--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To set a gloss on faint deeds, hollow…" description: "\"To set a gloss on faint deeds, hollow welcomes, Recanting goodness, sorry ere 'tis shown; But where there is true friendship, there needs none.\" — Will..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/william-shakespeare-4_ceremony_to-set-a-gloss-on-faint-deeds-hollow-wel_2181016.jpg" --- # To set a gloss on faint deeds, hollow welcomes, Recanting… ![“To set a gloss on faint deeds, hollow welcomes, Recanting goodness, sorry ere 'tis shown; But where there is true friendship, there needs none.” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/william-shakespeare-4_ceremony_to-set-a-gloss-on-faint-deeds-hollow-wel_2181016.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/william-shakespeare-4_ceremony_to-set-a-gloss-on-faint-deeds-hollow-wel_2181016.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/william-shakespeare-4_ceremony_to-set-a-gloss-on-faint-deeds-hollow-wel_2181016.jpg) > “To set a gloss on faint deeds, hollow welcomes, Recanting goodness, sorry ere 'tis shown; But where there is true friendship, there needs none.” [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. True friendship needs no display; superficial praise cannot replace genuine bonds. **In simple terms:** Real friends need no showing. Key Takeaway Value authentic relationships over empty gestures. Themes friendship authenticity humility Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - teamwork - personal relationships - leadership Key Concepts social dynamics philosophy of relationships Questions to Reflect On - What does genuine friendship look like to you? - Can you recognize authentic friends without praise? A Different Perspective Some may argue that recognition can strengthen bonds. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ceremony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ceremony/) [Deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeds/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) [Real friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-friends/) [True friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-friend/) [True friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-friendship/) ## Related quotes > [True friendship isn't seen with the eyes, it is felt with the heart. When there is trust, understanding, loyalty, and sharing. True friendship is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/true-friendship-isn-t-seen-with-the-eyes-it-is-felt-with-the-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good; a shining gloss that fadeth suddenly; a flower that dies when it begins to bud; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/beauty-is-but-a-vain-and-doubtful-good-a-shining-gloss-that-fadeth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Friendship needs no words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/friendship-needs-no-words/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [Friendship needs to be rooted in respect, but love can live upon itself alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ouida/friendship-needs-to-be-rooted-in-respect-but-love-can-live-upon/) [Ouida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ouida/) > [To each one of us friendship has a different meaning. For all of us it is a gift. Friendship needs to be cherished and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-each-one-of-us-friendship-has-a-different-meaning-for-all-of-us-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One friend in a life-time is much; two are many; three are hardly possible. Friendship needs a certain parallelism of life, a community of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-friend-in-a-life-time-is-much-two-are-many-three-are-hardly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Friendship needs both confidences and confidence in the other's outstretched hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/friendship-needs-both-confidences-and-confidence-in-the-other-s/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [Your friendship is your needs answered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danish-proverb/your-friendship-is-your-needs-answered/) Danish Proverb > [“A new friend is always a miracle...One friend in a lifetime is much; two are many; three are hardly possible. Friendship needs a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/a-new-friend-is-always-a-miracle-one-friend-in-a-lifetime-is-much-two/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [“We are friends, Brin, and friends do for each other what they see needs to be done,” the girl had explained in the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/we-are-friends-brin-and-friends-do-for-each-other-what-they-see-needs/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [“Friendship needs no reason!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-engelbreit/friendship-needs-no-reason/) [Mary Engelbreit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-engelbreit/) > [I haven't any close friends. Friendship needs time to interact, sit down, gossip. I don't have that time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/i-haven-t-any-close-friends-friendship-needs-time-to-interact-sit/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) > [Honesty. And I just really think there's a fundamental friendship that needs to exist, whether it's a lover, whether it's a sister...there's just this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/honesty-and-i-just-really-think-there-s-a-fundamental-friendship-that/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [But if the while I think on thee, dear friend, All losses are restored and sorrows end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/but-if-the-while-i-think-on-thee-dear-friend-all-losses-are-restored/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Even