Book Two

Chapter X.

On the Superinduction of Non-significant Letters by the Preparation
of Real, False and Mixed Speech.

Not only is the Order of Collocation of letters broken by Inversion of writing and by strew-Scattering, which have been the subjects of my discourse up to the present time; but, that the deception may be greater, the Order is disarranged by the obsessionary Superinduction of new letters, which contribute nothing to the true sense, and may be called Non-significant letters. This branch of the subject must now engage our attention. In the matter of this Superinduction, then, there come into consideration the Object, the Subject and the Mode. The Object is such letters as are used singly, or in conjunction with Significant letters in a single word, or, very frequently, as sole constituents either of one Non-significant word or of several such. For, this kind of Superinduction of Non-significant letters is performed in a variety of ways. The Subject is the above-mentioned letters which contribute to the secret sense, the Order and consecutiveness of which letters is obsessed and interrupted in various ways by the afore-mentioned Non-significant letters. The Mode consists in the Preparation of words and, consequently, of discourse, of one kind or another. For, this is everywhere our object here: by placing alongside Significant letters as many Non-significant letters as shall suffice to constitute words, either Con-significant or Non-significant, to bring about deception by the appearance of real or false speech, or speech in itself signifying nothing. Now this Preparation of words belongs to real speech, to false speech and to artificial speech. Whence arise three different Modes. By way of concluding this chapter, I shall make some general remarks explanatory of these Modes, and so speak of their name, their use, and their order. As respects the name, we may call the first Mode a Steganographic Mode, and the last a Polygraphic Mode. The first we may so call for the reason that Trithemius in the two Book of his Steganographia devotes himself entirely to the setting forth and explaining of this sort of Mode, and does not touch upon the other kind. Furthermore, in this method the Significant letters are brought close together with greater secrecy and are hidden with a more manifold covering. For, such suggestion belongs to the word FPUaic  or TsteUauou.

The Polygraphic Mode I call by this name for the reason, again, that Trithemius treats especially of this Mode in the fourth Book of his Polygraphia, and for a further reason which I shall mention on its place. Bk.IV.c.8. As respects the Mode that lies between these two, let that also rejoice in the name Steganographic, since it, as well as the other, is, though only secondarily, treated by Trithemius in his Steganographia.  The ultimate and essential reason for this distinction of names is that we may have in an art words of fixed meaning. The use of these Modes is very far-reaching. For although they have their own individual character, it is possible, when we wish still further to cover and conceal the secret, to use them in conjunction with the most of the other Modes, whether the accomplishment of these latter depends on Transference or on Transposition. The first Mode, however, is of most general usefulness, since it contains, for the most part, a common, epistolary style of composition, well fitted for daily use. Whence it happens that, while the Polygraphic Modes depend on a fixed formula and are, further, of