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Explore 521 quotes from the following medium: Play

All theory, dear friend, is grey, but the golden tree of actual life springs ever green.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Faust

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Topic

Life

Speaker

Mephistopheles

Author

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Source

Faust

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play) Tragedy

Language

German

Time

1808 1800s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang. "Studiezimmer [Study Room]." Faust. Eine Tragödie [Faust: A Tragedy]. Tübingen: J. G. Cotta’schen Buchhandlung, 1808.

Current Citation

Von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang. "Study Room." Faust, Part One, edited by David Luke. Oxford University Press, 2008.

Mere cleverness is not wisdom.

Euripides

Bacchae

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Topic

Wisdom Cleverness

Speaker

Chorus

Author

Euripides

Source

Bacchae

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Language

Greek

Time

405 BC 400s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Euripides. The Bacchae. 405 BC, l. 395.

Current Citation

Euripides. "The Baccae." Euripedes V: Bacchae, Iphigenia in Aulis, The Cyclops, Rhesus, translated by Richard Lattimore, et. al. University of Chicago Press, 2013, l. 395.

For God hates utterly
The bray of bragging tongues.

Sophocles

Antigone

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Topic

Bragging and boasting

Speaker

Chorus

Author

Sophocles

Source

Antigone

Medium

Play

Genre

Greek tragedy Tragedy (play)

Language

Greek

Time

442 BC 440s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Sophocles. Ἀντιγόνη [Antigone]. c. 441 BC, Festival of Dionysus, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Sophocles. "Antigone." The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone, translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. Mariner Books, 2002.

For so work the honeybees,
Creatures that by a rule in nature teach
The act of order to a peopled kingdom.
They have a king and officers of sorts,
Where some like magistrates correct at home,
Others like merchants venture trade abroad,
Others like soldiers armèd in their stings
Make boot upon the summer’s velvet buds,
Which pillage they with merry march bring home
To the tent royal of their emperor,
Who, busied in his majesty, surveys
The singing masons building roofs of gold.

William Shakespeare

Henry V

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Topic

Bees

Speaker

Bishop of Canterbury

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Henry V

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play)

Language

English

Time

1599 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Henry V. The Lord Chamberlain's Men, c. 1599, The Curtain, Shoreditch, London, England, UK, act 1, sc. 2.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Henry the Fifth." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 1, sc. 2.

Zeus, author of all, worker of all! For what is brought to pass for mortal men save by will of Zeus? What herein is not wrought of god?

Aeschylus

Agamemnon

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Topic

God as first cause God and man God

Speaker

Chorus

Author

Aeschylus

Source

Agamemnon

Medium

Play

Genre

Greek tragedy Tragedy (play)

Language

Greek

Time

458 BC 450s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aeschylus. Agamemnon. 458 BCE, The Dionysia, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Aeschylus. "Agamemnon." The Oresteia: Agamemnon; The Libation Bearers; The Eumenides, edited and translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Classics, 1984.

I am as poor as Job, my lord, but not so patient.

William Shakespeare

Henry IV, Part 2

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Topic

Impatience

Speaker

Falstaff

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Henry IV, Part 2

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play)

Statement Type

Biblical reference

Language

English

Time

1597 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Henry IV, Part 2. The Lord Chamberlain's Men, c. 1597, The Theatre, London, England, UK, act 1, sc. 2.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Second Part of Henry the Fourth." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 1, sc. 2.

The happiest life consists in ignorance.

Sophocles

Ajax

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Topic

Ignorance is bliss Ignorance Happiness

Speaker

Ajax

Author

Sophocles

Source

Ajax

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragic play Greek theater

Language

Greek

Time

442 BC 440s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Sophocles. Αἴας [Ajax]. c. 441 BCE, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Sophocles. "Ajax." Electra and Other Plays, translated by David Raeburn. Penguin Classics, 2008.

Against self-slaughter
There is a prohibition so divine
That cravens my weak hand.

William Shakespeare

Cymbeline

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Topic

Suicide Taboos

Speaker

Imogen

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Cymbeline

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1611 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Cymbeline. 1611, Blackfriars Theatre, London, England, UK, act 3, sc. 4.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Cymbeline." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 3, sc. 4.

Let me have war, say I. It exceeds peace as far as day does night. It's sprightly waking, audible, and full of vent. Peace is a very apoplexy, lethargy; mulled, deaf, sleepy, insensible.

William Shakespeare

Coriolanus

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Topic

War and peace War Peace

Speaker

First Serving Man

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Coriolanus

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragedy (play)

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Coriolanus." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 4, sc. 5.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Coriolanus." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 4, sc. 5.

