A man can no more make a safe use of wealth without reason than he can of a horse without a bridle.
Listen not to a tale-bearer or slanderer, for he tells thee nothing out of good-will; but as he discovereth of the secrets of others, so he will of thine in turn.
The end of life is to be like unto God; and the soul following God, will be like unto Him; He being the beginning, middle, and end of all things.
Knowledge is our ultimate good.
The soul is cured of its maladies by certain incantations; these incantations are beautiful reasons, from which temperance is generated in souls.
Flattery is like a painted armor; only for show.
The greatest flood has the soonest ebb; the sorest tempest the most sudden calm; the hottest love the coldest end; and from the deepest desire oftentimes ensues the deadliest hate.
It is best and easiest not to discredit others but to prepare oneself to be as good as possible.
I prefer to be refuted than to refute, for it is a greater good for oneself to be freed from the greatest evil than to free another.
Be of good hope in the face of death. Believe in this one truth for certain, that no evil can befall a good man either in life or death, and that his fate is not a matter of indifference to the gods.
Why do you wonder that globetrotting does not help you, seeing that you always take yourself with you? The reason that set you wandering is ever at your heels.
My divine sign indicates the future to me.
If the whole world depends on today’s youth, I can’t see the world lasting another 100 years.
Just as you ought not to attempt to cure eyes without head or head without body, so you should not treat body without soul.
If you want to be wrong then follow the masses.
The nearest way to glory – a shortcut, as it were – is to strive to be what you wish to be thought to be.
A man should inure himself to voluntary labor, and not give up to indulgence and pleasure, as they beget no good constitution of body nor knowledge of mind.
By means of beauty all beautiful things become beautiful.
I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you.
Sometimes you have to let go to see if there was anything worth holding onto.