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
All that glisters is not gold; Often have you heard that told: Many a man his life hath sold But my outside to behold: Gilded tombs do worms enfold.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Appearances can be deceiving; true value lies beneath the surface.
This quote from Shakespeare reminds us that not everything that shines or looks attractive is valuable. Often, superficial appearances can mislead us, and we must look deeper to understand the true worth of people and things, as even the most beautiful exteriors can hide decay and emptiness underneath.
Themes
AppearancesDeceptionValueWorthSurface
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about honesty in relationships, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of looking beyond physical attributes.
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
How can we truly understand who we are unless we know who we were and what we have the power to become?
Neal A. MaxwellRead
I expect that any day now, I will have said all I have to say; I'll have used up all my characters, and then I'll be free to get on with my real life.
Anne TylerRead
[There is] a duty in refusing to cooperate in any undertaking that violates the Constitutional rights of the individual. This holds in particular for all inquisitions that are concerned with the private life and the political affiliations of the citizens.
Albert EinsteinRead
Religion is comparable to a childhood neurosis.
Sigmund FreudRead
The Iraq war was fought by one-half of one percent of us. And unless we were part of that small group or had a relative who was, we went about our lives as usual most of the time: no draft, no new taxes, no changes. Not so for the small group who fought the war and their families.
Bob SchiefferRead
It is our policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.
George WashingtonRead