SOME SHAKESPEARE’S THOUGHTS (PART TWO}

 

                SOME SHAKESPEARE’S THOUGHTS

                                                (PART TWO}           

            Part one of this series was posted on March 21. It also carried a brief introduction. More parts will follow from tomorrow onward.

 

1.     My books and instruments shall be my company.---Taming of the Shrew, Act 1.

 

2.     Me, poor man, my library/ Was dukedom large enough.---Tempest, Act 1.

 

3.     Brevity is the soul of wit,/And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,/I will be brief. ----Hamlet, Act 2.

 

4.      I am sure care is an enemy to life.----Twelfth Night, Act 1.

 

5.     Pitchers have ears.---Richard 111, Act 2.

 

6.     Abstinence engenders maladies.---Love’s Labour Lost, Act 4.

 

7.     A giving hand, though foul, shall have fair praise. ---Love’s Labour Lost, Act 4.

 

8.     A dying coal revives with wind.---From poem Venus and Adonis, Line 338

 

9.     It is a wise father that knows his own child.---Merchant of Venice, Act 2.

 

10.                        Comfort is in heaven; and we are on the earth,/Where nothing lives but crosses, cares and grief. ---Richard II, Act 2.

 

11.                         The empty vessel makes the greatest sound.---Henry V, Act 4.

 

12.                        Our strong arms be our conscience, swords our law1.----Richard III.

 

13.                         It is virtuous to be constant in any undertaking. ----Measure for Measure, Act 3.

 

14.                         Men are April when they woo, December when they wed: maids are May when they are maids, but the sky changes when they are wives.---As You Like It, Act 4.

 

15.                         Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.----Henry IV, 2^nd Part, Act 3.

 

16.                         I must be cruel only to be kind.---Hamlet, Act 3.

 

17.                         He thinks too much, such men are dangerous.---Julius Caesar, Act 1.

 

18.                         Cowards die many times before their deaths;/ The valiant never taste of death but once.-----Julius Caesar, Act 2.

 

19.                         As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods;/They kill us for their sports. ---King Lear, Act 4.

 

20.                        Holy men at their death have good inspirations.----Merchant of Venice, Act 1.

 

21.                         He that dies pays all debts.---Tempest, Act 3.

 

                        ********* (To be continued).

G.R.Kanwal

22 March 2026

 

WORLD POETRY DAY

 

                                WORLD POETRY DAY  

            “’World  Poetry Day” is celebrated on 21^st March every year. It was declared by The United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization in 1999 to promote the reading, writing, publishing, and teaching of poetry throughout the world with the aim of supporting linguistic diversity.

            Poetry is defined as “a form of literary art that uses aesthetic, rhythmic, and often metaphorical language to evoke emotion, create vivid imagery, and explore complex ideas beyond literal meaning.”

            Some synonyms of poetry are : verse, metrical composition, poesy, rhyme, song, lyric and  ditty.

             According to Matthew Arnold (1822-1888), the supreme subject matter of poetry is “criticism of life” conducted under the laws of poetic beauty and truth. He further says: Poetry must deal with serious, noble, and universal human actions, providing consolation and high intellectual/spiritual purpose rather than merely amusing the reader.

            William Wordsworth (1770-1850) has a different view. He said in his Preface to Lyrical Ballads poetry should derive its subject matter from common life, specifically rustic and humble life. He laid emphasis on simple, rural subjects, passionate human experiences. There should also be a deep, spiritual connection to nature in order to express profound emotions in the everyday language of ordinary people.

            William Wordsworth also defined poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings. He further adds: It takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.

            The English divine F.W.Robertson (1816-1853 ) says that the office of poetry is not to make us think accurately; but feel truly.

            To conclude, here are a few memorable  quotes:

1.     Poets utter great and wise things which the do not themselves understand.---Greek philosopher Plato (427-347 B.C,).  

2.     Truth shines the brighter clad in verse.—English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744).

3.     In poetry which is all fable, truth still is the perfection.----English philosopher Anthony Ashley Cooper Shaftesbury (1671-1713).

4.     You arrive at truth through poetry; I arrive at poetry through truth.---French moralist  Joseph Joubert (1751-1824).  

5.     As nightingales feed on glow-worms, so poets live upon the living light of nature and beauty.---American Journalist Gamallel Bailey  (1807- 1859) .

                                                ********

G. R. Kanwal

21 March 2026

 

SOME SHAKESPEARE’S THOUGHTS (PART ONE)

 

                SOME SHAKESPEARE’S THOUGHTS

                                                (PART ONE)

            The English poet and playwright William Shakespeare was born in Stratford –upon- Avon, a town in England, on 23 April 1564 and died there on the same date in 1616.

            He is known as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist.

            His writings are for all humanity and for all ages.

            According to the German polymath Johan Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) he is a great psychologist and whatever can be known of the heart of man may be found in his plays.

            Shakespeare authored 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and two narrative poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. Another poem is titled Passionate Pilgrim.

            Given below are some of his famous thoughts as Part One. More parts will follow.

