Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
The mere act of believing that some wrongful course of action constitutes an advantage is pernicious.
Interpretation
Believing that wrongdoing can benefit you is harmful and misguided.
Cicero's quote warns against the dangerous mindset that perceives unethical actions as advantageous. It highlights the moral blindness that can arise when individuals prioritize their self-interest over ethical considerations, ultimately leading to detrimental consequences for themselves and society.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about corporate ethics and the consequences of unethical business practices.
Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Those wars are unjust which are undertaken without provocation. For only a war waged for revenge or defence can actually be just.
Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak.
Nothing contributes to the entertainment of the reader more, than the change of times and the vicissitudes of fortune.
No one has the right to be sorry for himself for a misfortune that strikes everyone.
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.
Enthusiasm is the leaping lightning, not to be measured by the horse-power of the understanding
When people are in the thrall of poisonous ideology, it's really not all about deliberate ill will, or inherent hatred, or a lack of intelligence. It's about the unbelievable destructiveness and staying power of bad ideas and about finding ways to equip people with the tools they need to fight them.
Beauty without intelligence is like a hook without bait.
Maybe I don't take myself so seriously any more. And I don't care how I'm judged. I'm past all that.
It is of no profit to have learned well, if you neglect to do well.
The wisest of the wise may err.
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