Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.
DemosthenesRead
A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true.
Interpretation
What this quote means
People often deceive themselves by believing what they want to be true instead of facing reality.
In this quote, Demosthenes highlights the tendency of individuals to fall into self-deception, where their desires shape their beliefs. This reflects the human inclination to embrace convenient truths rather than confronting the objective reality, illustrating the complexities of human psychology and belief systems.
Themes
Self-DeceptionBeliefTruthHuman NaturePsychology
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a self-help seminar to discuss the importance of facing reality.
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Success has a great tendency to conceal and throw a veil over the evil deeds of men.
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Nothing is so easy as to deceive oneself; for what we wish, we readily believe.
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Close alliances with despots are never safe for free states.
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