Christie Waldman

There's no reason why not to, that I know of.

Castalian Spring has been writing a series of essays on Bacon's Essays for some time, at Blogging Bacon, on Medium. There are two new ones as of yesterday (May 27). Please share with others who are interested. Thanks! https://medium.com/essaying-bacon

There does seem to be a lot to be concerned about these days. Here's the Authors Guild, April 29, 2021, "#Disney Must Pay Uncovers Additional Unpaid Writers Owed Royalties by Disney," https://authorsguild.org/news/disneymustpay-uncovers-additional-unpaid-writers-owed-royalties-by-disney/ and Aug. 12, 2021, https://www.authorsline.org/industry-advocacy/disneymustpay-task-force-begins-outreach-to-all-comic-book-creators-looking-for-missing-royalties/ and https://www.writersmustbepaid.org/solutions (2021). Back to Bacon: Bacon mentioned concern about prior piracy of his essays, presumably in manuscript form? in his dedication to his brother Anthonie of the first edition of his Essays (1597. 2d ed. was 1612. 3d ed. was 1625). Even so, he didn't put his name on the title page. He said elsewhere, he considered that to be bad form. We also see in the First Folio that piracy of the plays is mentioned as a reason for its publication. A living author cares most about the piracy of his works. Smith College's Mary Augusta Scott's "Introduction" to her edition of Bacon's Essays (New York: Scribner's, 1908) seems very good, telling Bacon's life story probably a lot more accurately than some of the ones we've seen lately online. In her preface, she explains why she uses the Bible and Shakespeare to explain Bacon's meaning of terms, finding that Bacon made some reference to the Bible in every single essay. It's on Internet Archive.

Light-of-Truth, I hear you saying, you support Disney because it brings money into Florida where you live and work and indirectly has a positive effect on your business, and because Walt Disney was a Freemason, and maybe for other reasons, including your respect for its artistry. Many of us learned as children about Bambi or Pinocchio or Snow White or Cinderella from the Disney animated movie versions. In the case of French author Franck Le Calvez who self-published his illustrated children's screenplay, Pierrot Le Poisson Clown in Nov., 2002 (having registered his fish as a trademark with French authorities in 1995 and registering his screenplay with the French Society of Authors in June, 2002), pre-dating the May 30, 2003 Disney film "Little Nemo" in 2003: the French court ruled against him, requiring him to pay $80,000 penalty and court costs in U.S. money to Disney. Did the Court call him a fraud or was that "headline hyperbole"? I have not read the case. A person can bring a case in good faith and still lose. Maybe Calvez should have appealed but could not afford to. So, let's be careful about labelling him a fraud based on a newspaper headline, okay? Yes, there are two sides to every story. People may sue Disney who do not have good claims., but I would not think a person would sue Disney lightly. According to this article, Calvez sued because bookstores were pulling his book from the shelves because it was "too much like the Disney movie." Shiraz Sidhva, "Author Claims 'Finding Nemo' Plagiarism," Dec. 30, 2003, https://www.today.com/popculture/author-claims-finding-nemo-plagiarism-wbna3840185. It is the copyright laws which do not protect writers and artists sufficiently, that need to be changed, and the laws we have need to be enforced. It is hard enough for a writer or artist to make a living these days without having to worry that, merely by pitching one's work of years to a publisher or producer, etc., one could lose the rights to claim its content. I guess you can tell this is something I feel strongly about.

Not everyone is a fan of Disney's. Michael Hiltzik, "Column: Disney allegedly has cheated hundreds of writers out of pay," May 11, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-05-11/disney-star-wars-writers-of-royalties. https://authorsguild.org/news/disneymustpay-uncovers-additional-unpaid-writers-owed-royalties-by-disney/ https://whatculture.com/film/10-times-disney-blatantly-stole-from-other-movies https://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-zootopia-lawsuit-20170321-story.html https://whatculture.com/film/7-disney-movies-accused-stealing-ideas https://screenrant.com/tower-terror-art-work-disney-youtube-stolen-apology/ https://imafoolishmortal.com/blogs/news/disney-art-isnt-always-disney-made-they-steal-it-from-fan-artists-like-me https://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=89515&page=1 https://ipwatchdog.com/2017/10/02/disney-pixar-steal-movie-inside-out/id=88559/ and https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/18-55635/18-55635-2020-05-04.html (Denise Daniels, the parenting expert who pitched her idea to Disney and Disney just took it without compensating her, lost in the 9th Circuit Court). https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/disney-settles-pirates-caribbean-copyright-185804239.html and https://www.cinemablend.com/news/1662189/how-many-times-disney-got-sued-for-the-original-pirates-of-the-caribbean-movie (Pirates of the Caribbean) https://filmsuits.com/beverly-hills-chihuahua/ (Zenon Martin Yachreta vs Disney, over Beverly Hills Chihuahas). The idea for the Epcot Center idea was stolen; Disney had to pay. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/66666/did-disney-steal-idea-epcot Ozama Tezuka, the creator of Kimba the White Lion sued Disney (but lost) over The Lion King. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/lion-king-kimba-white-lion-does-disney-need-come-clean-1225822/ Even Mickey Mouse. https://nypost.com/2018/06/30/walt-disney-stole-the-idea-for-mickey-mouse-off-his-friend/ Little Nemo, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3347067.stm. The plaintiff suing Disney lost and was ordered to pay $80,000 in fees and damages. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/writer-who-sued-disney-over-nemo-guilty-of-fraud/article979274/.

