The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1905-09-30
THEFTs OF LITERARY MEN.
How Many Famous Authors Secured
Their Plots and Material
from Others.

a. AAAAA ~ 49,
potent equipments of the literary
man, says the Detroit News-Trib
une.
Shakespeare was a magnificent
thief. He stole whatever he could
lay his hands on in a literary way,
and never worried in the steal
ing. He stole Measure for Meas
ure" from a play called "Promos
and Cassandra." He stole "Ham
let" from a play by George Kyd.
"ROmeo and Juliet he stole from
Italian novels and he got his
"Othello" from the same source.
When he wanted a plot for a Rom.
an play he went to Plutarch.
The great Sir Walter Scott, the
author of the Wayerley novels,
stole with sublime talent. He
stole from Goethe. He stole from
Sheridan. ut is a bad thing to
have a good memory" said Bryon,
abiding to Scott, whom Wilkie
Collins called the "king of novel
lists" 81 should not like to have
you for a critic" said his friend,
Capt. Medwin. "Set a thief to
catch a thief" replied Byron.
Charles Reade claimed the right
of the literary artists to set jewels
even though the gems are the prop
erty of another.
Alexander Dumas, the famous
author of "The Three Musketeers"
and "Monte Cristo," was one Of
the most remarkable flchers in
literature. In one single year his
name was attached to no less than
40 different books. Not only did
he steal unblushingly from every
authOrwhocame handy, but he en-
ployed numerous literary ghosts
and passed off their work as his
own. Brought to book, he had a
ready reply. "The man of genius
does not steal" he said, "he only
cOnquers."
Alexander Pope, who made
many thousands of dollars by his
poetic translation of "Homer's
Had" was an Indifferent Greek
scholar. In addition to stealing
from previous transLators, he EN-
q Bloyed others to help, and then
claimed the whole work as has
own. When he translated the
=, Odyssey" he kept the public in
ignorance that only - books
could be called his and the rest
were the work Of men whom he
paid badly.
The arguments in Pope's @Es.
say on Man" were furnished bv
Lord Bolingbroke, and his Essay
on Criticism" was a poetic version
Of the stolen conversation of his
intimates.
Richard Brinsley Sheridan. wit.
dramatist and politician, stole his
famous characters, Charles Sur.
face and Joseph Surface, in "The
School for Scandal" from Tom
Jones and Blifl, in Fielding's well.
known novel, and he abducted
Tabitha Bramble and Sir Hubert
Mackilligut and transformed
them into those still more enter
tanning characters Mrs. Malaprop
and Sir Luciius O'Trigger, in 0Tbe
Rivals"
Coleman, the author of "The
Jealous Wife," had keen preda.
tory instincts and in the prologue
to his play there occur thesa lines:
Books, too, he read, nor blushed to use
, their store.
He does but what his betters did be-
fore.
Shakespeare had done It and the
Grecian stage
Caught truth of character from
Homer's page.
1t is unnecessary to speak of
modern authors who stole and are
stealing still. Only history can
afford to be free-spoken. There is
a journalistic tradition that all
t the editers of all the evening pa
! pers steal from all the editors Of
all the morning papers, and vice
versa, and all,the editors of all the
weekly newspapers from both.
Careful Comparison.