Cicero

"Die sorgenfreie Erinnerung an vergangenen Schmerz bringt nämlich Freude."

"Die Welt ist ein Irrenhaus."

"Ein Brief errötet nicht."

"Wenn du einen Garten in einer Bibliothek hast, wird es dir an nichts fehlen."

"Arbeiten sind angenehm, wenn sie getan sind."

"Der Speise Würze ist der Hunger, des Trankes der Durst, so höre ich Sokrates sagen."

"Die Anfänge aller Dinge sind nämlich klein."

"Sogar die Lüstlinge […] sagen, daß zunächst nur die Lust angestrebt, dann durch Gewohnheit gleichsam eine zweite Natur geschaffen werde."

"Jedes Lebewesen liebt sich selbst."

"Aber da ich kurz zuvor gesagt habe, unsere Vorfahren sollten uns zum Muster dienen, so gelte als erste Ausnahme, dass man nicht ihre Fehler nachahmen darf."

"Das höchste Recht (ist) das höchste Unrecht."

"Der Mensch glaubt, nichts Menschliches sei ihm fremd."

"Die Waffen sollen der Toga weichen, der Lorbeerkranz dem politischen Ansehen."

"Jedem das Seine."

"Spiel und Scherz darf man genießen, aber gleichsam wie den Schlaf und die übrigen Erholungen dann, wenn wir bedeutende und ernste Dinge genug getan haben."

"Von allen den Erwerbszweigen aber, aus denen irgendein Gewinn gezogen wird, ist nichts besser als Ackerbau, nichts einträglicher, nichts angenehmer, nichts eines Menschen, nichts eines Freien würdiger."

"Wenn das Gesetz gebrochen werden muss, dann nur, um die Macht zu ergreifen; ansonsten ist es heilig zu halten."

"Wir sind nicht für uns allein geboren."

"Verwandtschaft lässt sich ohne Wohlwollen denken, Freundschaft aber nicht."

"Das also ist keine Freundschaft, dass, wenn der eine die Wahrheit nicht hören will, der andere zum Lügen bereit ist."

"Diejenigen, die die Freundschaft aus ihrem Leben entfernen, scheinen nämlich die Sonne aus der Welt zu entfernen."

"Ein wahrer Freund ist wie ein zweites Ich."

"Glück wird noch strahlender durch Freundschaft."

"Einen sicheren Freund erkennt man in einer unsicheren Lage."

"Fortuna ist blind."

"Ohne Freundschaft ist das Leben nichts."

"Weder wollen wir um schändliche Dinge bitten noch sie tun, wenn wir darum gebeten worden sind."

"Wer einen wahren Freund sieht, sieht gewissermaßen das Abbild seiner selbst."

"Denn die Tugend selbst wollen nicht so viele besitzen wie sich [nur] den Anschein davon geben.""

"All das Meine trage ich mit mir."

"Die Menschen erkennen nicht, eine wie große Einnahme Sparsamkeit ist."

"Ansehen fördert die Künste."

"Das Vaterland ist dort, wo es gut ist."

"Den Schlaf nimm als das Bild des Todes."

"Die wahre Medizin des Geistes ist die Philosophie."

"Erkenne dich selbst!"

"Es ist besser, Unrecht zu erleiden als es zu tun."

"Groß ist die Macht der Gewohnheit."

"Oft steckt auch unter schmutziger Kleidung Weisheit."

"Den Gesetzen gehorchen wir nur deswegen, um frei sein zu können."

"Aus Habsucht entstehen alle Verbrechen und Übeltaten."

"Das Gesicht ist ein Abbild der Seele."

"Der Boden des Vaterlandes sei allen teuer."

"Der Staat […] ist die Sache des Volkes; Volk aber ist nicht jede beliebig zusammengewürfelte Anhäufung von Menschen, sondern der Zusammenschluss einer größeren Zahl, die durch eine einheitliche Rechtsordnung und ein gemeinsames Staatsziel zu einer Gesellschaft wird."

"Die Kenntnis der Ursachen bewirkt die Erkenntnis der Ergebnisse."

"[Die Rechnung] stimmt auf den Pfennig."

"Die Zukunft kommt nicht plötzlich, sondern ist nur die Wiederholung dessen, was bereits geschehen ist."

"Ehre sei die Belohnung der Tugend."

"Frei sind unsere Gedanken"

"Hannibal (ist) vor den Toren!"

"Höchste Sparsamkeit, höchste Sorgfalt."

"Ich mahne unablässig zum Frieden; dieser, auch ein ungerechter, ist besser als der gerechteste Krieg."

"In unseren Prozessen, wenigstens in Kriminalfällen, besteht die Verteidigung gewöhnlich im Leugnen."

"Indem sie schweigen, rufen sie laut."

