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
I have very poor and unhappy brains for drinking: I could well wish courtesy would invent some other custom of entertainment.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote humorously expresses dissatisfaction with drinking as a form of entertainment.
In this quote, Shakespeare uses wit to criticize the social custom of drinking, suggesting that it leads to poor mental states and unhappiness. The speaker wishes for a more pleasant and courteous form of entertainment that doesn't involve alcohol, highlighting both the burdens of drinking and the desire for better social practices.
Themes
DrinkingUnhappinessEntertainmentCourtesyMental Health
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about social habits, one might quote Shakespeare to highlight the downsides of drinking culture.
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
It often happens that I wake up at night and begin to think about a serious problem and decide I must tell the Pope about it. Then I wake up completely and remember that I am the Pope.
Pope John XxiiiRead
New York, like the Soviet Union, has this universal usefulness: It makes you glad you live elsewhere.
John UpdikeRead
You have to able to make fun of yourself. Don't take things too seriously and when people make fun of you, laugh at it.
Taylor SwiftRead
Why can't they have gay people in the army? Personally, I think they are just afraid of a thousand guys with M16s going, "Who'd you call a faggot?"
Jon StewartRead
I didn't tell any of my friends that I wanted to be a comedian, because I was superstitious. I thought if I told people, it wouldn't happen. So I kept it all in my head for years and years.
Steven WrightRead
A lot of sexism is just very silly... and the best response is laughter and ridicule.
Mary BeardRead