Juvenal Quotes
When did reason ever direct our desires or our fears?
Juvenal. Juvenal and Persius. Translated by G. G. Ramsay, Harvard University Press, 1918, Satire 10, line 4.
This is a common phenomenon in most democracies. There are 3 reasons that people vote against their interests. One is that they are fooled by the slickness of particular candidate and/or promises and assurances. Second, their cultural values are offended by the candidate who advocates and will fight for their interests. Third, they have been frightened sufficiently that they will sacrifice their interests if that will protect them. One frequent example is that in America in all wars, many people have voted for the candidate or party who would erode and/or deny their civil rights in the name of national security.
Decimus Junius Juvenalis (Latin: [ˈdɛkɪmʊs ˈjuːniʊs jʊwɛˈnaːlɪs]), known in English as Juvenal (/ˈdʒuːvənəl/ JOO-vən-əl), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century AD. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the Satires. The details of the author's life are unclear, although references within his text to known persons of the late first and early second centuries AD fix his earliest date of composition. One recent scholar argues that his first book was published in 100 or 101. Because of a reference to a recent political figure, his fifth and final surviving book must date from after 127.
