Shrines! Shrines! Surely you don't believe in the gods. What's your argument? Where's your proof?
AristophanesRead
To plunder, to lie, to show your arse, are three essentials for climbing high.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Success often requires unethical behavior and a disregard for morality.
This quote by Aristophanes suggests that achieving great success or climbing to high positions may involve dishonest actions such as deception and shamelessness. It highlights the dark side of ambition, where individuals might resort to unethical methods to attain power or status, provoking a reflection on moral values in relation to success.
Themes
SuccessDeceptionAmbitionEthics
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on corporate ethics, one might use this quote to highlight the moral compromises some make for success.
More from Aristophanes
All quotes β[Y]ou [man] are fool enough, it seems, to dare to war with [woman=] me, when for your faithful ally you might win me easily.
AristophanesRead
Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.
AristophanesRead
Open your mouth and shut your eyes and see what Zeus will send you.
AristophanesRead
When men drink, then they are rich and successful and win lawsuits and are happy and help their friends. Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.
AristophanesRead
These impossible women! How they do get around us! The poet was right: Can't live with them, or without them.
AristophanesRead
Similar quotes
We strain to hear. But instead of hearing an answer we catch sight of God himself scraped and torn. Through our tears we see the tears of God
Nicholas WolterstorffRead
Human need is really a great spiritual vacuum which God seeks to fill... With one hand in the hand of a fellow man in need and the other in the hand of Christ, He could get across the vacuum.
George Washington CarverRead
Darkness coiled between what he wanted them to believe and the self he despised. It only made him more alone. How could you save someone when he didn't let you kno him? What a waste. The beauty he murdered in this place. He could never see what he had, only what he failed to achieve.
Janet FitchRead
Only the shallow know themselves.
Oscar WildeRead
When death finally comes you will welcome it like an old friend, being aware of how dreamlike and impermanent the pheneomenal world really is.
Dilgo Khyentse RinpocheRead
I have a photograph of myself when I was 2 years of age, and I don't recognize the person in the photograph. She doesn't look anything like me, and I can't find any trace of her in me physically. And yet I remember her very, very well - even her anxiety.
Jamaica KincaidRead