "more" differs only from the "o" in "wisdom" in that
it 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.
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.
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 me of he 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.
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 the two alphabets were
always used; sometimes variations are so minute that it requires a powerful
magnifying glass to distinguish the difference between the "a" and "b" types
of letters.
p. 171
is opposite the H of the outer
alphabet, so that for cipher purposes these letters are interchangeable. The F
and M, the P, and Y, the W and D, in fact all the letters, may be transposed
as shown by the two circles. The nine letters extracted by the biliteral
cipher may thus be exchanged for nine others by the wheel cipher. The nine
letters are considered as being on the inner circle of the wheel and are
exchanged for the nine letters on the outer circle which are opposite the
inner letters. By this process the T becomes A; the two E's become two L's;
the B becomes I, the L becomes S; the P becomes W; the X becomes E; and the
two E's become two L's. The result is ALLISWELL, which, broken up into words,
reads: "All is well."
Of course, by moving the inner
disc of the wheel cipher, many different combinations in addition to the one
given above can be made of the letters, but this is the only one which will
produce sense, and the cryptogrammatist must keep on experimenting until he
discovers a logical and intelligible message. He may then feel reasonably sure
that he has deciphered the system. Lord Bacon involved the biliteral cipher in
many different ways. There are probably a score of different systems used in
the "Shakespeare" folio alone, some so intricate that they may forever baffle
all attempts at their decipherment. In those susceptible of solution,
sometimes the a's and b's have to be exchanged; at other times
the concealed message is written backwards; again only every other letter is
counted; and so on.
There are several other forms
of the literal cipher in which letters are substituted for each other by a
prearranged sequence. The simplest form is that in which two alphabets are
written thus:
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
K |
L |
M |
N |
Z |
Y |
X |
W |
U |
T |
S |
R |
Q |
P |
O |
N |
M |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
|
|
L |
K |
I |
H |
G |
F |
E |
D |
C |
B |
A |
|
|
By substituting the letters of
the lower alphabet for their equivalents in the upper one, a meaningless
conglomeration results, the hidden message being decoded by reversing the
process. There is also a form of the literal cipher in which the actual
cryptogram is written in the body of the document, but unimportant words are
inserted between important ones according to a prearranged order. The literal
cipher also includes what are called acrostic signatures--that is, words
written down the column by the use of the first letter of each line and also
more complicated acrostics in which the important letters are scattered
through entire paragraphs or chapters. The two accompanying alchemical
cryptograms illustrate another form of the literal cipher involving the first
letter of each word. Every cryptogram based upon the arrangement or
combination of the letters of the alphabet is called a literal cipher.
2. The pictorial cipher.
Any picture or drawing with other than its obvious meaning may be considered a
pictorial cryptogram. Instances of pictorial cipher are frequently found in
Egyptian symbolism and early religious art. The diagrams of alchemists and
Hermetic philosophers are invariably pictorial ciphers. In addition to the
simple pictorial cipher, there is a more technical form in which words or
letters are concealed by the number of stones in a wall, by the spread of
birds' wings in flight, by ripples on the surface of water, or by the length
and order of lines used in shading. Such cryptograms are not obvious, and must
be decoded with the aid of an arbitrary measuring scale, the length of the
lines determining the letter or word concealed. The shape and proportion of a
building, the height of a tower, the number of bars in a window, the folds of
a man's garments--even the proportions or attitude of the human body--were
used to conceal definite figures or characters which could be exchanged for
letters or words by a person acquainted with the code.
Initial letters of names were
secreted in architectural arches and spans. A notable example of this practice
is found on the title page of Montaigue's Essays, third edition, where
an initial B is formed by two arches and an F by a broken arch. Pictorial
cryptograms are sometimes accompanied by the key necessary for their
decipherment. A figure may point toward the starting point of the cipher or
carry in its hand some implement disclosing the system of measurement used.
There are also frequent instances in which the cryptographer purposely
distorted or improperly clothed some figure in his drawing by placing the hat
on backwards, the sword on the wrong side, or the shield on the wrong arm, or
by employing some similar artifice. The much-discussed fifth finger on the
Pope's hand in Raphael's Sistine Madonna and the sixth toe on Joseph's
foot in the same artist's Marriage of the Virgin are cunningly
concealed cryptograms.
