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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.

-Marcus Tullius Cicero

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Six Mistakes Mankind Keeps

Marcus Tullius Cicero

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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.

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Those Who Do Not Know History Will Forever Remain Children

To Some Extent I Liken Slavery To Death.

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.

Friendship Is Nothing Else Than An Accord In All Things, Human And Divine, Conjoined With Mutual Goodwill And Affection.

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.

A Mental Stain Can Neither Be Blotted Out By The Passage Of Time Nor Washed Away By Any Waters.

Peace Is So Beneficial That The Word Itself Is Pleasant To Hear.

It Is Not Only Arrogant, But It Is Profligate, For A Man To Disregard The World's Opinion Of Himself.

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.

It Is As Hard For The Good To Suspect Evil, As It Is For The Bad To Suspect Good.

In Anger Nothing Right Nor Judicious Can Be Done.

The Law Is Silent During War. [lat., Silent Leges Inter Arma.]

There Is No Duty More Indispensible Than That Of Returning A Kindness.

Friendship Is Infinitely Better Than Kindness.

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

Philosophy Is True Mother Of The Arts [of Science].

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.

In So Far As The Mind Is Stronger Than The Body, So Are The Ills Contracted By The Mind More Severe Than Those Contracted By The Body.

Long Life Is Denied Us; Therefore Let Us Do Something To Show That We Have Lived.

Man Must Suffer To Be Wise.

In The Master There Is A Servant, In The Servant A Master.

The Pursuit, Even Of The Best Things, Ought To Be Calm And Tranquil.

Politeness And An Affable Address Are Our Best Introduction.

Should This My Firm Persuasion Of The Soul's Immortality Prove To Be A Mere Delusion, It Is At Least A Pleasing Delusion, And I Will Cherish It To My Last Breath.

The Authors Who Affect Contempt For A Name In The World Put Their Names To The Books Which They Invite The World To Read.

A Man Would Have No Pleasures In Discovering All The Beauties Of The Universe, Even In Heaven Itself, Unless He Had A Partner To Whom He Might Communicate His Joys.

A Happy Life Consists In Tranquility Of Mind.

By Doubting We Come At Truth.

The Soil Of Their Native Land Is Dear To All The Hearts Of Mankind.

In Everything Truth Surpasses The Imitation And Copy.

"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."

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.

It Was Fear That Was Then Making You A Good Citizen, Which Is Never A Lasting Teacher Of Duty.

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.

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

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

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.

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

So Near Is Falsehood To Truth That A Wise Man Would Do Well Not To Trust Himself On The Narrow Edge.

It Has Seemed To Be More Necessary To Have Regard To The Weight Of Words Rather Than To Their Number.

Of All The Rewards Of Virtue, . . . The Most Splendid Is Fame, For It Is Fame Alone That Can Offer Us The Memory Of Posterity.

I Like Myself, But I Won't Say I'm As Handsome As The Bull That Kidnapped Europa.

Leisure With Dignity.

Nature Abhors Annihilation.

The Absolute Good Is Not A Matter Of Opinion But Of Nature.

Memory Is The Treasury And Guardian Of All Things.

Laws Should Be Interpreted In A Liberal Sense So That Their Intention May Be Preserved.

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

The Habit Of Arguing In Support Of Atheism, Whether It Be Done From Conviction Or In Pretense, Is A Wicked And Impious Practice.

Man's Best Support Is A Very Dear Friend.

A S Laws Multiply, Injustice Increases.

No One Can Speak Well, Unless He Thoroughly Understands His Subject.

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

All The Arts, Which Have A Tendency To Raise Man In The Scale Of Being, Have A Certain Common Band Of Union, And Are Connected, If I May Be Allowed To Say So, By Blood-relationship With One Another.

To Be Endowed With Strength By Nature, To Be Actuated By The Powers Of The Mind, And To Have A Certain Spirit Almost Divine Infused Into You.

Cannot People Realize How Large An Income Is Thrift?

No Sane Man Will Dance.

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

The Nobler A Man, The Harder It Is For Him To Suspect Inferiority In Others.

Anger Should Never Appear In Awarding Punishment.

History Illumes Reality, Vitalizes Memory, Provides Guidance In Daily Life

History Of Life

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

Were Floods Of Tears To Be Unloosed In Tribute To My Grief, The Doves Of Noah Ne'er Had Roost Nor Found An Olive-leaf.

