REFERENCES TO SYPHILIS IN THE PLAYS OF SHAKESPEARE By FRANCIS R. PACKARD, M.D. PHILADELPHIA, PA.

HERE are several general refer­ Adam. Though I look old, yet I am strongand lusty; ences to venereal diseases in the For in my youth I never did apply plays of Shakespeare, besides Hot and rebellious liquors in my blood; Nor did not with unbashful forehead woo many passages which refer to The means of weakness and debility; Tthem directly. Therefore my age is as a lusty winter, Frosty, but kindly. Edgar. The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices Make instruments to plague us:1 . . . “Timon of Athens” is especially replete with This does not refer to venereal disease but details bearing on syphilis in all its stages, to the illegitimate birth of Edgar, although primary, secondary, and tertiary, showing it is very frequently used as a quotation that Shakespeare clearly understood the applicable to diseases arising from vicious different phases of the disease and their habits. various manifestations. In many passages In ‘‘As You Like It,”2 the duke tells Jacques in other plays he shows a quite remarkable that his sermonizing is but the result of insight into the complaint. the libertine life he, Jacques, has led in his There is much obscurity as to the origin youth: of syphilis on the continent of Europe. Its first historic appearance was at the Duke. Most mischievous foul sin, in chiding sin: siege of Naples by the French under Charles For thou thyself hast been a libertine, viii, in 1495, when it broke out in epidemic As sensual as the brutish sting itself; And all the embossed sores, and headed evils form in the French camp. The French That thou with license of free foot hast caught, attributed the outbreak to contagion from Wouldst thou disgorge into the general world. the’Spanish living in Naples. The latter were said to have acquired the disease in their Adam3 is supposed to refer to his chastity native country whither it had been brought in youth when speaking of the means by sailors with Columbus returning from whereby he attained a lusty old age: his first voyage to America. That some form of syphilis existed in Europe previous 1 King Lear, v, iii, 193-194. 211, vii, 65-70. to that time is, however, highly probable. 3 As You Like It, 11, iii, 47-53. It is likely that much of the so-called leprosy so prevalent in European countries prior Countess. Will your answer serve fit to all to the recognition of syphilis was of a questions? syphilitic nature. Clown. As fit as ten groats is for the hand of an attorney, as your French crown for your taffeta Professor Sudhoff has published a number punk. of facsimiles of documents printed about the end of the fifteenth century which show In “A Midsummer-Night’s Dream,”7 the that the disease was then well recognized players jest on the loss of hair (alopecia) and he inclines to the belief that such recog­ which occurs in syphilis and is frequently nition antedates considerably the voyage associated with the corona Veneris. Bottom of Columbus. expresses his willingness to play the part When its origin, its gravity and its of Pyramus: frequency had become recognized every Bottom. I will discharge it in either your straw­ nation sought to attach the blame for its colour beard, your orange-tawney beard, your introduction into the world on some other. purple-in-grain beard, or your French-crown-colour Until the publication of Sudhoff’s mono­ beard, your perfect yellow. Quince. Some of your French crowns have no graphs4 the fact that syphilis was more hair at all, and then you will play bare-faced. generally known by the name “French disease” than by any other, led to the The clown Costard in “Love’s Labour’s belief that this was because it had been Lost”8 quibbles on the French crown as spread by the French soldiers after their follows: return from Naples. But Sudhoff has found Costard. . . . Remuneration, why, it is a prescriptions and directions