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
Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
Interpretation
Good social experiences and companionship can enhance our character and relationships.
This quote by William Shakespeare emphasizes the importance of positive social interactions and the environment we are in. It suggests that being in good company, enjoying fine wine, and receiving a warm welcome can elevate our spirits and foster the development of our best selves, highlighting how our relationships and surroundings play a crucial role in shaping our character.
In practice
In a speech about community gatherings, one could say, 'As Shakespeare noted, good company and good wine enrich our lives.'
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.
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.
He's all my exercise, my mirth, my matter.
Prosperity is full of friends.
Make a man laugh a good hearty laugh, and you've paved the way for friendship. When a man laughs with you, he, to some extent, likes you.
He liked the works of his friends, which is beautiful as loyalty but can be disastrous as judgement.
I'd rather have two good friends, than 500,000 admirers.
Friendship, then, like the other natural loves, is unable to save itself. In reality, because it is spiritual and therefore faces a subtler enemy, it must, even more wholeheartedly than they, invoke the divine protection if it hopes to remain sweet. For consider how narrow its true path is. Is must not become what the people call a "mutual admiration society"; yet if it is not full of mutual admiration, of Appreciative love, it is not Friendship at all.
What vexes me most is, that my female friends, who could bear me very well a dozen years ago, have now forsaken me, although I am not so old in proportion to them as I formerly was: which I can prove by arithmetic, for then I was double their age, which now I am not. Letter to Alexander Pope. 7 Feb. 1736.
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