Eternal's wrath's appeased."

His conduct towards Proteus after this forgiveness is so wise with
delicate tact that the reader is reminded of Shelley's treatment of
Hogg, in a similar case.

The suggestion of the character of Silvia has an austere beauty. The two
gentlemen are limited by the play's needs. The figure of Valentine is
the more complete of the two. He is an interesting study of one of those
grave young men who, when tested by life, show themselves wise beyond
their years. Among the minor characters, that of Eglamour, an image of
constancy to a dead woman, is the most beautiful. He is one of the
strange, many-sorrowed souls, vowed to an idea, to whom Shakespeare's
characters so often turn when the world bears hard. The low comedy of
Launce could hardly be lower; but his phrase "the other squirrel" (in
Act IV, sc. iv) is a good stroke. The great mind is full of vitality on
all the planes.

There is little superb verse in the play. The lyric, "Who is Silvia?"
shows a marvellous lyrical art, working without emotion to imitate an
effect of music. The proverb, "make a virtue of necessity," occurs in
Act IV, sc. ii. The fine lines--

"O, how this spring of love resembleth
The uncertain glory of an April day"--

and the pretty speech of Julia in Act II, sc. vii--

"I'll be as patient as a gentle stream,
And make a pastime of each weary step,
Till the last step have brought me to my love;
And there I'll rest, as, after much turmoil,
A blessed soul doth in Elysium"--

are memorable.

Man is so eager to know about Shakespeare that he is tempted to find
personal confession in the plays. It is true that the art of a young man
is too immature to be impersonal. In an achieved style we see the man;
in all striving for style we see what hurts him. But in poetry, human
experience is wrought to symbol, and symbol is many virtued, according
to the imaginative energy that broods upon it. It is said that
Shakespeare holds a mirror up to life. He who looks into a mirror
closely generally sees nothing but himself.

_The Comedy of Errors._

_Written._ Before 1594.

_Published_, in the first folio, 1623.

_Source of the Plot._ The plot was taken from the _Menaechmi_ of
Plautus. Whether Shakespeare read the play in Latin, or in a
translation, or heard it from a friend, or saw it acted, is not
known. All four are possible.

The sub-plot, in this