SAM-P-SON
Art Neuendorffer
Romeo and Juliet Act 1, Scene 1
SAMPSON: If you do, sir, I am for you:
IserVe as good a man as you.
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SHAKESPEARE AND FREEMASONRY
http://www.sirbacon.org/Dawkinsfrmsnry.htm
<<In July 1929 the Foundation Stone of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre
at Stratford-upon-Avon was laid with full Masonic ritual by Lord
Ampthill, pro-Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England, using
an old Egyptian maul used at Sakhara four thousand years ago. Six
hundred Masons were present at the ceremony, in full regalia. Why should
Grand Lodge attach such primary imPORTance to the memory of Shakespeare
and the continuing performance of his plays? In fact, such attention
has some noteworthy precedents that would seem to link Freemasonry
strongly with Shakespeare.
The early Freemasons were frequently known as SAM's SONS (i.e. Solomon's
Sons), and SAMSON, who held up the two pillars of the temple, was used
as their allegorical archetype. This reference especially occurs in
Love's Labour's Lost, when speaking of great men who have been in love.
14 The initiate Hercules is given as an example, but 'more authority'
is requested 'men of good repute and carriage'. Moth gives the approved
answer: 'SAMSON, Master! He was a man of good carriage, great carriage,
for he carried the town-gates on his back like a PORTER; and he was in
love'. Armado, the Master who is catechising his pupil, makes a reply
in which he points out his office as being higher than SAMSON's, who was
the PORTER or Tyler: 'O well-knit SAMSON! strong-jointed SAMSON! I do
excell thee in my rapier as much as thou didst me in carrying gates.
I am in love too'. Armado then continues the questions, going deeper
into the Mystery of Freemasonry: 'Who was SAMSON's love, my dear Moth?'
and Moth succinctly responds with the allegorical TRUTH.>>
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King Henry VIII (Folio) Act 5, Scene 3/4
Noyse and Tumult within: Enter PORTER and his man.
PORT. You'l leaue your noyse anon ye Rascals: doe
you take the Court for Parish Garden: ye rude Slaues,
leaue your gaping.
Within. Good M[aster]. PORTER I belong to th' Larder.
PORT. Belong to th' Gallowes, and be hang'd ye Rogue:
Is this a place to roare in? Fetch me a dozen Crab- tree
staues, and strong ones; these are but switches to 'em:
Ile scratch your heads; you must be seeing Christenings?
Do you looke for Ale, and Cakes heere, you rude
Raskalls?
Man. Pray Sir be patient; 'tis as much impossible,
Vnlesse wee sweepe 'em from the dore with Cannons,
To scatter 'em, as 'tis to make 'em sleepe
On May- day Morning, which will neuer be:
We may as well push against Powles as stirre 'em.
Por. How got they in, and be hang'd?
Man. Alas I know not, how gets the Tide in?
As much as one sound Cudgell of foure foote,
(You see the poore remainder) could distribute,
I made no spare Sir.
PORT. You did nothing Sir.
Man. I am not SAMPSON, nor Sir Guy, nor Colebrand,
To MOW 'em downe before me: but if I spar'd any
That had a head to hit, either young or old,
He or shee, CUckold or CUckold- maker:
Let me ne're hope to see a Chine againe,
And that I would not for a Cow, God saue her.
Within. Do you heare M[aster]. PORTER?
PORT. I shall be with you presently, good M[aster].
PUPPY, Keepe the dore close Sirha.
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To MOW 'em downe before me: with mop and MOW.
