Vol. 08 · Shakespeare ·King John, Act IV.ii ·Lord Salisbury
"Gilding the lily."
Not quite the line.
How it's usually quoted
"Gilding the lily."
What Shakespeare actually wrote
"To gild refined gold, to paint the lily." Lord Salisbury — King John, Act IV.ii
Why it matters
Shakespeare never combined "gild" and "lily" — the combined idiom is a 19th-century compression. The original is a list of four impossible embellishments.
More from the canon.
Browse the rest of the shelf, or try a cold reading.