CHAPTER VII. — Bacon acknowledged to be a Poet.
In discussing the question of the Authorship of the plays many people appear to be unaware that Bacon was considered by his contemporaries to be a great poet. It seems therefore advisable to quote a few witnesses who speak of his pre-eminence in poetry.
In 1645 there was published "The Great Assises holden in Parnassus by Apollo and his assessours" a facsimile of the title of which is given on page 57. This work is anonymous but is usually ascribed to George Withers and in it Bacon as Lord Verulan is placed first and designated "Chancellor of Parnassus" that is "Greatest of Poets."
After the title, the book commences with two pages of which facsimiles are given on pages 58, 59.
[Illustration: Plate XVI. Facsimile Title Page]
[Illustration: Plate XVII. Facsimile of Page III of "The Great Assises">[
[Illustration: Plate XVIII Facsimile of Page IV of "The Great Assises">[
Apollo appears at the top, next comes Lord Verulan as Chancellor of Parnassus, Sir Philip Sidney and other world renowned names follow and then below the line side by side is a list of the jurors and a list of the malefactors.
A little examination will teach us that the jurors are really the same persons as the malefactors and that we ought to read right across the page as if the dividing line did not exist.