The world is still deceived with ornament.
In law, what plea so tainted and corrupt,
But being seasoned with a gracious voice,
Obscures the show of evil? In religion,
What damned error but some sober brow
Will bless it, and approve it with a text,
Hiding the grossness with fair ornament?
There is no vice so simple but assumes
Some mark of virtue on his outward parts.
--Bassanio, in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (3.2.74-82)
Shakespeare was truly an enlightened person.
ReplyDeleteI'm not one to make New Year's resolutions, but at the beginning of this year I decided I would read through all of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets, even the works I had already read either for pleasure or for classwork. It has been very rewarding!
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