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
Soft pity enters an iron gate.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that gentleness or compassion can penetrate even the strongest barriers.
In this quote, Shakespeare implies that soft emotions, such as pity, have the power to transcend formidable obstacles symbolized by the 'iron gate.' This reflects the idea that emotional strength, compassion, and understanding can overcome hard-heartedness or rigidity, fostering connection and healing even in the most challenging circumstances.
Themes
PityCompassionStrengthBarriersEmotions
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of empathy in leadership.
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
If we have no mercy toward others, that is one proof that we have never experienced God's mercy.
Billy GrahamRead
To the best of my judgment, I have labored for, and not against, the Union. As I have not felt, so I have not expressed any harsh sentiment towards our Southern brethren. I have constantly declared, as I really believed, the only difference between them and us is the difference of circumstances.
Abraham LincolnRead
All men have the stars," he answered, "but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travellers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems. For my businessman they were wealth. But all the stars are silent. You--you alone--will have the stars as no one else has them--
Antoine De Saint-ExuperyRead
Evil comes from the ABUSE of free will
C. S. LewisRead
A people who extend civil liberties only to preferred groups start down the path either to dictatorship of the right or the left.
William O. DouglasRead
Pittsburgh isn't fancy, but it is real. It's a working town and money doesn't come easy. I feel as much a part of this city as the cobblestone streets and the steel mills, people in this town expect an honest day's work, and I've it to them for a long, long time.
Willie StargellRead