Sylphs
Poems (1851), Prometheus
“It is a difficult thing for a man to resist the natural necessity of mortal passions.”
Of those whom God is slow to punish
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Plutarch 251
ancient Greek historian and philosopher 46–127Related quotes
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (1883), XIX Philosophical Maxims. Morals. Polemics and Speculations.
Human Nature and Social Theory (1969)
Context: The most important misunderstanding seems to me to lie in a confusion between the human necessities which I consider part of human nature, and the human necessities as they appear as drives, needs, passions, etc., in any given historical period. This division is not very different from Marx’s concept of "human nature in general", to be distinguished from "human nature as modified in each historical period". The same distinction exists in Marx when he distinguishes between "constant" or "fixed" drives and "relative" drives. The constant drives "exist under all circumstances and … can be changed by social conditions only as far as form and direction are concerned". The relative drives "owe their origin only to a certain type of social organization".
“I hold that mortal foolish who strives against the stress of necessity.”
Hercules Furens l. 281
Letter to the Committee of Merchants in London (6 June 1766) http://www.virginia1774.org/GMMerchants.html
“This is to be mortal, And seek the things beyond mortality.”
“Prosperity can change man's nature; and seldom is any one cautious enough to resist the effects of good fortune.”
Res secundæ valent commutare naturam, et raro quisquam erga bona sua satis cautus est.
X, 1, 40.
Historiarum Alexandri Magni Macedonis Libri Qui Supersunt, Book X