The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.
TacitusRead
An eminent reputation is as dangerous as a bad one.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A high reputation can be as perilous as a negative one, both leading to potential pitfalls.
Tacitus suggests that having an eminent reputation brings its own set of challenges and dangers, sometimes making a person vulnerable to scrutiny and unrealistic expectations. Just as a bad reputation can lead to trust issues and isolation, a high reputation can create pressure to maintain that status and might engender jealousy or resentment from others.
Themes
ReputationDangerExpectationsScrutinyPressure
In practice
Example use cases
During a public speaking event, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of humility despite success.
More from Tacitus
All quotes βIn private enterprises men may advance or recede, whereas they who aim at empire have no alternative between the highest success and utter downfall.
TacitusRead
Great empires are not maintained by timidity.
TacitusRead
Things are not to be judged good or bad merely because the public think so.
TacitusRead
So obscure are the greatest events, as some take for granted any hearsay, whatever its source, others turn truth into falsehood, and both errors find encouragement with posterity.
TacitusRead
The brave and bold persist even against fortune; the timid and cowardly rush to despair though fear alone.
TacitusRead
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It is impossible to reason without arriving at a Supreme Being.
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When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so. God is not a demiurge [demigod] or a magician, but the Creator who gives being to all entities. Evolution in nature is not opposed to the notion of Creation, because evolution presupposes the creation of beings that evolve.
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If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve
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In the sphere of thought, absurdity and perversity remain the masters of the world, and their dominion is suspended only for brief periods.
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