Access to power must be confined to those who are not in love with it.

Wine fills the heart with courage.

My plainness of speech makes people hate me, and what is their hatred but a proof that I am speaking the truth.

He who wishes to serve his country must have not only the power to think, but the will to act

And all knowledge, when separated from justice and virtue, is seen to be cunning and not wisdom; wherefore make this your first and last and constant and all-absorbing aim, to exceed, if possible, not only us but all your ancestors in virtue; and know that to excel you in virtue only brings us shame, but that to be excelled by you is a source of happiness to us.

The wise man will want to be ever with him who is better than himself.

Again, truth should be highly valued; if, as we were saying, a lie is useless to the gods, and useful only as a medicine to men, then the use of such medicines should be restricted to physicians; private individuals have no business with them.