"Jedem Menschen unterlaufen Fehler, doch nur die Dummen verharren im Irrtum."

"Nichts ist so sicher geschützt, dass es nicht mit Geld erobert werden kann."

"Nichtstun und vollkommen müßig sein ist angenehm."

""Oft habe ich gehört"

"O Zeiten! O Sitten!"

"Schlechte Beispiele schaden mehr als Sünden."

"Schnell nämlich trocknet die Träne, besonders bei fremdem Unglück."

"Unter den Waffen schweigen die Gesetze."

"Was anderes bedeutet das, als daß dem Feinde Waffen zum Bürgerkrieg gereicht werden, erstens die Lebenskraft des Krieges, unbegrenzt viel Geld, so, wie er es nun braucht, zweites Reiterei, wieviel er wünschen mag."

"Was getan ist, tue nicht!"

"Was gut, günstig, glücklich und gesegnet sei!"

"Was vermag doch der Irrglaube!"

"Wenn eine Ausnahme bewirkt, dass es nicht erlaubt ist, muss es notwendigerweise dann, wenn keine solche Ausnahme besteht, erlaubt sein."

"Wenn es erlaubt ist, freue ich mich über die Wiedergewinnung der Freiheit; wenn nicht, was hat mir dieser Wechsel des Herrn gebracht, außer der Freude, als ich das gerechte Ende eines Tyrannen vor Augen hatte?"

"Wie du säest, so wirst du ernten."

"Wie lange, Catilina, wirst du unsere Geduld noch strapazieren?"

"Wie nämlich nicht jeder Wein, so wird nicht jeder durch hohes Alter sauer."

"Wie unser Körper ohne Geist, so ist ein Staat ohne Gesetz."

"Groß ist die Erinnerung, die Orten innewohnt."

"Die Natur ist die beste Führerin des Lebens."

""Ein Raum ohne Bücher ist wie ein Körper ohne Seele." tagespost.de"

"Faulheit ist die Furcht vor bevorstehender Arbeit."

"Der Staatshaushalt muß ausgeglichen werden. Der Staatsschatz sollte wieder aufgefüllt werden. Die öffentlichen Schulden müssen verringert werden. Die Arroganz der Behörden muß gemäßigt und kontrolliert werden. Die Zahlungen an ausländische Regierungen müssen reduziert werden, wenn der Staat nicht bankrott gehen soll. Die Leute müssen wieder lernen zu arbeiten, statt auf öffentliche Rechnung zu leben."

"“Eine Nation kann ihre Narren überleben – und sogar ihre ehrgeizigsten Bürger. Aber sie kann nicht den Verrat von innen überleben. Ein Feind vor den Toren ist weniger gefährlich, denn er ist bekannt und trägt seine Fahnen für jedermann sichtbar. Aber der Verräter bewegt sich frei innerhalb der Stadtmauern, sein hinterhältiges Flüstern raschelt durch alle Gassen und wird selbst in den Hallen der Regierung vernommen. Denn der Verräter tritt nicht als solcher in Escheinung: Er spricht in vertrauter Sprache, er hat ein vertrautes Gesicht, er benutzt vertraute Argumente, und er appelliert an die Gemeinheit, die tief verborgenen in den Herzen aller Menschen ruht. Er arbeitet darauf hin, dass die Seele einer Nation verfault. Er treibt sein Unwesen des Nächtens – heimlich und anonym – bis die Säulen der Nation untergraben sind. Er infiziert den politischen Körper der Nation dergestalt, bis dieser seine Abwehrkräfte verloren hat. Fürchtet nicht so sehr den Mörder. Fürchtet den Verräter. Er ist die wahre Pest!”"

""Silent enim leges inter arma" (deutsch: "Unter den Waffen nämlich schweigen die Gesetze.")"

"Cuiusvis hominis est errare, nullius nisi insipientis in errore perseverare. —"

"Silent leges inter arma."

"Summum ius summa inuria."

"Ut sementem feceris, ita metes."

"We should never take pleasure in causing pain to others, even to those who have wronged us, but rather strive to do good to all."

"On Duties (De Officiis) 1.33 (translated by Walter Miller)"

"Equidem ad pacem hortari non desino; quae vel iniusta utilior est quam iustissimum bellum cum civibus."

"They are such fools that they seem to expect that, though the Republic is lost, their fish-ponds will be safe."

"since our leading men think themselves in a seventh heaven, if there are bearded mullets in their fish-ponds that will come to hand for food, and neglect everything else, do not you think that I am doing no mean service if I secure that those who have the power, should not have the will, to do any harm?"

"Quidem concessum est rhetoribus ementiri in historiis ut aliquid dicere possint argutius."

"Nemo enim fere saltat sobrius, nisi forte insanit."

