Only a stomach that rarely feels hungry scorns common things.
HoraceRead
Many heroes lived before Agamemnon; but all are unknown and unwept, extinguished in everlasting night, because they have no spirited chronicler.
Interpretation
Without recognition and storytelling, the deeds of many may fade into obscurity.
This quote by Horace reflects on the importance of historians and storytellers in preserving the legacies of individuals. It suggests that many great heroes existed before the well-known figures like Agamemnon, yet they remain unrecognized and forgotten because they lacked someone to document their lives and achievements, highlighting the role of memory and narrative in shaping history.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of preserving history, you could say, 'Many heroes lived before Agamemnon; but all are unknown and unwept.'
Only a stomach that rarely feels hungry scorns common things.
Now is the time for drinking; now the time to beat the earth with unfettered foot.
Carpe diem! Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have. It is later than you think.
It is of no consequence of what parents a man is born, as long as he be a man of merit.
It is not the rich man you should properly call happy, _x000D_ but him who knows how to use with wisdom the blessings of the gods, _x000D_ to endure hard poverty, and who fears dishonor worse than death, _x000D_ and is not afraid to die for cherished friends or fatherland.
Few cross the river of time and are able to reach non-being. Most of them run up and down only on this side of the river. But those who when they know the law follow the path of the law, they shall reach the other shore and go beyond the realm of death.
Precision, speed, unambiguity, knowledge of files, continuity, discretion, unity, strict subordination, reduction of friction and of material and personal costs - these are raised to the optimum point in the strictly bureaucratic administration.
All who contribute to the overthrow of religion, or to the ruin of kingdoms and commonwealths, all who are foes to letters and to the arts which confer honour and benefit on the human race (among whom I reckon the impious, the cruel, the ignorant, the indolent, the base and the worthless), are held in infamy and detestation.
There is not a thing as the wrong place, or the wrong time. We are where we are at the only time we have. Perhaps it's where we're meant to be.
How can the mind take hold of such a country? Generations of invaders have tried, but they remain in exile. The important towns they build are only retreats, their quarrels the malaise of men who cannot find their way home. India knows of their trouble. She knows of the whole world's trouble, to its uttermost depth. She calls "Come" through her hundred mouths, through objects ridiculous and august. But come to what? She has never defined. She is not a promise, only an appeal.
There has to be a common sense cutoff for craziness, and when that threshold is exceeded, then the criteria for publication should get far, far more stringent.
Each suicidal drama occurs in the mind of a unique individual.
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