The New York herald., 1874-09-10
BACON DID NOT WRITE SHAKE
SPEARE.

:
my little learning, to address the puolic. through
your medium, on SO important a subject as the
authorship OF the plays OF shakespeare never
theless venture entreat space IN your vaiuapie
columns wherein to give lew suggestions wnich
l think tend somewhat to weaken the bacon
theory and which have occurred to me when
studying the works OF the immortal BARD OF avon
ana those OF his contemporaries
In the first place. let me recall to your readers
the character OF the poetry OF Bacon. Those who
have read 1t will remember that 1t Is 80 replete
with colloq uiasms to be ridiculous, and that 1t
has been the subject OF considerable merrment
among students from It's authors day down to our
own. That It contains here and there vigorous
lines is undoubted, but 1t would seem that
whenever Lord veruam intended his muse
to be most lofty, ll-o-the-wlsp-like, she IN
variably led him across that narrow line
which separates the sublime from the ludicrous.
The poetry to which alude Is that acknowledged
by Bacon to be OF his competition. Is It not
strange that he should have been SO supernatu-
rally modest as to allow the inferior verses above
mentioned to pass down TO p0stertty a. his, and
to have remained silent when the "Son-
nets" were praised and even compared to
the grandest works Of the classic poetsf
l mention the "Sonnets" and not the dramas pur-
posely, because the "BaconiaDs'' say tnat their
hero dared not acknowledge that he had written
for the stage; for. say they, ain his day 1t would
have been considered degrading IN nobeman to
turn dramatist." They seem to forget that before
Shakespeare became famous Lord Sackville had
already written plays, and that the influence OF
the Italian renaissance was great at the courts
OF the Tudors as to be all powerful in matters OF
art and literature Now in fashion-leading Italy
sovereign. princes and prelates OF the Church
devote themselves to dramatic litera.
ture. The magnificent Lorenzo de Medici, the
learned Cardinals BembO and Da Bbbiena
and the statesman Macchiavelli were, according
to their lights. excellent dramatsts. This being
the case, it scarcely appears rational to believe
that Lord verulam should nave deemed 1t beneath
his dignity TO acknowledge plays which his con-
tempOraries ranked as high as those OF the mighty
writers Of classical ages. Mark, the illustrious
Bacon was not distinguished for modesty. The
writer in the Atnen4un, quoted IN Fraser OBJ
serves that Shakespeare does not claim the au-
thorsnip OF the plays, although he makes point
OF publishing the fact that he wrote the "s0n-
nets" There is nothing astonishing to me in this.
Shakespeare everybody in his day knew, was
dramatic poet and when he signed his name to
play it was sufncient to prove that he wrote II;
but when he stepped out OF his way to compose
sonnets he did something which was not "in his
ordinary line OF business" and, consequently,
called public attention to the fact. Mr.. Bouci-
Cault or the PRESIDENT WOulQ DO tine same CQluR,
imagine, were they to publish novel;
l will pass over the exceedingly childish COM
parison in the "Fraser article" between Bacon's
arrangement OF flowers month by month and the
speeches of Perdita with these few remarks. In
the first quotation Bacon ays:-"For December
and January and the latter part of November you
must take such things as can grow all winter
rosemary. lavender and marJory." Immediately
alter this follows fragment Of speech OF Perdltas
with view OF showing the resemblance. In 1t Of
srhe winters Taie" only mentions one-'rose-
mary" That there is a slight but accidental ike
speeches OF Perdta is certain but 1t must ne borne
in mind that the play was published at ieast fifteen
tions are taken was written. This latter
composed nine years after Shakespeare died, and
mighty philosopher had read the play and in writ.
ing his essay through freak of memory set down
which % they ~ appear in that graceful drama Albeit
In the said drama appears one OF Shakespeare's
% nave made a OF
on the coast ~ OF Bohemia. Jonson laughed at
this. and points 1t out IS proof OF Shakes
peare's want Of accurate knowledge OF ge0gra-
ply, a branch Of education in which Bacon was
certainly not de acient. All the world knows that
Bacon was maryeliously Wei posted in classical
literature. and that Shakespeare was not. JonsOn
tells US that he 'knew little Latin and less
at school. Shakespeare appears to me to have
known Just enough Latin TO suit his purpose-that
tion, enough OF the meaning OF the classic writer's
to discover in their works plots for his dramas
dram0ls perso.9. ss' bacon knew % latin perfectly
and was thoroughly and profoundly versed IN Its
literature DO not think he would have quoted
Terence from William Llly's Latin Grammar, as
does Shakespeare IN the first scene OF the Tanning
oil the Shrew." Lly's Accldence was popular
school book when 'Gentie Will" was boy, and
doubtless ne had good reason to remember the
above mentioned quotation. 1t stands thus IN the
play
Redime te captum guam queas minlmo
And In the ssCumechuS'' Terence
Quidagass te redimas captum guam qucas
minimo.
Mr. r. Grant White, in his admirable memoirs
Of the Lie Of Shakespeare" very cleverly en-
deavors to prove that shakespeare was more in-
timatey acquainted with Latin 1nan ne Is usually
ested In this matter TO get Mr.. Whites remarkable
volume and 'stody it up" 1t Is well worth
which contains G list OF Shakespeares anacnron-
lsms and other errors. Tney all prove that
although ne was great he was not very careful
reader, and that he studied rather the neart than
the works Of man. Bacon would never have
vincea vince that that Shakespeare possessed a smattermg
OF Italian and French and tnat OF the two Ian
he anew more OF the bi tnan Of q 1ne
doubted Italian origin, and what is more, several
phrases are evidently taken from ArlSsto and
Berni-notably the description OF Desdemona's
handkerchief in "Othello."
There's magic in the web Of it
The sun to course two hundred compasseS
In her prophe tic fury, sew'd the work.
In the sOrlando Furioso" Is an account Of q tent
covering wrought by Cassandra:-
Chavea II Juror profetco,
who worked 1t in many long years and in pro-
phetic Jury" SO, again, the speech OF lagO, in
which he b0lsons the mind OF Othell0, Is 80 ex-
ceedingly ike stanza In Bolardo's .Orlando In
namorato.n 1t seems impossible tnat 1t was not
inspired by q knowledge thereof Shakespeare's
French, IL we may judge BY the specimen ne gives
US in the scene between the Princess Catherine
and her lady in waiting in Henry w." was not Of
very high order. Bacon spoke French well and
probably wrote 1t better. His mother was an ex-
celient italian scholar, and he well versed in
that language Ii is not. however. 80 very strange
that the great dramatst should possess something
Of both these languages. Italian was then all the
fashion, and he mingled with men who were ntl-
matey acquainted with the literature OF Italy,
and there were plenty Of her needy children In
London. Doubtless Shakespeare had little Diff
Guilty Ia discover sigpor professor TO give MIN
lessons In the dolce Hngua. He knew many things,
not, perhaps, minutey and accurately, but from