Weekend Quote #46

I hope I am not too late for this week's Weekend Quote. I should have posted mine yesterday, but, yesterday being all hectic and busy, I decided to write it today, late as it is.

So, here it is:

Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile,
Hath not old custom made this life more sweet
Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods
More free from peril than the envious court?
Here feel we but the penalty of Adam,
The seasons' difference, as the icy fang
And churlish chiding of the winter's wind,
Which, when it bites and blows upon my body,
Even till I shrink with cold, I smile and say
'This is no flattery: these are counsellors
That feelingly persuade me what I am.'
Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;
And this our life exempt from public haunt
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones and good in every thing.
I would not change it.

From Shakespeare's As You Like It, this is the words of Duke Senior, who was exiled by his brother, and whose dukedom was taken from him. He, and some of his followers, stayed in the forest of Arden, like Robin Hood and his merry men, happy and content with their new lives.

The quote above is full of expression of contentment, which I find very interesting and inspiring. In court, where they dwelt before, even with all the riches of the world, they had to deal with enmity, and worse, flattery. But in the forest, they feel like ordinary human beings again, They hunt for food, eat what they get, find recreation in nature, and feel happy about it. For philosophers, the Duke being one of them, he finds many things to think and meditate upon.

Living such life, I have no wonder that the Duke could rightly say, “I would not change it.”

That's my choice for this weekend. Don't be shy to share yours.