Plutarch Quotes
I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.
When Demosthenes was asked what was the first part of Oratory, he answered, "Action," and which was the second, he replied, "action," and which was the third, he still answered "Action.
The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits.
To make no mistakes is not in the power of man; but from their errors and mistakes the wise and good learn wisdom for the future.
In human life there is constant change of fortune; and it is unreasonable to expect an exemption from the common fate. Life itself decays, and all things are daily changing.
It is a thing of no great difficulty to raise objections against another man's oration, it is a very easy matter; but to produce a better in it's place is a work extremely troublesome.
The whole of life is but a moment of time. It is our duty, therefore to use it, not to misuse it.
No man ever wetted clay and then left it, as if there would be bricks by chance and fortune.
Demosthenes overcame and rendered more distinct his inarticulate and stammering pronunciation by speaking with pebbles in his mouth.
The poor go to war, to fight and die for the delights, riches, and superfluities of others.
A good man will take care of his horses and dogs, not only while they are young, but when old and past service.
It is no disgrace not to be able to do everything; but to undertake, or pretend to do, what you are not made for, is not only shameful, but extremely troublesome and vexatious.
There are two sentences inscribed upon the Ancient oracle... "Know thyself" and "Nothing too much"; and upon these all other precepts depend.
The talkative listen to no one, for they are ever speaking. And the first evil that attends those who know not to be silent is that they hear nothing.
Perseverance is more prevailing than violence; and many things which cannot be overcome when they are together, yield themselves up when taken little by little.
For the mind does not require filling like a bottle, but rather, like wood, it only requires kindling to create in it an impulse to think independently and an ardent desire for the truth.
Vultures are the most righteous of birds: they do not attack even the smallest living creature.
But for the sake of some little mouthful of flesh we deprive a soul of the sun and light, and of that proportion of life and time it had been born into the world to enjoy.
...To the Dolphin alone, beyond all other, nature has granted what the best philosophers seek: friendship for no advantage
As bees extract honey from thyme, the strongest and driest of herbs, so sensible men often get advantage and profit from the most awkward circumstances.
It is a high distinction for a homely woman to be loved for her character rather than for beauty.
Why does pouring Oil on the Sea make it Clear and Calm? Is it that the winds, slipping the smooth oil, have no force, nor cause any waves?
Our senses through ignorance of Reality, falsely tell us that what appears to be, is. FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real
Mothers ought to bring up and nurse their own children; for they bring them up with greater affection and with greater anxiety, as loving them from the heart, and so to speak, every inch of them.
All men whilst they are awake are in one common world: but each of them, when he is asleep, is in a world of his own.
Nothing is harder to direct than a man in prosperity; nothing more easily managed that one is adversity.
If you hate your enemies, you will contract such a vicious habit of mind that it will break out upon those who are your friends, or those who are indifferent to you.