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Blinded As They Are To Their True Character By Self-love, Every Man Is His Own First And Chiefest Flatterer, Prepared, Therefore, To Welcome The Flatterer From The Outside, Who Only Comes Confirming The Verdict Of The Flatterer Within.

-Plutarch

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Blinded As They Are

Plutarch

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Blinded As They Are To Their True Character By Self-love, Every Man Is His Own First And Chiefest Flatterer, Prepared, Therefore, To Welcome The Flatterer From The Outside, Who Only Comes Confirming The Verdict Of The Flatterer Within.

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The Superstitious Man Wishes He Did Not Believe In Gods, As The Atheist Does Not, But Fears To Disbelieve In Them.

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He Who Least Likes Courting Favour, Ought Also Least To Think Of Resenting Neglect; To Feel Wounded At Being Refused A Distinction Can Only Arise From An Overweening Appetite To Have It.

Rome Was In The Most Dangerous Inclination To Change On Account Of The Unequal Distribution Of Wealth And Property, Those Of Highest Rank And Greatest Spirit Having Impoverished Themselves By Shows, Entertainments, Ambition Of Offices, And Sumptuous Buildings, And The Riches Of The City Having Thus Fallen Into The Hands Of Mean And Low-born Persons. So That There Wanted But A Slight Impetus To Set All In Motion, It Being In The Power Of Every Daring Man To Overturn A Sickly Commonwealth.

As Meander Says, "for Our Mind Is God;" And As Heraclitus, "man's Genius Is A Deity."

Painting Is Silent Poetry.

A Friend Should Be Like Money, Tried Before Being Required, Not Found Faulty In Our Need.

Empire May Be Gained By Gold, Not Gold By Empire. It Used, Indeed, To Be A Proverb That "it Is Not Philip, But Philip's Gold That Takes The Cities Of Greece.

To Find Fault Is Easy; To Do Better May Be Difficult.

Either Is Both, And Both Is Neither.

To Do An Evil Action Is Base; To Do A Good Action Without Incurring Danger Is Common Enough; But It Is The Part Of A Good Man To Do Great And Noble Deeds, Though He Risks Every Thing.

When Malice Is Joined To Envy, There Is Given Forth Poisonous And Feculent Matter, As Ink From The Cuttle-fish.

Courage Consists Not In Hazarding Without Fear; But Being Resolutely Minded In A Just Cause.

For The Rich Men Without Scruple Drew The Estate Into Their Own Hands, Excluding The Rightful Heirs From Their Succession; And All The Wealth Being Centred Upon The Few, The Generality Were Poor And Miserable. Honourable Pursuits, For Which There Was No Longer Leisure, Were Neglected; The State Was Filled With Sordid Business, And With Hatred And Envy Of The Rich.

Cicero Called Aristotle A River Of Flowing Gold, And Said Of Plato's Dialogues, That If Jupiter Were To Speak, It Would Be In Language Like Theirs.

I Had Rather Men Should Ask Why My Statue Is Not Set Up, Than Why It Is.

The Soul Of Man... Is A Portion Or A Copy Of The Soul Of The Universe And Is Joined Together On Principles And In Proportions Corresponding To Those Which Govern The Universe.

Whenever Anything Is Spoken Against You That Is Not True, Do Not Pass By Or Despise It Because It Is False; But Forthwith Examine Yourself, And Consider What You Have Said Or Done That May Administer A Just Occasion Of Reproof.

Demosthenes, When Taunted By Pytheas That All His Arguments "smelled Of The Lamp," Replied, "yes, But Your Lamp And Mine, My Friend, Do Not Witness The Same Labours.

Poverty Is Dishonorable, Not In Itself, But When It Is A Proof Of Laziness, Intemperance, Luxury, And Carelessness; Whereas In A Person That Is Temperate, Industrious, Just And Valiant, And Who Uses All His Virtues For The Public Good, It Shows A Great And Lofty Mind.

