"To thine own self be true"?

Question

Does this mean that you can only be true to yourself or does it mean that you must be true to yourself first?
And what of betrayal?
"To thine own self-betrayed"?
Does this mean that you can only betray yourself, or does it mean that all betrayals are self-betrayals?

apho: thank you

Answer 1

Very true... we betray ourself.,. and we trust in ourself...

that itself amounts to betray or believe god..

our individual ego is nothing but forgetting/betraying our universal self.. and work through this little "i"

Answer 2

Be true to yourself, because that is the root of all happiness. It has been said that you should love yourself first before others, for without the self-respect and love, how would you expect others to respect and love you?
Betraying yourself would mean to deny yourself from the true happiness that you seek for and deserve.
For example if you're in a relationship that you're not completely in tune with, in that you're not in love with the person you are with, yet for the sake of the other person you continue pouring time and energy, you will eventually feel the heaviness in your heart because everything that you do is not what you really want. In the end, even if you have somebody to love you, you won't be happy because your mind and soul are not satisfied.
It actually applies to all aspects in life. When it comes to your job, they say if you love what you do, it won't be work.
So bottom line, love and be honest to yourself, only then will you find the meaning of true happiness.

Answer 3

In a lot of ways you have already answered the question. If you can't be true to yourself, respect yourself, and love yourself how can you expect it to come from anyone else. This of course doesn't mean take it to the other extreme and take yourself too seriously. Yes, all betrayals in the end are self-betrayals.

Answer 4

No to your first question. You must tell the truth, you must start with yourself. Yes, you can betray yourself. Here is a wonderful explaination.

“The heart is more treacherous than anything else and is desperate.” (Jer 17:9)

This constitutes a serious warning that those seeking to please God must give attention not merely to what other humans see but to the kind of person they really are, the inner man. A person may have been a Christian for many years, have a fine knowledge of the Bible, and feel confident that he can safely handle any situation that may arise. Yet, although he knows full well that an act is wrong and specifically condemned by God’s law, the thoughts and desires that he has secretly cherished may entice him into sinful action.

Answer 5

It means that happiness is an inside job. For one truely to be happy, we must first be ok with who and what we are.
As for betrayal, when we betray others, we also betray ourselves.
This usually happens when we attempt to be something other then what we really are. The only problem is, everyone else sees thru our BS, while we are busy convincing ourselves otherwise, and thus lying to ourselves.

I hope you find what it is you seek.

)o( Trinity

Answer 6

This above all, to thine own self be true
And it shall follow as the night the day
Thou cans't not then be false to any man.

To me it means exactly what it says. If you cannot be true and honest with yourself, how can you possibly be true and honest with others?

You must be true to yourself first, and the rest follows as night follows day.

Answer 7

Forgiveness is essential to being true to
ones self. I not only speak of the every day
wrongs done to us, but also of ''major life
changing wrongs.''
Hurts that have slashed our very souls,
The betrayal of the one you love, the betrayal of a parent means losing there trust
in you. To betray ones self does nothing
but hurt your Spiritual trust in God.

Answer 8

The key is in the understanding of self, real self. Once your concept of self expands to include what is perceived as others, then you give to or hurt but yourself. If I help you I am helping myself, there is no loss or betrayal once this is understood. This is why when we move forward, we take a step for all. This is one of the secrets behind the Christ teachings & the biggest lesson of Karma.
Blessings.

Answer 9

I think self betrayal happens when we are confused about what self really is. I always try to be true to my self, but I make mistakes along the way, and these mistakes are what teaches me about myself.

Answer 10

you need to read this quotation within the context of the speech, and within the larger context of the play.

it is a joke. polonius, who gives us this advice, is one of the most hypocritical characters shakespeare ever wrote. (and polonius hypocrisy will soon cost him his life).

laertes - polonius's son, and the receiver of the advice - will also spend the rest of the play pretending to be someone he is not.

taking the full sentence:

This above all, to thine own self be true
And it shall follow as the night the day
Thou cans't not then be false to any man.

polonius seems to be telling laertes that if you are going to be a hypocrite, you should be a thoroughgoing hypocrite - because then people will eventually be able to realise what a total hypocrite you are.

the entire play of hamlet doesn't have one honest character in it. shakespeare is looking at what happens to a society where *everybody* tells lies and *all the time*.

if only shakespeare could have written a play about the 2004 george w. bush election campaign.

Answer 11

"... and it follows that canst then not be false to any man" completes the quote. The implications I was taught are that one must strive to confront what is really true for you (from what you do, not what you say) -- and to change if you don't like it. So you are willing to seem foolish, and be corrected. So you learn. And so hopefully you improve the self you're true to, and grow increasingly worthy of self-respect. The religious and obdurate short-circuit all this into fixed beliefs.