3. The acroamatic
cipher. The religious and philosophical writings of all nations abound with
acroamatic cryptograms, that is, parables and allegories. The acroamatic is
unique in that the document containing it may be translated or reprinted
without affecting the cryptogram. Parables and allegories have been used since
remote antiquity to present moral truths in an attractive and understandable
manner. The acroamatic cryptogram is a pictorial cipher drawn in words and its
symbolism must be so interpreted. The Old and New Testaments of the Jews, the
writings of Plato and Aristotle, Homer's Odyssey and Iliad,
Virgil's Æneid, The Metamorphosis of Apuleius, and Æsop's
Fables are outstanding examples of acroamatic cryptography in which are
concealed the deepest and most sublime truths of ancient mystical philosophy.
The acroamatic cipher is the
most subtle of all, for the parable or allegory is susceptible of several
interpretations. Bible students for centuries have been confronted by this
difficultly. They are satisfied with the moral interpretation of the parable
and forget that each parable and allegory is capable of seven interpretations,
of which the seventh--the highest--is complete and all-inclusive, whereas the
other six (and lesser) interpretations are fragmentary, revealing but part of
the mystery. The creation myths of the world are acroamatic cryptograms, and
the deities of the various pantheons are only cryptic characters which, if
properly understood, become the constituents of a divine alphabet. The
initiated few comprehend the true nature of this alphabet, but the uninitiated
many worship the letters of it as gods.
AN ALCHEMICAL CRYPTOGRAM.
From Brown's History of
Chemistry.
James Campbell Brown reprints a
curious cipher from Kircher. The capital letters of the seven words in the
outer circle read clockwise, form the word SVLPHVR. From the words in the
second circle, when read in a similar manner, is derived FIXVM. The capitals
of the six words in the inner circle, when properly arranged, also read ESTSOL.
The following cipher is thus extracted: "Sulphur Fixum Est Sol," which when
translated is: "Fixed sulphur is gold."
AN ALCHEMICAL CRYPTOGRAM.
From Geheime Figuren der
Rosenkreuzer.
Beginning with the word VISITA
and reading clockwise, the seven initial letters of the seven words inscribed
in the outer circle read: VITRIOL. This is a very simple alchemical enigma,
but is a reminder that those studying works on Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism,
alchemy, and Freemasonry should always be on the lookout for concealed
meanings hidden either in Parables and allegories or in cryptic arrangements
of numbers, letters, and words.
A CRYPTIC DEPICTION OF DIVINE AND NATURAL JUSTICE.
From Selenus'
Cryptomenytices et Cryptographiæ.
The first circle portrays the divine
antecedents of justice, the second the universal scope of justice, and the
third the results of human application of justice. Hence, the first circle
deals with divine principles, the second circle with mundane affairs, and the
third circle with man. On the at the top of the picture sits Themis, the
presiding spirit of law, and at her feet three other queens--Juno, Minerva,
and Venus--their robes ornamented with geometric figures. The axis of law
connects the throne, of divine justice above with the throne of human judgment
at the bottom of the picture. Upon the latter throne is seated a queen with a
scepter in her hand, before whom stands the winged goddess Nemesis--the angel
of judgment.
The second Circle is divided into three
parts by two sets of two horizontal lines. The upper and light section is
called the Supreme Region and is the abode of the gods, the good spirits, and
the heroes. The lower and dark section is the abode of lust, sin, and
ignorance. Between these two extremes is the larger section in which are
blended the powers and impulses of both the superior and the inferior regions.
