Quotes from Ancient Times
Ancient Quotations
As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons.
There thou beholdest the walls of Sparta, and every man a brick.
To one that advised him to set up a democracy in Sparta, "Pray," said Lycurgus, "do you first set a democracy in your own house."
Actions from youth, advice from the middle-aged, prayers from the aged.
No day is wholly unproductive of good.
We know to tell many fictions like to truths, and we know, when we will, to speak what is true.
Night, having Sleep, the brother of Death.
On the tongue of such an one they shed a honeyed dew, and from his lips drop gentle words.
In man speaks God.
The potter is at enmity with the potter.
No whispered rumours which the many spread can wholly perish.
Often an entire city has suffered because of an evil man.
And the evil wish is most evil to the wisher.
We survive on adversity and perish in ease and comfort.
What is the most important duty? One's duty toward one's parent.
If the prince of a State love benevolence, he will have no opponent in all the empire
Men must be decided on what they will not do, and then they are able to act with vigor in what they ought to do.
The great man is he who does not lose his child's heart.
There is no greater delight than to be conscious of sincerity on self-examination.
One thing I know, that I know nothing. This is the source of my wisdom. Source: www.greeka.com
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws. Source: www.greeka.com
The artist envies what the arties gains, The bard the rival bard's successful strains.
Not stones, nor wood, nor the art of artisans make a state; but where men are who know how to take care of themselves, these are cities and walls.
Money makes the man.
Nothing is impossible to industry.
Forgiveness is better than revenge.
Know thy opportunity.
Seize time by the forelock.
Know thyself.
Look to the end of a long life.
Men keep their engagements when it is an advantage to both parties not to break them.
Memorable Quotes
Avoid excess.
Avoid extremes.
The Arcadians were chestnut-eaters.
Fighting men are the city's fortress.
At Athens, wise men propose, and fools dispose.
Written laws are like spiders' webs, and will like them only entangle and hold the poor and weak, while the rich and powerful will easily break through them.
The angel of spring, the mellow-throated nightingale.
Hesperus bringing together. All that the morning star scattered.
What is beautiful is good, and who is good will soon also be beautiful.
Of earthly goods, the best is a good wife; A bad, the bitterest curse of human life.
Painting is silent poetry, poetry is eloquent painting.
The gods do not fight against necessity.
We count it death to falter, not to die.
Everything flows and nothing stays.
You can't step twice into the same river.
The road up and the road down are one and the same.
A man's character is his fate.
It is better to decide a difference between enemies than friends, for one of our friends will certainly become an enemy and one of our enemies a friend.
Most men are bad.
Speak of the gods as they are.
I never learned how to tune a harp, or play upon a lute; but I know how to raise a small and inconsiderable city to glory and greatness.
Strike, not hear. Strike, but hear me.
What is got over the devil's back is spent under his belly.
If you be a lover of instruction, you will be well instructed.
Quotes cards
Appearances are a glimpse of the unseen.
Man is the measure of all things.
In arguing one should meet serious pleading with humor, and humor with serious pleading.
We must not contradict, but instruct him that contradicts us; for a madman is not cured by another running mad also.
It is in these useless and superfluous things that I am rich and happy.
A just man is not one who does no ill, But he, who with the power, has not the will.
To be on earth the guardians of mankind:
Invisible to mortal eyes they go,
And mark our actions, good or bad, below:
The immortal spies with watchful care preside,
And thrice ten thousand round their charges glide:
They can reward with glory or with gold,
A power they by Divine permission hold.
Sound intelligence promises victory in every battle.
The greatest tragedy that can befall a person is the atrophy of his mind.