QuoteProject
When we try to avoid one fault, we are led to the opposite, unless we be very careful.
Horace
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Avoiding one fault can lead to the development of its opposite if we are not cautious.

The quote by Horace reflects the idea that in our efforts to correct or avoid certain flaws or mistakes, we may inadvertently cultivate their opposites. This highlights the complexity of human behavior and the necessity of mindfulness in our actions, as a reaction against one extreme can sometimes cause us to swing to another extreme, leading to unintended consequences.

Themes

FaultOppositeCarefulnessBehaviorExtremes

In practice

Example use cases

In a self-improvement workshop, one might use this quote to illustrate the importance of balanced personal development.

More from Horace

Only a stomach that rarely feels hungry scorns common things.
HoraceRead
Now 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

Similar quotes

Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake. Our fires are damped, our drafts are checked. We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources.
William JamesRead
And don’t worry about the bits you can’t understand. Sit back and allow the words to wash around you, like music.
Roald DahlRead
A great man stands on God. A small man on a great man.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
Love yourself and be awake- Today, tomorrow, always. First establish yourself in the way, Then teach others, And so defeat sorrow. To straighten the crooked You must first do a harder thing- Straighten yourself. You are your only master. Who else? Subdue yourself, And discover your master.
Gautama BuddhaRead
The world does not require so much to be informed as to be reminded.
Hannah MoreRead
If you get a call to go to a certain place in the middle of the night to pick up stolen goods, and it turns out the stolen goods don't show up but the cops show up, I think you're going to have a very weak story saying, 'Well, I got swindled here.'
Charles KrauthammerRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.