Steganography Vindicated, Unlocked and Illustrated

[sur-]name, to whom two books of Familiar Letters original: "Epistolarum familiarium" survive, written at the Abbey of Saint James near Würzburg The OCR reads "Peapolim," likely a variant or error for Herbipolis, the Latin name for Würzburg, where Trithemius later lived and where the Scottish Abbey of St. James was located.. Our Johannes, however, when he was fifteen years old—against the wishes of his parents and all his relatives—was touched by a love of letters. Having been assured in a way by a certain miraculous vision of his future knowledge, he began to learn his letters secretly. When this became known to his stepfather, he was met with harsh words and even harsher beatings from him, and he was pulled away with all possible force from the literary pursuit he held.

Truly, the more he was daily afflicted by these prohibitions, the more he was inflamed with a fervent desire for learning. For at night (since he was not allowed during the day, except on holidays, and then only secretly), while everyone else was sleeping, he would leave the house and go to a certain neighboring friend who had formerly applied himself to letters. From this friend, he learned the first principles of elementary instruction in a very short time; so much so that even the teacher himself, being greatly amazed, said that he had never seen a more teachable talent or a more lively memory in any man. Johannes also described this vision which he had, which we have come to know from his own revelation as follows:

CHAPTER II.

THE VISION GRANTED TO TRITHEMIUS AND HIS STUDIES.

For the space of one year, with continuous fasting and prayers, he asked two very great things from the Lord God with the highest intention: one was the knowledge of the scriptures; the other, he said, he never revealed to anyone. Behold, one night as the youth was sleeping, a figure in bright clothing appeared to stand before him, holding two tablets in his hands. One of these was written with letters, and the other was depicted with certain images. He said to him: “Choose one of these two tablets, whichever you wish.”

Immediately Trithemius—burning with a love of letters (of which he was still entirely ignorant at that time) even while dreaming—chose the tablet that appeared to be written. To him, the youth who had appeared said: “Behold, God has heard your prayers, and he will give you both what you have asked for, and indeed more than you could have requested.” Soon, on the following day, while he was thinking nothing of the vision, a miraculous opportunity was given to him to begin the letters he so desired.

For some time, therefore, he devoted himself to letters in secret in that same village, because he did not dare do so publicly for fear of his parents. In seven days, he perfectly learned the Alphabet, the Lord’s Prayer, the Angelic Salutation The Hail Mary, the Apostles’ Creed, the confession of the altar The Confiteor, and the blessing of food and drink Grace before meals, and he committed them most tenaciously to memory. Furthermore, after this, he became accustomed to reading books in the German language original: "Teutonicæ" perfectly by himself within one month.

When his friends, and especially the priests, saw such talent in the youth and such a love for letters, they persuaded his uncle, Peter of Heidenberg original: "de monte gentili," meaning "of the pagan mountain"—a mature and stern man—to see for himself what such a vehement desire for letters portended in the boy. He agreed, and as his uncle, he presented himself as the youth’s guardian despite the stepfather’s objections, and thereafter began to manage his inheritance. But how many beatings, how many insults, how [many...]