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Aristotle

Aristotle (c. 384-322 BCE)

"Injustice armed is hardest to deal with; and though man is born with weapons which he can use in the service of practical wisdom and virtue, it is all too easy for him to use them for the opposite purposes."

• From Aristotle's Politics (Bekker page 1253a), translated by T. A. Sinclair and revised by T. J. Saunders (Penguin Classics, 1962, 1981, 1992).

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Hesiod

Hesiod (flourished 8th century BCE)

"Trust and mistrust alike have ruined men."

• From Hesiod's Works and Days (approximately line 370), translated by M. L. West (Oxford World Classics, 1988, 1999, 2008).

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Friedrich Schleiermacher

Friedrich Schleiermacher (c. 1768-1834)

"This infinite chaos, where of course every point represents a world, is as such actually the most suitable and highest symbol of religion. In religion, as in this chaos, only the particular is true and necessary; nothing can or may be proved anything else."

• From Friedrich Schleiermacher's On Religion: Speeches to its Cultured Despisers (second speech), translated by Richard Crouter (Cambridge University Press, 2012).

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Odin (from Hávamál)

Odin (Norse god featured in the poem, Hávamál)

“He should get up early, the man who has few workers,
and set about his work with thought;
much gets held up for the man sleeping in the morning;
wealth is half-won by activity.”

• This quote comes from stanza 59 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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Livy

Livy (c. 59 BCE-17 CE)

"Are we never to make changes? Because a thing had not been done before--and in a young country there are lots of things which have not been done before--is that a reason for never doing it, however great the benefits it may bring?"

• From a speech attributed to the tribune Canuleius by Livy in the History of Rome (Book 4, chapter 3), translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt. New York: Penguin Classics, 2002.

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Sima Qian (citing Yan An)

Sima Qian (c. 145-90 BCE)

"To incite troubles and leave them unsolved, to disband the armies only to call them up again, bringing sorrow and hardship to those near at hand and alarm to distant lands--this is no way to insure the continuance of the dynasty."

• Quote from an essay attributed to Yan An in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji, 112) by Sima Qian. Translated by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press, 1993).

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Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri (c. 1265-1321)

"Philosophy, to an attentive ear,
Clearly points out, not in one part alone,
How imitative Nature takes her course
From the celestial mind, and from its art."

• Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy (Inferno, Canto XI), 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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Josephus

Josephus (c. 37/38-100)

"I fail to see how victory over a feeble enemy can be any indication of power."

• The Jewish War (Book I, section 8) by Josephus, translated by Martin Hammond (Oxford University Press, 2017).

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Odin (from Hávamál)

Odin (Norse god featured in the poem, Hávamál)

"Quite enough baseless blather comes
from the man never silent;
a quick tongue, unless it's held in check,
often talks itself into trouble."

• This quote comes from stanza 29 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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Confucius

Confucius (c. 551-479 BCE)

"By raising the straight and putting them on top of the crooked, he can make the crooked straight."

• The Analects of Confucius (Book XII, section 22) translated by Arthur Waley (Vintage Books, 1989).

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Livy

Livy (c. 59 BCE-17 CE)

"Men fighting for their own liberty and prestige are very different creatures from men who are called upon to use their judgement, unclouded by passion, when the fight is over."

• The History of Rome (Book 4, section 6) by Livy, translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt. New York: Penguin Classics, 2002.

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The Buddha

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

"With energy, diligence,
restraint, and control,
the wise person should make an island
which no flood can overflow."

• The Dhammapada (Verses on the Way, Chapter 2), recorded in the 3rd century BCE. Translation by Glenn Wallis, 2004.

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Giovanni Boccaccio

Giovanni Boccaccio (c. 1313-1375)

"Just as the end of mirth is heaviness, so sorrows are dispersed by the advent of joy."

• The Decameron (First Day, Introduction) by Giovanni Boccaccio, translated by G. H. McWilliam. New York: Penguin Classics, 2003. This line was seemingly inspired by Proverbs 14:13.

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Hesiod

Hesiod (flourished c. 8th century BCE)

"Right gets the upper hand over violence in the end."

• From Hesiod's Works and Days (approximately line 215), translated by M. L. West (Oxford World Classics, 1988, 1999, 2008).

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Lao Tzu

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

"The way begets one; one begets two; two begets three;
three begets the myriad creatures."

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

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Aristotle

Aristotle (c. 384-322 BCE)

"The real difference between man and other animals is that humans alone have perception of good and evil, just and unjust, etc. It is the sharing of a common view in these matters that makes a household and a state."

• From Aristotle's Politics (Bekker page 1253a), translated by T. A. Sinclair and revised by T. J. Saunders (Penguin Classics, 1962, 1981, 1992).

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Confucius

Confucius (c. 551-479 BCE)

"Only one who bursts with eagerness do I instruct; only one who bubbles with excitement, do I enlighten. If I hold up one corner and a man cannot come back to me with the other three, I do not continue the lesson."

• The Analects of Confucius (Book VII, section 8) translated by Arthur Waley (Vintage Books, 1989).

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Sir Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Churchill (c. 1874-1965)

"We desire to see the return of a liberal age where Parliaments will guard freedom, where science will open the banqueting halls to the millions, and where what Bismarck once called 'practical Christianity' will mitigate suffering and misfortunes."

• From Sir Winston Churchill's "No Intervention In Spain" (January 8, 1937), in Winston S. Churchill Step By Step: Political Writings 1936-1939 (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015).

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Giovanni Boccaccio

Giovanni Boccaccio (c. 1313-1375)

"Come, Love, the cause of all my joy,
Of all my hope and happiness,
Come let us sing together"

• From a poem included by Giovanni Boccaccio in the conclusion of the Second Day in his Decameron, translated by G. H. McWilliam. New York: Penguin Classics, 2003.

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Odin (from Hávamál)

Odin (Norse god featured in the poem, Hávamál)

"Wits are needful for someone who wanders widely,
anything will pass at home;
he becomes a laughing-stock, the man who knows nothing
and sits among the wise."

• This quote comes from stanza 5 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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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56/57-117)

"As our bodies, which grow so slowly, perish in a flash, so too the mind and its interests can be more easily crushed than brought again to life. Idleness gradually becomes sweet, and we end by loving the sloth that at first we loathed."

• From the Agricola (section 3) by Tacitus, translated by Harold Mattingly and edited by J. B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2009.

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Hesiod

Hesiod (flourished c. 8th century BCE)

"He is a fool who seeks to compete against the stronger: he both loses the struggle and suffers injury on top of insult."

• From Hesiod's Works and Days (approximately line 210), translated by M. L. West (Oxford World Classics, 1988, 1999, 2008).

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Confucius

Confucius (c. 551-479 BCE)

"When everyone dislikes a man, enquiry is necessary; when everyone likes a man, enquiry is necessary."

• The Analects of Confucius (Book XV, section 27) translated by Arthur Waley (Vintage Books, 1989).

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Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi (c. 1584-1645)

"Strategy is the craft of the warrior. Commanders must enact the craft, and troopers should know this Way. There is no warrior in the world today who really understands the Way of strategy."

• From Miyamoto Musashi's The Book of Five Rings, translated by V. Harris (Lord Majesty Productions, 2005 edition).

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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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