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There is no greater evil for men than the constraint of fortune.
Sophocles
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote suggests that being bound by circumstance is the greatest hardship for humanity.

Sophocles expresses the idea that the limitations and constraints imposed by fate or fortune are the most significant challenges that people face. This reflects the belief that external forces can dictate one's life path and that overcoming these constraints is essential to achieving true freedom and fulfillment. The quote emphasizes the struggle against the whims of fortune and the importance of resilience in the face of adversity.

Themes

ConstraintFortuneEvilMenLifeStruggle

In practice

Example use cases

During a speech on resilience, one might quote this to highlight the importance of overcoming life’s challenges.

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