Shakespeare's Julius Caesar has many good passages relevant to this question. There are probably more passages than these to examine.
QuoteDisplay MoreCasca Indeed, they say the senators to-morrow
Mean to establish Cæsar as a king;
And he shall wear his crown by sea and land,
In every place save here in Italy.
Cassius I know where I will wear this dagger then;
Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius.
Therein, ye gods, you make the weak most strong;
Therein, ye gods, you tyrants do defeat:
Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass,
Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron,
Can be retentive to the strength of spirit;
But life, being weary of these worldly bars,
Never lacks power to dismiss itself.
If I know this, know all the world besides,
That part of tyranny that I do bear
I can shake off at pleasure.
[Thunder still]
Casca
So can I:So every bondman in his own hand bears
The power to cancel his captivity.
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Casca Why, he that cuts off twenty years of life
Cuts off so many years of fearing death.
Brutus Grant that, and then is death a benefit:
So we are Cæsar's friends, that have abridg'd
His time of fearing death.