midnight
His sonnets and plays are filled with the hidden meaning of the scriptures , and those who read closely and delve deeply into the works of the Bard of Avon will need no better moral teacher . His axioms and epigrams are used to-day as the proverbial philosophy of practical life , and the whole world is indebted to the sons of a carpenter and a butcher for the greatest pleasure and philosophy that has ever been enunciated on the globe ! The years 1611 , 1612 and 1613 found William at the pinnacle of his dramatic glory , and like a ripe philosopher he finished his most thoughtful plays , `` Timon of Athens , '' `` A Winter 's Tale , '' `` Antony and Cleopatra , '' `` Pericles , '' `` Cymbeline , '' `` Henry the Eighth , '' and his cap sheaf in the grain field of thought , `` The Tempest . '' The constant intellectual labor of Shakspere began to tell on his body , but his mind like a slumbering volcano , emitted flashes of heat and light , irradiating the midnight of literary mediocrity and gilding his declining days with golden flashes of fame and fortune . He sold his interest in the Blackfriars and Globe theatres , and purchased property in London and Stratford , making every preparation as a wise and thrifty man for himself and his children and family . William ever kept an eye on the glint and glory of gold , and while his bohemian theatrical companions were squandering their shillings at midnight taverns with `` belles and beaux '' he `` put money in his purse , '' and kept it there . _ Gold is power everywhere ; Best of friends in toil and care ; And it surely will outwear Royal purple here or there !