for the treat­ fairer name than French crown. I will never buy ment of what he considers must have been and sell out of this word. syphilis, antedating the siege of Naples In the brothel at Mitylene,9 when Boult by many years, and in some of them and the bawd are discussing a former the disease is distinctly spoken of as “the customer, a Frenchman, we find the follow­ French disease.” Shakespeare uses this term ing punning reference: on several occasions. Bawd. Well, well; as for him, he brought his Pistol. News have I, that my Nell is dead i’ the disease hither: here he does but repair it. I know, spital he will come in our shadow, to scatter his crowns Of malady of France;5 . . . in the sun. In the following dialogue10 reference is One of the most conspicuous symptoms made to the contagious nature of syphilis of the disease, the corona Veneris, was made in Lucio’s refusal to drink out of a vessel by Shakespeare the subject of several previously used by a syphilitic: jests in which the French origin of the disease is indicated by terming this eruption Lucio. I will, out of thine own confession, learn to on the forehead “the French crown.” begin thy health; but, whilst I live, forget to drink after thee. Thus the clown in “All’s Well that Ends First Gentl. I think I have done myself wrong, Well,”6 answers the countess in a manner have I not? which would now be considered very im­ Second Gentl. Yes, that thou hast, whether thou proper, although at that time the mention art tainted or free. of such matters in public was not regarded Lucio. Behold, behold, where Madame Mitiga­ as at all unseemly: tion comes! First Gentl. I have purchased as many diseases 4 Graphische und typographische Erstlinge der under her roof as come to— Syphilis-literature; and Aus der Friihgeschichte der 71, ii, 94~99- Syphilis, 1912. 8 hi, i, 145-148. 5 Henry v. v, i, 86-87. 9 Pericles, iv, iii, 119-122. 611, ii, 20-24. 10 Measure for Measure, 1 ii, 38-62. Second Gentl. To what, I pray? And in “King Henry iv”:15 Lucio. Judge. Second Gentl. To three thousand dolours a year. Falstaff. If the cook help to make the gluttony, First Gentl. Ay, and more. you help to make the diseases, Doll; we catch of you, Lucio. A French crown more. Doll, we catch of you; grant that, my poor virtue, First Gentl. Thou art always figuring diseases grant that. in me; but thou art full of error; I am sound. The freedom of speech in polite circles Lucio. Nay, not as one would say, healthy; but so sound as things that are hollow: thy bones are on the subject of syphilis is curiously illus­ hollow; impiety has made a feast of thee. trated when Iachimo, who is supposed to Enter Mistress Overdone. be a man of polished manners, although First Gentl. How now? Which of your hips has a villain, speaks in the following passage16 the most profound sciatica? to Imogen, the perfect picture of a pure The “hollow bones” and the “profound highminded lady. He is trying to deceive sciatica” are both allusions to the tertiary her into the belief that her loved Posthumus symptoms of syphilis. has forgotten her in the pleasures of a Ben Johnson in “Every Man Out of His licentious life in Rome. Humour”11 also refers to syphilis as the Iachimo. With diseased ventures French pox. That play for gold with all infirmities, Carlo Buffone. Ay, do you make a wonder Which rottenness can lend nature! Such boiled on’t? Why it’s your only physic. Let a man stuff sweat once a week in a hot house, and be well As well might poison poison. rubbed and frotted, with a good, plump, juicy The name pox as applied to syphilis wench, and sweet linen, he shall ne’er have the must have come into use in England at pox. an early period after the introduction of Pontavarlo. What the French pox? Carlo Buffone. The French pox! Our pox: the disease into that country, which is s’blood we have here as good form as they supposed to have been in 1496. The term man, what? was frequently used in cursing.

