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.
New Atlantis is a Utopia ruled by scientist-kings, viz. the elite with supreme knowledge of causes of Nature. Bacon’s vision is awe-inspiring, in both senses of the word. On the one hand, it is mind-boggling to ponder the vast unrealized but distinctly real potential of human knowledge and consequent power. On the other hand, it is awful how such immense power might be abused by people without any moral compass, to deceive, enslave and destroy on a cosmic scale. Bacon anticipates not only many of the achievements in modern science and technology, but also the imaginations of science fiction and fantasy writers.
Initiation into New Atlantis
We are men cast on land, as Jonas was out of the whale’s belly, when we were as buried in the deep; and now we are on land, we are but between death and life, for we are beyond both the Old World and the New.
They have by commandment (though in form of courtesy) cloistered us within these walls for three days, to take some taste of our manners and conditions. And if they find them bad, to banish us straightway; if good, to give us further time.
It seems to us a condition and propriety of divine powers and beings, to be hidden and unseen to others, and yet to have others open, and as in a light to them.
The Power of Vision and Illusion
We have also perspective houses, where we make demonstrations of all lights and radiations and of all colors; and out of things uncolored and transparent we can represent unto you all several colors, not in rainbows, as it is in gems and prisms, but of themselves single. We represent also all multiplications of light, which we carry to great distance, and make so sharp as to discern small points and lines. Also all colorations of light: all delusions and deceits of the sight, in figures, magnitudes, motions, colors; all demonstrations of shadows.
We find also divers means, yet unknown to you, of producing of light, originally from divers bodies. We procure means of seeing objects afar off, as in the heaven and remote places; and represent things near as afar off, and things afar off as near; making feigned distances. We have also helps for the sight far above spectacles and glasses in use; we have also glasses and means to see small and minute bodies, perfectly and distinctly; as the shapes and colors of small flies and worms, grains, and flaws in gems which cannot otherwise be seen, observations in urine and blood not otherwise to be seen. We make artificial rainbows, halos, and circles about light. We represent also all manner of reflections, refractions, and multiplications of visual beams of objects.
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References:
- Bacon, Francis. “New Atlantis.” Project Gutenberg. December 01, 2000. Accessed April 14, 2018. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2434.