eeker; an intellectual flood has drowned out the old order
of things; not even a mountain peak appears in the wide waste of
desolation as assurance of ultimate rest; and in the dark, overhanging
firmament no arc of promise is to be seen. But this is a state of mind
which, from its very nature, cannot continue for ever: no man could
endure it. While it lasts the struggle must be continuous, but
somewhere through the cloud lies the sunshine and the land of peace--the
final period of intellectual belief. Out of the chaos comes order; ideas
that but recently appeared confused, incoherent, and meaningless assume
their true perspective. It is found that all the strands of the old
conventional faith have not been snapped in the turmoil; and these,
re-knit and strengthened with the new and full knowledge of experience
and investigation, form the cable that secures that strange holy
confidence of belief that can only be gained by a preliminary warfare
with doubt--a peace that truly passes all understanding to those who
have never battled for it,--as to its foundation, diverse to a miracle
in diverse minds, but still, a peace.

121. If this be a true history of the course of development of every
mind that is capable of independent thought upon and investigation of
such high matters, it follows that Shakspere's soul must have
experienced a similar struggle--for he was a man of like passions with
ourselves; indeed, to so acute and sensitive a mind the struggle would
be, probably, more prolonged and more agonizing than to many; and it is
these three mental conditions--first, of unthinking acceptance of
generally received teaching; second, of profound and agitating
scepticism; and, thirdly, of belief founded upon reason and
experience--that may be naturally expected to be found impressed upon
his early, middle, and later works.

122. It is impossible here to do more than indicate some of the
evidence that this supposition is correct, for to attempt to investigate
the question exhaustively would involve the minute consideration of a
majority of the plays. The period of Shakspere's customary or
conventional belief is illustrated in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and
to a certain extent also in the "Comedy of Errors." In the former play
we find him loyally accepting certain phases of the hereditary Stratford
belief in supernaturalism, throwing them into poetical form, and making
them beautiful. It has often before been observed, and it i