Prospero was a magician, but he was
much more and much greater than a wonder-worker; not Caliban, but
Ferdinand and Miranda and Gonzalo, are the true judges of his power.
Prospero was the master spirit of the world which moved about him. He
alone knew its secret and used its forces; on him alone rested the
government of this marvellous realm. His command had stirred the seas
and sent the winds abroad which brought Milan and Naples within his
hand; at his bidding the isle was full of sounds; Ariel served him with
tireless devotion; he read the sweet thought that flashed from Miranda
to Ferdinand; he unearthed the base conspiracy of Caliban, Trinculo,
and Stephano; he read the treacherous hearts of Antonio and Sebastian;
in his hand all these threads were gathered, and upon all these lives
his will was imposed. In that majestic drama of human character and
action, powers of air and earth, the highest and the lowest alike
serving, it is a lofty soul and a noble mind possessed by a great
purpose, which control and triumph. The magical arts are simply the
means by which a great end is served; when the work is accomplished,
the staff will be broken and the book sunk beneath the sea, lower than
any sounding of plummet."
"Yes," said Rosalind impulsively, carrying the thought another step
forward, "Prospero deals with natural, substantial things for great,
real ends, not with magical powers for fantastic purposes.
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