It is a base thing for a man to wax old in careless self-neglect before he has lifted up his eyes and seen what manner of man he was made to be, in the full perfection of bodily strength and beauty. But these glories are withheld from him who is guilty of self-neglect, for they are not wont to blaze forth unbidden.

No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training... what a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.

Whoever would have his body supple, easy and healthful should learn to dance.

Improve yourself by other men's writings thus attaining effortlessly what they acquired through great difficulty.

It is better to make a mistake with full force of your being than to carefully avoid mistakes with a trembling spirit.

[N]either in war nor yet at law ought any man to use every way of escaping death. For often in battle there is no doubt that if a man will throw away his arms, and fall on his knees before his pursuers, he may escape death; and in other dangers there are other ways of escaping death, if a man is willing to say and do anything. The difficulty, my friends, is not in avoiding death, but in avoiding unrighteousness; for that runs faster than death.

True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.