“He is sometimes slave who should be master; and sometimes master who should be slave.”
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Famous Marcus Tullius Cicero Quotes
“No wise man ever thought that a traitor should be trusted.”
Source: De Officiis
“Of evils one should choose the least. [Lat., Ex malis eligere minima oportere.]”
“We should be careful that our benevolence does not exceed our means.”
“It is besides necessary that whoever is brave should be a man of great soul.”
Source: The Academic Questions: Treatise De Finibus and Tusculan Disputations of M. R. Cicero, with a Sketch of the Greek Philosophers Mentioned by Cicero
“Every man should bear his own grievances rather than detract from the comforts of another.”
“Sound conviction should influence us rather than public opinion.”
“The house should derive dignity from the master, not the master from the house.”
Source: Cicero in twenty-nine volumes
“Action is the language of the body and should harmonize with the spirit within.”
“The leaders should all relate to this principle: the governed must be as happy as possible.”
“The higher we are placed, the more humbly we should walk.”
Source: De Officiis
“If we are not ashamed to think it, we should not be ashamed to say it.”
“In honorable dealing you should consider what you intended, not what you said or thought.”
“Laws should be interpreted in a liberal sense so that their intention may be preserved.”
Source: Cicero's 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
Source: The Orations
“What one has, one ought to use: and whatever he does he should do with all his might.”
“The mansion should not be graced by its master, the master should grace the mansion.”
“Reason should direct, and appetite obey.”
Source: Cicero's Three books of offices, or moral duties: also his Cato Major, an essay on old age; Lælius, an essay on friendship; Paradoxes; Scipio's dream; and Letter to Quintus on the duties of a magistrate
“It is not enough merely possess virtue, as if it were an art; it should be practiced.”
“Our generosity never should exceed our abilities.”
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: Thoughts of Cicero, on the following subjects, viz. I. Religion, II. Man ... XII. Miscellaneous thoughts. Published in Latin and French by the Abbé d'Olivet; to which is now added, an English translation, with notes. [By Alexander Wishart.]
“The higher our position the more modestly we should behave.”
“In all matters, before beginning, a diligent preparation should be made.”
“No man should so act as to make a gain out of the ignorance of another.”
“Whatever befalls in accordance with nature should be accounted good.”
Source: Cicero in twenty-nine volumes
“War should be undertaken in such a way as to show that its only object is peace.”