Hatred Is A Settled Anger.

Friendship Makes Prosperity More Brilliant, And Lightens Adversity By Dividing And Sharing It.

Falsehoods Border On Truths.

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

The Spirit Is The True Self, Not That Physical Figure Which Can Be Pointed Out By Your Finger.

Let The Punishment Match The Offense.

Brevity Is The Best Recommendation Of Speech, Whether In A Senator Or An Orator.

Brevity Of Life

Knowledge Which Is Divorced From Justice, May Be Called Cunning Rather Than Wisdom.

The Divinity Who Rules Within Us, Forbids Us To Leave This World Without His Command.

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

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

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

Rashness Belongs To Youth; Prudence To Old Age.

Virtue Is Uniform, Conformable To Reason, And Of Unvarying Consistency; Nothing Can Be Added To It That Can Make It More Than Virtue; Nothing Can Be Taken From It, And The Name Of Virtue Be Left.

After Victory, You Have More Enemies.

Let The Welfare Of The People Be The Ultimate Law.

Justice Renders To Every One His Due.

Certain Signs Precede Certain Events.

It Is Generally Said, "past Labors Are Pleasant," Euripides Says, For You All Know The Greek Verse, "the Recollection Of Past Labors Is Pleasant." [lat., Vulgo Enim Dicitur, Jucundi Acti Labores: Nec Male Euripides: Concludam, Si Potero, Latine: Graecum Enim Hunc Versum Nostis Omnes: Suavis Laborum Est Proeteritorum Memoria.

We Forget Our Pleasures, We Remember Our Sufferings.

The Most Evident Difference Between Man And Animals Is This: The Beast, In As Much As It Is Largely Motivated By The Senses And With Little Perception Of The Past Or Future, Lives Only For The Present. But Man, Because He Is Endowed With Reason By Which He Is Able To Perceive Relationships, Sees The Causes Of Things, Understands The Reciprocal Nature Of Cause And Effect, Makes Analogies, Easily Surveys The Whole Course Of His Life, And Makes The Necessary Preparations For Its Conduct.

Borrowing From Peter To Pay Paul.

A Sensual And Intemperate Youth Hands Over A Worn-out Body To Old Age. [lat., Libidinosa Etenim Et Intemperans Adolescentiam Effoetum Corpus Tradit Senectuti.]

No Sensible Man Ever Imputes Inconsistency To Another For Changing His Minds.

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

Death Is Not Natural For A State As It Is For A Human Being, For Whom Death Is Not Only Necessary, But Frequently Even Desirable.

Anyone May Fairly Seek His Own Advantage, But No One Has A Right To Do So At Another's Expense.

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

Extreme Justice Is Extreme Injustice.

He Who Has Once Deviated From The Truth, Usually Commits Perjury With As Little Scruple As He Would Tell A Lie.

The Foundation Of Justice Is Good Faith.

Rightly Defined Philosophy Is Simply The Love Of Wisdom.

Nulla (enim) Res Tantum Ad Dicendum Proficit, Quantum Scriptio Nothing So Much Assists Learning As Writing Down What We Wish To Remember.

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

For Hardly Any Man Dances When Sober, Unless He Is Insane. Nor Does He Dance While Alone, Nor At A Respectable And Moderate Party. Dancing Is The Final Phase Of A Wild Party With Fancy Decorations And A Multitude Of Delights.

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.

To Give Counsel, As Well As To Take It, Is A Feature Of True Friendship.

When You Wish To Instruct, Be Brief; That Men's [children's] Minds Take In Quickly What You Say, Learn Its Lesson, And Retain It Faithfully. Every Word That Is Unnecessary Only Pours Over The Side Of A Brimming Mind.

Let War Yield To Peace, Laurels To Paeans.

Tomorrow Will Give Us Something To Think About

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.

As A Philosopher, I Have A Right To Ask For A Rational Explanation Of Religious Faith.

Rather Leave The Crime Of The Guilty Unpunished Than Condemn The Innocent.

In Men Of The Highest Character And Noblest Genius There Is To Be Found An Insatiable Desire For Honor, Command, Power, And Glory.

