Marcus Tullius Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicerowas a Roman philosopher, politician, lawyer, orator, political theorist, consul, and constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and was one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists...
NationalityRoman
ProfessionStatesman
arms civic laurels
Let arms give place to civic robes, laurels to paeans.
war yield laurels
Let war yield to peace, laurels to paeans.
behind certain quite
We're quite certain that is all behind them.
delightful
There is no place more delightful than one's own fireplace.
absurd express opinion
There is no opinion so absurd that some philosopher will not express it
desire glory inspired keen man motivated
We are all motivated by a keen desire for praise, and the better a man is, the more he is inspired by glory
bad evil good hard suspect
It is hard for the good to suspect evil as it is hard for the bad to suspect good.
command conduct forbid function law natural whose
Law is intelligence, whose natural function it is to command right conduct and forbid wrongdoing
consists decency giving justice
Justice consists of doing no one injury, decency in giving no one offense.
foolish hair less sorrow tear though
It is foolish to tear one's hair in grief, as though sorrow would be made less with baldness.
build house ornament owner precept
My precept to all who build is, that the owner should be an ornament to the house, and not the house to the owner
err plato rather rightly
I would rather err with Plato than think rightly with these (Pythagoreans)
attack basis personal speech
We must make a personal attack when there is no argumentative basis for our speech
learn minds pours quickly retain side wish word
When you wish to instruct, be brief; that men's minds take in quickly what you say, learn its lesson, and retain it faithfully. Every word that is unnecessary only pours over the side of a brimming mind.