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
“κἂν εὐτυχῇ τις, ὡς ἔοικε, προσδοκᾶν ἀεί τι δεῖ, καὶ μή τι πιστεύειν τύχῃ.”
Alexis (372–270 BC) said by 270 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Frg. 289 K.-A. (tr. T. B. Harbottle, 1897)
“Treat your kid like a darling for the first five years. For the next five years, scold them. By the time they turn sixteen, treat them like a friend. Your grown up children are your best friends.”
Chanakya (375–283 BC) said by 283 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“天下共苦戰鬥不休，以有侯王。賴宗廟，天下初定，又復立國，是樹兵也，而求其寧息，豈不難哉！”
Qin Shi Huang (259–210 BC) said by 210 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The centre of gravity of a parallelogram is the point of intersection of its diagonals.”
Archimedes (287–212 BC) said by 212 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Proposition 6. The moon moves (in an orbit) lower than (that of) the sun, and, when it is halved, is distant less than a quadrant from the sun.”
Aristarchus of Samos (310–230 BC) said by 230 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Away then with wisdom and knowledge, and great robbers will disappear!”
Zhuangzi (369–288 BC) said by 288 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ch. 10 (tr. Herbert A. Giles, 1889)
“But we, the great, the valiant, and the wise, When once the seal of death has closed our eyes, Lost in the hollow tomb obscure and deep, Slumber, to wake no more, one long unbroken sleep!”
Moschus (201–201 BC) said by 201 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“路漫漫其修远兮，吾将上下而求索。”
Qu Yuan (343–278 BC) said by 278 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ὅπερ ἔδει δεῖξαι.”
Euclid (334–285 BC) said by 285 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Ευκλείδης (el)
“οὐκ ἔστ᾿ ἄπιστον οὐδὲν ἐν θνητῷ βίῳ οὐδ᾿ ἂν γένοιτο· πολλὰ ποικίλλει χρόνος παράδοξα καὶ θαυμαστὰ καὶ ζώντων τρόποι.”
Menander (341–291 BC) said by 291 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Τῇδε Σάων ὁ Δίκωνος Ἀκάνθιος ἱερὸν ὕπνον κοιμᾶται· θνῄσκειν μὴ λέγε τοὺς ἀγαθούς.”
Callimachus (306–240 BC) said by 240 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Epigram 9 (tr. J. Banks, 1856)
“The way of the ruler is to make certain that, if what a minister says beforehand does not tally with what he says later, or what he says later does not tally with what he has said previously, then although he may have fulfilled his task with distinction, he is condemned to certain punishment. This is what it means to hold your subordinates responsible.”
Han Fei (280–233 BC) said by 233 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Facing South", in Han Feizi: Basic Writings (2003)
“Fato Metelli Romae fiunt consules.”
Gnaeus Naevius (275–201 BC) said by 201 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: W. Beare, The Roman Stage, 3rd ed. (1964), p. 40:
“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)
“ἐλπίδες ἐν ζωοῖσιν, ἀνέλπιστοι δὲ θανόντες.”
Theocritus (401–260 BC) said by 260 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: IV.42 (tr. A. S. F. Gow, 1952)
“Εὐκαπὲς ἄγκιστρον, καὶ δούρατα δουλιχόεντα, χὠρμιήν, καὶ τὰς ἰχθυδόκους σπυρίδας, καὶ τοῦτον νηκτοῖσιν ἐπ᾽ ἰχθύσι τεχνασθέντα κύρτον, ἁλιπλάγκτων εὕρεμα δικτυβόλων, τρηχύν τε τριόδοντα, Ποσειδαώνιον ἔγχος, καὶ τοὺς ἐξ ἀκάτων διχθαδίους ἐρέτας, ὁ γριπεὺς Διόφαντος ἀνάκτορι θήκατο τέχνας, ὡς θέμις, ἀρχαίας λείψανα τεχνοσύνας.”
Leonidas of Tarentum (320–260 BC) said by 260 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Anthologia Palatina, vi, 4, as translated by Herbert Kynaston, ed. E. D. Stone (1912), pp. 19–20
“All Indians are free, and not one of them is a slave.”
Megasthenes (351–291 BC) said by 291 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All the good are friends of one another.”
Zeno of Citium (334–263 BC) said by 263 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Superstition would seem to be simply cowardice in regard to the supernatural.”
Theophrastus (371–287 BC) said by 287 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Characters, ch. 28 (16); translation from R. C. Jebb and J. E. Sandys (trans.), The Characters of Theophrastus (London: Macmillan, 1909), p. 139.
“Kenneth Quinn, The Catullan Revolution (1959), p. 15”
Laevius (151–201 BC) said by 201 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They who accord with Heaven are preserved, and they who rebel against Heaven perish.”
Mencius (372–289 BC) said by 289 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Continence is a branch of temperance, which prevents the diseases, infamy, remorse, and punishment, to which those are exposed, who indulge themselves in unlawful amours.”
Epicurus (342–270 BC) said by 270 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Qui stadium currit, eniti et contendere debet, quam maxime possit, ut vincat; supplantare eum, quocum certer, aut manu depellere nullo modo debet. Sic in vita sibi quemque petere quod pertineat ad usum, non iniquum est: alteri deripere ius non est.”
Chrysippus (281–208 BC) said by 208 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: SVF III 689; Cicero, De Officiis, III.42 (tr. A. P. Peabody, 1887)
“Respect for mother and father is good, generosity to friends, acquaintances, relatives, Brahmans and ascetics is good, not killing living beings is good, moderation in spending and moderation in saving is good. The Council shall notify the Yuktas about the observance of these instructions in these very words.”
Ashoka (304–232 BC) said by 232 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source