Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-04-21
Highbrows Discuss
Key and Cipher Code
PHILOSOPHER Bacon

Philadelphia, April 20-The first
public explanation of the Key discov-
cred to the cipher code used by Ro-
ger Bacon, the 18th century philoso-
pher-monk, which has revealed that
Bacon knew of the telescope, micro
scope and scientific facts hitherto
supposed to have been unknown until
centuries after his death, was made
here tonight before the College Of
Physicians and Surgeons.
Addresses were made by Wilfred
M. Voynich of London, and New
York. owner of the Roger Bacon man.
uscript in which the key to the code
was found, Professor Romano New
bold of the University of Pennsylva-
mia, who is working on the cipher and
Professor c. E. McClug also of the
University of Pennsylvania, who is
assisting Professor Newbold.
At present it is only possible to con-
Jecture|at the extent and importance
of the discoveries, said Professor
Newbold. for the art of reading the
cipher is yet in it's earliest stages and
1t is not certain that the whole man.
uscript can be read, but a study of
the drawings alone proves their i'm
portance.
THE manuscript falls in four divi-
sions.' Prof. Newbold continued,
dealing, respectively, with plants,
the Heavenly bodies. the generation
of animal life and the preparation Of
drugs"
The common link connecting all four
is probably Bacon's interest in the
prolongation of human life. Plants
are discussed because of their medi-
cinal properties; the stars because
they determine mans character at
his birth and influence him through
out life; embryology because of the
bearing upon later life of all factors
influencing conception and pharmaco-
logy because drugs are essential to
the cure of disease.
THE evidence of certain discoveries
Is found in the drawings of the Sec
ond and third sections.
"A drawing in the second section.
the late Professor Eris Doolittle as
serted. was a drawing of a nebular,
and he declared the man who drew
1t must have had a telescope, as he
correctly depicted features invisible
to the naked eye. The legend at
tached to this picture says the object
was seen in concave mirror and
gives its location in the sky. The h.
cation is that of the Great Nebula
Andromeda
This is the first record of the USE
Of the telescope.
1.-THE chronological section contains
81 drawings. AS rule they are SYM
bolic, for Bacon was unwilling to
draw objects recognizable by the cas-
ual observer.
But there are drawings which so
accurately portray the actual appear
ance of certain objects that it is diff
cult to resist the inference that Bacon
had seen them with his microscope.
1t is possible that the decipherment
Of the text may reveal unsupported
meanings in the pictures, but at pres
ent the Interpretation I have put upon
them seems obvious. Such are the
| spermatosoa. the body cells and the
semeiniferos tubes. the ova with their
nuclei distinctly indicated.
THE spermatosoa were not again
seen after Bacon until they were re-
discovered by Hamm and Leuwenhok.
1t seems impossible to doubt that Ba-
con was the first to discover these i'm
portant structures.
| The symbolic significance of the
drawings IL at yet imperfectly under