Status: Unlikely, but unknown.
I can not find this reference, or anything like it, in Shakespeare’s works. The phrase “fairly once begun” in particular does not appear in my searches, and those three words seem fairly indicative of the spirit of the quote. In typical fashion, even though all the references on the web claim Shakespeare, not one of them cites the work in question.
I have no leads on a real source, however, so I have to leave this one in the “maybe” category. Can somebody point to a version of this quote within the works that might have snuck under my radar? Or, barring that, find a source that does not attribute it to Shakespeare?
Double extra interesting: Google Books shows references dating back as early as 1891 that claim Shakespeare as the author of this quote, which actually makes me think that I’m simply missing it. But who knows?
I have checked my Shakespeare concordances and this quote is definitely not from Shakespeare.
It sounds like something from Ben Franklin.
Does this even make sense? If so, please explain – that ’till all that ought is won’ confuses me.
And certainly cannot find it in search on openshakespeare.org, which I find very useful and helpful.
Sorry – opensourceshakespeare.org is what I meant to write!