Thersites12 speaks of syphilis as the Trinculo. A pox o’ your bottle! this can sack Neapolitan disease: and drinking do.17 Thersites. After this, the vengeance on the Timon of Athens in his terrible adjuration whole camp! or rather, the Neapolitan boneache, of the mistress of Alcibiades18 uses the for that, methinks, is the curse dependent on those that war for a placket. epithet most appropriately: Thersites also refers to a symptom that was Timon. Be whores still; very generally known as a symptom of And he whose pious breath seeks to convert syphilis: you, Be strong in whore, allure him, burn him up; Thersites. Now the dry serpigo on the subject, Let your close fire predominate his smoke, and war and lechery confound all!13 And be no turncoats. Yet may your pains, six The contraction of syphilis from profes­ months sional prostitutes is a matter of frequent Be quite contrary. Thatch your poor thin roofs With burdens of the dead: some that were allusion: hanged, Mariana. For me, No matter: wear them, betray with them. Whore That am a maid, though most ungentle fortune still; Hath placed me in this sty, where, since I came, Paint till a horse may mire upon your face. Diseases have been sold dearer than physic.14 A pox of wrinkles! 11 iv, ii. 15 Part 11. 11, iv, 48-51. 12TroiIus and Cressida. n, iii, 235-238. 16 Cymbeline. 1, vi, 140-143. 1311, iii, 80-82. 17 Tempest, iii, ii, 86-88. 14 Pericles, iv, vi, 92-95. 18 Timon of Athens, iv, iii, 156-165. In other plays the word is often found in to in lay as well as medical literature. this use. The falling out of the hair is a symptom commonly witnessed and generally known. Katherine. A pox of that jest! and I beshrew all shrews!19 Impotency is not so frequently a result Falstaff. A pox of this gout! or, a gout of this of syphilis but does occasionally occur pox!20 because of it. Pandour. Now, the pox upon her green-sickness Timon of Athens refers to the hospitals for me.21 in which syphilitics were treated in the For a brief poetical description of the following passage,24 in the course of his physical evils wrought by syphilis, there is discourse on the power of gold: nothing comparable with that uttered by Timon. This is it Timon of Athens22 when he is urging the That makes the wappened widow wed again; two mistresses of Alcibiades to go forth and She whom the spital-house and ulcerous sores ply the trade of prostitution to the destruc­ Would cast the gorge at, this embalms and spices tion of men: To the April day again.

Timon. Consumptions sow There were establishments in which In hollow bones of man! strike their sharp shins, special treatment was given to syphilitics And mar men’s spurring. Crack the lawyer’s and though “spital” is quite obviously an voice, abbreviation of the word hospital, never­ That he may never more false title plead, theless in popular use “spital” seems to Nor sound his quillets shrilly: hoar the flamen, That scolds against the quality of flesh have been frequently applied to places And not believes himself: down with the nose, in which treatment by fumigations, baths Down with it flat; take the bridge quite away and inunctions was given to victims Of him that, his particular to forsee, of syphilis. Mercury was used in the Smells from the general weal: make curled-pate treatment, and as its use was but poorly ruffians bald; understood by many of the empirics, who And let the unscarred braggarts of the war Derive some pain from you: Plague all, then as now devoted themselves especially That your activity may defeat and quell to the treatment of syphilis, it is possible The source of all erection. There’s more gold: that the frequent salivation from the abuse Do you damn others, and let this damn you, of mercury had something to do with the And ditches grave you all! application of the name. When Pistol is Bucknill23 believes that the term “hollow quarreling with Nym25 he tells the latter bones” alludes to those of the cranium, that he intends to marry Dame Quickly, but I think, taken in conjunction with and bids him go to the spital: the shins, it more probably refers to the Pistol. No; to the spital go, syphilitic manifestations which are so fre­ And from the powdering-tub of infamy quent in the bones of the leg, so commonly Fetch forth the Iazar kite of Cressid’s kind. associated with osteocopic pains and in­ Pistol uses the term again in a passage26 tractable leg ulcers. The raucous voice of already quoted: the victim of laryngeal syphilis is familiar to all medical men. Syphilitic destruction of Pistol. News have I, that my Nell is dead i’ the spital the nasal septum is so common a result Of malady of France; of the disease that it is frequently referred It is possible that sometimes these spitals 19 Love’s Labour’s Lost, v, ii, 50. were in reality merely houses of prostitution 20 Henry iv, Part 11. 