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).
Commit the oldest sins the newest kind of ways.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that people continue to engage in age-old immoral behaviors but adapt them to modern contexts.
William Shakespeare's quote reflects on the timeless nature of human flaws and transgressions. Despite changes in society and advancements in culture, the core sins and moral failings of humanity persist, often resurfacing in new and innovative forms. This observation highlights the idea that while the methods and contexts may evolve, the underlying issues of human behavior remain constant throughout history.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about morality in contemporary society, one might use this quote to illustrate how old ethical dilemmas reappear with new technologies.
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes βLove bears it out even to the edge of doom.
Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.
Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
Give it an understanding, but no tongue.
Similar quotes
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He is a hypocrite who professes what he does not believe; not he who does not practice all he wishes or approves.
Robin turned and looked straight into her. "What's life for?" "I don't know." "I don't either. But I don't think it's about winning.
I realize that I'm black, but I like to be viewed as a person, and this is everybody's wish.