"Etenim, iudices, cum omnibus virtutibus me adfectum esse cupio, tum nihil est quod malim quam me et esse gratum et videri. Haec enim est una virtus non solum maxima sed etiam mater virtutum omnium reliquarum."

"Silent enim leges inter arma."

"O di immortales! non intellegunt homines, quam magnum vectigal sit parsimonia."

"Vi victa vis."

"Id quod est praestantissimum, maximeque optabile omnibus sanis et bonis et beatis, cum dignitate otium."

"At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus, qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti, quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint, obcaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa, qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio, cumque nihil impedit, quo minus id, quod maxime placeat, facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus. temporibus autem quibusdam et aut officiis debitis aut rerum necessitatibus saepe eveniet, ut et voluptates repudiandae sint et molestiae non recusandae. itaque earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut reiciendis voluptatibus maiores alias consequatur aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat."

"Est quidem vera lex recta ratio naturae congruens, diffusa in omnes, constans, sempiterna, quae vocet ad officium iubendo, vetando a fraude deterreat; quae tamen neque probos frustra iubet aut vetat nec improbos iubendo aut vetando movet. Huic legi nec obrogari fas est neque derogari ex hac aliquid licet neque tota abrogari potest, nec vero aut per senatum aut per populum solvi hac lege possumus, neque est quaerendus explanator aut interpres eius alius, nec erit alia lex Romae, alia Athenis, alia nunc, alia posthac, sed et omnes gentes et omni tempore una lex et sempiterna et immutabilis continebit, unusque erit communis quasi magister et imperator omnium deus, ille legis huius inventor, disceptator, lator; cui qui non parebit, ipse se fugiet ac naturam hominis aspernatus hoc ipso luet maximas poenas, etiamsi cetera supplicia, quae putantur, effugerit."

"quasi bonis et fortibus et magno animo praeditis ulla sit ad rem publicam adeundi causa iustior, quam ne pareant inprobis neve ab isdem lacerari rem publicam patiantur"

"Etiamne hoc adfirmare potes, Luculle, esse aliquam vim, cum prudentia et consilio scilicet, quae finxerit vel, ut tuo verbo utar, quae fabricata sit hominem? Qualis ista fabrica est? ubi adhibita? quando? cur? quo modo?"

"Omnium rerum principia parva sunt."

"Laudandum adulescentem, ornandum, tollendum."

"Si hortum in bibliotheca habes, deerit nihil."

"Una navis est iam bonorum omnium."

"Civis Romanus sum."

"Adsiduus usus uni rei deditus et ingenium et artem saepe vincit."

"non enim parum cognosse, sed in parum cognito stulte et diu perseverasse turpe est, propterea quod alterum communi hominum infirmitati alterum singulari cuiusque vitio est attributum."

"Nonne, ut ignis in aquam conjectus, continuo restinguitur et refrigeratur, sic refervens falsum crimen in purissimam et castissimam vitam collatum, statim concidit et extinguitur?"

"Sic submissa voce agam tantum ut iudices audiant; neque enim desunt qui istos in me atque in optimum quemque incitent; quos ego, quo id facilius faciant, non adiuvabo."

"cum vero id possis mutata velificatione assequi, stultum est eum tenere cum periculo cursum, quem ceperis, potius quam eo commutato quo velis tamen pervenire, sic,"

"Lex est summa ratio insita a natura, quae iubet ea, quae facienda sunt, prohibetque contraria."

"Est enim unum ius quo deuincta est hominum societas et quod lex constituit una, quae lex est recta ratio imperandi atque prohibendi. Quam qui ignorat, is est iniustus, siue est illa scripta uspiam siue nusquam."

"Quid enim foedius auaritia, quid immanius libidine, quid contemptius timiditate, quid abiectius tarditate et stultitia dici potest?"

"Nam et qui bene imperat, paruerit aliquando necesse est, et qui modeste paret, videtur qui aliquando imperet dignus esse."

"Salus populi suprema lex esto."

"Noxia poena par esto."

"Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra?"

"O tempora! O mores!"

"Quodsi ea mihi maxime inpenderet tamen hoc animo fui semper, ut invidiam virtute partam gloriam, non invidiam putarem."

"O di inmortales! ubinam gentium sumus? in qua urbe vivimus? quam rem publicam habemus? Hic, hic sunt in nostro numero, patres conscripti, in hoc orbis terrae sanctissimo gravissimoque consilio, qui de nostro omnium interitu, qui de huius urbis atque adeo de orbis terrarum exitio cogitent!"

"Prima enim sequentem honestum est in secundis tertiisque consistere. (3)"

"Nescire autem quid ante quam natus sis acciderit, id est semper esse puerum. Quid enim est aetas hominis, nisi ea memoria rerum veterum cum superiorum aetate contexitur? (120)"

"And what can be more divine than the exhalations of the earth, which affect the human soul so as to enable her to predict the future ? And could the hand of time evaporate such a virtue? Do you suppose you are talking of some kind of wine or salted meat ?"

