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
The world is not thy friend, nor the world's law. - Romeo
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that the world is indifferent to individuals, and that societal rules may not always align with personal interests.
In this line from 'Romeo and Juliet', Shakespeare implies a deep skepticism about the nature of the world and its governing laws. It reflects the notion that the world is often a hostile place, where individuals must navigate their own paths, and that the societal norms or 'world's law' should not dictate one's personal values or decisions. This can inspire people to forge their own destinies rather than blindly conforming to external expectations.
Themes
WorldFriendshipLawIndifferenceIndividualism
In practice
Example use cases
A speaker addressing a graduation ceremony may use this quote to encourage graduates to think independently.
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
There's a very committed effort to convert the US into something resembling a Third World society, where a few people have enormous wealth and a lot of others have no security.
Noam ChomskyRead
Water is the softest of all things, yet it is the most powerful. The ocean patiently allows all things to flow into it. It is always flexible. The Tao is not about grasping, but allowing, like water.
Wayne DyerRead
Child,' said the Lion, 'I am telling you your story, not hers. No one is told any story but their own.
C. S. LewisRead
When the Spirit fills us, we are transformed, and by beholding God we become mirrors. You can always tell when someone has been beholding the glory of the Lord, because your inner spirit senses that he mirrors the Lordβs own character. Beware of anything that would spot or tarnish that mirror in you. It is almost always something good that will stain it- something good, but not what is best.
Oswald ChambersRead
The blacklist was a time of evil...no one on either side who survived it came through untouched by evil...[Looking] back on this time...it will do no good to search for villains or heroes or saints or devils because there were none; there were only victims.
Dalton TrumboRead
No mother would ever willingly sacrifice her sons for territorial gain, for economic advantage, for ideology.
Ronald ReaganRead