Socrates

I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within.

I desire only to know the truth, and to live as well as I can...And, to the utmost of my power, I exhort all other men to do the same...I exhort you also to take part in the great combat, which is the combat of life, and greater than every other earthly conflict.

I love to go and see all the things I am happy without.

If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it.

The individual leads in order that those who are led can develop their potential as human beings and thereby prosper.

How many things I can do without!

One who is injured ought not to return the injury, for on no account can it be right to do an injustice.

There is no illness of the body except for the mind

Who knows if to live is to be dead, and to be dead, to live? And we really, it may be, are dead; in fact I once heard sages say that we are now dead, and the body is our tomb.

I swear it upon Zeus an outstanding runner cannot be the equal of an average wrestler.

Since I am convinced that I wrong no one, I am not likely to wrong myself.

Neither I nor any other man should, on trial or in way, contrive to avoid death at any cost.

I will not yield to any man contrary to what is right, for fear of death, even if I should die at once for not yielding.

From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate.

There is a doctrine whispered in secret that a man is a prisoner who has no right to open the door and run away; this is a great mystery which I do not quite understand.

What most counts is not merely to live, but to live right.

Those who want the fewest things are nearest to the gods.

Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune nor too scornful in misfortune.

I am a citizen, not of Athens, or Greece, but of the world.