“The three towering geniuses of European culture, Shakespeare, Mozart and Leonardo da Vinci were not allowed to appear on the euro note as they might, in their separate ways, cause offense: Mozart because he was a "womanizer," Shakespeare because he wrote The Merchant of Venice, a play judged to be anti-Semitic, and Leonardo because he was reported to fancy boys. Now the euro note carries a picture of a rather dull bridge.”

—  John Mortimer

Source: Where There's a Will: Thoughts on the Good Life (2003), Ch. 13 : Causing Offence

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John Mortimer 20
English barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author 1923–2009

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