In the third or inner circle is man, a
tenfold creature, consisting of nine parts--three of spirit, three of
intellect, and three of soul--enclosed within one constitution. According to
Selenus, man's three spiritual qualities are thought, speech, and action; his
three intellectual qualities are memory, intelligence, and will; and his three
qualities of soul are understanding, courage, and desire. The third circle is
further divided into three parts called ages: the Golden Age of spiritual
truth in the upper right section, the Iron Age of spiritual darkness in the
lower right section and the Bronze Age--a composite of the two occupying the
entire left half of the inner circle and itself divided into three parts. The
lowest division of the Bronze Age depicts ignorant man controlled by force,
the central the partly awakened man controlled by jurisprudence, and the upper
the spiritually illuminated man controlled by love. Both the second and third
circles revolve upon the axis of law, but the divine source, of law--Heavenly
Justice--is concealed by clouds. All of the symbols and figures ornamenting
the plate are devoted to a detailed amplification of the principles here
outlined.
p. 172
4. The numerical cipher.
Many cryptograms have been produced in which numbers in various sequences are
substituted for letters, words, or even complete thoughts. The reading of
numerical ciphers usually depends upon the possession of specially arranged
tables of correspondences. The numerical cryptograms of the Old Testament are
so complicated that only a few scholars versed in rabbinical lore have ever
sought to unravel their mysteries. In his dipus Ægyptiacus, Athanasius
Kircher describes several Arabian Qabbalistic theorems, and a great part of
the Pythagorean mystery was concealed in a secret method in vogue among Greek
mystics of substituting letters for numbers.
The most simple numerical
cipher is that in which the letters of the alphabet are exchanged for numbers
in ordinary sequence. Thus A becomes 1, B 2, C 3, and so
on, counting both I and J as 9 and both U and V as
20. The word yes by this system would be written 23-5-18. This cipher can be
made more difficult by reversing the alphabet so that Z becomes 1, Y
2, X 3, and so on. By inserting a non-significant, or uncounted, number
after each of the significant numbers the cipher is still more effectively
concealed, thus: 23-16-5-9-18. The word yes is found by eliminating the
second and fourth numbers. By adding 23, 5, and 18 together the sum 46
results. Therefore 46 is the numerical equivalent of the word yes.
According to the simple numerical cipher, the sum 138 is equal to the words
Note carefully. Therefore in a book using this method, line 138, page 138,
or paragraph 138 may contain the concealed message. In addition to this simple
numerical cipher there are scores of others so complicated that no one without
the key can hope to solve them.
Authors sometimes based their
cryptograms upon the numerical value of their own names; for example, Sir
Francis Bacon repeatedly used the cryptic number 33--the numerical equivalent
of his name. Numerical ciphers often involve the pagination of a book.
Imperfect pagination, though generally attributed to carelessness, often
conceals important secrets. The mispaginations found in the 1623 folio of
"Shakespeare" and the consistent recurrence of similar errors in various
volumes printed about the same period have occasioned considerable thought
among scholars and cryptogrammatists. In Baconian cryptograms, all page
numbers ending in 89 seem to have a special significance. The 89th page of the
Comedies in the 1623 folio of "Shakespeare" shows an error of type in
the pagination, the "9" being from a considerably smaller font than the "8."
The 189th page is entirely missing, there being two pages numbered 187; and
page 188 shows the second " 8 " scarcely more than half the size of the first
one. Page 289 is correctly numbered and has no unusual features, but page 89
of the Histories is missing. Several volumes published by Bacon show
similar errors, page 89 being often involved.
There are also numerical
ciphers from which the cryptic message may be extracted by counting every
tenth word, every twentieth word, or every fiftieth word. In some cases the
count is irregular. The first important word may be found by counting 100, the
second by counting 90, the third by counting 80, and so on until the count of
10 is reached. The count then returns to 100 and the process is repeated.
5. The musical cipher.
John Wilkins, afterwards Bishop of Chester, in 1641 circulated an anonymous
essay entitled Mercury, or the Secret and Swift Messenger. In this
little volume, which was largely derived from the more voluminous treatises of
Trithemius and Selenus, the author sets forth a method whereby musicians can
converse with each other by substituting musical notes for the letters of the
alphabet. Two persons understanding the code could converse with each other by
merely playing certain notes upon a piano or other instrument. Musical
cryptograms can be involved to an inconceivable point; by certain systems it
is possible to take an already existing musical theme and conceal in it a
cryptogram without actually changing the composition in any way. The pennants
upon the notes may conceal the cipher, or the actual sounds of the notes may
be exchanged for syllables of similar sound. This latter method is effective
but its scope is somewhat limited. Several musical compositions by Sir Francis
Bacon are still in existence. An examination of them might reveal musical
cryptograms, for it is quite certain that Lord Bacon was well acquainted with
the manner of their construction.
