Bacon is Shake Speare
S >>
Sir Edwin Durning Lawrence >> Bacon is Shake Speare
Pages:
1 |
2 | 3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11
Chapter V.
"The Return from Parnassus" and "Ratsei's Ghost."
The next play to which attention must be called is "The Return from
Parnassus" which was produced at Cambridge in 1601 and was printed in
1606 with the following title page:--
The Returne from Parnassus
or
The Scourge of Simony.
Publiquely acted by the Students
in Saint Johns Colledge in
Cambridge.
At London
Printed by G. Eld for John Wright, and
are to bee sold at his shop at
Christchurch Gate.
1606.
The portion to which I wish to direct attention is:--
Actus 5, Scena i.
_Studioso_. Fayre fell good _Orpheus_, that would rather be
King of a mole hill, then a Keysars slaue:
Better it is mongst fidlers to be chiefe,
Then at plaiers trencher beg reliefe.
But ist not strange this mimick apes should prize
Vnhappy Schollers at a hireling rate.
Vile world, that lifts them vp to hye degree,
And treades vs downe in groueling misery.
_England_ affordes those glorious vagabonds,
That carried earst their fardels on their backes,
Coursers to ride on through the gazing streetes
Sooping it in their glaring Satten sutes,
And Pages to attend their maisterships:
With mouthing words that better wits haue framed,
They purchase lands, and now Esquiers are made.
_Philomusus_. What ere they seeme being euen at the best
They are but sporting fortunes _scornfull_ iests.
Can these last two lines refer to Shakspeare the actor seeming to be the
poet? Note that they are spoken by Philomusus that is friend of the
poetic muse. Mark also the words "this mimick apes." Notice especially
"with mouthing words that _better_ wits haue framed, they purchase lands
and now Esquiers are made" i.e. get grants of arms. Who at this period
among mimics excepting W. Shakspeare of Stratford purchased lands and
obtained also a grant of arms?
That this sneer "mouthing words that better wits have framed" must have
been aimed at Shakspeare is strongly confirmed by the tract (reprinted
by Halliwell-Phillipps in his "Outlines of Shakespeare," 1889, Vol. I,
p. 325) which is called "Ratsei's Ghost or the second part of his mad
prankes and Robberies."
This pamphlet bears no date, but was entered at Stationers' Hall May
31st 1605. There is only a single copy in existence, which used to be in
Earl Spencer's library at Althorp but is now in the Rylands; Library at
Manchester. As I said, it is reprinted by Halliwell-Phillipps, and
Stratfordians are obliged to agree with him that the reference is
unquestionably to "Wm Shakespeare of Stratford." The most important part
which is spoken by Ratsei the robber to a country player is as
follows:--
_Ratsei_. And for you sirra, saies hee to the chiefest
of them, thou hast a good presence upon a
stage; methinks thou darkenst thy merite
by playing in the country. Get thee to
London, for if one man were dead, they will
have much neede of such a one as thou art.
There would be none in my opinion fitter
then thyselfe to play his parts. My conceipt
is such of thee, that I durst venture all the
mony in my purse on thy head to play
Hamlet with him for a wager. There thou
shalt learn to be frugall,--for players were
never so thriftie as they are now about
London--and to feed upon all men, to let
none feede upon thee; to make thy hand a
stranger to thy pocket, thy hart slow to
performe thy tongues promise, and when
thou feelest thy purse well lined, buy thee
some place of lordship in the country, that,
growing weary of playing, thy mony may
there bring thee to dignitie and reputation;
then thou needest care for no man, nor not
for them that before made thee prowd
with speaking their words upon the stage.
The whole account of buying a place in the country, of feeding upon all
men (that is lending money upon usury) of never keeping promises, of
never giving anything in charity, agrees but too well with the few
records we possess of the man of Stratford. And therefore Stratfordians
are obliged to accept Halliwell-Phillipps' dictum that this tract called
Ratsei's Ghost refers to the actor of Stratford and that "_he_ needed
not to care for them that before made _him_ proud with speaking _their_
words upon the stage." How is it possible that Stratfordians can
continue to refuse to admit that the statement in the "Return from
Pernassus" "with mouthing words that better wits haue framed they
purchase lands and now Esquiers are made" must also refer to the
Stratford Actor?
CHAPTER VI.
Shackspere's Correspondence!
