Only a stomach that rarely feels hungry scorns common things.
HoraceRead
If you wish me to weep, you yourself must first feel grief.
Interpretation
What this quote means
To cause someone to empathize with your sorrow, you must first be vulnerable with your own feelings.
This quote by Horace emphasizes the importance of mutual emotional experience in relationships. It suggests that genuine empathy and understanding can only occur when both parties are open about their feelings, particularly regarding sorrow. It highlights that one cannot expect another to share in their grief unless they have first experienced or expressed their own emotions authentically.
Themes
GriefEmpathyRelationshipsFeelingsUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about emotional support, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of sharing feelings.
More from Horace
All quotes βNow is the time for drinking; now the time to beat the earth with unfettered foot.
HoraceRead
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.
HoraceRead
It is of no consequence of what parents a man is born, as long as he be a man of merit.
HoraceRead
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.
HoraceRead
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.
HoraceRead
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