 

1.     If the great gods be just, they shall assist the deeds of justest men, ---Antony and Cleopatra, Act 2.

 

2.     An act has three branches; it is, to act, to do, and to perform.---Hamlet, Act 4

 

3.     Sweet are the uses of adversity/ Which like the toad, ugly and venomous/ Wears yet a precious jewel in his head. ----As You Like It, Act 2.

 

4.     Men shut their doors against a setting sun.---Timon of Athens, Act 1.

 

5.     An old man is twice a child.---Hamlet, Act 2.

 

6.     Fling away ambition:/By that sin fell the angels: how can man then,/The image of his Maker, hope to win by it? ----Henry VIII, Act 3.

 

7.     Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.---Julius Caesar, Act 3.

 

8.     Men in rage strike those that wish them best.---Othello, Act 2.

 

9.     One may smile, and smile, and be a villain.---Hamlet, Act 1.

 

10.                         All that glitters is not gold;/Gilded tombs do worms unfold.---Merchant of Venice, Act 1.

 

11.                         Men should be what they seem, ----Othello, Act 2.

 

12.                         O place! O form! /How oft dost thou with thy case, thy habit,/Wrench awe from fools, and tie the wiser souls/To thy false seeming! Measure for Measure, Act 2.

 

13.                         Beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold.---As You Like It, Act 1.

 

14.                         Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good;/A shining glass that vadeth suddenly:/A flower that dies when first it begins to bud;/ A brittle glass that is broken presently:/A doubtful good, a gloss, a glass, a flower,/Lost, vaded, broken, dead within an hour. ----Line 169, From the poem Passionate Pilgrim.

 

15.                         Let her beauty be her wedding-dower.---Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act 3.

                                                                        (TO BE CONTINUED)

 

G. R. Kanwal

20^th March 2026

                          

 

LEARNING FROM FRANCIS BACON (FIFTH & FINAL PART)

 

            LEARNING FROM FRANCIS BACON

                                          (FIFTH & FINAL PART)

                   Parts one to four were posted from 15th to 18^th March.

 

1.     No body can be healthful without exercise, neither natural body or politic: and certainly, to a kingdom or estate, a just and honourable war is the true exercise.

 

2.For the passions and studies of the mind, avoid envy, anxious fears, anger fretting inwards, subtle and knotty inquisitions, joys, and exhilarations in excess, sadness not communicated.

 

3.     Entertain hopes, mirth rather than joy, variety of delights, rather than surfeit of them; wonder and admiration, and therefore novelties; studies that fill the mind with splendid and illustrious objects; as histories , fables, and contemplations of nature.

 

4.      Suspicions amongst thoughts are like bats among birds, they ever fly by twilight.

 

5.     A good continued speech, without a good speech or interlocution, shows slowneaa; and a good reply, or second speech, without a good settled speech, showeth shallowness and weakness.

 

6.     Ambition is like choler; which is an humour that maketh men active, earnest, full of alacrity, and stirring, if it be not stopped; but if it be stopped , and cannot have his way , it becometh adust, and thereby malign and venomous. (Adust means gloomy).  

 

7.       A man’s nature is best perceived in privateness; for there is no affection; in passion, for that putteth a man out of his                       precepts; and in a new case or experiment, for there custom leaveth him.

 

8.     Men’s thoughts are much according to their inclination; their discourse and speeches according to their learning and infused opinions; but their deeds are after as they have been accustomed.

 

9.     A man that is young in years may be old in hours, if he have lost no time. But that happenth rarely.

 

10.                         Men of age object too much, consult too long, adventure too little, repent too soon, and seldom drive business home to the full period, but content themselves with a mediocrity of success.

 

11.                        Virtue is like a rich stone, best plain set : and surely virtue is best in a body that is comely, though not of delicate features; and that hath rather dignity of presence, than beauty of aspect.

 

12.                         God Almighty first planted a garden; and, indeed it is the purest of human pleasures.

 

13.                         There is little friendship in the world, and least of all between equals, which was wont to be magnified. That that is, is between superior and inferior, whose fortunes may comprehend the one the other.

 

14.                         Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man; and writing an exact man; natural philosophy deep; moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend.

 

15.                         Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider.

 

16.                         Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested.

 

17.                        Some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously ; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. Some books may be read by deputy, and extracts made by others.

 

18.                         Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral,  grave; logic and rhetoric , able to contend..

 

19.                         Praise is the reflection of virtue, but it is as the glass to the body, which giveth the reflection.   

 

20.                         To seek to extinguish anger utterly is but a bravery of the stoics.

 

21.                         If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.

 

22.                        Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.

                                                ******

To conclude with his famous quotes :  

 

(1). Knowledge is power.

 

(2) The naked truth is always better than the best dressed lie.  

 

 

G.R.Kanwal

19^th March 2026

  

LEARNING FROM FRANCIS BACOM (PART FOUR)

 

LEARNING FROM FRANCIS BACOM

                                          (PART FOUR) 

            Part one to three were posted on 15^th, 16^th, and 17^th March.

 

1.     Causes and motives of seditions are innovation in religion, taxes, alteration of laws and customs, breaking of privilege, general oppression, advancement of unworthy persons, strangers, dearths, disbanded soldiers, faction grown desperate, and whatsoever in offending people joineth  and knitteth them in a common cause.

