And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts.
As You Like It - II, 7
Why does Shakespeare so delight the hearts of adults and children alike? Simply because his writings are the richest, the purest, the fairest that genius ever penned. No truer words have been spoken of him than those of E.T. Roe who edited Mrs. Nesbit's Beautiful Stories From Shakespeare a hundred years ago:
Shakespeare ever kept the highroad of human life. He did not pick out by-paths of feeling and sentiment. In his creations we have no moral highwaymen, sentimental thieves, interesting villains, or amiable, elegant adventuresses - no delicate entanglements of situation, in which the grossest of images are presented to the mind disguised under the superficial attraction of style and emotion. He flattered no bad passion, disguised no vice in the garb of virtue, trifled with no just and generous principle. While causing us to laugh at folly, and shudder at crime, he still preserves our love for our fellow-beings, and our reverence for ourselves.
Shakespeare was familiar with all beautiful forms and images which, in the midst of his most rugged and tragical scenes, fall like gleams of sunshine on ruins - reminding us of the existence of purer and brighter elements.
These things considered, what wonder is it that the works of Shakespeare, next to the Bible, are the most highly esteemed of all the classics of English literature and the author, himself, the world's greatest dramatist.
The plays of Shakespeare were written by a man who understood the divine mysteries that vivify the soul. Within his matchless poetry are ciphers that clarify and illumine the mind with strength and beauty, and enrich the heart with lessons of sweet and honorable thoughts and actions. Shakespeare gives us, through drama, bountiful examples of every virtue and every vice showing us the rewards of right choice of action and the consequences of wrong. There is no richer or more compelling teaching in literature.
Though controversy still reigns as to the real author of the Shakespearean plays, my research and study over the years has convinced me that Francis Bacon is that author and it is to his honor that I dedicate this collection of his labor of unrequited love.
She in very pity would have helped him in his hard work, but he would not let her, yet he could not keep from her the secret of his love, and she, hearing it, rejoiced.
The Tempest
And therefore am I bold and resolute.
Troilus and Cressida - IV, 4
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Hamlet - I, 3
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway,
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice by thy plea, consider this -
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation; we do pray for mercy,
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy.
The Merchant of Venice - IV, 1
Is the immediate jewel of their souls:
Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed.
Othello - III, 3
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.
As You Like It - II, 1
Persuades when speaking fails.
The Winter's Tale - II, 2
Three things that women hold in hate.
Two Gentlemen of Verona - III, 2
Measure for Measure - III, 1
Hamlet - II, 2
That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat
Of habit's devil, is angel yet in this,
That to the use of actions fair and good
He likewise gives a frock or livery
That aptly is put on: Refrain to-night;
And that shall lend a kind of easiness
To the next abstinence; the next more easy;
For use almost can change the stamp of nature,
And either curb the devil, or throw him out
With wondrous potency.
Hamlet - III, 4
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King.
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Julius Caesar - II, 2
That no king can corrupt.
King Henry VIII - III, 1
We should do when we would; for this 'would' changes,
And hath abatements and delays as many
As there are tongues, are hands, are accidents;
And then this 'should' is like a spendthrift's sigh
That hurts by easing.
Hamlet - IV, 7
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves.
Julius Caesar - I, 2
Shall never find it more.
Antony and Cleopatra - II, 7
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows, and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.
Julius Caesar - IV, 3
That war against your own affections,
And the huge army of the world's desires.
Love's Labor's Lost - I, 1
King Henry V - IV, 1
Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee,
And craves no other tribute at thy hands
But love, fair looks, and true obedience -
Too little payment for so great a debt.
Such duty as the subject owes the prince,
Even such a woman oweth to her husband;
And when she is froward, peevish, sullen, sour,
And not obedient to his honest will,
What is she but a foul contending rebel
And graceless traitor to her loving lord?
I am asham'd that women are so simple
To offer war where they should kneel for peace;
Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway,
When they are bound to serve, love, and obey,
Why are our bodies soft and weak and smooth,
Unapt to toil and trouble in the world,
But that our soft conditions and our hearts
Should well agree with our external parts.
The Taming of the Shrew - V, 2
By that sin fell the angels, how can man then,
The image of his Maker, hope to win by it?
Love thyself last; cherish those hearts that hate thee;
Corruption wins not more than honesty.
Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace,
To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not;
Let all the ends thou aim'st at, be thy country's,
Thy God's, and truth's; then if thou fall'st,
Thou fall'st a blessed martyr!
King Henry VIII - III, 2
Is spotless reputation; that away,
Men are but gilded loam or painted clay.
A jewel in a ten-times barr'd-up chest
Is a bold spirit in a loyal breast.
Mine honour is my life; both grow in one;
Take honour from me, and my life is done:
Then, dear my liege, mine honour let me try;
In that I live, and for that will I die.
King Richard the Second - I, 1