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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