---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They that have power to hurt and will do…"
description: "\"“They that have power to hurt and will do none, That do not do the thing they most do show, Who, moving others, are themselves as stone, Unmoved, cold,..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da5/william-shakespeare-4_live-and-die_they-that-have-power-to-hurt-and-will-do_2986220.jpg"
---

#  They that have power to hurt and will do none, That do not…

![“They that have power to hurt and will do none, That do not do the thing they most do show, Who, moving others, are themselves as stone, Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow, They rightly do inherit Heaven's graces, And husband nature's riches from expense; They are the lords and owners of their…” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da5/william-shakespeare-4_live-and-die_they-that-have-power-to-hurt-and-will-do_2986220.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da5/william-shakespeare-4_live-and-die_they-that-have-power-to-hurt-and-will-do_2986220.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da5/william-shakespeare-4_live-and-die_they-that-have-power-to-hurt-and-will-do_2986220.jpg)

> ““They that have power to hurt and will do none, That do not do the thing they most do show, Who, moving others, are themselves as stone, Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow, They rightly do inherit Heaven's graces, And husband nature's riches from expense; They are the lords and owners of their faces, Others but stewards of their excellence. The summer's flow'r is to the summer sweet Though to itself it only live and die; But if that flow'r with base infection meet, The basest weed outbraves his dignity: For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds; Lillies that fester smell far worse than weeds.””

[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.

Powerful individuals who refrain from harming others show true strength and moral integrity, while those who succumb to base impulses degrade themselves.

**In simple terms:** Self‑control shows true power.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate restraint.

Themes

integrity power morality

Mood

reflective serious

Type

philosophical ethical

When to use this quote

- leadership
- personal development
- conflict resolution
- ethical decision‑making

Key Concepts

Stoicism ethical leadership

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you practice restraint in daily life?
- What pressures test your moral compass?

A Different Perspective

Even the virtuous can be tempted by desire.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [The summer's flow'r is to the summer sweet, Though to itself it only live and die' But if that flow'r with base infection meet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-summer-s-flow-r-is-to-the-summer-sweet-though-to-itself-it-only/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds; Lillies that fester smell far worse than weeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/for-sweetest-things-turn-sourest-by-their-deeds-lillies-that-fester/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/lilies-that-fester-smell-far-worse-than-weeds/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [The summer's flower is to the summer sweet Though to itself it only live and die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-summer-s-flower-is-to-the-summer-sweet-though-to-itself-it-only/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Heaven would that she these gifts should have, and I to live and die her slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/heaven-would-that-she-these-gifts-should-have-and-i-to-live-and-die/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“...when President Clinton, on the anniversary of his election, spoke in the church in Tennessee where Martin Luther King, Jr., had delivered his last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-himmelfarb/when-president-clinton-on-the-anniversary-of-his-election-spoke-in/)

[Gertrude Himmelfarb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-himmelfarb/)

> [If you die of cancer with only openness and softness in your heart, you will live and die integrating your self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/if-you-die-of-cancer-with-only-openness-and-softness-in-your-heart/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/night-gathers-and-now-my-watch-begins-it-shall-not-end-until-my-death/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Japanese of my generation try to get through life without stepping on anyone's toes; in some ways that's unnatural and stressful. The yakuza are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takashi-miike/japanese-of-my-generation-try-to-get-through-life-without-stepping-on/)

[Takashi Miike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takashi-miike/)

> [Passion, that thing of beauty, that flowering without roots, has to be born, live and die without reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgette-leblanc/passion-that-thing-of-beauty-that-flowering-without-roots-has-to-be/)

[Georgette Leblanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgette-leblanc/)

> [The only dream worth having, I told her, is to dream that you will live while you're alive and die only when you're dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-only-dream-worth-having-i-told-her-is-to-dream-that-you-will-live/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [You're a musician and you live and die by people responding to your music. It's a business just like anything else and if people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-martel/you-re-a-musician-and-you-live-and-die-by-people-responding-to-your/)

[Marc Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-martel/)

> [We live and die; Christ died and lived!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-live-and-die-christ-died-and-lived/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“1. Who is a Death Warrior? Anyone can be a Death Warrior, not just someone who is terminally ill. We are all terminally ill.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-x-stork/1-who-is-a-death-warrior-anyone-can-be-a-death-warrior-not-just/)

[Francisco X. Stork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-x-stork/)

