“This was the Athenians’ war against the King of Macedon, a war of words. Words are the only weapons the Athenians have left.”

Necessity is the last and strongest weapon.

Temerity is not always successful.

Persevere in virtue and diligence.

Luck is of little moment to the great general, for it is under the control of his intellect and his judgment.

Great contests generally excite great animosities.

Better and safer is an assured peace than a victory hoped for. The one is in your own power, the other is in the hands of the gods.

No law is sufficiently convenient to all.

Greater is our terror of the unknown.

There is an old saying which, from its truth, has become proverbial, that friendships should be immortal, enmities mortal.

In war, mere appearances have had all the effect of realities; and that a person, under a firm persuasion that he can command resources, virtually has them; that very prospect inspiring him with hope and boldness in his exertions.

The populace is like the sea motionless in itself, but stirred by every wind, even the lightest breeze.

No man likes to be surpassed by those of his own level.

Men are only clever at shifting blame from their own shoulders to those of others.

Woe to the conquered.

From abundance springs safety.

Under the influence of fear, which always leads men to take a pessimistic view of things, they magnified their enemies’ resources, and minimized their own.

Even the existence of this corporeal element, low as it in reality is, because it is the source of death and all evils, is likewise good for the permanence of the Universe and the continuation of the order of things, so that one thing departs and the other succeeds.

Man is a mistake. He must go.

Now go away then, and leave me alone. I don’t want any more of your meretricious persiflage.

We can’t leave people in abject poverty, so we need to raise the standard of living for 80% of the world’s people, while bringing it down considerably for the 20% who are destroying our natural resources.

I must have been out of my mind to believe pain wouldn’t leave any scars.

The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.

Stray birds of summer come to my window to sing and fly away. And yellow leaves of autumn, which have no songs, flutter and fall there with a sigh.

You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.