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Prudence Must Not Be Expected From A Man Who Is Never Sober. [lat., Non Est Ab Homine Nunquam Sobrio Postulanda Prudentia.]

-Marcus Tullius Cicero

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Prudence Must Not Be

Marcus Tullius Cicero

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Prudence Must Not Be Expected From A Man Who Is Never Sober. [lat., Non Est Ab Homine Nunquam Sobrio Postulanda Prudentia.]

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

In Nothing Do Men More Nearly Approach The Gods Than In Giving Health To Men.

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

It Is Certain That Memory Contains Not Only Philosophy, But All The Arts And All That Appertain To The Use Of Life.

The Best Armour Of Old Age Is A Well Spent Life Preceding It; A Life Employed In The Pursuit Of Useful Knowledge, In Honourable Actions And The Practice Of Virtue; In Which He Who Labours To Improve Himself From His Youth, Will In Age Reap The Happiest Fruits Of Them; Not Only Because These Never Leave A Man, Not Even In The Extremest Old Age; But Because A Conscience Bearing Witness That Our Life Was Well-spent, Together With The Remembrance Of Past Good Actions, Yields An Unspeakable Comfort To The Soul

Dum Spiro, Spero- As Long As I Breathe, I Hope.

After Victory, You Have More Enemies.

An Intemperate, Disorderly Youth Will Bring To Old Age, A Feeble And Worn-out Body.

We Are Obliged To Respect, Defend And Maintain The Common Bonds Of Union And Fellowship That Exist Among All Members Of The Human Race.

Virtue Is Its Own Reward.

Unraveling The Web Of Penelope.

There Is No Place More Delightful Than One's Own Fireside. Nullus Est Locus Domestica Sede Jucundior.

Learning Maketh Young Men Temperate, Is The Comfort Of Old Age, Standing For Wealth With Poverty, And Serving As An Ornament To Riches.

In Our Amusements A Certain Limit Is To Be Placed That We May Not Devote Ourselves To A Life Of Pleasure And Thence Fall Into Immorality.

If The Soul Has Food For Study And Learning, Nothing Is More Delightful Than An Old Age Of Leisure.

A Home Without Books Is A Body Without Soul.

More Laws, Less Justice.

I Know Not Any Season Of Life That Is Past More Agreeably Than Virtuous Old Age.

In A Discussion Of This Kind Our Interest Should Be Centered Not On The Weight Of The Authority But On The Weight Of The Argument. Indeed The Authority Of Those Who Set Out To Teach Is Often An Impediment To Those Who Wish To Learn. They Cease To Use Their Own Judgment And Regard As Gospel Whatever Is Put Forward By Their Chosen Teacher.

Not To Know What Happened Before One Was Born Is Always To Be A Child.

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

Not To Know What Has Been Transacted In Former Times Is To Continue Always A Child.

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

Natural Environment

Men Think They May Justly Do That For Which They Have A Precedent.

If A Man Cannot Feel The Power Of God When He Looks Upon The Stars, Then I Doubt Whether He Is Capable Of Any Feeling At All.

For Out Of Such An Ungoverned Populace One Is Usually Chosen As A Leader, Someone Bold And Unscrupulous Who Curries Favor With The People By Giving Them Other Men's Property. To Such A Man The Protection Of Public Office Is Given, And Continually Renewed. He Emerges As A Tyrant Over The Very People Who Raised Him To Power.

The Remembrance Of Past Misery Is Sweet.

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.

Armed Forces Abroad Are Of Little Value Unless There Is Prudent Counsel At Home

As I Approve Of A Youth That Has Something Of The Old Man In Him, So I Am No Less Pleased With An Old Man That Has Something Of The Youth. He That Follows This Rule May Be Old In Body, But Can Never Be So In Mind.

If We Are Not Ashamed To Think It, We Should Not Be Ashamed To Say It.

The Greatest Pleasures Are Only Narrowly Separated From Disgust.

Reason Is The Mistress And Queen Of All Things. [lat., Domina Omnium Et Regina Ratio.]

