Only a stomach that rarely feels hungry scorns common things.
HoraceRead
It was a wine jar when the molding began: as the wheel runs round why does it turn out a water pitcher?
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the distinction between potential and reality, questioning how a product can differ from its intended form.
Horace's quote reveals the philosophical inquiry into how the essence or purpose of an object, symbolized by the wine jar, can deviate from its final manifestation, represented by the water pitcher. It suggests that factors beyond the initial design, perhaps the influences during its creation, shape the ultimate outcome, prompting reflection on the roles of intention and circumstance in the process of creation.
In practice
During a seminar about creativity, this quote can highlight how ideas evolve throughout the creative process.
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.
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.
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.
A corner draft fluttered the flame And the white fever of temptation Upswept its angel wings that cast A cruciform shadow.
There's an African proverb: 'When death finds you, may it find you alive.' Alive means living your own damned life, not the life that your parents wanted, or the life some cultural group or political party wanted, but the life that your own soul wants to live.
The civilized man has a moral obligation to be skeptical. . . . Any man who for one moment abandons or suspends the questioning spirit has for that moment betrayed humanity.
All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. ... Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn't. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.
Much that was called religion has carried an unconscious attitude of hostility toward life. True religion must teach that life is filled with joys pleasing to the eye of God, that knowledge without action is empty. All men must see that the teaching of religion by rules and rote is largely a hoax. The proper teaching is recognized with ease. You can know it without fail because it awakens within you that sensation which tells you this is something youβve always known.
My mind cannot know you, only labels, judgments, facts, and opinions about you. Being alone knows directly.
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