The fool’s life is empty of gratitude and full of fears; its course lies wholly toward the future.
EpicurusRead
He who understands the limits of life knows that it is easy to obtain that which removes the pain of want and makes the whole of life complete and perfect. Thus he has no longer any need of things which involve struggle.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Understanding life's limits leads to recognizing the simplicity in fulfilling desires and achieving completeness.
This quote by Epicurus suggests that a deep understanding of the natural limits of life can lead to enlightenment. It implies that when one realizes that true satisfaction comes not from excessive striving for material possessions, but from the fulfillment of basic needs and the alleviation of suffering, one can achieve a state of completeness and contentment without unnecessary struggle.
Themes
LifePleasureContentmentDesiresSimplicity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a discussion on the importance of mindfulness and living in the moment.
More from Epicurus
All quotes →Accustom yourself to believe that death is nothing to us, for good and evil imply awareness, and death is the privation of all awareness; therefore a right understanding that death is nothing to us makes the mortality of life enjoyable, not by adding to life an unlimited time, but by taking away the yearning after immortality. For life has no terror; for those who thoroughly apprehend that there are no terrors for them in ceasing to live.
EpicurusRead
The wise man who has become accustomed to necessities knows better how to share with others than how to take from them, so great a treasure of self-sufficiency has he found.
EpicurusRead
We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink.
EpicurusRead
I was not, I was, I am not, I care not. (Non fui, fui, non sum, non curo)
EpicurusRead
Of all the means to insure happiness throughout the whole life, by far the most important is the acquisition of friends.
EpicurusRead
Similar quotes
A steady patriot of the world alone, The friend of every country but his own.
George CanningRead
Beauty is worse than wine, it intoxicates both the holder and beholder.
Aldous HuxleyRead
Imitation is the sincerest flattery.
Mahatma GandhiRead
By committing the scientific method to religious claims you're committing a logical fallacy
Francis CollinsRead
It is the storyteller who makes us what we are, who creates history. The storyteller creates the memory that the survivors must have - otherwise their surviving would have no meaning.
Chinua AchebeRead
But when I call for a hero, out comes my lazy old self; so I never know who I am, nor how many I am or will be. I'd love to be able to touch a bell and summon the real me, because if I really need myself, I mustn't disappear.
Pablo NerudaRead