The best of men

That e'er wore earth about him was a sufferer;

A soft, meek, patient, humble, tranquil spirit,

The first true gentleman that ever breathed.

Thomas Dekker (1572-1632): The Honest Whore. Part i. Act i. Sc. 12.

Beware the fury of a patient man.

John Dryden (1631-1701): Absalom and Achitophel. Part i. Line 1005.

The play's the thing

Wherein I 'll catch the conscience of the king.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Hamlet. Act ii. Sc. 2.

  Doct.      Not so sick, my lord,

As she is troubled with thick-coming fancies,

That keep her from her rest.

  Macb.        Cure her of that.

Canst thou not minister to a mind diseas'd,

Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow,

Raze out the written troubles of the brain,

And with some sweet oblivious antidote

Cleanse the stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuff

Which weighs upon the heart?

  Doct.        Therein the patient

Must minister to himself.

  Macb.  Throw physic to the dogs: I 'll none of it.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Macbeth. Act v. Sc. 3.

Zealous, yet modest; innocent, though free;

Patient of toil, serene amidst alarms;

Inflexible in faith, invincible in arms.

James Beattie (1735-1803): The Minstrel. Book i. Stanza 11.

And if we do but watch the hour,

There never yet was human power

Which could evade, if unforgiven,

The patient search and vigil long

Of him who treasures up a wrong.

Lord Byron 1788-1824: Mazeppa. Stanza 10.

O suffering, sad humanity!

O ye afflicted ones, who lie

Steeped to the lips in misery,

Longing, yet afraid to die,

Patient, though sorely tried!

Henry W Longfellow (1807-1882): The Goblet of Life.

Wise to resolve, and patient to perform.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744): The Odyssey of Homer. Book iv. Line 372.

To be resign'd when ills betide,

Patient when favours are deni'd,

And pleas'd with favours given,—

Dear Chloe, this is wisdom's part;

This is that incense of the heart

Whose fragrance smells to heaven.

Nathaniel Cotton (1707-1788): The Fireside. Stanza 11.