SHAKESPEARE AND OVID
Gematric concordance of two tombstone
inscriptions
A. Values of Text
and Names
B. The
I. Introduction
II. Reference in Shakespeare's
Epitaph
III. Reference to
IESUS CHRISTUS
IV. Reference to PENSATOR
a) Introduction
b) Reference in OVID's Epitaph
c) Reference in
Shakespeare's Epitaph
C. References to
IESUS CHRISTUS and VESTA
A. Values of Text and
Names
|
Hic
ego qui iaceo tenerorum lusor amorum |
GOOD FREND FOR IESVS SAKE FORBEARE |
|
ingenio perii
Naso poeta meo; |
TO DIGG THE DVST ENCLOASED HEARE. |
|
at tibi qui transis ne sit
grave quisquis amasti |
BLESTE BE YE MAN YT SPARES
THES STONES |
|
dicere "Nasonis molliter ossa
cubent". |
AND CVRST BE HE YT MOVES MY BONES. |
|
Here
I lie, playful composer of tender love stories, |
|
|
Naso
the poet, ruined by my own genius; |
|
|
But
for you, who pass by and have ever loved, may it |
|
|
not be hard to say " Naso's bones may softly rest. |
|
NOTE on YE and YT: There was a
medieval letter "thorn" (þ) which in handwriting became indistinguishable from y. When books were printed, the
article THE
was often written Y with a superscript E and THAT
with a superscript T:
|
|
|
E |
|
T |
|
BLESTE |
BE |
Y |
MAN |
Y |
|
Blessed |
be |
the |
man |
that |
1.
Shakespeare highly appreciated the Roman poet Publius
Ovidius Naso. After discovering Shakespeare's stupendous knowledge of Latin
gematria and its principles in Sonnet 136, I suspected Shakespeare might
have taken Ovid's tombstone inscription as a model to define the numeric values
of his own. And it seems he did so. I first give Ovid's, then Shakespeare's
epitaph on the basis of 23 or 24 letters respectively. In Shakespeare's time the
letters I/J and U/V were used alternatively regardless of their phonetic quality; the
letter W, which does not occur in Shakespeare's epitaph, takes the 21st position. Beside the
numeric values the factoral values (FV) – either identical with prime
numbers or additions of prime factors – are important:
|
Bu. |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
V |
X |
Y |
Z |
|
NV |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
|
FV |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
11 |
7 |
13 |
9 |
8 |
8 |
17 |
8 |
19 |
9 |
10 |
13 |
23 |
1. hic (20) ego (26) qui (45) iaceo (32) tenerorum (122)
lusor (80) amorum (76)
7 (7) 34 (34) 401 (401)
2. ingenio (70) perii (55) Naso (46) poeta (54) meo; (31)
5 (12) 24 (58) 256 (657)
3. at (20) tibi (39) qui (45) transis (95) ne (18) sit (46)
grave (50) quisquis (126) amasti (60)
9 (21) 40 (98) 499 (1156)
4. dicere (43) "Nasonis (86) molliter (98) ossa (51)
cubent". (62)
5 (26) 31 (129) 340 (1496)
1496= 2* 2* 2* 11* 17 = 34
1. GOOD (39) FREND (45) FOR (37) IESVS (70) SAKE (34) FORBEARE (67)
6 (6) 29 (29) 292 (292)
2. TO
(33) DIGG (27) THE (32) DUST (61) ENCLOASED (74)
HEARE (36)
6 (12) 27 (56) 263 (555)
3. BLESTE
(60) BE (7) YE (28) MAN (26) YT (42) SPARES (74) THES (50) STONES (87)
8 (20) 31 (87) 374 (929)
4. AND
(18) CURST (77) BE (7) HE (13) YT (42) MOVES (69) MY (35)
BONES (52)
8 (28) 26 (113) 313 (1242)
1242= 2* 3* 3* 3* 23 = 34
The FV are listed in the order of words and
lines:
|
OVID |
|
SHAKESPEARE |
|
total |
|
15+21+23+24+101+54+50 |
288 |
29+44+31+36+21+61 |
222 |
510 |
|
59+42+31+42+21 |
195 |
28+24+30+40+59+34 |
215 |
410 |
|
20+33+23+72+18+33+39+62+42 |
342 |
50+7+28+21+42+47+38+62 |
295 |
637 |
|
40+58+85+26+51 |
260 |
18+56+7+11+42+38+30+37 |
239 |
499 |
|
|
1085 |
|
971 |
2056 |
You can check the numerical and factoral
results with an online calculator.
