Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
The study and knowledge of the universe would somehow be lame and defective were no practical results to follow.
Interpretation
Cicero emphasizes that understanding the universe must lead to practical applications to be truly valuable.
In this quote, Cicero highlights the importance of practical results that stem from the study of the universe. He suggests that mere knowledge, without any tangible benefits or applications, is inadequate and fails to fulfill its potential. Thus, he advocates for the pursuit of knowledge that not only seeks understanding but also leads to improvements in human life and society.
In practice
In a scientific presentation on the importance of applying theoretical research.
Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
Those wars are unjust which are undertaken without provocation. For only a war waged for revenge or defence can actually be just.
Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak.
Nothing contributes to the entertainment of the reader more, than the change of times and the vicissitudes of fortune.
No one has the right to be sorry for himself for a misfortune that strikes everyone.
Advice in old age is foolish; for what can be more absurd than to increase our provisions for the road the nearer we approach to our journey's end.
The dramatic importance of climate changes to the worldβs future has been dangerously underestimated by many, often because we have been lulled by modern technology into thinking we have conquered nature. This well-written book points out in clear language that the climatic threat could be as awesome as any we might face, and that massive world-wide actions to hedge against that threat deserve immediate consideration.
In speaking of the Energy of the field, however, I wish to be understood literally. All energy is the same as mechanical energy, whether it exists in the form of motion or in that of elasticity, or in any other form. The energy in electromagnetic phenomena is mechanical energy.
It will be another million years, at least, before we understand the primes.
Everyone in the astronaut program has a degree in a science field. The crew are the ones who do the experiments, help to design some of the experiments that come from other primary researchers. So it becomes very important that you have a science background.
Language is only the instrument of science, and words are but the signs of ideas.
That is the logical tight-rope on which we have to walk if we wish to interpret nature.
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