Shrines! Shrines! Surely you don't believe in the gods. What's your argument? Where's your proof?
Hunger knows no friend but its feeder.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that hunger or need is a powerful force that can override relationships and loyalty.
In this quote, Aristophanes highlights the idea that when it comes to fulfilling deep-seated needs such as hunger, social bonds and friendships become secondary. It suggests that in times of desperate need, individuals are often compelled to seek help from whoever can provide it, regardless of their previous relationships or affiliations. This speaks to the primal instincts that drive human behavior, emphasizing how fundamental needs can dictate actions and priorities.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing poverty, one might say, 'As Aristophanes observed, hunger knows no friend but its feeder.'
More from Aristophanes
All quotes β[Y]ou [man] are fool enough, it seems, to dare to war with [woman=] me, when for your faithful ally you might win me easily.
Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.
Open your mouth and shut your eyes and see what Zeus will send you.
When men drink, then they are rich and successful and win lawsuits and are happy and help their friends. Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.
These impossible women! How they do get around us! The poet was right: Can't live with them, or without them.
Similar quotes
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Enormous amounts of money are spent for publicity. As a result, large quantities of alimentary and pharmaceutical products, at the least useless, and often harmful, have become a necessity for civilized men.
I feel humiliated that I live in a country that demands more already. Why do we cling to the notion that not only must we maintain the current level of consumption, but that it must continue to grow by an exponential factor of 2 to 7 percent every year?
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor, Shall be lifted -- Nevermore!
The humiliation I go through/when I think of my past/can only be described as grace./We are created by being destroyed.
It is to the Cross that the Christian is challenged to follow his Master: no path of redemption can make a detour around it.