Skip to content

So soon kills not the basilisk with sight,
The viper's tooth is not so venomous,
The adder's tongue not half so dangerous,
As they that bear the shadow of delight,
Who chain blind youths in trammels of their hair,
Till waste brings woe, and sorrow hastes despair.

— Robert Greene Groatsworth of Wit (1592)

Another quote →

More quotes by Robert Greene

Ah Franion, treason is loved of many, but the traitor hated of all: unjust offences may for a time escape without danger, but never without revenge.

Pandosto (1588)

Love is a lock that linketh noble minds,
Faith is the key that shuts the spring of love.

Alcida (1617)

A noble mind disdains to hide his head,
And let his foes triumph in his overthrow.

Alphonsus (1590)

My God commands, whose power no power resists.

A Looking-Glass for London (1590)

Men when they lust can many fancies feign.

Perimedes (1588)

All Robert Greene quotes →

Attribution

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