It is easy at any moment to surrender a large fortune; to build one up is a difficult and an arduous task.
LivyRead
A fraudulent intent, however carefully concealed at the outset, will generally, in the end, betray itself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Deceptive intentions will eventually reveal themselves over time.
This quote by Livy emphasizes the idea that no matter how much one tries to hide their dishonest intentions, the truth will eventually come to light. It suggests that fraudulent behavior may seem successful initially but ultimately leads to consequences that expose one's true motives.
Themes
FraudTruthIntentionsDeceptionConsequences
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about integrity in business, one might refer to this quote to highlight the importance of honesty.
More from Livy
All quotes βValor is the soldier's adornment.
LivyRead
The army from Asia introduced a foreign luxury to Rome; it was then the meals began to require more dishes and more expenditure . . . the cook, who had up to that time been employed as a slave of low price, become dear: what had been nothing but a metier was elevated to an art.
LivyRead
The study of history is the best medicine for a sick mind; for in history you have a record of the infinite variety of human experience plainly set out for all to see; and in that record you can find yourself and your country both examples and warnings; fine things to take as models, base things rotten through and through, to avoid.
LivyRead
Under the influence of fear, which always leads men to take a pessimistic view of things, they magnified their enemies' resources, and minimized their own.
LivyRead
The troubles which have come upon us always seem more serious than those which are only threatening.
LivyRead
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You must not lose confidence in God because you lost confidence in your pastor. If our confidence in God had to depend upon our confidence in any human person, we would be on shifting sand.
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Given - and this is the fundamental thing - that God's mercy has no limits, if He is approached with a sincere and repentant heart, the question for those who do not believe in God is to abide by their own conscience. There is sin, also for those who have no faith, in going against one's conscience. Listening to it and abiding by it means making up one's mind about what is good and evil.
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Charity depends on the vicissitudes of whim and personal wealth; justice depends on commitment instead of circumstance. Faith-based charity provides crumbs from the table; faith-based justice offers a place at the table.
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Wars will remain while human nature remains. I believe in my soul in cooperation, in arbitration; but the soldier's occupation we cannot say is gone until human nature is gone.
Rutherford B. HayesRead