It is a wonderful question but not quick to answer! I don't know the answer. It would take research, to study Francis Bacon's role in the development of the modern corporation. Do you have a Spedding reference for the usage you found in the Advancement of Learning? One would need to find out if Bacon used the phrase "piercing the veil" elsewhere and trace the etymology of "piercing the veil." It sounds like it might have religious connections. I found this article, Aleksa Vuckovic, "Piercing the Veil: Uncovering the Secrets of the Holy Lance," Ancient Origins, Dec. 13, 2019, https://www.ancient-origins.net/human-origins-religions/holy-lance-0012997. As you know, "Piercing the corporate veil" means to hold individual members of a corporation personally liable instead of letting them hide behind the veil of corporate immunity, under the "legal fiction" that the corporation is the legal person to be sued, in cases such as fraud. The concept of the corporation originated in ancient Roman law. I found a few references in this article, Tyler Halloran, "A Brief History of the Corporate Form and Why it Matters," (under part 2, first 3 pars. and fn 7), https://news.law.fordham.edu/jcfl/2018/11/18/a-brief-history-of-the-corporate-form-and-why-it-matters/ . The book, The King's Two Bodies: A Study in Medieval Political Theology, by Ernst H.Kantorowicz (Princeton: Princeton U. Press, 2016 [1957]), is about the idea that "a ruler has two bodies: a natural body that lives and dies, and a symbolic body that endures and is assumed by the ruler's successor." (intro., ix, by Conrad Leyser). One body is real and one is fictional. There is the man and there is the king. There are many references to Francis Bacon in the index. Leyser, in the intro., further writes, "That kind of man-made irreality--indeed, that strange construction of a human mind which finally becomes slave to its own fictions--we are normally more ready to find in the religious sphere than in the allegedly sober and realistic realms of law, politics, and constitution;...Great medievalist that Maitland was, he knew perfectly well that the curious fiction of 'twin-born majesty' had a very long tradition and complex history which 'would take us deep into the legal and political thoughts of the Middle Ages.'" (intro, Kantorowicz, p. 5). There are references to Shakespeare in the index: 24-41 (The Tragedy of Richard II); Macbeth, 387; and law, 24 and following. I see at OpenSourceShakespeare.org 40 uses of "pierce" (2 in Rich. III), 15 of "piercing" (in Lear IV, 6: "oh thou side-piercing sight!") and 21 uses of "veil." I'm sorry, that's all I can do with it, for now. Maybe others will have input.

Forgive me, but what is the source of that passage, Yann?--never mind found it. Shakespeare's Sonnet 95.