There is only a single letter extant addressed to Shakspeare, and this
asks for a loan of L30 It is dated 25th October 1598, and is from
Richard Quiney. It reads
"Loveinge Countreyman I am bolde of vow as of a ffrende,
craveinge yowr helpe wth xxxll vppon mr Bushells & my
securytee or mr Myttons wth me. mr Rosswell is nott come
to London as yeate & I have especiall cawse. yow shall
ffrende me muche in helpeinge me out of all the debttes I
owe in London I thancke god & muche quiet my mynde wch
wolde nott be indebeted I am nowe towardes the Cowrte in
hope of answer for the dispatche of my Buysenes. yow shall
nether loase creddytt nor monney by me the Lorde wyllinge
and nowe butt perswade yowr selfe soe as I hope & yow shall
nott need to feare butt wth all hartie thanckefullenes I wyll
holde my tyme & content yowr ffrende & yf we Bargaine
farther yow shalbe the paie mr yowr selfe. my tyme biddes me
hasten to an ende & soe I committ thys [to] yowr care & hope
of yowr helpe. I feare I shall nott be backe thys night ffrom
the Cowrte. haste, the Lorde be wth yow & with us all
amen
ffrom the Bell in Carter Lane the 25 October 1598.
yowrs in all kyndenes
Ryc. Quyney
(_addressed_)
LS To my Loveinge good ffrend
& contreymann mr wm
Shackespere d[e]l[ive]r thees."
This letter is the only letter known to exist which was ever addressed
to William Shackspere, the illiterate householder of Stratford, who as
has been pointed out in these pages was totally unable to read a line of
print, or to write even his own name. There are however in existence
three, and three only, contemporary letters referring in any way to him,
and these are not about literature with which the Stratford man had
nothing whatever to do--but about mean and sordid small business
transactions.
One is from Master Abraham Sturley, who writes in 1598 to a friend in
London in reference to Shakspeare lending "Some monei on some od yarde
land or other att Shottri or neare about us."
Another is dated Nov. 4th 1598, and is from the same Abraham Sturley to
Richard Quiney in which we are told that "our countriman Mr Wm Shak
would procure us monei wc I will like of."
A third from Adrian Quiney written (about 1598-1599) to his son Rycharde
Quiney in which he says "yff yow bargen with Wm Sha or receve money
therfor, brynge youre money homme."
There exists no contemporary letter from anyone to anyone, referring to
the Stratford actor as being a poet or as being in any way connected
with literature. But from the Court Records we learn that;
In 1600 Shakespeare brought action against John Clayton in London for L7
and got judgment in his favour. He also sued Philip Rogers of Stratford
for two shillings loaned.
In 1604 he sued Philip Rogers for several bushels of malt sold to
him at various times between March 27th and the end of May of that
year, amounting in all to the value of L1. 15s. 10d. The poet a
dealer in malt?
In 1608 he prosecuted John Addenbroke to recover a debt of L6 and sued
his surety Horneby.
Halliwell-Phillipps tells us that "The precepts as appears from
memoranda in the originals, were issued by the poet's solicitor Thomas
Greene who was then residing under some unknown conditions[3] at
New Place."
Referring to these sordid stories, Richard Grant White, that strong
believer in the Stratford man, says in his "Life and genius of William
Shakespeare," p. 156 "The pursuit of an impoverished man for the sake of
imprisoning him and depriving him both of the power of paying his debts
and supporting himself and his family, is an incident in Shakespeare's
life which it requires the utmost allowance and consideration for the
practice of the time and country to enable us to contemplate with
equanimity--satisfaction is impossible."
"The biographer of Shakespeare must record these facts because the
literary antiquaries have unearthed and brought them forward as new
particulars of the life of Shakespeare. We hunger and receive these
husks; we open our mouths for food and we break our teeth against
these stones."
Yes! The world has broken its teeth too long upon these stones to
continue to mistake them for bread. And as the accomplished scholar and
poetess the late Miss Anna Swanwick once declared to the writer, she
knew nothing of the Bacon and Shakespeare controversy, but Mr. Sidney
Lee's "Life of Shakespeare" had convinced her that his man never wrote
the plays. And that is just what everybody else is saying at Eton, at
Oxford, at Cambridge, in the Navy, in the Army, and pretty generally
among unprejudiced people everywhere, who are satisfied, as is Mark
Twain, that the most learned of works could not have been written by the
most _un_learned of men.
Yes! It does matter that the "Greatest Birth of Time" should no longer
be considered to have been the work of the unlettered rustic of
Stratford; and the hour has at last come when it should be universally
known that this mighty work was written by the man who had taken all
knowledge for his province, the man who said "I have, though in a
despised weed [that is under a Pseudonym] procured the good of all men";
the man who left his "name and memory to men's charitable speeches, and
to foreign nations, and the next ages."
