Do words spoken more than two thousand years ago still matter and fascinate us today? Enter the world of Cicero quotes, where wisdom cut across time and echoes through the ages, inviting us to think about the complexities of human nature, the art of persuasion, and the essence of true leadership.
Imagine a world where words have the power to shape destinies. Step into the fascinating realm of Cicero, the master of persuasive language. In this article, we’ll delve into Cicero’s quotes, exploring their timeless wisdom and how they ignite our minds.
Journey with us as we uncover the powerful Cicero quotes that continue to captivate hearts and minds, offering timeless guidance and inspiration. Whether you’re interested in philosophy or politics, these quotes offer valuable inspiration.
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Brief Introduction of Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero aka ‘Cicero’ was a Roman philosopher, politician, and lawyer who lived from 106 BC to 43 BC. He is considered one of Rome’s greatest orators and intellectuals. Cicero played a significant role in Roman politics and was known for his speeches and writings on a wide range of topics, including philosophy, rhetoric, and political theory.
Here are a few well-known facts about Cicero:
- Cicero was renowned for his exceptional oratory skills and his ability to deliver persuasive speeches. He also practiced law and was known for his skill in legal rhetoric.
- Cicero held various political positions, including serving as consul, which was the highest office in the Roman Republic. He played a key role in opposing the conspirator Catiline and defending the Republic’s values.
- He integrated Greek philosophical ideas into Roman thought and developed his own philosophical system known as “Ciceronianism.”
- Cicero was a prolific writer, producing numerous speeches, letters, and philosophical treatises. Some of his well-known works include “On the Republic,” “On the Laws,” and “On Duties.”
- His writings and ideas have been admired and studied for centuries, influencing prominent figures such as St. Augustine, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams.
Cicero Quotes to Shape Your Thinking
Faithfulness and truth are the most sacred excellence and endowments of the human mind.
To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?
The wise are instructed by reason, average minds by experience, the stupid by necessity and the brute by instinct.
More is lost by indecision than wrong decisions. Indecision is the thief of opportunity. It will steal you blind.
Anger is the beginning of madness.
Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error.
Never go to excess but let moderation be your guide.
If we are forced, at every hour, to watch or listen to horrible events, this constant stream of ghastly impressions will deprive even the most delicate among us of all respect for humanity.
Within the character of the citizen, lies the welfare of the nation.
The harvest of old age is the recollection and abundance of blessings previously secured.
Poor is the nation that has no heroes, but poorer still is the nation that having heroes, fails to remember and honor them.
Morals today are corrupted by our worship of riches.
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.
When you have no basis for an argument, abuse the plaintiff.
It is the character of a brave and resolute person not to be ruffled by adversity, and not to desert their post.
There are two ways to resolve conflicts, through violence or through negotiation. Violence is for wild beasts, negotiation is for human beings.
If we are not ashamed to think it, we should not be ashamed to say it.
We learn nothing from history except that we learn nothing from history.
The budget should be balanced, the treasury refilled, public debt reduced, the arrogance of officialdom tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands curtailed, lest Rome becomes bankrupt.
The pursuit, even of the best things, ought to be calm and tranquil.
It is the peculiar quality of a fool to perceive the faults of others and to forget his own.
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all the others.
Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.
Silence is one of the great arts of conversation.
Marcus Tullius Cicero Quotes On Love, Life
Love is the attempt to form a friendship inspired by beauty.
The sweetest support is found in the most intimate friendship.
The higher we are placed, the more humbly we should walk.
Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by doubling our joy and dividing our grief.
The wise are instructed by reason, average minds by experience, the stupid by necessity, and the brute by instinct.
Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error.
The Jews belong to a dark and repulsive force. One knows how numerous this clique is, how they stick together, and what power they exercise through their unions. They are a nation of rascals and deceivers.
It is not enough to acquire wisdom, it is necessary to employ it.
Life is nothing without friendship.
The shifts of fortune test the reliability of friends.
A friend is, as it were a second self.
Of all nature’s gifts to the human race, what is sweeter to a man than his children?
I have always been of the opinion that unpopularity earned by doing what is right is not unpopularity at all, but glory.
Life without learning is death.
While there’s life, there’s hope.
The life of the dead is placed on the memories of the living. The love you gave in life keeps people alive beyond their time. Anyone who was given love will always live on in another’s heart.
