--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Should the poor be flattered? No; let the…" description: "\"Should the poor be flattered? No; let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp, and crook the pregnant hinges of the knee where thrift may follow fawning.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/william-shakespeare-4_absurd_should-the-poor-be-flattered-no-let-the_407035.jpg" --- # Should the poor be flattered? No; let the candied tongue… ![“Should the poor be flattered? No; let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp, and crook the pregnant hinges of the knee where thrift may follow fawning.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/william-shakespeare-4_absurd_should-the-poor-be-flattered-no-let-the_407035.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/william-shakespeare-4_absurd_should-the-poor-be-flattered-no-let-the_407035.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/william-shakespeare-4_absurd_should-the-poor-be-flattered-no-let-the_407035.jpg) > “Should the poor be flattered? No; let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp, and crook the pregnant hinges of the knee where thrift may follow fawning.” [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wealth should not be praised; instead, superficial flattery should be rejected in favor of genuine thrift and humility. **In simple terms:** Reject false praise, value modesty. Key Takeaway Choose humility over vanity. Themes humility wealth social critique Mood skeptical reflective Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - political discourse - personal finance - social media - corporate culture Key Concepts flattery materialism authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How does flattery affect self-worth? - What are the costs of valuing appearance over substance? A Different Perspective Superficial compliments can mask deeper systemic inequality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Crooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crooks/) [Flattery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flattery/) [Pregnant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pregnant/) [Thrift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thrift/) ## Related quotes > [Nay, do not think I flatter. For what advancement may I hope from thee, That no revenue hast but thy good spirits To feed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/nay-do-not-think-i-flatter-for-what-advancement-may-i-hope-from-thee/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Simplicity hinges as much on cutting nonessential features as on adding helpful ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bender/simplicity-hinges-as-much-on-cutting-nonessential-features-as-on/) Walter Bender > [“He'd pull a door off its hinges rather than work out how to turn a key.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-greenwood/he-d-pull-a-door-off-its-hinges-rather-than-work-out-how-to-turn-a-key/) [Kerry Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-greenwood/) > [Power is the pivot on which everything hinges. He who has the power is always right; the weaker is always wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/power-is-the-pivot-on-which-everything-hinges-he-who-has-the-power-is/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [The significance of language for the evolution of culture lies in this, that mankind set up in language a separate world beside the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-significance-of-language-for-the-evolution-of-culture-lies-in/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [ I think \[director\] Malcolm Lee is a real master at being able to make you laugh while bringing serious subject-matter, so the movie doesn't… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-cube/i-think-director-malcolm-lee-is-a-real-master-at-being-able-to-make/) [Ice Cube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-cube/) > [Ultimately, our lives hinge on the ability to make right choices and decisions. By God's grace, I made the most important decision a person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-a-dickey/ultimately-our-lives-hinge-on-the-ability-to-make-right-choices-and/) [R.A. Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-a-dickey/) > [Back on its golden hinges The gate of Memory swings, And my heart goes into the garden And walks with the olden things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/back-on-its-golden-hinges-the-gate-of-memory-swings-and-my-heart-goes/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Success in business hinges mostly on the ability to get the important things done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-feather/success-in-business-hinges-mostly-on-the-ability-to-get-the-important/) [William Feather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-feather/) > [“If people feel lost and alone and helpless and broken and hopeless today, what will it be like if the world really begins to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-andress/if-people-feel-lost-and-alone-and-helpless-and-broken-and-hopeless/) Brandon Andress > [Heaven open'd wide Her ever during gates, harmonious sound, On golden hinges moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/heaven-open-d-wide-her-ever-during-gates-harmonious-sound-on-golden/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [As part of our ongoing series of reports on the environment, 'America Goes Green,' we take on the question that can make otherwise competent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-williams/as-part-of-our-ongoing-series-of-reports-on-the-environment-america/) [Brian Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-williams/) > [Big doors swing on small hinges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-archer/big-doors-swing-on-small-hinges/) Vincent Archer > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) ## More by William Shakespeare > [Let us kill all lawyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-us-kill-all-lawyers/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-tiger-s-heart-wrapped-in-a-woman-s-hide/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Divers philosophers hold that the lips is parcel of the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/divers-philosophers-hold-that-the-lips-is-parcel-of-the-mouth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-smoke-made-with-the-fume-of-sighs-being-purg-d-a-fire/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep’st so sound. Julius Caesar (2.1.248-251)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-hast-no-figures-nor-no-fantasies-which-busy-care-draws-in-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Have you not heard it said full oft, A woman's nay doth stand for naught?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/have-you-not-heard-it-said-full-oft-a-woman-s-nay-doth-stand-for/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Omittance is no quittance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/omittance-is-no-quittance/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Yes, madam: yet I cannot choose but laugh, To think it should leave crying and say 'Ay.' And yet, I warrant, it had upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/yes-madam-yet-i-cannot-choose-but-laugh-to-think-it-should-leave/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-take-thee-at-thy-word-call-me-but-love-and-i-ll-be-new-baptized/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Explore all 5,604 William Shakespeare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Should the poor be flattered? No; let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp, and crook the pregnant hinges of the knee where thrift may follow fawning.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/should-the-poor-be-flattered-no-let-the-candied-tongue-lick-absurd/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/should-the-poor-be-flattered-no-let-the-candied-tongue-lick-absurd/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/william-shakespeare-4_absurd_should-the-poor-be-flattered-no-let-the_407035.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/william-shakespeare-4_absurd_should-the-poor-be-flattered-no-let-the_407035.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/william-shakespeare-4_absurd_should-the-poor-be-flattered-no-let-the_407035.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Should the poor be flattered? No; let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp, and crook the pregnant hinges of…” — William Shakespeare", "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": "William Shakespeare", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Should the poor be flattered? No;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/should-the-poor-be-flattered-no-let-the-candied-tongue-lick-absurd/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/should-the-poor-be-flattered-no-let-the-candied-tongue-lick-absurd/#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 } } ] } ```