Their judgment was based on wishful thinking rather than on sound calculation of probabilities; for the usual thing among men, is when they want something, they will, without any reflection, leave that to hope; which they will employ the full force of reasoning in rejecting what they find unpalatable.
— Thucydides
I always thought that Virgil was arguing for better metrics when he wrote “Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.”
How awesome is it that “rerum cognoscere causas” is the motto of Der Tagesspiegel? Almost makes me want to read a newspaper again.