A Discourse on Anagrams as a Part of the Cabala

C H A P T E R I I I.

The origin of the Anagram is most ancient, arising with the invention of letters themselves, or immediately thereafter. The Sacred Oracles A common Renaissance term for the books of the Bible. themselves are in some places covered by this cloak; indeed, they are distinguished by this ornament so that, because they are hidden, they might appear more divine. An example is found in the Prophet Jeremiah, chapter 25: And the King of Sheshach shall drink the cup of the wine of fury. Jeremiah 25:26. "Sheshach" is a famous biblical cipher for Babylon. Which King? The King of Babylon: but he was deceived by a hiding place of letters, lest he cause harm if provoked by sacred threats. For the word בבל Babel Babylon was transformed into ששך Sheshach by an Anagram (unless it should rather be called a Metathesis The transposition of sounds or letters within a word.) commonly used by the Hebrews.

For they are accustomed to substitute the last letter of their alphabet for the first, the second-to-last for the second, the third-from-last for the third, and so on in order, as St. Jerome Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus (c. 347–420 AD), the Church Father who translated the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate). noted on this passage. This same system—though in various different orders—prevailed among the Greeks and Romans; it was a method familiar to Julius Caesar and Octavian Augustus. Indeed, Julius used to substitute D for A, E for B, F for C, and so on for the rest of the letters at a four-step interval. Augustus used the next letter The text cuts off here; Augustus famously shifted his cipher by only one letter, using B for A.