August

 

Walpole makes the case that the ancient Augustan Age (43 BC to AD 18) and the new Augustan Age (AD 1702-1714)—brief times of great prosperity and great scientific and artistic advancement—were all due to leadership that encouraged candor, honesty, and truth. These were short-lived periods of grand enlightenment, which were completely dependent upon having unusually permissive leadership. Walpole suggests that for a society to blossom, to make strides in the arts, science, history, and literature, there needs to be freedom of thought and freedom to speak the truth. It is in embracing truth that we are truly free. 

In truth, be free. 

It is no coincidence that Byron alluded to a letter about the importance of candor written by an author known for his candor using the names of two historians also known for their candor. Did you know that the month of August was named after Augustus Caesar, the same man for whom the Augustan Ages were named?

Much of what Walpole described in his letters, all of his letters, was injustices on an individual scale, subordinates in the military forced to take credit for their superior’s mistakes, individuals being forced to lie for the benefit of someone more powerful, injustices with no recourse, cases where the truth was successfully suppressed, events that destroyed lives, actions that today would be described as corruption. Back then, corruption was just accepted as part of life. The implementation of  individual rights, of civil liberties, didn’t happen on any large scale until after Walpole’s time. 

It’s difficult to evaluate the world we live in today relative to that of the past, relative to England in the late 1700’s and before. We usually think of “progress” as being linear, improving incrementally over time. But it hasn’t. Social advancement came in short spurts, if at all. We tend to believe that progress just takes care of itself, that incentives pushing us toward fairness, equity, and justice will always be there, driving us toward a better world. Historically, this has not been the case. 

For a quarter of a millennium, starting with July 4, 1776, portions of the world, the “free world”, have experienced an explosion in technology, science, medicine, art, literature, religion, business, and history. We are currently living in a long and exceptional age of progress and prosperity, an extended golden age far surpassing that of the prior Augustine Ages. Walpole appears to have been right! He predicted this. He had certainly read the writings of the American revolutionaries. He saw that historically, freedom, truth, and prosperity are inextricably tied to one another. It is the feeling of having the freedom to speak candidly, to be completely honest, that allows us to be fully creative, to reach our full potential. Maslow called this self-actualization, the highest level in his hierarchy of needs. We are living in a long and sustained Age of Enlightenment, made possible by our carefully crafted form of government and our principles of freedom of speech, religion, and thought. In other words, our progress and prosperity is a product of us being able to “feel at home.”

Would the world be as advanced and enlightened as it is now without the American revolution? It appears that Walpole (and Byron) would say, No. We might still be mired in some version of the backward ways of the late 1700’s. This, I believe, is why Palencar featured a Salem witch in his painting. The Salem Witch Trials are emblematic of a lack of religious freedom. It doesn’t get much worse than execution for suspicion of unsanctioned religious practices. 

Generations of Americans have lived their entire lives free from tyranny, retaliation, and oppression. It is easy to be unaware of how historically rare and fragile this is. It’s easy to assume that things will always be the same, that democracy and individual freedoms will endure because they have for hundreds of years. But this is a fallacy. Democracies fall. It is paramount that we value and protect truth and the freedom to express it. We should also take a moment to revel in our success. Our little experiment in democracy seems to be working swimmingly—not perfectly, but still, extremely well. 

This complex and profound message is the whole point of this exercise, the whole point of this puzzle. This is The Secret of The Secret for Boston. To anyone who would choose a dictatorship or autocracy over democracy, I give you the following quote: 

I am just sorry my own mother had to live under that regime for most of her life. I was lucky. I got out and, 14 years later, Czechoslovakia became a free country. So I feel anger, even fury, at this bloody system that ruined so many people's lives for no reason whatsoever.

—Martina Navratilova

Now do you see why I love these puzzles, why I care about them? It’s not about the casques, keys, or gems, or even the puzzles themselves. It’s about the secret each contains, a priceless gem of truth. This is why I had to write this silly book. Well, to be honest, for me, the puzzles are also priceless. It’s worth taking a moment to appreciate just how intricate and convoluted this particular puzzle is, words and phrases with double and triple meanings, how it meshes together Walpole’s letters, details of the American revolution, Old Ironsides, and the Statue of Liberty while making a profound statement. It’s magnificent, amazing, brilliant, a true masterpiece! This puzzle was challenging, but the next one is even more so, requiring us to figure out how and why a mysterious path beckons to us!