2. The
factoral value of the two gematric results is 34 each.
The
combined gematric values are composed of the following prime factors:
|
Gem.val. |
1496+1242 |
2738 |
2*1369 |
2*37*37 |
|
letters |
129+113 |
242 |
2*121 |
2*11*11 |
Shakespeare
in both cases chose a square number below Ovid's results and counted the
difference back to his own values. The interval from 1369 to 1496
is 127
and from 121 to 129 it is 8. In this way Shakespeare can share a square number
with Ovid. The factoral value of 37*37
is 74, which is the gematric
value of WILLIAM; the
factoral value of 11*11 is 22, the number of letters of WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE plus the short form of his name
WILL.
3.
Shakespeare is gematrically connected to Ovid by the
number 74, which is the inversion of 47, and, of course by 37, twice contained in 74:
|
|
|
NV |
FV |
|
|
PUBL|IUS |
48+47 |
95 |
53 |
148 |
|
OVID|IUS |
47+47 |
94 |
51 |
145 |
|
NASO |
|
46 |
31 |
77 |
|
|
|
235 |
135 |
370 |
The NV 94 of OVIDIUS is twice 47 and increases by
further 3*47, if the values of the other two names are added. Thus the
ratio of 1:2 names is 2:3 with regard to their numeric values.
Another relation of 1:2 names occurs, if
numeric and factoral values are added: PUBLIUS amounts to 148 = 4*37, OVIDIUS
NASO to 222 = 6*37. So there is a kind of
combined ratio of 6:9 or a ratio of 1:2 between the two ratios.
4.
If we, for a fictitious moment, consider Ovid as a prophet of
literary history, he points to his great successor by providing his numeric
values to reinforce and amplify Shakespeare's: If one adds to the NV 235 of Ovid's three names the NV 74 of WILLIAM, the total 309 contains SHAKESPEARE's NV 103 three times.
Another concordance
exists in the 18 letters of Ovid's and Shakespeare's names.
5.
Ovid mentions his name twice in his
epitaph, so we can suppose a gematric meaning: The NV of NASO and NASONIS are 46+86 = 132 = 12*11 so that the average
value a letter is 12. The NV+FV of the two names are 77+144 = 221 = 13*17. The factors 11 and 17 are part of the total numeric sum (NS) of the text: 8*11*17.
By contrast,
Shakespeare does not mention his name. For example, there is no letter W in the text, which
suggests that Shakespeare may have counted the only differing letter Y (4 altogether) also on
the basis of 23 letters instead of 24. This would mean the numeric value 22 and factoral value 13, instead of 23+23. The total results
would so change from 1242 to 1238 and 971 to 931.
B. The SATOR Square
I. Introduction
1.
Analyzing Sonnet 136, I discovered that Shakespeare not
only employed gematria, but also knew about the significance of the
2.
The
SATOR OPERA TENET – The Creator holds his works.
TENET OPERA ROTAS – He holds the wheels with care.
The
following representation renders the original view of the square with ROTAS in the first line:
|
|
|
The
word ROTAS is also
a verbal form, meaning You turn (the
wheels).
II. Gematric Reference in Shakespeare's Epitaph
1.
Shakespeare's epitaph contains three words with the same
numeric values (NV) as the
|
Square |
Epitaph |
NV |
|
SATOR |
MOVES |
69 |
|
OPERA |
BONES |
52 |
|
TENET |
DUST |
61 |
|
|
182 |
|
The
words BONES and DUST have synonymic meaning, so they form a semantic
unit against MOVES.
The NV 69 = 3*23 is contained 18 times in the total
numeric sum (NS) 1242.
2.
The three words consist of 14 letters, MOVES of 5, BONES and DUST of 5+4 letters. The NS 182 is divisible by 14, thus assigning each
letter the average NV 13.
3.
The three SQUARE words lend their meanings to
their corresponding EPITAPH words: No human being is entitled to disturb the poet's
earthly rest, because it's God (SATOR) who has held and guided (TENET) Shakespeare throughout
his life (18*69) and also takes care of
him (OPERA TENET) after his body has decayed (BONES, DUST). He turns (ROTAS,
MOVES) his
mortality into immortality.
