About three thousand years ago...the king of this island, (by name Altabin,) a wise man and a great warrior, knowing well both his own strength and that of his enemies, handled the matter so, as he cut off their land-forces from their ships; and entoiled both their navy and their tamp with a greater power than theirs, both by sea and land: arid compelled them to render themselves without striking a stroke and after they were at his mercy, contenting himself only with their oath that they should no more bear arms against him, dismissed them all in safety....
There reigned in this land, about nineteen hundred years ago, a king, whose memory of all others we most adore; not superstitiously, but as a divine instrument, though a mortal man; his name was Solamona: and we esteem him as the lawgiver of our nation. This king had a large heart, inscrutable for good; and was wholly bent to make his kingdom and people happy. He therefore, taking into consideration how sufficient and substantive this land was to maintain itself without any aid (at all) of the foreigner; being five thousand six hundred miles in circuit, and of rare fertility of soil in the greatest part thereof; and finding also the shipping of this country might be plentifully set on work, both by fishing and by transportations from port to port, and likewise by sailing unto some small islands that are not far from us, and are under the crown and laws of this state; and, recalling into his memory the happy and flourishing estate wherein this land then was; so as it might be a thousand ways altered to the worse, but scarce any one way to the better; thought nothing wanted to his noble and heroical intentions, but only (as far as human foresight might reach) to give perpetuity to that which was in his time so happily established. Therefore amongst his other fundamental laws of this kingdom, he did ordain the interdicts and prohibitions which we have touching entrance of strangers; which at that time (though it was after the calamity of America) was frequent; doubting novelties, and commixture of manners. It is true, the like law against the admission of strangers without licence is an ancient law in the kingdom of China, and yet continued in use. But there it is a poor thing; and hath made them a curious, ignorant, fearful, foolish nation. But our lawgiver made his law of another temper. For first, he hath preserved all points of humanity, in taking order and making provision for the relief of strangers distressed; whereof you have tasted."--the Governor of the House of Strangers, and (by "vocation" a Christian priest) in New Atlantis.
The Governor, who is a state-functionary and a priest, offers what one may call the official, exoteric self-conception of Bacon's Bensalem. I call it 'exoteric' not because I think it is false, but because were are explicitly told that there is at least one competing 'esoteric' "tradition among the Jews there," who "have it believed that the people thereof were of the generations of Abraham, by another son, whom they call Nachoran; and that Moses by a secret Cabala ordained the Laws of Bensalem which they now use," (recall). Moreover, it is not impossible that the ultra-secretive House of Salomon have yet another tradition about their own origins.
It is worth pausing about the contrast between Altabin is called "wise and great," and his humanity and shrewdness to win battle without bloodshed must be counted among his virtues (including mercifulness [recall]). Even so, he lacks the political art. This is clear from the contrast with Solamona, who created a constitution not just with the design "to give perpetuity to that which was in his time so happily established," but also with considerable success in doing so; nineteen hundred years is a very long time for a political order. Quite clearly, the durability of the constitutional order was aided by the policy of isolation which limits the sources of change (new ideas, new peoples, new goods) and reduces uncertainty. This is not to deny there has been some innovation since Solamona's re-founding of Bensalem--not the least the introduction of Christendom a few hundred years after his death.*
Solamona is said to be magnanimous ("This king had a large heart"). But the narrative does not pause to reflect on the fact that a re-founding was required. To offer a political maxim: no new constitution without revolution. To oversimplify: Solamona was almost certainly either a successful revolutionary or a victor in a civil war because he clearly was confronting a situation in which incremental reform was not a viable option within, almost certainly, a multi-ethnic (and religious) society (recall).
For some readers the previous paragraph may be thought very speculative. The following thought I consider speculative. Salomana is described as a "divine instrument, though a mortal man." Obviously, we are meant to think of the Biblical King Solomon and that fits the tenor of Bacon's The Advancement of Learning (recall). But the Biblical King Solomon did not posses the political art (his kingdom breaks into two quickly), here understood as generating the conditions of for unity.
So, I propose that Bacon has a different exemplar in mind. Rather, the description fits better the Prophet Mohamed, who was a successful political legislator (among his many other virtues). Before one rules this out at once as implausible, it is worth noting that in his Essays, Bacon treats "Mahomet" as both a lawgiver (see "Of Vicissitude Of Things") that are capable of "procuring unity" (Of Unity In Religion); and he is held up as somebody who exhibits the "perfection of boldness" ("Of boldness.")
Finally, the Bensalemite Jewish lore implies that Abraham had three sons: Isaac, Ishmael, and Nachoran. [Strikingly we are not told who the mother is. It is unlikely to have been Sara (barren) or Hagar (sent away after Ishmael). (recall)] But by their lights some of the population stock of Bensalem are near-relations of those of Ishmael in the way of the Arabs were prior to the coming of Prophet Mohamed.
*I ignore here all the hints about to what degree the introduction of Christianity was a purposeful innovation by his political. heirs on the island.
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