GIAMBATTISTA

DELLA PORTA OF NAPLES ON

SECRET SIGNS IN WRITING,

BOOK ONE.

CHAPTER I.

a 1 Definition of the attribute.

A large decorative woodcut initial "O" featuring interlaced vine and foliage patterns within a square frame.
Men of more refined learning call hidden or furtive a signs those letters which are fashioned with such skill that they cannot be interpreted by anyone other than the person for whom the letters are intended. If we observe correctly, we shall see that this name clearly fits those letters which our people commonly b call CIPHERS original: "ZIFERAS"; from the Arabic 'sifr', meaning zero or empty, which came to refer to secret codes in the Renaissance..
b Ciphers.

c 2. Complete definition of the secret letters themselves.

Therefore, if we are permitted to conjecture anything while reviewing the records of our ancestors, we shall say that these furtive letters c are nothing other than signs by which we reveal something—either secretly or briefly—to those familiar with the matter and to whom we wish the matter to be made known.
d What a "sign" is.

Indeed, we call them signs d because they mark letters,
e Etymologies, book 1, chapter 21.

syllables, and words (as Isidore e Saint Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636), whose "Etymologies" was a standard encyclopedia of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. says) with prefixed characters, and they call back the minds of the readers to the knowledge of their meanings; from which it follows f that those who
f Notaries. Namely, the first use: concealment.

write them are called notaries In this context, "notary" refers to its ancient root 'notarius', meaning a shorthand writer or one who uses signs, rather than a legal official.. If we examine their use, we shall say they serve only such things as
g 1. An example in sacred matters: regarding which see chapters 8 and 9.

sacred matters, hidden g...