The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 2 of 12)

br> Kent, WA /p> p> I couldn't agree more. Another catastrophic misuse of Shakespeare is from Twelfth Night, where the note that lures the pompous Malvolio on to destruction reads, "Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." I always cringe when anybody quotes those lines as if they were sincere. Thanks for a great column! br> -- David N. Taylor /p> p> One might also include the oft-(mis)quoted "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers" as a passage interpreted wrongly when "quoted out of context." The line from Henry VI is spoken by one of several ignorant rebels, who are trying to figure out how to "take over" and believe that by killing all the lawyers they will be able to subvert the rule of law and replace it with their own subjective version. Note the next line -- "And we will make it a felony to drink small beer." It does provide a whole new meaning, doesn't it? By the way, I am a lawyer, but I sometimes believe that the more common understanding of the quote might not be a terrible idea! br> -- Warren Mowry /p> p> TOMMY THOMPSON FLAMES OUT br> Re: The Prowler's On Wisconsin: Tommy Talk :

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