We are slow to believe that which if believed would hurt our feelings.
OvidRead
Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Persistence, rather than force, leads to significant change over time.
Ovid's quote illustrates the power of persistence in achieving difficult goals. It emphasizes that gradual and consistent effort, much like the slow erosion of stone by water, can lead to profound results, highlighting that patience and determination are often more effective than sheer force or intensity.
Themes
PersistenceEffortChangeDeterminationConsistency
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech, to emphasize the importance of not giving up.
More from Ovid
All quotes βAll things human hang by a slender thread; and that which seemed to stand strong suddenly falls and sinks in ruins.
OvidRead
A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man's brow.
OvidRead
Fas est ab hoste doceri._x000D_ One should learn even from one's enemies.
OvidRead
Be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you.
OvidRead
The end doesn't justify the means.
OvidRead
Similar quotes
The biggest lesson I've learned is that hurt people hurt people, and kindness is just as contagious. So if you can focus your efforts on engineering kindness, it will prevail.
Whitney Wolfe HerdRead
When reason ends, then anger begins. Therefore, anger is a sign of weakness.
Dalai LamaRead
may my heart always be open to little birds who are the secrets of living
E. E. CummingsRead
It is well worth the efforts of a lifetime to have attained knowledge which justifies an attack on the root of all evil ... which asserts that because forms of evil have always existed in society, therefore they must always exist.
Elizabeth BlackwellRead
I've overcome the blow, I've learned to take it well. I only wish my words could just convince myself that it just wasn't real. But that's not the way it feels.
Jim CroceRead
Don't let your special character and values, the secret that you know and no one else does, the truth - don't let that get swallowed up by the great chewing complacency.
AesopRead