“Till now you have gone on and fill’d the time
With all licentious measure, making your wills
The scope of justice; till now myself and such
As slept within the shadow of your power
Have wander’d with our traversed arms and breathed
Our sufferance vainly: now the time is flush,
When crouching marrow in the bearer strong
Cries of itself ‘No more:’ now breathless wrong
Shall sit and pant in your great chairs of ease,
And pursy insolence shall break his wind
With fear and horrid flight.”
(Timon of Athens act 5, sc. 4)
Comments. This call to action is uttered by Alcibiades against the Athenian senators, fathers of numberless wrongs against the citizenry and, in the instance against Timon. The lines could be almost taken as is and applied to just about any revolutionary movement – from that which led to the Declaration of Independence to the “Occupy Wall Street” of today.
On this the fourth of July we may observe that the effort by the United States to seize control of the key strategic regions of the world far surpasses in its scope the “repeated tyrannies of King George” against the Thirteen Colonies decried by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and the other signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Furthermore, the British monarch, they wrote, “has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.” These charges would be just as valid against Obama and his Republican predecessor, George Bush Jr. Millions have been killed as a result of the US military occupations of Iraq, Afghanistan, the drone attacks on Pakistan and Yemen, and the neo-colonial conquest of Libya.
You may wish to take a look at the page describing the book “Your Daily Shakespeare”, 1387 pages filled choc-a-block with over 10,000 situations you may find yourself in or involved with, calling for the perfect Shakespearean repartee that will get you on the stage or at least out of the water. The analytical index is structured so that you can quickly select the best words that fit the situation. And if you like this website why not subscribe (see last menu item to the right)? You will get automatically any new blog as well as any other information and novelty that will be forthcoming, including a system to effortlessly (yes) remember hundreds of Shakespearean quotes by heart while having fun in the process. You can also chat with me – please go to the chat-page. And I promise, no sales calls, trade leads, venomous schemes, hidden plots, Machiavellian conspiracies, commercial ploys, psychological tricks, leads exchanges, barter proposals, suggestions or offers of any kind imaginable (and unimaginable).
In the play. In the play. Alcibiades addresses the dishonest Athenian senators. ‘Pursy’= ‘fat’ referring to the excess weight of the Athenian Senators.
Image Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/09/occupy-wall-street/100159/