What exactly is the moral of 'Lear'? Apparently, there are two. One is the ordinary one, the common sense moral expressed by the Fool: Do not give up power! Do not give away your land! The other moral is implicitly contained in the story: Give away your land if you want; but do not expect that it will make you happy. You probably will not be happy. If you live for others, you must live for others and should not seek to gain an advantage for yourself in this way.