Socrates

False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.

I must first know myself, as the Delphian inscription says; to be curious about that which is not my concern, while I am still in ignorance of my own self, would be ridiculous. And therefore I bid farewell to all this; the common opinion is enough for me. For, as I was saying, I want to know not about this, but about myself: am I a monster more complicated and swollen with passion than the serpent Typho, or a creature of a gentler and simpler sort, to whom Nature has given a diviner and lowlier destiny?

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.

An honest man is always a child.

Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior.

Worthless people love only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live.

Here is the answer which I will give to President Roosevelt. Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.

A loving heart is the truest wisdom.

On the death of a friend, we should consider that the fates through confidence have devolved on us the task of a double living, that we have henceforth to fulfill the promise of our friend’s life also, in our own, to the world.

Life is short, but there is always time for courtesy.

I wish for you the wisdom to realize that forgiveness has nothing to do with an apology.

One merit of poetry few persons will deny: it says more and in fewer words than prose.

Accept your genius and say what you think.

I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and new.

I sit on a man’s back choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that i am sorry for him and wish to lighten his load by all means possible….except by getting off his back.

That’s what a man wants in a wife, mostly; he wants to make sure one fool tells him he’s wise.

Failure is an important part of your growth and developing resilience. Don’t be afraid to fail.

We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.

The knowledge of an unlearned man is living and luxuriant like a forest, but covered with mosses and lichens and for the most part inaccessible and going to waste; the knowledge of the man of science is like timber collected in yards for public works, which still supports a green sprout here and there, but even this is liable to dry rot.

It is no great art to say something briefly when, like Tacitus, one has something to say; when one has nothing to say, however, and none the less writes a whole book and makes truth into a liar – that I call an achievement.

So I became a newspaperman. I hated to do it but I couldnt find honest employment.