Things Hoped For

Ecclesiastes 1:4, 9 King James Version

⁴One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

⁹The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

The Frogs 718–737 Aristophanes, The Harvard Classics

… just as with our ancient coinage, and the newly-minted gold.

These we use not: but the worthless pinchbeck coins of yesterday, vilest die and basest metal, now we always use instead.

Even so, our sterling townsmen, nobly born and nobly bred, … these we treat with scorn and insult, but the strangers newliest come, worthless sons of worthless fathers, pinchbeck townsmen, yellowy scum, whom in earlier days the city hardly would have stooped to use even for her scapegoat victims, these for every task we choose.

Timon of Athens IV.3 William Shakespeare

Gold? Yellow, glittering, precious gold? … Thus much of this will make black white, foul fair, wrong right, base noble, old young, coward valiant.

This yellow slave will knit and break religions, bless th’ accursed, make the hoar leprosy adored, place thieves and give them title, knee, and approbation with senators on the bench.

O thou sweet king-killer and dear divorce ’twixt natural son and sire; thou visible god, that solder’st close impossibilities and mak’st them kiss, that speak’st with every tongue to every purpose!