Ille potens sui laetusque deget, cui licet in diem dixisse 'vixi: cras vel atra nube polum pater occupato vel sole puro.'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- He, proud and happy with his power, claims he lived today, while tomorrow may bring darkness or a bright sun.
- In plain terms
- Powerful people celebrate now, unaware of future uncertainty.
- What can you take from it?
- Enjoy present power but stay humble.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does pride affect decision‑making?
- What prepares you for tomorrow’s unknowns?
Another view
Overconfidence can blind one to risks.
More from Horace
Magnus inter opes inops.
Permalink to quote #14 Exegi monumentum aere perennius
Permalink to quote #16 Vis consili expers mole ruit sua.
Permalink to quote #13
Related quotes
Pride defeats its own end, by bringing the man who seeks esteem and reverence into contempt.
Henry, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke St JohnHenry, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke St John quote #8 Oh! let us never, never doubt What nobody is sure about!
Hilaire BellocHilaire Belloc quote #16 There are ages in which the rational man and the intuitive man stand side by side, the one in fear of intuition, the other with scorn for abstraction. The latt…
Friedrich NietzscheFriedrich Nietzsche quote #35