1. In the Watermen's Suit, John Taylor asked Francis Bacon to intercede for the Watermen in their legal case. You can read about it here: John Taylor, "The True Case of the Watermen's Suit Concerning Players," Works of John Taylor, the Water Poet, https://archive.org/stream/worksofjohntaylo00tayl/worksofjohntaylo00tayl_djvu.txt (search "Bacon" or "Watermen's Suit"). 2. As to Taylor, I found this here on SirBacon: These lines are quoted in Ordish's Early London Theatres (1894). Is it possible that John Taylor had Shakespearee in mind as the pretender, and Bacon as the "learned brain"? from R. L. Eagle, "Literary Concealments," Baconiana, Oct. 1964, https://sirbacon.org/eagleliteraryconcealments.htm. 3. Taylor served under Essex at Cadiz. He had some grammar school education but dropped out because he couldn't manage the Latin. He was a friend of Thomas Bushell who was a secretary/servant of Bacon's. "His first job, other than rowing, was as a ‘bottleman’ at the Tower of London, rowing out to wine-carrying vessels and bringing back to the Tower governor his ‘fee’ of two large bottles per cargo." (first par., Jonathan Green, "Green's Heroes of Slang," reference below). I wonder if he might have been involved in the escape of the Jesuit priest John Gerard from the Tower which occurred after Coke and co. had left and Francis Bacon had gone back to see him privately. There was a boat waiting on the water, and Girard weakly made his way down a rope from the Tower to the boat. See John Gerard, The Autobiography of a Hunted Priest. https://ignatius.com/the-autobiography-of-a-hunted-priest-ahupp/. 4. In looking up info on Taylor, I found this wonderful article by Constance Pott, "Francis Bacon's Friends and Associates," on SirBacon: https://sirbacon.org/fbfriendsassociates.htm (mentions the "Taylor family"). I think there's a high probability that Taylor knew or strongly suspected who the real Shakespeare was. 5. A few more references (as usual, most do not mention Bacon's name): https://www.bartleby.com/lit-hub/volume-iv-english-prose-and-poetry-sir-thomas-north-to-michael-drayton/12-john-taylor-the-thames-waterman/ (The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21). Volume IV. Prose and Poetry: Sir Thomas North to Michael Drayton.XVIII. The Book-Trade, 1557–1625§ 12. John Taylor, the Thames waterman). http://thedabbler.co.uk/2011/08/greens-heroes-of-slang-5-john-taylor-the-water-poet/ (Johathan Green, "Green's Heroes of Slang: 5. John Taylor the Water Poet," Aug. 18, 2011). Willard Thorp, "John Taylor, Water Poet," Texas Review,Vol. 8, No. 1 (OCTOBER, 1922), pp. 32-41, https://www.jstor.org/stable/43465459 (I could not log in today, so did not read it).

I apologize for a late response. As to Bacon, law and science, the best book I know of is Barbara Shapiro's A Culture of Fact: England, 1550-1720 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2000). I've highlighted her important conclusion in the quotation below from the publisher's website. Shapiro also wrote “Sir Francis Bacon and the Mid-Seventeenth-Century Movement for Law Reform,” American Journal of Legal History, XXIV (1980), 333-362 and “Science and Law in Seventeenth-Century England,” Stanford Law Review, XXI (1969), 727-766. The book can be "borrowed" at the Internet Archive or Open Library. Here is her publications page: https://rhetoric.berkeley.edu/people/barbara-shapiro/.

I'm really looking forward to watching this new series! Can't wait for it to air!

This may be already familiar to you all. From William Stone Booth, Subtle Shining Secrecies (Boston: Walter H. Baker, 1925), p. 31: "The gallows, or to give it a French name the potence, is often used by Shake-speare, and, as will be seen, sometimes in connection with some use of the verb to hang. The famous hang-hog story here lends its point, and is told on page 67. The gallows acrostic device is so called because of its shape." This is his first example on p. 31, in his first section on "Technique": That T S hang H H A o A A Turn g T That On p. 67, the first example he gives is from The Tempest and related to "hang hog." (which we also know from The Merry Wives of Windsor scene with Mistress Quickly). The story is short so seems worth repeating. He says, "The gallows form may be connected with the story reported by Francis Bacon himself as having occurred in a law court when his father Sir Nicholas Bacon had condemned one Hogge to be hanged. The prisoner pleaded with Sir Nicholas that Hogge and Bacon were ever kindred, and that the one should not condemn the other to death. 'Ah, but you forget," said Sir Nicholas, 'that before Hogge becomes good Bacon, it must be well hanged.'" Booth explains the pun on hang-hog has to do with the Latin word Suspendere, "to hang up, prop up, keep in suspense," broken into sus for pig and pendere which similarly means "to hang upon, depend upon, be in suspense, but it also can mean "to weigh, consider, judge, value," which is interesting since the anecdote concerns a judge's weighing and considering of a case. I'm thinking also of pennies and pence (from the participle form, pensus, pensum ("wool weighted out to a spinner; hence, pay for a day's work, task, duty"), perhaps, and penance. Cassell's Latin Dictionary, 1963 p.b., pendo; pendeo; sus, suis; suspendo. If you get a chance to look at his book, Both's examples ##10-22 are all on The Tempest and lead off his section, "Devices in Comedies" (pp. 67-158). On p. 32, he gives an example from Bacon's first edition of his Essays where his book appeared with no name on the title page, so he dedicated it to Anthony his brother, with a "marginal device" of the word "Origin" with "baconi" forming "crooked smoke" (as one smokes bacon) arising alongside it. (as an example "of a device on the initial indent). "Thus, had the Essays gone forth without a name on the dedication, we should nevertheless have had this device and several others of similar nature to inform us (See pp. 61-62)." I think this is a book worth "weighing and considering," notwithstanding the Friedmans' put-down of Booth in their 1957 book. He wrote other books on acrostics, but claims he put his best examples in Subtle Shining Secrecies Writ in the Margents of Books, Generally Ascribed to William Shakespeare, The Actor and Here Ascribed to William Shakespeare, The Poet. Spedding calls the Nicholas Bacon apopthegm "spurious." (1:185)

