New Atlantis is a book about a perfect society written by Sir Francis Bacon. It was published after his death in 1626 and appeared without much attention, placed at the end of a longer work called Sylva Sylvarum ("Forest of Materials"). In New Atlantis, Bacon describes a future where humans work together to learn and grow, sharing his hopes for what people could achieve.

The story shows a land called Bensalem, where people value kindness, knowledge, and respect. Bacon also created a detailed plan for an ideal school called Salomon's House (or Solomon's House), which resembled the structure of modern universities that study both practical and theoretical science.

Bacon believed that science needed careful study, not just collecting facts. He imagined ways to improve how experiments were designed.

Publication history

New Atlantis first appeared in the back of Sylva Sylvarum, a complicated book about nature written by Francis Bacon. It was published by William Rawley, who was Bacon’s secretary, chaplain, and assistant, in 1626. When Sylva was recorded in the Stationers’ Register on July 4, 1626 (three months after Bacon’s death), the book New Atlantis was not mentioned. It was not until 1670 that New Atlantis was listed on Sylva’s letterpress title page, unlike Historia vitae et mortis, which was included earlier in 1651.

The two works, Sylva and New Atlantis, were not printed together with continuous page numbers until 1676. The first edition of Sylva was printed by J. H. for William Lee, while New Atlantis was likely printed by Mathewes, according to McKerrow. After New Atlantis, a two-page text called Magnalia naturae was included. Most scholars ignore this piece because it is hard to connect it clearly to Sylva or New Atlantis. Magnalia naturae was published separately by Thomas Newcomb in 1659, but New Atlantis generally seemed to lack a clear purpose. Rawley’s letter to the reader suggests he was unsure of the work’s purpose, even though he later included a Latin translation of New Atlantis in the collection Operum moralium et civilium tomus (1638).

In 1659, Thomas Bushell mentioned New Atlantis in his book Mineral Prosecutions. In 1660, someone named R. H. published a continuation of New Atlantis, and in 1662, a version with Rosicrucian ideas appeared as the preface to John Heydon’s Holy Guide.

Plot summary

The novel describes a mythical island called Bensalem, discovered by a European ship’s crew after they became lost in the Pacific Ocean west of Peru. The story slowly introduces the island, its traditions, and especially its state-supported scientific institution, Salomon’s House, which is described as "the very eye of this kingdom."

The island’s society and history are detailed, including its Christian religion, which is said to have originated there after a copy of the Bible and a letter from the Apostle Saint Bartholomew arrived miraculously a few years after the Ascension of Jesus. A cultural celebration honoring family, called "the Feast of the Family," is also mentioned. Salomon’s House is described as a group of wise people who "know the works of Creation and the secrets of them," and who can "discern between divine miracles, works of nature, works of art, and impostures and illusions of all sorts." The island also uses scientific tools, methods, and processes for research.

Key characters include the governor of the House of Strangers, Joabin the Jew, and the Head of Salomon’s House.

The people of Bensalem are described as honest and morally strong, as no official accepts payment from individuals. They are also described as chaste and pious, as stated by an islander:

"Under the heavens, no nation is as chaste as Bensalem. It is the virgin of the world. There are no stews, no dissolute houses, no courtesans, nor anything of that kind."

In the final part of the book, the Head of Salomon’s House shows a European visitor the scientific methods used by the institution. These include experiments conducted using the Baconian method to understand and improve society. The purpose of Salomon’s House is described as "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."

The Head of Salomon’s House explains the roles of its members:

• Merchants of light: Three members travel abroad to gather books, abstracts, and experiments from other regions.
• Depredators: Three members collect experiments from books.
• Mystery-men: Three members study mechanical arts, liberal sciences, and practices not yet formalized into arts.
• Pioneers or miners: Three members conduct new experiments they believe are valuable.
• Compilers: Three members organize experiments into tables and titles for easier analysis.
• Dowry-men or benefactors: Three members apply experiments to practical uses for human life and knowledge.
• Lamps: Three members plan new experiments based on previous work.
• Inoculators: Three members carry out these new experiments and report their results.
• Interpreters of nature: Three members summarize discoveries into broader observations, axioms, and aphorisms.

The Head of Salomon’s House also explains that scientists perform daily hymns and prayers to thank God for His works and to seek His help in their research.

Finally, after showing the visitor the scientific background of Salomon’s House, the Head gives permission to share the information with others:

"God bless thee, my son; and God bless this relation, which I have made. I give thee leave to publish it for the good of other nations; for we here are in God’s bosom, a land unknown."

The text also mentions that when European castaways arrive on Bensalem, they receive a written message in multiple languages. One passage describes a man on a boat speaking in Spanish:

"Are ye Christians?"

The name "Bensalem"

"Bensalem" is made up of two Hebrew words: "ben" (בן)—"son", and "salem" (שלם)—"peace". Therefore, the name means "Son of Peace."

Interpretations

New Atlantis is a story filled with interesting details. There are many reasonable explanations for what Francis Bacon was trying to show. Here are a few that help explain the meaning of the story.

At the beginning of the story, the governor of the House of Strangers describes how Christianity was introduced to the island:

"About twenty years after the ascension of our Savior (around A.D. 50), the people of Renfusa (a city on the eastern coast of the island) saw a strange event. One night, the sky was cloudy and calm, and a large pillar of light appeared in the sea. The light was not sharp but shaped like a column or cylinder, rising high toward heaven. At the top of the pillar was a large cross of light, brighter than the pillar itself. The people of the city gathered on the beach to watch this sight. They then rowed in small boats to get closer. When the boats reached about sixty yards from the pillar, they could not move forward. The boats remained still, but the people could move around.

