The drops of rain make a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling.

About Lucretius

Titus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem De rerum natura, a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, which usually is translated into English as On the Nature of Things–and somewhat less often as On the Nature of the Universe.

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More quotes from Lucretius

We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

Sweet it is, when on the high seas the winds are lashing the waters, to gaze from the land on another’s struggles.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

And life is given to none freehold, but it is leasehold for all.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

What is food to one man is bitter poison to others.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

Pleasant it is, when over a great sea the winds trouble the waters, to gaze from shore upon another’s great tribulation; not because any man’s troubles are a delectable joy, but because to perceive you are free of them yourself is pleasant.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

In the midst of the fountain of wit there arises something bitter, which stings in the very flowers.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

Constant dripping hollows out a stone.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

The drops of rain make a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

From the very fountain of enchantment there arises a taste of bitterness to spread anguish amongst the flowers.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

Pleasant it to behold great encounters of warfare arrayed over the plains, with no part of yours in peril.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

From the heart of the fountain of delight rises a jet of bitterness that tortures us among the very flowers.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

The fall of dropping water wears away the Stone.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

So potent was religion in persuading to evil deeds.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

Thus the sum of things is ever being reviewed, and mortals dependent one upon another. Some nations increase, others diminish, and in a short space the generations of living creatures are changed and like runners pass on the torch of life.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

Such are the heights of wickedness to which men are driven by religion.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

Victory puts us on a level with heaven.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

Though the dungeon, the scourge, and the executioner be absent, the guilty mind can apply the goad and scorch with blows.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

The sum of all sums is eternity.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

Life is one long struggle in the dark.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

It is great wealth to a soul to live frugally with a contented mind.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

The greatest wealth is to live content with little, for there is never want where the mind is satisfied.

Lucretius

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher