Special Sub-Topic: Contemporaries - Quotations - 3 Click Here To Play: Contemporaries - Quotations - 3

Who opined "Faith sir,we are here today, and gone tomorrow." ?

Aphra Behn. From "The Lucky Chance" IV (c. 1686) by Aphra Behn (1640-1689) who was a remarkable woman. She had been a copyist and a spy and had travelled to Suriname (around 1663). Much of the detail of her life is disputed, among several scholars, but what can be stated is that she was the first professional female dramatist, novelist and poet. She was not the first professional female writer as women had been writing cookery and religious books and even scientific and medical texts for hundreds of years.

Who mourned "The grave's a fine and private place, But none, I think, do there embrace." ?

Andrew Marvell. From "To His Coy Mistress" (c. 1649) by Andrew Marvell (1621-1678)(and one of my favourite poems). He was a tutor, poet, satirist, politician and MP (from 1659, Hull). He also managed at the Restoration to save Milton's life by convincing Charles II's government not to execute him for anti-monarchical writings.

Who defined "As lines, so loves oblique may well, Themselves in every angle greet; But ours so truly parallel, Though infinite, can never meet." ?

Andrew Marvell. From "The Definition of Love" (c. 1657) not published until 1681 but bears similarities to "Such wilt thou be to me, who must, Like th' other foot, obliquely run ; Thy firmness makes my circle just, And makes me end where I begun." from "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne (c. 1602)

Who warned "Beware the fury of a patient man." ?

John Dryden. From "Absalom and Achitophel" (c. 1681) by John Dryden (1631-1700) a poet, critic, playwright and poet laureate. He seemed to have a foot in both the Republican and Royalist camps (his cousin was a judge at the trial of Charles I) yet he wrote "Astrea Redux" at the Restoration. He became Laureate in 1668 but lost his post when James II was usurped in 1688.

Who advised "Come away, Poverty's catching." ?

Aphra Behn. From "The Rover", Part 2, Act I (c. 1681) by Aphra Behn (also known as "The Banish'd Cavaliers") Part 1 appearing in 1677.

Who could have replied "But it is pretty to see what money will do." ?

Samuel Pepys. From "The Diary of Samuel Pepys" 21 March 1667 by Samuel Pepys (1633-1703). He was a dedicated public servant (clerk to the Navy Board, later secretary to the Admiralty) and an MP for various constituencies as well as a diarist. His diary just happened to record crucial times in British history, The Dutch War, The Great Plague and the Great Fire of London.

Who might have agreed "Money speaks sense in a language all nations understand." ?

Aphra Behn. From "The Rover", Part 2, Act III (c. 1681) by Aphra Behn (also known as "The Banish'd Cavaliers") Part 1 appearing in 1677. Her plays have been criticised for their coarseness; I would disagree - generally - with that assessment.

Who worried "None but the brave deserves the fair." ?

John Dryden. From "Alexander's Feast or, The Power of Musique" by John Dryden (c. 1697).

Who revealed "Egad, thou'rt a brave Girl, and I admire thy Love and Courage. Lead on, no other Dangers they can dread, Who venture in the Storms o'th' Marriage-Bed." ?

Aphra Behn. From "The Rover" Part 2 Act V Scene 1 (c. 1681) by Aphra Behn.

Who explained "Men are but children of a larger growth." ?

John Dryden. From "All for Love" IV 1 (c. 1677) by John Dryden.