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SHAKESPEARE AND FREEMASONRY
http://www.sirbacon.org/Dawkinsfrmsnry.htm
<<The PORTER (or Tyler) is, of course, responsible for opening the door
of the Lodge when the correct sign is given. A powerful tragi-comedy
scene featuring the PORTER in Macbeth parodies one instance, the
required knocks occurring at the critical moment associated with the
death of the King, or Master.15 Elsewhere another duty of the PORTER is
given, as performed in the early Lodges: that is, to mark out the floor
of the Lodge with chalk. Chalk is a symbol of Freedom, and the PORTER
used to draw the symbolic teaching of the Degree on the black floor
before the Candidate entered. Good old Gonzalo, in The Tempest,
refers to this and to the Masonic Pillars: 'For it is you that hath
chalk'd forth the way which brought us hither.... O, rejoice beyond
a common joy! and set it down with gold on lasting Pillars'. 16
Interestingly, a mop and pail was used by the newly initiated brethren
to wash the floor clean after the ceremony; and in the 'Exposures' after
1723 some of the writers poke fun at the Freemasons as being 'the Mop
and Pail Brigade'. Ariel, in The Tempest, lightly alludes to this and to
the candidates being slip-shod when he replies to Prospero's command,
'Before you can say "come" and "go", and breathe twice, and cry, "so,
so," each one, tripping on his toe, will be here with mop and MOW.' He
concludes this with the key question to Prospero: 'Do you love me,
Master? no?' 17 Prospero can only truly answer this by demonstrating it
in action, which he ultimately does, setting Ariel free and then asking
us, of our indulgence (i.e. mercy) to likewise set him free. In this
Shakespeare hints at the ultimate mystery and degree of a Free-Mason.>>
16 The Tempest, V, i.
17 The Tempest, IV, i.
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Love's Labour's Lost (1600 Quartp) Act 1, Scene 2
Boy. Which the base vulgar do call three.
Arma. TRUE.
Boy. Why sir is this such a peece of studie? Now heere is
three studied ere yele thrice wincke: and how easie it is to
put yeeres to the worde three, and studie three yeeres in two
wordes, the dauncing Horse will tell you.
Arm. A most fine Figure.
Boy. To proue you a CYPHER.
Arm. I will hereupon confesse I am in loue: and as it is
base for a Souldier to loue; so am I in loue with a base wench.
If drawing my Sword against the humor of affection, would
deliuer me from the reprobate thought of it, I would take
Desire prisoner, and ransome him to anie French Courtier
for a new deuisde cursie. I thinke scorne to sigh, mee thinks
I should outsweare Cupid. Comfort mee Boy, What great
men haue bin in loue?
Boy. Hercules Maister.
Arm. Most sweete Hercules: more authoritie deare Boy,
name more; and sweete my childe let them be men of good
repute and carriage.
Boy. SAMPSON Maister, he was a man of good carriage,
great carriage: for he carried the Towne-gates on his backe
like a PORTER: and he was in loue.
Arm. O wel knit SAMPSON, strong ioynted SAMPSON; I do excel
thee in my rapier, a much as thou didst me in carying gates.
I am in loue too. Who was SAMPSONs loue my deare Moth?
Boy. A Woman, Maister.
Arm. Of what complexion?
Boy. Of all the foure, or the three, or the two, or one of
the foure.
Arm. Tell me precisely of what complexion?
Boy. Of the sea-water GREENE sir.
Arm. Is that one of the foure complexions?
Boy. As I haue read sir, and the best of them too.
Arm. GREENE in deede is the colour of Louers: but to
haue a loue of that colour, mee thinkes SAMPSON had small
reason for it. He surely affected her for her wit.
Boy. It was so sir, for she had a GREENE WIT.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ar. Villaine,
thou shalt fast for thy offences ere thou be pardoned.
Clo. Well sir I hope when I do it,
I shall do it on a full stomacke.
Ar. Thou shalt be heauely punished.
Clo. I am more bound to you then your FELLOWES,
for they are but lightly rewarded.
Ar. Take away this villaine, shut him vp.
Boy. Come you transgressing slaue, away.
Clo. Let me not be pent vp sir, I will fast being loose.
Boy. No sir, that were fast and loose: thou shalt to prison.
Clo. Well, if euer I do see the merry dayes
of desolation that I haue seene, some shall see.
Boy. What shall some see?
Clo. Nay nothing M. Moth, but what they looke vppon.
It is not for prisoners to be too silent in their wordes, and
therfore I will say nothing: I thanke God I haue as litle pa-
tience as an other man, & therfore I can be quiet. Exit.
Arm. I do affect the verie ground (which is base) where her
shoo (which is baser) guided by her foote (which is basest)
doth tread. I shall be forsworne (which is a great argument
of falsehood) if I loue. And how can that be TRUE loue, which
is falsely attempted? Loue is a familiar; Loue is a Diuell.
There is no euill angel but Loue, yet was SAMPSON so temp-
ted, and he had an excellent strength: Yet was Salomon so
seduced, and he had a very good wit. Cupids Butshaft is too
hard for Hercules Clubb, and therefore too much oddes for a
Spaniards Rapier: The first and second cause will not serue
my turne: the Passado he respects not, the Duella he regards
not; his disgrace is to be called Boy, but his glorie is to sub-
due men. Adue Valoure, rust Rapier, be still Drum, for your
manager is in loue; yea he loueth. Assist me some extempo-
rall God of Rime, for I am sure I shall turne Sonnet.