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What Sort Of Tree Is There Which Will Not, If Neglected, Grow Crooked And Unfruitful; What But Will, If Rightly Ordered, Prove Productive And Bring Its Fruit To Maturity? What Strength Of Body Is There Which Will Not Lose Its Vigor And Fall To Decay By Laziness, Nice Usage, And Debauchery?

Forgetfulness Transforms Every Occurrence Into A Non-occurrence.

A Good Man Will Take Care Of His Horses And Dogs, Not Only While They Are Young, But When Old And Past Service.

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Nothing Is Cheap Which Is Superfluous, For What One Does Not Need, Is Dear At A Penny.

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If Any Man Think It A Small Matter, Or Of Mean Concernment, To Bridle His Tongue, He Is Much Mistaken; For It Is A Point To Be Silent When Occasion Requires, And Better Than To Speak, Though Never So Well.

The Giving Of Riches And Honors To A Wicked Man Is Like Giving Strong Wine To Him That Hath A Fever.

There Is Never The Body Of A Man, How Strong And Stout Soever, If It Be Troubled And Inflamed, But Will Take More Harm And Offense By Wine Being Poured Into It.

Remember What Simonides Said, That He Never Repented That He Had Held His Tongue, But Often That He Had Spoken.

If You Hate Your Enemies, You Will Contract Such A Vicious Habit Of Mind That It Will Break Out Upon Those Who Are Your Friends, Or Those Who Are Indifferent To You.

Those Who Aim At Great Deeds Must Also Suffer Greatly.

To One That Promised To Give Him Hardy Cocks That Would Die Fighting, "prithee," Said Cleomenes, "give Me Cocks That Will Kill Fighting.

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To Fail To Do Good Is As Bad As Doing Harm.

The Authors Of Great Evils Know Best How To Remove Them.

Character Is Simply Habit Long Continued.

Painting Is Silent Poetry, And Poetry Is Painting That Speaks.

Socrates Said He Was Not An Athenian Or A Greek, But A Citizen Of The World.

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Let A Prince Be Guarded With Soldiers, Attended By Councillors, And Shut Up In Forts; Yet If His Thoughts Disturb Him, He Is Miserable.

Distressed Valor Challenges Great Respect, Even From An Enemy.

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A Remorseful Change Of Mind Renders Even A Noble Action Base, Whereas The Determination Which Is Grounded On Knowledge And Reason Cannot Change Even If Its Actions Fail.

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When The Strong Box Contains No More Both Friends And Flatterers Shun The Door.

It Is A Difficult Task, O Citizens, To Make Speeches To The Belly, Which Has No Ears.

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He Is A Fool Who Lets Slip A Bird In The Hand For A Bird In The Bush.

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The First Man . . . Ventured To Call Food And Nourishment The Parts That Had A Little Before Bellowed And Cried, Moved And Lived. How Could His Eyes Endure The Slaughter When Throats Were Slit And Hides Flayed And Limbs Torn From Limb? How Could His Nose Endure The Stench? How Was It That The Pollution Did Not Turn Away His Taste, Which Made Contact With The Sores Of Others And Sucked Juices And Serums From Mortal Wounds?

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The Man Who Is Completely Wise And Virtuous Has No Need Of Glory, Except So Far As It Disposes And Eases His Way To Action By The Greater Trust That It Procures Him.

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Custom Is Almost A Second Nature.

Barba Non Facit Philosophum

When Men Are Arrived At The Goal, They Should Not Turn Back.

Silence Is An Answer To A Wise Man.

Seeing The Lightest And Gayest Purple Was Then Most In Fashion, He Would Always Wear That Which Was The Nearest Black; And He Would Often Go Out Of Doors, After His Morning Meal, Without Either Shoes Or Tunic; Not That He Sought Vain-glory From Such Novelties, But He Would Accustom Himself To Be Ashamed Only Of What Deserves Shame, And To Despise All Other Sorts Of Disgrace.

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The Wildest Colts Make The Best Horses.

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Philosophy Is The Art Of Living.

