...Shakespeare, in Act 1, Scene 1 of Hamlet, echoed some of those common beliefs: Some say that ever gainst that season comes Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,...singeth all night long: And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad; The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, No fairy takes, no witch has power...

...realize, as much as to banish "the extravagant and erring spirit" of the night: Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes Wherein our saviour's birth is celebrated...singeth all night long; And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad, The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, No fairy takes, nor witch have...

...discussing the birth of Christ, which occurred during the reign of Augustus: Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated, The bird of dawning singeth all night long. (Ii 162-4) This, Steve Sohmer has argued, is because the name of Marcellus recalls Marcellus the Centurion,6...