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
The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote humorously suggests that eliminating lawyers would solve many problems.
In this quote from Shakespeare's 'Henry VI, Part 2', the speaker expresses a radical solution to societal issues by jokingly suggesting that the removal of lawyers would lead to a better world. This reflects a common perception of lawyers as barriers to justice or as instigators of conflict rather than its resolution. The humor in the line highlights the frustrations people often feel toward legal systems and the profession.
Themes
LawyersHumorSocietyCritiqueShakespeare
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a debate about legal reform can lighten the mood.
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
Tyrion Lannister could not have been more astonished if Aegon the Conqueror himself had burst into the room, riding on a dragon and juggling lemon pies.
George R. R. MartinRead
People thought I was funny, so I kind of took entertaining for granted... it was inevitable that I'd start giving little performances.
Johnny CarsonRead
The wisest and the best of men, nay, the wisest and best of their actions, may be rendered ridiculous by a person whose first object in life is a joke.
Jane AustenRead
"What's so unpleasant about being drunk?" "Ask a glass of water."
Douglas AdamsRead
The man with the best job in the country is the vice-president. All he has to do is get up every morning and say, 'How is the president?'
Will RogersRead
Many baseball fans look upon an umpire as a sort of necessary evil to the luxury of baseball, like the odor that follows an automobile.
Christy MathewsonRead