What is eldest?

Famous quotes containing the word eldest:

“O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven;
It hath the primal eldest curse upon ‘t,
A brother’s murder. Pray can I not,
Though inclination be as sharp as will;
My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent,
And like a man to double business bound
I stand in pause where I shall first begin,
And both neglect. What if this cursed hand
Were thicker than itself with brother’s blood,
Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens
To wash it white as snow?”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

“Self-defence is Nature’s eldest law.”
—John Dryden (1631–1700)

“O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven,
It hath the primal eldest curse upon’t,
A brother’s murder.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)