DVST shares its FV 40 with CRVX – Cross. After his death on
the Cross Jesus Christ rose from the death again, and all who believe in him
will follow. The word DVST stands for what is materially left
of a person. But Christ's redemptive deed gives hope that there is life after
death and body and soul will be transfigured on the Day of the Last Judgement.
4.
In Shakespeare's view there are personal secrets which he
shares only with his Creator and which to investigate by opening his tomb is
tantamount to sacrilege.
III. Reference to IESUS CHRISTUS
1.
Shakespeare knew that IESUS (70) CHRISTUS
(112) – 13 letters – has the same NV 182 as SATOR
OPERA TENET–
15 letters. So the pre-Christian
The
average NV of the 13 letters
is 14.
Shakespeare responded to IESUS CHRISTUS by
choosing 14
letters and an
average NV of 13.
In this he also assumes a mediatory role as he brings about an average NV of
13 for
15+14+13 = 42
letters.
2.
As the first line of the epitaph mentions the name of IESUS explicitly, the three words
and their values have to be referred to it. Here the factoral values (FV) are also important:
|
|
MOVES |
BONES |
DUST |
Sm. |
IESUS |
tot. |
|
NV |
69 |
52 |
61 |
182 |
70 |
252 |
|
FV |
38 |
37 |
40 |
115 |
36 |
151 |
|
|
403 |
|||||
|
403 = 13*31 |
||||||
The
two results 252 and 151 have the same first and
last number and so imply a state of inversion. 252 can be represented by the inverted numbers 12*21 and 115 is changed into 151, and the total sum 403 consists of the inverted
prime factors 13*31,
bearing clear trinitarian meaning. So Shakespeare indicates that it's the
divine power of Jesus to transform what is mortal in him into immortality.
IV. Reference to PENSATOR
a) Introduction
1.
The
The
two halves of letters have each the same NV 51, thus imitating a pair of scales:
|
P |
E |
N |
S |
A |
T |
O |
R |
|
20 |
31 |
20 |
31 |
||||
|
51 |
51 |
||||||
There is
even a parallel structure of 4
pairs of adjacent letters with the same values in each half. This and two other
comparable pairs of letters are shown in the following table:
|
|
NV |
FV |
|
NV |
FV |
tot. |
|
PE-AT |
20 |
9 |
NS-OR |
31 |
31 |
91 |
|
OE-AS |
19 |
19 |
PR-NT |
32 |
10 |
80 |
|
EN-AR |
18 |
8 |
PS-TO |
33 |
14 |
73 |
|
Sm. |
57 |
36 |
|
96 |
55 |
244 |
|
36+55 = 91; 2*91 = 182 |
||||||
The
NS of the pairs of letters
proceed successively from 18
to 20 and 31 to 33.
The factoral values amount to 91
for 6 pairs of letters and –
doubled – to 182, the NS of SATOR OPERA TENET.
2.
Because of its importance Roman poets often take account
of these 8 letters of PENSATOR, determining their frequency in
such a way that there is a significant result.
b) Reference in OVID's
Epitaph
1.
The 8 letters lead to the following numeric results
according to their frequency:
|
|
P |
E |
N |
S |
A |
T |
O |
R |
|
|
NV |
15 |
5 |
13 |
18 |
1 |
19 |
14 |
17 |
102 |
|
frequ. |
2 |
14 |
9 |
12 |
11 |
9 |
12 |
9 |
78 |
|
total |
30 |
70 |
117 |
216 |
11 |
171 |
168 |
153 |
936 |
|
936 =
72*13 =
8*117 |
|||||||||
Four
groups of letters can be found whose NS
are divisible by 13, two of
which make up 468, half
the total sum of 936. The
four groups consist of 2+2+3+1 letters.
|
|
A |
T |
E |
S |
P |
R |
O |
N |
|
NV |
43 |
59 |
||||||
|
NS |
182 |
286 |
351 |
117 |
||||
|
/13 |
14 |
22 |
27 |
9 |
||||
|
total |
36 |
36 |
||||||
2. The 8 letters can be read
either as 4 words or 2 words. The words ATES PRON do not form a
syntactic unity, their sense has to be guessed from their single
incompleteness. The Greek word ATE means guilt caused by blindness of mind and soul and,
in consequence, by irrational passions. ATE is also a mythological
personification and a daughter of Zeus who, after being hurled down to earth by
her father, wreaks havoc on mortals. ATES is the possessive case meaning in the possession of ATE. Ovid wants to say he fell prey to ATE, doing things that
charge him with guilt.
