QuoteProject
This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues,Was once thought honest.
William Shakespeare
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on the ironically deceptive nature of a tyrant who was once believed to be honest.

This quote by William Shakespeare highlights the tragic transformation of a person's reputation, particularly that of a tyrant, who was once seen as trustworthy. It emphasizes how perception can change dramatically over time, revealing the darker aspects of human nature and leadership, and raising questions about authenticity and truth in character.

Themes

TyrantDeceptionHonestyReputationHuman Nature

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used in a discussion about political corruption in modern times.

More from William Shakespeare

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
Love 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

We possess our body by chance and we are already pleased with it. If our physical bodies went through ten thousand transformations without end, how incomparable would this joy be! Therefore the sage roams freely in the realm in which nothing can escape, but all endures.
ZhuangziRead
I learned that the search for God is a Dark Night, that Faith is a Dark Night. And that’s hardly a surprise really, because for us each day is a dark night. None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, and yet still we go forward. Because we trust. Because we have Faith.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Being bodiless, God is nowhere, but as God He is everywhere. If there were a mountain, a place or any part of Creation where God was not, then He would be found to be in some way circumscribed. So He is everywhere and in everything. In what way is this so? Is He contained not by each part but by the whole? No, because then that would be a body. He embraces and encompasses everything, and is Himself everywhere and also above everything, worshipped by true worshippers in His Spirit and Truth.
Gregory PalamasRead
It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.
Anne SextonRead
Here we meet, on the page, naked and unadorned: shorn of class, race, gender, sexual identity, age and nationality.
Will SelfRead
No rose without a thorn but many a thorn without a rose.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.