Speech is like cloth of Arras opened and put abroad, whereby the imagery doth appear in figure; whereas in thoughts they lie but as packs.
PlutarchIf any man think it a small matter, or of mean concernment, to bridle his tongue, he is much mistaken; for it is a point to be silent when occasion requires, and better than to speak, though never so well.
PlutarchFor the rich men without scruple drew the estate into their own hands, excluding the rightful heirs from their succession; and all the wealth being centred upon the few, the generality were poor and miserable. Honourable pursuits, for which there was no longer leisure, were neglected; the state was filled with sordid business, and with hatred and envy of the rich.
PlutarchThe most glorious exploits do not always furnish us with the clearest discoveries of virtue or vice in men.
PlutarchBeing conscious of having done a wicked action leaves stings of remorse behind it, which, like an ulcer in the flesh, makes the mind smart with perpetual wounds; for reason, which chases away all other pains, creates repentance, shames the soul with confusion, and punishes it with torment.
PlutarchTo do an evil action is base; to do a good action without incurring danger is common enough; but it is the part of a good man to do great and noble deeds, though he risks every thing.
PlutarchCourage and wisdom are, indeed, rarities amongst men, but of all that is good, a just man it would seem is the most scarce.
PlutarchAs geographers, Sosius, crowd into the edges of their maps parts of the world which they do not know about, adding notes in the margin to the effect that beyond this lies nothing but sandy deserts full of wild beasts, and unapproachable bogs.
PlutarchNo man ever wetted clay and then left it, as if there would be bricks by chance and fortune.
PlutarchThe man who first brought ruin upon the Roman people was he who pampered them by largesses and amusements.
PlutarchMoral good is a practical stimulus; it is no sooner seen than it inspires an impulse to practice.
PlutarchMemory: what wonders it performs in preserving and storing up things gone by - or rather, things that are
PlutarchAs in the case of painters, who have undertaken to give us a beautiful and graceful figure, which may have some slight blemishes, we do not wish then to pass over such blemishes altogether, nor yet to mark them too prominently. The one would spoil the beauty, and the other destroy the likeness of the picture.
PlutarchWhenever anything is spoken against you that is not true, do not pass by or despise it because it is false; but forthwith examine yourself, and consider what you have said or done that may administer a just occasion of reproof.
Plutarch... being perpetually charmed by his familiar siren, that is, by his geometry, he neglected to eat and drink and took no care of his person; that he was often carried by force to the baths, and when there he would trace geometrical figures in the ashes of the fire, and with his finger draws lines upon his body when it was anointed with oil, being in a state of great ecstasy and divinely possessed by his science.
PlutarchGod alone is entirely exempt from all want of human virtues, that which needs least is the most absolute and divine.
PlutarchWe ought not to treat living creatures like shoes or household belongings, which when worn with use we throw away.
PlutarchEducation and study, and the favors of the muses, confer no greater benefit on those that seek them than these humanizing and civilizing lessons, which teach our natural qualities to submit to the limitations prescribed by reason, and to avoid the wildness of extremes.
PlutarchAuthority and place demonstrate and try the tempers of men, by moving every passion and discovering every frailty.
PlutarchFor man is a plant, not fixed in the earth, nor immovable, but heavenly, whose head, rising as it were from a root upwards, is turned towards heaven.
PlutarchGout is not relieved by a fine shoe nor a hangnail by a costly ring nor migraine by a tiara.
PlutarchEuripides was wont to say, silence was an answer to a wise man; but we seem to have greater occasion for it in our dealing with fools and unreasonable persons; for men of breeding and sense will be satisfied with reason and fair words.
PlutarchTalkativeness has another plague attached to it, even curiosity; for praters wish to hear much that they may have much to say.
PlutarchSo long as he was personally present, [Alcibiades] had the perfect mastery of his political adversaries; calumny only succeeded in his absence.
PlutarchAs bees extract honey from thyme, the strongest and driest of herbs, so sensible men often get advantage and profit from the most awkward circumstances.
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