Deuise Wit, write Pen, for I am for whole volumes in folio. Exit.
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The Geneva Bible: The Forgotten Translation
http://www.reformed.org/documents/geneva/Geneva.html
<<When Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary) became queen of England in 1553, she was
determined to roll back the Reformation and reinstate Roman Catholicism.
Mary had strong ties to Catholic Spain. She married Philip II of Spain
and induced the English Parliament to recognize the authority of Rome.
The era known as the Marian Exile drove hundreds of English scholars to
the Continent with little hope of ever seeing their home and friends
again. God used this exodus experience to advance the Reformation.
A number of English Protestant divines settled in Calvin's Geneva:
Miles Coverdale, John Foxe, Thomas SAMPSON, & William Whittingham.
With the protection of the Genevan civil authorities and the supPORT
of John Calvin and the Scottish Reformer John Knox, the Church of
Geneva determined to produce an English Bible without the need for
the imprimatur of either England or Rome - the Geneva Bible.>>
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the word "BACON" is given explicitly on page 53 of:
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The Comedies: The Merry Wives of Windsor Act 4, Scene 1
Mistress Quickly 'Hang-hog' is Latin for BACON, I warrant you.
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The Histories: 1 King Henry IV, Act 2, Scene 1
Second Carrier I have a gammon of BACON and two razors of ginger,
to be DEliVEREd as far as Charing-cross.
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and implicitly on page 53 of:
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The Tragedies: [which starts _Romeo & Juliet_]
Enter SAMPSON and Gregory, with {Sw}ords and (B)[uck]lers,
of the {H}ouse of (Ca)[p]ulet.
Samps(on).
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You had not four such {Sw}inge-(B)[uck]lers
in all the inns of court.
2 Hen. IV, III. ii.
The VERy same day did I fight with one SAMPSON Stockfish, a fruiterer,
behind Gray's Inn. Jesu! Jesu! the mad days that I have spent.>>
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Gray's Inn Alumni
Admitted to Gray's Inn
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Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford 1567 age 17
Francis Bacon Sept.1576 age 15
Henry Wriothesley, 3rd E. of Southampton: July 1590 age 17
Roger Manners, 5th Earl of Rutland: Feb. 1598 age 21
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5) No Knight of this Order shall be armed for the safeguard of his
countenance with a pike in his mouth in the nature of a tooth-picker, or
with any weapon in his hand, be it stick, plume, wand, or any such-like:
Neither shall he draw out of his pocket any book or paper, to read, for
the same intent; neither shall he retain any extraordinary shrug, nod,
or any familiar motion or gesture, to the same end; for his Highness
of his gracious clemency is disposed to lend his countenance
to all such Knights as are out of countenance.
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ABRAHAM Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
SAMPSON I do bite my thumb, sir.
ABRAHAM Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
SAMPSON [Aside to GREGORY] Is the law of our side, if I say ay?
GREGORY No.
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7) No Knight of this Order shall lay to pawn his Collar of Knighthood
for an hundred pounds; and if he do, he shall be 'ipso facto'
discharged; and it shall be lawful for any man whatsoever that will
retain the same Collar for the sum aforesaid, forthwith to take upon
him the said Knighthood, by reason of a secret virtue in the Collar;
for in this Order it is holden for a certain rule that the
Knighthood followeth the Collar, and not the Collar the Knighthood.
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SAMPSON Gregory, o' my word, we'll not carry coals.
GREGORY No, for then we should be COLLIERS.
SAMPSON I mean, an we be in CHOLER, we'll draw.
GREGORY Ay, while you live, draw your neck out o' the COLLAR.
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Pope GREGORY brought the modern calendar back into alignment
with the sun.
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The Biblical SAMPSON (Hebr.: Shimshon) of Zorah
lived close to Beth-Shemesh ("house of the sun")
Delilah represents "night" (Hebr.: lilah).
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£19 bail for William SAMPSON
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<<Gilbert Shakspere was a haberdasher at St. Bride's in 1597 when he and
a local shoemaker put up £19 bail, in the court of Queen's Bench, for
the clockmaker William SAMPSON>> Honan's _Shakespeare a Life_ p.229.>>
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BAC(helor sams)ON CARRASCO
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CHAPTER III Part II
OF THE LAUGHABLE CONVERSATION THAT PASSED BETWEEN DON QUIXOTE,
SANCHO PANZA, AND THE BACHELOR SAMSON CARRASCO
<<"I promise thee, Sancho," said Don Quixote, "the author of our
history will be some sage enchanter; for to such nothing that
they choose to write about is hidden."
