Contra Quotes
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Nihil nos conari, velle, appetere, neque cupere, quia id bonum esse judicamus; sed contra, nos propterea aliquid bonum esse judicare, quia id conamur, volumus, appetimus, atque cupimus. We endeavour, wish, desire, or long for nothing because we deem it good; but on the other hand, we deem a thing good because we endeavour, wish for, desire, or long for it.
Baruch also known as Benedict de Spinoza Spinoza— 1677 Ethics, bk.3, prop.9, note.
Sólo la virtud tiene argumentos poderosos contra el pesimismo.
— Only virtue has powerful arguments against pessimism.
— In: Leopoldo Alas (1975) Solos de Clarín.; Also attributed without citation at Frases Célebres
Irascetur aliquis: tu contra beneficiis prouoca; cadit statim simultas ab altera parte deserta; nisi paria non pugnant.
seneca the younger— If any one is angry with you, meet his anger by returning benefits for it: a quarrel which is only taken up on one side falls to the ground: it takes two men to fight.De Ira (On Anger): Book 2, cap. 34, line 5.
Ieu sui Arnautz qu'amas l'aura E cas la lebre ab lo bueu E nadi contra suberna.
arnaut daniel— I am Arnaut who love the wind,
And chase the hare with the ox,
And swim against the torrent."Ab gai so cundet e leri", line 43; translation from Ezra Pound The Spirit of Romance (1910) p. 30.
Arrasado el jardín, profanados los cálices y las aras, entraron a caballo los hunos en la biblioteca monástica y rompieron los libros incomprensibles y los vituperaron y los quemaron, acaso temerosos de que las letras encubrieran blasfemias contra su dios, que era una cimitarra de hierro.
jorge luis borges— Razed the garden, profaned the chalices and the altars, by horse the Huns broke into the Monastic library and they tore the incomprehensible books and they vituperated them and they burnt them, fearing their symbols and characters might be concealing secret blasphemies against their God, who was an iron scimitar...The Theologians [Los Teólogos]
Scriptaferuntannos; scriptis Agamemnona nosti, Et quisquis contra vel simul arma tulit.
— Writings survive the years; it is by writings that you know Agamemnon, and those who fought for or against him.
— Ovid, Epistole Ex Ponto, IV. 8. 51.
Ignoratur enim, quæ sit natura animai; Nata sit, an contra nascentibus insinuetur; Et simul intereat nobiscum, morte diremta, An tenebras Orci visat, vastasque lacunas: An pecudes alias divinitus insinuet se.
— For it is unknown what is the real nature of the soul, whether it be born with the bodily frame or be infused at the moment of birth, whether it perishes along with us, when death separates the soul and body, or whether it visits the shades of Pluto and bottomless pits, or enters by divine appointment into other animals.
— Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, I. 113.
Ieu sui Arnautz qu'amas l'aura E cas la lebre ab lo bueu E nadi contra suberna.
— I am Arnaut who love the wind,
And chase the hare with the ox,
And swim against the torrent.
— "Ab gai so cundet e leri", line 43; translation from Ezra Pound The Spirit of Romance (1910) p. 30.
«Esto no es una cuestión de izquierda contra derechas, es de los de abajo contra los de arriba»
— It's not a question of left against right, it's the one's at the bottom against the ones on top [ ]
Ó grandes e gravíssimos perigos! Ó caminho de vida nunca certo: Que aonde a gente põe sua esperança, Tenha a vida tão pouca segurança! No mar tanta tormenta, e tanto dano, Tantas vezes a morte apercebida! Na terra tanta guerra, tanto engano, Tanta necessidade aborrecida! Onde pode acolher-se um fraco humano, Onde terá segura a curta vida, Que não se arme, e se indigne o Céu sereno contra um bicho da terra tão pequeno?
luís de camões— O piteous lot of man's uncertain state!
What woes on Life's unhappy journey wait!
When joyful Hope would grasp its fond desire,
The long-sought transports in the grasp expire.
By sea what treacherous calms, what rushing storms,
And death attendant in a thousand forms!
By land what strife, what plots of secret guile,
How many a wound from many a treacherous smile!
O where shall man escape his numerous foes,
And rest his weary head in safe repose!Canto I, st. 105–6 (translated by William Julius Mickle, 1776).
Queria perdoar-lhe o Rei benino, Movido das palavras que o magoam; Mas o pertinaz povo, e seu destino (Que desta sorte o quis) lhe não perdoam. Arrancam das espadas de aço fino Os que por bom tal feito ali apregoam. contra uma dama, ó peitos carniceiros, Feros vos amostrais, e cavaleiros?
luís de camões— In tears she utter'd—as the frozen snow
Touch'd by the spring's mild ray, begins to flow,
So just began to melt his stubborn soul,
As mild-ray'd pity o'er the tyrant stole;
But destiny forbade: with eager zeal,
Again pretended for the public weal,
Her fierce accusers urged her speedy doom;
Again dark rage diffused its horrid gloom
O'er stern Alonzo's brow: swift at the sign,
Their swords unsheathed around her brandish'd shine.
O foul disgrace, of knighthood lasting stain,
By men of arms a helpless lady slain!Canto III, st. 130 (translated by Mickle); of Inez de Castro.
Sunset greeted them when, after a wide circle to the east and south, they cleared the divide of the contra Costa hills and began dropping down the long grade that led past Redwood Peak to Fruitvale. Beneath them stretched the flatlands to the bay, checkerboarded into fields and broken by the towns of Elmhurst, San Leandro, and Haywards. The smoke of Oakland filled the western sky with haze and murk, while beyond, across the bay, they could see the first winking lights of San Francisco.
— Jack London, in The Valley of the Moon (1913), book I, chapter XI
E canta como lá se embarcaria Em Belém o remédio deste dano, Sem saber o que em si ao mar traria, O grão Pacheco, Aquiles Lusitano. O peso sentirão, quando entraria, O curvo lenho e o férvido Oceano, Quando mais n' água os troncos que gemerem contra sua natureza se meterem.
— Translated by Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, in The Lusiad of Luis de Camoens, Closely Translated (1854), p. 245
contra primus itaque causas pugnare debemus; causa autem iracundiae opinio iniuriae est, cui non facile credendum est. Ne apertis quidem manifestisque statim accedendum; quaedam enim falsa ueri speciem ferunt. Dandum semper est tempus: ueritatem dies aperit.
— De Ira (On Anger): Book 2, cap. 22, line 2
Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito Quam tua te Fortuna sinet.
virgil— Yet still despond not, but proceed
Along the path where Fate may lead.Lines 95–96 (translated by John Conington).Variant translations of Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito:Yield not to evils, but attack all the more boldly.Do not yield to misfortunes, but meet them on the contrary with fortitude.Do not yield to misfortunes, but, on the contrary, resist them with increasing firmness.
Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito Quam tua te Fortuna sinet.
— Yield not to evils, but attack all the more boldly.
— Do not yield to misfortunes, but meet them on the contrary with fortitude.
— Do not yield to misfortunes, but, on the contrary, resist them with increasing firmness.
contra primus itaque causas pugnare debemus; causa autem iracundiae opinio iniuriae est, cui non facile credendum est. Ne apertis quidem manifestisque statim accedendum; quaedam enim falsa ueri speciem ferunt. Dandum semper est tempus: ueritatem dies aperit.
seneca the younger— The cause of anger is the belief that we are injured; this belief, therefore, should not be lightly entertained. We ought not to fly into a rage even when the injury appears to be open and distinct: for some false things bear the semblance of truth. We should always allow some time to elapse, for time discloses the truth.De Ira (On Anger): Book 2, cap. 22, line 2
