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
Cease thy counsel, for thy words fall into my ears as priceless as water into a seive.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses the idea that some advice or counsel is ineffective and quickly forgotten.
In this quote, Shakespeare emphasizes the futility of certain words of advice, suggesting that they are as useless as pouring water into a sieve, which can't hold anything. It highlights the perception that some counsel lacks value or relevance, and serves as a reminder to discern which advice is truly beneficial.
Themes
CounselAdviceFutilityWisdomWords
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about the effectiveness of traditional advice, one might quote this to express skepticism.
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