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About this quote

What does it mean?
Good habits are more effective here than good laws elsewhere.
In plain terms
In this place, personal habits work better than distant legislation.
What can you take from it?
Cultivate strong personal habits rather than relying on external rules.

Where it applies

  • community development
  • personal productivity

Putting it to work

  • focus on habit formation
  • use peer influence

Questions to consider

  • When do habits outweigh legal enforcement?
  • How can laws reinforce good habits?

Another view

Laws can provide necessary frameworks that habits alone cannot replace.

More from Tacitus

  1. Quanquam severa illic matrimonia

    Permalink to quote #5

  2. It is the rare fortune of these days that one may think what one likes and say what one thinks.

    Permalink to quote #7

  3. Tu vero felix, Agricola, non vitae tantum claritate, sed etiam opportunitate mortis.

    Permalink to quote #4

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