Source: Delphi Complete Works of Cicero (Illustrated)
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Famous Marcus Tullius Cicero Quotes
“As a philosopher, I have a right to ask for a rational explanation of religious faith.”
“An old man with something of the youth in him, may feel young in mind and heart only.”
“Action is the language of the body and should harmonize with the spirit within.”
“Nature has granted the use of life like a loan, without fixing any day for repayment.”
Source: Tusculan Disputations
“The thirst of desire is never filled, nor fully satisfied.”
“Armed forces abroad are of little value unless there is prudent counsel at home”
“The purpose of education is to free the student from the tyranny of the present.”
“The avarice of the old: it's absurd to increase one's luggage as one nears the journey's end.”
Source: Delphi Complete Works of Cicero (Illustrated)
“Fire and water are not of more universal use than friendship.”
“A dissolute and intemperate youth hands down the body to old age in a worn-out state.”
Source: Letters of Marcus Tullius Cicero with His Treatises on Friendship and Old Age; Letters of Pliny the Younger
“Nothing is too absurd to be said by some of the philosophers.”
“Old age by nature is rather talkative.”
Source: Three Books of Offices; Or, Moral Duties: Also His Cato Major, an Essay on Old Age; Laelius, an Essay on Friendship; Paradoxes; Scipio's Dream; and Letter to Quintus on the Duties of a Magistrate. Literally Translated, with Notes, Designed to Exhibit a Comparative View of the Opinions of Cicero, and Those of Modern Moralists and Ethical Philosophers
Source: Delphi Complete Works of Cicero (Illustrated)
“It was fear that was then making you a good citizen, which is never a lasting teacher of duty.”
Source: Delphi Complete Works of Cicero (Illustrated)
“The name of peace is sweet, the thing itself is most salutary.”
Source: The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero
“The roots of knowledge are bitter, but its fruit are sweet.”
Source: On Obligations
“The life of the dead consists in the recollection cherished of them by the living.”
Source: Select Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero
“Let us not go over the old ground but rather prepare for what is to come.”
“Anyone may fairly seek his own advantage, but no one has a right to do so at another's expense.”
“There is no duty more indispensible than that of returning a kindness.”
Source: Three Books of Offices; Or, Moral Duties: Also His Cato Major, an Essay on Old Age; Laelius, an Essay on Friendship; Paradoxes; Scipio's Dream; and Letter to Quintus on the Duties of a Magistrate. Literally Translated, with Notes, Designed to Exhibit a Comparative View of the Opinions of Cicero, and Those of Modern Moralists and Ethical Philosophers
“The leaders should all relate to this principle: the governed must be as happy as possible.”