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Famous quotes

Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,269 quotes Who coined it · How we decide

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Said between 300 and 201 BC

• “Luxurious food and drinks, in no way protect you from harm. Wealth beyond what is natural, is no more use than an overflowing container. Real value is not generated by theaters, and baths, perfumes or ointments, but by philosophy.”

  Epicurus (342–270 BC) said by 270 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “When all within the four seas have been put in their proper places, [the sage] sits in darkness to observe the light. When those to his left and right have taken their places, he opens the gate to face the world. He changes nothing, alters nothing, but acts with the two handles of reward and punishment, acts and never ceases: this is what is called walking the path of principle.”

  Han Fei (280–233 BC) said by 233 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Wielding Power", in Han Feizi: Basic Writings (2003)

• “αἰεὶ τοῖς μικκοῖς μικκὰ δίδουσι θεοί.”

  Callimachus (306–240 BC) said by 240 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Fr. 475 (tr. C. A. Trypanis, 1958)

• “εἰ τοῖς πολλοῖς προσεῖχον, οὐκ ἂν ἐφιλοσόφησα.”

  Chrysippus (281–208 BC) said by 208 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: SVF II 10; Diogenes Laërtius, VII.182 (tr. R. D. Hicks, 1925)

• “Ἐπισκήπτειν μὲν ἔχειν οὐδέν, πλὴν ὅτι πολλὰ τῶν ἡδέων ὁ βίος διὰ τὴν δόξαν καταλαζονεύεται. Ἡμεῖς γὰρ ὁπότ' ἀρχόμεθα ζῆν, τότ' ἀποθνῄσκομεν. Οὐδὲν οὖν ἀλυσιτελέστερόν ἐστι φιλοδοξίας.”

  Theophrastus (371–287 BC) said by 287 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Quoted by Diogenes Laërtius; translation from C. D. Yonge (trans.), The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (London: H. G. Bohn, 1853), p. 196.

• “πάντ᾿ ἐστὶ τῷ καλῷ λόγῳ ἱερόν· ὁ νοῦς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ λαλήσων θεός.”

  Menander (341–291 BC) said by 291 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Frg. 70 K.-A., Arrhephoros (tr. C. T. Ramage, 1864)

• “הוא אוהב להקשיב לעצות של אנשים בעלי כוונה טובה, והוא תמיד ממלא את חובותיו.”

  מנציוס (372–289 BC) said by 289 BC at the latest wikiquote:he, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “If you let people follow their feelings, they will be able to do good. This is what is meant by saying that human nature is good.”

  Mencius (372–289 BC) said by 289 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Smooth are his words, his voice as honey sweet, Yet war is in his heart, and dark deceit!”

  Moschus (201–201 BC) said by 201 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “All urgent calls he shall hear at once, but never put off; for when postponed, they will prove too hard or impossible to accomplish.”

  Chanakya (375–283 BC) said by 283 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “The centre of gravity of any cone is [the point which divides its axis so that] the portion [adjacent to the vertex is] triple [of the portion adjacent to the base].”

  Archimedes (287–212 BC) said by 212 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “All men are my children. What I desire for my own children, and I desire their welfare and happiness both in this world and the next, that I desire for all men. You do not understand to what extent I desire this, and if some of you do understand, you do not understand the full extent of my desire.”

  Ashoka (304–232 BC) said by 232 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “אתה דורך לי על העיגולים!" ~ בפנייה נזעמת לחייל רומי, שבניגוד לפקודה, הרג את ארכימדס”

  ארכימדס (287–212 BC) said by 212 BC at the latest wikiquote:he, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “אדם בעל מצפון שקט אינו מוטרד ואינו מטריד את הזולת.”

  אפיקורוס (342–270 BC) said by 270 BC at the latest wikiquote:he, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “To his friends he said that he thought the man who feared gibes and jeers was more of a coward than the one who ran away from the enemy.”

  Fabius Maximus (died 203 BC) said by 203 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “μὴ εἶναι βασιλικὴν ἀτραπὸν ἐπί γεωμετρίαν.”

  Euclid (334–285 BC) said by 285 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Ναυηγοῦ τάφος εἰμί: σὺ δὲ πλέε: καὶ γὰρ ὅθ᾽ ἡμεῖς ὠλλύμεθ᾽, αἱ λοιπαὶ νῆες ἐποντοπόρουν.”

  Theodoridas of Syracuse (301–261 BC) said by 261 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Palatine Anthology, bk. 7, no. 282 (ed. W. R. Paton, vol. 2, 1917)

• “ἀλλὰ πέρρ ἀπάλω στύματός σε πεδέρχομαι ὀμνάσθην, ὅτι πέρρυσιν ἦσθα νεώτερος, κὤττι γηράλεοι πέλεμεν πρὶν ἀπύπτυσαι καὶ ῥύσοι, νεότατα δ᾿ ἔχειν παλινάγρετον οὐκ ἔστι· πτέρυγας γὰρ ἐπωμιδίαις φόρη, κἄμμες βαρδύτεροι τὰ ποτήμενα συλλάβην.”

  Theocritus (401–260 BC) said by 260 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: XXIX.25–30 (tr. C. S. Calverley, 1869)

• “הוא יאלץ את עבדו להכין יותר יין מכפי שהאורחים מסוגלים לשתות.”

  תאופרסטוס (371–287 BC) said by 287 BC at the latest wikiquote:he, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “חפש אדישות גמורה, או חוסר הרגשה, ששלוות המחשבה מבטיחה נגד רחמים או אהבה.”

  זנון מכתיון (334–263 BC) said by 263 BC at the latest wikiquote:he, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Thus, the wise man looks into space, and does not regard the small as too little, nor the great as too much; for he knows that there is no limit to dimension.”

  Zhuangzi (369–288 BC) said by 288 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Ch. 17 莊子/秋水 (tr. Herbert A. Giles, 1889)

• “Weep not for me: suffering, as I do, unjustly, I am in a happier case than my murderers.”

  Agis IV (265–241 BC) said by 241 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: To one of his executioners, whom he noticed weeping, as quoted in Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1844) by WIlliam Smith, p. 73.

• “אל נא תבטיח דבר בשבועה, אפילו לא את האמת.”

  מנאנדרוס (341–291 BC) said by 291 BC at the latest wikiquote:he, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Ὀψὲ δὲ αὐτῷ γεωμετροῦντι λέγει τις, "εἶτα νῦν καιρός;" "εἶτα μηδὲ νῦν.”

  Lacydes of Cyrene (301–205 BC) said by 205 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Translated by C. D. Yonge (1853)