“ HAMLET. That if you be honest and fair, your honesty should admit no discourse to your beauty. ”
William Shakespeare, Hamlet (1623). copy citation
| Author | William Shakespeare |
|---|---|
| Source | Hamlet |
| Topic | honesty beauty |
| Date | 1623 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Written between 1599 and 1602 |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1524/1524-h/1524-h.htm |
Context
“My honour’d lord, you know right well you did, And with them words of so sweet breath compos’d As made the things more rich; their perfume lost, Take these again; for to the noble mind Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind. There, my lord.
HAMLET. Ha, ha! Are you honest?
OPHELIA. My lord?
HAMLET. Are you fair?
OPHELIA. What means your lordship?
HAMLET. That if you be honest and fair, your honesty should admit no discourse to your beauty. OPHELIA. Could beauty, my lord, have better commerce than with honesty?
HAMLET. Ay, truly; for the power of beauty will sooner transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than the force of honesty can translate beauty into his likeness.” source
HAMLET. Ha, ha! Are you honest?
OPHELIA. My lord?
HAMLET. Are you fair?
OPHELIA. What means your lordship?
HAMLET. That if you be honest and fair, your honesty should admit no discourse to your beauty. OPHELIA. Could beauty, my lord, have better commerce than with honesty?
HAMLET. Ay, truly; for the power of beauty will sooner transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than the force of honesty can translate beauty into his likeness.” source
