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
Is it not strange, that sheep's guts should hale souls out of men's bodies!
Interpretation
This quote questions the surreal nature of life and the unexpected impact of trivial things.
Shakespeare's quote reflects on the paradoxical and often absurd aspects of existence. It suggests that something as mundane as sheep's guts can play a significant role in something as profound as the soul's journey. This invites contemplation about the ways in which ordinary elements of life influence deeper realities, perhaps urging us to reconsider what we value and how we perceive meaning in our lives.
In practice
In a philosophical lecture discussing the nature of existence and absurdity.
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.
To travel a circle is to journey over the same ground time and time again. To travel a circle wisely is to journey over the same ground for the first time. In this way, the ordinary becomes extraordinary, and the circle, a path to where you wish to be. And when you notice at last that the path has circled back into itself, you realize that where you wish to be is where you have already been ... and always were.
A thousand deaths would still be less than he deserves.
If my devils are to leave me, I'm afraid my angels will take flight as well.
Religion is for people who fear hell, spirituality is for people who have been there.
Men are so necessarily mad, that not to be mad would amount to another form of madness.
We look back, already, with astonishment, at the daring outrages committed by despotism, on the reason and rights of man; we look forward with joy, to the period, when it shall be despoiled of all its usurpations, and bound forever in the chains, with which it had loaded its miserable victims.
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