Shakespeare.—King Henry VIII., Prol. Line 5.
He hath a tear for pity, and a hand
Open as day for melting charity.
Shakespeare.—King Henry IV. Part II. Act IV. Scene 4. (The King to Clarence, speaking of his son, Prince Henry.)
And mourn’d till pity’s self be dead.
Collins.—Dirge in Cymbeline, Verse 6.
PLAGUE.—A plague upon you all !
Shakespeare.—King Richard III. Act I. Scene 3. (To Lord Grey.)
A plague o’ both your houses.
Shakespeare.—Romeo and Juliet, Act III. Scene 1. (Mercutio after being hurt by Tybalt.)
A plague o’ these pickle herrings !
Shakespeare.—Twelfth Night, Act I. Scene 5. (Sir Toby to Olivia.)
PLATO.—It must be so—Plato, thou reasonest well—
Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,
This
longing after immortality?
Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror,
Of falling into nought? Why
shrinks the soul
Back on herself, and startles at destruction?
’Tis the Divinity that stirs within us;
’Tis Heaven
itself that points out an hereafter,
And intimates Eternity to man.
Addison.—Cato, Act V. Scene 1.
PLAY.—Five acts are just the measure of a play.
Roscommon.—Horace’s Art of Poetry.
PLAY.— The play’s the thing,
Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.
Shakespeare.—Hamlet, Act II. Scene 2. (His reflections on the players and himself.)
With his romances, and his d—’d plays, and his Odyssey,
Popes, and a parcel of fellows not worth a
groat.
Murphy.—The Apprentice, Act I.