Men Quotes by Plutarch

God is the brave man's hope, and not the coward's excuse.

— Plutarch

The whole life of man is but a point of time; let us enjoy it.

— Plutarch

Silence is an answer to a wise man.

— Plutarch

Wise men are able to make a fitting use even of their enmities.

— Plutarch

When men are arrived at the goal, they should not turn back.

— Plutarch

For the wise man, every day is a festival.

— Plutarch

There is no perfecter endowment in man than political virtue.

— Plutarch

The most glorious exploits do not always furnish us with the clearest discoveries of virtue or vice in men.

— Plutarch

No beast is more savage than man when possessed with power answerable to his rage.

— Plutarch

I have heard that Tiberius used to say that that man was ridiculous, who after sixth years, appealed to a physician.

— Plutarch

Authority and place demonstrate and try the tempers of men, by moving every passion and discovering every frailty.

— Plutarch

All men whilst they are awake are in one common world: but each of them, when he is asleep, is in a…

— Plutarch

To be ignorant of the lives of the most celebrated men of antiquity is to continue in a state of childhood all…

— Plutarch

When a man's struggle begins within oneself, the man is worth something.

— Plutarch

As Meander says, "For our mind is God;" and as Heraclitus, "Man's genius is a deity."

— Plutarch

If any man think it a small matter, or of mean concernment, to bridle his tongue, he is much mistaken; for it…

— Plutarch

Foreign lady once remarked to the wife of a Spartan commander that the women of Sparta were the only women in the…

— Plutarch

I, for my own part, had much rather people should say of me that there neither is nor ever was such a…

— Plutarch

“It’s a thing of no great difficulty to raise objections against another man’s oration, it is a very easy matter; but to…

— Plutarch

Lycurgus being asked why he, who in other respects appeared to be so zealous for the equal rights of men, did not…

— Plutarch

It is not the most distinguished achievements that men's virtues or vices may be best discovered; but very often an action of…

— Plutarch

Blinded as they are to their true character by self-love, every man is his own first and chiefest flatterer, prepared, therefore, to…

— Plutarch

As bees extract honey from thyme, the strongest and driest of herbs, so sensible men often get advantage and profit from the…

— Plutarch

“When a man's eyes are sore his friends do not let him finger them, however much he wishes to, nor do they…

— Plutarch

When Anaxagoras was told of the death of his son, he only said, "I knew he was mortal." So we in all…

— Plutarch

Ought a man to be confident that he deserves his good fortune, and think much of himself when he has overcome a…

— Plutarch

Sometimes small incidents, rather than glorious exploits, give us the best evidence of character. So, as portrait painters are more exact in…

— Plutarch

The first man . . . ventured to call food and nourishment the parts that had a little before bellowed and cried,…

— Plutarch

By the study of their biographies, we receive each man as a guest into our minds, and we seem to understand their…

— Plutarch

For the rich men without scruple drew the estate into their own hands, excluding the rightful heirs from their succession; and all…

— Plutarch

Rome was in the most dangerous inclination to change on account of the unequal distribution of wealth and property, those of highest…

— Plutarch

The giving of riches and honors to a wicked man is like giving strong wine to him that hath a fever.

— Plutarch

Man is neither by birth nor disposition a savage, nor of unsocial habits, but only becomes so by indulging in vices contrary…

— Plutarch

For to err in opinion, though it be not the part of wise men, is at least human.

— Plutarch

Courage and wisdom are, indeed, rarities amongst men, but of all that is good, a just man it would seem is the…

— Plutarch

Where two discourse, if the anger of one rises, he is the wise man who lets the contest fall.

— Plutarch

Apothegms are the most infallible mirror to represent a man truly what he is.

— Plutarch

Agesilaus being invited once to hear a man who admirably imitated the nightingale, he declined, saying he had heard the nightingale itself.

— Plutarch

Friendship is the most pleasant of all things, and nothing more glads the heart of man.

— Plutarch

The man who first brought ruin upon the Roman people was he who pampered them by largesses and amusements.

— Plutarch