1, ii, 73. 21 Pericles, iv, vi, 12. into which syphilitics retired to conceal 22Timon of Athens, iv. iii. 168-183. 24 Op. cit. iv, iii, 38-42. 23 Bucknill. Medical knowledge of Shakespeare, 25 Henry v. 11, i, 78-80. Longman, London, i860. 26 Op. cit. v, i, 86-87. themselves while undergoing treatment. Gloucester. Thou that giv’st whores indulgences Ben Johnson in the characters of the to sin. persons in “Every Man Out of His Humour,” And again when rallying his men to fight describing Shift says: “All the while he against the Bishop. was taking the diet in a bawdy house.” The powdering tub is frequently referred Gloucester. Winchester goose! I cry, a rope! a rope! to as one of the means of administering Now beat them hence; why do you let them stay? mercury. This practise is mentioned when Thee I’ll chase hence, thou wolf in sheep’s array. Out tawney coats! Out, scarlet hypocrite! Lucio is talking27 to the clown about the bawd who was his mistress: The appearance of those who had under­ gone treatment with mercurial fumigations Lucio. Procures she still, ha? and inunctions is alluded to by Rabelais Clown. Troth, sir, she hath eaten up all her beef, and she is herself in the tub. in the prologue to “Pantagruel,” Book 11, when he is speaking of the comfort afforded Timon of Athens28 adjures the whores those afflicted with syphilis or gout by to give men syphilis: the perusal of his books: Timon. Give them diseases, leaving with thee their But what shall I say of those poor men that lust. are plagued with the pox and the gout? O, how For tubs and baths: bring down rose-cheeked youth often have we seen them, even immediately To the tub-fast and the diet. after they were anointed and thoroughly The treatment consisted of fumigation, greased, till their faces did glister like the key­ the patient being placed in a tub and hole of a powdering tub, their teeth dance like cinnabar thrown on a hot dish in it. the jacks of a pair of little organs or virginals, The mercury thus volatilized deposited when they are played upon, and that they on the surface of the body. This sweating foamed from their very throats like a boar, by means of hot tubs or baths and a regular which the mongrel mastiffs have driven in, dieting were two of the therapeutic measures and overthrown among the toils. in the treatment of syphilis. Pandarus Ben Johnson also refers to the aspect of refers to the sweating treatment in the fol­ those who have just been fumigated: lowing passage:29 Pontavarlo. Methinks Carlo you look very Pandarus. My fear is this. smooth. Some galled goose of Winchester would hiss. Carlo Bupfone. Why I come but now from Till then I’ll sweat and seek about for eases; a hot-house, I needs must look smooth.31 And at that time bequeath you my diseases. Diet also played a very important part in This quotation also refers to the fact that the treatment: the public brothels of London used to be licensed under a privilege granted to the Clown. Why very well; I telling you then, if bishop of Winchester. Such licensing con­ you be remembered, that such a one, and such a one, were past cure of the thing you wot of, unless tinued until 1547 when it was ordered they kept very good diet as I told you.32 abolished. This practice is alluded to again in the first part of “Henry vi”30 when the Timon recognized distinctly the con­ Duke of Gloucester is quarreling with tagiousness of syphilitic lesions and that the Bishop of Winchester at the gates of the disease might be conveyed by contact the Tower of London. Gloucester taunts other than during sexual intercourse. This his priestly antagonist: is shown in his conversation with one of the mistresses of Alcibiades:33 27 Measure for Measure. 11, ii, 51-53. 28 Timon of Athens, iv, iii, 90-92. 31 Every Man Out of His Humour. 29 Troilus and Cressida. v, x, 56-58. 32 Measure for Measure. 11, i, 113-116. 