Riches For The Most Part Are Hurtful To Them That Possess Them.

When Philip Had News Brought Him Of Divers And Eminent Successes In One Day, "o Fortune!" Said He, "for All These So Great Kindnesses Do Me Some Small Mischief.

It Is No Disgrace Not To Be Able To Do Everything; But To Undertake, Or Pretend To Do, What You Are Not Made For, Is Not Only Shameful, But Extremely Troublesome And Vexatious.

An Old Doting Fool, With One Foot Already In The Grave.

He Shall Fare Well Who Confronts Circumstances Aright.

For, In The Language Of Heraclitus, The Virtuous Soul Is Pure And Unmixed Light, Springing From The Body As A Flash Of Lightning Darts From The Cloud. But The Soul That Is Carnal And Immersed In Sense, Like A Heavy And Dank Vapor, Can With Difficulty Be Kindled, And Caused To Raise Its Eyes Heavenward.

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Lysander, When Dionysius Sent Him Two Gowns, And Bade Him Choose Which He Would Carry To His Daughter, Said, "she Can Choose Best," And So Took Both Away With Him.

The Worship Most Acceptable To God Comes From A Thankful And Cheerful Heart.

He Who Owns A Hundred Sheep Must Fight With Fifty Wolves

He Who Busies Himself In Mean Occupations, Produces In The Very Pains He Takes About Things Of Little Or No Use, An Evidence Against Himself Of His Negligence And Indisposition To What Is Really Good

So Very Difficult A Matter Is It To Trace And Find Out The Truth Of Anything By History.

When A Man's Eyes Are Sore His Friends Do Not Let Him Finger Them, However Much He Wishes To, Nor Do They Themselves Touch The Inflammation: But A Man Sunk In Grief Suffers Every Chance Comer To Stir And Augment His Affliction Like A Running Sore; And By Reason Of The Fingering And Consequent Irritation It Hardens Into A Serious And Intractable Evil.

King Agis Said, "the Lacedæmonians Are Not Wont To Ask How Many, But Where The Enemy Are."

A Spartan Woman, As She Handed Her Son His Shield, Exhorted Him Saying, "as A Warrior Of Sparta Come Back With Your Shield Or On It."

Philosophy Finds Talkativeness A Disease Very Difficult And Hard To Cure. For Its Remedy, Conversation, Requires Hearers: But Talkative People Hear Nobody, For They Are Ever Prating. And The First Evil This Inability To Keep Silence Produces Is An Inability To Listen.

By The Study Of Their Biographies, We Receive Each Man As A Guest Into Our Minds, And We Seem To Understand Their Character As The Result Of A Personal Acquaintance, Because We Have Obtained From Their Acts The Best And Most Important Means Of Forming An Opinion About Them. "what Greater Pleasure Could'st Thou Gain Than This?" What More Valuable For The Elevation Of Our Own Character?

Scilurus On His Death-bed, Being About To Leave Four-score Sons Surviving, Offered A Bundle Of Darts To Each Of Them, And Bade Them Break Them. When All Refused, Drawing Out One By One, He Easily Broke Them, Thus Teaching Them That If They Held Together, They Would Continue Strong; But If They Fell Out And Were Divided, They Would Become Weak.

When Demaratus Was Asked Whether He Held His Tongue Because He Was A Fool Or For Want Of Words, He Replied, "a Fool Cannot Hold His Tongue.

I Am All That Hath Been, And Is, And Shall Be; And My Veil No Mortal Has Hitherto Raised.

Abstruse Questions Must Have Abstruse Answers.

The Old Proverb Was Now Made Good, "the Mountain Had Brought Forth A Mouse.

Demosthenes Overcame And Rendered More Distinct His Inarticulate And Stammering Pronunciation By Speaking With Pebbles In His Mouth.

What We Achieve Inwardly Will Change Outer Reality.

Where The Lion's Skin Will Not Reach, You Must Patch It Out With The Fox's.

