--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For Hamlet, greatness means willingness…" description: "\"For Hamlet, greatness means willingness to fight for reasons as thin as an eggshell: anyone would fight for things that matter; true heroes take their ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e4/peter-thiel-1311_eggshells_for-hamlet-greatness-means-willingness-t_2908798.jpg" --- # For Hamlet, greatness means willingness to fight for… ![“For Hamlet, greatness means willingness to fight for reasons as thin as an eggshell: anyone would fight for things that matter; true heroes take their personal honor so seriously they will fight for things that don’t matter.” quote by Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e4/peter-thiel-1311_eggshells_for-hamlet-greatness-means-willingness-t_2908798.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e4/peter-thiel-1311_eggshells_for-hamlet-greatness-means-willingness-t_2908798.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e4/peter-thiel-1311_eggshells_for-hamlet-greatness-means-willingness-t_2908798.jpg) > “For Hamlet, greatness means willingness to fight for reasons as thin as an eggshell: anyone would fight for things that matter; true heroes take their personal honor so seriously they will fight for things that don’t matter.” [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greatness is portrayed as willingness to fight for any cause, even trivial ones, highlighting personal honor over substantive reasons. **In simple terms:** Greatness equals fighting for any cause, even trivial. Key Takeaway Question the value of fighting for trivial causes. Themes honor heroism motivation Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - political activism - military service - personal challenges - ethical debates Key Concepts ethical relativism personal integrity Questions to Reflect On - When does personal honor become detrimental? - Should heroes fight for trivial causes? A Different Perspective Blind honor can lead to harmful actions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eggshells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eggshells/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Hamlet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hamlet/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Things that matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-that-matter/) [True hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-hero/) [Willingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willingness/) ## Related quotes > [There were different kinds of strength. I knew that now. It didn't always come from a knife or a willingness to fight. Sometimes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-aguirre/there-were-different-kinds-of-strength-i-knew-that-now-it-didn-t/) [Ann Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-aguirre/) > [“I’ve always felt that the mark of a man is his willingness to fight for his principles. It doesn’t matter if you win or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-schaefer/i-ve-always-felt-that-the-mark-of-a-man-is-his-willingness-to-fight/) [Craig Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-schaefer/) > [You have to have that willingness and that fight to get back in the game and get a point or a win. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-coady/you-have-to-have-that-willingness-and-that-fight-to-get-back-in-the/) [Conor Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-coady/) > [“If there was any American value worth adopting, it was a willingness to fight and die for freedom. More”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-nicholson/if-there-was-any-american-value-worth-adopting-it-was-a-willingness/) [Scott Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-nicholson/) > [Anecdote: Greatness Means Leading the Way. No stream is large and copious of itself, but becomes great by receiving and leading on so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/anecdote-greatness-means-leading-the-way-no-stream-is-large-and/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [He who is greatest among you shall be a servant. That's the new definition of greatness. ... By giving that definition of greatness, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/he-who-is-greatest-among-you-shall-be-a-servant-that-s-the-new/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [F.D.R. achieved greatness not by means of imposing his temperament and intellect on the world but by reacting to what the world threw at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/f-d-r-achieved-greatness-not-by-means-of-imposing-his-temperament-and/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [True greatness means that, even if you forget what you've done for others, you never forget what others have done for you. It means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josei-toda/true-greatness-means-that-even-if-you-forget-what-you-ve-done-for/) [Josei Toda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josei-toda/) > [The pursuit of greatness means that laziness has no place in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/the-pursuit-of-greatness-means-that-laziness-has-no-place-in-your-life/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [Of what is great one must either be silent or speak with greatness. With greatness--that means cynically and with innocence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/of-what-is-great-one-must-either-be-silent-or-speak-with-greatness/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Greatness means setting out to make some difference somewhere to someone in someplace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lolly-daskal/greatness-means-setting-out-to-make-some-difference-somewhere-to/) [Lolly Daskal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lolly-daskal/) > [“Greatness means having pride in yourself, being happy with yourself, knowing you’ve worked for something and couldn’t have done anything more. That is greatness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-howes/greatness-means-having-pride-in-yourself-being-happy-with-yourself/) [Lewis Howes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-howes/) > [Problems are an important part of maturing--meet them straight on. Work them out. It's like the chick in the egg. It has to break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-tobey/problems-are-an-important-part-of-maturing-meet-them-straight-on-work/) [Mark Tobey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-tobey/) > [Jeezum—humans were like eggshells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/jeezum-humans-were-like-eggshells/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and from the decomposition of the thrown-out eggshells, spinach leaves, coffee grinds, and old steak bones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/our-bodies-are-garbage-heaps-we-collect-experience-and-from-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) ## More by Peter Thiel > [People don't want to believe that technology is broken. Pharmaceuticals, robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology - all these areas where the progress has been a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/people-don-t-want-to-believe-that-technology-is-broken/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [If you think about basic science or coming up with new theories of mathematics, these are not the kinds of things which are necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/if-you-think-about-basic-science-or-coming-up-with-new-theories-of/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [I think we have a bubble in the US in government bonds, because of the quantitative easing and the negative real interest rates, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/i-think-we-have-a-bubble-in-the-us-in-government-bonds-because-of-the/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“Time and decision-making themselves follow a power law, and some moments matter far more than others”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/time-and-decision-making-themselves-follow-a-power-law-and-some/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“Today, we exaggerate the differences between left-liberal egalitarianism and libertarian individualism because almost everyone shares their common indefinite attitude. In philosophy, politics, and business,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/today-we-exaggerate-the-differences-between-left-liberal/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [When you already have $150 billion a year in revenues from the iPhone, it's very hard to come up with any new vertical that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/when-you-already-have-150-billion-a-year-in-revenues-from-the-iphone/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“CREATIVE MONOPOLY means new products that benefit everybody and sustainable profits for the creator. Competition means no profits for anybody, no meaningful differentiation, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/creative-monopoly-means-new-products-that-benefit-everybody-and/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“we have given up our sense of wonder at secrets left to be discovered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/we-have-given-up-our-sense-of-wonder-at-secrets-left-to-be-discovered/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“Today our society is permeated by the twin ideas that death is both inevitable and random.