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For He, Indeed, Who Looks Into The Face Of A Friend Beholds, As It Were, A Copy Of Himself.

-Marcus Tullius Cicero

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For He, Indeed, Who

Marcus Tullius Cicero

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For He, Indeed, Who Looks Into The Face Of A Friend Beholds, As It Were, A Copy Of Himself.

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It Is Virtue Itself That Produces And Sustains Friendship, Not Without Virtue Can Friendship By Any Possibility Exist.

To Study Philosophy Is Nothing But To Prepare One’s Self To Die.

Things Sacred Should Not Only Be Touched With The Hands, But Unviolated In Thought. [lat., Res Sacros Non Modo Manibus Attingi, Sed Ne Cogitatione Quidem Violari Fas Fuit.]

The Precepts Of The Law Are These: To Live Honestly, To Injure No One, And To Give Everyone Else His Due.

He Who Obeys With Modesty Appears Worthy Of Being Some Day A Commander.

Advice Is Judged By Results, Not By Intentions.

I Follow Nature As The Surest Guide, And Resign Myself With Implicit Obedience To Her Sacred Ordinances.

Man Is His Own Worst Enemy. [lat., Nihil Inimicius Quam Sibi Ipse.]

No Sensible Man (among The Many Things That Have Been Written On This Kind) Ever Imputed Inconsistency To Another For Changing His Mind. [lat., Nemo Doctus Unquam (multa Autem De Hoc Genere Scripta Sunt) Mutationem Consili Inconstantiam Dixit Esse.]

A Tear Dries Quickly When It Is Shed For Troubles Of Others.

I Wonder That A Soothsayer Doesn't Laugh Whenever He Sees Another Soothsayer.

Nothing Is So Swift As Calumny, Nothing Is More Easily Propagated, Nothing More Readily Credited, Nothing More Widely Circulated.

Every Generous Action Loves The Public View; Yet No Theatre For Virtue Is Equal To A Consciousness Of It.

Whatever Is Graceful Is Virtuous, And Whatever Is Virtuous Is Graceful.

A Good Man Will Not Lie, Although It Be For His Profit.

Modesty Is That Feeling By Which Honorable Shame Acquires A Valuable And Lasting Authority.

What One Has, One Ought To Use: And Whatever He Does He Should Do With All His Might.

The Eyes, Like Sentinels, Hold The Highest Place In The Body. [lat., Oculi, Tanquam, Speculatores, Altissimum Locum Obtinent.]

I Criticize By Creation - Not By Finding Fault.

He Who Hangs On The Errors Of The Ignorant Multitude, Must Not Be Counted Among Great Men.

Probability Is The Very Guide Of Life.

Those Wars Are Unjust Which Are Undertaken Without Provocation. For Only A War Waged For Revenge Or Defence Can Actually Be Just.

All Great Men Are Partially Inspired.

I Am Of Opinion That There Is Nothing So Beautiful But That There Is Something Still More Beautiful, Of Which This Is The Mere Image And Expression,--a Something Which Can Neither Be Perceived By The Eyes, The Ears, Nor Any Of The Senses; We Comprehend It Merely In The Imagination.

I Do Not Now So Much As Wish To Have The Strength Of Youth Again That I Wish'd In Youth For The Strength Of An Ox Or Elephant. For It Is Our Business Only To Make The Best Use We Can Of The Powers Granted Us By Nature.

Genius Is Fostered By Industry.

There Are No True Friends In Politics.

No True Friends

We Are Not Born For Ourselves Alone.

The Evil Implanted In Man By Nature Spreads So Imperceptibly, When The Habit Of Wrong-doing Is Unchecked, That He Himself Can Set No Limit To His Shamelessness.

The Only Excuse For War Is That We May Live In Peace Unharmed.

For A Courageous Man Cannot Die Dishonorably, A Man Who Has Attained The Consulship Cannot Die Before His Time, A Philosopher Cannot Die Wretchedly.

I Am Not Ashamed To Confess That I Am Ignorant Of What I Do Not Know.

