Philip Massinger Quotes

1583–1640 England

Philip Massinger (1583 – 17 March 1640) was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor are noted for their satire, realism, and political and social themes.

England
Playwrights

Also known as: Massinger, Philip

Random Philip Massinger quote

41 quotes

Virtue, if not in action, is a vice,
And, when we move not forward, we go backward.

Ill news, madam,
Are swallow-winged, but what's good
Walks on crutches.

Quiet night that brings
Rest to the labourer, is the outlaw's day,
In which he rises early to do wrong,
And when his work is ended, dares not sleep.

The Guardian (1633)

Giants in
Their promises, but those obtained, weak pigmies
In their performance.

Great Duke of Florence (1627)

And, to all married men, be this a caution,
Which they should duly tender as their life,
Neither to doat too much, nor doubt a wife.

I in my own house am an emperor,
And will defend what's mine.

This many-headed monster,
The giddy multitude.

The Roman Actor (1626)

Get me some French tailor
To new-create you.

What a fine man
Hath your tailor made you!

I have play'd the fool, the gross fool, to believe
The bosom of a friend will hold a secret
Mine own could not contain.

Some undone widow sits upon mine arm,
And takes away the use of it; and my sword,
Glued to my scabbard with wronged orphans' tears,
Will not be drawn.

A New Way to pay Old Debts (1625)

Cheerful looks make every dish a feast.

What a sea
Of melting ice I walk on!

And, but herself, admits no parallel.

Factions among yourselves; preferring such
To offices and honors, as ne'er read
The elements of saving policy;
But deeply skilled in all the principles
That usher to destruction.

As if thou e'er wert angry
But with thy tailor! and yet that poor shred
Can bring more to the making up of a man,
Than can be hoped from thee; thou art his creature;
And did he not, each morning, new create thee,
Thou'dst stink and be forgotten.

Great men,
Till they have gained their ends, are giants in
Their promises, but, those obtained, weak pigmies
In their performance. And it is a maxim
Allowed among them, so they may deceive,
They may swear anything; for the queen of love,
As they hold constantly, does never punish,
But smile, at lovers' perjuries.

He
That kills himself to avoid misery, fears it,
And, at the best, shows but a bastard valour.
This life's a fort committed to my trust,
Which I must not yield up till it be forc'd.
—Nor will I. He's not valiant that dares die,
But he that boldly bears calamity.

We, that would be known
The father of our people, in our study
And vigilance for their safety, must, not change
Their ploughshares into swords, and force them from
The secure shade of their own vines, to be
Scorched with the flames of war.

But in our Sanazarro 'tis not so,
He being pure and tried gold; and any stamp
Of grace, to make him current to the world,
The duke is pleased to give him, will add honour
To the great bestower; for he, though allow'd
Companion to his master, still preserves
His majesty in full lustre.

Great Duke of Florence (1627)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Philip Massinger (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.