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
To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Be true to yourself, and you will naturally be honest with others.
This quote encourages individuals to embrace their true selves and live authentically, suggesting that when one is genuine and self-aware, it leads to honesty and integrity in their dealings with others. Shakespeare emphasizes the inevitability of being truthful to others when one is truthful to oneself, much like the certainty of night following day.
Themes
SelfTruthAuthenticityIntegrityWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about personal growth at a seminar, I quoted Shakespeare to emphasize the importance of self-awareness.
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes βLove bears it out even to the edge of doom.
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Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
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Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.
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Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
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Give it an understanding, but no tongue.
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It now seemed to me that all my other guesses had been only self-pleasing dreams spun out of my wishes, but now I was awake.
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