For walk where we will, we tread upon some story.
For the whole life of a philosopher is, as the same philosopher says, a meditation on death.
The essence of Ciceronian philosophy is a sense of wonder at the interconnectedness of human beings to one another and to the universe that encompasses them.
Is not prosperity robbed of half its value if you have no one to share your joy?
The good life is impossible without a good state; and there is no greater blessing than a well-ordered state.
The process, indeed, of nature is this: that just in the same manner as our birth was the beginning of things with us, so death will be the end; and as we were noways concerned with anything before we were born, so neither shall we be after we are dead. And.
But I must at the very beginning lay down this principle – friendship can only exist between good men.
We are all servants of the laws in order to be free.
Did not he, then, who, if he had died at that time, would have died in all his glory, owe all the great and terrible misfortunes into which he subsequently fell to the prolongation of his life at that time?
But if I am wrong in thinking the human soul immortal, I am glad to be wrong; nor will I allow the mistake which gives me so much pleasure to be wrested from me as long as I live.
In communities and individuals alike, excessive freedom topples over into excessive slavery. Extreme freedom produces a tyrant, along with the extremely harsh and evil slavery that goes with him.
The aim of a ship’s captain is a successful voyage; a doctor’s, health; a general’s, victory. So the aim of our ideal statesman is the citizens’ happy life – that is, a life secure in wealth, rich in resources, abundant in renown, and honorable in its moral character. That is the task which I wish him to accomplish – the greatest and best that any man can have.
Mine is the disaster, if disaster there be; and to be severely distressed at one’s own misfortunes does not show that you love your friend, but that you love yourself.
Of this last kind of comparisons is that quoted from the elder Cato, who, when asked what was the most profitable thing to be done on an estate, replied, “To feed cattle well.” “What second best?” “To feed cattle moderately well.” “What third best?” “To feed cattle, though but poorly.” “What fourth best?” “To plough the land.” And when he who had made these inquiries asked, “What is to be said of making profit by usury?” Cato replied, “What is to be said of making profit by murder?
Zoals de dwaasheid nooit tevreden is, zelfs niet als haar wensen worden vervuld, zo is de wijsheid steeds tevreden met wat voorhanden is, en heeft nooit onvrede met zichzelf.
Loquor enim de docto homine et erudito, cui vivere est cogitare.
There is no doubt that a person who is called generous and open-handed has duty in mind, not gain. So likewise justice looks for no prize and no price; it is sought for itself, and is at once the cause and meaning of all the virtues.
Instead let Virtue herself, by her own unaided allurements, summon you to a glory that is genuine and real.
For what I lack in experience I make up for in diligence.
Once you have surrounded the entire place with the nets of your thought, at least if practical experience has sharpened your skill, nothing will escape you, and everything that is in the subject matter will run up to you and fall into your hands.