Love bears it out even to the edge of doom.
William ShakespeareRead
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).
Interpretation
What this quote means
The speaker reflects on the emptiness of superficial honors and relationships, longing for genuine connections.
In this quote, Shakespeare explores the theme of authenticity versus superficiality. The speaker acknowledges the absence of true honor and love, instead facing insincere accolades and curses that weigh heavily on the heart. This contrast illustrates the pain of longing for meaningful relationships amidst a facade of false friendships and social expectations.
Themes
HonorLoveFriendshipAuthenticitySuperficiality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of genuine relationships.
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes →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
He's all my exercise, my mirth, my matter.
William ShakespeareRead
Similar quotes
Everything in our background has prepared us to know and resist a prison when the gates begin to close around us . . . But what if there are no cries of anguish to be heard? Who is prepared to take arms against a sea of amusements? To whom do we complain, and when, and in what tone of voice, when serious discourse dissolves into giggles? What is the antidote to a culture's being drained by laughter?
Neil PostmanRead
Litigant. A person about to give up his skin for the hope of retaining his bones.
Ambrose BierceRead
The Dhamma has to be found by looking into your own heart and seeing that which is true and that which is not, that which is balanced and that which is not balanced.
Ajahn ChahRead
Let us fight the battle-retreat from the things that attract us and rouse ourselves to meet the things that actually attack us.
Seneca The YoungerRead
Nothing could be more dangerous than following the popular maxim whereby it is the spirit of the law that must be consulted. This is an embankment that, once broken, gives way to a torrent of opinions.
Cesare BeccariaRead
Life is a near-death experience.
George CarlinRead