CHAPTER VII.
Bacon acknowledged to be a Poet.
In discussing the question of the Authorship of the plays many people
appear to be unaware that Bacon was considered by his contemporaries to
be a great poet. It seems therefore advisable to quote a few witnesses
who speak of his pre-eminence in poetry.
In 1645 there was published "The Great Assises holden in Parnassus by
Apollo and his assessours" a facsimile of the title of which is given on
page 57. This work is anonymous but is usually ascribed to George
Withers and in it Bacon as Lord Verulan is placed first and designated
"Chancellor of Parnassus" that is "Greatest of Poets."
After the title, the book commences with two pages of which facsimiles
are given on pages 58, 59.
[Illustration: Plate XVI. Facsimile Title Page]
[Illustration: Plate XVII. Facsimile of Page III of "The Great Assises"]
[Illustration: Plate XVIII Facsimile of Page IV of "The Great Assises"]
Apollo appears at the top, next comes Lord Verulan as Chancellor of
Parnassus, Sir Philip Sidney and other world renowned names follow and
then below the line side by side is a list of the jurors and a list of
the malefactors.
A little examination will teach us that the jurors are really the same
persons as the malefactors and that we ought to read right across the
page as if the dividing line did not exist.
Acting on this principle we perceive that George Wither [Withers] is
correctly described as Mercurius Britanicus. Mr. Sidney Lee tells us
that Withers regarded "Britain's Remembrancer" 1628 and "Prosopopaeia
Britannica" 1648 as his greatest works.
Thomas Cary [Carew] is correctly described as Mercurias Aulicus--Court
Messenger. He went to the French Court with Lord Herbert and was made
Gentleman of the Privy Chamber by Charles I who presented him with an
estate at Sunninghill.
Thomas May is correctly described as Mercurius Civicus. He applied for
the post of Chronologer to the City of London and James I wrote to the
Lord Mayor (unsuccessfully) in his favour.
Josuah Sylvester is correctly described as The Writer of Diurnals. He
translated Du Bartas "Divine Weekes," describing day by day, that is
"Diurnally," the creation of the world.
Georges Sandes [Sandys] is The Intelligencer. He travelled all over
the world and his book of travels was one of the popular works of
the period.
Michael Drayton is The Writer of Occurrences. Besides the "Poly-Olbion,"
he wrote "England's Heroicall Epistles" and "The Barron's Wars."
Francis Beaumont is The Writer of Passages. This exactly describes him
as he is known as writing in conjunction with Fletcher. "Beamount and
Fletcher make one poet, they single dare not adventure on a play."
William Shakespeere is "The writer of weekely accounts." This exactly
describes him, for the only literature for which he was responsible was
the accounts sent out by his clerk or attorney.
Turning over the pages of the little book on page 9 the cryer calls out
"Then Sylvester, Sands, Drayton, Beaumont, Fletcher, Massinger,
Shakespeare (sic) and Heywood, Poets good and true." This statement
seems to be contradicted so far as Shakespeare is concerned by the
defendant who says on page 31 "Shakespear's (sic) a mimicke" (that is a
mere actor not a poet).
"Beamount and Fletcher make one poet, they
Single, dare not adventure on a play."
Each of these statements seems to be true. And on Page 33
Apollo[4] says
"We should to thy exception give consent
But since we are assur'd, 'tis thy intent,
By this refusall, onely to deferre
That censure, which our justice must conferre
Upon thy merits; we must needs decline
From approbation of these pleas of thine."
That is, Apollo _admits_ that Shakespeare is not a poet but a "mimic,"
the word to which I called your attention in the "Return from Parnassus"
in relation to "this mimick apes." In this little book Shakespeare's
name occurs three times, and on each occasion is spelled differently.
This clear statement that the actor Shakespeare was not a poet but only
a tradesman who sent out his "weekly accounts" is, I think, here for the
first time pointed out. It seems very difficult to conceive of a much
higher testimony to Bacon's pre-eminence in poetry than the fact that he
is placed as "Chancellor of Parnassus" under Apollo. But a still higher
position is accorded to him when it is suggested that Apollo feared that
he himself should lose his crown which would be placed on Bacon's head.
Walter Begbie in "Is it Shakespeare?" 1903, p. 274, tells us:--That
Thomas Randolf, in Latin verses published in 1640 but probably written
some 14 years earlier says that Phoebus was accessory to Bacon's death
because he was afraid lest Bacon should some day come to be crowned King
of poetry or the Muses. Farther on the same writer declares that as
Bacon "was himself a singer" he did not need to be celebrated in song by
others, and that George Herbert calls Bacon the colleague of Sol
[Phoebus Apollo].
