The same sanguine optimistic temper constantly strikes a more
impressive note.
There is some soul of goodness in things evil,
Would men observingly distil it out,
is a comprehensive maxim, which sounds as if it came straight from
Shakespeare's lips. This battle-cry of invincible optimism is uttered
in the play by Shakespeare's favourite hero, Henry V. It is hard to
quarrel with the inference that these words convey the ultimate
verdict of the dramatist on human affairs.
VIII
SHAKESPEARE AND PATRIOTISM[32]
[Footnote 32: This paper was first printed in the _Cornhill Magazine_,
May 1901.]
His noble negligences teach
What others' toils despair to reach.
I
Patriotism is a natural instinct closely allied to the domestic
affections. Its normal activity is as essential as theirs to the
health of society. But, in a greater degree than other instincts, the
patriotic impulse works with perilous irregularity unless it be
controlled by the moral sense and the intellect.
Every student of history and politics is aware how readily the
patriotic instinct, if uncontrolled by morality and reason, comes into
conflict with both.
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