New-York tribune., 1894-04-08
CARVING THE BACON.
DR. OWENS TALK ABOUT SHAKESPEARE
AND OTHERS.
HE PROVES GREAT DEAL TO HIS ""
SATISFACTION. BIT DOES Not MAKE 1T

lie PROVES A GREAT DEAL TO his own
.sArrsrAcTIox. BIT DOES Not MAKE IT
CLEAR TO ANYBODY ELSE.
ANYTHING more un- Baconian than the methods Of
rea asoning-or asoninC-cmpoyed by persons
who believe that Sir Francis Bacon wrote the pays
OF Shakespeare would be- hard 10 imagine No ono
has ever lived since the world began VINO wonId
scorn such argument more than Bacon. j was ms
way in learning a scientific truth to set about IT
with no prejudice and no exacting previous deter
,nnatlon Of the outcome. and then 20 let the result
be what II would. lie never said: III my theory
does not accord with the facts. so much the worse
for the facts" His method was IN" very over
throw OF the old one OF assuming the theory to be
proved and then hunting FOR proofs Of H. How
Fate must have smiled 10 herself when she deter
rineJ that he should De- made nguiehead for a
school OF unreasoners on just this principle" ana
that he should be cut In alabaster as IN" author OF
half the literary works OF his time. III "Td'r thht
the theorists might have the FUN of proving that
h. was So Here is the formula ~ the syllogisn.
Bacon wrote Shakespeare. Shakespeare uses the
word anfhropophagl. Bacon uses IN" word anthro-
nothagl as many times or more. Therefore. Bacon
wrote Shakespeare. Anybody who can aHorH the
time can prove anything by That method Nhp'l''h
Is obviously the same word as Apollo therefore II is
clear that Napoleon never had any existence cN-
cept as a sun myth II Is the same sort OF unreas"n-
Ing only this latter example 81 Il Is much the
better.
The latest man with a theory about Bacon Is Dr.
Orvilc W owen. who cNpounded IT u small con
gregaton In Parlor - at the fifth Avenue hoteI
on Friday Some account OF his homily was given
In these columns yesterday. but space would not
hermit OF its being treated such Jok" deserves
DR. owen began by saying that Bacons age WAS
not so kindly and tender hearted time a. the pres
ent one and that writing seditous plays ana uh-
pleasantly accurate history In cipher was not 40
safe as II might be The grent play or hinH
Richard II" aroused queen Elizabcth's wrath She
thought IL treasonablc and IT would never have
done for Bacon TO confess the authorship OF H.
why Sir Francis Bacon. who. as u ait"r"h'u
proved was Elizabeth's own son, should have ieit
II necessary to write this disoya play AT all i)r
owen did not explain lie went on to tell how he
had begun the examination OF the plays. and how
his attention had been arrested by the line: "A
most fine figure to prove you Il cipher
Certain callous and hard headed persons were SIT
ting together IN the amen corner OF Parlor ID H. ana
they nodded approvngly when they heard ms ana
remembered that cipher meant two or three DIFF
ferent things
When DR. owen found the word "mask' In Shake
speare f. assured him. it would anybody with his
reasoning powers. that he was now to turn 10
RacOn's essay masks, where ne would learn OF
something to his advantage or course What else
could Shakespeare Uhat H. Bacon mean by daring
TO use the word mask? II it was the WORD needed
in the passage where it was used what had that
IN do with f. when "A cipher to be proved? Then
Dr. owen came upon the word "NoVum' sprHeu
with a capital y. What could that possibly mean
but that he was to turn to the "Novum Organum !!
"Wbo knows how this may turn 10 my advance
ment?" says this Shakespeare MY adyancement
means my CBacon'9 advancement Of Learning
OF
All these suggestions DR. owen derived from the
edition Of 1923. 1t astonIshed him when he read a
reprint Of this edition. The garbed versions that
he had been used to were not the same sort Of
/ had road her
things IN heaven and earth. iiorato. man , a. are are
dreamt OF In your philosophy now youi p''onTI,
phy means nothing" hc declared Then ne tOId
how he had found in the 1923 edition that the y
had business there and that 1t was our phllos9-
pphilosophy and could mean nothing else. The hard
| heads In the corner hardened a iltue more
under the impression that It meant good deal ana
| it seeme1 TO them that even me your OF, OF M uie
THE human mind Is peculiar said the doctor;
and the amen corner cheered up asain ana @ asre' q,
are getting the lines Agreement decpened into
admiration; here was a man who had read shake
spearc backward and found Il hard lines. Il WAS was
beginning" said the speaker. ITO throw away o. W :
| owens brain and use the brain Of the man that
wrote the cipher, The amen corner & could scarce;y
owens brain was good thnS TO- 'nro% away hl,n nn,
seemed pity that there was no Sir Francis Bacon
to H. ~ .,..- .......,..
Always the duness OF the fool Is the milestone
Of the wlt'-and WAS ihe fool The amen corner
|
| The doctor began to talk about cue words"
which told him where 10 begin reading the cipher.
| The cue words 1t appeared were fortune, nature.
honor and reputation. II was good deal OF trou-
| Bile ne said TO go through Sir Francis Bacon =
works and draw n red line under every OF these
! words every time 1t occurred. Nobody had any
| doubt OF It, He said that he would read n drinking
song while his attendant went for glass OF water.
| The drinking song made up Of selections from
| ,)theo" Henry W. and the "kovnm Organum."
| He read II. as he read Everything. with an air Of
/ triumphant JOY but with as complete indifference
| 10 the meaning OF the lines Baconians always
show TO the existence OF such trihes poetry and
internal evidence. He talked a little more without
founf In IT when he read u. and then he invited