Seneca The Younger (c. 4 BC – AD 65), was a Roman philosopher, statesman, and dramatist, known for his influential writings and tragedies. His works offer profound reflections on ethics, resilience, and the art of living well. As a tutor to Emperor Nero, Seneca navigated the complexities of Roman politics while advocating for virtue and reason.

The philosopher Michel de Montaigne later remarked, “Seneca’s wisdom is a guide to life’s storms, teaching us to stand firm through reason and courage.”

Below, we list some timeless words of wisdom from Seneca, drawn from his philosophical works.

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.”

“You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.”

“As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.”

“There is no easy way from the earth to the stars.”

“While we are postponing, life speeds by.”

“No man was ever wise by chance.”

“What need is there to weep over parts of life? The whole of it calls for tears.”

“If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable.”

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

“It is the quality rather than the quantity that matters.”

“Hang on to your youthful enthusiasms—you will be able to use them better when you are older.”

“The life we receive is not short, but we make it so, nor do we have any lack of it, but are wasteful of it.”

“Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.”

“You must live for another if you wish to live for yourself.”

“He who is brave is free.”

“Associate with people who are likely to improve you.”

“Ignorance is the cause of fear.”

“To wish to be well is a part of becoming well.”

“Life is like a play: it’s not the length, but the excellence of the acting that matters.”

“No one is laughable who laughs at himself.”

“The greatest remedy for anger is delay.”

“It is better to conquer our grief than to deceive it.”

“You act like mortals in all that you fear, and like immortals in all that you desire.”

“Leisure without study is death—a tomb for the living man.”

“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.”

“Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.”

“We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.”

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future.”

“It does not matter how many books you have, but how good the books are which you have.”

“Every guilty person is his own hangman.”

“Life, if well lived, is long enough.”

“He suffers more than necessary, who suffers before it is necessary.”

“There is nothing so wretched or foolish as to anticipate misfortunes.”

“What is harder than rock? What is softer than water? Yet hard rocks are hollowed out by soft water.”

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Kimitake Hiraoka (平岡 公威 January 14th, 1925 – November 25th, 1970), known by his pen name Yukio Mishima (三島 由紀夫), was a Japanese author, playwright, actor, poet, model, Shintoist, and the leader of an attempted coup d’état that culminated in his ritual suicide.

Below we list some words of wisdom from Kimitake Hiraoka.

“Perfect purity is possible if you turn your life into a line of poetry written with a splash of blood.” 

“As long as you know I am waiting, take your time flowers of the spring.” 

“True beauty is something that attacks, overpowers, robs, and finally destroys.”

“Nobody even imagines how well one can lie about the state of one’s own heart.” 

“Young people get the foolish idea that what is new for them must be new for everybody else too. No matter how unconventional they get, they’re just repeating what others before them have done.” 

“Anything can become excusable when seen from the standpoint of the result”

“The highest point at which human life and art meet is in the ordinary. To look down on the ordinary is to despise what you can’t have. Show me a man who fears being ordinary, and I’ll show you a man who is not yet a man.” 

“What transforms this world is – knowledge. Do you see what I mean? Nothing else can change anything in this world. Knowledge alone is capable of transforming the world, while at the same time leaving it exactly as it is. When you look at the world with knowledge, you realize that things are unchangeable and at the same time are constantly being transformed.”

“The special quality of hell is to see everything clearly down to the last detail.” 

“The past does not only draw us back to the past. There are certain memories of the past that have strong steel springs and, when we who live in the present touch them, they are suddenly stretched taut and then they propel us into the future.” 

“If we value so highly the dignity of life, how can we not also value the dignity of death No death may be called futile.” 

“To see human beings in agony, to see them covered in blood and to hear their death groans, makes people humble. It makes their spirits delicate, bright, peaceful. It’s never at such times that we become cruel or bloodthirsty. No, it’s on a beautiful spring afternoon like this that people suddenly become cruel. It’s at a moment like this, don’t you think, while one’s vaguely watching the sun as it peeps through the leaves of the trees above a well-mown lawn? Every possible nightmare in the world, every possible nightmare in history, has come into being like this.” 

“Better to be caught in sudden, complete catastrophe than to be gnawed by the cancer of imagination.” 

“There’s a huge seal called ‘impossibility’ pasted all over this world. And don’t ever forget that we’re the only ones who can tear it off once and for all.”

“Dreams, memories, the sacred–they are all alike in that they are beyond our grasp. