The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-19

descriptive terms and forms of express sion; and, being saturated with his sub feet when a writer proceeds to put on paper his own thought, he thinks not of the language as much as he does or ms thought, and, therefore, frequently em- ploys the words of someone else. Hence, Oliver Wendell Holmes said, Honest thinkers are always unconsciously steal ing from each other.'
 Ariosto borrowed from Ovid; Spencer borrowed from Ariosto, Dante from V1r- gil Bacon from Bruno, and of Milton it was said ''He is boundless borrower.
 It is curious to note how one writer will take a thought from another ana others from him, and pass 1t on down the ages. Spenser, in his "Faery Queen, introduced an island full of allegorical beings. which had been done by others; this suggested the Purple Island," by Fletcher; this was the germ from which grew Bernards "Isle of Man" from which finally came Bunyan's "Pilgrim' Progress
 Mrs. Malaprop' is generally supposed to have been the creation of Sheridan. but long before, Fielding had presented her to polite society, only her name then. was Mrs. Slipslop" MT. Alaric Watts wrote, "A great deal has been said about the originality of Lord Byron's concep- tions, as it respects the characters O. his heroes and nerO1neS. we dIc disPoS to believe that his characters are mostly the property of other exhibitors" Dickens was evidently reader of Tobias Smol- lett. as witness his general style and his laughable duel Tennyson seemed to have .sIvanhoe'' in mind when he wrote 'sEnid," and also Elaine; the lances splinter against Geraint just as they did against Richard in the Forest Of sher- wood: and from an invisible wound Ten nvson's knight falls as did Ivanhoe. This is the case also in ''Elaine," for Laucelot is wounded and leaves the field without the prize which he had won, as did Sir Walters "Black Knight" Tain says or Tennyson: "He has not formed the plan of a new edifce in himself; he mas puiit after all the others; he mas simpiy chosen amongst the most elegant forms, the most ornate. the most exquisite"
 was present when two literary men met. As they compared their works the similarity was so great that one salo 10 the other: 'I believe we both stole rom the same book" and 1t did look so. But neither had deliberately purlo1neo' tney had read the same authorities on tne subject that had engaged their minds ana all unconsciously they had appropriated the same language here and there.
 SHAKESPEARE.
 Shakespeare plucked flowers from all the garQenS or tne WOEiu tO "AAASA AAN had access. He hunted for game where ever there was promise of finding It. He fished in every lake where he saw the flash of silver fin. He borrowed from all the literary resources of the world. Not plot of all his dramas did he de- wise, SO far as positive proof discloses; while often in his plays there are un- mistakable and unaltered lines and thoughts taken bodily from the works of other men. While he often refined his borrowed thoughts and enriched them with new setting of striking metaphor, or gave them new association. thus pas sing them through the alembic of his own mind, nevertheless the primary own ership lying in others is not always con- cealed. His use of Plutarch, Hollings- head. Montaigne and Spenser is we'll known. Also, 1t is known that his lighter plays were taken from the printed stories that were brought from the con- tinent From thesc stories he got his 'sRomeo and Juliet" ''The Two Gentle men of Verona" and "The Comedy of Errors" Shakespeare's use of Montaigne was most audacious, by which mean, bold. I explain my meaning.
 In 1903 Montaigne's Essays were trans lated out of the French into English by Florio. '"rhe Tempest" was written in