There is no greater magnificence than to defeat oneself. That is the magnificence.

Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faults.

A painter will paint a cobbler, carpenter, or any other artist, though he knows nothing of their arts; and, if he is a good artist, he may deceive children or simple persons, when he shows them his picture of a carpenter from a distance, and they will fancy that they are looking at a real carpenter.

Living well and beautifully and justly are all one thing.

No one can teach, if by teaching we mean the transmission of knowledge, in any mechanical fashion, from one person to another. The most that can be done is that one person who is more knowledgeable than another can, by asking a series of questions, stimulate the other to think, and so cause him to learn for himself.

What most counts is not merely to live, but to live right.

Fame is the perfume of heroic deeds.