Just as the soul fills the body, so God fills the world. Just as the soul bears the body, so God endures the world. Just as the soul sees but is not seen, so God sees but is not seen. Just as the soul feeds the body, so God gives food to the world.
The first duty of man is the seeking after and the investigation of truth.
Read at every wait; read at all hours; read within leisure; read in times of labor; read as one goes in; read as one goes out. The task of the educated mind is simply put: read to lead.
Next to God, we are nothing. To God we are Everything.
A man of courage is also full of faith.
Please go on, make your threats. I don’t like to submit to mere implication.
Your enemies can kill you but only your friends can hurt you.
They condemn what they do not understand.
Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.
The face is a picture of the mind with the eyes as its interpreter.
I prefer tongue-tied knowledge to ignorant loquacity.
Famous Cicero Quotes to Inspire Your Journey
If you wish to persuade me, you must think my thoughts, feel my feelings, and speak my words.
He does not seem to me to be a free man who does not sometimes do nothing.
It is the peculiar quality of a fool to perceive the faults of others and to forget his own.
A man would have no pleasure in discovering all the beauties of the universe, even in heaven itself, unless he had a partner to whom he might communicate his joys.
The safety of the people shall be the highest law.
If you wish to persuade me, you must think my thoughts, feel my feelings, and speak my words.
A mind without instruction can no more bear fruit than can a field, however fertile, without cultivation.
The greatest pleasures are only narrowly separated from disgust.
Silence is one of the great arts of conversation.
It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment.
What is morally wrong can never be advantageous, even when it enables you to make some gain that you believe to be to your advantage. The mere act of believing that some wrongful course of action constitutes an advantage is pernicious.
The greater the difficulty, the greater the glory.
The purpose of education is to free the student from the tyranny of the present.
Let the welfare of the people be the ultimate law.
A home without books is a body without a soul.
Confidence is that feeling by which the mind embarks on great and honorable courses with sure hope and trust in itself.
Read at every wait; read at all hours; read within leisure; read in times of labor; read as one goes out. The task of the educated mind is simply put: read to lead.
To be content with what we possess is the greatest and most secure of riches.
When money is unreasonably coveted, it is a disease of the mind which is called avarice.
Not to know what has been transacted in former times is to be always a child. If no use is made of the laborers of past ages, the world must remain always in the infancy of knowledge.
Books are more than books, they are the life, the very heart, and core of ages past, the reason why men worked and died, and the essence and quintessence of their lives.
If we are forced, at every hour, to watch or listen to horrible events, this constant stream of ghastly impressions will deprive even the most delicate among us of all respect for humanity.
Vicious habits are so odious and degrading that they transform the individual who practices them into an incarnate demon.
Every word that is unnecessary only pours over the side of a brimming mind.
Cicero Quotes On Government, Society
Never was a government that was not composed of liars, malefactors, and thieves.
When a government becomes powerful it is destructive, extravagant, and violent; it is an usurer which takes bread from innocent mouths and deprives honorable men of their substance, for votes with which to perpetuate itself.
What society does to its children, so will its children do to society.
A nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within.
Poor is the nation that has no heroes, but poorer still is the nation that having heroes, fails to remember and honor them.
Politicians are not born; they are excreted.
A nation can survive its fools, even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within….for the traitor appears not to be a traitor… He rots the soul of a nation…he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist.
There are two ways to resolve conflicts, through violence or through negotiation. Violence is for wild beasts, negotiation is for human beings.
They who say that we should love our fellow citizens but not foreigners, destroy the universal brotherhood of mankind, with which benevolence and justice would perish forever.
FAQs On Cicero:
What is Cicero’s quote on history?
Cicero’s quote on history is “Historia est testis temporum, lux veritatis, vita memoriae, magistra vitae,” which translates to “History is the witness of the times, the light of truth, the life of memory, the teacher of life.”
What is the philosophy of Cicero?
Cicero’s philosophy was influenced by Stoicism and emphasized virtue, reason, and the pursuit of a virtuous life in harmony with nature. He believed in the importance of moral development, wisdom, justice, and civic responsibility.
What is Cicero’s most famous quote?
Cicero’s most famous quote is “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others.”
What is Cicero’s most famous speech?
Cicero’s most famous speech is generally considered to be his “First Oration Against Catiline” (Latin: “Oratio in Catilinam Prima”).
