Hoyt & Roberts, comps. Hoyt’s New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations. 1922.
Mischief
In life it is difficult to say who do you the most mischief, enemies with the worst intentions, or friends with the best.
Bulwer-Lytton—What Will He Do With It? Bk. III. Heading to Ch. XVII.
What plaguy mischief and mishaps
Do dog him still with after claps!
Butler—Hudibras. Pt. I. Canto III. L. 3.
Let them call it mischief:
When it is past and prospered ’twill be virtue.
Ben Jonson—Catiline. Act III. Sc. 3.
When to mischief mortals bend their will,
How soon they find it instruments of ill.
Pope—Rape of the Lock. Canto III. St. 125.
Now let it work: Mischief, thou art afoot,
Take thou what course thou wilt.
Julius Cæsar. Act III. Sc. 2. L. 265.
To mourn a mischief that is past and gone
Is the next way to draw new mischief on.
Othello. Act I. Sc. 3. L. 204.
O mischief, thou art swift
To enter in the thoughts of desperate men!
Romeo and Juliet. Act V. Sc. 1. L. 35.