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
It is the stars, The stars above us, govern our conditions.
Interpretation
Our circumstances are influenced by larger forces beyond our control.
In this quote, Shakespeare reflects on the idea that human life and its conditions are not solely determined by our actions, but are also shaped by external influences, represented metaphorically by the stars. This perspective encourages a contemplation of fate, destiny, and the role of higher powers in our lives, suggesting that some aspects of our existence are predetermined or governed by forces beyond our understanding.
In practice
When talking about the unpredictability of life in a graduation speech.
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.
Sadness to me is the happiest time, When a shining city rises from the ruins of my drunken mind. Those times when I'm silent and still as the earth, The thunder of my roar is heard across the universe.
When there is no desire, all things are at peace
In mystical traditions, it is one's own readiness that makes experiences exoteric or esoteric. The secret isn't that you're not being told. The secret is that you're not able to hear.
I would not have traded the delights of my suffering for anything in the world.
I found this out over the years, that racism is a thinly veiled disguise over economics and money. It really is.
To renounce liberty is to renounce being a man, to surrender the rights of humanity and even its duties. For he who renounces everything no indemnity is possible. Such a renunciation is incompatible with man's nature; to remove all liberty from his will is to remove all morality from his acts.
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