"Sed ita a principio incohatum esse mundum, ut certis rebus certa signa praecurrerent."

"Non enim omnis error stultitia est dicenda."

"Nihil tam absurde dici potest, quod non dicatur ab aliquo philosophorum."

"Nec vero superstitione tollenda religio tollitur."

"Quibus enim nihil est in ipsis opis ad bene beateque vivendum, eis omnis aetas gravis est; qui autem omnia bona a se ipsi petunt, eis nihil potest malum videri quod naturae necessitas afferat. quo in genere est in primis senectus, quam ut adipiscantur omnes optant, eandem accusant adeptam; tanta est stultitiae inconstantia atque perversitas. obrepere aiunt eam citius quam putassent. primum quis coegit eos falsum putare? qui enim citius adulescentiae senectus quam pueritiae adulescentia obrepit? deinde qui minus gravis esset eis senectus, si octingentesimum annum agerent, quam si octogesimum? praeterita enim aetas quamvis longa, cum effluxisset, nulla consolatione permulcere posset stultam senectutem."

"Etenim, cum complector animo, quattuor reperio causas, cur senectus misera videatur: unam, quod avocet a rebus gerendis; alteram, quod corpus faciat infirmius; tertiam, quod privet fere omnibus voluptatibus; quartam, quod haud procul absit a morte."

"Maximas res publicas ab adulescentibus labefactatas, a senibus sustentatas et restitutas reperietis. ... temeritas est videlicet florentis aetatis, prudentia senescentis."

"Nemo enim est tam senex qui se annum non putet posse vivere."

"Denique isto bono utare, dum adsit, cum absit, ne requiras: nisi forte adulescentes pueritiam, paulum aetate progressi adulescentiam debent requirere. cursus est certus aetatis et una via naturae eaque simplex, suaque cuique parti aetatis tempestivitas est data, ut et infirmitas puerorum et ferocitas iuvenum et gravitas iam constantis aetatis et senectutis maturitas naturale quiddam habet, quod suo tempore percipi debeat."

"Omnia autem quae secundum naturam fiunt sunt habenda in bonis."

"Itaque adulescentes mihi mori sic videntur, ut cum aquae multitudine flammae vis opprimitur, senes autem sic, ut cum sua sponte nulla adhibita vi consumptus ignis exstinguitur; et quasi poma ex arboribus, cruda si sunt, vix evelluntur, si matura et cocta, decidunt, sic vitam adulescentibus vis aufert, senibus maturitas; quae quidem mihi tam iucunda est, ut, quo propius ad mortem accedam, quasi terram videre videar aliquandoque in portum ex longa navigatione esse venturus."

"Post mortem quidem sensus aut optandus aut nullus est. Sed hoc meditatum ab adulescentia debet esse mortem ut neglegamus, sine qua meditatione tranquillo animo esse nemo potest. Moriendum enim certe est, et incertum an hoc ipso die. Mortem igitur omnibus horis impendentem timens qui poterit animo consistere?"

"Omnino, ut mihi quidem videtur studiorum omnium satietas vitae facit satietatem. Sunt pueritiae studia certa: num igitur ea desiderant adulescentes? Sunt ineuntis adulescentiae: num ea constans iam requirit aetas, quae media dicitur? Sunt etiam eius aetatis: ne ea quidem quaeruntur in senectute. Sunt extrema quaedam studia senectutis: ergo, ut superiorum aetatum studia occidunt, sic occidunt etiam senectutis; quod cum evenit, satietas vitae tempus maturum mortis affert."

"Existunt etiam saepe iniuriae calumnia quadam et nimis callida sed malitiosa iuris interpretatione. Ex quo illud "summum ius summa iniuria" factum est iam tritum sermone proverbium."

"In primisque hominis est propria veri inquisitio atque investigatio. Itaque cum sumus necessariis negotiis curisque vacui, tum avemus aliquid videre, audire, addiscere cognitionemque rerum aut occultarum aut admirabilium ad beate vivendum necessarian! ducimus. Ex quo intellegitur, quod verum, simplex sincerumque sit, id esse naturae hominis aptissimum. Huic veri videndi cupiditati adiuncta est appetitio quaedam principatus, ut nemini parere animus bene informatus a natura velit nisi praecipienti aut docenti aut utilitatis causa iuste et legitime imperanti; ex quo magnitudo animi existit humanarumque rerum contemptio."

"Non nobis solum nati sumus ortusque nostri partem patria vindicat, partem amici."

"Nam cum sint duo genera decertandi, unum per disceptationem, alterum per vim, cumque illud proprium sit hominis, hoc beluarum, confugiendum est ad posterius, si uti non licet superiore."