Lucius Cassius Ille Quem Populus Romanus Verissimum Et Sapientissimum Iudicem Putabat Identidem In Causis Quaerere Solebat 'cui Bono' Fuisset. The Famous Lucius Cassius, Whom The Roman People Used To Regard As A Very Honest And Wise Judge, Was In The Habit Of Asking, Time And Again, 'to Whose Benefit?

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

No Sober Person Dances.

Fewer Possess Virtue, Than Those Who Wish Us To Believe That They Possess It.

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

Nature Has Circumscribed The Field Of Life Within Small Dimensions, But Has Left The Field Of Glory Unmeasured.

Vicious Habits Are So Odious And Degrading That They Transform The Individual Who Practices Them Into An Incarnate Demon.

The Beauty Of The World And The Orderly Arrangement Of Everything Celestial Makes Us Confess That There Is An Excellent And Eternal Nature, Which Ought To Be Worshiped And Admired By All Mankind.

The Face Is A Picture Of The Mind With The Eyes As Its Interpreter.

All The Arts Of Refinement Have Mutual Kinship.

Let Every Man Practise The Trade Which He Best Understands.

It Is Not Enough Merely Possess Virtue, As If It Were An Art; It Should Be Practiced.

Great Inspirational

Who Does Not Know History's First Law To Be That An Author Must Not Dare To Tell Anything But The Truth? And Its Second That He Must Make Bold To Tell The Whole Truth? That There Must Be No Suggestion Of Partiality Anywhere In His Writings? Nor Of Malice?

Prosperity Demands Of Us More Prudence And Moderation Than Adversity.

There Is Pleasure In Calm Remembrance Of A Past Sorrow.

Let The Punishment Be Proportionate To The Offense.

There Is Not A Moment Without Some Duty.

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

Poor Is The Nation That Has No Heroes, But Poorer Still Is The Nation That Having Heroes, Fails To Remember And Honor Them.

Frugality Includes All The Other Virtues.

We Cannot Employ The Mind To Advantage When We Are Filled With Excessive Food And Drink.

To Remain Ignorant Of History Is To Remain Forever A Child

A Dissolute And Intemperate Youth Hands Down The Body To Old Age In A Worn-out State.

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.

It Is Of No Avail To Know What Is About To Happen; For It Is A Sad Thing To Be Grieved When Grief Can Do No Good.

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

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

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

Nothing Stands Out So Conspicuously, Or Remains So Firmly Fixed In The Memory, As Something Which You Have Blundered.

If I Am Mistaken In My Opinion That The Human Soul Is Immortal, I Willingly Err; Nor Would I Have This Pleasant Error Extorted From Me; And If, As Some Minute Philosophers Suppose, Death Should Deprive Me Of My Being, I Need Not Fear The Raillery Of Those Pretended Philosophers When They Are No More.

Democritus Maintains That There Can Be No Great Poet Without A Spite Of Madness.

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

The Science Of Love Is The Philosophy Of The Heart

It Is A Strong Proof Of Men Knowing Most Things Before Birth, That When Mere Children They Grasp Innumerable Facts With Such Speed As To Show That They Are Not Then Taking Them In For The First Time, But Are Remembering And Recalling Them.

One Who Sees The Supersoul Accompanying The Individual Soul In All Bodies And Who Understands That Neither The Soul Nor The Supersoul Is Ever Destroyed, Actually Sees.

Certain Signs Are The Forerunners Of Certain Events.

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

In Fact The Whole Passion Ordinarily Termed Love (and Heaven Help Me If I Can Think Of Any Other Term To Apply To It) Is Of Such Exceeding Triviality That I See Nothing That I Think Comparable With It.

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.

This Excessive Licence, Which The Anarchists Think Is The Only True Freedom, Provides The Stock, As It Were, From Which A Tyrant Grows.

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

The Rule Of Friendship Means There Should Be Mutual Sympathy Between Them, Each Supplying What The Other Lacks And Trying To Benefit The Other, Always Using Friendly And Sincere Words.

The Jews Belong To A Dark And Repulsive Force. One Knows How Numerous This Clique Is, How They Stick Together And What Power They Exercise Through Their Unions. They Are A Nation Of Rascals And Deceivers.

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

Man Is His Own Worst Enemy.

We Are Bound By The Law, So That We May Be Free.

Religion Is Not Removed By Removing Superstition.

Every Man Can Tell How Many Goats Or Sheep He Possesses, But Not How Many Friends.

