Plutarch Quotes
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The man who is completely wise and virtuous has no need of glory, except so far as it disposes and eases his way to action by the greater trust that it procures him.
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Philip being arbitrator betwixt two wicked persons, he commanded one to fly out of Macedonia and the other to pursue him.
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Character is inured habit.
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But being overborne with numbers, and nobody daring to face about, stretching out his hands to heaven, [Romulus] prayed to Jupiter to stop the army, and not to neglect but maintain the Roman cause, now in extreme danger. The prayer was no sooner made, than shame and respect for their king checked many; the fears of the fugitives changed suddenly into confidence.
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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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Lysander said, 'Where the lion's skin will not reach, it must be pieced with the fox's.'
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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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The poor go to war, to fight and die for the delights, riches, and superfluities of others.
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When one told Plistarchus that a notorious railer spoke well of him, 'I 'll lay my life,' said he, 'somebody hath told him I am dead, for he can speak well of no man living.'
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Abstruse questions must have abstruse answers.
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...To the Dolphin alone, beyond all other, nature has granted what the best philosophers seek: friendship for no advantage.
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King Agis said, "The Lacedæmonians are not wont to ask how many, but where the enemy are."
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The wildest colts make the best horses.
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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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When Hermodotus in his poems described Antigonus as the son of Helios, 'My valet-de-chambre,' said he, 'is not aware of this.'
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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?
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Pythagoras, when he was asked what time was, answered that it was the soul of this world.
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Man is neither by birth nor disposition a savage, nor of unsocial habits, but only becomes so by indulging in vices contrary to his nature.
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It is no flattery to give a friend a due character; for commendation is as much the duty of a friend as reprehension.
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Choose what is best, and habit will make it pleasant and easy.