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
Give obedience where 'tis truly owed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of giving respect and loyalty to those who truly deserve it.
William Shakespeare's quote, 'Give obedience where 'tis truly owed,' reflects the idea that loyalty and respect should be directed towards individuals who have genuinely earned it through their actions and character. It suggests a discerning approach to relationships and authority, urging individuals to recognize and honor those who are worthy of their allegiance.
Themes
ObedienceRespectLoyaltyAuthorityRelationships
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about leadership values, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of respecting true leaders.
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
We are in a far better position to observe instincts in animals or in primitives than in ourselves. This is due to the fact that we have grown accustomed to scrutinizing our own actions and to seeking rational explanations for them.
Carl JungRead
For the division of labor demands from the individual an ever more one-sided accomplishment, and the greatest advance in a one-sided pursuit only too frequently means dearth to the personality of the individual.
Georg SimmelRead
The wisest among my race understand that agitations of social equality is the extremist folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing.
Booker T. WashingtonRead
I am very defective in all duties... In prayer I wander and am formal... I soon tire; devotion languishes; and I do not walk with God.
William CareyRead
It is people who are important, not the masses.
Dorothy DayRead
Hill House, she thought, You're as hard to get into as heaven.
Shirley JacksonRead