The Greeks possessed a knowledge of human nature we seem hardly able to attain to without passing through the strengthening hibernation of a new barbarism.
Georg C. LichtenbergRead
The fly that doesn't want to be swatted is most secure when it lights on the fly-swatter.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Avoidance of danger can sometimes lead to increased risk.
This quote suggests that one may find themselves in a false sense of security by choosing to confront danger or difficult situations, represented by the fly landing on the fly-swatter. It implies that sometimes, what we perceive as safety may actually place us in a more precarious position, highlighting the irony of seeking refuge in danger.
Themes
SecurityRiskDangerIronyWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
In a presentation about taking calculated risks in business, this quote serves to emphasize how avoiding difficult decisions can sometimes lead to worse outcomes.
More from Georg C. Lichtenberg
All quotes βMany things about our bodies would not seem to us so filthy and obscene if we did not have the idea of nobility in our heads.
Georg C. LichtenbergRead
Astronomy is perhaps the science whose discoveries owe least to chance, in which human understanding appears in its whole magnitude, and through which man can best learn how small he is.
Georg C. LichtenbergRead
The thoughts written on the walls of madhouses by their inmates might be worth publicizing.
Georg C. LichtenbergRead
The noble simplicity in the works of nature only too often originates in the noble shortsightedness of him who observes it.
Georg C. LichtenbergRead
Food probably has a very great influence on the condition of men. Wine exercises a more visible influence, food does it more slowly but perhaps just as surely. Who knows if a well-prepared soup was not responsible for the pneumatic pump or a poor one for a war?
Georg C. LichtenbergRead
Similar quotes
At the risk of appearing predictable, the Bible was and remains the biggest influence on my thinking. I was raised reading it, memorizing passages from it and being guided by it. I still find it a source of wisdom, comfort and encouragement.
Hillary ClintonRead
It is much easier to try one's hand at many things than to concentrate one's powers on one thing.
QuintilianRead
These are the living springs of great thoughts and great actions. Everything grows clear in the reflections from the Infinite.
Louis PasteurRead
The bad thing about falling into pieces is that it hurts. The good thing about it is that once you're lying there in shards you've got nothing left to protect, and so have no reason not to be honest
David James DuncanRead
The stars of eternal truth and right have always shone in the firmament of human understanding. The process of bringing them down to earth, remolding them into practical forms, imbuing them with vitality, and then making use of them, has been a long one.
Bertha Von SuttnerRead
if i have gained anything over these months, it is the knowledge there is no starting over - only living with the mistakes you've made. but then, caleb taught me long ago you can't build anything without some sort of foundation. maybe we learn to live our lives by understanding, firsthand, how not to live them.
Jodi PicoultRead