Lucretius, trans. Martin Ferguson Smith, On the Nature of Things (2001), Book III, p. 98
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So long as the object of our desire is wanting, it seems more important than anything else; but later, when it is ours, we covet some other thing; and so an insatiable thirst for life keeps us always openmouthed.

— Lucretius on Philosophical pessimism

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "So long as the object of our desire is wanting, it seems more important than anything else; but later, when it is ours, we covet some other thing; and so an insatiable thirst for life keeps us always openmouthed." in the context of "Lucretius, trans. Martin Ferguson Smith, On the Nature of Things (2001), Book III, p. 98 " to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Philosophical pessimism" (L) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Lucretius

About Lucretius

Titus Lucretius Carus (c. 99 BC – 55 BC) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His major work is De Rerum Natura, On the Nature of Things, which is considered by some to be the greatest masterpiece of Latin verse.