Only a stomach that rarely feels hungry scorns common things.
HoraceRead
It is not the rich man you should properly call happy, _x000D_ but him who knows how to use with wisdom the blessings of the gods, _x000D_ to endure hard poverty, and who fears dishonor worse than death, _x000D_ and is not afraid to die for cherished friends or fatherland.
Interpretation
True happiness comes from wisdom and moral integrity rather than material wealth.
This quote by Horace emphasizes that a person's happiness is determined not by their financial status but by their ability to wisely use their blessings, endure hardships, and uphold their values. It highlights the importance of honor, loyalty, and selflessness in achieving a fulfilling life, suggesting that true fulfillment comes from moral strength and meaningful relationships rather than mere wealth.
In practice
In a graduation speech about values and integrity.
Only a stomach that rarely feels hungry scorns common things.
Now is the time for drinking; now the time to beat the earth with unfettered foot.
Carpe diem! Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have. It is later than you think.
It is of no consequence of what parents a man is born, as long as he be a man of merit.
Few cross the river of time and are able to reach non-being. Most of them run up and down only on this side of the river. But those who when they know the law follow the path of the law, they shall reach the other shore and go beyond the realm of death.
Doctrina sed vim promovet insitam. Instruction enlarges the natural powers of the mind.
It is not good for all our wishes to be filled; through sickness we recognize the value of health; through evil, the value of good; through hunger, the value of food; through exertion, the value of rest.
To develop and perfect and arm conscience is the great achievement of history.
There's nothing you can do that's more important than being fulfilled. You become a sign, you become a signal, transparent to transcendence; in this way, you will find, live, and become a realization of your own personal myth.
That man is best who sees the truth himself. Good too is he who listens to wise counsel. But who is neither wise himself nor willing to ponder wisdom is not worth a straw.
Throughout my life, I always remember that consideration of people who were less fortunate than we. We lived in an atmosphere of awareness, and we certainly did not live a life whereby we ignored, or felt that we could ignore, that which was in evidence around us.
A man must fortify himself and understand that a wise man who yields to laziness or anger or passion or love of drink, or who commits any other action prompted by impulse and inopportune, will probably find his fault condoned; but if he stoops to greed, he will not be pardoned, but render himself odious as a combination of all vices at once.
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