"It is not the man who has little, but he who desires more that is poor."
Seneca
Roman Philosopher
Roman Philosopher
"Lack of money is the root of all evil."
George Bernard Shaw
Author, winner 1925 Nobel prize in literature
Author, winner 1925 Nobel prize in literature
Are these statements contradictory?
As often happens, you can't (or shouldn't) say for certain without definition of words like "little", "poor", "lack of", "money" and "evil".
But we do.
Without knowing what we really don't know, we conclude things we shouldn't, worse yet, acting on our assumptions.
And therein is the reason so many of our plans fail.
As often happens, you can't (or shouldn't) say for certain without definition of words like "little", "poor", "lack of", "money" and "evil".
But we do.
Without knowing what we really don't know, we conclude things we shouldn't, worse yet, acting on our assumptions.
And therein is the reason so many of our plans fail.
I think being a philosopher, Seneca purposely left the door open for interpretation, which he probably hoped and expected we would do.
ReplyDeleteSome of my happiest times came when I had the least money, but so too were some of the worst.
ReplyDeleteI see the signs in the accompanying picture all the time at the place I work.
ReplyDelete