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John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.

1273 William Shakespeare 1564-1616 John Bartlett

 
NUMBER:1273
AUTHOR:William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
QUOTATION:I ’ll example you with thievery:
The sun ’s a thief, and with his great attraction
Robs the vast sea; the moon ’s an arrant thief,
And her pale fire she snatches from the sun;
The sea ’s a thief, whose liquid surge resolves
The moon into salt tears; the earth ’s a thief,
That feeds and breeds by a composture stolen
From general excrement: each thing ’s a thief.
ATTRIBUTION:Timon of Athens. Act iv. Sc. 3.  [text]
WORKS:William Shakespeare Collection.