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 is no vice so simple but assumes some mark of virtue on his outward parts.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that even the simplest wrongdoings often disguise themselves with an appearance of virtue.
William Shakespeare's quote highlights the notion that vice, no matter how straightforward, often presents itself with a facade of virtue. This speaks to the complexity of human behavior, where individuals may hide their true intentions or actions behind a veneer of moral righteousness, making it essential for people to look beyond appearances to discern true character and motives.
In practice
In a philosophical discussion about morality, this quote can illustrate how people often misinterpret actions based on their external appearance.
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.
I've seen a lot of patriots and they all died just like anybody else if it hurt bad enough and once they were dead their patriotism was only good for legends; it was bad for their prose and made them write bad poetry. If you are going to be a great patriot i.e. loyal to any existing order of government (not one who wishes to destroy the existing for something better) you want to be killed early if your life and works won't stink.
The American people need no course in philosophy or political science of church history to know that God should not be made into a celestial party chairman.
Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world, and that God will preserve it always.
By ceasing to rear and kill animals for food, we can make so much extra food available for humans that, properly distributed, it would eliminate starvation and malnutrition from this planet. Animal Liberation is Human Liberation too.
Sincerity is the same in a corner alone, as it is before the face of the world. It knows not how to wear two vizards, one for an appearance before men, and another for a short snatch in a corner; but it must have God, and be with him in the duty of prayer. It is not lip-labour that it doth regard, for it is the heart that God looks at, and that which sincerity looks at, and that which prayer comes from, if it be that prayer which is accompanied with sincerity.
To die for an idea is to set a rather high price upon conjecture.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.