Book Two

Chapter VII.

On Direct Ordinary Scattering of Letters, of the second and third kinds;
 also on Oblique Scattering and Inverted Scattering.

We have had Salient Strewing of Letters; we come now to Gradual Strewing. This takes place when the Scattering, or Strewing, increases and diminishes gradually, by gradations. Thus, first one letter, then two, then three, then four letters respectively preceding. This process will be made clearer by an example. The letters of the sentence:  ( O discite justiciam moniti, & non temnere divos )  will be scattered with the following result:  Do ciis usttei mmonicia tnonitie nertem jued so. There remains the Successive Strewing of Letters, which takes place when we divide the letters of the secret sentence equally into two, three, or more groups, and then take from the first, second, and third groups successively a single letter and write it down. So, for example, by dividing into two parts the sentence Benefaciendum omnibus, we obtain the following arrangement of the letters:  Bdeunme ofmanciibeuns.  This process may be accomplished by various other Modes. So much, then, for Direct Strewing. We come now to Oblique Strewing, where we advance by roundabout methods. For example, taking two secrets at once, we separate from one another the letters thereof and then scatter them; these being thus intermingled, we then, over and above this, bring into use the preceding devices. Finally, Inverted Strewing of Letters takes place when we advance by Inverted Mode. For example, beginning at the end, we make the letters read backward, and we do this either simply and without modification, or in part only. Assuming that we read backward with the letters in part only, we then make the rest of the letters read forward. Let the proverb just used serve as an example:  Benefaciendum omnibus. Here, first dividing the letters into two groups, we read backward thus:  Ndeuimcoamf neinbeubs. The usefulness of all these Modes too, in those steganographic Modes explained under the names of Geradiel, Bydiel, Uriel, Pyrichiel, Soleviel, Menadiel and Macariel, in Bk. III. c.11. is, as can there be seen, found to be not slight.