The quarrels of lovers are the renewal of love.
I embrace my rival, but only to strangle him.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that rivalry can be embraced, but it ultimately leads to competition or conflict.
In this quote, Jean Racine expresses a complex perspective on rivalry, indicating that while he may acknowledge and accept his rivals, the underlying intention is one of dominance or competition. The imagery of embracing a rival only to strangle them symbolizes the duality of relationships in competitive contexts, where there may be an acknowledgment of the other person, but it is accompanied by a desire to overcome or defeat them, highlighting the often contradictory nature of human interactions in the face of competition.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on competition in business, one might say, 'As Jean Racine said, I embrace my rival, but only to strangle him, highlighting the nature of competition.'
More from Jean Racine
All quotes βI have everything, yet have nothing; and although I possess nothing, still of nothing am I in want.
I am a man, and nothing that concerns a man do I deem a matter of indifference to me.
There are no secrets that time does not reveal.
A single word often betrays a great design.
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The offering of [the body] is called a spiritual sacrifice because it is freely sacrificed through the Spirit, the Christian being uninfluenced by the constrainst of the Low or the fear of hell.
I'm one of those introverted people who simply feels a lot better after spending time alone thinking through ideas and emotions. This is a sign, I've come to think, of a kind of emotional disturbance - a reaction to inner fragility. I wish I were more able to just act and do, rather than constantly have to retreat and examine and think.