Marcus Tullius Cicero Quotes

“We are not born, we do not live for ourselves alone; our country, our friends, have a share in us.”

“Here is a man whose life and actions the world has already condemned - yet whose enormous fortune...has already brought him acquittal!”

“Nothing quite new is perfect.”

“Freedom is a man's natural power of doing what he pleases, so far as he is not prevented by force or law.”

“In the master there is a servant, in the servant a master.”

“Whatever you do, do with all your might.”

“There are two ways to resolve conflicts, through violence or through negotiation. Violence is for wild beasts, negotiation is for human beings.”

“In prosperity let us most carefully avoid pride, disdain, and arrogance.”

“We must not only obtain Wisdom: we must enjoy her.”

“War leads to peace.[Lat., Cedant arma togae.]”

“It is necessary for a Senator to be thoroughly acquainted with the constitution; and this is a knowledge of the most extensive nature; a matter of science, of diligence, of reflection, without which no Senator can possibly be fit for his office.”

“There is not only an art, but an eloquence in it.”

“Can any one find in what condition his body will be, I do not say a year hence, but this evening?”

“The precepts of the law are these: to live honestly, to injure no one, and to give everyone else his due.”

“The purpose of education is to free the student from the tyranny of the present.”

“Through doubt we arrive at the truth.”

“For even if the allotted space of life be short, it is long enough in which to live honorably and well.”

“The great theatre for virtue is conscience.”

“Laws should be interpreted in a liberal sense so that their intention may be preserved.”

“Frivolity is inborn, conceit acquired by education.”

“Brevity is the best recommendation of speech, whether in a senator or an orator.”

“For what people have always sought is equality before the law. For rights that were not open to all alike would be no rights.”

“Pardon is granted to necessity.”

“An ancient custom obtains force of nature.”

“Our minds are rendered buoyant by exercise.”