"Purpose is but the slave to memory, of violent birth, but poor validity, which now, like fruit unripe, sticks on the tree, but fall, unshaken, when they mellow be." This line comes from Hamlet's famous play-within-a-play, "The Murder of Gonzago," aka "The Mousetrap," and is spoken by the Player King character. In Hamlet, the plot of "Gonzago" mirrors the murder of Hamlet's father. The quote illustrates how we initially cling tightly to our plans, but gradually let them slip away like ripe fruit falling from a tree.