The Spirit that I haue ſeeneMay be the Diuell, and the Diuel hath powerT'aſſume a pleaſing ſhape, yea and perhapsOut of my Weakneſſe, and my Melancholly,As he is very potent with ſuch Spirits,Abuſes me to damne me. Ile haue groundsMore Relatiue then this: The play's the thing,Wherein Ile catch the Conſcience of the King.
c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act II, scene ii], page 264, column 2