Aristoteles Quidem Ait: 'omnes Ingeniosos Melancholicos Esse.' Aristotle Says That All Men Of Genius Are Melancholy.

Nature Has Inclined Us To Love Men.

To Stumble Twice Against The Same Stone, Is A Proverbial Disgrace. [lat., Culpa Enim Illa, Bis Ad Eundem, Vulgari Reprehensa Proverbio Est.]

Any Man Can Make A Mistake; Only A Fool Keeps Making The Same One.

How Great An Evil Do You See That May Have Been Announced By You Against The Republic? - Videtis Quantum Scelus Contra Rem Publicam Vobis Nuntiatum Sit?

No Well-informed Person Has Declared A Change Of Opinion To Be Inconstancy.

In This Statement, My Scipio, I Build On Your Own Admirable Definition, That There Can Be No Community, Properly So Called, Unless It Be Regulated By A Combination Of Rights. And By This Definition It Appears That A Multitude Of Men May Be Just As Tyrannical As A Single Despot And Indeed This Is The Most Odious Of All Tyrannies, Since No Monster Can Be More Barbarous Than The Mob, Which Assumes The Name And Mask Of The People.

Every Man's Friend Is No Man's Friend.

Six Mistakes Mankind Keeps Making Century After Century: Believing That Personal Gain Is Made By Crushing Others; Worrying About Things That Cannot Be Changed Or Corrected; Insisting That A Thing Is Impossible Because We Cannot Accomplish It; Refusing To Set Aside Trivial Preferences; Neglecting Development And Refinement Of The Mind; Attempting To Compel Others To Believe And Live As We Do.

For As The Law Is Set Over The Magistrate, Even So Are The Magistrates Set Over The People. And Therefore, It May Be Truly Said, "that The Magistrate Is A Speaking Law, And The Law Is A Silent Magistrate.

There Is No Grief Which Time Does Not Lessen And Soften.

I Am Never Less Alone Than When Alone.

These Studies Are A Spur To The Young, A Delight To The Old: An Ornament In Prosperity, A Consoling Refuge In Adversity; They Are Pleasure For Us At Home, And No Burden Abroad; They Stay Up With Us At Night, They Accompany Us When We Travel, They Are With Us In Our Country Visits.

The Celestial Order And The Beauty Of The Universe Compel Me To Admit That There Is Some Excellent And Eternal Being, Who Deserves The Respect And Homage Of Men

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.

A Mind Without Instruction Can No More Bear Fruit Than Can A Field, However Fertile, Without Cultivation.

Strict Law Is Often Great Injustice.

Justice Is The Set And Constant Purpose Which Gives Every Man His Due.

Can Any One Find In What Condition His Body Will Be, I Do Not Say A Year Hence, But This Evening?

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

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

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

That Folly Of Old Age Which Is Called Dotage Is Peculiar To Silly Old Men, Not To Age Itself.

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

Liberty Consists In The Power Of Doing That Which Is Permitted By The Law.

No Liberal Man Would Impute A Charge Of Unsteadiness To Another For Having Changed His Opinion.

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!

Let Flattery, The Handmaid Of The Vices, Be Far Removed .

It Is The Character Of A Brave And Resolute Man Not To Be Ruffled By Adversity And Not To Desert His Post.

No Sober Person Dances.

There Were Poets Before Homer.

A War Is Never Undertaken By The Ideal State, Except In Defense Of Its Honor Or Its Safety.

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

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

Some Men Make A Womanish Complaint That It Is A Great Misfortune To Die Before Our Time. I Would Ask What Time? Is It That Of Nature? But She, Indeed, Has Lent Us Life, As We Do A Sum Of Money, Only No Certain Day Is Fixed For Payment. What Reason Then To Complain If She Demands It At Pleasure, Since It Was On This Condition That You Received It.

The Office Of Liberality Consisteth In Giving With Judgment.

But In Every Matter The Consensus Of Opinion Among All Nations Is To Be Regarded As The Law Of Nature.

Sweet Is The Recollection Of Difficulties Overcome.