But Being Overborne With Numbers, And Nobody Daring To Face About, Stretching Out His Hands To Heaven, [romulus] Prayed To Jupiter To Stop The Army, And Not To Neglect But Maintain The Roman Cause, Now In Extreme Danger. The Prayer Was No Sooner Made, Than Shame And Respect For Their King Checked Many; The Fears Of The Fugitives Changed Suddenly Into Confidence.

He Is A Fool Who Leaves Things Close At Hand To Follow What Is Out Of Reach.

God Is The Brave Man's Hope, And Not The Coward's Excuse.

Hesiod Might As Well Have Kept His Breath To Cool His Pottage.

Courage And Wisdom Are, Indeed, Rarities Amongst Men, But Of All That Is Good, A Just Man It Would Seem Is The Most Scarce.

The Crowns Of Kings Do Not Prevent Those Who Wear Them From Being Tormented Sometimes By Violent Headaches.

Pythias Once, Scoffing At Demosthenes, Said That His Arguments Smelt Of The Lamp.

Pythagoras, When He Was Asked What Time Was, Answered That It Was The Soul Of This World.

Antisthenes Says That In A Certain Faraway Land The Cold Is So Intense That Words Freeze As Soon As They Are Uttered, And After Some Time Then Thaw And Become Audible, So That Words Spoken In Winter Go Unheard Until The Next Summer.

It Is Wise To Be Silent When Occasion Requires, And Better Than To Speak, Though Never So Well.

Aristodemus, A Friend Of Antigonus, Supposed To Be A Cook's Son, Advised Him To Moderate His Gifts And Expenses. "thy Words," Said He, "aristodemus, Smell Of The Apron.

Alexander Esteemed It More Kingly To Govern Himself Than To Conquer His Enemies.

Good Fortune Will Elevate Even Petty Minds, And Give Them The Appearance Of A Certain Greatness And Stateliness, As From Their High Place They Look Down Upon The World; But The Truly Noble And Resolved Spirit Raises Itself, And Becomes More Conspicuous In Times Of Disaster And Ill Fortune.

To Please The Many Is To Displease The Wise.

Lampis, The Sea Commander, Being Asked How He Got His Wealth, Answered, "my Greatest Estate I Gained Easily Enough, But The Smaller Slowly And With Much Labour.

A Human Body In No Way Resembles Those That Were Born For Ravenousness; It Hath No Hawk's Bill, No Sharp Talon, No Roughness Of Teeth, No Such Strength Of Stomach Or Heat Of Digestion, As Can Be Sufficient To Convert Or Alter Such Heavy And Fleshy Fare.

Water Continually Dropping Will Wear Hard Rocks Hollow.

It Is A True Proverb, That If You Live With A Lame Man, You Will Learn To Limp.

Nothing Exists In The Intellect That Has Not First Gone Through The Senses.

Lying Is A Most Disgraceful Vice; It First Despises God, And Then Fears Men.

The Real Destroyer Of The Liberties Of The People Is He Who Spreads Among Them Bounties, Donations And Benefits.

It Is A Hard Matter, My Fellow Citizens, To Argue With The Belly, Since It Has No Ears.

Democritus Said, Words Are But The Shadows Of Actions.

I Confess Myself The Greatest Coward In The World, For I Dare Not Do An Ill Thing.

There Is No Stronger Test Of A Person's Character Than Power And Authority, Exciting As They Do Every Passion, And Discovering Every Latent Vice.

There Were Two Brothers Called Both And Either; Perceiving Either Was A Good, Understanding, Busy Fellow, And Both A Silly Fellow And Good For Little, Philip Said, "either Is Both, And Both Is Neither.

When The Candles Are Out All Women Are Fair.

Sometimes Small Incidents, Rather Than Glorious Exploits, Give Us The Best Evidence Of Character. So, As Portrait Painters Are More Exact In Doing The Face, Where The Character Is Revealed, Than The Rest Of The Body, I Must Be Allowed To Give My More Particular Attention To The Marks Of The Souls Of Men.