Translation could be done. It would just take some time.

Posted Thursday at 08:49 AM (edited) Wonderful writing A.P. You deliver factual information with empathy and human understanding. In her "History of Gorhambury" (1821), Lady Grimston recorded these Latin verses, transcribed from a singular little book in the British Museum - as she explains: Eric asked, "Any translators out there?" As I understand it from A. P., these are from 59 sources on 22 subjects. These sound like essay headings, so some of them might be. First I would try to find out who said each one and in what work. A lot of these, if not all, will have already been translated, and the translations might be available online. If you could find a source with side-by-side translations, Latin-English, that would be great! Cicero came up with the phrase, summum bono, "the greatest good," so those first few may be from Cicero (but maybe not). Seneca wrote eight volumes of "Moral Essays": De Ira (on Anger), De Clementia (on mercy, which has been called a source for Portia's quality of mercy speech), de tranquillitate animu (on mental tranquility), de constantia sapientis (on the steadfastness of the wise man), de vita beata (on the happy life), de Otio ("On Leisure"), de brevitate vitae (on the brevity of life). Some of the headings are easy to figure out, because the Latin words are so like the English words derived from them. "De ratione" (on reason). "De praeceptis et exemplis" (On precepts and examples). De ambitione (On ambition). De adulatione (on adulatione, praise). There are resources online, like Perseus. The Perseus Catalog shows that it has "De Otio Sapientis," Seneca's Moral Essays, vol. 2, translated. https://catalog.perseus.org/catalog/urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0255.stoa011. (A starting page, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/searchresults?q=Seneca. Project Gutenberg has translation of a few of them, "Seneca's Morals of a Happy Life: Benefits, Anger, and Clemency. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/56075/pg56075-images.html. Seneca's father, a rhetorician, same name, wrote "sententiae." Some of these might be his. The Ency. Britannica article, "Lucius Annaeus Seneca" (the elder) says, "The romantic topics of many of the Suasoriae (“Exhortations”) became part of the collection of tales known as the Gesta Romanorum (Deeds of the Romans)." So that's interesting as well. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lucius-Annaeus-Seneca-Roman-author. So, it would keep someone (me, at least!) busy for awhile, trying to find and translate, and preferably finding English translations to compare, all of these.

We were making a good showing there. Maybe they felt too good of a showing.

Thank you! I suppose it was an obvious connection to make. But I wonder if I saw your comments. Not all comments I have made there are visible, even when I sign in. Brian Vickers called Caroline Spurgeon's book on Shakespeare imagery "naive" in his book, Francis Bacon and Renaissance Poetry.

Comment I just made at the Waugh Ben Jonson Timber youtube page:

(Original comment of 1 hr. ago deleted). My comment (one of several) which I posted last night, and again today, and do not see it, or others, made on this same Waugh Ben Jonson Timber youtube presentation page, dated from a few weeks ago: My comment (with boldface for emphasis): Jonson, in "Timber," on the requirements of a poet, says, "But, that which we especially require in him is an exactness of Studie, and a multiplicity of reading, which maketh a full man ...." Sounds like he is quoting and making reference to Francis Bacon's essay, "Of Studies" (1625): "Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man ...." See Donald Leman Clark, "The Requirements of a Poet: A Note on The Sources of Ben Jonson's 'Timber," Paragraph 130," Modern Philology, vol 16 (Dec. 1918), pp. 413-429, (on JSTOR, 433101).