Everyone Has The Obligation To Ponder Well His Own Specific Traits Of Character. He Must Also Regulate Them Adequately And Not Wonder Whether Someone Else's Traits Might Suit Him Better. The More Definitely His Own A Man's Character Is, The Better It Fits Him.

The First Bond Of Society Is The Marriage Tie; The Next Our Children; Then The Whole Family Of Our House, And All Things In Common.

There Is No Quality I Would Rather Have, And Be Thought To Have, Than Gratitude. For It Is Not Only The Greatest Virtue, But Is The Mother Of All The Rest.

When Confronted By A Hungry Wolf, It Is Unwise To Goad The Beast, As Cato Would Have Us Do. But It Is Equally Unwise To Imagine The Snarling Animal A Friend And Offer Your Hand, As Pompey Does." "perhaps You Would Have Us Climb A Tree!

Robbing Life Of Friendship Is Like Robbing The World Of The Sun.

This Wine Is Forty Years Old. It Certainly Doesn't Show Its Age.

An Ancient Custom Obtains Force Of Nature.

Forces Of Nature

Yield, Ye Arms, To The Toga; To Civic Praise, Ye Laurels.

Nothing Is So Unbelievable That Oratory Cannot Make It Acceptable.

The Life Of The Dead Is Placed On The Memories Of The Living. The Love You Gave In Life Keeps People Alive Beyond Their Time. Anyone Who Was Given Love Will Always Live On In Another's Heart.

After Victory, You Have More Enemies.

In A Promise, What You Thought, And Not What You Said, Is Always To Be Considered.

The Forehead Is The Gate Of The Mind.

In Nothing Do Humans Approach So Nearly To The Gods As Doing Good To Others.

He Has No Other Recommendation, Save An Assumed And Crafty Solemnity Of Demeanour.

Recommendations

Life Is Nothing Without Friendship.

A Thankful Heart Is The Greatest Virtue.

Let Our Friends Perish, Provided That Our Enemies Fall At The Same Time.

O Wretched Man, Wretched Not Just Because Of What You Are, But Also Because You Do Not Know How Wretched You Are!

Habit Is, As It Were, A Second Nature. [lat., Consuetudo Quasi Altera Natura Effici.]

Now In Regard To Trades And Other Means Of Livelihood, Which Ones Are To Be Considered Becoming To A Gentleman And Which Ones Are Vulgar, We Have Been Taught, In General, As Follows. First, Those Means Of Livelihood Are Rejected As Undesirable Which Incur People's Ill-will, As Those Of Tax-gatherers And Usurers. Unbecoming To A Gentleman, Too, And Vulgar Are The Means Of Livelihood Of All Hired Workmen Whom We Pay For Mere Manual Labour, Not For Artistic Skill; For In Their Case The Very Wage They Receive Is A Pledge Of Their Slavery.

It Is Difficult To Tell How Much Men's Minds Are Conciliated By A Kind Manner And Gentle Speech.

When I Consider The Wonderful Activity Of The Mind, So Great A Memory Of What Is Past, And Such A Capacity Of Penetrating Into The Future: When I Behold Such A Number Of Arts And Sciences, And Such A Multitude Of Discoveries Hence Arising,--i Believe And Am Firmly Persuaded That A Nature Which Contains So Many Things Within Itself Cannot Be Mortal.

It Is Difficult To Set Bounds To The Price Unless You First Set Bounds To The Wish.

A Man's Own Manner And Character Is What Most Becomes Him.

What Gift Has Providence Bestowed On Man That Is So Dear To Him As His Children?

Without Your Knowledge, The Eyes And Ears Of Many Will See And Watch You, As They Have Done Already.

In Doubtful Cases The More Liberal Interpretation Must Always Be Preferred.

In All Matters, Before Beginning, A Diligent Preparation Should Be Made.

Civilized People Are Taught By Logic, Barbarians, By Necessity, Communities By Tradition; And The Lesson Inculcated Even In Wild Beasts By Nature Itself. They Learn That They Have To Defend Their Own Bodies And Persons Lives From Violence Of Any And Every Kind By All Means Within Their Power.

