“In the case of all things which have a certain constitution, whatever harm”

X, 33
Meditations (c. 121–180 AD), Book X
Context: In the case of all things which have a certain constitution, whatever harm may happen to any of them, that which is affected becomes consequently worse; but in like case, a man becomes both better... and more worthy of praise, by making the right use of these accidents.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "In the case of all things which have a certain constitution, whatever harm" by Marcus Aurelius?
Marcus Aurelius photo
Marcus Aurelius 400
Emperor of Ancient Rome 121–180

Related quotes

Marcus Aurelius photo
Lysander Spooner photo
Marcus Aurelius photo
Thomas Paine photo
Alan Moore photo

“For whatever the future holds, one thing is certain… It just won't be the same.”

Alan Moore (1953) English writer primarily known for his work in comic books

Source: V for Vendetta, Vol. I of X

Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac photo

“Poison cures in certain contingencies, and in those cases poison is not an evil thing.”

Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac (1597–1654) French author, best known for his epistolary essays

Le venin guerit en quelque rencontre, et, ce cas-là, le venin n'est pas mauvais.
Aristippe, ou De la cour (1658), Discours VI.
Translation reported in Harbottle's Dictionary of quotations French and Italian (1904), p. 139.

Richard Stallman photo

“Dutch pedophiles have formed a political party to campaign for legalization.
I am skeptical of the claim that voluntarily pedophilia harms children. The arguments that it causes harm seem to be based on cases which aren't voluntary, which are then stretched by parents who are horrified by the idea that their little baby is maturing.”

Richard Stallman (1953) American software freedom activist, short story writer and computer programmer, founder of the GNU project

"Dutch paedophiles form political party" (5 June 2006) https://www.stallman.org/archives/2006-may-aug.html#05%20June%202006%20%28Dutch%20paedophiles%20form%20political%20party%29
2000s

Marcus Aurelius photo
Mahatma Gandhi photo

“It is beyond my power to induce in you a belief in God. There are certain things which are self proved and certain which are not proved at all.”

Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) pre-eminent leader of Indian nationalism during British-ruled India

Young India (24 September 1931); also in Teachings Of Mahatma Gandhi (1945), edited by Jag Parvesh Chander, p. 458 archive.org https://archive.org/stream/teachingsofmahat029222mbp#page/n463/mode/2up
1930s
Context: It is beyond my power to induce in you a belief in God. There are certain things which are self proved and certain which are not proved at all. The existence of God is like a geometrical axiom. It may be beyond our heart grasp. I shall not talk of an intellectual grasp. Intellectual attempts are more or less failures, as a rational explanation cannot give you the faith in a living God. For it is a thing beyond the grasp of reason. It transcends reason. There are numerous phenomena from which you can reason out the existence of God, but I shall not insult your intelligence by offering you a rational explanation of that type. I would have you brush aside all rational explanations and begin with a simple childlike faith in God. If I exist, God exists. With me it is a necessity of my being as it is with millions. They may not be able to talk about it, but from their life you can see that it is a part of their life. I am only asking you to restore the belief that has been undermined. In order to do so, you have to unlearn a lot of literature that dazzles your intelligence and throws you off your feet. Start with the faith which is also a token of humility and an admission that we know nothing, that we are less than atoms in this universe. We are less than atoms, I say, because the atom obeys the law of its being, whereas we in the insolence of our ignorance deny the law of nature. But I have no argument to address to those who have no faith.

George Holmes Howison photo

Related topics