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
Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True nobility is defined by acts of mercy and compassion.
In this quote, Shakespeare emphasizes that genuine nobility is not measured by one's title or wealth, but rather by the kindness and compassion one shows toward others. Acts of mercy reflect a person's character and true greatness, suggesting that compassion is more valuable than superficial status.
Themes
NobilityMercyCompassionKindnessCharacter
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about social responsibility and community service.
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
I have lost stories and many starts of novels before. Not always as punishment for 'telling,' but more often as a result of something having gone cold and dead because of a hiatus. Telling, you see, is the same as a hiatus. It means you're not doing it.
Cynthia OzickRead
What is the most precious thing in the world? I see now that it is the knowledge that you have no part in injustice. Injustice is stronger than you, it always was and always will be, but let it not be done through you.
Aleksandr SolzhenitsynRead
When you decide to follow a certain path, you should follow it to the end and not be diverted from it for personal reasons.
Aung San Suu KyiRead
Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.
Benjamin FranklinRead
No one wants to hear everything that's in your head. They just want you to live up to what comes out of your mouth.
Adam GrantRead
Meditation is not a means of forgetting the ego; it is a method of using the ego to observe and tame its own manifestations.
Mark EpsteinRead