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
There's an old saying that applies to me: you can't lose a game if you don't play the game. (Act 1, scene 4)
Interpretation
This quote suggests that avoiding participation guarantees no failure, highlighting the risks of inaction.
In this quote, Shakespeare reflects on the idea that not engaging in challenges means one cannot experience failure. By not playing the game, a person is safeguarded from loss, but also from any potential gains or experiences that come from taking risks. It emphasizes that inaction may seem safer but can lead to missed opportunities.
In practice
During a motivational speech about embracing challenges.
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.
Hero-worship is strongest where there is least regard for human freedom.
Liberty is a word which, according as it is used, comprehends the most good and the most evil of any in the world.
Maybe, he said hesitantly, maybe there is a beast. The assembly cried out savagely and Ralph stood up in amazement. You, Simon? You believe in this? I don't know, said Simon. His heartbeats were choking him. [...] Ralph shouted. Hear him! He's got the conch! What I mean is . . . maybe it's only us. Nuts! That was from Piggy, shocked out of decorum.
We pick out a text here and there to make it serve our turn; whereas , if we take it all together, and considered what went before and what followed after, we should find it meant no such thing.
But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail
Thou art a man God is no more Thy own humanity Learn to adore
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