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
And thus I clothe my naked villainy With odd old ends stol'n out of holy writ; And seem a saint, when most I play the devil.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the idea of hypocrisy, where one can appear virtuous while hiding sinister intentions.
In this quote, Shakespeare explores the theme of hypocrisy and deceit, illustrating how people can mask their true nature by adopting a façade of righteousness. The speaker acknowledges their villainous deeds while cloaking them in the guise of virtue, suggesting that appearances can be misleading and that one can manipulate perception to conceal their darker motives.
Themes
HypocrisyDeceitAppearanceVirtueVillainy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about moral philosophy, one might quote this to illustrate the concept of hypocrisy.
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Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
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