New Atlantis
New Atlantis is a utopian novel by Sir Francis Bacon, published posthumously in 1626. It appeared unheralded and tucked into the back of a longer work of natural history, Sylva Sylvarum. In New Atlantis, Bacon portrays a vision of the future of human discovery and knowledge, expressing his aspirations and ideals for humankind. The novel depicts the creation of a utopian land where "generosity and enlightenment, dignity and splendour, piety and public spirit" are the commonly held qualities of the inhabitants of the mythical Bensalem. The plan and organisation of his ideal college, Salomon's House, prefigured the modern research university in both applied and pure sciences.
Publication history
New Atlantis first appeared in the back of Sylva Sylvarum, a rather complex work of natural history that was published by William Rawley, Bacon's secretary, chaplain and amanuensis in 1626. When Sylva was entered into the Stationers' Register of July 4th, 1626, no mention was made of New Atlantis, and it was not until 1670 that it was included on SylvaPlot summary
The novel depicts a mythical island, Bensalem, which is discovered by the crew of a European ship after they have lost their way in the Pacific Ocean somewhere west of Peru. The minimal plot serves the gradual unfolding of the island, its customs, but most importantly, its state-sponsored scientific institution, Salomon's House, "which house or college... is the very eye of this kingdom."Many aspects of the society and history of the island are described, such as the Christian religion – which is reported to have been born there as a copy of the Bible and a letter from the Apostle Saint Bartholomew arrived there miraculously, a few years after the Ascension of Jesus; a cultural feast in honour of the family institution, called "the Feast of the Family"; a college of sages, the Salomon's House, "the very eye of the kingdom", to which order "God of heaven and earth had vouchsafed the grace to know the works of Creation, and the secrets of them", as well as "to discern between divine miracles, works of nature, works of art, and impostures and illusions of all sorts"; and a series of instruments, process and methods of scientific research that were employed in the island by the Salomon's House.
The interlocutors include the governor of the House of Strangers, Joabin the Jew, and the Head of Salomon's House.
The inhabitants of Bensalem are described as having a high moral character and honesty, as no official accepts any payment from individuals. The people are also described as chaste and pious, as said by an inhabitant of the island:
In the last third of the book, the Head of the Salomon's House takes one of the European visitors to show him all the scientific background of Salomon's House, where experiments are conducted in Baconian method to understand and conquer nature, and to apply the collected knowledge to the betterment of society. Namely: 1) the end, or purpose, of their foundation; 2) the preparations they have for their works; 3) the several employments and functions whereto their fellows are assigned; 4) and the ordinances and rites which they observe.
He portrayed a vision of the future of human discovery and knowledge. The plan and organisation of his ideal college, "Salomon's House", prefigures the modern research university in both applied and pure science.
The end of their foundation is thus described: "The end of our foundation is the knowledge of causes, and secret motions of things; and the enlarging of the bounds of human empire, to the effecting of all things possible".
In describing the several employments and functions to which the members of the Salomon's House are assigned, the Head of the college said:
Even this short excerpt demonstrates that Bacon understood that science requires analysis and not just the accumulation of observations. Bacon also foresaw that the design of experiments could be improved.
In describing the ordinances and rites observed by the scientists of Salomon's House, its Head said:
And finally, after showing all the scientific background of Salomon's House, he gave the European visitor permission to publish it:
It is important to highlight the languages mentioned in the work: in one of the most revealing passages, when the European castaways arrive on the island of Bensalem, they receive a written message, and then the character in several languages:
- Ancient Hebrew
- Ancient Greek
- Scholastic Latin
- Spanish, a language that is also used by one of the inhabitants of the New Atlantis: This detail is not accidental: Bacon selects these languages for their cultural, religious and scientific weight in the history of Western civilization.
The name "Bensalem"
Thus, the name means "Son of Peace.”
Interpretations
New Atlantis is a story dense with provocative details. There are many credible interpretations of what Bacon was attempting to convey. Below are a couple that give some sense of the rich implications of the text.Bensalem's conversion to Christianity
Early in the story, the governor of the House of Strangers relates the incredible circumstances that introduced Christianity to the Island:The traditional date for the writing of St. John's Apocalypse is the end of the 1st century AD. It is not only the presence of the full canon of Scripture long before it was completed or compiled, but also the all-too-convenient proximity of the scientist who will attest to its miraculous nature of this wonder that lends the story an air of incredibility.
Later the Father of Salomon's House reveals the institution's skill at creating illusions of light:
He also boasts about their ability to fake miracles:
Renaker points out in the Latin translation of the second passage is stronger and literally translates to "we could impose on men's senses an infinite number of things if we wanted to present these things as, and exalt them into, a miracle." While this has been read as Bacon's suggesting that the story if not the "miracle" itself was an invention emanating from Salomon's House, this is perhaps not a safe inference. The relevance of the Brother of Salomon's House to the story of the island's conversion to Christianity is more an indication that the institution itself has reached a point in its knowledge from which it can ascertain whether an occurrence is natural or not. It is this knowledge that allows for the revelation itself to be delivered.
The skill of creating illusions coupled with the incredibility of the story of the origin of Bensalem's Christianity makes it seem that Bacon was intimating that the light show was an invention of Salomon's House.
The presence of "Hebrews, Persians, and Indians" in Bensalem at the time implies that Asian people were already in the first century engaged in sailing across the Pacific—which is historically inaccurate, but might have seemed plausible at the time of writing.
Who rules Bensalem?
The Father of Salomon's House reveals that members of that institution decide on their own which of their discoveries to keep secret, even from the State:This would seem to imply that the State does not hold the monopoly on authority and that Salomon's House must in some sense be superior to the State.
In the introduction to the critical edition of New Atlantis, Jerry Weinberger notes that Joabin is the only contemporary character described as wise—and wise in matters of government and rule at that. Weinberger speculates that Joabin may be the actual ruler of Bensalem. On the other hand, prejudice against Jews was widespread in his time, so the possibility cannot be excluded that Bacon was calling Joabin wise for the same reason that he felt the need elsewhere to call him "the good Jew": to make clear that Joabin's character was benign.