Asked if he is wise, he says "aye," that is "yes," and adds that he has
"a pretty wit," a phrase we must remember that is constantly used in
reference to the Stratford actor. Touchstone mocks him with a paraphrase
of the well-known maxim "If you are wise you are a Foole if you be a
Foole you are wise" which is to be found in Bacon's "Advancement of
Learning" Antitheta xxxi. Then he asks him "_Art thou learned_" and
William replies "_No sir_." This means, _unquestionably_, as every
lawyer must know, that William replies that he cannot _read_ one line of
print. I feel sure the man called Shackspeare of Stratford was an
uneducated rustic, never able to read a single line of print, and that
this is the reason why no books were found in his house, this is the
reason why his solicitor, Thomas Greene, lived with him in his house at
New Place (Halliwell-Phillipps: Outlines, 1889, Vol. i, p. 226);--a
well-known fact that very much puzzles those who do not realize the
depth of Shakspeare's illiteracy.
Chapter V.
"The Return from Parnassus" and "Ratsei's Ghost."
The next play to which attention must be called is "The Return from
Parnassus" which was produced at Cambridge in 1601 and was printed in
1606 with the following title page:--
The Returne from Parnassus
or
The Scourge of Simony.
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