While most of those who hold that the whole heaven is finite say that the earth lies at the center, the philosophers of Italy, the so-called Pythagoreans, assert the contrary. They say that in the middle there is fire, and that the earth is one of the stars, and by its circular motion round the center produces night and day.

Masculine republics give way to feminine democracies, and feminine democracies give way to tyranny.

A man is his own best friend; therefore he ought to love himself best.

It is our choice of good or evil that determines our character, not our opinion about good or evil.

We are the sum of our actions, and therefore our habits make all the difference.

Women who are with child should be careful of themselves; they should take exercise and have a nourishing diet. The first of these prescriptions the legislator will easily carry into effect by requiring that they should take a walk daily to some temple, where they can worship the gods who preside over birth. Their minds, however, unlike their bodies, they ought to keep quiet, for the offspring derive their natures from their mothers as plants do from earth.

Youth loves honor and victory more than money.