Loyalty to the Whole
In "Measure for Measure," Shakespeare, as he did with Polonius, put profound words in the mouth of a fool. Lucio begs the soon-to-be-nun Isabella to try to save her brother from beheading. He must convince her, it seems sometimes, simply to open her mouth in behalf of a sinner. Seen from another perspective, he asks her to leave her home, her safety, and her vows, essentially to betray herself and help her brother escape punishment for something she truly believes is wrong. Shakespeare makes this situation, as many others, too complex for simple answers. Lucio, merely another complexity, utters the words: "Our doubts are traitors and makes [sic] us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt." The thought is simplicity amid complexity. Our doubts are traitors; they work against the whole, against the greater good of the person. We waffle briefly, and lose time. Doubts undermine our honorable purposes. We never leave the ground when we could be flying. T...