THE SHAKESPEARE CONTROVERSY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIX, Issue 91, 7 August 1914, Page 4

THE SHAKESPEARE CONTROVERSY.

The Shakespeare-Bacon controversy seems to have taken a new lease ol life and is, at least, affording a number of people something to quarrel about. The extraordinary manipula tion of the allegedly mystic numbei “53,” by Sir Edwin Durning-Law-rence and his fellow-Baconians in their attempt to prove that Bacon signed all the works of Shakespeare was referred to by Mr H. B. Irving, in a recent speech on the BaconShakespearean controversy, which the clever son of the famous father made before the Melbourne Shakespearean, Society. Mr Irving said that he was perfetly willing to admit that Bacon wrote what was attributed to Marlowe, Spenser, Jonson—in fact to all the Elizabethan writers of any note, that he was a sort of commercial traveller of literature—if only the Baconian wbuld admit that Shakespeare translated the 46th Psalm. “I claim Shakespeare to have been the translator of that Psalm,” said Mr Irving, and the explanation of his belief was as follows :—ln the year 1610, when the translation of the Bible was completed, Shakespeare was 46 years of age. At the 46th word in the 46th Psalm,' the word “shake” occurred. At the 46th word, reading from the end of the Psalm the word “Spear” was met with. At the close of the Psalm was the word “Selah,” the letters of which made the initials of the sentence—" Shakespeare est libn auctor hujns.” The chain of evidence was complete, said Mr Irving, amid ironical laughter. By Shakespearean scholars and students, the “Bacon is Shakespeare” claim is looked upon as mild lunacy: only that and nothing more!