Measure for Measure Famous Quotes

Our doubts are traitors And make us lose the good we oft might win By fearing to attempt.

Lucio to Isabella in Act 1, Scene 4, urging her to petition Angelo for her brother's life — the observation about doubt as self-sabotage is entirely correct, which makes it odd coming from a man who is mostly unreliable.

But man, proud man, Drest in a little brief authority, Most ignorant of what he's most assured.

Isabella to Angelo in Act 2, Scene 2, making the case for mercy — 'a little brief authority' is the phrase that has survived because it names the gap between the power someone holds and the understanding they actually have.

O, it is excellent To have a giant's strength; but it is tyrannous To use it like a giant.

Isabella to Angelo in Act 2, Scene 2, arguing that power is not the same as the right to use it without limit — the distinction between having authority and deploying it humanely.

The tempter or the tempted, who sins most? Ha! Not she: nor doth she tempt.

Angelo alone in Act 2, Scene 2, after Isabella has left — the question he is asking himself has an obvious answer, and he keeps talking to avoid reaching it.

Most dangerous Is that temptation that doth goad us on To sin in loving virtue.

Angelo in Act 2, Scene 2, diagnosing his own situation — he is attracted to Isabella because of her goodness, which makes the attraction doubly corrupting. The logic is correct and does not stop him.

The law hath not been dead, though it hath slept.

Angelo to Isabella in Act 2, Scene 2, defending his decision to enforce the fornication law despite years of lax administration — the law's dormancy does not, he argues, constitute a pardon.

Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.

Escalus in Act 2, Scene 1, observing Viennese justice in action — the play's most compressed statement of its central paradox, delivered by a secondary character in passing.

Be absolute for death; either death or life Shall thereby be the sweeter.

The Duke (disguised as a friar) to Claudio in Act 3, Scene 1, before his supposed execution — the advice is to stop fearing death, which will make both living and dying easier. Claudio finds this less comforting than the Duke intends.

Ay, but to die, and go we know not where; To lie in cold obstruction and to rot.

Claudio to Isabella in Act 3, Scene 1, after she has told him she cannot save him without sacrificing her honour — the speech is his most honest moment, and it makes the Duke's preceding comfort look inadequate.

The miserable have no other medicine But only hope.

Claudio at the start of Act 3, Scene 1, before the Duke's speech on death — two lines that state his position exactly. He is about to die. Hope is all he has. It is not much.

Virtue is bold, and goodness never fearful.

The Duke to Isabella in Act 3, Scene 1, before explaining his plan involving Mariana — the assertion is both comfort and instruction. Whether the Duke has earned the right to say this by this point in the play is a reasonable question.

O, what may man within him hide, Though angel on the outward side!

The Duke in Act 3, Scene 2, having discovered Angelo's true nature — a line that fits Angelo perfectly, and less perfectly the Duke himself, who has been hiding his own identity inside a friar's habit for two acts.

For truth is truth To the end of reckoning.

Mariana in Act 5, Scene 1, insisting on her testimony when the Duke (still in disguise) seems to dismiss it — the line refuses to accept that power can redefine fact.

Having waste ground enough, Shall we desire to raze the sanctuary And pitch our evils there?

Isabella to Angelo in Act 2, Scene 2, arguing that there is enough lawlessness in Vienna already without pursuing a case like her brother's — the sanctuary metaphor argues that law should protect, not demolish.

Do not believe it. Fewness and truth, 'tis thus: Your brother and his lover have embraced.

Lucio to Isabella in Act 1, Scene 4, delivering the news about Claudio with characteristic bluntness — 'fewness and truth' means 'briefly and honestly', and for once Lucio's promise of brevity is kept.