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
Your lordship, though not clean past your youth, have yet some smack of age in you, some relish of the saltiness of time.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the inevitable passage of time and its effects on individuals, regardless of their remaining youth.
In this quote, Shakespeare comments on the blending of youth and age within a person, suggesting that while one may still possess youthful qualities, the wisdom and experience gained over time also leave their mark. The imagery of 'saltiness' can evoke both the challenges faced and the richness of experience that comes with age, indicating that the effects of time are universal and shape our identities.
In practice
During a farewell speech, one might use this quote to emphasize the lessons learned over time.
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).
Love 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.
Karma means that all actions have consequences. Grace means that in a moment of atonement -taking responsibility, making amends, asking for forgiveness - all karma is burned.
The deepest hunger in life is a secret that is revealed only when a person is willing to unlock a hidden part of the self. In the ancient traditions of wisdom, this quest has been likened to diving for the most precious pearl in existence, a poetic way of saying that you have to swim far out beyond shallow waters, plunge deep into yourself, and search patiently until the pearl beyond price is found.
Dead men do not cooperate with grace. Unless regeneration takes place first, there is no possibility of faith.
The world will never be long without some good reason to hate the unhappy; their real faults are immediately detected; and if those are not sufficient to sink them into infamy, an individual weight of calumny will be super-added.
The battle between good and evil is endlessly fascinating because we are participants every day.
Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people's pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else's responsibility and not our own.
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