Q0388
“Resist the beginnings.” — Ovid (Remedia Amoris 94 (related proverbial form))
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Remedia Amoris 94 (related proverbial form). Theme: self.
English
Resist the beginnings.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Remedia Amoris 94 (related proverbial form) and files it under Roman Literary Thought. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BCE–17/18 CE) was Rome’s virtuoso poet of love and myth, author of the Metamorphoses, Ars Amatoria, and exile elegies. Augustan politics turned against him; he was banished to Tomis on the Black Sea and never returned.
How to read this passage
To ask about the self is to ask what persists through experience, what can be known from the first-person point of view, and how character is formed. Some traditions treat the self as a substantial soul; others as a stream of experience, a social role, or a practical center of agency. This passage enters that discussion through self.
Concepts in this quote
- Self
- Philosophy quotes about self explore identity, responsibility, and the examined life—from Socrates’ unexamined life to modern phenomenology and existential authenticity.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Ovid. (n.d.). Resist the beginnings. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0388
MLA: Ovid. “Resist the beginnings..” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0388.
Chicago: Ovid. “Resist the beginnings..” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0388.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Resist the beginnings.”?
The passage is attributed to Ovid, Remedia Amoris 94 (related proverbial form). The archive attributes this English wording to Remedia Amoris 94 (related proverbial form) and files it under Roman Literary Thought. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Ovid mean by self?
To ask about the self is to ask what persists through experience, what can be known from the first-person point of view, and how character is formed. Some traditions treat the self as a substantial soul; others as a stream of experience, a social role, or a practical center of agency. This passage enters that discussion through self.