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38 FRANCIS BACON'S CRYPTIC RHYMES
Thus he compares
" Shake-speare
"
to
a " Shakelance,"
the " Spear-hurler " to a " Lance-hurler."
But nowhere does the comparison of uttered words
to a darted spear, i.e., to a " Shake-speare," occur so
frequently as in Bacon's writings and the passages in
which his friends refer to him.
As we have already mentioned, the poet's name and
the word " Shakespeare " are everywhere carefully
avoided in Bacon's writings ;
it would seem as though
the word Shakespeare and a man of that name had
never existed for Bacon. But the trope of "darted
spears," running like a red tape through
all Bacon's
writings, is more easily traceable in his Latin writings,
intelligible only to men of learning.
The word "dart," so frequently used by Bacon as
implying pointed speeches and sallies of wit and
humour, corresponds most closely to the idea of a
lance or spear that is thrown. In the Latin versions,
however, we meet with almost every possible expres
sion and combination, to characterise the word
" Shakespeare," whenever a play on the word is
intended. As an equivalent to the verb " to shake,"
we find " vibrare, torquere, librare " (not to be mis
taken for " liberare," to liberate). As an equivalent
to the noun "speare," however, and together with the
"
words "vibrare, torquere, librare," we find :
jaculum,
hasta, quiris, spiculum, verum, pilum, mucro, telum,
telum missile."
For our purpose we shall limit ourselves to a
few of the numerous instances contained in Bacon's
writings.
In " ticklish " times, princes should be careful of
using " short speeches, which flic abroad like Darts, and