Question- Write a summary of the novel "The new Atlantis" by Francis Bacon.

Answer -

This book the new Atlantis shows influence of Thomas More's book Utopia on Bacon, however, unlike More's book New Atlantis little description or discussion on social and political philosophy, rather Bacon's book stresses more on the issue of development of science and knowledge and depicts a vision of future of human endeavours discoveries and knowledge. In this book, Bacon portrayed an ideal college titled the Solomon's House and described it as a modern research institute in both applied and theoretical sciences. In the book, Solomon's House is a specific instrument of government keeping to maintain pace of peaceful development of society. Bacon's idea of Solomon's House from New Atlantis became the inspiration for the establishment of the Royal society of London for improving natural knowledge.

A Spanish merchant ship is moving from peru to China across the Pacific Ocean when a strong storm hits the ship and the crew looses most of its food supplies and other essential things. The narrator and the members of the crew pray to God for help when the narrator sees a landmark in the vicinity. When the narrator checks the map, he realizes that there is no landmass shown in the map anywhere near their position.

The crew decide to go to the unknown landmass yet hidden from the old world. As the ship approaches the landmass, the crew members realize that it is vibrant port as illustrious as any European port. As the ship approaches near an eight-member delegation from the unknown land. Comes and intercepts the ship warning the crew members against landing. The delegation pass them four stamped scrolls written in four different language, Greek, Latin, Hebrew and Spanish.

The scroll suggests that the ship can remain offshore for a maximum of 16 days, during which the ship will be provided proper care and repair works while the crew members will be offered proper food, shelter, medication if needed and other amenities. The narrator observes that the scroll is stamped with a figure of cherubim and a cross and the crew is releaved that the islanders appear to be ChristiAnswe When they approach the island, they come to know that the island is named Bensalem. The name appears to be driven from two Hebrew worlds, Ben and Salem and may literally mean "son of wholeness". Bacon devised this name which also resembles with Bethlehem, the place of birth of Jesus Christ.

After some time, a reverend reaches to the ship and checks the crew members. As the reverend is satisfied that the crew members are not pirates, he takes them to the island and allows them to stay at the house of strangers where they can stay for a maximum of 40 days. The crew members are observed medically for these days in isolation during which all their needs are met. After three days, the head of the house of stranger comes to meet the crew members who is a priest. The crew members ask a lot of question about this affluent land which remained hidden from the outer world and the priest answers all their queries. When asked how Christianity reached Bensalem the Priest says that 20 years after the ascension of Jesus Christ, Saint Bartholomew the apostle miraculously sent the Bible and a message to the head of the Solomon's House. He explains that a pillar of light appeared in the sea near the shore of Bensalem and nobody could reach near the pillar. But when the head of Solomon's House tried, he was allowed to enter the pillar of light where he got the bible and a message from Bartholomew the Apostle. The crew members asked why the people of Bensalem keen themselves hidden from the outer world? The priest answers that there were times when people of Bensalem used to trade with other countries and one of their trade partner was Atlantis.

However, once the Army of Atlantis decided to attack Bensalem and as a result of which, Atlantis was punished by the God and it drowned under the sea. Bensalem lost a trade partner after that incident, King Solomon of Bensalem decided to cut ties with the outer world. The priest suggests that the Atlantis used to be in the sea near North America and the undergenous people of North America are descendants of those people of lost Atlantis who survived the great flood that devoured lost Atlantis.

The head of the House of Strangers allow the crew member to remain in Bensalem as long as they would like to provided that they do not go more than one-and-a-half miles away from the city walls of Bensalem. One days the narrator joins the feast of the family during which the people of Bensalem honour such elderly people who have at least 30 living sons, daughters and grandchildren. In the feast, the narrator meets a merchant named. Jobian the Jew and gets surprised that Jobian enjoys complete freedom in Bensalem which Jobian Jew describes as "there is not under the heavens so chaste a nation as this of Bensalem".

The narrator realizes that Jobian the Jew is learned and respected man who holds a lot of social power and wisdom.

The crew member is allowed to visit the Solomon's House after a few days where they meet the father of the Solomon's House. The father guide them to observe all the scientific and technological works, advancements, experiments and processes going on in the Solomon's House and explained Bensalem as "The aim of our society is to achieve the knowledge about the causes and the secret movements of all things and the extensions of the limit of human power over things as much as possible. He also suggests that the government of Bensalem is not a monarchy and the Solomon's House hold specific powers and may decide which invention or discovery or creation to share with the state and which to keep a secret from the state of Bensalem itself.

He explains all the scientific and technological advancements of Bensalem to the crew member and when the narrator asks permission to record all those to publish it in the outer world for the greater good of human society, the father of Solomon's House gives the narrator his permission to do that.

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