Augustus De Morgan, "Siphonaptera", A Budget of Paradoxes (1872)
“
Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em, And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum. And the great fleas themselves, in turn, have greater fleas to go on; While these again have greater still, and greater still, and so on.
— Augustus on Insect suffering
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em, And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum. And the great fleas themselves, in turn, have greater fleas to go on; While these again have greater still, and greater still, and so on." in the context of "Augustus De Morgan, "Siphonaptera", A Budget of Paradoxes (1872)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Insect suffering" (M)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
About Augustus
Imperator Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus (23 September 63 BC – 19 August 14), born Gaius Octavius, was the adopted son of Julius Caesar and the first Roman Emperor. He also became a pontiff and later Pontifex Maximus.
About Augustus
Imperator Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus (23 September 63 BC – 19 August 14), born Gaius Octavius, was the adopted son of Julius Caesar and the first Roman Emperor. He also became a pontiff and later Pontifex Maximus.
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