QuoteProject
Not to know what happened before you were born is to be a child forever. For what is the time of a man, except it be interwoven with that memory of ancient things of a superior age?
Marcus Tullius Cicero
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Understanding history is essential for personal growth and maturity.

In this quote, Cicero emphasizes the importance of historical awareness for individuals. He suggests that without knowledge of the past, one remains in a perpetual state of immaturity, detached from the wisdom and experiences that have shaped humanity. By understanding history, we gain insights that enrich our present and future, as our identities are intertwined with the memories of those who came before us.

Themes

HistoryMemoryGrowthWisdomMaturity

In practice

Example use cases

In a lecture about the importance of learning from history, I quoted Cicero to emphasize how understanding our past shapes our present.

More from Marcus Tullius Cicero

Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Those wars are unjust which are undertaken without provocation. For only a war waged for revenge or defence can actually be just.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Nothing contributes to the entertainment of the reader more, than the change of times and the vicissitudes of fortune.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
No one has the right to be sorry for himself for a misfortune that strikes everyone.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Advice in old age is foolish; for what can be more absurd than to increase our provisions for the road the nearer we approach to our journey's end.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead

Similar quotes

The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.
John F. KennedyRead
Your god may be your little Christian habit - the habit of prayer or Bible reading at certain times of your day. Watch how your Father will upset your schedule if you begin to worship your habit instead of what the habit symbolizes. We say, 'I can't do that right now; this is my time alone with God.' No, this is your time alone with your habit.
Oswald ChambersRead
The morality of clean blood ought to be one of the first lessons taught us by our pastors and teachers. The physical is the substratum of the spiritual; and this fact ought to give to the food we eat, and the air we breathe, a transcendent significance.
William TyndaleRead
So often we think that Allah only tests us with hardships, but this isn't true. Allah also tests with ease. He tests us with na`im (blessings) and with the things we love, and it is often in these tests that so many of us fail. We fail because when Allah gives us these blessings, we unwittingly turn them into false idols in the heart.
Yasmin MogahedRead
I believed in a good home, in sane and sound living, in good food, good times, work, faith and hope. I have always believed in these things. It was with some amazement that I realized I was one of the few people in the world who really believed in these things without going around making a dull middle class philosophy out of it. I was suddenly left with nothing in my hands but a handful of crazy stars.
Jack KerouacRead
What is the purpose of life?...To be the eyes and ears and conscience of the Creator of the Universe, you fool!
Kurt VonnegutRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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