Be gracious to all men, but choose the best to be your friends.
ISOCRATESBe gracious to all men, but choose the best to be your friends.
ISOCRATESOf all our possessions, wisdom alone is immortal.
ISOCRATESWhetstones are not themselves able to cut, but make iron sharp and capable of cutting.
ISOCRATESIf all who are engaged in the profession of education were willing to state the facts instead of making greater promises than they can possibly fulfill, they would not be in such bad repute with the lay- public.
ISOCRATESWe should not call a city happy because it attracts masses of citizens from everywhere; a fortunate city is one in which the race of the original inhabitants is best preserved.
ISOCRATESBut I marvel when I observe these men setting themselves up as instructors of youth who cannot see that they are applying the analogy of an art with hard and fast rules to a creative process
ISOCRATESConduct yourself towards your parents as you would have your children conduct themselves towards you.
ISOCRATESOratory is good only if it has the qualities of fitness for the occasion, propriety of style, and originality of treatment, while in the case of letters there is no such need whatsoever.
ISOCRATESIt is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly. Do not mistake activity for achievement. Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs, therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity or undue depression in adversity.
ISOCRATESIf you be a lover of instruction, you will be well instructed.
ISOCRATESI maintain, then, that we should make peace, not only with the Chians, the Rhodians, the Byzantines and the Coans, but with all mankind.
ISOCRATESSpend your leisure time in cultivating an ear attentive to discourse, for in this way you will find that you learn with ease what others have found out with difficulty.
ISOCRATESAlways when you are about to say anything, first weigh it in your mind; for with many the tongue outruns the thought.
ISOCRATESConsider that nothing in human life is stable; for then you will not exult overmuch in prosperity, nor grieve overmuch in adversity. Rejoice over the good things which come to you, but grieve in moderation over the evils which befall you.
ISOCRATESRegard as your most faithful friends, not those who praise everything you say or do, but those who criticize your mistakes.
ISOCRATESIt is not fitting that the evil produced by men should be imputed to things; let those bear the blame who make an ill use of things in themselves good.
ISOCRATES