These (literary) Studies Are The Food Of Youth, And Consolation Of Age; They Adorn Prosperity, And Are The Comfort And Refuge Of Adversity; They Are Pleasant At Home, And Are No Incumbrance Abroad; They Accompany Us At Night, In Our Travels, And In Our Rural Retreats.

Can There Be Greater Foolishness Than The Respect You Pay To People Collectively When You Despise Them Individually?

Enjoy The Blessing Of Strength While You Have It And Do Not Bewail It When It Is Gone, Unless, Forsooth, You Believe That Youth Must Lament The Loss Of Infancy, Or Early Manhood The Passing Of Youth. Life's Race-course Is Fixed; Nature Has Only A Single Path And That Path Is Run But Once, And To Each Stage Of Existence Has Been Allotted Its Own Appropriate Quality; So That The Weakness Of Childhood, The Impetuosity Of Youth, The Seriousness Of Middle Life, The Maturity Of Old Age.. Each Bears Some Of Nature's Fruit, Which Must Be Garnered In Its Own Season.

Hatred Is Settled Anger.

Before Beginning, Plan Carefully.

Advice In Old Age Is Foolish; For What Can Be More Absurd Than To Increase Our Provisions For The Road The Nearer We Approach To Our Journey's End.

No One Was Ever Great Without Some Portion Of Divine Inspiration.

Divine Inspiration

Frugality Includes All The Other Virtues.

Nor Do I Regret That I Have Lived, Since I Have So Lived That I Think I Was Not Born In Vain, And I Quit Life As If It Were An Inn, Not A Home.

We Were Born To Unite With Our Fellow Men, And To Join In Community With The Human Race.

What Is More Agreeable Than One's Home?

Do Nothing Twice Over.

Law Stands Mute In The Midst Of Arms.

True Glory Takes Root, And Even Spreads; All False Pretences, Like Flowers, Fall To The Ground; Nor Can Any Counterfeit Last Long.

The Men Who Administer Public Affairs Must First Of All See That Everyone Holds Onto What Is His, And That Private Men Are Never Deprived Of Their Goods By Public Men.

If Wisdom Be Attainable, Let Us Not Only Win But Enjoy It.

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

Rashness Belongs To Youth; Prudence To Old Age.

Who Does Not Know That The First Law Of Historical Writing Is The Truth.

For Every Man's Nature Is Concealed With Many Folds Of Disguise, And Covered As It Were With Various Veils. His Brows, His Eyes, And Very Often His Countenance, Are Deceitful, And His Speech Is Most Commonly A Lie.

By Doubting We Come At Truth.

Those Who Do Not Know History Will Forever Remain Children

Nothing Is So Great An Adversary To Those Who Make It Their Business To Please As Expectation.

It Is The Soul Itself Which Sees And Hears, And Not Those Parts Which Are, As It Were, But Windows To The Soul.

Window To The Soul

Mental Stains Can Not Be Removed By Time, Nor Washed Away By Any Waters. [lat., Animi Labes Nec Diuturnitate Vanescere Nec Omnibus Ullis Elui Potest.]

To Stumble Twice Against The Same Stone, Is A Proverbsial Disgrace.

For Nothing Is More Commendable, Nothing More Becoming In A Preeminently Great Man Than Courtesy And Forbearance.

Summer Lasts Not For Ever; Seasons Succeed Each Other.

Piety And Holiness Of Life Will Propitiate The Gods. [lat., Deos Placatos Pietas Efficiet Et Sanctitas.]

The Freedom Of Poetic License.

I Have Sworn With My Tongue, But My Mind Is Unsworn. [lat., Juravi Lingua, Mentem Injuratem Gero.]

He Removes The Greatest Ornament Of Friendship Who Takes Away From It Respect.

There Is No Fortune So Strong That Money Cannot Take It.

Honourable Mention Encourages Science, And Merit Is Fostered By Praise.

For Books Are More Than Books, They Are The Life, The Very Heart And Core Of Ages Past, The Reason Why Men Worked And Died, The Essence And Quintessence Of Their Lives.

The Cultivation Of The Mind Is A Kind Of Food Supplied For The Soul Of Man.

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.

We Learn Nothing From History Except That We Learn Nothing From History.

