As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, / I must not look to have; but, in their stead, / Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath, / Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not" (5.3.25-28).
William ShakespeareRead
Affection is a coal that must be cooled; else, suffered, it will set the heart on fire.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Affection needs to be balanced; excessive passion can lead to emotional pain.
This quote by William Shakespeare suggests that while affection and love can be powerful forces in our lives, they must be kept in check. If we allow our feelings to run uncontrolled, they can lead to overwhelming emotions and potential heartbreak; therefore, moderation is key in matters of the heart.
Themes
AffectionEmotionLoveHeartPassion
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used during a relationship counseling session to emphasize the importance of moderation in affection.
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes βLove bears it out even to the edge of doom.
William ShakespeareRead
Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
William ShakespeareRead
Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.
William ShakespeareRead
Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
William ShakespeareRead
Give it an understanding, but no tongue.
William ShakespeareRead
Similar quotes
God will judge us not according to how much we endured, but how much we could love
Richard WurmbrandRead
A broken heart in real life isn't half as dreadful as it is in books. It's a good deal like a bad tooth, though you won't think THAT a very romantic simile. It takes spells of aching and gives you a sleepless night now and then, but between times it lets you enjoy life and dreams and echoes and peanut candy as if there were nothing the matter with it.
Lucy Maud MontgomeryRead
Romantic poses aside, let us recognize that "falling in love"...is an inferior state of mind, a form of transitory imbecility.
Jose Ortega Y GassetRead
The first lover is kept a long while, when no offer is made of a second.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
I gave what other women gave That stepped out of their clothes But when this soul, its body off Naked to naked goes, He it has found shall find therein What none other knows.
William Butler YeatsRead
The knowledge that she could learn to love a man had always meant more to her than loving him effortlessly, more even than falling in love, and that was why she now felt that she was on the threshold of a new life, a happiness bound to endure for a very long time.
Orhan PamukRead