Date: 1588

"Men do not know the natural infirmity of their mind: it does nothing but ferret and quest and keeps incessantly whirling arounnd building up and becoming entangled in its own work, like our silkworms, and is suffocated in it."

— Montaigne, Michel Eyquem seigneur de (1533-1592)

Date: 1594

"I am Revenge, sent from th' infernal kingdom / To ease the gnawing vulture of thy mind."

— Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Date: 1594

"Her virtues gracèd with external gifts / Do breed love's settled passions in my heart."

— Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Date: 1594

"Thus while the vulture of sedition / Feeds in the bosom of such great commanders, / Sleeping neglection doth betray to loss / The conquest of our scarce-cold conqueror."

— Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Date: 1594, 1623

"They know their master loves to be aloft, / And bears his thoughts above his falcon's pitch."

— Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Date: 1594, 1623

"My lord, 'tis but a base ignoble mind / That mounts no higher than a bird can soar."

— Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Date: 1594, 1623

"Thy heaven is on earth; thine eyes and thoughts / Beat on [bate on?] a crown, the treasure of thy heart"

— Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Date: 1594, 1623

"My brain, more busy than the labouring spider, / Weaves tedious snares to trap mine enemies."

— Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Date: 1594, 1623

"I fear me you but warm the starvèd snake, / Who, cherished in your breasts, will sting your hearts."

— Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Date: 1594, 1623

"Comb down his hair -- look, look: it stands upright, / Like lime twigs set to catch my wingèd soul."

— Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)