C. R C, as it is contained in the ' Fama,' is not the history,

equally fabulous, of that Knight of the Golden Stone, who is the hero of the ' Chymical Marriage.'
" IV. It is obviously easy to exaggerate the philological argu- ment, or rather the argument from the identity of literary style, in the documents under consideration. This point indeed can only be adequately treated by a Grerman. At present it rests on a single assertion of Arnold, which is uncorroborated by any illustrative facts. I think it will also be plain, even to the casual reader, that the ' Chymical Marriage ' is a work of ' extraordi- nary talent,' as Buhle justly observes, but that the ' Fama Fra- temitatis ' is a work of no particular talent, either inventive or otherwise, while the subsequent ' Confession,' both in matter and manner, is simply beneath contempt Yet we are required to believe that the first was produced at the age of fifteen, while the worthless pamphlets are the work of the same writer from seven to thirteen years subsequently.
"Y. The connection of the 'Universal Reformation' with the
BACON'S " NE W ATLANTIS:' 27
oiher Sosicracian manifestoes is so unceilaiii, that if Andreas could be proved its translator, his connection with the society would still be doabtfoL The appearance of the ' Fama Fratemi- tatis ' and the ^ Universal Reformation ' in one pamphlet no more proves them to have emanated from a single source, than the publication of the ' Confessio ' in the same volume as the 'Secretions Philosophias Consideratio ' proves Philippus ^ Grabella to have been the author of that document. The practice of issuing unconnected works within the covers of a single book was common at that period. But the argument which ascribes the 'Universal Reformation' to Andreas is entirely conjectural.
" To dispose of the Andrean claim, a third hypothesis must be briefly considered. If Andreas was a follower of Paracelsus, a believer in alchemy, an aspirant towards the spiritual side of the magnus opus, or an adept therein, he would naturally behold with sorrow and disgust the trickery and imposture with which alchemy was then surrounded, and by which it has been indelibly dis- graced, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that he may have attempted to reform the science by means of a secret society, whose manifestoes are directed against those very abuses. But in spite of the statement of Louis Figuier, I can find no warrant in the life or writings of Andreas for supposing that he was a pro- found student^ much less a fanatical partisan of Paracelsus, and it is clear from his ' Turris Babel,' ' Mythologia Christiana,' and other works, that he considered the Rosicrucian manifestoes a reprehensible hoax. In the twenty-fifbh chapter of the first of these books, the author proposes to supply the place of the fabulous Rosicrucian Society by his own Christian Fraternity. Indeed, wherever he speaks of it in his known writings, it is either with contempt or condemnation. NihU cum hoe Fraier niiaie commune habeOy says Truth in the ' Mythologia Christiana.' 'Listen, ye Mortals,' cries Fama in the 'Turns Babel,' 'you need not wait any longer for any brotherhood; the comedy is played out; Fama has put it up, and now destroys it. Fama has said Yes, and now utters No.'
28 BA CON'S ''NEW A TLANTISr
" My readers are now in possession of the facts of the case, and must draw their own conclusions. If in spite of the difficulties which I have impartially stated, Andreas has any claim upon the authorship of the Bosicrucian manifestoes, it must be viewed in a different light. According to Herder, his purpose was to make the secret societies of his time reconsider their position, and to show them how much of their aims and movements was ridi- culous, but not to found any society himself. According to Figuier, he really founded the Bosicrucian Society, but ended by entire disapproval of its methods, and therefore started his Chris- tian Fraternity. But the facts of the case are against this hypo- thesis, for the 'Invitatio Fratemitatis Christi ad Sacri amoris Candidatos' was published as early as 1617, long before the Bosicrucian Order could have degenerated from the principles of its master. It is impossible that Andreas should have projected two associations at the same time."
Our space does not permit us, nor would it be fair, to borrow more from Mr Waiters masterly criticism upon the claims of Andreas. They should be studied in the " Beal History of the Bosicrucians." It is plain Johann Valentin Andreas had no faith in the works supposed to be by him, and this is very strong proof against his authorship.
In Chapter II. of the *' Confession " we find Bacon's great idea of the " amendment of philosophy," hinted at.
''Concerning the amendment of philosophy, we have (as much as at this present is needful) declared that the same is altogether weak and faulty ; nay, whilst many (I know not how) alledge that she is sound and strong, to us it is certain that she fetches her last breath."
And in Chapter IV., this : —
" Now concerning the first part, we hold that the meditations of our Christian father on all subjects which from the creation of the world have been invented, brought forth, and propagated by human ingenuity, through God's revelation, or through the service of Angels or spirits, or through the sagacity of under-
BACON'S ''NEW ATLANTIS:' 29
standing, or through the experience of long observation, are so great, that if all books should perish, and bj God's almighty snfirance all writings and all learning should be lost, yd posteriiy fffill be able Iherehy to lay a new foundation of sciences^ and to erect a new citadel of truth ; the which perhaps would not be so hard to do as if one should begin to pull down and destroy the old, ruinous building, then enlarge the foi-e-court, afterwards bring light into the private chambers, and then change the doors, staples, and other things according to our intention."
We see at once that posterity and the sciences are here brought in in a thoroughly Baconian manner. The striking part of these manifestoes, is their identity of aim with Bacon's philosophy and work which meets us everywhere, that is " a new foundation of the sciences/' together with a '' handing on of the lamps to posterity." We shall presently quote from the '' Confession of the Rosicrucian Fraternity " a passage where they speak of one of the greatest impostors of their age — a stage-player, a man with sufficient ingenuity for imposition, whom we believe is meant for Shakespeare.