… clay and clay differs in dignity,
Whose dust is both alike.” (Cymbeline, act 4, sc.1)
Tips for Use. Use it as a philosophical argument to support your anti-leftist and anti-socialist views. Less awkwardly the quote can apply to situations, or people, or even things where it is important to emphasize the difference rather than the similarity. Even, possibly, during an interview or verbal exchange where your counterpart tries to say that there is no qualitative or substantial difference between you and others.
As for the anti-socialist views, this is said with the proverbial tongue-in-cheek. The meaning and spirit of the quote is inculcated into the masses at large by the corporate media, as well as legions of sycophants, flatterers, ruffians and similar, to justify the theft of the commonwealth by a few (the 1%) to the detriment of the many. It is what drove the eminently intelligent George W. Bush to say, “Some people are smarter than others”, to justify the rape of the working class and the dismantling of the middle class, sacrificed on the altar of the so-called “market economy”.
Smart people indeed, including George W. Bush, who had difficulty in stringing a few coherent words together – but had no qualms in destroying countries and killing millions of people (in Iraq alone 1.3 million) to effect “regime changes”.
It is difficult for people of George W. Bush’s ilk to accept that clay and clay may differ in dignity, but that is no excuse to destroy their dignity by stealing the wealth of a nation to satisfy the greed of a few.
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Of course, if you acquire the book “Your Daily Shakespeare” you will not only enjoy it but you will find it very useful. The quote in this post and more than ten thousand others will lead you to find the words that perfectly strengthen your argument(s). After all Shakespeare wrote them, I simply extracted, structured and compiled them so as to make Shakespeare very “user friendly” as they say. And if you wish I will even sign the book. But this is the extent of any “sales” effort, call or solicitation.
In the play. Imogen escaped from the court and from her evil stepmother. Imogen is wearing a man’s disguise and has been quickly adopted by the two brothers Arviragus and Belarius as another brother. Unbeknown to her, she is actually her sister, but this will be revealed at the end of the play.