The Valet's Tragedy and Other Stories [114]
are on a level with 'Punch's' proofs that Alexander Smith was a plagiarist. Thus Smith:
No CHARACTER that servant WOMAN asked;
Pope writes:
Most WOMEN have no CHARACTER at all.
It is tedious to copy out the puerilities of such parallelisms. Thus Bacon:
If we simply looked to the fabric of the world;
Shakespeare:
And, like the baseless fabric of a vision.
Bacon:
The intellectual light in the top and consummation of thy workmanship;
Shakespeare:
Like eyasses that cry out on the top of the question.
Myriads of pages of such matter would carry no proof. Probably the hugest collection of such 'parallels' is that preserved by Mrs. Pott in Bacon's 'Promus,' a book of 628 pages. Mrs. Pott's 'sole object' in publishing 'was to confirm the growing belief in Bacon's authorship of the plays.' Having acquired the opinion, she laboured to strengthen herself and others in the faith. The so-called 'Promus' is a manuscript set of notes, quotations, formulae, and proverbs. As Mr. Spedding says, there are 'forms of compliment, application, excuse, repartee, etc.' 'The collection is from books which were then in every scholar's hands.' 'The proverbs may all, or nearly all, be found in the common collections.' Mrs. Pott remarks that in 'Promus' are 'several hundreds of notes of which no trace has been discovered in the acknowledged writings of Bacon, or of any other contemporary writer but Shakespeare.' She adds that the theory of 'close intercourse' between the two men is 'contrary to all evidence.' She then infers that 'Bacon alone wrote all the plays and sonnets which are attributed to Shakespeare.' So Bacon entrusted his plays, and the dread secret of his authorship, to a boorish cabotin with whom he had no 'close intercourse'! This is lady's logic, a contradiction in terms. The theory that Bacon wrote the plays and sonnets inevitably implies the closest intercourse between him and Shakespeare. They must have been in constant connection. But, as Mrs. Pott truly says, this is 'contrary to all evidence.'
Perhaps the best way to deal with Mrs. Pott is to cite the author of her preface, Dr. Abbott. He is not convinced, but he is much struck by a very exquisite argument of the lady's. Bacon in 'Promus' is writing down 'Formularies and Elegancies,' modes of salutation. He begins with 'Good morrow!' This original remark, Mrs. Pott reckons, 'occurs in the plays nearly a hundred times. In the list of upwards of six thousand words in Appendix E, "Good morrow" has been noted thirty-one times. . . . "Good morrow" may have become familiar merely by means of "Romeo and Juliet."' Dr. Abbott is so struck by this valuable statement that he writes: 'There remains the question, Why did Bacon think it worth while to write down in a notebook the phrase "Good morrow" if it was at that time in common use?'
Bacon wrote down 'Good morrow' just because it WAS in common use. All the formulae were in common use; probably 'Golden sleepe' was a regular wish, like 'Good rest.' Bacon is making a list of commonplaces about beginning the day, about getting out of bed, about sleep. Some are in English, some in various other languages. He is not, as in Mrs. Pott's ingenious theory, making notes of novelties to be introduced through his plays. He is cataloguing the commonplace. It is Mrs. Pott's astonishing contention, as we have seen, that Bacon probably introduced the phrase 'Good morrow!' Mr. Bucke, following her in a magazine article, says: 'These forms of salutation were not in use in England before Bacon's time, and it was his entry of them in the "Promus" and use of them in the plays that makes them current coin day by day with us in the nineteenth century.' This is ignorant nonsense. 'Good morrow' and 'Good night' were as familiar before Bacon or Shakespeare wrote as 'Good morning' and 'Good night' are to-day. This we can demonstrate. The very first Elizabethan handbook of phrases which we consult shows that 'Good morrow' was the stock
No CHARACTER that servant WOMAN asked;
Pope writes:
Most WOMEN have no CHARACTER at all.
It is tedious to copy out the puerilities of such parallelisms. Thus Bacon:
If we simply looked to the fabric of the world;
Shakespeare:
And, like the baseless fabric of a vision.
Bacon:
The intellectual light in the top and consummation of thy workmanship;
Shakespeare:
Like eyasses that cry out on the top of the question.
Myriads of pages of such matter would carry no proof. Probably the hugest collection of such 'parallels' is that preserved by Mrs. Pott in Bacon's 'Promus,' a book of 628 pages. Mrs. Pott's 'sole object' in publishing 'was to confirm the growing belief in Bacon's authorship of the plays.' Having acquired the opinion, she laboured to strengthen herself and others in the faith. The so-called 'Promus' is a manuscript set of notes, quotations, formulae, and proverbs. As Mr. Spedding says, there are 'forms of compliment, application, excuse, repartee, etc.' 'The collection is from books which were then in every scholar's hands.' 'The proverbs may all, or nearly all, be found in the common collections.' Mrs. Pott remarks that in 'Promus' are 'several hundreds of notes of which no trace has been discovered in the acknowledged writings of Bacon, or of any other contemporary writer but Shakespeare.' She adds that the theory of 'close intercourse' between the two men is 'contrary to all evidence.' She then infers that 'Bacon alone wrote all the plays and sonnets which are attributed to Shakespeare.' So Bacon entrusted his plays, and the dread secret of his authorship, to a boorish cabotin with whom he had no 'close intercourse'! This is lady's logic, a contradiction in terms. The theory that Bacon wrote the plays and sonnets inevitably implies the closest intercourse between him and Shakespeare. They must have been in constant connection. But, as Mrs. Pott truly says, this is 'contrary to all evidence.'
Perhaps the best way to deal with Mrs. Pott is to cite the author of her preface, Dr. Abbott. He is not convinced, but he is much struck by a very exquisite argument of the lady's. Bacon in 'Promus' is writing down 'Formularies and Elegancies,' modes of salutation. He begins with 'Good morrow!' This original remark, Mrs. Pott reckons, 'occurs in the plays nearly a hundred times. In the list of upwards of six thousand words in Appendix E, "Good morrow" has been noted thirty-one times. . . . "Good morrow" may have become familiar merely by means of "Romeo and Juliet."' Dr. Abbott is so struck by this valuable statement that he writes: 'There remains the question, Why did Bacon think it worth while to write down in a notebook the phrase "Good morrow" if it was at that time in common use?'
Bacon wrote down 'Good morrow' just because it WAS in common use. All the formulae were in common use; probably 'Golden sleepe' was a regular wish, like 'Good rest.' Bacon is making a list of commonplaces about beginning the day, about getting out of bed, about sleep. Some are in English, some in various other languages. He is not, as in Mrs. Pott's ingenious theory, making notes of novelties to be introduced through his plays. He is cataloguing the commonplace. It is Mrs. Pott's astonishing contention, as we have seen, that Bacon probably introduced the phrase 'Good morrow!' Mr. Bucke, following her in a magazine article, says: 'These forms of salutation were not in use in England before Bacon's time, and it was his entry of them in the "Promus" and use of them in the plays that makes them current coin day by day with us in the nineteenth century.' This is ignorant nonsense. 'Good morrow' and 'Good night' were as familiar before Bacon or Shakespeare wrote as 'Good morning' and 'Good night' are to-day. This we can demonstrate. The very first Elizabethan handbook of phrases which we consult shows that 'Good morrow' was the stock