I am bound to tell what I am told, but not in every case to believe it.
Interpretation
One should share what they have learned but maintain a critical perspective on the information received.
This quote from Herodotus highlights the importance of discernment in our communication. While it is crucial to share knowledge and experiences as we learn them, it is equally important to approach information with skepticism and an analytical mindset. Blind acceptance can lead to misinformation, so one should evaluate the credibility of what is conveyed before integrating it into their understanding.
In practice
During a history lecture, discussing the importance of evaluating sources.
The Scythians take kannabis seed, creep in under the felts, and throw it on the red-hot stones. It smolders and sends up such billows of steam-smoke that no Greek vapor bath can surpass it. The Scythians howl with joy in these vapor-baths, which serve them instead of bathing, for they never wash their bodies with water.
The man who has planned badly, if fortune is on his side, may have had a stroke of luck; but his plan was a bad one nonetheless.
Men trust their ears less than their eyes.
Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks.
The worst pain a man can have is to know much and be impotent to act.
All men's gains are the fruit of venturing.
Passion lends them power, time means to meet, tempering extremities with extremes sweet.
If thou wilt be observant and vigilant, thou wilt see at every moment the response to thy action. Be observant if thou wouldst have a pure heart, for something is born to thee in consequence of every action.
Of all the paths a man could strike into, there is, at any given moment, a best path .. A thing which, here and now, it were of all things wisest for him to do .. To find this path, and walk in it, is the one thing needful for him.
Watch out for intellect, because it knows so much it knows nothing and leaves you hanging upside down, mouthing knowledge as your heart falls out of your mouth.
We are dying from overthinking. We are slowly killing ourselves by thinking about everything. Think. Think. Think. You can never trust the human mind anyway. It's a death trap.
A wise man does not trust all his eggs to one basket.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.