— Jonson. Come closer. Did you know my family can trace... its peerage back further than any other family in the kingdom? We fought at Crecy,
at Bosworth Field, at Agincourt. When I inherited my earldom... I was one of the richest men ever to breathe English air. And at last breath,
I shall be one of the poorest. Never a voice in government. Never a sword raised in glorious battle. Words. Merely words shall be my sole legacy. You alone watch my plays and know them as mine. When I hear the applause... the cheering of the audience, the hands clapping... I know they are celebrating another man. But in that... cacophony of sounds, I strained to hear two hands only. Yours. But hear them, I never did. You have never told me... Never... told me what you thought of my work.
— I find... your words... the most... wondrous... heard on our stage. On any stage. Ever. You... are the soul of the age.