The Latin word PRON- lacks its grammatical
ending –US. It means in downward position, heading downward. It may refer to
everything that disgraces man's true nature and dignity. So Fate may precipitate the sinner into the
depths of TARTARUS.
3. Consistent with this
self-incrimination is the first distichon and the word PERII – I
perished.
Then, however, the first word of the second distichon is AT – But, indicating that there
is a chance for pardon and salvation.
From the pre-arranged order of
letters we can now argue backward: The 8 letters ATESPRON only seem to consist
of two words, in reality there are four groups of letters divisible by
the number 13, which represents the unity of God in three divine persons. These
four words reflect Ovid's confidence that, in return for his poetic efforts and
his religious devotion, he may expect mercy and eternal happiness. So the Latin
meaning is:
BUT YOU ARE FOR N.
PRO N
can be complemented with PRO
N-ASONE
– in favour of NASO. The
additional 5 letters
have the NV 51 so that
the NS of the whole phrase is 3*51 = 153.
4. Of
the four words the letters AT
are the only adjacent ones in PENSATOR. Their NS 182
stands for SATOR OPERA TENET
with the same NS. The
two letters also mark the beginning of the second half of PENS|ATOR and the backward reading of
c) Reference in
Shakespeare's Epitaph
1.
If we presuppose that Shakespeare knew about the practice
of referring a poem or text unit to the name PENSATOR, he might not have
done so himself only with regard to the
|
|
P |
E |
N |
S |
A |
T |
O |
R |
|
|
NV |
15 |
5 |
13 |
18 |
1 |
19 |
14 |
17 |
102 |
|
frequ. |
1 |
21 |
6 |
14 |
7 |
9 |
9 |
7 |
74 |
|
total |
15 |
105 |
78 |
252 |
7 |
171 |
126 |
119 |
873 |
|
|
I |
E |
S |
U |
C |
H |
R |
T |
|
|
NV |
9 |
5 |
18 |
20 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
19 |
99 |
|
frequ. |
2 |
21 |
14 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
7 |
9 |
63 |
|
total |
18 |
105 |
252 |
80 |
6 |
32 |
119 |
171 |
783 |
2.
The two results 873 and 783 are again inversions. Their ratio is 9*(97:87)
= 9*184 = 9*8*23. So it's again Jesus Christ who turns the mortal fate of man into
eternal fulfilment. As a matter of fact, the two inverted result form a unique
ratio with Ovid's PENSATOR result: 72*(
NOTE: For lack of time I won't be able to
complete this investigation in near future. There are mainly three aspects
still to be dealt with in both epitaphs:
–
the first and last words and the two central words;
–
the results of numeric and factoral values of both texts; these
are:
|
|
NS |
FS |
|
|
OVID |
1496 |
1085 |
2581 |
|
SHAKESPEARE |
1242 |
971 |
2213 |
|
|
2738 |
2056 |
4794 |
|
4794 =
47*102 > 69 |
|||
Shakespeare
seems to have defined the final results with reference to the terms PENSATOR
(102) and SATOR (69). The numerical value 47
coresponds to DEUS – God.
–
the 4 Y-words consisting of two letters each: YE YT YT MY; they remind of the structure of the
8-letter word PENSATOR. Here Shakespeare counts Y 23 according to the alphabet of his own
time, and 22 according to the
classical Roman alphabet. His ambitious goal evidently is to unite the cultures
of Roman and Greek antiquity and modern European cultures formed by
Christianity and revived by aspirations of the Renaissance. The fork-like shape
of Y may also point to a
double aspect of the human mind: natural intellect and religious devotion.
Decisive answers to these
aspects and those already dealt with require inclusion of the geometric models
on which the system of Roman numerology is based.
FURTHER STUDIES:
D.
VESTA and IESVS – Two Complementary Models
F. Values of
y-words combined with SATOR Square
G. Y-words in Gabriel's Annunciation to Mary
H. Cross and
Salvation: the meaning of Ypsilon and 22, 23
K. Shakespeare
understands himself as Mary's Son
L. Shakespeare's gematric homage to Jesus and Mary
M. The letters M and I in 5 words
Written: December 2008