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

Longing Not So Much To Change Things As To Overturn Them.

It Is Pleasant To Recall Past Troubles.

The Purpose Of Education Is To Free The Student From The Tyranny Of The Present.

Purpose Of Education

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.

When You Have No Basis For An Argument, Abuse The Plaintiff.

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

Recommendations

To Freemen, Threats Are Impotent. [lat., Nulla Enim Minantis Auctoritas Apud Liberos Est.]

What Is Becoming Is Honest, And Whatever Is Honest Must Always Be Becoming.

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

Religion Is The Pious Worship Of God.

It Is The Stain And Disgrace Of The Age To Envy Virtue, And To Be Anxious To Crush The Very Flower Of Dignity.

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.

Let Us Drink For The Replenishment Of Our Strength, Not For Our Sorrow

Memory Is The Receptacle And Sheath Of All Knowledge

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

If Our Lives Are Endangered By Plots Or Violence Or Armed Robbers Or Enemies, Any And Every Method Of Protecting Ourselves Is Morally Right.

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.  

For There Is But One Essential Justice Which Cements Society, And One Law Which Establishes This Justice. This Law Is Right Reason, Which Is The True Rule Of All Commandments And Prohibitions. Whoever Neglects This Law, Whether Written Or Unwritten, Is Necessarily Unjust And Wicked.

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

Every Man Should Bear His Own Grievances Rather Than Detract From The Comforts Of Another.

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

A Thankful Heart Is The Greatest Virtue.

There Is Wickedness In The Intention Of Wickedness, Even Though It Be Not Perpetrated In The Act.

To Remain Ignorant Of History Is To Remain Forever A Child

That Which Is Not Forbidden, Is Not On That Account Permitted.

I Have Never Yet Known A Poet Who Did Not Think Himself Super-excellent.

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

For One Day Spent Well, And Agreeably To Your Precepts, Is Preferable To An Eternity Of Error.

The Dutifulness Of Children Is The Foundation Of All Virtues.

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

He He He... Crazy? Cicero? He He He He! That's... Madness.

The Name Of Peace Is Sweet, And The Thing Itself Is Beneficial, But There Is A Great Difference Between Peace And Servitude. Peace Is Freedom In Tranquillity, Servitude Is The Worst Of All Evils, To Be Resisted Not Only By War, But Even By Death.

Favours Out Of Place I Regard As Positive Injuries.

History Is Indeed The Witness Of The Times, The Light Of Truth.

No One Sees What Is Before His Feet: They Scan The Tracks Of Heaven.

Old Age: The Crown Of Life, Our Play's Last Act.

Old Age, Especially An Honored Old Age, Has So Great Authority, That This Is Of More Value Than All The Pleasures Of Youth.

Take From A Man His Reputation For Probity, And The More Shrewd And Clever He Is, The More Hated And Mistrusted He Becomes.

There Is Nothing Which Wings Its Flight So Swiftly As Calumny, Nothing Is Uttered With More Ease; Nothing Is Listened To With More Readiness, Nothing Disbursed More Widely.

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

I Prefer Silent Prudence To Loquacious Folly.

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

Can You Also, Lucullus, Affirm That There Is Any Power United With Wisdom And Prudence Which Has Made, Or, To Use Your Own Expression, Manufactured Man? What Sort Of A Manufacture Is That? Where Is It Exercised? When? Why? How?

Since An Intelligence Common To Us All Makes Things Known To Us And Formulates Them In Our Minds, Honorable Actions Are Ascribed By Us To Virtue, And Dishonorable Actions To Vice; And Only A Madman Would Conclude That These Judgments Are Matters Of Opinion, And Not Fixed By Nature.

The Causes Of Events Are Ever More Interesting Than The Events Themselves.

A Man Of Courage Is Also Full Of Faith.

Within The Character Of The Citizen, Lies The Welfare Of The Nation.

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

Let Art, Then, Imitate Nature, Find What She Desires, And Follow As She Directs. For In Invention Nature Is Never Last, Education Never First; Rather The Beginnings Of Things Arise From Natural Talent, And Ends Are Reached By Discipline.

