The consideration of the Bacon-Shakespeare-Rosicrucian controversy is undertaken not for the vain purpose of digging up dead men's bones but rather in the hope that a critical analysis will aid in the rediscovery of that knowledge lost to the world since the oracles were silenced. It was W. F. C. Wigston who called the Bard of Avon "phantom Captain Shakespeare, the Rosicrucian mask." This constitutes one of the most significant statements relating to the Bacon-Shakespeare controversy. It is evident that William Shakespeare could not, unaided, have produced the immortal writings bearing his name. He did not possess the necessary literary culture, for the town of Stratford, contained no school capable of imparting the higher forms of learning reflected in the writings ascribed to him, and in his early life he evinced a total disregard for study. All six known examples of Shakespeare's handwriting are signatures, and three of them are in his will. The scrawling, uncertain method of their execution stamps Shakespeare as unfamiliar with the use of a pen, and it is obvious either that he copied a signature prepared for him or that his hand was guided while he wrote. The philosophic ideals promulgated throughout the Shakespearian plays demonstrate their author to have been familiar with certain doctrines and tenets peculiar to Rosicrucianism; in fact the profundity of the Shakespearian productions stamps their creator as one of the illuminati of the ages. Most of those seeking a solution for the Bacon-Shakespeare controversy have been intellectualists. Notwithstanding their scholarly attainments, they have overlooked the important part played by transcendentalism in the philosophic achievements of the ages. The mysteries of superphysics are inexplicable to the materialist, whose training does not equip him to estimate the extent of their ramifications and complexities. Yet who but a Platonist, a Kabbalist, or a Pythagorean could have written The Tempest, Macbeth, Hamlet, or The Tragedy of Cymbeline? Who but one deeply versed in Paracelsian lore could have conceived, A Midsummer Night's Dream?

SIR FRANCIS BACON - SHAKESPEARE? Francis Bacon was among those who made the greatest contributions to the continuation of the inner wisdom. He is considered by many to be the father of modern science because of his advocacy of empiricism, or experimental confirmation. A famous Rosicrucian, he is considered by many to be the secret author of the works of William Shakespeare. Many indicators suggest this possibility. It is an idea worth considering since the works attributed to Shakespeare contain cryptograms that suggest Bacon as the author.

Excerpt from Bacon, Shakespeare and the Rosicrucians As this work follows rather closely upon the publication of Mr Donnelly's "Great Cryptogram," it may be as well, in order to avoid misconception, and any unjust charge of plagiarism (or unlawful desire to make capital out of the interest excited by the cipher problem) - to point out that as long ago as 1884, we published (under the auspices of Messrs Triibner & Co.), a work entitled "A New Study of Shakespeare." In it almost all the problems suggested in the present work are implied, and discussed at greater or less length. To belief in the Bacon authorship of the plays we have long been a convert, and a chapter on that subject may be refound in our first work. The theory that the plays and poems contain a planned spiritual Rebirth or promise of Revelation for posterity is the key-centre of "A New Study of Shakespeare." In it we attempted to suggest how that has been done, and representatively reflected in some of the plays. We therefore think we owe it to ourselves to lay claim to whatever originality there may be in that work, seeing that the time is rapidly approaching when the world must take a greater and more absorbing interest in these problems. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.