g of brilliant jewels, each one gains lustre from those that
precede and follow it.

119. For no man ever wrote sincerely and earnestly, or indeed ever did
any one thing in such a spirit, without leaving some impress upon his
work of his mental condition whilst he was doing it; and no such man
ever continued his literary labours from the period of youth right
through his manhood, without leaving behind him, in more or less legible
character, a record of the ripening of his thought upon matters of
eternal importance, although they may not be of necessity directly
connected with the ostensible subject in hand. Insincere men may ape
sentiments they do not really believe in; but in the end they will
either be exposed and held up to ridicule, or their work will sink into
obscurity. Sincerity in the expression of genuine thought and feeling
alone can stand the test of time. And this is in reality no
contradiction to what has just been said as to the necessity of a
receptive condition of mind in the production of works of true genius.
This capacity of receiving the most delicate objective impressions is,
indeed, one essential; but without the cognate power to assimilate this
food, and evolve the result that these influences have produced
subjectively, it is, worse than useless. The two must co-exist and act
and react upon one another. Nor must we be induced to surrender these
principles, in the present particular case, on account of the usual fine
but vague talk about Shakspere's absolute self-annihilation in favour of
the characters that he depicts. It is said that Shakspere so identifies
himself with each person in his dramas, that it is impossible to detect
the great master and his thoughts behind this cunningly devised screen.
If this means that Shakespere has always a perfect comprehension of his
characters, is competent to measure out to each absolute and unerring
justice, and is capable of sympathy with even the most repulsive, it
will not be disputed for an instant. It is so true, that it is dangerous
to take a sentence out of the mouth of any one of his characters and say
for certain, "This Shakspere thought," although there are many
characters with whom every one must feel that Shakspere identified
himself for the time being rather than others. But if it is intended to
assert that Shakspere has so eliminated himself from his writings as to
make it impossible to trace anywhere the tendencies of his own thought
at the