Constant Practice Devoted To One Subject Often Outdoes Both Intelligence And Skill. - Assiduus Usus Uni Rei Deditus Et Ingenium Et Artem Saepe Vincit

Gratitude Is Not Only The Greatest Of Virtues, But The Parent Of All The Others.

Time Destroys The Speculation Of Men, But It Confirms Nature.

True Glory Strikes Root, And Even Extends Itself; All False Pretensions Fall As Do Flowers, Nor Can Any Feigned Thing Be Lasting.

It Is Difficult To Remember All, And Ungracious To Omit Any.

Time Obliterates The Fictions Of Opinion And Confirms The Decisions Of Nature.

Our Character Is Not So Much The Product Of Race And Heredity As Of Those Circumstances By Which Nature Forms Our Habits, By Which We Are Nurtured And Live.

No Deceit Is So Veiled As That Which Lies Concealed Behind The Semblance Of Courtesy.

There Is No Thing Which God Cannot Accomplish.

No One Dances Sober, Unless He Is Insane.

Softly! Softly! I Want None But The Judges To Hear Me. The Jews Have Already Gotten Me Into A Fine Mess, As They Have Many Other Gentleman. I Have No Desire To Furnish Further Grist For Their Mills.

A Community Is Like The Ones Who Govern It.

In Ancient Times Music Was The Foundation Of All The Sciences. Education Was Begun With Music With The Persuasion That Nothing Could Be Expected Of A Man Who Was Ignorant Of Music.

In Times Of War, The Law Falls Silent.

For What People Have Always Sought Is Equality Before The Law. For Rights That Were Not Open To All Alike Would Be No Rights.

In A Disordered Mind, As In A Disordered Body, Soundness Of Health Is Impossible.

There Has Never Been A Poet Or Orator Who Thought Another Better Than Himself.

Let Each Man Have According To His Deserts.

We Make Allowance For Necessity.

No Wise Man Ever Thought That A Traitor Should Be Trusted.

Honor Is The Reward Of Virtue.

The Man Who Is Always Fortunate Cannot Easily Have A Great Reverence For Virtue.

The Spirit Is The True Self. The Spirit, The Will To Win, And The Will To Excel Are The Things That Endure.

Inspirational Sports

Wisdom Is Not Only To Be Acquired, But Enjoyed.

Men Do Not Realize How Great An Income Thrift Is.

The House Should Derive Dignity From The Master, Not The Master From The House.

For Even If The Allotted Space Of Life Be Short, It Is Long Enough In Which To Live Honorably And Well.

Through Doubt We Arrive At The Truth.

A Man Of Courage Is Also Full Of Faith.

The Real Friend Is Another Self.

History Is The Witness That Testifies To The Passing Of Time; It Illumines Reality, Vitalizes Memory, Provides Guidance In Daily Life And Brings Us Tidings Of Antiquities.  

Nature Herself Has Imprinted On The Minds Of All The Idea Of God

Great Is The Power, Great Is The Authority Of A Senate That Is Unanimous In Its Opinions.

Let The Welfare Of The People Be The Ultimate Law.

There Is No More Sure Tie Between Friends Than When They Are United In Their Objects And Wishes.

I Cannot Find A Faithful Message-bearer," He Wrote To His Friend, The Scholar Atticus. "how Few Are They Who Are Able To Carry A Rather Weighty Letter Without Lightening It By Reading.

The Foolishness Of Old Age Does Not Characterize All Who Are Old, But Only The Foolish.

That Which Leads Us To The Performance Of Duty By Offering Pleasure As Its Reward, Is Not Virtue, But A Deceptive Copy And Imitation Of Virtue. [lat., Nam Quae Voluptate, Quasi Mercede Aliqua, Ad Officium Impellitur, Ea Non Est Virtus Sed Fallax Imitatio Simulatioque Virtutis.]

Any Man May Make A Mistake; None But A Fool Will Stick To It. Second Thoughts Are Best As The Proverb Says.

Diligence Which, As It Avails In All Things, Is Also Of The Utmost Moment In Pleading Causes. Diligence Is To Be Particularly Cultivated By Us; It Is To Be Constantly Exerted; It Is Capable Of Effecting Almost Everything.

