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
It hurts not the tongue to give fair words.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Speaking kindly is effortless and can positively impact others.
This quote emphasizes the ease of offering kind words and how doing so can uplift those around us. Shakespeare highlights the importance of generosity in communication, suggesting that even the smallest gesture of kindness, such as using fair and gentle words, can have a significant effect without costing us anything.
Themes
KindnessCommunicationWordsGenerosityImpact
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about the power of positivity.
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
...when we are comfortable and inattentive, we run the risk of committing grave injustices absentmindedly.
Chinua AchebeRead
He who would do good to another must do it in minute particulars.
William BlakeRead
Knowledge, a rude unprofitable mass, the mere materials with which wisdom builds, till smoothed and squared and fitted to its place, does but encumber whom it seems to enrich. Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; wisdom is humble that he knows no more.
William CowperRead
Only intimacy with the self will bring about true healing.
Deepak ChopraRead
Sleep conceals the creative act while the objective world reveals it. In sleep man impresses the subconscious with his conception of himself.
Neville GoddardRead
Simplicity is not a simple thing.
Charlie ChaplinRead