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

The end of life is to be like God, and the soul following God will be like Him.

To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge.

He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.

The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.

Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant.

I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.

All men’s souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine.

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

Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us.

He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy.

If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it.

As to marriage or celibacy, let a man take which course he will, he will be sure to repent.

By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.

No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death. He and his are not neglected by the gods.

True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.

I only wish that ordinary people had an unlimited capacity for doing harm; then they might have an unlimited power for doing good.

Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for.

If all misfortunes were laid in one common heap whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be contented to take their own and depart.

Ordinary people seem not to realize that those who really apply themselves in the right way to philosophy are directly and of their own accord preparing themselves for dying and death.