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If you cannot understand my argument,
and declare ``It's Greek to me'', you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to
be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall
your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in
anger; if your wish is farther to the thought; if your lost property has
vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused
to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast
and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in
a pickle, if you have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted
on fair play, slept not one wink, stood on ceremony, danced attendance (on your
lord and master), laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold
comfort or too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days or lived in a
fool's paradise -why, be that as it may, the more fool you , for it is a
foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting
Shakespeare; if you think it is early days and clear out bag and baggage, if
you think it is high time and that that is the long and short of it, if you
believe that the game is up and that truth will out even if it involves your
own flesh and blood, if you lie low till the crack of doom because you suspect
foul play, if you have your teeth set on edge (at one fell swoop) without rhyme
or reason, then - to give the devil his due - if the truth were known (for
surely you have a tongue in your head) you are quoting Shakespeare; even if you
bid me good riddance and send me packing, if you wish I was dead as a
door-nail, if you think I am an eyesore, a laughing stock, the devil incarnate,
a stony-hearted villain, bloody-minded or a blinking idiot, then - by Jove! O
Lord! Tut tut! For goodness' sake! What the dickens! But me no buts! - it is
all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare.
Bernard Levin
Bernard Levin
PS
Then what was the English language
before Shakespeare?
