been supported in hundreds of books and pamphlets, but, as a rule,
it has been totally neglected by scholars. Perhaps their
indifference may seem wise, for such an opinion may appear to need
no confutation. 'There are foolisher fellows than the Baconians,'
says a sage--'those who argue against them.' On the other hand,
ignorance has often cherished beliefs which science has been obliged
reluctantly to admit. The existence of meteorites, and the
phenomena of hypnotism, were familiar to the ancient world, and to
modern peasants, while philosophy disdained to investigate them. In
fact, it is never really prudent to overlook a widely spread
opinion. If we gain nothing else by examining its grounds, at least
we learn something about the psychology of its advocates. In this
case we can estimate the learning, the logic, and the general
intellect of people who form themselves into Baconian Societies, to
prove that the poems and plays of Shakespeare were written by Bacon.
Thus a light is thrown on the nature and origin of popular
delusions.

*(1) 'Bacon and Shakespeare,' by William Henry Smith (1857);
(2) 'The Authorship of Shakespeare,' by Nathaniel Holmes (1875);
(3) 'The Great Cryptogram,' by Ignatius Donnelly (1888);
(4) 'The Promus of Formularies and Elegancies of Francis Bacon,' by
Mrs. Henry Pott (1883);
(5) 'William Shakespeare,' by Georg Brandes (1898);
(6) 'Shakespeare,' by Sidney Lee (in the Dictionary of National
Biography, 1897);
(7) 'Shakespeare Dethroned' (in Pearson's Magazine, December 1897);
(8) 'The Hidden Lives of Shakespeare and Bacon,' by W. G. Thorpe,
F.S.A. (1897).
(9) 'The Mystery of William Shakespeare,' by Judge Webb (1902).