Measure for Measure 14

Some Shake-Speare / Bacon parallels in Measure for Measure (14)

Shake-Speare:

Angelo: “Thieves for their robbery have authority when judges steal themselves”.

Measure for Measure, 2.2.177

Bacon:

“For when once the court goes on the side of injustice the law becomes a public robber and one man simply a wolf to another”.

De Augmentis, 8.2, Parabola xxv

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Shake-Speare:

Duke (to Angelo): “Your scope is as mine own, so to enforce or qualify the laws as to your soul seems good”.

Measure for Measure,1.1.65

See also Measure, 2.4.175 on

Bacon:

“The judge as long as his judgment was contained within the compass of the law was excused; the subject knew by what law he was to govern himself and his actions; nothing was left to the judge’s discretion; and when it was required long since by a bill in parliament to have somewhat left to the judge to allow or dislike in a particular case which should be made arbitrary by the said bill, it was rejected, and upon this reason, that men were better be subject to a known inconvenience than to an unknown discretion.”

Life and Letters, 3.pp. 331-2