"In omnibus autem negotiis priusquam adgrediare, adhibenda est praeparatio diligens."

"Parvi enim sunt foris arma, nisi est consilium domi."

"Cedant arma togae, concedat laurea laudi."

"Ludo autem et ioco uti illo quidem licet, sed sicut somno et quietibus ceteris tum, cum gravibus seriisque rebus satis fecerimus."

"Sed tamen ira procul absit, cum qua nihil recte fieri nec considerate potest."

"Appetitus rationi pareat."

"Illiberales autem et sordidi quaestus mercennariorum omnium, quorum operae, non quorum artes emuntur; est enim in illis ipsa merces auctoramentum servitutis."

"Omnium autem rerum, ex quibus aliquid adquiritur, nihil est agri cultura melius, nihil uberius, nihil dulcius, nihil homine libero dignius."

"Omnium autem rerum nec aptius est quicquam ad opes tuendas ac tenendas quam diligi nec alienius quam timeri."

"Multorum autem odiis nullas opes posse obsistere, si antea fuit ignotum, nuper est cognitum. Nec vero huius tyranni solum, quem armis oppressa pertulit civitas ac paret cum maxime mortuo interitus declarat, quantum odium hominum valeat ad pestem, sed reliquorum similes exitus tyrannorum, quorum haud fere quisquam talem interitum effugit. Malus enim est custos diuturnitatis metus contraque benivolentia fidelis vel ad perpetuitatem."

"Vera gloria radices agit atque etiam propagatur, ficta omnia celeriter tamquam flosculi decidunt nec simulatum potest quicquam esse diuturnum."

"P. Scipionem [...] dicere solitum scripsit Cato [...] numquam se minus otiosum esse, quam cum otiosus; nec minus solum, quam cum solus esset."

"Ita duae res, quae languorem afferunt ceteris, illum acuebant; otium et solitudo."

"Here you have a man who desired to be king of the Roman people, and who accomplished his purpose. Whoever says that this desire was right, is mad; for he approves of the destruction of laws and of liberty, and deems their foul and detestable suppression glorious. But as for him who acknowledges that it is not right to usurp sovereign power in a state which was and which ought to be free, yet that it is expedient for him who can do so, by what remonstrance, or rather by what reproach, can I strive to draw him back from so grave an error? For (ye immortal gods!) can the basest and foulest parricide committed upon his country be expedient for any man, even though he who has made himself thus guilty be called parent by the citizens whom he has brought under the yoke? Expediency, then, ought to be measured by the right, and so indeed, that the two, though expressed by different names, may have to the ear the same sound. I do not accord with the opinion of the multitude who ask what can be more expedient than the possession of sovereign power; on the other hand, I find nothing more inexpedient for him who has obtained this power unjustly, when I begin to recall reason to things as they really are. For can anxieties, solicitudes, terrors by day and by night, a life crowded full of snares and of perils, be expedient for any one? Attius says,"The throne has many faithless, loyal few.""

"How long will men dare to call anything expedient that is not right? Can odium and infamy be of service to any empire, which ought to be supported by glory and by the good-will of its allies? I was often at variance even with my friend Cato. He seemed to me to guard the treasury and the revenues too obstinately, to refuse everything to the farmers of the revenue, and many things to our allies; while we ought to be generous to our allies, and to deal with the farmers of the revenue as leniently as we individually do with our own tenants, especially as the union of orders to which such a course would conduce is for the well-being of the state."

"Honesta enim bonis viris, non occulta quaeruntur."

"Si responderint se impunitate proposita facturos, quod expediat, facinorosos se esse fateantur, si negent, omnia turpia per se ipsa fugienda esse concedant."

"Nam et secundas res splendidiores facit amicitia et adversas partiens communicansque leviores."

"Ita pulcherrima illa et maxime naturali carent amicitia per se et propter se expetita nec ipsi sibi exemplo sunt, haec vis amicitiae et qualis et quanta sit. Ipse enim se quisque diligit, non ut aliquam a se ipse mercedem exigat caritatis suae, sed quod per se sibi quisque carus est. Quod nisi idem in amicitiam transferetur, verus amicus numquam reperietur; est enim is qui est tamquam alter idem."

"Virtute enim ipsa non tam multi praediti esse quam videri volunt."

"Quid tandem erat causae, cur in senatum hesterno die tam acerbe cogerer? Solusne aberam, an non saepe minus frequentes fuistis, an ea res agebatur, ut etiam aegrotos deferri oporteret? Hannibal, credo, erat ad portas, aut de Pyrrhi pace agebatur, ad quam causam etiam Appium illum et caecum et senem delatum esse memoriae proditum est."

"Vi et armis."

"Sed quo beneficio? quod me Brundisi non occideris?"

