QuoteProject
Of all the causes which conspire to blind Man's erring judgement, and misguide the mind, What the weak head with strongest bias rules, Is PRIDE, the never-failing vice of fools.
Alexander Pope
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Pride can distort judgment and lead to foolish decisions.

In this quote, Alexander Pope illustrates how pride acts as a powerful force that can cloud human judgment and influence decisions. He suggests that pride is a fundamental flaw in humans that often leads them astray, particularly highlighting that it is the foolish who are most susceptible to its sway, causing them to make misguided choices despite their intelligence or reasoning abilities.

Themes

PrideJudgmentFoolsBiasWisdom

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about leadership qualities, one might use this quote to emphasize the dangers of pride in decision-making.

More from Alexander Pope

Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
Alexander PopeRead
What dire offence from am'rous causes springs, What mighty contests rise from trivial things.
Alexander PopeRead
Fair tresses man's imperial race ensnare; And beauty draws us with a single hair.
Alexander PopeRead
An honest man's the noblest work of God.
Alexander PopeRead
One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight;_x000D_ _x000D_ Priests, tapers, temples, swim before my sight.
Alexander PopeRead
Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?
Alexander PopeRead

Similar quotes

There is a thing inherent and natural which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, It stands alone and never changes; It pervades everywhere and never becomes exhausted. It may be regarded as the Mother of the Universe. I do not know its name. If I am forced to give It a name, I call it Tao, and I name it as supreme.
LaoziRead
We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves.
Malcolm XRead
There is one taboo against meat-eating. It divides Hindus into vegetarians and flesh eaters. There is another taboo which is against beef eating. It divides Hindus into those who eat cow's flesh and those who do not.
B. R. AmbedkarRead
It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey.
Wendell BerryRead
People are, if anything, more touchy about being thought silly than they are about being thought unjust.
E. B. WhiteRead
I believe that ideas such as absolute certitude, absolute exactness, final truth, etc. are figments of the imagination which should not be admissible in any field of science... This loosening of thinking seems to me to be the greatest blessing which modern science has given to us. For the belief in a single truth and in being the possessor thereof is the root cause of all evil in the world.
Max BornRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.