Marcus Tullius Cicero Quotes

I am not ashamed to confess that I am ignorant of what I do not know.

So near is falsehood to truth that a wise man would do well not to trust himself on the narrow edge.

Laws are silent in time of war.

Rather leave the crime of the guilty unpunished than condemn the innocent.

Though silence is not necessarily an admission, it is not a denial, either.

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

Nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself.

In everything truth surpasses the imitation and copy.

Let us not listen to those who think we ought to be angry with our enemies, and who believe this to be great and manly. Nothing is so praiseworthy, nothing so clearly shows a great and noble soul, as clemency and readiness to forgive.

The authority of those who teach is often an obstacle to those who want to learn.

Next to God we are nothing. To God we are Everything.

Hatred is inveterate anger.

The precepts of the law are these: to live honestly, to injure no one, and to give everyone else his due.

It is the nature of every person to error, but only the fool perseveres in error.

Never injure a friend, even in jest.

Not cohabitation but consensus constitutes marriage.

What an ugly beast the ape, and how like us.

Advice in old age is foolish; for what can be more absurd than to increase our provisions for the road the nearer we approach to our journey’s end.

Justice consists in doing no injury to men; decency in giving them no offense.

Fear is not a lasting teacher of duty.

What is thine is mine, and all mine is thine.

He does not seem to me to be a free man who does not sometimes do nothing.

Before beginning, plan carefully.

Never go to excess, but let moderation be your guide.

Sweet is the memory of past troubles.

The magistrates are the ministers for the laws, the judges their interpreters, the rest of us are servants of the law, that we all may be free.

We should not be so taken up in the search for truth, as to neglect the needful duties of active life; for it is only action that gives a true value and commendation to virtue.

The only excuse for war is that we may live in peace unharmed.

No one has the right to be sorry for himself for a misfortune that strikes everyone.

The best interpreter of the law is custom.

Virtue is a habit of the mind, consistent with nature and moderation and reason.

In so far as the mind is stronger than the body, so are the ills contracted by the mind more severe than those contracted by the body.

No one was ever great without some portion of divine inspiration.

We must conceive of this whole universe as one commonwealth of which both gods and men are members.

Nothing stands out so conspicuously, or remains so firmly fixed in the memory, as something which you have blundered.

The pursuit, even of the best things, ought to be calm and tranquil.

I criticize by creation – not by finding fault.

Take from a man his reputation for probity, and the more shrewd and clever he is, the more hated and mistrusted he becomes.

There are more men ennobled by study than by nature.

O wretched man, wretched not just because of what you are, but also because you do not know how wretched you are!

What is permissible is not always honorable.

All pain is either severe or slight, if slight, it is easily endured; if severe, it will without doubt be brief.

Natural ability without education has more often attained to glory and virtue than education without natural ability.

The rule of friendship means there should be mutual sympathy between them, each supplying what the other lacks and trying to benefit the other, always using friendly and sincere words.

As fire when thrown into water is cooled down and put out, so also a false accusation when brought against a man of the purest and holiest character, boils over and is at once dissipated, and vanishes and threats of heaven and sea, himself standing unmoved.

Freedom is a man’s natural power of doing what he pleases, so far as he is not prevented by force or law.

In doubtful cases the more liberal interpretation must always be preferred.

It shows nobility to be willing to increase your debt to a man to whom you already owe much.

For a tear is quickly dried, especially when shed for the misfortunes of others.

Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.

Nature has planted in our minds an insatiable longing to see the truth.

People do not understand what a great revenue economy is.

The eyes like sentinel occupy the highest place in the body.

It might be pardonable to refuse to defend some men, but to defend them negligently is nothing short of criminal.

The long time to come when I shall not exist has more effect on me than this short present time, which nevertheless seems endless.

A man’s own manner and character is what most becomes him.

Every man’s reputation proceeds from those of his own household.

The study and knowledge of the universe would somehow be lame and defective were no practical results to follow.

Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak.

Ability without honor is useless.