Here’s the fourth round of our quiz. How have you been doing? Everyone enjoying himself? Which of the following statements or quotations are from the Bible (King James Version) and which are from Shakespeare’s plays?
1. “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.”
2. “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
3. “Too little payment for so great a debt.”
4. Poor and content is rich enough.
5. “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.”
6. “Good name in man and woman is the immediate jewel of their souls.”
7. “Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?”
8. Mercy “droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.”
9. “A time to be born, and a time to die “
10. “Earthly power doth then show likest God’s when mercy seasons justice.”
Bonus: Does the saying, “Cast thy bread upon the waters,” originate in the Bible, Shakespeare, or elsewhere? And what does it mean?
Highlight these lines to check your answers: 1. The Bible, Job_42:5; 2. The Bible, Matthew_16:26; 3. Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew (V.ii); 4. Shakespeare’s Othello (III.iii); 5. The Bible, Song of Solomon_1:2; 6. Shakespeare’s Othello (III.iii); 7. The Bible, Ecclesiastes_7:13; 8. Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice (IV.i); 9. The Bible, Ecclesiastes_3:2; 10. Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice (IV.i)
Bonus: “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days” (Ecclesiastes 11:1). On these verses, theologian Matthew Henry writes, “Give freely, though it may seem thrown away and lost. Give to many. Excuse not thyself with the good thou hast done, from the good thou hast further to do. It is not lost, but well laid out. We have reason to expect evil, for we are born to trouble; it is wisdom to do good in the day of prosperity.”