"Quod est aliud, patres conscripti, beneficium latronum, nisi ut commemorare possint iis se dedisse vitam, quibus non ademerint? Quod si esset beneficium, numquam, qui illum interfecerunt, a quo erant conservati, quos tu clarissimos viros soles appellare, tantam essent gloriam consecuti. Quale autem beneficium est, quod te abstinueris nefario scelere? Qua in re non tam iucundum mihi videri debuit non interfectum me a te quam miserum te id impune facere potuisse. Sed sit beneficium, quandoquidem maius accipi a latrone nullum potuit; in quo potes me dicere ingratum? An de interitu rei publicae queri non debui, ne in te ingratus viderer?"

"Hoc qui non videt, excors; qui, cum videt, decernit, impius est."

"Reddite igitur, patres conscripti, ei vitam, cui ademistis. Vita enim mortuorum in memoria est posita vivorum."

"M: Nam efficit hoc philosophia: medetur animis, inanes sollicitudines detrahit, cupiditatibus liberat, pellit timores."

"Quotus enim quisque philosophorum invenitur, qui sit ita moratus, ita animo ac vita constitutus, ut ratio postulat? qui disciplinam suam non ostentationem scientiae, sed legem vitae putet? qui obtemperet ipse sibi et decretis suis pareat?"

"A: Quod est enim maius argumentum nihil eam prodesse quam quosdam perfectos philosophos turpiter vivere? M: Nullum vero id quidem argumentum est. Nam ut agri non omnes frugiferi sunt qui coluntur [...] sic animi non omnes culti fructum ferunt. Atque, ut in eodem simili verser, ut ager quamvis fertilis sine cultura fructuosus esse non potest, sic sine doctrina animus; ita est utraque res sine altera debilis. Cultura autem animi philosophia est; haec extrahit vitia radicitus et praeparat animos ad satus accipiendos eaque mandat eis et, ut ita dicam, serit, quae adulta fructus uberrimos ferant."

"A: Dolorem existimo maximum malorum omnium. M: Etiamne malus quam dedecus? A: Non audeo id dicere equidem, et me pudet tam cito de sententia esse deiectam. M: Magis esset pudendum, si in sententia permaneres."

"A: Nunc rationem, quo ea me cumque ducet, sequar."

"Morbi perniciosiores pluresque sunt animi quam corporis."

"Est profecto animi medicina, philosophia; cuius auxilium non ut in corporis morbis petendum est foris, omnibusque opibus viribus, ut nosmet ipsi nobis mederi possimus, elaborandum est."

"Atque cum perturbationes animi miseriam, sedationes autem vitam efficiant beatam, duplexque ratio perturbationis sit, quod aegritudo et metus in malis opinatis, in bonorum autem errore laetitia gestiens libidoque versetur, quae omnia cum consilio et ratione pugnent, his tu tam gravibus concitationibus tamque ipsis inter se dissentientibus atque distractis quem vacuum solutum liberum videris, hunc dubitabis beatum dicere? atqui sapiens semper ita adfectus est; semper igitur sapiens beatus est."

"What! You would convict me from my own words, and bring against me what I had said or written elsewhere. You may act in that manner with those who dispute by established rules. We live from hand to mouth, and say anything that strikes our mind with probability, so that we are the only people who are really at liberty.""

"We know, that of all living beings man is the best formed, and, as the gods belong to this number, they must have a human form. ... I do not mean to say that the gods have body and blood in them; but I say that they seem as if they had bodies with blood in them. . . , Epicurus, for whom hidden things were as tangible as if he had touched them with his finger, teaches us that gods are not generally visible, but that they are intelligible; that they are not bodies having a certain solidity . . . but that we can recognize them by their passing images; that as there are atoms enough in the infinite space to produce such images, these are produced before us . . . and make us realize what are these happy, immortal beings."

"Beatus autem esse sine virtute nemo potest"

"Mala enim et impia consuetudo est contra deos disputandi, sive ex animo id fit sive simulate."

"Dico igitur providentia deorum mundum et omnes mundi partes et initio constitutas esse et omni tempore administrari."

"Nulla igitur in caelo nec fortuna nec temeritas nec erratio nec vanitas inest contraque omnis ordo veritas ratio constantia, quaeque his vacant ementita et falsa plenaque erroris, ea circum terras infra lunam, quae omnium ultima est, in terrisque versantur. caelestem ergo admirabilem ordinem incredibilemque constantiam, ex qua conservatio et salus omnium omnis oritur, qui vacare mente putat is ipse mentis expers habendus est."