No One Is So Old That He Does Not Think He Could Live Another Year.

Diseases Of The Soul Are More Dangerous And More Numerous Than Those Of The Body.

Things Perfected By Nature Are Better Than Those Finished By Art.

Natural Environment

If You Have A Garden And A Library, You Have Everything You Need.

The Illustrious And Noble Ought To Place Before Them Certain Rules And Regulations, Not Less For Their Hours Of Leisure And Relaxation Than For Those Of Business.

Rules And Regulations

It Is Not A Virtue, But A Deceptive Copy And Imitation Of Virtue, When We Are Led To The Performance Of Duty By Pleasure As Its Recompense.

"i Believe That No Characteristic Is So Distinctively Human As The Sense Of Indebtedness We Feel, Not Necessarily For A Favor Received, But Even For The Slightest Evidence Of Kindness; And There Is Nothing So Boorish, Savage, Inhuman As To Appear To Be Overwhelmed By A Favor, Let Alone Unworthy Of It."

No Man Should So Act As To Make A Gain Out Of The Ignorance Of Another.

The Harvest Of Old Age Is The Recollection And Abundance Of Blessing Previously Secured.

To Live Long It Is Necessary To Live Slowly.

I Do Not Wish To Die: But I Care Not If I Were Dead. [lat., Emori Nolo: Sed Me Esse Mortuum Nihil Aestimo.]

The Chief Recommendation Is Modesty, Then Dutiful Conduct Toward Parents, Then Affection For Kindred.

Nothing Is More Unreliable Than The Populace, Nothing More Obscure Than Human Intentions, Nothing More Deceptive Than The Whole Electoral System.

Who Can Love The Man He Fears. Or By Who He Thinks He Is Himself Feared?

He Has No Worse Enemy Than Himself.

Not To Know What Has Been Transacted In Former Times Is To Be Always A Child. If No Use Is Made Of The Labors Of Past Ages, The World Must Remain Always In The Infancy Of Knowledge.

In All Great Arts, As In Trees, It Is The Height That Charms Us; We Care Nothing For The Roots Or Trunks, Yet It Could Not Be Without The Aid Of These.

It Is Like Taking The Sun Out Of The World, To Bereave Human Life Of Friendship.

This Is Our Special Duty, That If Anyone Specially Needs Our Help, We Should Give Him Such Help To The Utmost Of Our Power.

There Are More Men Ennobled By Study Than By Nature.

There Are Two Ways To Resolve Conflicts, Through Violence Or Through Negotiation. Violence Is For Wild Beasts, Negotiation Is For Human Beings.

He Only Employs His Passion Who Can Make No Use Of His Reason.

Most Happy Is He Who Is Entirely Self-reliant, And Who Centers All His Requirements In Himself Alone.

Inhumanity Is Harmful In Every Age. - Inhumanitas Omni Aetate Molesta Est

On The Subject Of The Nature Of The Gods, The First Question Is Do The Gods Exist Or Do The Not? It Is Difficult You May Say To Deny That They Exist. I Would Agree If We Were Arguing The Matter In A Public Assembly, But In A Private Discussion Of This Kind, It Is Perfectly Easy To Do So.

Just As The Soul Fills The Body, So God Fills The World. Just As The Soul Bears The Body, So God Endures The World. Just As The Soul Sees But Is Not Seen, So God Sees But Is Not Seen. Just As The Soul Feeds The Body, So God Gives Food To The World.

The Impulse Which Directs To Right Conduct, And Deters From Crime, Is Not Only Older Than The Ages Of Nations And Cities, But Coeval With That Divine Being Who Sees And Rules Both Heaven And Earth.

The Life Of The Dead Consists In The Recollection Cherished Of Them By The Living.

Mathematics Is An Obscure Field, An Abstruse Science, Complicated And Exact; Yet So Many Have Attained Perfection In It That We Might Conclude Almost Anyone Who Seriously Applied Himself Would Achieve A Measure Of Success.

Pardon Is Granted To Necessity.

