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
But to my mind, though I am native here, And to the manner born, it is a custom, More honored in the breach than the observance.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Traditions may be followed more in spirit than in strict adherence.
This quote by William Shakespeare suggests that while customs and traditions can be an integral part of one's culture, they are often more respected when they are broken or challenged rather than followed blindly. It encourages a critical approach to social norms, implying that true understanding and authenticity come from questioning and adapting customs rather than merely observing them.
Themes
TraditionCustomsNormsBreachObservance
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about innovation, one might say, 'As Shakespeare noted, sometimes tradition is more honored in the breach than in the observance.'
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
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,_x000D_ And out of the caverns of rain,_x000D_ Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,_x000D_ I arise and unbuild it again.
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead
In the present circumstances, no one can afford to assume that someone else _x000D_ will solve their problems. Every individual has a responsibility to help guide our global family in the right direction. Good wishes are not sufficient; we must become actively engaged.
Dalai LamaRead
In the modern technoindustrial culture, it is possible to proceed from infancy into senility without ever knowing manhood.
Edward AbbeyRead
Never have ideas about children, and never have ideas for them.
George OrwellRead
Non-Indian writers usually say "Great Spirit," "Mother Earth," "Two-Legged, Four-Legged, and Winged." Mixed-blood writers usually say "Creator, "Mother Earth," "Two-Legged, Four- Legged, and Winged." Indian writers usually say "God," "Mother Earth," "Human Being, Dog, and Bird."
Sherman AlexieRead
Yet not for a single moment did I have any doubts about my own integrity and honour as a woman. I knew that my profession had been invented by men, and that men were in control of both our worlds, the one on earth, and the one in heaven. That men force women to sell their bodies at a price, and that the lowest paid body is that of a wife. All women are prostitutes of one kind or another.
Nawal El SaadawiRead