Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
The injuries that befall us unexpectedly are less severe than those which are deliberately anticipated.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Unexpected injuries are less damaging than those we anticipate and dread.
Cicero's quote suggests that the things we fear and anticipate often cause us greater emotional distress than the actual unexpected events that happen to us. This highlights the power of our mindset, indicating that our worries can amplify our suffering more than the reality of our experiences.
Themes
InjuriesExpectationSufferingMindsetFear
In practice
Example use cases
This quote is perfect for a discussion on mental health and coping mechanisms.
More from Marcus Tullius Cicero
All quotes βThose wars are unjust which are undertaken without provocation. For only a war waged for revenge or defence can actually be just.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Nothing contributes to the entertainment of the reader more, than the change of times and the vicissitudes of fortune.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
No one has the right to be sorry for himself for a misfortune that strikes everyone.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
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.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Similar quotes
In the tale, in the telling, we are all one blood.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
The early morning belongs to the Church of the risen Christ. At the break of light it remembers the morning on which death and sin lay prostrate in defeat and new life and salvation were given to mankind
Dietrich BonhoefferRead
When You Hold Onto Your History, You Do It At The Expense Of Your Destiny.
T. D. JakesRead
History has its truth; and so has legend hers.
Victor HugoRead
Without transformation, you can assume you're at a high moral, spiritual level just because you call yourself Lutheran or Methodist or Catholic. I think my great disappointment as a priest has been to see how little actual spiritual curiosity there is in so many people.
Richard RohrRead
Nothing could be more dangerous than following the popular maxim whereby it is the spirit of the law that must be consulted. This is an embankment that, once broken, gives way to a torrent of opinions.
Cesare BeccariaRead