"I would rather be first in a little Iberian village than second in Rome"
- Epicurus
About this Quote
This quote by Epicurus speaks with the idea of satisfaction and the significance of finding pleasure in the small things in life. Epicurus is suggesting that it is better to be the most successful person in a small town than to be the second-best in a large city like Rome. This is because, in a small town, one can be the most successful and have the most influence, whereas in a big city like Rome, one can quickly be eclipsed by the competition. Epicurus is suggesting that it is much better to be the best at something in a small setting than to be second-best in a large one. He is stressing the significance of finding pleasure in the small things in life, rather than striving for greatness in a big city. This quote speaks with the idea that it is much better to be content with what one has, instead of pursuing increasingly more. Epicurus is suggesting that it is much better to be the best in a little town than to be second-best in a big city.
"German is more familiar now since I live part of the year in Rome and part in the German part of Switzerland. But it's not difficult to sing in German; it's difficult to feel in German. This takes time. It's a culture"
"A great city, whose image dwells in the memory of man, is the type of some great idea. Rome represents conquest; Faith hovers over the towers of Jerusalem; and Athens embodies the pre-eminent quality of the antique world, Art"
"Are we like late Rome, infatuated with past glories, ruled by a complacent, greedy elite, and hopelessly powerless to respond to changing conditions?"
"All roads indeed lead to Rome, but theirs also is a more mystical destination, some bourne of which no traveller knows the name, some city, they all seem to hint, even more eternal"
