STILL NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN, BILL.

Good old William Shakespeare sure had us pegged, with telling quotes from his plays that never get old even though his plays were written 400 years ago. What he knew then was that people are people and forever the same, hence his line: "Nothing new under the sun!" Today's world may bear only scant resemblance to the one in which Mr. Shakespeare lived and worked, but it's still populated by human beings, and even with all our new toys and machines and world-straddling instant communication and swift transportation, we haven't changed one whit, as he might say. That may be discouraging in some ways, but refreshing to know that human nature endures. Let's check out some of his famous observations:

All the world's a stage.

Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.

Fishes live in the sea, as men do a-land; the great ones eat up the little ones.

I say there is no darkness but ignorance.

If music be the food of love, play on.

The fault lies not in the stars, but in men.

Let every eye negotiate for itself and trust no agent.

No legacy is so rich as honesty.

The course of true love never did run smooth.

Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind.

The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief.

They do not love that do not show their love.

This, above all; to thine own self be true.

'Tis not enough to help the feeble up, but to support them after.

'Tis one thing to be tempted, another thing to fall.

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Brevity is the soul of wit.

And finally, the quote that William Shakespeare turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy: "The object of art is to give life a shape." His art has shaped our lives like few others, which is why his plays are still performed and studied 400 years later. And these are just a tiny sampling of the familiar quotes and earthy wisdom written by him. What he gave us was truth, and that's more valuable from an artist than any dazzling beauty they create, and his poetry and insight created plenty of that. And the truth is, mankind hasn't changed a bit. We're still suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, still striving for transcendence, still so often hoist by our own petards. Our humanity endures. Nothing much new at all under the sun, Bill.