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I have lived eighty years of life and know nothing for it, but to be resigned and tell myself that flies are born to be eaten by spiders and man to be devoured by sorrow.
Voltaire
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Life involves suffering, and acceptance of this fact is crucial.

This quote by Voltaire reflects a deep philosophical perspective on the nature of existence and the inevitability of suffering. The imagery of flies being consumed by spiders serves as a metaphor for life's challenges and sorrows, suggesting that just as some creatures are destined to be prey, humans too must come to terms with the hardships they face, finding resignation and acceptance as vital responses to their inevitable struggles.

Themes

LifeSufferingAcceptanceResignationPhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

Using this quote during a discussion about the nature of suffering in a philosophy class.

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We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies - it is the first law of nature.
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