Quotation of Mr. Strittmatter: Lawrence Gerald Mr. Gerald, my statement was quite correct and I am shocked that someone like yourself, with such an obviously incomplete and faulty comprehension of the Oxford case, should think it prudent to contradict me on such flimsy evidence. I made a comment in response. I did not see it today so I posted a shorter version today, referencing, two of Sir George Greenwood's books made in direct rebuttal to J. M. Robertson, Is There a Shakespeare Problem? (1916) and Shakespeare's Law (1920), as well as the refutation right here on SirBacon.org to Carolyn Spurgeon's book, Shakespeare's Imagery and What it Tells Us (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1935) of F.E.C.H. and W.S. M, "Professor Spurgeon and her Images," Baconiana Sept. 1969, pp. 43-57, https://sirbacon.org/spurgeon.htm. Looking at Brian McClinton, The Shakespeare Conspiracies, addressing Robertson (pp. 68, 245) and Spurgeon (346-347). There is material in Cockburn as well. I updated the references at my website's bibliography commentary page. There are probably more refutations of Robertson and Spurgeon we can collect. Mr. Strittmatter mentioned a "Cole" as well, but without further reference, I have no idea who that is. Yann, I saw your comment in the notifications and had assumed it was still up. Thank you for making it!

Thank you, Light-of-Truth. I am sorry I edited out a line you had liked. I'm curious what it was (I did not save the prior version). Maybe it was about wanting SirBacon.org to continue to be a trusted source of information on Francis Bacon? I believe that's something we all want. Yes, I agree that sharing ideas is good, and people ought to be willing to reconsider what they believe to be true when they are presented with good reasoning and evidence to the contrary.

I do feel strongly that defamation of a dead man who is not here to defend himself is morally & ethically wrong, even if not legally possible, generally speaking, in U.S. jurisdictions today. Sir Edward Coke, in Bacon's time, in England, said the slander of a dead man was a living fault. (Don Herzog, Defaming the Dead (New Haven: Yale University Press, ‒017), 111‒113, 112, citing Lord Coke on defamation: “I will not admit a dead man; for tho’ spoken of him, it is a living fault” from A Vindication of the Lord Chancellor Bacon, from the Aspersion of Injustice, Cast Upon Him by Mr. Wraynham (London, 1725), 33, https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/118195/herzog_defaming the dead.pdf?sequence=4&isAllowed=y (from my paper, "Violence, Violins, Vindication," pdf, here on SirBacon, p. 9. But I heard it first here on SirBacon, from Nieves Matthews' book, Francis Bacon: The History of a Character Assassination (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996), https://sirbacon.org/nmathewsbook.htm. Barbara Shapiro wrote about how Francis Bacon helped set the standards for how we know when a thing is factually true or not, first in the courtroom, and later as applied to scientific knowledge, in her book, A Culture of Fact: England 1550-1720 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2003).

Please, what support do you offer for your rather outrageous opinion that "Dudley most likely poisoned Sir Nicholas Bacon"? What about the narrative that Sir Nicholas is said to have told that the barber let him fall sleep in front of a window exposed to a cold draft, after which he took ill and died? Why do you not believe this story? Is it not perfectly plausible for an older man whose health was failing (overweight, gout) susceptible to catching cold which turned into something worse? What possible motive could Dudley have had in wanting to see Sir Nicholas dead so badly that he would poison and murder him? Was anyone suggesting this at the time? If so, whom? There was no inquest? On what are you basing this allegation? In general, evidence contrary to what one believes cannot simply be disregarded. It needs to be addressed, if one wishes to be taken seriously. People need to state reasons and sources in support of their opinions. If school children come to SirBacon.org in search of information, they ought to be able to find trustworthy information supported by facts, as is the standard.

Playing devil's advocate here, Francis Bacon repeatedly warned of the dangers and damage that could be done by unfounded rumors. We see it in the Shakespeare plays as well (see "Willilam Shakespeare Quotes About Rumors," https://www.azquotes.com/author/13382-William_Shakespeare/tag/rumor). So let us not be quick to condemn Robert Dudley of the murder of his wife. It could have been an accident. It could have been suicide. She may have had mental health issues. An inquest was held and her death was determined by a jury to be an accident (and, apparently, the matter was looked into again in 1567). I see that Christine Hartweg has written about the death of Amy Robsart at some length. https://allthingsrobertdudley.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/the-death-of-amy-robsart-accident-or-suicide/ https://allthingsrobertdudley.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/the-death-of-amy-robsart-the-improbability-of-murder/ and she self-published a book in 2017, Amy Robsart: A Life and its End. She does not hold with the idea that Dudley had his wife murdered. If it was murder, someone else could have done it, even an enemy of his, for it looks bad for him, even if he was innocent. He certainly had his enemies. All powerful people do, and he was close to the Queen. Maybe William Cecil was behind it, for he was not in favor of an Elizabeth-Dudley match. Leicester's Commonwealth was slander and propaganda. Dudley shared Elizabeth and Francis's love of the theatre. He supported the arts and education. He sponsored a troupe of players, the Earl of Leicester's Men, so they could legally perform. He was a patron of painters. Dr. Elizabeth Goldring wrote, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and the World of Elizabethan Art: Painting and Patronage at the Court of Elizabeth I (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014), https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/centrestaff/elizabethgoldring/dudleybook/. Here's Dr. Martin Maw, "Robert Dudley, midwife of Oxford University Press," June 24, 2012, https://blog.oup.com/2012/06/sir-robert-dudley-midwife-of-oxford-university-press/. No, he was not a perfect man, but there is good reason, I think, to keep an open-mind on him. I would really like to learn more about him.

