"
But nothing can much exceed in value the testimony of Ben Jonson who in
his "Discoveries," 1641, says "But his learned, and able (though
unfortunate) _Successor_ [Bacon in margin] is he, who hath fill'd up all
numbers, and perform'd that in our tongue, which may be compar'd or
preferr'd either to insolent _Greece_, or haughty _Rome_."
"He who hath filled up all numbers" means unquestionably "He that hath
written every kind of poetry."[5]
Alexander Pope the poet declares that he himself "lisped in numbers for
the numbers came." Ben Jonson therefore bears testimony to the fact that
Bacon was so great a poet that he had in poetry written that "which may
be compar'd or preferr'd either to insolent _Greece_ or haughty _Rome_."
But in 1623 Ben Jonson had said of the AUTHOR of the plays
_"Or when thy sockes were on
Leaue thee alone, for the comparison
Of all, that insolent_ Greece _or haughtie_ Rome
_Sent forth, or since did from their ashes come."_
Surely the statements in the "Discoveries" were intended to tell us who
was the AUTHOR of the plays.
After perusing these contemporary evidences, and they might be
multiplied, it is difficult to understand how anyone can venture to
dispute Bacon's position as pre-eminent in poetry.
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