Quote#Wisdom
He kept no Christmas-house for once a year
Quote byRobert Greene · 1558–1592
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: A Maiden's Dream (1591); Dyce, p. 280.
English (original)
He kept no Christmas-house for once a year; Each day his boards were fill'd with lordly fare: He fed a rout of yeomen with his cheer, Nor was his bread and beef kept in with care: His wine and beer to strangers were not spare; And yet beside to all that hunger griev'd His gates were ope, and they were there reliev'd.
— Robert Greene
More from Robert Greene
Fie upon such as say, "Young saints, old devils"! It is no doubt a devilish and damnable saying; for what is not bent in the cradle, will hardly be bowed in the saddle.
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My God commands, whose power no power resists.
For as one star another far exceeds, So souls in heaven are placèd by their deeds.
At last he hath leaped at a daisy, with a halter about his neck.
Marry, because you have drank with the King, And the King hath so graciously pledg'd you, You shall no more be call'd shoemakers, But you and yours, to the world's end, Shall be call'd the Trade of the Gentle Craft.