The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-02

caHhot De poet! f1aS ne 1OrgotUen that Emerson said. The true philosopher and the true poet are one?" And does he not know that the critics today are dis cussing the question. "will Emerson live longer as a philosopher or as a poet Y' Has he lost sight of the fact that Sir Philip Sidney said, 'The old philosopher disguised or embodied their cosmogonies in their poetry. as for example: Thales. Empedicles, Parmanides, Pythagoras, Phocyclides. who were poets and philos- ophers at once" Does Dr. Richardson forget Voitaire. French philosopher. poet, historian and playwright? Or has he lost sight of man of Olympian genius who wrote Faust, the German philosopher, scientist, playwright and poet, the most learned man of his day? Shall remind him of Rousseau. philosopher, botanist and poet? Or of Samuel Johnson, philos- opher, Photographer and poet? Or of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, philosopher and poet, whole philosophical essays are of highest value? No; the true poet, as was said of Emerson, Ifs kith and kin with the old Ionian philosophers"
 But was Bacon a poet? think so, but I give the opinions of others: Speeding. Bacon's biographer. said. Bacon had all the natural faculties that a poet wants; fine ear for metre. a fine feeling for imaginative effect in words, and a vein of poetic passion" Macaulay said. The poetica faculty was powerful in Bacon's mind" Shelley is almost excess sive in praise of Bacon's poetic and irn- aginative faculty. Bacon as a poet is not to be Judged by the few Psalms that he translated, at a time when he was wrecked. disgraced, poverty stricken i'll old man; and 1t is unjust to judge of mans ability in any sphere under such conditions.
 Dr. Richardson has found Bacon's literary style to be ''ponderous," weigh ty even to oppressiveness," The Is ever grave, sedate, somhre and solemn" How curious men differ. Macauley thought Bacon's Apothegms was one of the best jest books In the world. Tennyson said, that, certain passages of Bacon's writ ings. their frequent eleoquence and vivid completeness, lifted him more than al- most any other writer. pr. R. ". Church, one of Bacon's biographers, says. He had the liveliest fancy. and the most ac- tive imagination" Of the plays that everybody acknowledges were written by Bacon, called Masques, the biographer, says, They are full of fine observations brilliant thoughts and wit. His style is such as to make all the difference be- tween tameness and liveliness of styic.' Ben Jonson declared Bacon's style of ora tory was nobly consorious, when he could spare or pass jest" These opin- Ions are very different from that en- tertained by Dr. Richardson. Macauloy said of Bacon, He had cofnpactness of expression and richness of fancy:'' while Montague. whose biography of Bacon was reviewed by Macualay, asserts, N''IIis mind, like the sun, had both light and agility"
 Dr. Richardson writes Some folks (sic) profess to believe that Bacon wrote Shakespeares plays. Nobody does" But, my dear sir you are in error. Thousands believe 1t. Here's a group of their rep resentatives: The learned author of "Is It Reality7" says, ITO believe that the man William Shakespeare was the author Of the plays, seems to me little short of monstrous. Bacon was the man." John Bright, England's great commoner, de- clared. Any man who believes that VII liam shakspere of Stratford. wrote Ham, let and Lear, Is a fool" Schlegel pro- nounces the idea of the Shakspere au- thorship "a mere fabulous story, a blind and extravagant error. In the plays the genius of Bacon Is manifested, they re- fleet his intellect, they speak his lam. guage." Professor Winchell, the famous author and scientist, said. "I am a be- llever in the Baconian theory.,' w, H. Edwards. scholar and author, Is an earn est Baconion. and says, the flowers, ought to be placed on the right grave adding, The English speaking world has been humbugged in this matter long enough"
 So that 1t Is not gracious to affirm that nobody believes the Baconian proposition. since many do. most sincerely. Charles