Act III, scene 2, line 144. These lines are used almost unaltered ("holds" becoming "does hold") by George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham in Act III, scene ii of his The Restauration, an adaptation of Philaster. They appear with an attribution to Buckingham in many 19th century collections of quotations, e.g. Henry George Bohn A Dictionary of Quotations from the English Poets (1867) p. 63, and hence also on several quotation websites.
“
Make my breast
Transparent as pure crystal, that the world,
Jealous of me, may see the foulest thought
My heart holds.
— Beaumont and Fletcher
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Make my breast
Transparent as pure crystal, that the world,
Jealous of me, may see the foulest thought
My heart holds." in the context of "Act III, scene 2, line 144. These lines are used almost unaltered ("holds" becoming "does hold") by George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham in Act III, scene ii of his The Restauration, an adaptation of Philaster. They appear with an attribution to Buckingham in many 19th century collections of quotations, e.g. Henry George Bohn A Dictionary of Quotations from the English Poets (1867) p. 63, and hence also on several quotation websites." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Beaumont and Fletcher" (Quotes, Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding (c. 1609; printed 1629))
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Beaumont and Fletcher
Beaumont and Fletcher were the English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, who collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I. Their collaboration was so well regarded that works individually authored by either are sometimes errantly reported as having been by the collaboration. These include later collaborations by Fletcher with Nathan Field and Philip Massinger.
About Beaumont and Fletcher
Beaumont and Fletcher were the English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, who collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I. Their collaboration was so well regarded that works individually authored by either are sometimes errantly reported as having been by the collaboration. These include later collaborations by Fletcher with Nathan Field and Philip Massinger.
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