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
yield giving mind
As the scale of the balance must give way to the weight that presses it down, so the mind must of necessity yield to demonstration.
calumny-is calumny
Nothing is so swift as calumny, nothing is more easily propagated, nothing more readily credited, nothing more widely circulated.
theatre virtue conscience
The great theatre for virtue is conscience.
imagination virtue difficult
Virtue and decency are so nearly related that it is difficult to separate them from each other but in our imagination.
stones folly disgrace
To stumble twice against the same stone, is a proverbial disgrace. [Lat., Culpa enim illa, bis ad eundem, vulgari reprehensa proverbio est.]
numbers judging quality
Judge not by the number, but by the weight.
merit praise
Honourable mention encourages science, and merit is fostered by praise.
addresses introduction politeness
Politeness and an affable address are our best introduction.
forbidden accounts
That which is not forbidden, is not on that account permitted.
allowance
We make allowance for necessity.
coats shabby
Wisdom often exists under a shabby coat.
silent prudence folly
I prefer silent prudence to loquacious folly. [Lat., Malo indisertam prudentiam, quam loquacem stultitiam.]
window-to-the-soul soul window
It is the soul itself which sees and hears, and not those parts which are, as it were, but windows to the soul.
superstitions worship pious
There is in superstition a senseless fear of God; religion consists in the pious worship of Him. [Lat., Superstitio, in qua inest inanis timor Dei; religio, quae dei pio cultu continetur.]