Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Not to know what has been transacted in former times is to continue always a child.
Interpretation
Understanding history is essential for maturity and personal growth.
This quote by Cicero emphasizes the importance of knowledge and awareness of historical events in shaping one's character and intellect. He suggests that lacking this understanding keeps individuals in a juvenile state, unable to fully grasp the complexities of life and the lessons that history provides.
In practice
A teacher might use this quote to inspire students to appreciate historical studies.
Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Those wars are unjust which are undertaken without provocation. For only a war waged for revenge or defence can actually be just.
Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak.
Nothing contributes to the entertainment of the reader more, than the change of times and the vicissitudes of fortune.
No one has the right to be sorry for himself for a misfortune that strikes everyone.
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.
Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and wisdom.
There [is] no innocence more dangerous than the innocence of age.
The ancestor of every action is a thought. βRalph Waldo Emerson
The most violent element in society is ignorance.
We all admire great accomplishments in the sciences, arts, and humanities - but we rarely acknowledge how much we achieve in the course of our everyday lives.
I think there must be something wrong with me as a writer. Because all my friends who are writers find reasons to hate everything about their day. But I just love writing. I love starting the day with language and seeing if I can make something of it.
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