Hell hath no fury............

When I was in High School, (a bit over 36 years ago, now) I came across a quote that I thought was worth saving. I can't remember how I happened on to it, but then, my interests and explorations in reading were (and still are) eclectic (scattered) to the point of eccentricity.

I wrote the quote down, citing the author and source, and memorized it. It has always amazed me, over the years, how often that particular quote has been appropriate. I'd lost the 3 x 5 card the quote was written on years ago, so I could no longer give the author.

This weekend, as I was rummaging about in the basement, I found that ancient keepsake of my sarcastic youth.

In those days before the internet, information was not so easy to come by. Researching odd and obscure bits of trivia meant actually getting up off your ass and visiting a major library. The effort had always to be weighed against the gain. Perhaps this is why we are more likely to argue or fight about,or even attempt to rationally discuss, a problem, in the hope (however elusive) of coming to some mutual resolution, with a friend (or with someone who has something we desperately need) than with someone we never really gave much of a fuck about to start with......but I digress.

So, I never bothered to delve any deeper into the origins of my quote than to simply note the names and the source on the card. After all, it was only some scholarly sounding bon mot to throw out at times when wit and wisdom were called for. I knew it was from a work authored by two people. I always assumed that it was from the middle to late 19th century........perhaps contemporary to the play Lincoln was watching when he was killed, "Our American Cousin". The tone of the quote seemed to put its source in that broad genre of humorous entertainments.

The authors listed on the card were Beaumont and Fletcher, and the name of the work was given as "Cupids Revenge".

So I came upstairs with my rediscovered relic, sat down at the computer and plugged the data into Mr. Browser Wizard.

The quote is from a play, written in 1611 by Francis Beaumont in collaboration with John Fletcher:


"The fool who willingly provokes a woman has made himself another evil angel and a new Hell to which all other torments are but mere past time." -Beaumont and Fletcher, Cupid's Revenge

Some wisdom is Timeless...........some things never change!

Thus endeth the entry.............