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
ROMEO There is thy gold, worse poison to men's souls, Doing more murders in this loathsome world, Than these poor compounds that thou mayst not sell. I sell thee poison; thou hast sold me none. Farewell: buy food, and get thyself in flesh. Come, cordial and not poison, go with me To Juliet's grave; for there must I use thee.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the destructive nature of greed and the moral dilemmas tied to human desires.
In this excerpt from Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', Romeo reflects on the corrupting power of greed, suggesting that the gold he offers is more poisonous to people's souls than the literal poison he seeks. It speaks to the idea that wealth and material desires can lead to moral decay and violence, suggesting that the true danger lies not in the objects people sell, but in the intentions and consequences behind those desires.
In practice
In a discussion about the dangers of materialism, one might quote this to emphasize the moral consequences of greed.
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.
The world is a divine dream, from which we may presently awake to the glories and certainties of day.
Everything happens for a reason and a purpose, and it serves you.
No clouds gathered in the skies and the polluted streams became clear, whilst celestial music rang through the air and the angels rejoiced with gladness. With no selfish or partial joy but for the sake of the law they rejoiced, for creation engulfed in the ocean of pain was now to obtain release.
Creation stories had never been regarded as historically accurate; their purpose was therapeutic. But once you start reading Genesis as scientifically valid, you have bad science and bad religion.
Imagination is a tree. It has the integrative virtues of a tree. It is root and boughs. It lives between earth and sky. It lives in the earth and the wind. The imagined tree imperceptibly becomes a cosmological tree, the tree which epitomises a universe, which makes a universe.
Life is always frightful. We cannot help it and we are responsible all the same. One's born and at once one is guilty.
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