--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That England, that was wont to conquer…" description: "\"That England, that was wont to conquer others, Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.\" — William Shakespeare" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67c/william-shakespeare-4_conquer_that-england-that-was-wont-to-conquer-ot_1553834.jpg" --- # That England, that was wont to conquer others, Hath made a… ![“That England, that was wont to conquer others, Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67c/william-shakespeare-4_conquer_that-england-that-was-wont-to-conquer-ot_1553834.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67c/william-shakespeare-4_conquer_that-england-that-was-wont-to-conquer-ot_1553834.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67c/william-shakespeare-4_conquer_that-england-that-was-wont-to-conquer-ot_1553834.jpg) > “That England, that was wont to conquer others, Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.” [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. England’s history of conquest leads to self‑destruction, a shameful outcome of its own ambition. **In simple terms:** Conquest can turn inward, causing self‑harm. Key Takeaway Beware of overreaching ambition. Themes hubris imperialism self‑destruction Mood cautionary reflective Type historical political When to use this quote - national policy - colonial ventures - personal ambition Key Concepts history political theory ethics Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards prevent a nation from self‑ruin? - How can societies learn from past overreach? A Different Perspective Ambition can also drive positive change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquest/) [England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england/) [English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Man's destiny was to conquer and rule the world, and this is what he's done.. almost. He hasn't quite made it, and it looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/man-s-destiny-was-to-conquer-and-rule-the-world-and-this-is-what-he-s/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [Take risks and conquer your fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/take-risks-and-conquer-your-fear/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Each man begins with his own world to conquer, and his education is the measure of his conquest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-evans-hughes/each-man-begins-with-his-own-world-to-conquer-and-his-education-is/) [Charles Evans Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-evans-hughes/) > [For this war is essentially a war of conquest. If ever a nation did wage such a war, the North is now engaged, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-fremantle/for-this-war-is-essentially-a-war-of-conquest-if-ever-a-nation-did/) Arthur Fremantle > [To get the best, we have to conquer the unwanted tests life brings and prove we deserve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/to-get-the-best-we-have-to-conquer-the-unwanted-tests-life-brings-and/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [“They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force—nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/they-were-conquerors-and-for-that-you-want-only-brute-force-nothing-2/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Death makes no conquest of this conqueror: For now he lives in fame, though not in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/death-makes-no-conquest-of-this-conqueror-for-now-he-lives-in-fame/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Better conquest never canst thou make than arm thy constant and thy nobler parts against giddy, loose suggestions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/better-conquest-never-canst-thou-make-than-arm-thy-constant-and-thy/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [You have to expose part of yourself to create a character deep enough for readers to care about. You try not to because it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-haslett/you-have-to-expose-part-of-yourself-to-create-a-character-deep-enough/) [Adam Haslett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-haslett/) > [“It is almost laughable to ponder upon where it all started and nearly grim and shameful when we realise as humans that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/it-is-almost-laughable-to-ponder-upon-where-it-all-started-and-nearly/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [It's so shameful of me: I like you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-so-shameful-of-me-i-like-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I found myself compelled - like this weird, shameful compulsion - to draw cute animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/i-found-myself-compelled-like-this-weird-shameful-compulsion-to-draw/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [So few men are really worth knowing, that it seems a shameful waste to let an anthropoid prejudice stand in the way of free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/so-few-men-are-really-worth-knowing-that-it-seems-a-shameful-waste-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. ... We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/our-nation-was-born-in-genocide-when-it-embraced-the-doctrine-that/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## 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 Conquer quotes > [There are no more worlds to conquer!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/there-are-no-more-worlds-to-conquer/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [It is not enough to dream of the Impossible Love - it is necessary to conquer it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-is-not-enough-to-dream-of-the-impossible-love-it-is-necessary-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Give me 26 lead soldiers and I will conquer the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/give-me-26-lead-soldiers-and-i-will-conquer-the-world/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [I'm ready to conquer anything thrown at me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-pritchard/i-m-ready-to-conquer-anything-thrown-at-me/) [A. J. Pritchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-pritchard/) > [“They had been dreamers. Her father always said that this was why they had been easy to conquer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-rutkoski/they-had-been-dreamers-her-father-always-said-that-this-was-why-they/) [Marie Rutkoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-rutkoski/) > [The moment you conquer one fear is the minute you conquer many fears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/the-moment-you-conquer-one-fear-is-the-minute-you-conquer-many-fears/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [“In quixotically trying to conquer death doctors all too frequently do no good for their patients’ “ease” but at the same time they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kevorkian/in-quixotically-trying-to-conquer-death-doctors-all-too-frequently-do/) [Jack Kevorkian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kevorkian/) > [Yet hold it more humane, more heav'nly, first, By winning words to conquer willing hearts, And make persuasion do the work of fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/yet-hold-it-more-humane-more-heav-nly-first-by-winning-words-to/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [At the time when this famous historical battle was fought in Kosovo, the people were looking at the stars, expecting aid from them. Now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slobodan-milosevi/at-the-time-when-this-famous-historical-battle-was-fought-in-kosovo/) [Slobodan Milosević](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slobodan-milosevi/) > [I can conquer the world with one hand, as long as you are holding the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-smith/i-can-conquer-the-world-with-one-hand-as-long-as-you-are-holding-the/) [Megan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-smith/) > [ To conquer \[our enemies\] we must dare, and dare again, and dare for ever; and thus will France be saved ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-danton/to-conquer-our-enemies-we-must-dare-and-dare-again-and-dare-for-ever/) [Georges Danton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-danton/) > [I consider that the Golden Rule requires that if I like a program I must share it with other people who like it. Software…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/i-consider-that-the-golden-rule-requires-that-if-i-like-a-program-i/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) Browse all 1,557 Conquer quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That England, that was wont to conquer others, Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/that-england-that-was-wont-to-conquer-others-hath-made-a-shameful/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conquer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/that-england-that-was-wont-to-conquer-others-hath-made-a-shameful/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67c/william-shakespeare-4_conquer_that-england-that-was-wont-to-conquer-ot_1553834.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67c/william-shakespeare-4_conquer_that-england-that-was-wont-to-conquer-ot_1553834.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67c/william-shakespeare-4_conquer_that-england-that-was-wont-to-conquer-ot_1553834.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That England, that was wont to conquer others, Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.” — 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": "That England, that was wont to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/that-england-that-was-wont-to-conquer-others-hath-made-a-shameful/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/that-england-that-was-wont-to-conquer-others-hath-made-a-shameful/#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 } } ] } ```