301, ih, 35, 54~57- 33 Timon of Athens, iv, iii, 66-68. Phrynia. Thy lips rot off! P.E. This is well enough if we had nothing to Timon. I will not kiss thee; then the rot returns fear from the touch of his fingers, from his To thine own lips again. linen, and from his comb and scissors. In the following passage34 Bucknill thinks According to modern views Erasmus was the word leprosy should be interpreted as quite right in his supposition that there meaning a syphilitic condition: was danger from a syphilitic barber. Timon. Would thou wert clean enough to spit The dangers of syphilis when not taken in upon. hand and treated are indicated in the Apemantus. A plague on thee! thou art too bad to following speech:36 curse. Timon. All villains that do stand by thee are pure. King. But so much was our love, Apemantus. There is no leprosy but what thou We would not understand what was most fit: speaks’t. But like the owner of a foul disease, Timon. If I name thee, To keep it from divulging, let it feed I’ll beat thee, but I should infect my hands. Even on the pith of life. Apemantus. I would my tongue could rot them off! An old English term for venereal sores is used by King Lear37 when trying to console Bucknill makes a curious error35 when he Cordelia: states, “in Shakespeare’s time the secondary forms of syphilis were erroneously thought to Lear. Wipe thine eyes; be contagious in the highest degree,” and The goujeers shall devour them, flesh and fell, Ere they shall make us weep: he quotes the following dialogue written by Erasmus, and quoted by Astruc, as Timon refers to rupial eruption of syphilis an instance of this erroneous opinion: in the following passage:38

G.A. But you forget this evil is propagated Timon. Of man and beast the infinite malady many different ways besides that of copu­ Crust you quite o’er! lation, as by kissing, talking together, Timon might seem to imply in the above touching each other, drinking together. For such is the spiteful nature thereof, that syphilis was a disease of the lower that it is never better pleased than when animals as well as of man. it can spread its poison to others without That syphilis was very prevalent in advantaging itself. England is evidenced by the remarks of P.E. If it be thus let no one suffer his barber one of the clowns in the grave digging scene to come near him to mow down his beard; in “Hamlet.”39 • or for safety let every man shave himself. G.A. But if, by way of security, what if each Hamlet. How long will a man lie i’ th’ earth ere he rot? of them were to keep his lips close, and not First Clown. I’ faith if he be not rotten before speak a word till the barber is done and is he die, as we have many pocky corses now-a-days, gone about his business? that will scarce hold the laying in; he will last you P.E. That would do because the infection some eight year or nine year. may be taken in by the nostrils. G.A. I have a remedy for that. Bucknill40 sees in the following speech P.E. Pray what? of Jacques a reference to syphilis, stating G.A. To do as the chemists, wear a mask with that “When Jacques expresses in medical glass eyes that may let in the light, and a form of thought and phrase his desire to tube also that may be fastened under the arms, by which the air may pass to and 36 Hamlet, iv, i, 20-24. from the mouth and nostrils. 37 King Lear, v, iii, 25-28. 38 Timon of Athens, iii, vi, 107-108. 34 Op. cit. iv, iii, 365-376. 39 v, i, 178-184. 35 Bucknill. Op. cit., 257. 40 Op. cit., p. 108. reform the moral evils of the world, the Jacques. Invest me in my motley, give me leave class of disease to which the half technical To speak my mind, and I will through and phrase of ‘cleansing the foul body’ appears through Cleanse the foul body of the infected world, to refer is that which by its novelty If they will patiently receive my medicine. and prevalence engrossed so much attention Duke, Senior. Fie on thee! I can tell what thou at that time.” wouldst do. Bucknill thinks that the “embossed sores Jacques. What, for a counter, would I do but good? and headed evils” refer to the rupial erup­ Duke, Senior. Most mischievous foul sin, in chiding tion of syphilis. It is curious that in his sin: For thou thyself hast been a libertine, note in the variorum edition, Dr. Furness As sensual as the brutish sting itself; makes no reference to this interpretation And all the embossed sores, and headed evils, and that none of the numerous commenta­ That thou with license of free foot hast caught, tors he quotes consider the passage in Wouldst thou disgorge into the general world.41 this bearing. 41 As You Like It. n, vii, 59-70.