Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Nothing is more unreliable than the populace, nothing more obscure than human intentions, nothing more deceptive than the whole electoral system.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Cicero expresses skepticism about the reliability of the public and electoral systems.
In this quote, Marcus Tullius Cicero highlights the inherent flaws and uncertainties in human behavior and the democratic process. He suggests that the general public is often inconsistent and unreliable, human motives can be difficult to understand, and the electoral system can mislead and deceive, reflecting a deep mistrust of political structures and the motivations behind them.
Themes
PopulaceHuman IntentionsElectoral SystemDeceptionReliability
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared at a political debate to spark discussion about the integrity of electoral processes.
More from Marcus Tullius Cicero
All quotes βThose wars are unjust which are undertaken without provocation. For only a war waged for revenge or defence can actually be just.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Nothing contributes to the entertainment of the reader more, than the change of times and the vicissitudes of fortune.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
No one has the right to be sorry for himself for a misfortune that strikes everyone.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
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.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Similar quotes
All sciences are now under the obligation to prepare the ground for the future task of the philosopher, which is to solve the problem of value, to determine the true hierarchy of values.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Sweet Memory! wafted by thy gentle gale, Oft up the stream of Time I turn my sail.
Samuel RogersRead
Life doesn't do anything to you. It only reveals your spirit.
John C. MaxwellRead
Our humanist community should be thinking more about demonstrating the fundamental truth that goodness requires neither God nor the belief in God by organizing together as a community to do good. Less money spent on billboards that just make us feel good about ourselves and more on soup kitchens and organized visits to the sick and dying.
Rebecca GoldsteinRead
When Alexander the Great visited the philosopher Diogenes and asked whether he could do anything for him, Diogenes is said to have replied: βYes, stand a little less between me and the sun.β It is what every citizen is entitled to ask of his government.
Henry HazlittRead
When He gives, He shows you His Kindness; when He deprives, He shows you His power. And in all that, He is making Himself known to you and coming to you with His gentleness.
Ibn Ata AllahRead