It is easy at any moment to surrender a large fortune; to build one up is a difficult and an arduous task.
LivyRead
No wickedness proceeds on any grounds of reason.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Wickedness is not justified by rational arguments.
This quote by Livy suggests that immoral actions cannot be supported by logical reasoning. It implies that wickedness stems from irrationality and cannot find a valid foundation in sound judgment or ethical considerations.
Themes
WickednessReasonMoralityIrrationalityEvil
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on ethical dilemmas, one might use this quote to argue that immoral actions lack a rational basis.
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The army from Asia introduced a foreign luxury to Rome; it was then the meals began to require more dishes and more expenditure . . . the cook, who had up to that time been employed as a slave of low price, become dear: what had been nothing but a metier was elevated to an art.
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The study of history is the best medicine for a sick mind; for in history you have a record of the infinite variety of human experience plainly set out for all to see; and in that record you can find yourself and your country both examples and warnings; fine things to take as models, base things rotten through and through, to avoid.
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Under the influence of fear, which always leads men to take a pessimistic view of things, they magnified their enemies' resources, and minimized their own.
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The troubles which have come upon us always seem more serious than those which are only threatening.
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