Bacon is Shake-Speare Part 14

p. 811, that Bacon's name appears seventh in the list there given of Elizabethan poets.

ERRATA.

P. 5. For "knew little Latin" read "had small Latin."

P. 29. For "line 511" read "line 512."

P. 81. For "Montegut" read "Montegut."

For "Greek for crowned" read "Greek for crown."

P. 93 & 94. For "Quintillian" read "Quintilian."

P. 133. For "Greek name" read "Greek word."

PROMUS

OF

FOURMES AND ELEGANCYES

BY

FRANCIS BACON.

PREFACE TO PROMUS

To these Essays I have attached a carefully collated reprint of Francis Bacon's "Promus of Formularies and Elegancies," a work which is to be found in Ma.n.u.script at the British Museum in the Harleian Collection (No. 7,017.)

The folios at present known are numbered from 83 to 132, and are supposed to have been written about A.D. 1594-6, because folio 85 is dated December 5th 1594, and folio 114, January 27 1595.

The pagination of the MS. is modern, and was inserted for reference purposes when the Promus was bound up in one volume together with certain other miscellaneous ma.n.u.scripts which are numbered from 1 to 82, and from 133 onwards.

A facsimile of a portion of a leaf of the Promus MS., folio 85, is given on pages 190-91, in order to ill.u.s.trate Bacon's handwriting, and also to shew his method of marking the entries. It will be perceived that some entries have lines //// drawn across the writing, while upon others marks similar to the capital letters T, F, and A are placed at the end of the lines. But as the Promus is here printed page for page as in the ma.n.u.script, I am not raising the question of the signification of these marks, excepting only to say they indicate that Bacon made considerable use of these memoranda.

"Promus" means larder or storehouse, and these "Fourmes, Formularies and Elegancyes" appear to have been intended as a storehouse of words and phrases to be employed in the production of subsequent literary works.

Mrs. Pott was the first to print the "Promus," which, with translations and references, she published in 1883. In her great work, which really may be described as monumental, Mrs. Pott points out, by means of some thousands of quotations, how great a use appears to have been made of the "Promus" notes, both in the acknowledged works of Bacon and in the plays which are known as Shakespeare's.

Mrs. Pott's reading of the ma.n.u.script was extremely good, considering the great difficulty experienced in deciphering the writing. But I thought it advisable when preparing a reprint to secure the services of the late Mr. F. B. Bickley, of the British Museum, to carefully revise the whole of Bacon's "Promus." This task he completed and I received twenty-four proofs, which I caused to be bound with a t.i.tle page in 1898. There were no other copies, the whole of the type having unfortunately been broken up. The proof has again been carefully collated with the original ma.n.u.script and corrected by Mr. F. A.

Herbert, of the British Museum, and I have now reprinted it here, as I am satisfied that the more Bacon's Promus--the Storehouse--is examined, the more it will be recognised how large a portion of the material collected therein has been made use of in the Immortal Plays, and I therefore now issue the Promus with the present essay as an additional proof of the ident.i.ty of Bacon and Shakespeare.

EDWIN DURNING-LAWRENCE.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XLII. Facsimile of portion of Folio 85 of the Original MS of Bacon's "Promus." see page 199]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XLIII. Portrait of Francis Bacon, from a Painting by Van Somers. Formerly in the Collection of the Duke of Fife]

Promus of Formularies.

_Folio 83, front_.

Ingenuous honesty and yet with opposition and strength.

Corni contra croci good means against badd, homes to crosses.

In circuitu ambulant impij; honest by antiperistasis.

Siluj a bonis et dolor meus renouatus est.

Credidj propter quod locutus sum.

Memoria justi c.u.m laudibus at impiorum nomen putrescet Just.i.tiamque omnes cupida de mente fugarunt.

Non recipit stultus verba prudential nisi ea dixeris quaee uersantur in corde ejus Veritatem erne et noli vendere Qui festinat ditari non erat insons Nolite dare sanctum canibus.

Qui potest capere capiat Quoniam Moses ad duritiam cordis uestri permisit uobis Obedire oportet deo magis quam hominibus.

Et vniuscujusque opus quale sit probabit ignis Non enim possumus aliquid aduersus ueritatem sed pro ueritate.

_Folio 83, front--continued_.

For which of y'e good woorkes doe yow stone me Quorundam hominum peccata praecedunt ad judicium quorundam sequuntur Bonum certamen certauj Sat patriae priamoque datum.

Ilicet obruimur numero.

Atque animis illabere nostris Hoc praetexit nomine culpam.

Procul o procul este prophani Magnanimj heroes nati melioribus annis

_Folio 83, back_.

Ille mihi ante alios fortunatusque laborum Egregiusque animi qui ne quid tale videret Procubuit moriens et humum semel ore momordit Fors et uirtus miscentur in vnum.

Non ego natura nec sum tam callidus vsu.

aeuo rarissima nostro simplicitas Viderit vtilitas ego cepta fideliter edam.

Prosperum et foelix scelus, virtus vocatur Tibi res antiquas laudis et artis Inuidiam placare paras uirtute relicta.

Iliacos intra muros peccatur et extra h.o.m.o sum humanj a me nil alienum puto.

The grace of G.o.d is woorth a fayre Black will take no other hue Vnum augurium optimum tueri patria.

Exigua res est ipsa just.i.tia Dat veniam coruis uexat censura columbas.

h.o.m.o hominj deus Semper virgines furiae; Cowrting a furye Di danarj di senno et di fede Ce ne manco che tu credj Chi semina spine non vada discalzo Mas vale a quien Dios ayuda que a quien mucho madruga.

Quien nesciamente pecca nesciamente ua al infierno Quien ruyn es en su uilla Ruyn es en Seuilla De los leales se hinchen los huespitales

_Folio 84, front_.

We may doe much yll or we doe much woorse Vultu laeditur saepe pietas.

Difficilia quae pulchra Conscientia mille testes.

Summum Jus summa injuria Nequiequam patrias tentasti lubricus artes.

Et monitj meliora sequamur Nusquam tuta fides Discite Just.i.tiam moniti et non temnere diuos Quisque suos patimur manes.

Extinctus amabitur idem.

Optimus ille animi vindex laedentium pectus Vincula qui rupit dedoluitque semel.

Virtue like a rych geme best plaine sett Quibus bonitas a genere penitus insita est ij iam non mali esse nolunt sed nesciunt Oeconomicae rationes publicas peruertunt.

Divitiae Impedimenta virtutis; The bagage of vertue Habet et mors aram.

Nemo virtuti invidiam reconciliauerit praeter mort ...

Turpe proco ancillam sollicitare Est autem virtutis ancilia laus.

Si suum cuique tribuendum est certe et venia humanitati Qui dissimulat liber non est Leue efficit jugum fortunae jugum amicitiae Omnis medecina Innouatio

_Folio 84, front--continued_.

Auribus mederi difficillimum.