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
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.
In practice
During a lecture on the unpredictability of life, one might quote Pliny The Elder to emphasize the importance of adaptability.
It has become quite a common proverb that in wine there is truth (In Vino Veritas).
Such is the audacity of man, that he hath learned to counterfeit Nature, yea, and is so bold as to challenge her in her work.
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.
It is generally much more shameful to lose a good reputation than never to have acquired it.
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.
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!
Only one endowed with restless vitality is susceptible to pessimism. You become a pessimist-a demonic, elemental, bestial pessimist-only when life has been defeated many times in its fight against depression.
There is no doubt that there is a huge difference between human and nonhuman animals. But what we are overlooking is the fact that nonhuman animals are conscious beings, that they can suffer.
Fear, separation, hate and anger come from the wrong view that you and the Earth are two separate entities, the Earth is only the environment. You are in the centre and you want to do something for the Earth in order for you to survive. That is a dualistic way of seeing.
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.
It doesnβt matter how old I get, but as long as I continue to live Iβll always discover something new about myself.
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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