242 SHAKESPEARE. 



knew also something of the sects growing up under- 

 neath the Eeformed Church, and his writings show 

 that he was intimately versed in the history and 

 phraseology of the Bible. That he has touched so 

 slightly on any topic of religious doctrine or contro- 

 versy, while making his characters the utterance of 

 such deep thought on all other human affairs, goes far 

 to prove his intended avoidance of the subject. If the 

 passage in his will be taken into evidence, it seems to 

 express the belief of a Protestant Christian. 



Are we to grieve, or not, that so little is known of 

 the life of Shakespeare ? As in the case of Homer, is 

 there not something which feeds the fancy in the 

 mystery surrounding him ? Yet we might well desire 

 to know what were the characters of childhood and 

 youth in such a man ? when, and in what way, his 

 genius broke forth ? under what impulse and methods 

 he composed those works which have given him 

 immortality ? The Sonnets have been diligently 

 searched for his personal history, but they have rather 

 thickened than dispelled the cloud which hangs over 

 it. Except the signature to his will we have not a 

 word of his writing. He indicates his own individu- 

 ality less than any of those whom we reckon the great 

 writers of the world ; certainly than any of later ages. 

 The few passages alluding to him by contemporary 

 writers serve little more than to whet curiosity. His 

 portraits are of doubtful reality ; and, whether willing 

 or not, we must submit to the belief that what we 

 know of Shakespeare is all that will ever be known. 



The veneration for Shakespeare has certainly much 



