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„Довольствуйся настоящим, но стремись к лучшему.“

„Принимайся говорить в двух случаях: или когда предмет своей речи обдумал ты ясно, или когда сказать о чём-нибудь необходимо; потому что только в этих двух случаях речь лучше молчания, а в остальных случаях гораздо лучше молчать, чем говорить.“

„Если нельзя не говорить о том, что раньше сказали другие, то следует попытаться сказать это лучше них.“

„К родителям относись так, как ты желал бы, чтобы твои собственные дети относились к тебе.“

„Люди плачут над вымыслами поэтов, а на подлинные страдания взирают спокойно и равнодушно.“

„Не делай частых и долгих посещений к одним и тем же лицам: ведь от всего бывает пресыщение.“

„Не будет между нами согласия до тех пор, пока мы не найдем себе общего врага.“

„Ученость — это сладкий плод горького корня.“

„Не скоро становись другом, а сделавшись раз, старайся им оставаться, потому что одинаково постыдно — не иметь ни одного друга и менять многих друзей.“

„Одна из первых обязанностей дружбы состоит в том, чтобы предупреждать просьбы друзей.“

„Часто, задев кого-либо словами, люди расплачиваются за это делами.“

„Доверенные тебе тайны храни с большею тщательностью, нежели порученное тебе имущество, так как честные люди должны являться людьми, имеющими характер надежнее самой клятвы.“

„Настоящему мастеру слова следует не с пустяками возиться и не то внушать слушателям, что им бесполезно, а то, что и их избавит от бедности, и другим принесёт великие блага.“

„Не думай, что, сделавши что-либо нехорошее, ты можешь скрыться, так как, скрывшись от других, ты не скроешься от своей совести.“

„Малым государствам можно прибегать к любому способу, чтобы выжить.“

“Consider that nothing in human life is stable; for then you will not exult overmuch in prosperity, nor grieve overmuch in adversity.”

“Never hope to conceal any shameful thing which you have done; for even if you do conceal it from others, your own heart will know.”

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”

“Spend your leisure time in cultivating an ear attentive to discourse, for in this way you will find that you learn with ease what others have found out with difficulty.”

“The greatest thing in the small compass is a sound mind in a human body.”

“Guard yourself against accusations, even if they are false; for the multitude are ignorant of the truth and look only to reputation.”

“Always when you are about to say anything, first weigh it in your mind; for with many the tongue outruns the thought.”

“If you are fond of learning, you will soon be full of learning.”

“Democracy destroys itself because it abuses its right to freedom and equality. Because it teaches its citizens to consider audacity as a right, lawlessness as a freedom, abrasive speech as equality, and anarchy as progress.”

“… all men will be grateful to you: the Hellenes (Greeks) for your kindness to them and the rest of the nations, if by your hands they are delivered from barbaric despotism and are brought under the protection of Hellas.”

“With these examples before you, you should aspire to nobility of character, and not only abide by what I have said, but acquaint yourself with the best things in the poets as well, and learn from the other wise men also any useful lessons they have taught. For just as we see the bee settling on all the flowers, and sipping the best from each, so also those who aspire to culture ought not to leave anything untasted, but should gather useful knowledge from every source. For hardly even with these pains can they overcome the defects of nature.”

“Therefore, since the others are so lacking in spirit, I think it is opportune for you to head the war against the King; and, while it is only natural for the other descendants of Heracles, and for men who are under the bonds of their polities and laws, to cleave fondly to that state in which they happen to dwell, it is your privilege, as one who has been blessed with untrammeled freedom, to consider all Hellas (Greece) your fatherland, as did the founder of your race, and to be as ready to brave perils for her sake as for the things about which you are personally most concerned.”

“Do not be surprised that many things which I have said do not apply to your at your present age. For I also have not overlooked this fact, but I have deliberately chosen to employ this one treatise, not only to convey to you advice for your life now, but also to leave with you precepts for the years to come; for you will then readily perceive the application of my precepts, but you will not easily find a man who will give you friendly counsel. In order, therefore, that you may not seek the rest from another source, but that you may draw from this as from a treasure-house, I thought that I ought not to omit any of the counsels which I have to give you.”

“So far has Athens left the rest of mankind behind in thought and expression that her pupils have become the teachers of the world, and she has made the name of Hellas distinctive no longer of race but of intellect, and the title of Hellene a badge of education rather than of common descent.”

“Believe that many precepts are better than much wealth; for wealth quickly fails us, but precepts abide through all time; for wisdom alone of all possessions is imperishable. Do not hesitate to travel a long road to those who profess to offer some useful instruction; for it were a shame, when merchants cross vast seas in order to increase their store of wealth, that the young should not endure even journeys by land to improve their understanding.”

“What thou thyself hatest, do to no man.”

“I shall be most grateful to the gods if I am not disappointed in the opinion which I have of you. For, while we find that the great majority of other men seek the society of those friends who join them in their follies and not of those to admonish them, just as they prefer the most pleasant to the most wholesome, you, I think, are minded otherwise as I judge from the industry you display in your general education. For when one sets for himself the highest standard of conduct, it is probable that in his relation to others he will approve only of those who exhort him to virtue. But most of all you would be spurred on to strive for noble deeds if you should realize that it is from them most of all that we also derive pleasure in the true sense. For while the result of indolence and love of surfeit is that pain follows on the heels of pleasure, on the other hand, devoted toil in the pursuit of virtue, and self-control in the ordering of one's life always yield delights that are pure and more abiding. In the former case we experience pain following upon pleasure, in the latter we enjoy pleasure after pain.”

“Argos is the land of your fathers.”

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

“I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean.”

“The noblest worship is to make yourself as good and as just as you can.”

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