> [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/)

[David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/)

## 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 Live and die quotes

> [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/)

[David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/)

> [“1. Who is a Death Warrior? Anyone can be a Death Warrior, not just someone who is terminally ill. We are all terminally ill.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-x-stork/1-who-is-a-death-warrior-anyone-can-be-a-death-warrior-not-just/)

[Francisco X. Stork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-x-stork/)

> [We live and die; Christ died and lived!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-live-and-die-christ-died-and-lived/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [You're a musician and you live and die by people responding to your music. It's a business just like anything else and if people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-martel/you-re-a-musician-and-you-live-and-die-by-people-responding-to-your/)

[Marc Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-martel/)

> [The only dream worth having, I told her, is to dream that you will live while you're alive and die only when you're dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-only-dream-worth-having-i-told-her-is-to-dream-that-you-will-live/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [Passion, that thing of beauty, that flowering without roots, has to be born, live and die without reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgette-leblanc/passion-that-thing-of-beauty-that-flowering-without-roots-has-to-be/)

[Georgette Leblanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgette-leblanc/)

> [Japanese of my generation try to get through life without stepping on anyone's toes; in some ways that's unnatural and stressful. The yakuza are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takashi-miike/japanese-of-my-generation-try-to-get-through-life-without-stepping-on/)

[Takashi Miike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takashi-miike/)

> [Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/night-gathers-and-now-my-watch-begins-it-shall-not-end-until-my-death/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If you die of cancer with only openness and softness in your heart, you will live and die integrating your self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/if-you-die-of-cancer-with-only-openness-and-softness-in-your-heart/)

[John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/)

> [“...when President Clinton, on the anniversary of his election, spoke in the church in Tennessee where Martin Luther King, Jr., had delivered his last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-himmelfarb/when-president-clinton-on-the-anniversary-of-his-election-spoke-in/)

[Gertrude Himmelfarb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-himmelfarb/)

> [“The people who say, “Preach the gospel, and use words if necessary,” seem to forget that the very essence of the gospel is words.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-altrogge/the-people-who-say-preach-the-gospel-and-use-words-if-necessary-seem/)

[Stephen Altrogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-altrogge/)

> [One should live and die where one was born... I've been bored everywhere I went. What was the point of leaving Coasta Boacu?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/one-should-live-and-die-where-one-was-born-i-ve-been-bored-everywhere/)

[Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/)

> [Out of our first century of national life we evolved the ethical principle that it was not right or just that an honest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-perkins/out-of-our-first-century-of-national-life-we-evolved-the-ethical/)

[Frances Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-perkins/)

> [When you're a stand-up comic, you live and die by what you say on stage. There's no director or writer or producer who can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maz-jobrani/when-you-re-a-stand-up-comic-you-live-and-die-by-what-you-say-on/)

[Maz Jobrani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maz-jobrani/)

> [Black prophetic fire is the hypersensitivity to the suffering of others that generates a righteous indignation that results in the willingness to live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/black-prophetic-fire-is-the-hypersensitivity-to-the-suffering-of/)

[Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/)

Browse all 316 Live and die quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“They that have power to hurt and will do none, That do not do the thing they most do show, Who, moving others, are themselves as stone, Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow, They rightly do inherit Heaven's graces, And husband nature's riches from expense; They are the lords and owners of their faces, Others but stewards of their excellence. The summer's flow'r is to the summer sweet Though to itself it only live and die; But if that flow'r with base infection meet, The basest weed outbraves his dignity: For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds; Lillies that fester smell far worse than weeds.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Shakespeare"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/they-that-have-power-to-hurt-and-will-do-none-that-do-not-do-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Live and die"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/they-that-have-power-to-hurt-and-will-do-none-that-do-not-do-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da5/william-shakespeare-4_live-and-die_they-that-have-power-to-hurt-and-will-do_2986220.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da5/william-shakespeare-4_live-and-die_they-that-have-power-to-hurt-and-will-do_2986220.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da5/william-shakespeare-4_live-and-die_they-that-have-power-to-hurt-and-will-do_2986220.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“They that have power to hurt and will do none, That do not do the thing they most do show, Who, moving…” — 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": "“They that have power to hurt...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/they-that-have-power-to-hurt-and-will-do-none-that-do-not-do-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/they-that-have-power-to-hurt-and-will-do-none-that-do-not-do-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
