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Hence commerce springs, the venal interchange
Of all that human art or Nature yield;
Which wealth should purchase not, but want demand,
And natural kindness hasten to supply
From the full fountain of its boundless love,
Forever stifled, drained and tainted now.
Commerce! beneath whose poison-breathing shade
No solitary virtue dares to spring.

— Percy Bysshe Shelley Queen Mab (1813)

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More quotes by Percy Bysshe Shelley

The sunlight clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea:
What are all these kissings worth
If thou kiss not me?

Love's Philosophy (1819)

The king ...
like the vulgar, thinks, feels, acts, and lives
Just as his father did; the unconquered powers
Of precedent and custom interpose
Between a king and virtue.

Queen Mab (1813)

Honour sits smiling at the sale of truth.

Queen Mab (1813)

Familiar acts are beautiful through love.

The lone couch of his everlasting sleep.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Percy Bysshe Shelley (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.