The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1896-12-17

The follssing tribu&s % 6hsksspe1sn
blythe sGrsst Pagan. visths mo1tbesutts
ful characterization III tie Eaglish ~.
guage:
Como have insisted that Hkatsspease
must have been = physician, for tie ~
son that b. shows such lnowtedge 81
medicine-of the symptoms of diasase
and death-was 90 familiar with To
brain. and with insanity h al IL forinG
/ do not think he was ! physician.
he know too much-his genefallmtions
were too splendid. He had none 81 TIE
psejudicss Of that profession II HI
timst Wa might q wall ~ that M
was . musician. q composer, bScausss,
we find in The Two Gentlemen IF Yer,
ona" nearly every musical term known
in Shakespeare's time.
Others maintain that be wa d lawyer.
perfectly acquainted with the forms,
with the expressions familiar to that
profession--yet there is nothing to show
that he was q lawyer, OF that be knew
more about law than any intelligent
man should know.
He was not q lawyer. His sense 81
Justice was never dulIed by reading
English law.
Some think that he was q botaniet.
becauae be named nearly all known
piantss Others, that he was an astrOn
omer. Ya naturalist, because he gave
hints and suggestions Of nearly all ,diss
c0veries.
Some have thought that be must hays
been q sailor, for the reason that the Or
ders giyen[in the opening Of The Ter. !,
pest were the best that could, under
the circumstances, have been iyen "a
save the ship.
For my part, / think there Is NOTHING
in the plays to show that he was q law
yer, doctor, botanist or scientist. He
had the observant eyes that really zee.
the ears that really hear, the brain that
retains all pictures, all thoughts logic
as unerring as light, the imagination
that supplies defects and builds the ner.
feet from Q fragmet. And these {accui.
ties, these aptitudes, working toeether.
account for what he did.
He exceeded all the sons Of men III the
splendor Of his imagination. To him
the whole world paid tribute, and ma
poured her treasures at his feet.
In him oil races lived again, and even
those to be were pictured ia his brain
He was q man Of imagination-sthatis
say, Of genius, and having neon 4 Leaf,
and q drop of water, he could construct
forests, the rivers, and the seas-and
N his presence all the ~cataracts would
TALL and foam, the mists rise, the clouds
and float.
# Shakespeare knew one fact, ha
Knew its kindred and its neighhom'
Looking at q coat Of mail, he lnstantiw
imagined the s0ciaty, the canditianS.
hat produced it and what IL, iii turn
Produced. He saw the castle, the moat'
ne draw bridge, the lady III the tower.
md the knightly lover squirting acrosa
he plain, He aaw the Bold baron anal
he rude retainer, the trampled serf. and
the glory. and the grief Of feudal life.
He lived the life Of all.
He was citizen of Athens in the DAYS
+ Pericles, He listened to the eager
loquence Of the great orators, and Eat
lpon the cliffs, and with the tragic poet
card ''the multitudinous laughter Of
ne sea-" He saw Socrates thrust tfa6
pear Of question through tia aAiAIaa aMAa
.aa Ct ffalaekeeeaad. vi s,'i PSEyisssasaGIy
Jet the night Of death, TRANQUIL al 4
meets tabrning, He listened 10 Ina
eripatetic philosophers, and was IN.
uzzled by the sophists. He watched
'hidias AZ ha chiseled shapeless stone to n
1E21sof love lave, n