The Art of Discovery

The Art of Discovery

“But if a man be thought secret, it inviteth discovery; as the more close air sucketh in the more open; and as in confession, the revealing is not for worldly use, but for the ease of a man's heart, so secret men come to the knowledge of many things in that kind; while men rather discharge their minds, than impart their minds.  In few words, mysteries are due to secrecy.”
Francis Bacon: ‘Of Simulation and Dissimulation,’ Essays (1625)

To help us, Francis Bacon gave us an Art of Discovery, the training for which is a "game of hide and seek". There are several levels of the game of hide and seek in this training programme:

  1. The Scientific Programme, wherein we learn to test out our speculations, to see if they are true or not, and whether they have any practical value or not.
  2. The Shakespeare Experience, wherein we can discover truths concerning our desires, thoughts and actions, and their results, and begin to see the real truth to aim for.
  3. The Shakespeare Authorship Question, whereby we can discover the true author or authors of the Shakespeare works—a process that also teaches us how to discover the Divine Author or Authors (the Laws and Intelligences) of the Universe.
  4. Freemasonry, wherein by searching for the Lost Word we are trained in the morality necessary to find it.
  5. Rosicrucianism, wherein by operating the Word we have found, we can discover even greater truths, and ultimately the Truth of all truths.

All this is drama, whereby we are the actors on the stage of the world, and all drama consists of mysteries, of which there are many levels or degrees.

Drama is Poetry in motion, and it is such Poetry that builds the Temple or Pyramid of Science – a science that is knowledge of the Wisdom, Word, Will, Law or Commandment1 that creates, sustains and transforms the Universe, and which inspires the Poetry (and each of us).

Poetry (“Poesie”) is Part 4 of the six-part Great Instauration. Bacon describes this as the “Ladder of the Intellect”, which we climb degree by degree, or as the “Thread of the Labyrinth”, with many clues provided for us to find our way. All five levels of the game of hide and seek (given above) are examples of Poetry, rightly understood, as all five require imagination, speculation, methodology and experimentation, by acting out our parts, the roles we are given or choose to play.

Bacon refers to the body of science which is to be built as (a) a Temple of Science, and (b) a Pyramid of Science.

'Temple' is a reference to Solomon's Temple, which, after its destruction, was rebuilt or instaurated on its original foundations by Prince Zerubabel as an even finer temple than before, which became known as the Second Temple or Zerubabel's Temple. The means to do this was enabled by finding the Lost Word that lay concealed in an underground vaulted cave in the rock2 beneath the foundations of Solomon's Temple. This Lost Word is equivalent to the Architect's original plan, design or intention, the Architect in this case being the Great Architect of the Universe.

It was from this biblical history and symbolism that Francis Bacon invented the title "The Great Instauration' for his scientific project, likening his project to the building of Zerubabel's Temple. Whereas the name 'Solomon' means 'Peace', the name 'Zerubabel' means 'Great Word of God'. Peace is equated with the Holy Intelligence or Holy Breath, and is symbolised by a dove and the olive tree. The Word of God is equated with the Divine Wisdom, the Will of God. In terms of the symbolism of the Great Pillars of Solomon's Temple, the former is represented by the left-hand 'Moon' Pillar (Boaz), the latter by the right-hand 'Sun' Pillar (Jachin). They are known in Freemasonry as the Pillar of Wisdom and the Pillar of Strength – Wisdom to design, Strength to support.

'Pyramid' is a reference to the Great Pyramid of Giza, which was built as a royal tomb to enable the pharaoh to 'ascend' and become like a god, an immortalised mortal or immortal-mortal. This ascension occurred after death, which not only referred to physical death but also to psychological initiatory death of the mortal natural soul. In terms of the latter, the natural soul, or that part of the natural soul that has reached a sufficient purity3 or holiness, becomes enlightened. Such enlightened souls are known as the immortal-mortals.

Hermetically, this is known as the marriage of heaven and earth, immortal and mortal, so as to become united as one, in love. Alchemically it is known as transmutation – transmutation of the natural element of fire into the quintessence called aether, which is light. The pyramid obtains its name from a pyre of fire. It is fire or flame that shines with light. But to have the fire or flame in the first place requires a transformation of the solid earth element into liquid, the water element, then into vapour, the air element, then into flame, the fire element, just as the candle does when lit.

The purpose of Bacon's Pyramid of Science is to do just this – to be a pyre of proven knowledge of all the laws of the universe, physical and metaphysical, that enable the human soul to reach the heights of enlightenment, and ultimately to know the summary or universal law.

This summary law was identified by Bacon, as his highly illumined predecessors did before him, as love in action – "the work that God works from the beginning to the end."4 In human terms, this is what charity means. That is to say, without practising charity, in whatever form it might take, we cannot know the summary law of love. Full knowledge of this supreme law of the universe is symbolised by the apex or capstone of the Pyramid.

© Peter Dawkins, FBRT
1. Jesus Christ summed up this Word, Will, Law or Commandment of God as the Two Great Commandments (i.e. the Double Truth): “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40.) And the word 'God' is further explained as meaning ‘Love’: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8.)
2. The rock or stone is symbolic of the Foundation Stone of the Universe, in which is all wisdom.
3. By ‘purity’ is meant being pure in desire, thought and action, which correspond to the three Craft Degrees in Freemasonry, known as the lesser mysteries in the ancient mystery schools. To become pure in these degrees means developing goodwill, good thought and good action, wherein ‘good’ (or ‘god’) means ‘love’ or ‘loving’. Purity of this kind was referred to as ‘virginity’ in the mystery schools of old – i.e. someone who was a virgin was a person, male or female, who was pure in heart, mind and body (i.e. desire, thought and action). Such a person was considered holy.
4. Ecclesiastes iii, 11.

 

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