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John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.

1371 William Shakespeare 1564-1616 John Bartlett

 
NUMBER:1371
AUTHOR:William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
QUOTATION:If it were done when ’t is done, then ’t were well
It were done quickly: if the assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease success; that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all here,
But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,
We ’ld jump the life to come. But in these cases
We still have judgment here; that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which being taught, return
To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poison’d chalice
To our own lips.
ATTRIBUTION:Macbeth. Act i. Sc. 7.  [text]
WORKS:William Shakespeare Collection.