Circumstances rule men; men do not rule circumstances.
Interpretation
Men are often governed by their situations rather than by their own decisions.
This quote by Herodotus suggests that people are often constrained by their circumstances, implying that external factors often have more control over individuals than their own will or decisions. It emphasizes the power of context and environment in shaping human behavior and actions, illustrating the idea that individuals cannot always assert control over the various challenges and situations they face in life.
In practice
During a motivational speech on resilience, referencing this quote can illustrate how external situations can impact our choices.
The Scythians take kannabis seed, creep in under the felts, and throw it on the red-hot stones. It smolders and sends up such billows of steam-smoke that no Greek vapor bath can surpass it. The Scythians howl with joy in these vapor-baths, which serve them instead of bathing, for they never wash their bodies with water.
The man who has planned badly, if fortune is on his side, may have had a stroke of luck; but his plan was a bad one nonetheless.
Men trust their ears less than their eyes.
Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks.
The worst pain a man can have is to know much and be impotent to act.
All men's gains are the fruit of venturing.
It is not that we keep His commandments first and that then He loves but that He loves us and then we keep His commandments. This is that grace which is revealed to the humble but hidden from the proud.
Where Slavery is, there Liberty cannot be; and where Liberty is, there Slavery cannot be.
From time to time it's fun to close our eyes, and in that dark say to ourselves, 'I am the sorcerer, and when I open my eyes I shall see a world that I have created, and for which I and only I am completely responsible.' Slowly then, eyelids open like curtains lifting stage-center. And sure enough, there's our world, just the way we've built it.
Just as Darwin discovered the law of evolution in organic nature, so Marx discovered the law of evolution in human history; he discovered the simple fact, hitherto concealed by an overgrowth of idealogy [sic], that mankind must first of all eat and drink, have shelter and clothing, before it can pursue politics, science, religion, art etc.
No human beings more dangerous than those who have suffered for a belief: the great persecutors are recruited from the martyrs not quite beheaded. Far from diminishing the appetite for power, suffering exasperates it.
A lot can be told from what happens in between the main moments.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.