"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none."

Today is William Shakespeare's 449th birthday...roughly. What I mean by "roughly" is no one is positive when his birthday actually is but April 23rd is the chosen day.  It also happens to be the 397th anniversary of his death. Being an English teacher, major, and nerd, I am one of the biggest Shakespeare fans.  Each time I have taught Shakespeare, I have had to explain why he's such an important figure in literature and why we continue to teach his works.  Just a few reasons:

• He used over 20,000 words in his works (the average writer uses 7,500)
• The English dictionary of his time only had 500 words
• He is credited with creating ~1,700 words
• He invented words used in our daily speech (i.e., bloody, laughable, lonely, obscene, reliance, suspicious, and so many more)

Today, I was thinking about his words and how much great advice Shakespeare has left for us.  I especially love:

"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none." 

-All's Well That Ends Well (Act I, Scene I)

This quote seems especially pertinent in today's world - maybe even more so than 400 years ago when he wrote it. Of course, lately I've been thinking "trust none" might be the better advice, but otherwise, this advice is pretty solid. Some more of The Bard of Avon's words to live by would be:

•  "The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool." - As You Like It (Act V, Scene I)
• "Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings." - Julius Caesar (Act I, Scene II)
• "Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once." - Julius Caesar (Act II, Scene II)
• "Have more than thou showest, speak less than thou knowest, lend less than thou owest." - King Lear (Act I, Scene IV)
• "The course of true love never did run smooth." - A Midsummer Night's Dream (Act I, Scene I)
• "To mourn a mischief that is past and gone is the next way to draw new mischief on." - Othello (Act I, Scene III)
• "Love sought is good, but giv'n unsought is better." - Twelfth Night (Act III, Scene I)

These are but a few choices words of wisdom that Will has imparted on the world.  There are so many more inspirational quotes from him. But here's arguably the most important line to remember...

- Hamlet (Act I, Scene III)

Thanks, Will, for giving us such great words to live by.