William Shakespeare - John Webster - William Cowper - Richard Brinsley Sheridan - Ancient Aliens TV -
Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale,
Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man. William Shakespeare, King John III iv 108
Mark now, how a plain tale shall put you down. William Shakespeare, I Henry IV II iv 285
I will a round unvarnished tale deliver
Of my whole course of love; what drugs, what charms,
What conjuration, and what mighty magic,
For such proceeding I am charged withal,
I won his daughter. William Shakespeare, Othello I iii 90
Wherein I spake of most disastrous chances,
Of moving accidents by flood and field,
Of hair-breadth ’scapes i’ the imminent deadly breach,
Of being taken by the insolent foe
And sold to slavery, of my redemption thence
And portance in my travel’s history. ibid. I iii 34
And of the Cannibals that each other eat,
The Anthropophagi, and men whose heads
Do grow beneath their shoulders. ibid. I iii 143
My story being done,
She gave me for my pains a world of sighs:
She swore, in faith, ’twas strange, ’twas passing strange;
’Twas pitiful, ’twas wondrous pitiful. ibid. I iii 158
She loved me for the dangers I had passed,
And I loved her that she did pity them. ibid. I iii 167
What cannot a knave with a smooth tale
Make a woman believe. John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi, 1623
A tale should be judicious, clear, succinct;
The language plain, and incidents well linked;
Tell not as new what ev’ry body knows,
And new or old, still hasten to a close. William Cowper, 1731-1800, Conversation, 1782
Tale-bearers are as bad as the tale-makers. Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal
Superhuman strength. Supernatural powers. And the amazing ability to fly. Throughout history mankind has told incredible tales of gods and superheroes, and human beings have yearned to possess these extraordinary powers themselves. Could ancient stories of godlike kings and heroes have other-wordly origins? Ancient Aliens s3e15: Alien Gods and Heroes, History 2011