 

2.     It is true that a little philosophy inclineth Man’s mind to atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth Man’s mind about to religion.

 

3.     They that deny a God destroy Man’s nobility, for certainly Man is of kin to the beasts by his body; and if he be not of kin to God by his spirit, he is base and ignoble creature.

 

4.     Travel in the youngest sort, is a part of education: in the elder, a part of experience. He that travelleth into a country, before he hath some entrance unto the language, goeth to school, not to a travel.

 

5.     As to secrecy; princes are not bound to communicate all matters with all counsellors, but may extract and select.

 

6.     An ant is a wise creature for itself, but it is a shrewd thing in an orchard  or garden. And certainly men that are great lovers of themselves waste the public. Divide with reason between self-love and society.

 

7.     Wisdom for a man’s self is, in many branches thereof, a depraved thing. It is the wisdom of rats, that will be sure to leave a house somewhat before it falls.

 

8.     A principal fruit of friendship is the ease and discharge of the fullness and swellings of the heart, which passions of all kinds do call and induce.

 

9.     A man hath a body, and that body is confined to a place; where friendship is, all offices of life are, as it were, granted to him and his deputy.

 

10.                        Riches are for the spending, and spending for honour and good actions; therefore extraordinary expense must be limited by the worth of the occasion; for voluntary undoing may be as well for a man’s country as for kingdom of heaven.

                                                            *******

G.R. Kanwal

18^th March 2026

                    

LEARNING FROM FRANCIS BACON (PART THREE)

 

LEARNING FROM FRANCIS BACON           

                                                                (PART THREE)

            For introduction see Part One along with some extracts from the  Essays. Part Two carries more extracts. Today in Part Three some quotations  are being further added. This process will continue for further  parts.

 

1.     Unmarried men are best friends, best masters, best servants ; but not always best subjects. For they are light to run away; and almost all fugitives are of that condition.

 

2.     Wives are young men’s mistresses, companions for middle age, and old men’s nurses; so as a man may have a quarrel to marry, when he will.

 

3.     There is in man’s nature a secret inclination and motion towards love of others, which, if it be not spent upon someone or a few, doth naturally spread itself towards many, and maketh men become humane and charitable, as it is seen sometime in friars.

 

4.     Nuptial love maketh mankind; friendly love perfecteth it; but wanton love corrupteth and embaseth it.  

 

5.     Men in great place are thrice servants; servants of the sovereign or state, servants of fame, and servants of business. So as they have no freedom, neither in their persons, nor in their actions, nor in their times.

 

6.     It is a strange desire to seek power and to lose liberty : or to seek power over others and to lose power over a man’s self.

 

7.     The vices of authority are chiefly four : delays, corruption, roughness, and facility.

 

8.     It is most true that was anciently spoken. A place showeth the man. And it showeth some to the better, and some to the worse.

 

9.     All rising to great place is by a winding stair; and if there be factions, it is good to side a man’s self while he is in the rising, and to balance himself when he is placed.

 

10.                          This is well to be weighed, that boldness is ever blind, for it seeth not dangers and inconveniences. Therefore, it is ill in counsel, good in execution.

                                                            *******

G. R. Kanwal

17^th March 2026

                                   

LEARNING FROM FRANCIS BACON (PART TWO)

 

          LEARNING FROM FRANCIS BACON

                                                (PART TWO)           

PART ONE which was posted yesterday (15^th March 2026) carried Bacon’s introduction and some quotes from his Esssays. Today’s post carries more quotes from the same book  packed with theoretical as also  practical wisdom.  

 

1.     Revenge is a kind of wild justice, which the more man’s nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out.

 

2.     Certainly, in taking revenge a man is but even with his enemy, but in passing it over, he is superior; for it is a prince’s part to pardon: and Solomon, I am sure, saith, It is the glory of man to pass by an offence.

 

(Solomon –c.970-931 BCE -- was a Jewish prophet, portrayed as wealthy, wise, powerful, and dedicated follower of God.)    

 

3.     Good things which belong to prosperity are to be wished; but the good things that belong to adversity are to be admired.

 

4.     The joys of parents are secret, and so are their griefs and fears.

 

5.     Children sweeten labours, but they make misfortunes more  bitter; they increase the care of life, but they mitigate the remembrance of death.

 

6.     He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief.  

 

7.     Certainly the best works, and of greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried  or childless men; which, both in affection and means, have married and endowed the public.

 

8.      Wives are young men’s mistresses, companions for middle age, and old men’s nurses; so as a man may have a quarrel to marry, when he will. But yet he was reputed one of the wise men that made answer to the question when a man should marry ---A young man not yet, an elder man not at all.

 

9.     A man that hath no virtue in himself ever envieth virtue in others. For men’s minds will either feed upon their own good, or upon others’ evil; and who wanteth the one will prey upon the other.

 

10.                         Men of noble birth are noted to be envious towards new men when they rise.

                                                ********                (To be continued)

G. R. Kanwal

16^th  March 2026