Now as of old the gods give men all good things, excepting only those that are baneful and injurious and useless. These, now as of old, are not gifts of the gods: men stumble into them themselves because of their own blindness and folly.

By convention sweet is sweet, by convention bitter is bitter, by convention hot is hot, by convention cold is cold, by convention color is color. But in reality there are atoms and the void. That is, the objects of sense are supposed to be real and it is customary to regard them as such, but in truth they are not. Only the atoms and the void are real.

Magnanimity consists in enduring tactlessness with mildness.

Throw moderation to the winds, and the greatest pleasures bring the greatest pains.

Good breeding in cattle depends on physical health, but in men on a well-formed character.

The man who is fortunate in his choice of son-in-law gains a son; the man unfortunate in his choice loses his daughter also.

Sweet exists by convention, bitter by convention, color by convention; but in reality atoms and the void alone exist