George Herbert was himself a dramatic poet and Bacon dedicated his
"Translation of the Psalms" to him "who has overlooked so many of
my works."
Mr. Begbie also tells us that Thomas Campion addresses Bacon thus
"Whether the thorny volume of the Law or the Schools or the _Sweet Muse_
allure thee."
It may be worth while here to quote the similar testimony which is borne
by John Davies of Hereford who in his "Scourge of Folly" published about
1610, writes
"To the royall, ingenious, and all-learned
Knight,--
Sr Francis Bacon.
Thy _bounty_ and the _Beauty_ of thy Witt
Comprisd in Lists of _Law_ and learned _Arts_,
Each making thee for great _Imployment_ fitt
Which now thou hast, (though short of thy
deserts)
Compells my pen to let fall shining _Inke_
And to bedew the _Baies_ that _deck_ thy _Front_;--
And to thy health in _Helicon_ to drinke
As to her _Bellamour_ the _Muse_ is wont:
For thou dost her embozom; and dost vse
Her company for sport twixt grave affaires;
So vtterst Law the liuelyer through thy _Muse_.
And for that all thy _Notes_ are sweetest _Aires_;
_My Muse thus notes thy worth in eu'ry Line,
With yncke which thus she sugers; so, to shine_."
But nothing can much exceed in value the testimony of Ben Jonson who in
his "Discoveries," 1641, says "But his learned, and able (though
unfortunate) _Successor_ [Bacon in margin] is he, who hath fill'd up all
numbers, and perform'd that in our tongue, which may be compar'd or
preferr'd either to insolent _Greece_, or haughty _Rome_."
"He who hath filled up all numbers" means unquestionably "He that hath
written every kind of poetry."[5]
Alexander Pope the poet declares that he himself "lisped in numbers for
the numbers came." Ben Jonson therefore bears testimony to the fact that
Bacon was so great a poet that he had in poetry written that "which may
be compar'd or preferr'd either to insolent _Greece_ or haughty _Rome_."
But in 1623 Ben Jonson had said of the AUTHOR of the plays
_"Or when thy sockes were on
Leaue thee alone, for the comparison
Of all, that insolent_ Greece _or haughtie_ Rome
_Sent forth, or since did from their ashes come."_
Surely the statements in the "Discoveries" were intended to tell us who
was the AUTHOR of the plays.
After perusing these contemporary evidences, and they might be
multiplied, it is difficult to understand how anyone can venture to
dispute Bacon's position as pre-eminent in poetry. But it may be of
interest to those who doubt whether Bacon (irrespective of any claim to
the authorship of the plays) could be deemed to be a great poet, to
quote here the words of Percy Bysshe Shelley, who in his "Defence of
Poetry" says
"Bacon was a poet. His language has a sweet and majestic rhythm, which
satisfies the sense, no less than the almost superhuman wisdom of his
philosophy satisfies the intellect. It is a strain which distends and
then bursts the circumference of the reader's mind, and pours itself
forth together with it into the universal element with which it has
perpetual sympathy."
The immortal plays are the "Greatest Birth of Time," and contain a
short summary of the wisdom of the world from ancient times, and they
exhibit an extent and depth of knowledge in every branch which has
never been equalled at any period of the world's history. In classic
lore, as the late Mr. Churton Collins recently pointed out, they evince
the ripest scholarship. And this is confirmed by classical scholars all
the world over.
None but the profoundest lawyers can realise the extent of the knowledge
not only of the theory but of the practice of Law which is displayed.
Lord Campbell says that Lord Eldon [supposed to have been the most
learned of judges] need not have been ashamed of the law of Shakespeare.
And as an instance of the way in which the members of the legal
profession look up to the mighty author I may mention that some years
ago, at a banquet of a Shakespeare Society at which Mr. Sidney Lee and
the writer were present, the late Mr. Crump, Q.C., editor of the _Law
Times_, who probably possessed as much knowledge of law as any man in
this country, declared that to tell him that the plays were not written
by the greatest lawyer the world has ever seen, or ever would see, was
to tell him what he had sufficient knowledge of law to know to be
nonsense. He said also that he was not ashamed to confess that he
himself, though he had some reputation for knowledge of law, did not
possess sufficient legal knowledge to realise one quarter of the law
that was contained in the Shakespeare plays.