"Si igitur meliora sunt ea quae natura quam illa quae arte perfecta sunt, nec ars efficit quicquam sine ratione, ne natura quidem rationis expers est habenda. Qui igitur convenit, signum aut tabulam pictam cum aspexeris, scire adhibitam esse artem, cumque procul cursum navigii videris, non dubitare, quin id ratione atque arte moveatur, aut cum solarium vel descriptum vel ex aqua contemplere, intellegere declarari horas arte, non casu, mundum autem, qui et has ipsas artes et earum artifices et cuncta conplectatur consilii et rationis esse expertem putare. [88] Quod si in Scythiam aut in Brittanniam sphaeram aliquis tulerit hanc, quam nuper familiaris noster effecit Posidonius, cuius singulae conversiones idem efficiunt in sole et in luna et in quinque stellis errantibus, quod efficitur in caelo singulis diebus et noctibus, quis in illa barbaria dubitet, quin ea sphaera sit perfecta ratione."

"Hic ego non mirer esse quemquam, qui sibi persuadeat corpora quaedam solida atque individua vi et gravitate ferri mundumque effici ornatissimum et pulcherrimum ex eorum corporum concursione fortuita? Hoc qui existimat fieri potuisse, non intellego, cur non idem putet, si innumerabiles unius et viginti formae litterarum vel aureae vel qualeslibet aliquo coiciantur, posse ex is in terram excussis annales Enni, ut deinceps legi possint, effici; quod nescio an ne in uno quidem versu possit tantum valere fortuna."

"Quibus enim oculis animi intueri potuit vester Plato fabricam illam tanti operis, qua construi a deo atque aedificari mundum facit; quae molitio, quae ferramenta, qui vectes, quae machinae, qui ministri tanti muneris fuerunt; quem ad modum autem oboedire et parere voluntati architecti aer, ignis, aqua, terra potuerunt; unde vero ortae illae quinque formae, ex quibus reliqua formantur, apte cadentes ad animum afficiendum pariendosque sensus? Longum est ad omnia, quae talia sunt, ut optata magis quam inventa videantur."

"Nos autem beatam vitam in animi securitate et in omnium vacatione munerum ponimus."

"Age et his vocabulis esse deos facimus quibus a nobis nominantur? At primum, quot hominum linguae, tot nomina deorum. Non enim, ut tu Velleius, quocumque veneris, sic idem in Italia, idem in Africa, idem in Hispania."

"Opinionis enim commenta delet dies, naturae iudicia confirmat."

"Nisi leguleius quidem cautus, et acutus præco actionum, cantor formularum, auceps syllabarum."

"Historia vero testis temporum, lux veritatis, vita memoriae, magistra vitae, nuntia vetustatis, qua voce alia nisi oratoris immortalitati commendatur?"

"Malim equidem indisertam prudentiam quam stultitiam loquacem"

"Quam cum suavissima et maxima voce legisset, admirantibus omnibus "quanto" inquit "magis miraremini, si audissetis ipsum!""

"A room without books is like a body without a soul."

"The first duty of a man is the seeking after and the investigation of truth."

"For as lack of adornment is said to become some women, so this subtle oration, though without embellishment, gives delight."

"The freedom of poetic license."

"Genius is fostered by energy."

"The following three quotes are sometimes wrongly attributed to Cicero. In fact, they come from a novel about Cicero by Taylor Caldwell, and are not found in any of Cicero's actual writings."

"Study carefully, the character of the one you recommend, lest their misconduct bring you shame."

"So live as brave men; and if fortune is adverse, front its blows with brave hearts"

"Do not blame Caesar, blame the people of Rome who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him and rejoiced in their loss of freedom and danced in his path and gave him triumphal processions. Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the 'new, wonderful good society' which shall now be Rome, interpreted to mean 'more money, more ease, more security, more living fatly at the expense of the industrious.'"

"Diem adimere aegritudinem hominibus."

"The evil was not in bread and circuses, per se, but in the willingness of the people to sell their rights as free men for full bellies and the excitement of the games which would serve to distract them from the other human hungers which bread and circuses can never appease."

"Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book."

"Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges."

"As all the ages of the world have not produced a greater statesman and philosopher united in the same character, his authority should have great weight."

"For, when Cicero tells us that he had seen the entire Iliad written on skin of such a miniature size, that it could easily be rolled up inside a nut-shell, and Pliny asserts that Nero had a ring with a small glass in it, through which he watched the performance of the gladiators at a distance—could audacity go farther? Truly, when we are told that Mauritius could see from the promontory of Sicily over the entire sea to the coast of Africa, with an instrument called nauscopite, we must either think that all these witnesses lied, or that the ancients were more than slightly acquainted with optics and magnifying glasses. p. 240"

"Aristotle maintains that this gas, or astral emanation, escaping from inside the earth, is the sole sufficient cause, acting from within outwardly for the verification of every living being and plant upon the external crust. In answer to the skeptical negators of his century, Cicero, moved by a just wrath, exclaims : "And what can be more divine than the exhalations of the earth, which affect the human soul so as to enable her to predict the future ? And could the hand of time evaporate such a virtue?"... *(Book I, Section 18 De Divinatione – On Divination) Do modem experimentalists claim to be wiser than Cicero, and say that this eternal force has evaporated, and that the springs of prophecy are dry? p. 200"

