How
from the finny subject of the sea
These
fishers tell the infirmities of men;
And
from their watery empire recollect
All
that may men approve or men detect!
-Pericles
Pericles Act II, scene i, line 52
This is Pericles's response, to himself, after listening to
the fishermen talk about the situation of man in the world, and relating it to
the fish in the sea. They haven’t taken notice of Pericles yet. Pericles is
standing on the seashore after having been washed ashore following a shipwreck.
If you want to read a discussion of what the fishermen are saying, look to my
post from 2017 here.
As far as Pericles's response in today’s Totally Random lines?
Well the first thing that came to my mind upon reading it was poet/playwright. I
don’t think there are too many playwrights who fall into this category, certainly none on Will's level, and it’s a
consideration that can get easily overlooked when reading/hearing/seeing Will’s
works. But sometimes there are lines in his work which really make it impossible
to miss, and these are four such lines. At least, in my opinion they are.
It occurred to me that I've heard the word 'finny' used before, believe it or not. So here you go. Today's pic is a song.
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