Playing the game I have learned the meaning of humility. It has given me an understanding of futility of the human effort.
Abba EbanRead
Tragedy is not what men suffer but what they miss.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True tragedy lies in the opportunities and experiences that people fail to seize rather than just in the pain they endure.
This quote by Abba Eban suggests that the real sorrow in life comes not from the hardships we face, but from the things we choose to overlook or fail to pursue. It emphasizes that missed opportunities and unfulfilled potential can lead to a deeper sense of loss than the actual suffering we endure during difficult times.
Themes
TragedyOpportunityLifeLossSuffering
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational talk about life choices, this quote could be used to inspire audience members to take chances and embrace their opportunities.
More from Abba Eban
All quotes βNobody does Israel any service by proclaiming its 'right to exist.' Israel's right to exist, like that of the United States, Saudi Arabia and 152 other states, is axiomatic and unreserved. Israel's legitimacy is not suspended in midair awaiting acknowledgement.... There is certainly no other state, big or small, young or old, that would consider mere recognition of its 'right to exist' a favor, or a negotiable concession.
Abba EbanRead
A nation writes its history in the image of its ideal.
Abba EbanRead
It is our experience that political leaders do not always mean the opposite of what they say.
Abba EbanRead
A statesman who keeps his ear permanently glued to the ground will have neither elegance of posture nor flexibility of movement.
Abba EbanRead
Consensus is what many people say in chorus but do not believe as individuals.
Abba EbanRead
Similar quotes
there was something about that city, though it didn't let me feel guilty that I had no feeling for the things so many others needed. it let me alone. sitting up in my bed the lights out, hearing the outside sounds, lifting my cheap bottle of wine, letting the warmth of the grape enter me as I heard the rats moving about the room, I preferred them to humans. being lost, being crazy maybe is not so bad if you can be that way undisturbed. New Orleans gave me that. nobody ever called my name.
Charles BukowskiRead
Ethics, too, are nothing but reverence for life. This is what gives me the fundamental principle of morality, namely, that good consists in maintaining, promoting, and enhancing life, and that destroying, injuring, and limiting life are evil.
Albert SchweitzerRead
Military investigations are designed not to find anyone guilty. And you can't investigate up the chain of command, which is a huge impediment.
Jon KrakauerRead
My own being can be judged by the depths I reach in making these historical origins my own.
Karl JaspersRead
We live in a world that has narrowed into a neighborhood before it has broadened into a brotherhood.
Lyndon B. JohnsonRead
Every second that passes is like a door that opens to allow in what has not yet happened, what we call the future, but, to challenge the contradictory nature of what we have just said, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the future is just an immense void, that the future is just the time on which the eternal present feeds.
Jose SaramagoRead