"Zoroaster, Pythagoras, Epicharmus, Empedocles, Kebes, Euripides, Plato, Euclid, Philo, Boethius, Virgil, Marcus Cicero, Plotinus, Iamblichus, Proclus, Psellus, Synesius, Origen, and, finally, Aristotle himself, far 'from denying our immortality, support it most emphatically. p. 251"

"If unwilling to seek for proof or receive information from mediaeval, hermetic philosophy, we may go still further back into antiquity, and select, out of the great body of philosophers of the pre-Christian ages, one who can least be accused of superstition and credulity—Cicero. Speaking of those whom he calls gods, and who are either human or atmospheric spirits, " We know," says the old orator, " that of all living beings man is the best formed, and, as the gods belong to this number, they must have a human form... Epicurus, for whom hidden things were as tangible as if he had touched them with his finger, teaches us that gods are not generally visible, but that they are intelligible; that they are not bodies having a certain solidity . . . but that we can recognize them by their passing images; that as there are atoms enough in the infinite space to produce such images, these are produced before us . . . and make us realize what are these happy, immortal beings." p. 280"

"If I could have known Cicero, and been his friend, and talked with him in his retirement at Tusculum (beau-ti-ful Tusculum l), I could have died contented."

"As for Cicero, when he had heard some of the verses [of Virgil's Eclogues], his piercing judgement immediately perceived that these were productions of uncommon vigor, and ordered the whole eclogue to be recited from the beginning. Having familiarized himself with its every nuance, he declared it "the second great hope of Rome" [Magnae spes altera Romae], as if he himself were the first hope of the Latin language and Maro the second. These words Virgil later inserted in the Aeneid [12.168]."

"Interestingly, Cicero saw the root of benevolence and charity in conscience, and in fact was the first scholar in history to use the word “conscience” (conscientia) in the moral sense we are familiar with. We can summarize his thought by stating that friendship is possible when two or more persons who have some common purposes in life systematically act towards each other with benevolence and charity (caritas, which is a non-erotic form of love), guided by conscience."

"I have also read again Cicero's philosophical works, and think, as I thought at twenty two, when I read him under the chestnuts at Trinity, that the De Finibus is the best, that then comes the De Natura Deorum, and that the Tusculan Disputations are the least valuable,—mere anointing for broken bones."

"But to confess the truth boldly (for once you have crossed over the barriers of impudence there is no more curb), his way of writing, and every other similar way, seems to me boring. For his prefaces, definitions, partitions, etymologies, consume the greater part of his work; what life and marrow there is, is smothered by his long-winded preparations. If I have spent an hour in reading him, which is a lot for me, and I remember what juice and substance I have derived, most of the time I find nothing but wind; for he has not yet come to the arguments that serve his purpose and the reasons that properly touch on the crux, which I am looking for."

"Quare non inmerito ab hominibus aetatis suae regnare in iudiciis dictus est, apud posteros vero id consecutus ut Cicero iam non hominis nomen sed eloquentiae habeatur. hunc igitur spectemus, hoc propositum nobis sit exemplum, ille se profecisse sciat cui Cicero valde placebit."

"... It was Seneca or it was Cicero, I don't know which, that said, "If it was not for the elders correcting the mistakes of the young, there would be no state.""

"Cicero discusses justice as the second of the four cardinal virtues (wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance) whose presence constitutes moral goodness. Justice is the virtue that holds society together and allows us to pursue the common good for whose sake society exists. ... One interesting feature is his concern with in justice... The Stoic view that morality promotes the common good implies that we must try to restore the social relationship that has been violated."

"Procrastination is the thief of time."

"Omväxling förnöjer."

"Before all other things, man is distinguished by his pursuit and investigation of Truth. And hence, when free from needful business and cares, we delight to see, to hear, and to communicate, and consider a knowledge of many admirable and abstruse things necessary to the good conduct and happiness of our lives: whence it is clear that whatsoever is True, simple, and direct, the same is most congenial to our nature as men. Closely allied with this earnest longing to see and know the truth, is a kind of dignified and princely sentiment which forbids a mind, naturally well constituted, to submit its faculties to any but those who announce it in precept or in doctrine, or to yield obedience to any orders but such as are at once just, lawful, and founded on utility. From this source spring greatness of mind and contempt of worldly advantages and troubles."

"It is essential to every inquiry about duty that we keep before our eyes how far superior man is by nature to cattle and other beasts: they have no thought except for sensual pleasure and this they are impelled by every instinct to seek; but man's mind is nurtured by study and meditation."

"Ius summum saepe summast malitia."