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From: das@ucla-cs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.consumers,net.invest
Subject: Re: Free VISA & Mastercard and Shakespeare
Message-ID: <6131@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 25-Jun-85 02:09:17 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucla-cs.6131
Posted: Tue Jun 25 02:09:17 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 26-Jun-85 00:26:42 EDT
References: <1805@ut-ngp.UUCP> <1478@utah-gr.UUCP> <1122@peora.UUCP> <1751@amdcad.UUCP>
Reply-To: das@ucla-cs.UUCP (David Smallberg)
Distribution: na
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
Lines: 20
Xref: dcdwest net.consumers:2565 net.invest:530
Summary: 

In article <1751@amdcad.UUCP> phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) writes:
>Well, in a play written by Shakespeare named Hamlet, a character named
>Polonius said:
>	Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
 ...
>	This above all -- to thine own self be true,
 ...
>However, Polonius was portrayed as a fool ...

Indeed.  These cliches were cliches in Shakespeare's time.  A popular book
around the time Shakespeare wrote Hamlet was a book of aphorisms including
these and others that appear in Polonius's advice to Hamlet.  The humor to
Elizabethan audiences here (the literate members, at least) is that Polonius
thinks himself to be imparting important wisdom to Hamlet, but the "wisdom"
is a collection of hackneyed cliches; thus Polonius is really a fool.

[Shakespeare is not a registered investment counselor; I'm proud to be in such
 good company.]

-- David Smallberg, das@{ucla-cs.ARPA,cs.ucla.edu}, {ihnp4,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!das