Meaning:
The Latin phrase quod me nutrit me destruit translates to "that which
nourishes me destroys me". It suggests that the forces of nourishment and
destruction are essentially the same, and that one can be sustained and
diminished by the same force.
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I saw the phrase in Harry Mount's "Carpe Diem: Put A Little Latin in Your Life,"
a petite volume in the library's foreign language section. The author pointed
out, among other examples, that these words, tatooed on Anglelina Jolie's arm(or
her back, I can't remember), attested to Latin's cachet. Prestige aside, "what
nourishes me destroys me," carries a dash of taoist duality.
In a recent college questionaire, my highschooler answered Journey to the West
to "what's your favorite childhood book?", and "what's your favorite quote?"
with Kanye West's "Everything I am not made me everything I am." The latter
spoke to him, he said, something he could relate.
The clever wording failed to impress dad as much, however. "Another hash of
the yin-yang," I said. "Remember, in the Tao, you have a much richer heritage."
(I felt natural that people everywhere should discover the same truth, over and over again.)
See, for example, in Chapter 11 of the Tao Te Ching
埏埴（shān zhí）以為器，當其無，有器之用。
Working clay into a container, you make the inside hollow.
Because it is hollow, it is useful as a container.
鑿戶牖（yǒu）以為室，當其無，有室之用
Cutting the wall when building a house, you've got doors and windows.
Their emptiness makes it useful as a room.
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