The peoples of the Mediterranean began to emerge from barbarism when they learned to cultivate the olive and the vine.
ThucydidesRead
Those who have experienced good and bad luck many times have every reason to be skeptical of successes
Interpretation
Experiencing both good and bad outcomes can lead to a cautious view of success.
Thucydides highlights the idea that those who have faced both fortune and misfortune multiple times often develop a skeptical attitude towards success. This skepticism stems from the understanding that success can be fleeting and uncertain, shaped by many variables beyond one's control, fostering a more grounded perspective on achievements.
In practice
During a motivational speech, when discussing how setbacks shape our view of success.
The peoples of the Mediterranean began to emerge from barbarism when they learned to cultivate the olive and the vine.
We Greeks are lovers of the beautiful, yet simple in our tastes, and we cultivate the mind without loss of manliness.
If it had not been for the pernicious power of envy, men would not so have exalted vengeance above innocence and profit above justice... in these acts of revenge on others, men take it upon themselves to begin the process of repealing those general laws of humanity which are there to give a hope of salvation to all who are in distress.
Thucydides, an Athenian, wrote the history of the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians, he began at the moment that it broke out, believing that it would be a great war, and more memorable than any that had preceded it.
Some legislators only wish to vengeance against a particular enemy. Others only look out for themselves. They devote very little time on the consideration of any public issue. They think that no harm will come from their neglect. They act as if it is always the business of somebody else to look after this or that. When this selfish notion is entertained by all, the commonwealth slowly begins to decay.
Remember that this greatness was won by men with courage, with knowledge of their duty, and with a sense of honor in action.
I am alive and well and unconcerned about the rumors of my death. But if I were dead, I would be the last to know.
What in your life is calling you, When all the noise is silenced, The meetings adjourned... The lists laid aside, And the Wild Iris blooms By itself In the dark forest... What still pulls on your soul?
Hope, even more than necessity, is the mother of invention.
If you want to make life easy, make it hard.
Have confidence in your decisions. Make them expeditiously, and stay with them as long as you believe you are correct no matter what others say. However, when you conclude you were in error, do not hesitate to announce the error publicly and change course.
I think that the most necessary quality for any person to have is imagination. It makes people able to put themselves in other people's places. It makes them kind and sympathetic and understanding.
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