As Small Letters Hurt The Sight, So Do Small Matters Him That Is Too Much Intent Upon Them; They Vex And Stir Up Anger, Which Begets An Evil Habit In Him In Reference To Greater Affairs.

The Obligations Of Law And Equity Reach Only To Mankind; But Kindness And Beneficence Should Be Extended To The Creatures Of Every Species, And These Will Flow From The Breast Of A True Man, As Streams That Issue From The Living Fountain.

Nature Without Learning Is Blind, Learning Apart From Nature Is Fractional, And Practice In The Absence Of Both Is Aimless.

We Ought Not To Treat Living Creatures Like Shoes Or Household Belongings, Which When Worn With Use We Throw Away.

Time Is The Wisest Of All Counselors.

Time Management

Silence At The Proper Season Is Wisdom, And Better Than Any Speech.

An Imbalance Between Rich And Poor Is The Oldest And Most Fatal Ailment Of All Republics.

Economic Inequality

To Conduct Great Matters And Never Commit A Fault Is Above The Force Of Human Nature.

A Lover's Soul Lives In The Body Of His Mistress.

The Human Heart Becomes Softened By Hearing Of Instances Of Gentleness And Consideration.

The Present Offers Itself To Our Touch For Only An Instant Of Time And Then Eludes The Senses.

There Is No Debt With So Much Prejudice Put Off As That Of Justice.

Cato Used To Assert That Wise Men Profited More By Fools Than Fools By Wise Men; For That Wise Men Avoided The Faults Of Fools, But That Fools Would Not Imitate The Good Examples Of Wise Men.

It Is No Flattery To Give A Friend A Due Character; For Commendation Is As Much The Duty Of A Friend As Reprehension.

What All The World Knows Water Is The Principle, Or The Element, Of Things. All Things Are Water.

The Talkative Listen To No One, For They Are Ever Speaking. And The First Evil That Attends Those Who Know Not To Be Silent Is That They Hear Nothing.

Gout Is Not Relieved By A Fine Shoe Nor A Hangnail By A Costly Ring Nor Migraine By A Tiara.

Fortune Had Favoured Me In This War That I Feared, The Rather, That Some Tempest Would Follow So Favourable A Gale.

Nor Is Drunkenness Censured For Anything So Much As Its Intemperate And Endless Talk.

Friendship Is The Most Pleasant Of All Things, And Nothing More Glads The Heart Of Man.

The Whole Life Of Man Is But A Point Of Time; Let Us Enjoy It.

The Ripeness Of Adolescence Is Prodigal In Pleasures, Skittish, And In Need Of A Bridle.

He (cato) Never Gave His Opinion In The Senate Upon Any Other Point Whatever, Without Adding These Words, "and, In My Opinion Carthage Should Be Destroyed." ["delenda Est Carthago."]

Our Nature Holds So Much Envy And Malice That Our Pleasure In Our Own Advantages Is Not So Great As Our Distress At Others'.

Oh, What A World Full Of Pain We Create, For A Little Taste Upon The Tongue.

Being Conscious Of Having Done A Wicked Action Leaves Stings Of Remorse Behind It, Which, Like An Ulcer In The Flesh, Makes The Mind Smart With Perpetual Wounds; For Reason, Which Chases Away All Other Pains, Creates Repentance, Shames The Soul With Confusion, And Punishes It With Torment.

So Long As He Was Personally Present, [alcibiades] Had The Perfect Mastery Of His Political Adversaries; Calumny Only Succeeded In His Absence.

Whenever Alexander Heard Philip Had Taken Any Town Of Importance, Or Won Any Signal Victory, Instead Of Rejoicing At It Altogether, He Would Tell His Companions That His Father Would Anticipate Everything, And Leave Him And Them No Opportunities Of Performing Great And Illustrious Actions.

All Men Whilst They Are Awake Are In One Common World: But Each Of Them, When He Is Asleep, Is In A World Of His Own.