It Is The Nature Of Every Person To Error, But Only The Fool Perseveres In Error.

Everything Is Alive... Everything Is Interconnected.

The Soul In Sleep Gives Proof Of Its Divine Nature.

The Name Of Peace Is Sweet And The Thing Itself Good, But Between Peace And Slavery There Is The Greatest Difference.

Too Much Liberty Leads Both Men And Nations To Slavery.

It Might Be Pardonable To Refuse To Defend Some Men, But To Defend Them Negligently Is Nothing Short Of Criminal.

Nothing Quite New Is Perfect.

We Make Allowance For Necessity.

They Condemn What They Do Not Understand.

The Science Of Love Is The Philosophy Of The Heart

Come Now: Do We Really Think That The Gods Are Everywhere Called By The Same Names By Which They Are Addressed By Us? But The Gods Have As Many Names As There Are Languages Among Humans. For It Is Not With The Gods As With You: You Are Velleius Wherever You Go, But Vulcan Is Not Vulcan In Italy And In Africa And In Spain.

Studies Are The Food Of Youth, The Delight Of Old Age; The Ornament Of Prosperity, The Refuge And Comfort Of Adversity; A Delight At Home, And No Hindrance Abroad; They Are Companions By Night, And In Travel, And In The Country.

Let A Man Practise The Profession He Best Knows. [lat., Quam Quisque Novit Artem, In Hac Se Exerceat.]

Philosophy Is The True Mother Of Science.

While There's Life, There's Hope.

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.

To Give And Receive Advice - The Former With Freedom, And Yet Without Bitterness, The Latter With Patience And Without Irritation - Is Peculiarly Appropriate To Geniune Friendship.

When Money Is Unreasonably Coveted, It Is A Disease Of The Mind Which Is Called Avarice.

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.

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

The Diligent Farmer Plants Trees, Of Which He Himself Will Never See The Fruit.

Fear Is Not A Lasting Teacher Of Duty.

Men, In Whatever Anxiety They May Be, If They Are Men, Sometimes Indulge In Relaxation.

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

Virtue Is Increased By The Smile Of Approval; And The Love Of Renown Is The Greatest Incentive To Honourable Acts.

It Is Not Enough To Acquire Wisdom, It Is Necessary To Employ It.

Study Carefully, The Character Of The One You Recommend, Lest Their Misconduct Bring You Shame.

If A Man Aspires To The Highest Place, It Is No Dishonor To Him To Halt At The Second, Or Even At The Third.

The Wise Man Knows Nothing If He Cannot Benefit From His Wisdom. Wisdom Is Not Only To Be Acquired, But Also To Be Utilized.

No One Has The Right To Be Sorry For Himself For A Misfortune That Strikes Everyone.

Nothing Is So Unpredictable As A Throw Of The Dice, And Yet Every Man Who Plays Often Will At Some Time Or Other Make A Venus-cast: Now And Then He Indeed Will Make It Twice And Even Thrice In Succession. Are We Going To Be So Feebleminded Then As To Aver That Such A Thing Happened By The Personal Intervention Of Venus Rather Than By Pure Luck?

Man Was Born For Two Things--thinking And Acting.

What Is Morally Wrong Can Never Be Advantageous, Even When It Enables You To Make Some Gain That You Believe To Be To Your Advantage. The Mere Act Of Believing That Some Wrongful Course Of Action Constitutes An Advantage Is Pernicious.

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

I Prefer The Most Unfair Peace To The Most Righteous War.

More Is Lost By Indecision Than Wrong Decision. Indecision Is The Thief Of Opportunity. It Will Steal You Blind.

My Precept To All Who Build, Is, That The Owner Should Be An Ornament To The House, And Not The House To The Owner.

Thus Nature Has No Love For Solitude, And Always Leans, As It Were, On Some Support; And The Sweetest Support Is Found In The Most Intimate Friendship.

I Depart From Life As From An Inn, And Not As From My Home. [lat., Ex Vita Discedo, Tanquam Ex Hospitio, Non Tanquam Ex Domo.]

Our Generosity Never Should Exceed Our Abilities.

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

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