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.
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
We swallow with one gulp the lie that flatters us, and drink drop by drop the truth which is bitter to us.
Denis DiderotRead
We are creatures of our thinking. We can talk ourselves into defeat or we can talk ourselves into victory.
Gordon B. HinckleyRead
I heard many discourses which were good for the soul, but I could not discover in the case of any one of the teachers that his life was worthy of his words.
Saint BasilRead
Difficulties indeed sometimes arise; but common sense and honest intentions will generally steer through them.
Thomas JeffersonRead
None of us is perfect. There was only one perfect man who ever walked the earth, and He was the Son of God. We all have weaknesses and I guess we all make mistakes and will make mistakes in the future, but look for the virtues, the strengths, the goodness in those with whom you labor, and draw those characteristics into your own lives and make them a part of yourselves, and you will be the richer for it all the days that you live.
Gordon B. HinckleyRead
You're creating it all. Nobody else is doing it to you.
Wayne DyerRead