Men In No Way Approach So Nearly To The Gods As In Doing Good To Men. [lat., Homines Ad Deos Nulla Re Propius Accedunt, Quam Salutem Hominibus Dando.]

Rashness Belongs To Youth; Prudence To Old Age.

Trust No One Unless You Have Eaten Much Salt With Him.

We Rejoice In The Joys Of Our Friends As Much As We Do Our Own, And We Are Equally Grieved At Their Sorrows. Wherefore The Wise People Will Feel Toward Their Friends As They Do Toward Themselves, And Whatever Labor They Would Encounter With A View To Their Own Pleasure, They Will Encounter Also For The Sake Of Their Friends.

If I Had More Time, I Would Have Written A Shorter Letter.

Rashness Is The Companion Of Youth, Prudence Of Old Age.

Care Must Be Taken That The Punishment Does Not Exceed The Offence.

Nothing Is So Strongly Fortified That It Cannot Be Taken By Money.

It Is Better To Receive Than To Do Injury.

Those Who Do Not Know History Will Forever Remain Children

To Be Ignorant Of What Occurred Before You Were Born Is To Remain Always A Child.

Religion Is Not Removed By Removing Superstition.

In Friendship We Find Nothing False Or Insincere; Everything Is Straight Forward, And Springs From The Heart.

As You Have Sown So Shall You Reap.

The Name Of Peace Is Sweet, The Thing Itself Is Most Salutary.

The Diseases Of The Mind Are More And More Destructive Than Those Of The Body. [lat., Morbi Perniciores Pluresque Animi Quam Corporis.]

Justice Is The Crowning Glory Of The Virtues.

Patria Est Communis Omnium Parens. Our Country Is The Common Parent Of All.

Friendship Improves Happiness And Abates Misery, By The Doubling Of Our Joy And The Dividing Of Our Grief.

There Is No One So Old As To Not Think They May Live A Day Longer.

A Perverse Temper And Fretful Disposition Will Make Any State Of Life Whatsoever Unhappy.

There Is No Grief Which Time Does Not Lessen And Soften. [lat., Nullus Dolor Est Quem Non Longinquitas Temporis Minuat Ac Molliat.]

Nothing Is More Disgraceful Than Insincerity.

What Is Dignity Without Honesty?

The Happiest End Of Life Is This: When The Mind And The Other Senses Being Unimpaired, The Same Nature Which Put It Together Takes Asunder Her Own Work.

The Freedom Of Poetic License.

If Some Lose Their Whole Fortunes, They Will Drag Many More Down With Them . . . Believe Me That The Whole System Of Credit And Finance Which Is Carried On Here At Rome In The Forum, Is Inextricably Bound Up With The Revenues Of The Asiatic Province. If Those Revenues Are Destroyed, Our Whole System Of Credit Will Come Down With A Crash.

Who Doesn't Know That The First Law Of History Is Not To Dare To Say Anything False, And The Second Is Not To Refrain From Saying Anything True?

He Who Suffers, Remembers.

A Happy Life Consists In Tranquility Of Mind.

Friendship Is The Only Thing In The World Concerning The Usefulness Of Which All Mankind Are Agreed.

What Fervent Love Of Herself Would Virtue Excite If She Could Be Seen!

Virtue And Decency Are So Nearly Related That It Is Difficult To Separate Them From Each Other But In Our Imagination.

All Literature, All Philosophical Treatises, All The Voices Of Antiquity Are Full Of Examples For Imitation, Which Would All Lie Unseen In Darkness Without The Light Of Literature.

For It Is Commonly Said: Accomplished Labours Are Pleasant.

Be A Pattern To Others And Then All Will Go Well.

No Power Is Strong Enough To Be Lasting, If It Labours Under The Weight Of Fear.

If You Possess A Library And A Garden, You Have Everything You Need. (translation From The French) Si Vous Possedez Une Bibliotheque Et Un Jardin, Vous Avez Tout Ce Qu'il Vous Faut.