through the hollow eyes of death I spy life peering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/even-through-the-hollow-eyes-of-death-i-spy-life-peering/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## 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 Ceremony quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Jesus never said a word about homosexuality. In all of his teachings about multiple things - he never said that gay people should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/jesus-never-said-a-word-about-homosexuality-in-all-of-his-teachings/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [It is merely the egoism of the man, who wants to bury a woman like a treasure. All attempts at using vows, contracts, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-von-sacher-masoch/it-is-merely-the-egoism-of-the-man-who-wants-to-bury-a-woman-like-a/) [Leopold von Sacher-Masoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-von-sacher-masoch/) > [Layla brought her arms around herself, no doubt because she was remembering the feel of another, stronger set. "I have wanted to, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/layla-brought-her-arms-around-herself-no-doubt-because-she-was/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [There are ceremonious bows that repel one like a cudgel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/there-are-ceremonious-bows-that-repel-one-like-a-cudgel/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [The cocktail party - as the name itself indicates - was originally invented by dogs. They are simply bottom-sniffings raised to the rank of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/the-cocktail-party-as-the-name-itself-indicates-was-originally/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [I am unable to distinguish clearly between your religious ceremonies and apparently identical behavior at the sporting and cultural functions you have transmitted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-am-unable-to-distinguish-clearly-between-your-religious-ceremonies/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Politics resemble religion; attempting to divest either of ceremony is the most certain mode of bringing either into contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/politics-resemble-religion-attempting-to-divest-either-of-ceremony-is/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Singing at the Opening Ceremonies of the Sydney Olympics in 2000 was amazing and, probably the highlight of this decade is the opening of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/singing-at-the-opening-ceremonies-of-the-sydney-olympics-in-2000-was/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [Nostalgia is also a trait of the organizations that I call lodges - everything from corporate cultures to religious sects. Their bonding power often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-james/nostalgia-is-also-a-trait-of-the-organizations-that-i-call-lodges/) [Jennifer James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-james/) > [Over the weekend, former Enron executives Jeffrey Skilling and Rebecca Carter married each other during a huge ceremony in Houston. The happy couple is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/over-the-weekend-former-enron-executives-jeffrey-skilling-and-rebecca/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [“Japanese tea ceremony,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-berk/japanese-tea-ceremony/) Sheryl Berk > [Truth and ceremony are two things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/truth-and-ceremony-are-two-things/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [The trappings of a religious cult tend to fall into candlelit ceremonies and robes and group chanting and singing and prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-durkin/the-trappings-of-a-religious-cult-tend-to-fall-into-candlelit/) [Sean Durkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-durkin/) > [No known human group... simply throw out its dead without any ritual or ceremony. In stark contrast, no animal practices burial of dead individuals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodosius-dobzhansky/no-known-human-group-simply-throw-out-its-dead-without-any-ritual-or/) [Theodosius Dobzhansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodosius-dobzhansky/) [Browse all 534 Ceremony quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ceremony/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To set a gloss on faint deeds, hollow welcomes, Recanting goodness, sorry ere 'tis shown; But where there is true friendship, there needs none.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-set-a-gloss-on-faint-deeds-hollow-welcomes-recanting-goodness/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ceremony" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-set-a-gloss-on-faint-deeds-hollow-welcomes-recanting-goodness/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/william-shakespeare-4_ceremony_to-set-a-gloss-on-faint-deeds-hollow-wel_2181016.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/william-shakespeare-4_ceremony_to-set-a-gloss-on-faint-deeds-hollow-wel_2181016.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/william-shakespeare-4_ceremony_to-set-a-gloss-on-faint-deeds-hollow-wel_2181016.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To set a gloss on faint deeds, hollow welcomes, Recanting goodness, sorry ere 'tis shown; But where there is…” — 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": "To set a gloss on faint...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-set-a-gloss-on-faint-deeds-hollow-welcomes-recanting-goodness/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-set-a-gloss-on-faint-deeds-hollow-welcomes-recanting-goodness/#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 } } ] } ```