Plutarch Quotes
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νήπιος, ὃς τὰ ἕτοιμα λιπὼν ἀνέτοιμα διώκει
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For ease and speed in doing a thing do not give the work lasting solidity or exactness of beauty.
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When another is asked a question, take special care not to interrupt to answer it yourself.
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He (Cato) never gave his opinion in the Senate upon any other point whatever, without adding these words, "And, in my opinion Carthage should be destroyed." ["Delenda est Carthago."]
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Good birth is a fine thing, but the merit is our ancestors.
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Know how to listen, and you will profit even from those who talk badly.
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A warrior carries his shield for the sake of the entire line.
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Concerning the dead nothing but good shall be spoken. [Lat., De mortuis nil nisi bonum.]
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τὸ μὲν ἁμαρτεῖν μηδὲν ἐν πράγμασι μεγάλοις μεῖζον ἢ κατ' ἄνθρωπόν ἐστι...
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When one asked him what boys should learn, 'That,' said he, 'which they shall use when men.'
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Using the proverb frequently in their mouths who enter upon dangerous and bold attempts, 'The die is cast,' he took the river.
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Demosthenes told Phocion, 'The Athenians will kill you some day when they once are in a rage.' 'And you,' said he, 'if they are once in their senses.'
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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.
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Among real friends there is no rivalry or jealousy of one another, but they are satisfied and contented alike whether they are equal or one of them is superior.
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Fortune had favoured me in this war that I feared, the rather, that some tempest would follow so favourable a gale.
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Anger turns the mind out of doors and bolts the entrance.
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Whenever Alexander heard Philip had taken any town of importance, or won any signal victory, instead of rejoicing at it altogether, he would tell his companions that his father would anticipate everything, and leave him and them no opportunities of performing great and illustrious actions.
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When a man's eyes are sore his friends do not let him finger them, however much he wishes to, nor do they themselves touch the inflammation: But a man sunk in grief suffers every chance comer to stir and augment his affliction like a running sore; and by reason of the fingering and consequent irritation it hardens into a serious and intractable evil.
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Thus our judgments, if they do not borrow from reason and philosophy a fixity and steadiness of purpose in their acts, are easily swayed and influenced by the praise or blame of others, which make us distrust our own opinions.
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Custom is almost a second nature.
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When Demosthenes was asked what were the three most important aspects of oratory, he answered, 'Action, Action, Action.'
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Cæsar said to the soothsayer, 'The ides of March are come;' who answered him calmly, 'Yes, they are come, but they are not past.'
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As those persons who despair of ever being rich make little account of small expenses, thinking that little added to a little will never make any great sum.
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For, in the language of Heraclitus, the virtuous soul is pure and unmixed light, springing from the body as a flash of lightning darts from the cloud. But the soul that is carnal and immersed in sense, like a heavy and dank vapor, can with difficulty be kindled, and caused to raise its eyes heavenward.