Is there any cause in nature that make these hard hearts?
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 3, Scene 6. A troubled King Lear wonders is there any reason why nature should provide such hard hearts lacking in kindness and compassion to Regan and Goneril. In a mock trial of his daughters, with Edgar and the Fool and Kent as judges, Lear is questioning whether evil is natural and a part of human nature, or whether it comes from somewhere else. In the sentences before this quote, Lear speaks of dissecting Regan to examine her heart: "Then let them anatomise Regan; see what breeds about her heart."