'/111 (ifntttcU ItttuetaWg iCibrarg 3t\fntu. Sfettt Qatk THE GIFT OF 1 Pu-Id 1 skers. OME DUE f^^ Loan NYStLC 2 S WITH THE COMPLIMENTS OF HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY .'#" ^L 'i«jsS»i-)S'j- Cornell University Library PR 2944.B35 1917 The greatest of literary problems, the au 3 1924 013 153 303 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013153303 THE GREATEST OF LITERARY PROBLEMS 1 -s , .7 '->^ i.'\ 0 y^'. • / QUEEN ELIZABETH From an original crayon drawing by F. Zuccero, made in London in 1575 THE GREATEST OF LITERARY PROBLEMS THE AUTHORSHIP OF THE SHAKESPEARE WORKS AN EXPOSITION OF ALL POINTS AT ISSUE, FROM THEIR INCEPTION TO THE PRESENT MOMENT BY JAMES PHINNEY BAXTER WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 1917 A.t'pl'^l COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY JAMES PHINNEY BAXTEK ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Published September iqx5 Second Edition Published February iqiy I DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO MY WIFE IN WHOSE PRESENCE IT WAS WRITTEN, YET WHO BEFORE IT CAME FROM THE PRESS LEFT ME ALONE The three important things Lord Palmerston was rejoiced to see, — "The reintegration of Italy, the unveiling of the mystery of China, and the explosion of the Shakespeare illusions." The Glory of God is to conceal a thing — as if the Divine Majesty took delight to hide his works. Bacon. Silence were the best celebration of that which I mean to commend. My praise shall be dedi- cated to the mind itself, -^- Mente Videbor, by the mind I shall be seen. Ibid. Read not to contradict and to confute Nor to believe and take for granted; Nor to find talk and discourse But to weigh and consider. Ibid. For my name and memory, I leave it to men's charitable speeches, and to foreign nations, and the next ages. Ibid. I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill, but TIME and CHANCE happeneth to them all. TO THE READER Although much has been written upon the authorship of the "Shakespeare" Works, it has been impossible hitherto for readers to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the subject without an excursion into fields of controversy of for- bidding extent. It has seemed to me, therefore, a worthy task to present to them in a single volume a critical study of the entire subject, and, also, a review of the work of fellow students who have preceded me. To visualize my subject more vividly to them I have illustrated it pictorially, using much of my material as it was originally produced, though inar- tistic ; some of the portraits, for instance, being from photo- graphs of old and somewhat defaced canvases, which could not have been reengraved without impairing their character, and many of the minor illustrations from ancient books printed when wood engraving was a rude art. In my treatment of oppo- nents I hope that I have not held them in too light esteem, fully realizing that what we often believe to be principles and valorously battle for, not infrequently turn out to be but opinions, and that beyond them may be a wide field of debat- able ground. What I have written, however, is the result of conviction founded upon judgment. If this is deficient it should be apparent to the reader. James Phinney Baxter. Portland, Maine, 1915- PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION To my Critics: When I wrote The Greatest of Literary Problems, I was hoping to escape the charge of offensive dogmatism, inasmuch as, when expressing my own opinion upon a point at issue, I was careful to observe that I submitted it to the judgment of my reader, and acknowledged in my Preface that I realized that what we often believe to be principles for which we val- orously battle, not infrequently turn out to be but opinions beyond which may be a wide field of debatable ground. In- stead, however, of yielding me the credit of at least an at- tempt to be fair, some irreconcilable opponents of my thesis have bestowed upon me names unworthy to be applied, by any wayfarer in this world of doubt, to another. To those who have resorted to abuse and caviled at trivial points in my treatment of what I believe to be an important subject, I make no rejoinder, hoping that eventually they will give it due attention and show, if possible, wherein I have erred in my exposition of it. It is to those open-minded students who have really read my book and expressed approval of its "first three hundred and ninety pages or so," but disapproval of those treating of Bacon's authorship of works which have been accredited to others, and especially of ciphers, that I address myself. I doubt if they have sufficiently considered the fact that Francis Bacon was the inventor of a cipher for concealing messages in books, which he has described in his