Honour Quote by William Shakespeare
““honour pricks me on. Yea, but how if honour prick me off when I come on? How then? Can honour set a leg? No: or a arm? No: or take away the grief of a wound? No. Honour hath no skill in surgery then? No. What is honour? A word. What is that then? Air. A trim reckoning! - Who hath it? He that died o‘ Wednesday? Doth he feel it? No. Doth he hear it? No. ‘Tis insensible, then? Yea, to the dead. But will it not live with the living? No. Why? Detraction will not suffer it. Therefore I‘ll have none of it: honour is a mere scutcheon: - and so ends my catechism.””
About This Quote
Source Play: Henry V, Act 2, Scene 2
Honour is portrayed as an empty, painful concept that offers no real benefit or comfort, especially to the dead.
In simple terms: Honour is meaningless and offers no help.
Key Takeaway
Recognize the emptiness of hollow prestige.
Themes
honour
existentialism
skepticism
Mood
cynical
reflective
Type
philosophical
critical
literary
When to use this quote
- military leadership
- political ambition
- personal identity
- legacy building
Key Concepts
illusion
meaninglessness
human frailty
Questions to Reflect On
- Is any social construct truly valuable?
- Can we find meaning beyond honour?
A Different Perspective
Honour can still motivate people despite its emptiness.
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