Skip to content

Unknown Quote by Tacitus

“Whatever is unknown is magnified.” quote by Tacitus — Download Open image

“Whatever is unknown is magnified.”

About This Quote

Source Book: Annals, 1st century AD

Unknown things become exaggerated in perception.

In simple terms: The unknown feels larger than it is.

Key Takeaway

Challenge magnification of uncertainty.

Themes

perception unknown psychology

Mood

anxious reflective

Type

philosophical cautionary

When to use this quote

decision making
risk assessment
media consumption
personal anxieties

Key Concepts

cognitive bias fear information processing

Questions to Reflect On

How does the unknown affect your choices?
What strategies reduce fear of uncertainty?

A Different Perspective

Exaggeration may cause unnecessary panic.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.6 out of 5 (7 ratings)

Magnified Unknown Unknown Magnified

More by Tacitus

Benefits received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when that possibility is far exceeded, they are…

Image

Rumor does not always err; it sometimes even elects a man.

Image

None mourn more ostentatiously than those who most rejoice at it [a death].

Image

So true is it that all transactions of preeminent importance are wrapt in doubt and obscurity; while some hold for certain facts the most…

Image

Be assured those will be thy worst enemies, not to whom thou hast done evil, but who have done evil to thee. And those…

Image

Christianity is a pestilent superstition.

Image

Indeed, the crowning proof of their valour and their strength is that they keep up their superiority without harm to others.

Image

Formerly we suffered from crimes; now we suffer from laws.

Image

None mourn more ostentatiously over the death of Germanicus than those who most rejoice at it [a death].

Image

Once killing starts, it is difficult to draw the line.

Image

The lust of dominion burns with a flame so fierce as to overpower all other affections of the human breast.

Image

“It is a principle of nature to hate those whom you have injured.”

Image

Explore all 227 Tacitus quotes

More Unknown quotes

I'm just a girl trying to find a way in this world.

Image

It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…

Image

I had always been scared of the unknown, and I think it had a lot to do with a lack of self-confidence (and wearing…

Image

The fact of the matter is that the Internet has brought together millions of people who trust one another for reasons that are unknown.

Image

I feel like you stabbed my heart out of my chest.. drained my energy and stole my soul.. I feel so empty and shattered..…

Image

I get offers all the time from film makers, but they are unknown quantities. I don't go there and do experiments.

Image

Fake friends tell me what I wanna hear. true friends tell me what I don't wanna hear but its the truth.

Image

What puzzles me is the way that some of the smaller, unknown chateaux imagine that because Chinese millionaires pay ludicrous sums for the great…

Image

Science is about exploring the unknown and cannot offer guarantees.

Virginia Postrel

Image

Don't you just love watching people say they're gonna kill themselves because they get yelled at? Then you look at a different life, and…

Image

I am wary of unknown street food, available in plenty in places such as Singapore and Malaysia.

Image

I've always found a cure for the blues is wandering into something unknown, and resting there, before coming back to whatever weight you were…

Image

Browse all 867 Unknown quotes