Produced by Eric Eldred David Kingand the Online Distributed Proofreading TeamTHEPHILOSOPHYOFTHE PLAYS OF SHAKSPEREUNFOLDEDBY DELIA BACONWITHA PREFACEBYNATHANIAL HAWTHORNEAUTHOR OF THE SCARLET LETTER ETC  Aphorisms representing A KNOWLEDGE _broken_ do invite men to     inquire further                                       LORD BACONYou find not the apostophes and so miss the accent                                              LOVES LABOURS LOSTUntie the spellPROSPEROLONDONGROOMBRIDGE AND SONSPATERNOSTER ROW1857AMES PRESSNEW YORKHARVARDUNIVERSITYLIBRARYDEC 6 1972Reprinted from a copy in the collectionof the Harvard College LibraryReprinted from the edition of 1857 LondonFirst AMS EDITION published 1970Manufactured in the United States of AmericaInternational Standard Book Number 0404004431Library of Congress Card Catalog Number 73113547AMS PRESS INCNEW YORK NY 10003TABLE OF CONTENTSPREFACEINTRODUCTIONI The PropositionII The Age of Elizabeth and the Elizabethan Men of LettersIII Extracts from the Life of RaleighRaleighs SchoolIV Raleighs School continuedThe New Academy                                   BOOK IThe HISTORICAL KEY to the ELIZABETHAN ART of TRADITION which formedthe FIRST BOOK of this Work as it was originally prepared for thePress is reserved for separate publicationTHE ELIZABETHAN ART OF DELIVERY AND TRADITIONPART IMICHAEL DE MONTAIGNES PRIVATE AND RETIRED ARTSI Ascent from Particulars to the Highest Parts of Sciences by theEnigmatic Method illustratedII Further Illustration of Particular Methods ofTraditionEmbarrassments of Literary StatesmenIII The Possibility of great anonymous Worksor Works publishedunder an _assumed name_conveying under rhetorical Disguises thePrincipal Sciencesresuggested and illustratedPART IITHE BACONIAN RHETORIC OR THE METHOD OF PROGRESSIONI THE BEGINNERSParticular Methods of Tradition   The Double Method of Illustration and ConcealmentII INDEX to the Illustrated and Concealed Tradition of    the Principal and Supreme SciencesTHE SCIENCE OF    POLICYIII THE SCIENCE OF MORALITY Section I The Exemplar of GoodIV  THE SCIENCE OF MORALITY Section II The Husbandry thereunto                                       or the Cure and Culture of                                          the MindAPPLICATIONV   THE SCIENCE OF MORALITYALTERATIONVI Method of Convoying the Wisdom of the Moderns                                   BOOK IIELIZABETHAN SECRETS OF MORALITY AND POLICY OR THE FABLES OF THENEW LEARNINGINTRODUCTORYI The DesignII The Missing Books of the Great Instauration or Philosophy     itselfPART ILEARS PHILOSOPHEROR THE LAW OF THE SPECIAL AND RESPECTIVE DUTIES DEFINED ANDILLUSTRATED IN TABLES OF PRESENCE AND ABSENCEI Philosophy in the PalaceII Unaccommodated ManIII The King and the BeggarIV The Use of EyesV The Statesmans NoteBookand the PlayPART IIJULIUS CAESAR AND CORIOLANUSTHE SCIENTIFIC CURE OF THE COMMONWEALORTHE COMMON DUTY OF EVERY MAN AS A MAN OR MEMBER OF A STATE DEFINEDAND ILLUSTRATED IN NEGATIVE INSTANCES AND INSTANCES OF PRESENCEJULIUS CAESAROR THE EMPIRICAL TREATMENT IN DISEASES OF THE COMMONWEAL EXAMINEDI The Death of Tyranny or the Question of the PrerogativeII Caesars SpiritCORIOLANUSTHE QUESTION OF THE CONSULSHIP OR THE SCIENTIFIC CURE OF THECOMMONWEAL PROPOUNDEDI    The Elizabethan HeroismII   Criticism of the Martial GovernmentIII  Insurrections ArguingIV   Political RetrospectV    The Popular ElectionVI   The Scientific Method in PoliticsVII  Volumnia and her BoyVIII Metaphysical AidIX   The CurePlan of InnovationNew DefinitionsX    The CurePlan of InnovationNew ConstructionsXI   The CurePlan of InnovationThe InitiativeXII  The Ignorant Election revokedA Wrestling InstanceXIII ConclusionPREFACEThis Volume contains the argument drawn from the Plays usuallyattributed to Shakspere in support of a theory which the author of ithas demonstrated by historical evidences in another work Having neverread this historical demonstration which remains still in manuscriptwith the exception of a preliminary chapter published long ago in anAmerican periodical I deem it necessary to cite the authors ownaccount of itThe Historical Part of this work which was originally the principalpart and designed to furnish the historical key to the greatElizabethan writings though now for a long time completed and readyfor the press and though repeated reference is made to it in thisvolume is for the most part omitted here It contains a true andbefore unwritten history and it will yet perhaps be published as itstands but the vivid and accumulating historic detail with whichmore recent research tends to enrich the earlier statement anddisclosures which no invention could anticipate are waiting now to besubjoined to itThe INTERNAL EVIDENCE of the assumptions made at the outset is thatwhich is chiefly relied on in the work now first presented on thissubject to the public The demonstration will be found complete onthat ground and on that ground alone the author is willing anddeliberately prefers for the present to rest itExternal evidence of course will not be wanting there will beenough and to spare if the demonstration here be correct But theauthor of the discovery was not willing to rob the world of this greatquestion but wished rather to share with it the benefit which thetrue solution of the Problem offersthe solution prescribed by thosewho propounded it to the future It seemed better to save to