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
she shall scant show well that now shows best.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that those who are truly beautiful or virtuous may not always outwardly display their qualities.
In this quote by Shakespeare, the idea is that real beauty or worth is often understated or subtle, implying that those who seem to show their best qualities may not be as genuine as those who are modest about their virtues. It highlights the complexity of human nature and the tendency to overlook the depth of character in favor of surface appearances.
In practice
During a discussion on beauty in literature, one might quote Shakespeare to illustrate the idea that true charm is often hidden.
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).
Love bears it out even to the edge of doom.
Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.
Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
Give it an understanding, but no tongue.
I was always sweet, at first. Oh, it's so easy to be sweet to people before you love them.
The proper aim of giving is to put the recipient in a state where he no longer needs our gifts...Thus a heavy task is laid upon Gift-love. It must work toward its own abdication. We must aim at making ourselves superfluous. The hour when we can say 'They need me no longer' should be our reward. But the instinct, simply in its own nature, has no power to fulfill this law.
At the end of the day, you know, love does not happen between two perfect people as much as we would wish.
You will reciprocally promise love, loyalty and matrimonial honesty. We only want for you this day that these words constitute the principle of your entire life and that with the help of divine grace you will observe these solemn vows that today, before God, you formulate.
A lot of times I've reached my hand out to people in the gay community that just didn't have nobody to help them when they were down and out.
Love does not cause suffering: what causes it is the sense of ownership, which is love's opposite.
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