The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1883-02-11

notes are jottcd down without any apparent
order. but for purposes Of discussion Mrs. Pott
lras found It convenient to sort them into eight
classes. wiz. national proverbs and proverbial
savings from the Bible aud classic writer's;
aphOrisms; metaphors. SMILES. and figures:
turns OF expression; single words; notices for
chapters OF meditation forms Of morning and
evening sAlutAtion. and miscellaneous sntriss.
Each OF these classes Is examined and COM
pared. FIRST with Bacon's acknowledged writ
ings and the Shakespeare plays. and secondly
with Giore than $500 works belonging to the
flftocnth. sixteenth. and seventeenth centuries.
Let us see what are the results Of the COM
parlson.
Take. for instance. tho English proverbs. OF
which 20S arc quoted In tho Promus Every
one of those 10 taken from Hcywood's collec-
ton. published In 1864. About . quarter OF
them are used In Dacon's acknowledged writ
ings. Thrcc-fourths. or 152. are either directly
cited or alluded to In tho Shakespeare plays.
but hardly one Of those 152 Is employed In the
works to which Bacon was willing to attach his
name. But what clue to identity OF authorship.
1t may no asked. could hnvn been afforded by
the repetition OF anything so commonplace
as n proverb2 The answer ~ that the proverbs
OF Heywood's collection. and especially those
reproduced in the ProInus and In the plays.
were not commonplace at tho time. wore. in
deed. anything but household words. This is
so true that the most popular book tho epoch.
Lylys "Euphues." although 1t abounds In
proverbs. draws but very few Of them
from Heywooti's repository. The great mnjor-
ity Of the proverbial sayings in " Euphues" arc
neither In Haywood. in the Promus nor in the
plays. Mrs. Pott indeed asserts broadly. after
u most extensive and vigiiant investigation.
that neither the English Fronch. Italian. Span
t.I, T,.st ,k.,I tn
cons Promus and quoted in tho Shakespeare
plays are found in other English literature OF
tho fifteenth. sixteenth. and seventeenth CEN
turtles. The only qualifications OF this broad
statement are the following: Lyy has In tho
whole OF his works perhaps fivs or six English
proverbs which may bc encountered among the
2O3 auoted in Bncon's note book: Lodge uses
three: Greene one; Ben Jonson mono. In other
writings tho English proverbs traceable to the
Pronius or rather TO Hoywoods collection
from which Bacon drew his stores. ARE very few.
As regards Latin quotations. Mrs. Pott as-
surcs us that mono of the toxts from the
Vusa.e. none OF tho proverbs from
Erasmus. and only thrco or four Of
tho large number OF extracts from the Latin
classics can he discovered in any Of tho g. 400
books road with n Wow to this inquiry. Again.
the almost complete absence Of Prsmus and
ShakrsPearean similes and figures OF speech
from contemporary literature il. we arc told.
so striking that tho occurrence OF % single in
stance here and there forthwith attracts the
eye. From LILY was probably derived the
metaphor watery impressions" noted In the
Promus and tho phrase u disease has certain
traces" referring to the disease Of love. Lyly
in Sappho and Phaon." had:snumerated tho
marks or signs by which lover may be recn.-
nized. somewhat after the manner In which
Verona" These are the only English meta
phors registered in the Promus which have
been detected by Mrs. Pott in any earlier book.
But perhaps tho most striking result Of this
inquiry relates to certain forms Of sautation
propOunded in Bacon's Pronius. Mrs. Pott
considers that her researches enable her to
aver with absolute confidence that the habit OF
using formulas NJ morning and evening
greeting WAS not introduced in England
before the date OF Bacons notes. 1894. The
only liz. of the words Good morrow" and
Good night" which has been discovered be-
fore that date is in tho titles OF two Of Gas
coigne's short poems. respectively named
Good Morrow" and Good Night" in the edi-
tion printed In 1887. These pieces. moreover.
are morning and evening hymns. and the ex-
pressons are nowhere used us salutations in
Gascoignes writings. Tho next instance lex
cepting Shakesp earcl whore Good morrow" ap-
pears IL in Philip Stubb's Anatomy OF Abuse"
| $3.50. where two friends. one lately returned
from his travels. proceed to discuss the abuses
and foppsries Of the age. The greeting Is In
precisely tho same words rs those used by
Jalucnetta to Hoiofernes in Loves Labor
Lost"-"God give you good morrow. master
| person." The same salutation occurs in
| Romeo md Juliet. III. 4. 1t appears that
Beaumont and Fletcher in upward OF forty
| plays use Good morrow" five limos. Good
day" once. Good night four times. and
Good even once. Ben Jonson uses Good
morrow four times and once Good morning
| to tho day" Henceforwnrd the use OF these
expressions. especially OF Good morrow. never
entirely died ont. but the phrases wsro by no
means common. and were rs often rs not used
| as forms OF dismissal. like Good. bye" Good
| night" IL very rare; 1t has been found only
| three or four times between Fletcher last Use
Of 1t In Monsieur Thomas" and the beginning
| OF the nineteenth century.
In Shakespeare on the other hand, mornin &
and evening salutations. the propriety OF which
IL noted In the Promus by Bacon after his re.
| turn from his travels In France. are employed
about $50 times. Good morrow" which is hrsi
suggested in the Promus. occurs In the plays
nearly q hundred times. Good night" il al
| most a. frequent. Good day" talso % Pro.
| uesu2koSLiOuJ. uuu uOOu oven. upIbSuT otlCl
about fifteen times. God be with you is also
common. but :" Good bye" is used for tho first
and last time in Hamlet. The notes on Bon
jour" and Bon soir" from which the English
formulas are taken. show the unsettled state o
spelling when Bacon wrote. He essays Good
swoear" for Bon soir." and experimentalines
upon Bon jour" thus: Bon iouyr." Bon
jour. Bride&roome." 1t 10 to 10 remarked thai
Bon jour" IL used three times In tho Shakes.
peare plays. and on 20 lin Titus Andronicu ~
| where 1t strikes the reader q such An extra.
| ordinary anaehronism that nothing hut con.
lrmed habit Of using tho expression In his
daily talk could seemingly have led the author
10 put 1t In the mouth Ofan ancisnt Roman.
These are certainly very curious facts which
Mrs Pott has collected in regard to the use o.
| Engixh forms Of morning and evening saluta.
ton. She herself would explain them upon th1
theory that Bacon. on returning to his nativ<
country after three years stay In France. misses
the moro polished and graceful motes Of speech