Look, Miranda, he said, those twenty long years that lie between you and me. I've more knowledge of life than you, I've lived more and betrayed more and seen more betrayed. At your age one is bursting with ideals. You think that because I can sometimes see what's trivial and what's important in art that I ought to be more virtuous. But I don't want to be virtuous. My charm (if there is any) for you is simply frankness. And experience. Not goodness. I'm not a good man. Perhaps morally I'm younger even than you are. Can you understand that? . John Fowles
About This Quote

In the play "The Tempest", written by William Shakespeare, Prospero is a wise old sorcerer who has been trapped on an island for many years. He has been separated from his daughter, Miranda, and his magic powers have been lost. At the beginning of the play, Miranda brings a man named Alonso to her father’s home with a request. She asks her father to help the man she loves – a man who has been banished from his country – regain his honor.

In response, Prospero summons up a storm that forces her to flee. Once she is gone, Prospero offers the following speech:

Source: The Collector

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