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
A rarer spirit never Did steer humanity; but you gods will give us Some faults to make us men.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the duality of human nature, suggesting that imperfections are essential to our humanity.
In this quote, Shakespeare explores the complex nature of being human, implying that while some individuals possess extraordinary qualities or 'rarer spirits,' these traits alone do not fully define humanity. The notion that gods provide faults for humans reinforces the idea that imperfections and challenges are integral to the human experience, shaping our identity and behavior.
Themes
HumanityImperfectionNatureHuman SpiritGods
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about accepting flaws in ourselves and others, one might say, 'As Shakespeare reminds us, 'A rarer spirit never did steer humanity;' we need to embrace our imperfections to grow.
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
In Africa, when an old man dies, it's a library burning.
Amadou Hampate BaRead
Innocence is like a dumb leper who has lost his bell, wandering the world, meaning no harm.
Graham GreeneRead
Even if I seemed to remember, I could not know. For just to remember something is not to know if it really happened. That is a primary fact of the inner life, the most difficult fact with which we must live.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
I think slavery is wrong, morally, and politically. I desire that it should be no further spread in these United States, and I should not object if it should gradually terminate in the whole Union.
Abraham LincolnRead
Of a truth, men are mystically united: a mystic bond of brotherhood makes all men one.
Thomas CarlyleRead
The new American finds his challenge and his love in the traffic-choked streets, skies nested in smog, choking with the acids of industry, the screech of rubber and houses leashed in against one another while the town lets wither a time and die.
John SteinbeckRead