“How use doth breed a habit in a man!” (Two Gentlemen from Verona, act 5, sc. 4)
Tips for Use. Theories, or rather opinions about habit lead to two opposite conclusions, depending on which point the holder of the opinion tries to prove. Some believe that people can never change and folk discourse is replete with sayings and adages supporting this point of view. Others believe that most changes in attitude or behavior depend on the development of a habit. Today’s quote from Two Gentlemen from Verona supports the latter point of view. Even so, though for the individual the quote may be motivational, the implication for humanity at large are ominous. Yes, because when change occurs sufficiently slowly we acquire the habit of not noticing it, or rather it escapes our consciousness.
Therefore there is no opposition, no revulsion, no revolt. The history of our society shows that we are subject to a slow drifting and we have developed the ‘habit’ of getting used to it. The constant hammering of information from the world puppeteers (also called media) floods our brains and we no longer notice what happens to ourselves, including a demonstrable inability to distinguish truth from falsehood.
This proves the consummate skill of the puppeteers and the truth and force of today’s quote. Thanks to our habit, bred by assuefaction, the puppeteers have achieved the globalization of the false and by inference and consequence the falsification of the globe. On a more mundane level the quote may be helpful during a job interview, if the prospective employer hints that you could not adapt to whatever he thinks you ought to, because of your background, “Well… use doth breed a habit in a man…”
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And I promise, no sales calls, trade leads, venomous schemes, hidden plots, Machiavellian conspiracies, commercial ploys, psychological tricks, leads exchanges, barter proposals, suggestions or offers of any kind imaginable (and unimaginable).
Of course, if you acquire the book “Your Daily Shakespeare” you will not only enjoy it but you will find it very useful. The quote in this post and more than ten thousand others will lead you to find the words that perfectly strengthen your argument(s). After all Shakespeare wrote them, I simply extracted, structured and compiled them so as to make Shakespeare both useful in your life endeavors and very “user friendly” as they say. And if you wish I will even sign the book. But this is the extreme extent of any “sales” effort, call or solicitation.
In the play. Valentine learns to accept his exile in the forest, near Milan, after having been betrayed by his allegedly best friend Proteus. This was of course before wild modernization had obliterated any presence of forests from practically all Italy.
Image source http://www.myessentia.com/blog/berkeley/files/2012/01/NIH-Habit-Study.jpeg