Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Advice in old age is foolish; for what can be more absurd than to increase our provisions for the road the nearer we approach to our journey's end.
Interpretation
What this quote means
As we near the end of life, seeking more advice can be pointless since our journey is almost complete.
Cicero reflects on the nature of life and wisdom, suggesting that as we age and approach the end of our journey, it becomes less beneficial to gather advice or prepare for the future. Instead, he implies that we should focus on living in the present and utilizing the knowledge we have already accumulated, as the culmination of experiences should guide us in our final days rather than adding new provisions or considerations at a late stage in life.
Themes
WisdomAgingLifeJourneyExperience
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared during a retirement speech to emphasize the importance of living fully in one's later years.
More from Marcus Tullius Cicero
All quotes βThose wars are unjust which are undertaken without provocation. For only a war waged for revenge or defence can actually be just.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Nothing contributes to the entertainment of the reader more, than the change of times and the vicissitudes of fortune.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
No one has the right to be sorry for himself for a misfortune that strikes everyone.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Loyalty is what we seek in friendship.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Similar quotes
Fullness of knowledge always means some understanding of the depths of our ignorance; and that is always conducive to humility and reverence.
Robert Andrews MillikanRead
Do not dispute with anyone in any matter as far as possible. For in argumentation lies much harm and its evil is greater than its benefit.
Al-GhazaliRead
You see things less clearly when you open your eyes too wide.
Italo SvevoRead
Ignorance is a blank sheet, on which we may write; but error is a scribbled one, on which we must first erase.
Charles Caleb ColtonRead
Perhaps when we find ourselves wanting everything, it is because we are dangerously close to wanting nothing.
Sylvia PlathRead
I write to save someone's life, probably my own
Clarice LispectorRead