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/today-our-society-is-permeated-by-the-twin-ideas-that-death-is-both/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“if your company can be summed up by its opposition to already existing firms, it can’t be completely new and it’s probably not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/if-your-company-can-be-summed-up-by-its-opposition-to-already/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“Is a lukewarm attitude to one’s work a sign of mental health? Is a merely professional attitude the only sane approach?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/is-a-lukewarm-attitude-to-one-s-work-a-sign-of-mental-health-is-a/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“If you’ve invented something new but you haven’t invented an effective way to sell it, you have a bad business—no matter how good the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/if-you-ve-invented-something-new-but-you-haven-t-invented-an/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [The business model piece is we're always talking about competing more effectively. If you're starting a company or career you don't want to compete.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/the-business-model-piece-is-we-re-always-talking-about-competing-more/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [If you invest in Microsoft or Oracle, or a number of other companies for that matter, you're fundamentally making a bet that there's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/if-you-invest-in-microsoft-or-oracle-or-a-number-of-other-companies/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [Our economy is broken. I'm not a politician, but neither is Donald Trump. He is a builder, and it's time to rebuild America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/our-economy-is-broken-i-m-not-a-politician-but-neither-is-donald/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) [Explore all 257 Peter Thiel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) ## More Eggshells quotes > [Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and from the decomposition of the thrown-out eggshells, spinach leaves, coffee grinds, and old steak bones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/our-bodies-are-garbage-heaps-we-collect-experience-and-from-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Jeezum—humans were like eggshells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/jeezum-humans-were-like-eggshells/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [Problems are an important part of maturing--meet them straight on. Work them out. It's like the chick in the egg. It has to break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-tobey/problems-are-an-important-part-of-maturing-meet-them-straight-on-work/) [Mark Tobey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-tobey/) > [Don't plant your bad days. They grow into weeks. The weeks grow into months. Before you know it, you got yourself a bad year.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/don-t-plant-your-bad-days-they-grow-into-weeks-the-weeks-grow-into/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I could never work out whether we were to view religion as a life-insurance policy or a life sentence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-could-never-work-out-whether-we-were-to-view-religion-as-a-life/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“The nest is made of butter-poached mushrooms," Hampus was saying. Henry had been so busy fuming he'd missed Chef Martinet's first bite of Hampus's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-kate-strohm/the-nest-is-made-of-butter-poached-mushrooms-hampus-was-saying-henry/) [Stephanie Kate Strohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-kate-strohm/) > [He's pulling the load of an ox and walking on eggshells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-s-pulling-the-load-of-an-ox-and-walking-on-eggshells/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [White fragility! White people are so sensitive about race and racial conversations. I feel like I'm always walking on eggshells when I'm around white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/white-fragility-white-people-are-so-sensitive-about-race-and-racial/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [Secretly everybody's getting tired of political correctness, kissing up. That's the kiss-ass generation we're in right now. We're really in a pussy generation. Everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/secretly-everybody-s-getting-tired-of-political-correctness-kissing/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleeding/Ghosts crowd the young child's fragile eggshell mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/indians-scattered-on-dawn-s-highway-bleeding-ghosts-crowd-the-young/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [“Briggs: This is how you walk on eggshells? Riley: Well, you know. Eggshells. If they're on the ground, they're probably already broken anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geonn-cannon/briggs-this-is-how-you-walk-on-eggshells-riley-well-you-know/) Geonn Cannon > [Hope can be the most wonderful thing in the world or it can crush your heart like an eggshell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/hope-can-be-the-most-wonderful-thing-in-the-world-or-it-can-crush/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [“I spread eggshells all over my room, so anyone who tries to get close when I sleep will know what they're walking on”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-stern/i-spread-eggshells-all-over-my-room-so-anyone-who-tries-to-get-close/) [Josh Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-stern/) > [I don't want to be a celebrity athlete. When you are, there's this pressure on you. It's like you have this halo over your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shani-davis/i-don-t-want-to-be-a-celebrity-athlete-when-you-are-there-s-this/) [Shani Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shani-davis/) > [“Eggshells become hard to break after walking on them for so long.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-castile/eggshells-become-hard-to-break-after-walking-on-them-for-so-long/) [Mia Castile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-castile/) [Browse all 38 Eggshells quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eggshells/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For Hamlet, greatness means willingness to fight for reasons as thin as an eggshell: anyone would fight for things that matter; true heroes take their personal honor so seriously they will fight for things that don’t matter.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Thiel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/for-hamlet-greatness-means-willingness-to-fight-for-reasons-as-thin/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eggshells" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/for-hamlet-greatness-means-willingness-to-fight-for-reasons-as-thin/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e4/peter-thiel-1311_eggshells_for-hamlet-greatness-means-willingness-t_2908798.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e4/peter-thiel-1311_eggshells_for-hamlet-greatness-means-willingness-t_2908798.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e4/peter-thiel-1311_eggshells_for-hamlet-greatness-means-willingness-t_2908798.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For Hamlet, greatness means willingness to fight for reasons as thin as an eggshell: anyone would fight for…” — Peter Thiel", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Peter Thiel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For Hamlet, greatness means willingness to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/for-hamlet-greatness-means-willingness-to-fight-for-reasons-as-thin/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/for-hamlet-greatness-means-willingness-to-fight-for-reasons-as-thin/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```