Grief Is Like A Physical Pain Which Must Be Allowed To Subside Somewhat On Its Own Before Medical Treatment Is Applied.

Anaximander Says That Men Were First Produced In Fishes, And When They Were Grown Up And Able To Help Themselves Were Thrown Up, And So Lived Upon The Land.

He [caesar] Loved The Treason, But Hated The Traitor.

Speech Is Like Cloth Of Arras Opened And Put Abroad, Whereby The Imagery Doth Appear In Figure; Whereas In Thoughts They Lie But As Packs.

Let Us Carefully Observe Those Good Qualities Wherein Our Enemies Excel Us; And Endeavor To Excel Them, By Avoiding What Is Faulty, And Imitating What Is Excellent In Them.

The Abuse Of Buying And Selling Votes Crept In And Money Began To Play An Important Part In Determining Elections. Later On, This Process Of Corruption Spread To The Law Courts. And Then To The Army, And Finally The Republic Was Subjected To The Rule Of Emperors

Immoderate Grief Is Selfish, Harmful, Brings No Advantage To Either The Mourner Or The Mourned, And Dishonors The Dead.

Pittacus Said, "every One Of You Hath His Particular Plague, And My Wife Is Mine; And He Is Very Happy Who Hath This Only".

When One Told Plistarchus That A Notorious Railer Spoke Well Of Him, "i'll Lay My Life," Said He, "somebody Hath Told Him I Am Dead, For He Can Speak Well Of No Man Living.'

Not By Lamentations And Mournful Chants Ought We To Celebrate The Funeral Of A Good Man, But By Hymns; For, Ion Ceasing To Be Numbered With Mortals, He Enters Upon The Heritage Of A Diviner Life. Since He Is Gone Where He Feels No Pain, Let Us Not Indulge In Too Much Grief. The Soul Is Incapable Of Death. And He, Like A Bird Not Long Enough In His Cage To Become Attached To It, Is Free To Fly Away To A Purer Air. . . . Since We Cherish A Trust Like This, Let Our Outward Actions Be In Accord With It, And Let Us Keep Our Hearts Pure And Our Minds Calm.

I Don't Need A Friend Who Changes When I Change And Who Nods When I Nod; My Shadow Does That Much Better.

Alcibiades Had A Very Handsome Dog, That Cost Him Seven Thousand Drachmas; And He Cut Off His Tail, "that," Said He, "the Athenians May Have This Story To Tell Of Me, And May Concern Themselves No Further With Me.

When Darius Offered Him Ten Thousand Talents, And To Divide Asia Equally With Him, "i Would Accept It," Said Parmenio, "were I Alexander." "and So Truly Would I," Said Alexander, "if I Were Parmenio." But He Answered Darius That The Earth Could Not Bear Two Suns, Nor Asia Two Kings.

Themistocles Replied That A Man's Discourse Was Like To A Rich Persian Carpet, The Beautiful Figures And Patterns Of Which Can Only Be Shown By Spreading And Extending It Out; When It Is Contracted And Folded Up, They Are Obscured And Lost.

Athenodorus Says Hydrophobia, Or Water-dread, Was First Discovered In The Time Of Asclepiades.

The Measure Of A Man Is The Way He Bears Up Under Misfortune.

These Macedonians Are A Rude And Clownish People; They Call A Spade A Spade.

Lysander Said That The Law Spoke Too Softly To Be Heard In Such A Noise Of War.

It Is A High Distinction For A Homely Woman To Be Loved For Her Character Rather Than For Beauty.

The Saying Of Old Antigonus, Who When He Was To Fight At Andros, And One Told Him, "the Enemy's Ships Are More Than Ours," Replied, "for How Many Then Wilt Thou Reckon Me?

Lamentation Is The Only Musician That Always, Like A Screech-owl, Alights And Sits On The Roof Of Any Angry Man.

Good Birth Is A Fine Thing, But The Merit Is Our Ancestors.

Neither Blame Or Praise Yourself.

Fate, However, Is To All Appearance More Unavoidable Than Unexpected.

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