to complete ripeness of quality and
power. The absorption of vital ex-
perience and knowledge which went
on in Shakespeare enlarged and clari-
fied his vision and insight to such a
degree that both became not only
searching, but veracious in a rare de-
gree; life was opened to him on
many sides by the expansion first ac-
complished in himself. This is say-
ing again what has been said so many
times, but cannot be said too often, --
that, in order to give one's work a
touch of greatness, a man must first
have a touch of greatness in his own
nature. But greatness is not an irre-
sponsible and undirected growth; it
is as definitely conditioned on certain
obediences to intellectual discipline
and spiritual law as is any kind of
lesser skill conditioned on practice
and work. One of these conditions

[[210]]

p209 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p210w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p211

v?