'Tis one thing to be tempted, Escalus, Another thing to fall. I not deny, The jury, passing on the prisoner's life, May in the sworn twelve have a thief or two Guiltier than him they try.
It's one thing to be tempted, Escalus, Another to actually give in. I won't deny, That when a jury decides someone's life, There could be a thief or two among the twelve Who are guiltier than the one they're judging.
Angelo · Act 2, Scene 1
Angelo refuses Escalus's plea for mercy, insisting that temptation and action are different things. The line is memorable because it is Angelo's own death sentence—he is about to be tested precisely because he claims immunity to temptation. It reveals his fatal blindness: he believes he has transcended human weakness rather than understanding that he has merely repressed it.
Does your worship mean to geld and splay all the youth of the city?
Does your honor mean to castrate and cut off all the young men in the city?
Pompey · Act 2, Scene 1
Pompey asks Escalus the question that breaks through all moral rhetoric: if you ban fornication, are you going to castrate the entire city. The line endures because it cuts to the heart of the play—human desire cannot be legislated away, and attempting to do so through law creates only hypocrisy and cruelty. Pompey, the least educated character in Vienna, sees what the judges cannot: that nature and law are in permanent conflict.
Truly, sir, I am a poor fellow that would live.
Honestly, sir, I’m just a poor guy trying to survive.
Pompey · Act 2, Scene 1
When pressed about his trade as a pimp, Pompey offers this simple defense: he is just trying to survive. The line matters because it is the most human moment in the play—not an excuse, but an acknowledgment that he has no choice and no shame in that fact. It tells us that Pompey, unlike Angelo and Isabella, has no ideals to hide behind; he is honest about what he is and what he does to live.
