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
Weariness can snore upon the flint when resting sloth finds the down pillow hard.
Interpretation
Laziness can lead to complacency, making even the hardest challenges seem comfortable.
This quote by William Shakespeare suggests that those who are lazy often find themselves in situations where they become overly comfortable, even in discomfort. The imagery contrasts the hard flint with a soft pillow, highlighting how weariness can lead to a lack of motivation, allowing people to rationalize their laziness, rather than striving for improvement or facing challenges head-on.
In practice
In a motivational speech about overcoming procrastination, this quote can highlight the dangers of complacency.
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.
Read the heart and not the letter for the pen cannot draw near the good intent.
Of all that is good, sublimity is supreme. Succeeding is the coming together of all that is beautiful. Furtherance is the agreement of all that is just. Perseverance is the foundation of all actions.
The right thing to do never requires any subterfuge, it is always simple and direct.
We cannot control the evil tongues of others; but a good life enables us to disregard them.
Write about the truth. If you write about the truth, somebody's living that. Not just somebody, there's a lot of people.
I have learned things from the game. Much of my knowledge of locations in Britain and Europe comes not from school, but from away games or the sports pages, and hooliganism has given me both a taste for sociology and a degree of fieldwork experience. I have learned the value of investing time and emotion in things I cannot control, and of belonging to a community whose aspirations I share completely and uncritically.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.