We Should Not Be So Taken Up In The Search For Truth, As To Neglect The Needful Duties Of Active Life; For It Is Only Action That Gives A True Value And Commendation To Virtue.

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?

All Pain Is Either Severe Or Slight, If Slight, It Is Easily Endured; If Severe, It Will Without Doubt Be Brief.

Hmm... That's Like Telling You About The Cold Of Space, Or Terror Of Midnight. Sithis Is All Those Things. He Is... The Void.

Other Relaxations Are Peculiar To Certain Times, Places And Stages Of Life, But The Study Of Letters Is The Nourishment Of Our Youth, And The Joy Of Our Old Age. They Throw An Additional Splendor On Prosperity, And Are The Resource And Consolation Of Adversity; They Delight At Home, And Are No Embarrassment Abroad; In Short, They Are Company To Us At Night, Our Fellow Travelers On A Journey, And Attendants In Our Rural Recesses.

Old Age Is By Nature Rather Talkative.

There Is, I Know Not How, A Certain Presage, As It Were, Of A Future Existence; And This Takes The Deepest Root, And Is Most Discoverable, In The Greatest Geniuses And Most Exalted Souls.

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.

It Is Pleasant To Recall Past Troubles.

It Is A Great Thing To Know Your Vices.

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

Little By Little Old Age Renders The Body Less Powerful.

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

He Who Suffers, Remembers.

Through Ignorance Of What Is Good And What Is Bad, The Life Of Men Is Greatly Perplexed.

The Memory Of Past Troubles Is Pleasant. [lat., Jucunda Memoria Est Praeteritorum Malorum.]

Orators Are Most Vehement When They Have The Weakest Cause, As Men Get On Horseback When They Cannot Walk.

When They Remain Silent, They Cry Out.

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

A Man Does Not Wonder At What He Sees Frequently, Even Though He Be Ignorant Of The Reason. If Anything Happens Which He Has Not Seen Before, He Calls It A Prodigy.

No One Has Leave To Sin.

If You Wish To Remove Avarice You Must Remove Its Mother, Luxuries. [lat., Avaritiam Si Tollere Vultis, Mater Ejus Est Tollenda, Luxuries.]

Frivolity Is Inborn, Conceit Acquired By Education.

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

A Liar Is Not Believed Even Though He Tell The Truth.

Telling The Truth

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.

What Nobler Employment, Or More Valuable To The State, Than That Of The Man Who Instructs The Rising Generation?

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

No One Sees What Is Before His Feet: We All Gaze At The Stars. [lat., Quod Est Ante Pedes Nemo Spectat: Coeli Scrutantur Plagas.]

Secret Enmities Are More To Be Feared Than Open Ones.

The Dutifulness Of Children Is The Foundation Of All Virtues.

Work Makes A Callus Against Grief.

Persistence In A Single View Has Never Been Regarded As A Merit In Political Leaders.

Our Liberality Should Not Exceed Our Ability.

Nothing Is More Praiseworthy, Nothing More Suited To A Great And Illustrious Man Than Placability And A Merciful Disposition.

I Have Always Been Of The Opinion That Unpopularity Earned By Doing What Is Right Is Not Unpopularity At All, But Glory.

So It May Well Be Believed That When I Found Him Taking A Complete Holiday, With A Vast Supply Of Books At Command, He Had The Air Of Indulging In A Literary Debauch, If The Term May Be Applied To So Honorable An Occupation.

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

Let The Force Of Arms Give Place To Law And Justice.

Physicians, When The Cause Of Disease Is Discovered, Consider That The Cure Is Discovered.

If Only Every Man Would Make Proper Use Of His Strength And Do His Utmost, He Need Never Regret His Limited Ability.

This, Therefore, Is A Law Not Found In Books, But Written On The Fleshly Tablets Of The Heart, Which We Have Not Learned From Man, Received Or Read, But Which We Have Caught Up From Nature Herself, Sucked In And Imbibed; The Knowledge Of Which We Were Not Taught, But For Which We Were Made; We Received It Not By Education, But By Intuition.

Not To Be Avaricious Is Money; Not To Be Fond Of Buying Is A Revenue; But To Be Content With Our Own Is The Greatest And Most Certain Wealth Of All.

It Shows A Brave And Resolute Spirit Not To Be Agitated In Exciting Circumstances.

Enmity Is Anger Watching The Opportunity For Revenge.

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