--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The greatest flood has the soonest ebb…" description: "\"The greatest flood has the soonest ebb; the sorest tempest the most sudden calm; the hottest love the coldest end; and from the deepest desire oftentim..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/720/socrates-405_calm_the-greatest-flood-has-the-soonest-ebb-t_2827303.jpg" --- # The greatest flood has the soonest ebb; the sorest tempest… ![“The greatest flood has the soonest ebb; the sorest tempest the most sudden calm; the hottest love the coldest end; and from the deepest desire oftentimes ensues the deadliest hate.” quote by Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/720/socrates-405_calm_the-greatest-flood-has-the-soonest-ebb-t_2827303.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/720/socrates-405_calm_the-greatest-flood-has-the-soonest-ebb-t_2827303.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/720/socrates-405_calm_the-greatest-flood-has-the-soonest-ebb-t_2827303.jpg) > “The greatest flood has the soonest ebb; the sorest tempest the most sudden calm; the hottest love the coldest end; and from the deepest desire oftentimes ensues the deadliest hate.” [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Extreme conditions often reverse: floods recede, storms calm, love cools, desire can breed hate. **In simple terms:** Intense experiences can flip into opposites. Key Takeaway Prepare for paradoxes in life. Themes philosophy paradox emotion Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - relationships - politics - personal growth - conflict resolution Key Concepts stoicism dialectic Questions to Reflect On - When have you seen a crisis become calm? - What desires turn into hostility? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Calm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calm/) [Deepest Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deepest-desire/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Flood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flood/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Tempest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tempest/) ## Related quotes > [From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/from-the-deepest-desires-often-come-the-deadliest-hate/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [As the best wine doth make the sharpest vinegar, so the deepest love turns to the deadliest hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/as-the-best-wine-doth-make-the-sharpest-vinegar-so-the-deepest-love-2/) [John Lyly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lyly/) > [As the best wine doth make the sharpest vinegar, so the deepest love turneth to the deadliest hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/as-the-best-wine-doth-make-the-sharpest-vinegar-so-the-deepest-love/) [John Lyly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lyly/) > [“It’s like the devil offering up your deepest desire for the low, low price of your soul”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-march/it-s-like-the-devil-offering-up-your-deepest-desire-for-the-low-low/) [Meghan March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-march/) > [“Chocolate or a good man can instigate your heart’s surrender, but full-bodied pleasure and overflowing love—opening until you are exposed fully to God as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deida/chocolate-or-a-good-man-can-instigate-your-heart-s-surrender-but-full/) [David Deida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deida/) > [As the sun rises in the East So the breaking dawn of my love begins As the sun sets in the West I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/as-the-sun-rises-in-the-east-so-the-breaking-dawn-of-my-love-begins/) Unkown > [“Today will still yearn to know why we are here and where we came from. 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This is the original purpose of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/the-deepest-desire-of-our-hearts-is-for-union-for-god-god-created-us/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [Humanities deepest desire for knowledge is justification enough for continuing our quest. and our goal is nothing less than a complete description of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/humanities-deepest-desire-for-knowledge-is-justification-enough-for/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) ## More by Socrates > [By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/by-all-means-marry-if-you-get-a-good-wife-you-ll-be-happy-if-you-get/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Falling down is not a failure. Failure comes when you stay where you have fallen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/falling-down-is-not-a-failure-failure-comes-when-you-stay-where-you/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Do not go through life like leaf blown from here to there believing whatever you are told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/do-not-go-through-life-like-leaf-blown-from-here-to-there-believing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If the whole world depends on today's youth, I can't see the world lasting another 100 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-the-whole-world-depends-on-today-s-youth-i-can-t-see-the-world/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“I only know, I know nothing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-only-know-i-know-nothing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-cannot-teach-anybody-anything-i-can-only-make-them-think/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... 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It’s okay. Dad’s doing a great job. I give him kudos for at least being calm and rational, and not losing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/grandma-please-it-s-okay-dad-s-doing-a-great-job-i-give-him-kudos-for/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. 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But from nearby it looks quite different. There is not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/you-imagine-that-i-look-back-on-my-life-s-work-with-calm-satisfaction/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Don't get divorced after your first argument! I have a lot of friends that have one fight and that's it, they get divorced. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ripa/don-t-get-divorced-after-your-first-argument-i-have-a-lot-of-friends/) [Kelly Ripa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ripa/) > [The goal of the operation is to send Gaza back to the Middle Ages, only then will Israel be calm for the next 40 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ben-ari/the-goal-of-the-operation-is-to-send-gaza-back-to-the-middle-ages/) Michael Ben-Ari > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [When I was a child I truly loved: Unthinking love as calm and deep As the North Sea. 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