Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
If only every man would make proper use of his strength and do his utmost, he need never regret his limited ability.
Interpretation
Utilizing one's strengths to the fullest can lead to a sense of fulfillment, regardless of inherent limitations.
This quote by Cicero emphasizes the importance of making the best use of one's abilities. It suggests that if individuals harness their strengths and give their utmost effort, they will find contentment and avoid regrets about what they were not able to achieve due to limitations. It conveys the message that success is not solely determined by the extent of one's talents but rather by the dedication and effort put into utilizing those talents.
In practice
During a motivational speech about personal growth.
Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Those wars are unjust which are undertaken without provocation. For only a war waged for revenge or defence can actually be just.
Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak.
Nothing contributes to the entertainment of the reader more, than the change of times and the vicissitudes of fortune.
No one has the right to be sorry for himself for a misfortune that strikes everyone.
Advice in old age is foolish; for what can be more absurd than to increase our provisions for the road the nearer we approach to our journey's end.
Our memories are our own, and we cannot blame anything or anyone in the past for any pain dwelling there. If we open the door to them or keep hashing over past incidents in our minds, we have only ourselves to blame.
I wonder if we might pledge ourselves to remember what life is really all aboutβnot to be afraid that we're less flashy than the next, not to worry that our influence is not that of a tornado, but rather that of a grain of sand in an oyster! Do we have that kind of patience?
The ultimate test of a man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.
It is painful to face the self we know we have never had the integrity to honor and assert.
There are occasions on which it is noble to dare to stand alone. To be pious among infidels, to be disinterested in a time of general venality, to lead a life of virtue and reason in the midst of sensualists, is a proof of a mind intent on nobler things than the praise or blame of men, of a soul fixed in the contemplation of the highest good, and superiour to the tyranny of custom and example.
Mankind is notoriously too dense to read the signs that God sends from time to time. We require drums to be beaten into our ears, before we should wake from our trance and hear the warning and see that to lose oneself in all, is the only way to find oneself.
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