Having just read aloud Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona, I want to see if I can see God in it, or at least the three parts of humanity, made in God’s image. Julia must be the heart, Sylvia the mind, and Proteus the body. Valentine could also be a heart (duh), but Julia’s is nobler.

Proteus is the body out of order (heart should come before mind and body) because he is directed by his earthly senses. His rationale for betraying his lady, Julia, and his best friend, Valentine, is thus:

“Julia I lose and Valentine I lose.
If I keep them, I needs must lose myself;
If I lose them, thus find I by their loss:
For Valentine, myself; for Julia, Silvia.
I to myself am dearer than a friend,
For love is still most precious in itself,
And Silvia – witness heaven that made her fair!…