Aristotle

Aristotle (c. 384-322 BCE)

"As pleasure does not occur without activity, so every activity is perfected by its pleasure."

• From The Nicomachean Ethics (Book X, section 4, Bekker page 1175a) by Aristotle, translated by J. A. K. Thomson (Penguin Classics, 2004).

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Odin (from Hávamál)

Odin (Norse god)

"Never let a wicked man know
of any misfortune you suffer;
for from a wicked man you will never get
a good thought in return."

• This quote comes from stanza 117 of Hávamál (Sayings of the High One), an old poem which was preserved in the 13th-century Poetic Edda which was produced anonymously in Iceland. The translation is by Carolyne Larrington (Oxford University Press, 2014).

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Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu (c. 6th-5th century BCE)

"There is no crime greater than having too many
     desires;
There is no greater disaster than not being content."

• From Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching (Book Two, XLVI), translated by D. C. Lau (Penguin Classics, 1963)

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Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri (c. 1265-1321)

"Avarice, envy, pride,
 Three fatal sparks, have set the hearts of all
 On fire."

• Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy (Inferno, Canto VI), translated by Henry F. Cary in the Harvard Classics series, edited by Charles W. Eliot, and published by P. F. Collier & Son (1909, 1937).

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Hesiod

Hesiod (c. 8th century BCE)

"Little business has a man with disputes and debates who has not food for the year laid up at home in its ripeness, produce of the earth, Demeter's grain."

• From Hesiod's Works and Days (approximately line 29), translated by M. L. West (Oxford World Classics, 1988, 1999, 2008).

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Sima Qian

Sima Qian (145-90 BCE)

"When a thing has reached its height it must begin to decay, and when an age has gone to one extreme it must turn again in the opposite direction; therefore we find periods of rude simplicity and periods of refinement alternating with each other endlessly."

• Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji 130) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Livy

Livy (c. 59 BCE-17 CE)

"The truth is that our communal life is poisoned by political discord and party strife, and it was that which raised his hopes of destroying us, seeing as he did, your lust for liberty in perpetual conflict with our lust for power, and each party's loathing of the representative magistracies of the other."

• The History of Rome (Book 3, section 67) by Livy, translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt. New York: Penguin Classics, 2002.

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Confucius

Confucius (c. 551-479 BCE)

"Be loyal and true to your every word, serious and careful in all you do; and you will get on well enough, even though you find yourself among barbarians."

• The Analects of Confucius (Book XV, section 5) translated by Arthur Waley (Vintage Books, 1989).

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Hesiod

Hesiod (8th century BCE)

"Full of ills is the earth, and full the sea."

• From Hesiod's Works and Days (approximately line 100, translated by M. L. West (Oxford World Classics, 1988, 1999, 2008).

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Odin (from Hávamál)

Odin (Norse god)

"Never be made glad by wickedness
but please yourself with good things."

• This quote comes from stanza 128 of Hávamál (Sayings of the High One), an old poem which was preserved in the 13th-century Poetic Edda which was produced anonymously in Iceland. The translation is by Carolyne Larrington (Oxford University Press, 2014).

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Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin (c. 1706-1790)

"If what most men admire
they would despise,
It would look as if mankind
were growing wise."

• From Poor Richard's Almanac by Benjamin Franklin (Seven Treasures Publications, 2008).

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Al-Ghazālī

Al-Ghazālī (c. 1058-1111)

"The keys of hearts are in God's hand; He opens hearts when He wills, as He wills, and how He wills."

• From The Niche of Lights by Al Ghazālī, translated by David Buchman. Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1998.

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Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu (c. 6th-5th century BCE)

"Governing a large state is like boiling a small fish."

• From Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching (Book Two, LX), translated by D. C. Lau (Penguin Classics, 1963).

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Thucydides

Thucydides (c. 460-400 BCE)

"In all relations with one's neighbours freedom is the result of being able to hold one's own, and as for these neighbours, who, not content with those close to them, are trying to spread their dominion far and wide, with them we must simply fight it out to the last."

• History of the Peloponnesian War (Book IV, section 92) by Thucydides, translated by Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1972). The quote comes from a speech that Thucydides wrote while in the character of Pagondus. 

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Odin (from Hávamál)

Odin (Norse god)

"No man is so good that he has no blemish,
nor so bad that he is good for nothing."

• This quote comes from stanza 133 of Hávamál (Sayings of the High One), an old poem which was preserved in the 13th-century Poetic Edda which was produced anonymously in Iceland. The translation is by Carolyne Larrington (Oxford University Press, 2014).

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The Buddha

The Buddha (c. 6th-5th century BCE)

"Having drunk the sap of solitude
and the savor of peace,
one is free of distress,
free from wrongdoing,
enjoying the delightful
flavor of the teaching."

• The Dhammapada (Verses on the Way, Chapter 15), recorded in the 3rd century BCE. Translation by Glenn Wallis, 2004.

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Livy

Livy (c. 59 BCE-17 CE)

"True moderation in the defence of political liberties is indeed a difficult thing: pretending to want fair shares for all, every man raises himself by depressing his neighbour; our anxiety to avoid oppression leads us to practise it ourselves; the injustice we repel, we visit in turn upon others, as if there were no choice except to do it or to suffer it."

• The History of Rome (Book 3, section 65) by Livy, translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt. New York: Penguin Classics, 2002.

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Xenophon

Xenophon (c. 420-350 BCE)

"Everything everywhere is subject to the gods and no matter where or what one is, the gods are in control."

• Anabasis Kyrou (Upcountry March of Cyrus, Book II, section 5) by Xenophon and translated by Robin Waterfield (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005).

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Odin (from Hávamál)

Odin (Norse god)

"Seldom does the loafing wolf snatch the ham,
nor a sleeping man victory."

• This quote comes from stanza 58 of Hávamál (Sayings of the High One), an old poem which was preserved in the 13th-century Poetic Edda which was produced anonymously in Iceland. The translation is by Carolyne Larrington (Oxford University Press, 2014).

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Sima Qian

Sima Qian (c. 145-90 BCE)

"Those who attempt to vent their anger on innocent persons can never hope to live for long."

• Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji 107) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu (c. 6th-5th century BCE)

"The best of all rulers is but a shadowy presence to his
subjects...
When his task is accomplished and his work done
The people all say, 'It happened to us naturally.'"

• From Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching (Book One, XVII), translated by D. C. Lau (Penguin Classics, 1963).

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Livy

Livy (59 BCE-17 CE)

"Put it to the test..any time you please, and you will soon see that the self-seeking and cupidity of tyrants is no match for honest indignation fighting to throw off its chains."

• From a speech attributed to Marcus Horatius Barbatus by Livy in the History of Rome (Book 5, chapter 39), translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt. New York: Penguin Classics, 2002.

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