William Shakespeare Quotes
Because I cannot flatter and look fair,
Smile in men's faces, smooth, deceive, and cog,
Duck with French nods and apish courtesy,
I must be held a rancorous enemy.
Shakespeare, William. Richard III. The Riverside Shakespeare, edited by G. Blakemore Evans, 2nd ed., Houghton Mifflin, 1997, act 1, sc. 3, ll. 47-50.
This is one of the proverbs of King Solomon of the Jews, son of King David. This quotation urges a leader to avoid advisors and appointees who do not tell the truth.
William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. They also continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