"What!" said Sancho, "a sage and an enchanter! Why, the bachelor
SAMSON Carrasco (that is the name of him I spoke of) says
the author of the history is called Cide Hamete Berengena.">>
<<The bachelor, though he was called SAMSON, was of no great bodily
size, but he was a very great wag; he was of a sallow complexion,
but very sharp-witted, somewhere about four-and-twenty years of age,
with a round face, a flat nose, and a large mouth, all indications
of a mischievous disposition and a love of fun and jokes; and of
this he gave a sample as soon as he saw Don Quixote, by falling on his
knees before him and saying, "Let me kiss your mightiness's hand,
Senor Don Quixote of La Mancha, for, by the habit of St. Peter that
I wear, though I have no more than the first four orders, your worship
is one of the most famous knights-errant that have ever been, or
will be, all the world over. A blessing on Cide Hamete Benengeli,
who has written the history of your great deeds, and a double
blessing on that connoisseur who took the trouble of having it
translated out of the Arabic into our Castilian vulgar tongue
for the universal entertainment of the people!">>
<<Don Quixote made him rise, and said,
"So, then, it is TRUE that there is a history of me,
and that it was a Moor and a sage who wrote it?"
"So TRUE is it, senor," said SAMSON, "that my belief is there are
more than twelve thousand volumes of the said history in print this
very day. Only ask PORTugal, Barcelona, and Valencia, where they
have been printed, and moreover there is a rePORT that it is being
printed at Antwerp, and I am persuaded there will not be a country
or language in which there will not be a translation of it.">>
<<"The sage has left nothing in the ink-bottle," replied SAMSON;
"he tells all and sets down everything, even to the capers
that worthy Sancho cut in the blanket.">>
<<"At the same time they might fairly have passed them over in
silence," observed Don Quixote; "for there is no need of recording
events which do not change or affect the TRUTH of a history, if
they tend to bring the hero of it into contempt. AEneas was not
in TRUTH and earnest so pious as Virgil represents him,
nor Ulysses so wise as Homer describes him."
"That is TRUE," said SAMSON; "but it is one thing to write as a
poet, another to write as a historian; the poet may describe or
sing things, not as they were, but as they ought to have been;
but the historian has to write them down, not as they ought
to have been, but as they were, without adding anything to
the TRUTH or taking anything from it.">>
<<TOM CECIL, seeing how ill they had succeeded, and what a sorry
end their expedition had come to, said to the bachelor, "Sure
enough, Senor SAMSON Carrasco, we are served right; it is easy
enough to plan and set about an enterprise, but it is often a
difficult matter to come well out of it. Don Quixote a madman, and
we sane; he goes off laughing, safe, and sound, and you are left
sore and sorry! I'd like to know now which is the madder, he who
is so because he cannot help it, or he who is so of his own choice?"
To which SAMSON replied, "The difference between the two sorts of
madmen is, that he who is so will he nil he, will be one always,
while he who is so of his own accord can leave off being one
whenever he likes.">>
<<"And about me," said Sancho, "for they say, too,
that I am one of the principal presonages in it."
"Personages, not presonages, friend Sancho," said SAMSON.>>
<<"I have seen governors in these parts," said Sancho,
"that are not to be compared to my shoe-sole; and for all
that they are called 'your lordship' and served on silver."
"Those are not governors of islands," observed SAMSON,
"but of other governments of an easier kind:
those that govern islands must at least know gRAM-MAR."
"I could manage the gRAM well enough," said Sancho; "but for the
MAR I have neither leaning nor liking, for I don't know what it is;>>
<<"Thou art in the right of it, Sancho," said Don Quixote; "and
the bachelor SAMSON Carrasco, if he enters the pastoral fraternity,
as no doubt he will, may call himself the shepherd SAMSONino, or
perhaps the shepherd Carrascon; Nicholas the barber may call himself
Niculoso, as old Boscan formerly was called Nemoroso; as for the
curate I don't know what name we can fit to him unless it be something
derived from his title, and we call him the shepherd Curiambro.>>
<<"Call in to me my good friends the curate, the bachelor SAMSON
Carrasco, and Master Nicholas the barber, for I wish to confess and
MAKE MY WILL ... The curate and the bachelor SAMSON Carrasco,
now present, I appoint my executors.">>
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Art Neuendorffer