I had much rather be adorned by beauty of character than by jewels. Jewels are the gift of fortune, character comes from within.
PlautusRead
The gods confound the man who first found out How to distinguish hours! Confound him, too, Who in this place set up a sun-dial, To cut and hack my days so wretchedly Into small portions.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote criticizes the measurement of time, suggesting that it fragments our lives into misery.
In this quote, Plautus expresses a deep frustration with the concept of measuring time through devices such as sundials. He advocates that the invention of such tools has led to a disruption of the natural flow of life, confining our experiences into rigid segments and causing unnecessary anxiety and misery.
Themes
TimeMeasurementSundialFrustrationLife
In practice
Example use cases
During a philosophical discussion about the impact of time on human life.
More from Plautus
All quotes →Property is unstable, and youth perishes in a moment. Life itself is held in the grinning fangs of Death, Yet men delay to obtain release from the world. Alas, the conduct of mankind is surprising.
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Things we do not expect, happen more frequently than we wish.
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I would rather be adorned by beauty of character than jewels. Jewels are the gift of fortune, while character comes from within.
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If I can only keep my good name, I shall have riches enough.
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Spice a dish with love and it pleases every palate.
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