It has become quite a common proverb that in wine there is truth (In Vino Veritas).
Pliny The ElderRead
The only certainty is that nothing is certain.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the inherent unpredictability of life and the idea that nothing is guaranteed.
Pliny The Elder's quote reminds us that while we may seek stability and certainty in our lives, the reality is that unpredictability is the only constant. Embracing this uncertainty can lead us to a deeper understanding of life and help us to navigate its challenges with resilience and adaptability.
Themes
CertaintyUncertaintyLifePhilosophyWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on the unpredictability of life, one might quote Pliny The Elder to emphasize the importance of adaptability.
More from Pliny The Elder
All quotes βSuch is the audacity of man, that he hath learned to counterfeit Nature, yea, and is so bold as to challenge her in her work.
Pliny The ElderRead
The depth of darkness to which you can descend and still live is an exact measure of the height to which you can aspire to reach.
Pliny The ElderRead
It is generally much more shameful to lose a good reputation than never to have acquired it.
Pliny The ElderRead
Of all wonders, this is among the greatest, that some fresh waters close by the sea spring forth as out of pipes: for the nature of the waters also ceaseth not from miraculous properties.
Pliny The ElderRead
How innocent, how happy, how truly delightful, even, would life be if we were to desire nothing but what is to be found upon the face of the earth: in a word, nothing but what is provided ready to our hands!
Pliny The ElderRead
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So man's insanity is heaven's sense, and wandering from all mortal reason, man comes at last to that celestial thought, which, to reason, is absurd and frantic; and weal or woe, feels then uncompromised, indifferent as his God.
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I found him well educated, with unusual powers of mind, but infected with misanthropy, and subject to perverse moods of alternate enthusiasm and melancholy.
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