6. The arbitrary cipher.
The system of exchanging letters of the alphabet for hieroglyphic figures is
too easily decoded to be popular. Albert: Pike describes an arbitrary cipher
based upon the various parts of the Knights Templars' cross, each angle
representing a letter. The many curious alphabets that have been devised are
rendered worthless, however, by the table of recurrence. According to Edgar
Allan Poe, a great cryptogrammatist, the most common letter of the English
language is E, the other letters in their order of frequency are as follows:
A, O, I, D, H, N, R, S, T, V, Y, C, F, Q L, M, W, B, K, P, Q, X, Z.
Other authorities declare the table of frequency to be: E, T, A, O, N, I,
R, S, H, D, L, C, W, U, M, F, Y, G, P, B, V, K, X, Q, J, Z. By merely
counting the number of times each character appears in the message, the law of
recurrence discloses the English letter for which the arbitrary character
stands. Further help is also rendered by the fact that if the cryptogram be
split up into words there are only three single letters which may form words:
A, I, O. Thus any single character set off from the rest of the text must
be one of these three letters. For details of this System see The Gold Bug,
by Edgar Allan Poe.
To render more difficult the
decoding of arbitrary ciphers, however, the characters are seldom broken up
into words, and, further, the table of recurrence is partly nullified by
assigning two or more different characters to each letter, thereby making it
impossible to estimate accurately the frequency of recurrence. Therefore, the
greater the number of arbitrary characters used to represent any single letter
of the alphabet, the more difficult it is to decipher an arbitrary cryptogram.
The secret alphabets of the ancients are comparatively easy to decode, the
only requisites being a table of frequency, a knowledge of the language in
which the cryptogram was originally written, a moderate amount of patience,
and a little ingenuity.
7. The code cipher. The
most modem form of cryptogram is the code system. Its most familiar form is
the Morse code for use in telegraphic and wireless communication. This form of
cipher may be complicated somewhat by embodying dots and dashes into a
document in which periods and colons are dots, while commas and semicolons are
dashes. There are also codes used by the business world which can be solved
only by the use of a private code book. Because they furnish an economical and
efficient method of transmitting confidential information, the use of such
codes is far more prevalent than the average person has any suspicion.
In addition to the foregoing
classifications there are a number of miscellaneous systems of secret writing,
some employing mechanical devices, others colors. A few make use of sundry
miscellaneous objects to represent words and even complete thoughts. But as
these more elaborate devices were seldom employed by the ancients or by the
mediæval philosophers and alchemists, they have no direct bearing upon
religion and philosophy. The mystics of the Middle Ages, borrowing the
terminology of the various arts and sciences, evolved a system of cryptography
which concealed the secrets of the human soul under terms generally applied to
chemistry, biology, astronomy, botany, and physiology. Ciphers of this nature
can only be decoded by individuals versed in the deep philosophic principles
upon which these mediæval mystics based their theories of life. Much
information relating to the invisible nature of man is concealed under what
seem to be chemical experiments or scientific speculations. Every student of
symbolism and philosophy, therefore, should be reasonably well acquainted with
the underlying principles of cryptography; in addition to serving him well in
his researches, this art furnishes a fascinating method of developing the
acuteness of the mental faculties. Discrimination and observation are
indispensable to the seeker after knowledge, and no study is equal to
cryptography as a means of stimulating these powers.
QABBALISTIC AND MAGIC ALPHABETS.
From Barrett's Magus.
Curious alphabets were invented by the
early and mediæval philosophers to conceal their doctrines and tenets from the
profane. Some of these alphabets are still used to a limited extent in the
higher degrees of Freemasonry. Probably the most famous is the angelic
writing, termed in the above plate "The Writing called Malachim." Its figures
are supposedly derived from the constellations. Advanced students of occult
philosophy will come upon many valuable documents in which these figures are
used. Under each letter of the first alphabet above is its equivalent in
English. Above each letter of the other three alphabets is its Hebrew letter
equivalent.
Next:
Freemasonic Symbolism