That Man Is Guilty Of Impertinence Who Considers Not The Circumstances Of Time, Or Engrosses The Conversation, Or Makes Himself The Subject Of His Discourse, Or Pays No Regard To The Company He Is In.

If Anyone Cannot Feel The Power Of God When He Looks Upon The Stars, Then I Doubt Whether He Is Capable Of Feeling At All. From The Enduring Wonder Of The Heavens Flows All Grace And Power. If Anyone Thinks It Is Mindless Then He Himself Must Be Out Of His Mind.

According To The Law Of Nature It Is Only Fair That No One Should Become Richer Through Damages And Injuries Suffered By Another.

In Honorable Dealing You Should Consider What You Intended, Not What You Said Or Thought.

Freedom Is A Man's Natural Power Of Doing What He Pleases, So Far As He Is Not Prevented By Force Or Law.

Never Go To Excess, But Let Moderation Be Your Guide.

The Mind Becomes Accustomed To Things By The Habitual Sight Of Them, And Neither Wonders Nor Inquires About The Reasons For Things It Sees All The Time.

Confidence Is That Feeling By Which The Mind Embarks In Great And Honorable Courses With A Sure Hope And Trust In Itself.

Love Is The Attempt To Form A Friendship Inspired By Beauty.

To The Sick, While There Is Life There Is Hope. [lat., Aegroto Dum Anima Est, Spes Est.]

I Do Not Understand What The Man Who Is Happy Wants In Order To Be Happier.

There Is No One Who Can Give You Wiser Advice Than You Can Give Yourself: You Will Never Make A Slip, If You Listen To Your Own Heart.

Friendship Is Not To Be Sought For Its Wages, But Because Its Revenue Consists Entirely In The Love Which It Implies.

The Aim Of Justice Is To Give Everyone His Due.

Let Us Assume That Entertainment Is The Sole End Of Reading; Even So I Think You Would Hold That No Mental Employment Is So Broadening To The Sympathies Or So Enlightening To The Understanding. Other Pursuits Belong Not To All Times, All Ages, All Conditions; But This Gives Stimulus To Our Youth And Diversion To Our Old Age; This Adds A Charm To Success, And Offers A Haven Of Consolation To Failure. Through The Night-watches, On All Our Journeyings, And In Our Hours Of Ease, It Is Our Unfailing Companion.

The Hope Of Impunity Is The Greatest Inducement To Do Wrong.

Friendship Is Infinitely Better Than Kindness.

Exercise And Temperance Can Preserve Something Of Our Early Strength Even In Old Age.

When A Government Becomes Powerful It Is Destructive, Extravagant And Violent; It Is An Usurer Which Takes Bread From Innocent Mouths And Deprives Honorable Men Of Their Substance, For Votes With Which To Perpetuate Itself.

The Gods Attend To Great Matters, They Neglect Small Ones.

I Am Of The Opinion Which You Have Always Held, That "viva Voce" Voting At Elections Is The Best Method. [lat., Nam Ego In Ista Sum Sententia, Qua Te Fuisse Semper Scio, Nihil Ut Feurit In Suffragiis Voce Melius.]

Let Arms Yield To The Toga, Let The [victor's] Laurel Yield To The [orator's] Tongue.

Guilt Is Present In The Very Hesitation, Even Though The Deed Be Not Committed.

Thrift Is Of Great Revenue.

As In The Case Of Wines That Improve With Age, The Oldest Friendships Ought To Be The Most Delightful.

Sound Conviction Should Influence Us Rather Than Public Opinion.

True Law Is Right Reason In Agreement With Nature;...it Summons To Duty By Its Commands, And Averts From Wrongdoing By Its Prohibitions... It Is A Sin To Try To Alter This Law, Nor Is It Allowable To Attempt To Repeal Any Part Of It, And It Is Impossible To Abolish It Entirely.

For Just As Some Women Are Said To Be Handsome Though Without Adornment, So This Subtle Manner Of Speech, Though Lacking In Artificial Graces, Delights Us.

The Recovery Of Freedom Is So Splendid A Thing That We Must Not Shun Even Death When Seeking To Recover It.

The Safety Of The People Shall Be The Highest Law.

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