Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 10.djvu/51

 9>s.x. JULY 19, 1902.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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sons and two daughters ; and that he also died (1743) while holding his colonial office, his second son Phillips Cosby succeeding ultimately to the headship of the family and the possession of Strad bally Hall. Rou him- self had a family of fifteen children, of whom ten (owing in part to an epidemic) died vary young. His daughter Marie Elizabeth married William Richard, while another, Denise Marie, wedded John Harrison the two husbands presumably American. His eldest surviving son Louis went early to Curaqoa ; to him his father bequeathed " my old [Latin ?] Bible in two large folio volumes in folio, printed at Lyons in 1511," directing that it should be preserved as an heirloom.

It will thus be seen that Go\ ernpr Cosby's transcript of Rou's dissertation if, indeed, such ever existed may have passed through the hands of various individuals, and have found its resting-place in England, Ireland, or America. It should be remarked that Rou's tract has a certain bibliographical interest as the earliest composition on chess (perhaps even as the first mention of the game) emanating from the Western continent preceding Dr. Franklin's 'Morals of Chess' by more than half a century. W. F.

Reform Club.

THE BACON-SHAKESPEARE QUESTION. (Continued from 9 th S. ix. 424.)

DR. THEOBALD devotes much space in his book to the learning and diction of Shake- speare, which, he says, have caused much Srplexity to his critics and biographers. 3 adduces many examples of Latin con- struction, and of words and phrases which may be traced to classic sources ; and he argues that his evidence conclusively proves that the poet not only wrote according to the usages of Latin grammar, but that his own language would not have permitted him to express himself in the manner he does if the Latin had not taken such a strong possession of his mind.

The constructions, the words, the phrases, and the learning which have such a strong Latin and sometimes Greek aroma about them are only what one meets with in all writers of the period ; and they merely indi- cate that in making use of them the poet was following in the footsteps of a host of scholars whose training through a long series of generations had gradually evolved the speech that was ready to his hand.

The writer of the plays and poems, accord- ing to Dr. Theobald, coined words. A long list of such words is given, all, or nearly all,

of which can be found in contemporary and earlier authors. The following win" show how much reliance is to be placed upon the list. They are but samples.

Acknown. This word only occurs once in Shakespeare, in 'Othello,' III. iii. 319, and Dr. Theobald thinks it is probably an attempt by its author to bring the Latin word agnosco into the language. 'Othello' was composed in or about 1604, yet Puttenham, about 1589, and Kyd, about 1593, both use the word :

" I would not have a translatour to be ashamed to be acknowen of his translation." ' Arte of English Poesie,' Arber, p. 260.

But ours of others will not be acknowne.

' Cornelia,' Act 11. 1. 229, Boas.

Moreover, in this case, as in many others, a little trouble would have saved Dr. Theo- bald from making an egregious blunder. There are hills beyond Pentland. Acknown is the past participle of acknowe, O.E. oncna- wan, to recognize.

Document. In 'Hamlet,' IV. v. 178, Shake- speare uses this word "in its classic and etymological sense, from Latin doceo, teach ; give a lesson or instruction ; documentum= a lesson, or example, &c."

A document in madness.

Dr. Theobald quotes, cases of the use of the word from Spenser afld Sir Walter Raleigh, both of whom wrote much earlier than Shake- speare did in ' Hamlet.' Some say that Bacon also wrote Spenser's work ; and perhaps Dr. Theobald wishes us to infer that he wrote Raleigh's 'History of the World' as well. Raleigh had many contributors, and Bacon may have been among the number. How- ever, document, as used in ' Hamlet,' is respect- able old English, and it occurs in a curious old play with the funny title 'The longer thou livest, the more fool thou art,' circa 1553-8 :

Conscience accuseth the folish beast,

That he hath forsaken wholsom document.

LI. 961-2 (Jahrbuch, vol. xxxvi. p. 40).

Probation. Shakespeare in this case uses this word and others " with a meaning different from that which they ordinarily convey, and which could not have been attributed to them by any one who was not thoroughly informed as to the precise powers of their Latin originals." Ergo, all men in Shakespeare's time and before who used words derived from the Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, Dutch, and other languages which helped to enrich English, were " thoroughly informed as to the precise powers of their " originals. It is a wonderful argument ! To resume, in Shakespeare probation sometimes means to prove, like the Latin probare ;