Thyself and thy belongings Are not thine own so proper as to waste Thyself upon thy virtues, they on thee. Heaven doth with us as we with torches do, Not light them for themselves; for if our virtues Did not go forth of us, 't were all alike As if we had them not. Spirits are not finely touch'd But to fine issues, nor Nature never lends The smallest scruple of her excellence But, like a thrifty goddess, she determines Herself the glory of a creditor, Both thanks and use.

Thyself and thy belongings Are not thine own so proper as to waste Thyself upon thy virtues, they on thee. Heaven doth with us as we with torches do, Not light them for themselves; for if our virtues Did not go forth of us, 't were all alike As if we had them not. Spirits are not finely touch'd But to fine issues, nor Nature never lends The smallest scruple of her excellence But, like a thrifty goddess, she determines Herself the glory of a creditor, Both thanks and use.

Source

Familiar Quotations, ninth edition (1905 printing)
Measure for Measure. Act i. Sc. 1.
Read the original context ↗

Attribution confidence

attributed · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified.

Historical coordinate

c. 1590 AD · renaissance
author lifetime midpoint; not composition date.

Rights & edition

Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗

Word-matched topics