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 be a well-favoured man is the gift of fortune; but to write and read comes by nature.
Interpretation
What this quote means
External beauty is a gift, but the ability to read and write is a natural talent.
This quote by William Shakespeare emphasizes the distinction between gifts bestowed by fortune, such as physical attractiveness, and innate abilities like literacy. While being well-favored may provide certain advantages in life, the true value lies in the fundamental skills of reading and writing, which are essential for personal expression and communication.
Themes
ReadingWritingLiteracyFortuneEducation
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on the importance of education, one might say, 'As Shakespeare wisely noted, to be a well-favoured man is the gift of fortune; but to write and read comes by nature.'
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes βLove bears it out even to the edge of doom.
William ShakespeareRead
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
Here I was into astronomy, and here into anthropology, and there I go into geology. It was much more fun to be able to research and write about whatever I wanted to.
Octavia ButlerRead
Language is the tool of the tools
Lev S. VygotskyRead
Our higher education system is one of the things that makes America exceptional. There's no place else that has the assets we do when it comes to higher education. People from all over the world aspire to come here and study here. And that is a good thing.
Barack ObamaRead
During my first semester of college, I raised my hand in a class and asked the professor to define a word I didn't know. The word was holocaust, and I had to ask because, until that moment, I had never heard of it.
Tara WestoverRead
Who has forbidden women to engage in private and individual studies? Have they not a rational soul as men do?...I have this inclination to study and if it is evil I am not the one who formed me thus - I was born with it and with it I shall die.
Juana Ins De La CruzRead
The greatest service that can be offered to children who show personality traits or inclinations that might not be understood by the adults around them is to allow them to express their own unique humanity.
Wayne DyerRead