Lines from ‘Hamlet’
By William Shakespeare
There,–my blessing with you!
And these few precepts in thy memory
See thou character.–Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportion’d thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatched, unfledged comrade. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel; but being in,
Bear’t that the opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice:
Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not expressed in fancy; rich, not gaudy:
For the apparel oft proclaims the man.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be,
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Copyright © by owner. Provided for educational purposes only.
Subscribe !NS¡GHT to never miss out on our events, contests and best reads! Or get a couple of really cool reads on your phone every day, click here to join our Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
!NS¡GHT is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views. If you have a complementary or differing point of view, start sharing your views too!