Symbolism In The New Atlantis

It is clear in Sir Francis Bacon’s The New Atlantis that the scientists of Bensalem rule society. It seems that the scientists of Salomon’s House fabricated a miracle of God to introduce Christianity to the island. It also appears that many of the protocols on the island stem from scientific research, such as how the sailors were kept in a quarantine for three days and given pills for their sick to take. The scientists of Salomon’s House have control over aspects of Bensalem such as orchards, pools, furnaces, and towers. The Father of Salomon’s house radiates authority in the way he is dressed and presented, which is far more ornately than any other character in the book. Even his servants hold symbols of authority. In addition to this, he gave the European sailors permission to tell others about the island of Bensalem, something not even the Governor could seemingly do. Overall, through the almost certainly fabricated Miracle of Renfusa, procedures implemented by scientists, control over public works and authority of the Father of Salomon’s

It is later revealed that the scientists at Salomon’s House have the knowledge of how to create pillars of light such as those that were seen at Renfusa, and even have “...houses of deceits of the senses; where we represent all manner of feats of juggling, false apparitions, impostures, and illusions; and their fallacies.” (Bacon, ⁋78) This seems to reinforce the idea that the scientists of Bensalem fabricated the miracle at Renfusa to bring Christianity to the island and increase their power, even though they insist such lies are forbidden. It is later found that “...the Brethren study the Creation in order to better understand God,” (McKnight, ⁋37) which could explain why the scientists would do such a