If any two men desire the same thing, which nevertheless they cannot both enjoy, they become enemies.
Interpretation
Conflicting desires can lead to enmity when two people want the same thing but cannot both have it.
This quote by Thomas Hobbes reflects the fundamental nature of human conflict, suggesting that when two individuals desire the same goal or object that is in limited supply, the inevitable competition for that desire can breed hostility and animosity. It highlights the idea that human relationships are often dictated by the struggle for resources, recognition, or power, and that this competition can turn friends into foes if their interests clash.
In practice
In a discussion about workplace rivalry, you could use this quote to illustrate how competing for the same promotion can create tension among colleagues.
Baptism is the sacrament of allegiance of them that are to be received into the Kingdom of God, that is to say, into Eternal life, that is to say, to Remission of Sin. For as Eternal life was lost by the committing, so it is recovered by the remitting of men's sins.
Force and fraud are in war the two cardinal virtues.
For it is not the shape, but their use, that makes them angels.
For to accuse requires less eloquence, such is man's nature, than to excuse; and condemnation, than absolution, more resembles justice.
Scientia potentia est, sed parva; quia scientia egregia rara est, nec proinde apparens nisi paucissimis, et in paucis rebus. Scientiae enim ea natura est, ut esse intelligi non possit, nisi ab illis qui sunt scientia praediti.
The end of knowledge is power ... the scope of all speculation is the performing of some action or thing to be done.
All spirits are enslaved which serve things evil
I thought if war did not include killing, I'd like to see one every year.
A strong nation is one that is loved by its people and, as Edmund Burke put it, for a country to be loved it ought to be lovely.
I place economy among the first and most important virtues and public debt as the greatest dangers to be feared. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and in our comforts, in our labor and in our amusements. If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
In short, and let us be clear on it: race is not a card. It determines whom the dealer is, and who gets dealt.
The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike, but the Pope has the duty, in Christ's name, to remind the rich to help the poor, to respect them, to promote them.
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