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
What this quote means
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.
Themes
AgeWisdomYouthTimeExperience
In practice
Example use cases
During a farewell speech, one might use this quote to emphasize the lessons learned over time.
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
A 'mistake' is beside the point, for once anything happens it authentically is.
John CageRead
I never had much interest in being a child. As a way of being it seemed flat, failed to engage.
Joan DidionRead
A fly, Sir, may sting a stately horse and make him wince; but, one is but an insect, and the other is a horse still.
Samuel JohnsonRead
The sort of dependence that results from exchange, i.e., from commercial transactions, is a reciprocal dependence. We cannot be dependent upon a foreigner without his being dependent on us. Now, this is what constitutes the very essence of society. To sever natural interrelations is not to make oneself independent, but to isolate oneself completely.
Frederic BastiatRead
Temperance is simply a disposition of the mind which binds the passion.
Thomas AquinasRead
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
Hannah ArendtRead