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
ROMEO There is thy gold, worse poison to men's souls, Doing more murders in this loathsome world, Than these poor compounds that thou mayst not sell. I sell thee poison; thou hast sold me none. Farewell: buy food, and get thyself in flesh. Come, cordial and not poison, go with me To Juliet's grave; for there must I use thee.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the destructive nature of greed and the moral dilemmas tied to human desires.
In this excerpt from Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', Romeo reflects on the corrupting power of greed, suggesting that the gold he offers is more poisonous to people's souls than the literal poison he seeks. It speaks to the idea that wealth and material desires can lead to moral decay and violence, suggesting that the true danger lies not in the objects people sell, but in the intentions and consequences behind those desires.
Themes
GreedPoisonMoneyMoralityDesire
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the dangers of materialism, one might quote this to emphasize the moral consequences of greed.
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes →Love 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
You only live twice. Once when you are born and once when you look death in the face.
Ian FlemingRead
It will be forgotten, on the one hand, that jealousy is the usual concomitant of violent love, and that the noble enthusiasm of liberty is too apt to be infected with a spirit of narrow and illiberal distrust. On the other hand, it will be equally forgotten, that the vigour of government is essential to the security of liberty.
Alexander HamiltonRead
If we have no mercy toward others, that is one proof that we have never experienced God's mercy.
Billy GrahamRead
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.
Winston ChurchillRead
Data is a lot like humans: It is born. Matures. Gets married to other data, _x000D_ divorced. Gets old. One thing that it doesn't do is die. It has to be killed.
Arthur MillerRead
The presence of others who see what we see and hear what we hear assures us of the reality of the world and ourselves.
Hannah ArendtRead