Mercvry, or, The secret and svvift messenger shewing, how a man may with privacy and speed communicate his thoughts to a friend at any distance.
About this Item
Title
Mercvry, or, The secret and svvift messenger shewing, how a man may with privacy and speed communicate his thoughts to a friend at any distance.
Author
Wilkins, John, 1614-1672.
Publication
London :: Printed by I. Norton, for Iohn Maynard and Timothy Wilkins ...,
1641.
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Subject terms
Cryptography -- Early works to 1800.
Cite this Item
"Mercvry, or, The secret and svvift messenger shewing, how a man may with privacy and speed communicate his thoughts to a friend at any distance." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A66051.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 17, 2024.
Pages
CHAP. IV.
Concerning the secret conveyances of any
written message in use amongst the
Antients,
Either by
Land.
Water.
the open Ayre.
THe secrecy of any written mes∣sage
may consist
either in the
Conveyance.
Writing.
1. In the Conveyance, when a let∣ter
is so closely concealed in the
carryage of it, as to delude the search
and suspition of the adversary. Of
which kind, the antient Historians
doe furnish us with divers relations,
reducible in the generall unto these
descriptionPage 27
three heads. Those are the
1. By Land.
2. By Water.
3. Through the open Ayre.
1. The secret conveyances by Land,
may be of numberlesse variety: but
those antient inventions of this na∣ture,
which to my remembrance are
most obvious and remarkeable, are
these.
That of Harpagus the Mede (men∣tioned
by Herodotus and Iustin) who
when he would exhort Cyrus to a con∣spiracy
against the King his uncle,
(and not daring to commit any
such message to the ordinary way of
conveyance, especially since the
Kings jealousie had stopped up all
passages with spies and watchmen)
he put his letters into the belly of a
hare; which together with certaine
hunters nets, hee delivered unto a
trusty servant, who under this dis∣guise
of a hunts-man, got an unsu∣spected
passage to Cyrus. And Astya∣g••s
himselfe was by this conspiracy
descriptionPage 28
bereav'd of that Kingdom which was
then the greatest Monarchie in the
world.
To this purpose likewise is that of
Demaratus, King of Sparta, who be∣ing
banished from his own Country
and received in the Persian Court,
when he there understood of Xerxes
his designe and preparation for a
warre with Greece, hee used these
meanes for the discovery of it unto
his countrey men. Having writ an
Epistle in a Tablet of wood, he co∣vered
over the letters with waxe, and
then committed it unto a trusty ser∣vant
to be delivered unto the Magi∣strates
of Lacedaemon; Who when
they had received it, were for a long
time in a perplexed consultation,
what it should meane, they did see
nothing written, and yet could not
conceive, but that it should import
some weighty secret; till at length
the Kings sister did accidentally dis∣cover
the writing under the waxe,
By which meanes the Grecians were
descriptionPage 29
so well provided, for the following
warre, as to give a defeate to the
greatest and most numerous Army
that is mentioned in History.
The Fathers of the Counsell of
Ephesus, when Nestorius was condem∣ned,
being strictly debarred from all
ordinary waves of conveyances, were
faine to send unto Constantinople, by
one in the disguise of a beggar.
Some messengers have beene sent
away in coffins as being dead. Some
others in the disguise of brute crea∣tures,
as those whom Iosephus menti∣ons
in the siege of Iotapata, who crept
out of the City by night like Dogs.
Others have conveyed letters to
their imprisoned friends, by putting
them into the food they were to re∣ceive,
which is related of Polycrita.
Laurentius Medices involving his Epi∣stles
in a piece of bread, did send
them by a certaine Nobleman in the
forme of a begger. There is another
relation of one, who rolled up his
letters in a waxe candle, bidding the
descriptionPage 30
messenger tell the party that was to
receive it, that the candle would give
him light for his businesse. There is
yet a stranger conveyance spoken of
in Aeneas, by writing on leaves, and
afterwards with these leaves, cove∣ring
over some sore or putrid ulcer,
where the enemy would never suspect
any secret message.
Others have carried Epistles in∣scribed
upon their owne flesh, which
is reckoned amongst those secret
conveyances mentioned by Ovid.
Caveat hoc custos, pro chartà, conscia
tergumPraebeat, inque suo corpore verbaeferat.
