The Cryptogram as a factor in Symbolic Philosophyd

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. 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.