“When a man takes an oath, he’s holding his own self in his hands. Like water. And if he opens his fingers then — he needn’t hope to find himself again. Some men aren’t capable of this, but I’d be loath to think your father one of them.”
Robert Bolt – A Man for All Seasons
In the play A Man For All Seasons this line is said by Thomas Moore when explaining to his daughter why he refuses to sign the Act of Succession proclaiming Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon invalid and that to Anne Boleyn valid and making Henry VIII supreme head of the Church in England. Moore’s convictions of conscience ultimately lead to his execution for treason.
Gilding the lily. You know, trowelling it on a little thick, exagerating the upside, talking it up. The expression is well known but where does it come from? Well like so many turns of phrase and common expressions in the English language one William Shakespeare is responsible for this appendage to our vocabulary. Or is he? 
Category Zero 