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
Heaven truly knows that thou art false as hell.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the idea that someone is deceptive, contrasting the purity of heaven with the treachery of hell.
In this quote, Shakespeare uses the imagery of heaven and hell to emphasize the stark contrast between truth and deception. The phrase suggests that divine understanding reveals the false nature of a person, implying that their dishonesty is as evident and sinister as the nature of hell itself. It reflects a deep moral perspective on truthfulness and the consequences of deceit.
Themes
FalsehoodDeceptionTruthMoralityJudgment
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about integrity, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of honesty.
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
By means of microscopic observation and astronomical projection the lotus flower can become the foundation for an entire theory of the universe and an agent whereby we may perceive Truth.
Yukio MishimaRead
I have deep faith that the principle of the universe will be beautiful and simple
Albert EinsteinRead
This world could not have been the work of an all-loving being, but that of a devil, who had brought creatures into existence in order to delight in the sight of their sufferings.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
Sentimentality is unearned emotion.
James JoyceRead
In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty.
Thomas JeffersonRead
There are two sorts of hypocrites: ones that are deceived with their outward morality and external religion; and the others are those that are deceived with false discoveries and elevation; which often cry down works, and men's own righteousness, and tlak much of free grace, but at the same time make a righteousness of their discoveries and of their humiliation, and exalt themselves to heaven with them.
Jonathan EdwardsRead