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
I must be cruel, only to be kind.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Sometimes being harsh is necessary for the greater good.
This quote from Shakespeare suggests that in certain situations, one may need to act with apparent cruelty in order to ultimately benefit another person. It reflects the idea that tough love and difficult actions can lead to positive outcomes, emphasizing the complexity of human relationships and moral choices.
Themes
CrueltyKindnessRelationshipsLoveMorality
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about tough decision-making, one might quote Shakespeare to illustrate the necessity of hard choices.
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
If you want to be free, be free, because there's a million things to be.
Cat StevensRead
One of the deepest motives (as you are aware) in the human beast (so deep that many have failed to detect it) is Alliteration.
Lewis CarrollRead
They do not want to know that centralization is not only the death-knell of liberty, but also of health and beauty, of art and science, all these being impossible in a clock-like, mechanical atmosphere.
Emma GoldmanRead
That is someone who follows the teachings of the nonviolent Jesus and takes the gospel personally, and then pays the price. I fall into that category.
Martin SheenRead
The minor choices we make are themselves a kind of vote. Our words and gestures, or their absence, count very much.
Timothy D. SnyderRead
Act as if the maxim of your action were to become through your will a be general natural law.
St. JeromeRead