De Augmentis Scien- tiarum, and that there has been published a large body of literary matter, comprising historical and dramatic works, as well as an English version of the Iliad, which it is claimed were found concealed in cipher, not only in Bacon's acknowl- edged works, but also in the first " Shakespeare " Folio. This ix 7 PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION claim is either trae, a fake, or a delusion. Partisans for or against will not determine this, but scholars, who will find their most attractive field in the Iliad should it be published in full, with cipher illustrations, and a lucid exposition of the method of extracting the cipher from the works in which it is claimed to be concealed. In attempting to present to my readers an exhaustive study of my subject, it was necessary that I should devote due space to ciphers, and I am hoping that my unprejudiced readers will carefully reexamine this part of The Greatest of Literary Problems. It is interesting to note the constantly increas- ing attention which is being given to Bacon's authorship of the "Shakespeare" works. A department of The Riverbank Research Laboratories of Geneva, Illinois, among its other work has begun an investigation of Bacon's "Biliteral Cipher in his Philosophical Works," and those bearing the name "Shakespeare." The information gathered in this branch of research is being used for the instruction of students, and several of the principal educational institutions of the coun- try have been invited to send representatives to Chicago, free of expense to them, for the purpose of examining the work which has already been accomplished. A local school with several scholarships has been established for students, with a correspondence branch for those who desire to study at home, and a prize of five hundred dollars offered for the three best dissertations on one or more phases of the subject. Moreover, "The Academy of Baconian Literature" has been incorporated, and a course of illustrated lectures on " Ciphers " in Elizabethan Literature is to be delivered in various cities in the United States. James Phinney Baxter Mackworth Island, 191 CONTENTS Prologue xix Why and how the Shakspere-Bacon Controversy came about I The Setting of the Stage ... t. The Elizabethan Age and its Influence in shaping the Thoughts and Acts of the Men of the Time 11 The Theme 19 TheGreatest Birth of Time—The " Shakespeare" Works and how they have been regarded by Commentators and Critics III The Ghost of Hamlet 32 William Shakspere of Stratford — In London — His Favorite Role IV The Greatest of Literary Problems .... 65 All that is known of him and supposed to be known of him — An Attempt to ascertain if the Author's Face shows in his Off- spring — As seen by Contemporaries — The Quartos —The Folios '— Henslowe's Diary — Plays excluded from First Folio — Second, Third, and Fourth Folios — Blind Guides V A Study of other "Shakespeare" Plays . .163 Do they reflect the same Face? VI Mythical Relics 224 A Criticism of all the Relics in Existence accredited to the Actor with Comparative Illustrations xi CONTENTS VII A Crucial Question 269 An Essay in Graphology — Facsimiles from Will and other Documents — A Critic criticized, etc. VIII Francis Bacon, Viscount St. Albans, Baron Verulam OF Verulam 297 A Review of his Life from the Various Angles of his Biogra- phers from Rawley to Spedding — His Role — The Promus — The Northumberland Manuscript IX The Sonnets 378 The Great Assizes holden in Parnassus X The Rose Cross 392 A Study of the Cult and its Bearing on the Secret of Bacon's Life XI Symbolism 405 What it was and the Use it anciently perforttied — Water- Marks — Cryptograms — Titie-Pages — Anagrams — Acros- tics XII Anonymous and Pseudonymous Authorship . 436 Edmund Spenser XIII A Literary Syncrisis 464 Peele — The Arraignment of Paris — David and Bethsabe XIV Masks 47^ Robert Greene — Christopher Marlowe — Thomas Kyd — Burton xii CONTENTS XV Thumb Marks . 489 "iX Curious Proofs determining the Authorship of the "Shake- speare" Works XVI Ciphers 521 ^^, The Wbrd-Cipher — Method of Applying — The Biliteral Cipher — The Ciphers in Bacon's Works — Th6"Argenis" — Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex — The Queen's Ring Epilogue 6^5 A Summary showing where the Actor and the Courtier were, and what they were doing at Stated Periods of their Lives Bibliography ... ... 633 Index 665 ILLUSTRATIONS Elizabeth Tudor Frontispiece The Droeshout, The Felton, The Chandos, The Janssen Shakspere 229 The Ashbourne, The Grafton, The Zucchero, The Sanders Shakspere 235 The Zoust, The Stratford, The Eli House, The Flower Shakspere 237 The Jennings, The Burn, The Winstanley, The Bel- mont Hall Shakspere 239 Shakspere Marriage Picture 241 The Becker and Stratford Death Masks .