HOMER.

“Mob rule is not good; let there be one monarch.—Victory changes oft her side.—Pray, for all men require aid from on high.—Even the fool is wise after the event.—The man whom Jove loves, is a match for many.—Wine leads to folly.—The force of union conquers all.—Too much rest itself becomes a pain.—Noblest minds are most easily bent.—Few sons are equal to their sires.—To sorrow without ceasing is wrong.”

HESIOD.

“Emulation is good for mortals.—The best treasure among men is a frugal tongue.—Idleness, not labor, is disgraceful.”

PINDAR.

“Mirth is the best physician for man’s toils.—The guilty souls of those who die here must pay the penalty in another life.—Point thy tongue on the anvil of truth.”

ÆSCHYLUS.

“He hears but half that hears one party only.—To know and to conjecture differ widely.—To be without evil thoughts is God’s best gift.”

SOPHOCLES.

“Clamorous sorrow wastes itself in sound.—Quick resolves are often unsafe.—What good man is not his own friend?—In a just cause, the weak subdue the strong.”

EURIPIDES.

“The Deity helps him who helps himself.—Gold has greater power over men than ten thousand arguments.—Temperance, the noblest gift of Heaven!—To form devices, quick is woman’s wit.—In darkness a runaway has mighty strength.—Death is a debt that all mortals must pay.”

ARISTOPHANES.

“To fear death is a great folly.—Old men are boys twice over.—Poverty is a sister of beggary.”

HERODOTUS.

“Rash haste ever goes before a fall.—Men are dependent on circumstances, not circumstances on men.—The god loves to cut down all towering things. The god suffers none but himself to be haughty.—The hand of a king is very long.—Self-restraint brings blessings, not seen at the moment perhaps, yet found out in due time.”

XENOPHON.

“The sweetest of all sounds is praise.—It is impossible for a man attempting many things to do them all well.”

PLATO.

“A boy is the most ferocious of animals.—Wisdom is the true and unalloyed coin.—Much learning brings danger to youth.—The race of fools is not to be counted.—Those are profane who think that nothing exists except what they can grasp with their hands.—Dogs are like their mistresses.—Let no one speak evil of another.—Self-conquest is the greatest of victories.”

ARISTOTLE.

“One swallow does not make a spring.—We ought rather to pay a debt to a creditor than give to a companion.—Of this alone is even God deprived, the power of making that which is past never to have been.—The beginning is said to be half the whole.—All flatterers are mercenary.—No one loves the man whom he fears.”

DEMOSTHENES.

“Success tends to throw a veil over the evil deeds of men.—What we wish, that we readily believe.—To find fault is easy.”

MENANDER.

“A daughter is an embarrassing and ticklish possession.—He whom the gods love, dies young.—Evil communications corrupt good manners (quoted by St. Paul).—Whoever blushes seems to be good.—Nobody sees his own faults, but every one is lynx-eyed to those of his neighbor.—Love blinds all men.—Silence has many advantages.—He is well cleansed that hath his conscience clean.—There is nothing more daring than ignorance.—Truth, when not sought after, sometimes comes to light.”

POLYBIUS.

“Nothing happens without a cause.—Royalty, aristocracy, and democracy, must combine to make a perfect government.—Many know how to conquer; few are able to use their conquest aright.”

PLUTARCH.

“Absolute monarchy is a fair field, but has no outlet.—What one does not need, is dear at a penny.—Often, while we are delighted with the work, we regard the workman with contempt.—Dead men do not bite.”