Plutarch Quotes
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The worship most acceptable to God comes from a thankful and cheerful heart.
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He is a fool who leaves things close at hand to follow what is out of reach.
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Alcibiades had a very handsome dog, that cost him seven thousand drachmas; and he cut off his tail, 'that,' said he, 'the Athenians may have this story to tell of me, and may concern themselves no further with me.'
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Ought a man to be confident that he deserves his good fortune, and think much of himself when he has overcome a nation, or city, or empire; or does fortune give this as an example to the victor also of the uncertainty of human affairs, which never continue in one stay? For what time can there be for us mortals to feel confident, when our victories over others especially compel us to dread fortune, and while we are exulting, the reflection that the fatal day comes now to one, now to another, in regular succession, dashes our joy.
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For man is a plant, not fixed in the earth, nor immovable, but heavenly, whose head, rising as it were from a root upwards, is turned towards heaven.
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To do an evil action is base; to do a good action without incurring danger is common enough; but it is the part of a good man to do great and noble deeds, though he risks every thing.
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Lysander, when Dionysius sent him two gowns, and bade him choose which he would carry to his daughter, said, 'She can choose best,' and so took both away with him.
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A few vices are sufficient to darken many virtues.
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Grief is natural; the absence of all feeling is undesirable, but moderation in grief should be observed, as in the face of all good or evil.
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Had I a careful and pleasant companion that should show me my angry face in a glass, I should not at all take it ill; to behold man's self so unnaturally disguised and dishonored will conduce not a little to the impeachment of anger.
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These are the materials for reflection which history affords to those who choose to make use of them.
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The conduct of a wise politician is ever suited to the present posture of affairs. Often by foregoing a part he saves the whole, and by yielding in a small matter secures a greater.
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Character is inured habit.
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For water continually dropping will wear hard rocks hollow.
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To sing the same tune, as the saying is, is in everything cloying and offensive; but men are generally pleased with variety.
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For my part, I had rather be the first man among these fellows than the second man in Rome.
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τοῖς ἐγρηγορόσιν ἕνα καὶ κοινὸν κόσμον εἶναι, τῶν δὲ κοιμωμένων ἕκαστον εἰς ἴδιον ἀποστρέφεσθαι
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It is a difficult task, O citizens, to make speeches to the belly, which has no ears.
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It does not follow, that because a particular work of art succeeds in charming us, its creator also deserves our admiration.
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A fool cannot hold his tongue.
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Moral good is a practical stimulus; it is no sooner seen than it inspires an impulse to practise.
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Either is both, and Both is neither.
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It is a true proverb, that if you live with a lame man, you will learn a limp.
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King Agis said, "The Lacedæmonians are not wont to ask how many, but where the enemy are."