Page:Some Textual Difficulties in Shakespeare.djvu/46

28 be in a position of absolute authority and have any amount of brains, and yet his influence for good will still be dependent upon his moral character—his personal nature or " worth" as Shakespeare calls it; for it is this quality which is needed to temper his administration with high beneficent aims and a deep sympathetic insight of human weaknesses and needs. This inner personal government, which is as strict with itself as it is with others, and which looks its own shortcomings in the face, is necessary to guide the intellect and make the authority of good effect.

As I wish to offer this to the reader as a recognized truth, and not a mere interpreta- tion of Shakespeare upon my part, let us take our information upon government from a great political economist of today. Nearest at hand, as I write, I find Outlines of Economics (1893) by Richard T. Ely of the University of Wisconsin. On page 293 he lays down broadly "The Nature and State of Public Activity." After remarking that something more is needed than mere selfish interest to make a successful government, he lays down the following axiom (the italics being his own):

"We must add the social nature, teaching men to act in concert; the intellectual nature, teaching them to act consciously; the moral nature, teaching them to act rightly."

When we remember that people act in con- cert in order to have power, it will be seen that