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
This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war, This happy breed of men, this little world, This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands,--This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
Interpretation
The quote celebrates England's beauty and significance as a unique land enriched by nature.
William Shakespeare's quote vividly depicts England as a majestic and protective realm, comparing it to a paradise and emphasizing its natural defenses against external threats. Through poetic imagery, he conveys a deep appreciation for the beauty, history, and unique qualities of the land, suggesting that it is a blessed and cherished place set apart from the rest of the world.
In practice
In a speech celebrating our homeland, we can emphasize its beauty and significance using this quote.
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.
Naturalists, like poets, are born and then made only by years of painstaking observation.
I'm really quite simple. I plant flowers and watch them grow... I stay at home and watch the river flow.
The dance of the flower in the wind, in the sun, in the rain, cannot be understood by the head; the heart has to be open for it.
...if we want to meet the obligations of our civilization and our culture which are to create communities for our children that provide them with the same opportunities for dignity and enrichment as the communities that our parents gave us, we've got to start by protecting that infrastructure; the air that we breathe, the water that we drink, the landscapes that enrich us.
Our tools are better than we are, and grow better faster than we do. They suffice to crack the atom, to command the tides, but they do not suffice for the oldest task in human history, to live on a piece of land without spoiling it.
A Sustainable Agriculture does not deplete soils or people.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.