It requires a philologist to fully appreciate what the enormous
vocabulary employed in the plays implies.
Max Muller in his "Science of Language," Vol. I, 1899, p. 379, says
"A well-educated person in England, who has been at a public school and
at the University ... seldom uses more than about 3,000 or 4,000 words.
... The Hebrew Testament says all that it has to say with 5,642 words,
Milton's poetry is built up with 8,000; and Shakespeare, who probably
displayed a greater variety of expression than any writer in any
language ... produced all his plays with about 15,000 words."
Shakspeare the householder of Stratford could not have known so many as
one thousand words.
But Bacon declared that we must make our English language capable of
conveying the highest thoughts, and by the plays he has very largely
created what we now call the English language. The plays and the sonnets
also reveal their author's life.
In the play of "Hamlet" especially, Bacon seems to tell us a good deal
concerning himself, for the auto-biographical character of that play is
clearly apparent to those who have eyes to see. I will, however, refer
only to a single instance in that play. In the Quarto of 1603, which is
the first known edition of the play of "Hamlet," we are told, in the
scene at the grave, that Yorick has been dead a dozen years; but in the
1604 Quarto, which was printed in the following year, Yorick is stated
to have been dead twenty-three years. This corrected number,
twenty-three, looks therefore like a real date of the death of a real
person. The words in the Quarto of 1604 are as follows:--
Hamlet, Act v, Scene i.
"[Grave digger called.] Clow[n] ... heer's a scull
now hath lyen you i' th' earth 23 yeeres ... this
same scull, sir, was, sir, Yorick's skull, the Kings
jester ...
_Ham_[_let_]. Alas poore _Yoricke_, I knew him
_Horatio_, a fellow of infinite iest, of most excellent
fancie, hee hath bore me on his backe a thousand
times ... Heere hung those lyppes that I haue
kist, I know not howe oft, where be your gibes now?
your gamboles, your songs, your flashes of merriment,
that were wont to set the table on a roare, not one
now to mocke your owne grinning...."
The King's Jester who died about 1580-1, just twenty-three years before
1604 (as stated in the play), was John Heywood, the last of the King's
Jesters. The words spoken by Hamlet exactly describe John Heywood, who
was wont to set the table in a roar with his jibes, his gambols, his
songs, and his flashes of merriment. He was a favourite at the English
Court during three if not four reigns, and it is recorded that Queen
Elizabeth as a Princess rewarded him. It is an absolutely gratuitous
assumption that he was obliged permanently to leave England when she
became Queen. Indeed it is believed that he was an intimate friend of
the Bacon family, and must have carried little Francis Bacon any number
of times upon his back, and the little fellow must have kissed him still
more oftentimes. The story in the play of "Hamlet" seems, therefore, to
fit in exactly with the facts of Bacon's life; but it is not possible
that the most fertile imagination of the most confirmed Stratfordian can
suppose that the Stratford actor ever saw John Heywood, who died long
before Shakspere came to London.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Author revealed in the Sonnets.
Bacon also reveals much of himself in the play "As you like it," which
of course means "Wisdom from the mouth of a fool." In that play, besides
giving us much valuable information concerning his "mask" William
Shakespeare, he also tells us why it was necessary for him to write
under a pseudonym.
Speaking in the character of Jaques, who is the alter ego of
Touchstone, he says,
Act ii, Scene 7.
"O that I were a foole,
I am ambitious for a motley coat.
_Duke_. Thou shalt haue one.
_Jag_. It is my onely suite,
Prouided that you weed your better judgements
Of all opinion that growes ranke in them,
That I am wise. I must haue liberty
Wiithall, as large a Charter as the winde,
To blow on whom I please, for so fooles haue:
And they that are most gauled with my folly,
They most must laugh....
Inuest me in my motley: Giue me leaue
To speake my minde, and I will through and through
Cleanse the foule bodie of th' infected world
If they will patiently receiue my medicine."
He also gives us most valuable information in Sonnet 81.
Or I shall liue your Epitaph to make,
Or you suruiue when I in earth am rotten,
From hence your memory death cannot take,
Although in me each part will be forgotten,
Your name from hence immortall life shall haue,
Though I (once gone) to all the world must dye,
The Earth can yeeld me but a common graue,
When you intombed in men's eyes shall lye,
Your monument shall be my gentle verse,
Which eyes not yet created shall ore read,
And toungs to be, your being shall rehearse,
When all the breathers of this world are dead,
You still shall liue (such vertue hath my Pen)
Where breath most breaths euen in the mouths of men.
Pages:
1 |
2 | 3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11