We are currently living in strange and unprecedented times and yet if you delve back into history the wise words of others always seem to have a perfect relevance and resonance for us now.
The following are a selection of the words of the Roman Poet, Ovid who was born in 43BC.
They were also tumultuous times with the assassination of Julius Caesar and the great upheaval and civil strife in the Roman Empire.
I have taken some encouragement from the words of Ovid
“Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence.”
“Perfer et obdura, dolor hic tibi proderit olim. Be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you.”
“I grabbed a pile of dust, and holding it up, foolishly asked for as many birthdays as the grains of dust, I forgot to ask that they be years of youth. "
“Happy is the man who has broken the chains which hurt the mind, and has given up worrying once and for all.”
“Fas est ab hoste doceri. - One should learn even from one's enemies.”
“Omnia mutantur, nihil interit - everything changes, nothing perishes.”
“Happy are those who dare courageously to defend what they love.”
“We are ever striving after what is forbidden, and coveting what is denied us.”
“Anything cracked will shatter at a touch.”
“If you would be loved, be lovable”
“A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man's brow.”
“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a beautiful crop.”
“In our play we reveal what kind of people we are”
“Saepe creat molles aspera spina rosas" - "Often the prickly thorn produces tender roses”
“Barbarus hic ego sum, quia non intelligor illis. - In this place I am a barbarian, because men do not understand me.”
“or that writing a poem you can read to no on is like dancing in the dark.”
“Brass shines with constant usage, a beautiful dress needs wearing, Leave a house empty, it rots.”
“There is a certain pleasure in weeping”
“Fortune resists half-hearted prayers.”
“Qui non est hodie eras minus aptus erit. He who is not prepared today will be less so tomorrow. ”
“All other creatures look down toward the earth, but man was given a face so that might turn his eyes toward the stars and his gaze upon the sky.”
“We need to accept the strangeness of things as they are.”
“I can live neither with you, nor without you.”
“While I speak, time flies.”
“Let others praise ancient times; I am glad I was born in these”
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