Socrates

The fewer our wants the more we resemble the Gods.

Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune nor too scornful in misfortune.

Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.

From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate.

As to marriage or celibacy, let a man take which course he will, he will be sure to repent.

The hour of departure has arrived and we go our ways; I to die, and you to live. Which is better? Only God knows.

The most advanced nations are always those who navigate the most.

What you don’t do can be a destructive force.

Not he is great who can alter matter, but he who can alter my state of mind.

Lying has a kind of respect and reverence with it. We pay a person the compliment of acknowledging his superiority whenever we lie to him.

We must not inquire too curiously into motives… They are apt to become feeble in the utterance: the aroma is mixed with the grosser air. We must keep the germinating grain away from the light.

A man of genius is privileged only as far as he is genius. His dullness is as insupportable as any other dullness.

Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable.

Explore thyself. Herein are demanded the eye and the nerve.

The reward of one’s duty is the power to fulfill another.

As Puppets are to Men, and Babies to Children, so is Man’s Workmanship to God’s: We are the Picture, he the Reality.

He that does good for good’s sake seeks neither paradise nor reward, but he is sure of both in the end.

We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn.

Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.

It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinions; it is easy in solitude to live after your own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.

Courage is exhilarating.