The 1560-61 date change can make things confusing, but I believe Amy died in Sept. 1560 and, the record states, at least, that Francis was baptized in 1561. Correct me if I'm wrong. Also, I don't think we ought to state as a fact that Dudley killed his wife or had her murdered. That is not a matter of record but something that is being inferred. It may or may not be true. Please, let us be careful to be our own devil's advocates in this forum and not be afraid to challenge one another on the facts, lest we fall into error like those we would challenge on bigger questions for their lack of critical thinking and easy following of the crowd. Also, questioning can lead to finding out new things. I just tried to do a search for the date of Amy's death and found this treasure trove of documents. https://castalianstream.medium.com/8-rules-for-unhappiness-from-the-philosopher-plutarch-f69f7a9506e9. I would say independent thinking should be the hallmark of one who would call himself a "Baconian." By that I mean more than just someone who believes Bacon wrote Shakespeare, but in the way the term used to be used, for someone who is a student of Bacon's life and teachings in some way, wishing to learn from his insights and wisdom on how to live a better life, how to make the world a better place. Yes, he tried to help us find the tools to think better and improve the lot of humankind. He cared about the truth but knew it was too dangerous to state certain things outright. Even in poetry it was dangerous to say certain things without carefully veiling them. To say someone committed murder when the facts do not prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt would be considered defamation if Dudley were alive. I'm kind of fond of Robert Dudley myself. He was not a complete villain. He did a lot of good in his life. I wish I had time to research him more. There are always two sides to a story, at least. I see the truth as a bit of a multi-faceted prism.

As to "transcribed": a Will was not necessarily "transcribed" from a "testator's" written drafts, but most likely from dictation and drafted by the lawyer or clerk. We've read of how Bacon's scribes took so much dictation from him, even using a kind of shorthand. It's all fascinating! I am not recommending Charles Hamilton's book, to be clear. I am surprised it is so often cited. Maureen Ward-Gandy's report has been ignored for the most part, just as the play fragment has been. As we've seen, evidence of a Bacon-Shakespeare connection tends to get ignored. Ward-Gandy certainly had the credentials, experience, and well-earned professional reputation. You don't have to look just at the way the letters are formed but at the content as well, as I tried to make a first start at in my book. Sure, a person's writing style can vary over time. At least Bacon had a writing style we can study! Unlike Shaxpere. Sorry--this may be all the time I have for this right now.

Have you all seen Charles Hamilton's book, In Search of Shakespeare: A Reconnaissance into the Poet's Life and Handwriting (San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985)? Seeing this handwriting similarity between Bacon's handwriting and Shakespeare's Will, he suggests Bacon drafted Shakespeare's Will! What an interesting twist that would be, if true! He speculates broadly on Bacon's and Shakespeare's connection, trying to make his data fit his Stratfordian theory. I was not quite sure what to make of this book or how credible it was, since so much of it seemed to be conjecture and surmise. I had picked it up for a few dollars on a Barnes & Noble used book table. It's around here somewhere. Up to now, I've been hesitant to mention it. But he seems to be something of a "respected authority," though I'm wondering how that could be when he seems so willing to believe such far-fetched things with little or no proof, such as that Bacon borrowed from Shakespeare (Shaxpere)! A google search for the author and title, under "books," shows his book has actually been cited rather frequently, in books which include Peter Dawkins in The Shakespeare Enigma (p. 419) and even The New Oxford Shakespeare Authorship Companion ("Works Cited," p. 687) which itself makes little if any mention of "Francis Bacon," if I recall correctly.