My crown is in my heart, not on my head;
Not decked with diamonds and Indian stones,
Nor to be seen. My crown is called content;
A crown it is that seldom kings enjoy.

William Shakespeare

Henry VI, Part 3

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Topic

Happiness

Speaker

King Henry VI

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Henry VI, Part 3

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play)

Language

English

Time

1595 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Henry the Sixth, Part 3. London: Thomas Millington, 1595, act 3, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Third Part of Henry the Sixth." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 3, sc. 1.

All that glisters is not gold—
Often have you heard that told.

William Shakespeare

The Merchant of Venice

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Topic

Looks are deceiving Appearance vs. reality Gold

Speaker

Morocco

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

The Merchant of Venice

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1598 1590s 16th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. c. 1598, The Theatre, London, England, UK, act 2, sc. 7.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Merchant of Venice." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 2, sc. 7.

These impossible women! How they do get around us! The poet was right: can't live with them, or without them!

Aristophanes

Lysistrata

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Topic

Women Gender relations Men and women

Author

Aristophanes

Source

Lysistrata

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedic play Greek theater

Language

Greek

Time

411 BC 410s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aristophanes. Λυσιστράτη [Lysistrata]. c. 411 BC, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Aristophanes. "Lysistrata." Lysistrata and Other Plays. Penguin Classics, 2008.

He is wise who tries everything before arms.

Terence

The Eunuch

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Topic

Avoiding war War

Speaker

Thraso

Author

Terence

Source

The Eunuch

Medium

Play

Language

Latin

Time

161 BC 160s BC 2nd century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Terence. Eunuchus [The Eunuch]. 161 BC, Megalesian Games, Rome, Italy, act 4, sc. 7.

Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.

William Shakespeare

The Tempest

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Topic

Suffering Unhappiness

Speaker

Trinculo

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

The Tempest

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Tempest." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 2, sc. 2.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Tempest." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 2, sc. 2.

My tongue swore, but my mind's unsworn.

Euripides

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Topic

Promises

Speaker

Hippolytus

Author

Euripides

Source

Hippolytus

Medium

Play

Genre

Tragic play Greek theater

Language

Greek

Time

428 BC 420s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Euripides. Ἱππόλυτος [Hippolytus]. 428 BC, City Dionysia festival, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Euripides. "Hippolytus." Euripides I: Alcestis, Medea, The Children of Heracles, Hippolytus, edited and translated by Richard Lattimore, et. al. University of Chicago Press, 2013.

Our ship of state, which recent storms have threatened to destroy, has come safely to harbor at last.

Sophocles

Antigone

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Topic

Political upheaval

Speaker

Creon

Author

Sophocles

Source

Antigone

Medium

Play

Genre

Greek tragedy Tragedy (play)

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

Greek

Time

442 BC 440s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Sophocles. Ἀντιγόνη [Antigone]. c. 441 BC, Festival of Dionysus, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Sophocles. "Antigone." The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone, translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. Mariner Books, 2002.

Then let thy love be younger than thyself,
Or thy affection cannot hold the bent.
For women are as roses, whose fair flower,
Being once displayed, doth fall that very hour.

William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night, Or What You Will

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Topic

Beauty fades

Speaker

Duke Orsino

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Twelfth Night, Or What You Will

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play) Romantic comedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1602 1600s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night, Or What You Will. 1602, Middle Temple Hall, London, England, UK, act 2, sc. 4.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Twelfth Night." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 2, sc. 4.

He is the half part of a blessèd man,
Left to be finishèd by such as she,
And she a fair divided excellence,
Whose fullness of perfection lies in him.

William Shakespeare

The Life and Death of King John

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Topic

Relationships Men and women

Speaker

First Citizen

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

The Life and Death of King John

Medium

Play

Genre

History (play)

Language

English

Time

1616 1610s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Life and Death of King John." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 2, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "King John." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 2, sc. 1.

Moods don't last.
It is their chief charm.

Oscar Wilde

A Woman of No Importance

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Topic

Moods

Speaker

Mrs. Allonby and Lord Illingworth

Author

Oscar Wilde

Source

A Woman of No Importance

Medium

Play

Language

English

Time

1893 1890s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Wilde, Oscar. A Woman of No Importance. 1893, Haymarket Theatre, London, England, UK, act 1.

Current Citation

Wilde, Oscar. "A Woman of No Importance." The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays. Oxford University Press, 2008, act 1.

Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.

William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night, Or What You Will

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Topic

Love

Speaker

Olivia

Author

William Shakespeare

Source

Twelfth Night, Or What You Will

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play) Romantic comedy (play)

Language

English

Time

1602 1600s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night, Or What You Will. 1602, Middle Temple Hall, London, England, UK, act 3, sc. 1.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Twelfth Night." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 3, sc. 1.