Quote by William Shakespeare
This is the excellent foppery of the world: that when we are sick in fortune -- often the surfeits of our own behavior -- we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and stars, as if we were villains on necessity, fools by heavenly compulsion, knaves, thieves, and treachers by spherical predominance, drunkards, liars, and adulterers by an enforced obedience of planetary influence. An admirable evasion of whoremaster man, to lay his goatish disposition on the charge of a star!
Summary
In this quote, the speaker highlights the tendency of individuals to blame external factors, such as celestial bodies, for their misfortunes rather than taking responsibility for their actions. The speaker refers to this behavior as "foppery" or foolishness, as it allows people to conveniently shift the blame onto something outside their control. By sarcastically pointing out how individuals attribute their vices and immoral behavior to the influence of celestial bodies, the speaker criticizes the evasion of personal accountability.