Deep Quotes
How many things… are looked upon as quite impossible until they have been actually effected?
"How many things… are looked upon as quite impossible until they have been actually effected?"— Pliny the Elder
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Meaning of this quote
Achievements can overturn an earlier belief that something was impossible.
Key takeaway:
Distinguish a lack of precedent from convincing evidence of impossibility.
Origin of the quote
Pliny the Elder, Natural History, Book VII, translated by Bostock and Riley
Who actually said this?
The question appears in Pliny’s Natural History, Book VII, in the opening discussion of human marvels. The supplied ellipsis omits “too”.