But amongst all the ancient pra∣ctises
in this kind, there is none for
the strangenesse, to be compared un∣to
that of Hystiaens mentioned by He∣rodotus,
and out of him in Aulus Gel∣lius;
who whilst he resided with Da∣rius
in Persia, being desirous to send
unto Aristagoras in Greece, about re∣volting
from the Persian Govern∣ment,
(concerning which they had
descriptionPage 31
before conferred together;) But not
knowing well how at that distance to
convey so dangerous a businesse with
sufficient secrecy, hee at length con∣trived
it after this manner. He chose
one of his houshold servants that was
troubled with sore eyes, pretending
that for his recovery, his haire must
be shaved, and his head scarified;
in the performance of which Hystiaeus
tooke occasion to imprint his secret
intentions on his servants head, and
keeping him close at home till his
haire was growne, hee then told him,
that for his perfect recovery, hee
must travaile into Greece unto Arista∣goras,
who by shaving his haire the
second time, would certainly restore
him. By which relation you may
see, what strange shifts the antients
were put unto, for want of skill, in
this subject, that is here discour∣sed
of.
'Tis reported of some fugitive
Jewes at the siege of Jerusalem, who
more securely to carry away their
descriptionPage 32
gold, did first melt it into bullets,
and then swallow it downe, venting
it afterwards amongst their other
excrements. Now if a man had but
his faculty, who could write Homers
Iliads, in so small a volume as might
be contained in a nut shell, it were
an easie matter for him, by this
tricke of the Jewes, securely to con∣vey
a whole packet of letters.
2. When all the land passages have
beene stopped up, then have the an∣tients
used other secret conveiances
by water; writing their intentions
on thin plates of leade, and fastning
them to the armes or thighes of some
expert swimmer. * Frontinu•• relates,
that when Lucullus would informe a
besieged City of his comming to
succour them, hee put his letters in∣to
two bladders, betwixt which a
common Souldier in the disguise of
a sea-monster, was appointed to
swim unto the City. There have bin
likewise more exquisite inventions
to passe under the water, either by
descriptionPage 33
a mans selfe, or in a boate, wherein
he might also carry provision; only
having a long truncke or pipe, with
a tunnell at the top of it, to let
downe fresh ayre. But for the pre∣vention
of all such conveyances, the
antients were wont in their strictest
sieges, to crosse the rivers with
strong nets, to fasten stakes in se∣verall
parts of the channell with
sharpe irons, as the blades of swords,
sticking upon them.
3. Hence was it that there have
beene other meanes attempted
through the open ayre. Either by
using birds, as Pidgeons and Swal∣lowes
instead of messengers, of which
I shall treate more particularly in
the sixteenth Chapter. Or else by
fastning a writing to an arrow,
or the weight that is cast from a
sling.
Somewhat of this nature, was
that intimation agreed upon be∣twixt
David and Ionathan, though
that invention doe somewhat favour
descriptionPage 34
of the antient simplicity and rude∣nesse.
It was a more exact invention
mentioned by Herodotus concerning
Artabazus and Timoxenus, who when
they could not come together, were
wont to informe one another of any
thing that concerned their affaires,
by fastning a letter unto an arrow,
and directing it unto some appoin∣ted
place, where it might bee recei∣ved.
Thus also Cleonymus King of Lace∣daemon,
in the siege of the City Treze∣ne,
injoyned the Souldiers to shoot
severall arrowes into the Towne,
with notes fastned unto them having
this inscription, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉
I come that I may restore
this place to its liberty. Vpon
which, the credulous and discon∣tented
Inhabitants were very willing
to let him enter.
When Cicero was so straightly be∣sieged
by the Galls, that the Soul∣diers
were almost ready to yeeld;
Cesar being desirous to encourage
descriptionPage 35
him with the newes of some other
forces that were to come unto his
ayde, did shoote an arrow into the
City, with these words fastned un∣to
it; Caesar Ciceroni fiduciam optat,
expecta auxilium. By which meanes
the Souldiers were perswaded to
hold out so long, till these new suc∣cours
did arrive and breake up the
siege.
The same thing might also bee
done more securely, by rolling up a
note within the head of an arrow,
and then shooting of it to a confe∣derates
Tent, or to any other ap∣pointed
place.
To this purpose is that which
Lypsius relates out of Appian, concer∣ning
an antient custome for the be∣sieged
to write their minds briefely
in a little piece of leade, which they
could with a sling cast a great
distance, and exactly hit any such
particular place as should be agreed
upon, where the confederate
might receive it, and by the same
descriptionPage 36
meanes returne an answere.
Of this nature likewise are those
kind of bullets, lately invented in
these Germane warres, in which they
can shoot not onely letters, corne,
and the like: but (which is the
strangest) powder also into a besieged
City.
But amongst all other possible
conveyances through the ayre, ima∣gination
it selfe cannot conceive any
one more usefull, then the invention
of a flying charriot, which I have
mentioned elsewhere. Since by this
meanes, a man may have as free a
passage as a bird, which is not hin∣dred,
either by the highest walls, or
the deepest rivers and trenches, or
the most watchfull Sentinels. But of
this perhaps I may have occasion to
treate more largely in some other
discourse.