One of the boats carried a wise man from the Society of Salomon’s House (a group that is the most important part of the kingdom). He looked at the pillar and cross for a while, then fell to his face, stood on his knees, and prayed to God. He said:

'Lord God of heaven and earth, you have given us the knowledge to understand your works and to tell the difference between miracles, natural events, and human tricks. I declare that what we see is a miracle from you. We ask you to explain its meaning and purpose.'

After his prayer, the boat he was in became free to move, but the others remained stuck. He rowed closer to the pillar, but before he reached it, the pillar and cross of light broke apart, forming many stars that quickly disappeared. All that remained was a small chest made of cedar, dry and not wet, even though it floated. On the chest was a small green branch of palm. The wise man took the chest into his boat, and it opened on its own. Inside were a book and a letter, both written on fine parchment and wrapped in linen.

The book contained all the books of the Old and New Testaments, including the Book of Revelation, even though some of these books were not written at that time. The letter said:

'I, Bartholomew, a servant of the Highest and an apostle of Jesus Christ, was told by an angel to place this chest in the sea. I declare that the people where this chest lands will receive salvation, peace, and goodwill from God.'

Everyone present, including Hebrews, Persians, and Indians, could read the book and letter in their own language, as if they were written in their native tongue. This event led the people of the island to accept Christianity. The story ended with the governor being called away by a messenger.

The traditional date for writing the Book of Revelation is the end of the first century A.D. The story’s credibility is questioned because it describes the full collection of religious texts long before they were completed or compiled. It also mentions a scientist who could confirm the miracle, which makes the story seem unlikely.

Later, the leader of Salomon’s House explains the institution’s ability to create illusions of light:

"We can produce light that appears far away and is sharp enough to see small details. We can also create illusions of color, shapes, sizes, and movements. We can show shadows and use methods to produce light from different materials that are unknown to others."

He also claims that the institution can create fake miracles:

"You will believe that we, who can do many natural things that impress people, could also trick the senses if we wanted to make them seem like miracles."

Renaker, in a Latin translation from 1638, notes that the original text says, "we could trick people’s senses into believing many things if we wanted to make them seem like miracles." Some readers think this suggests that Salomon’s House invented the miracle itself, but this may not be a safe conclusion. The story’s connection to the island’s conversion to Christianity shows that the institution has advanced knowledge to determine whether events are natural or miraculous. This knowledge allows the revelation to be shared.

The ability to create illusions, combined with the story’s questionable details, makes it seem that Bacon implied the light show (or the story of it) was made by Salomon’s House.

The presence of Hebrews, Persians, and Indians in Bensalem during the first century suggests that people from Asia were already sailing across the Pacific. However, this is historically incorrect and might have seemed plausible when the story was written.

The leader of Salomon’s House explains that the institution decides which discoveries to keep secret, even from the government:

"We also decide which inventions and discoveries to share and which to keep private. We take an oath of secrecy for those we choose to hide. Some discoveries are shared with the government, and others are not."

This suggests that the government does not control all knowledge.

Prayers

In describing how the scientists of New Atlantis worked, Bacon wrote:

We have certain hymns and services, which we say daily, of Lord and thanks to God for His wonderful works; and some forms of prayer, imploring His aid and blessing for the guidance of our labors, and the helping us use them in good and holy ways.

In Bacon's Theological Tracts, there are two prayers, named "The Student's Prayer" and "The Writer's Prayer," which may be an example of how scientists could pray as described in The New Atlantis.

Influences

Francis Bacon's book New Atlantis and other writings helped create the Royal Society. This book also influenced B. F. Skinner's 1948 novel Walden Two.

Some believe New Atlantis described Bacon's vision for a perfect society in North America. In the book, he imagined a place where people could practice any religion freely, including Jews living equally among Christians. Some historians say this work may have inspired later changes, such as better rights for women, ending slavery, removing debtors' prisons, separating church and government, and allowing free speech. However, these ideas are not directly mentioned in New Atlantis.

Bacon proposed changes to laws, though they were not used during his lifetime. These ideas are thought to have influenced the Napoleonic Code, which later helped shape other important documents, like the American Constitution.

Francis Bacon played an important role in starting English colonies, especially in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Newfoundland in northeastern Canada. In 1609, he wrote a government report about the Virginia Colony. In 1610, Bacon and his group received permission from the king to create a colony in Newfoundland and sent John Guy to start it. In 1910, Newfoundland released a postage stamp to honor Bacon’s work, calling him "the guiding spirit" of the 1610 colonization plan. Some scholars also believe Bacon helped write two government charters for Virginia in 1609 and 1612.

Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States and writer of the Declaration of Independence, once said, "Bacon, Locke, and Newton were the greatest men who ever lived, and they laid the foundation for progress in science and society." Historian William Hepworth Dixon called Bacon "a noble founder" of the United States. Some groups, like the Rosicrucian organization AMORC, claim that New Atlantis inspired a group of mystics, led by Johannes Kelpius, to travel to North America in the late 1600s. These people, they say, helped develop American culture in areas like music, science, and art.

In 1972, British composer Daphne Oram wrote about New Atlantis in her book An Individual Note. She quoted a section titled "Wee have also Sound-Houses," which she compared to modern recording studios. The original text described places where people studied and created sounds, including new types of music and tools to make sounds louder or softer. Oram placed a copy of this passage in the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, which she helped start in 1958. In 1960, she wrote her own version of the passage, titled Atlantis Anew, which included ideas about using sound for healing.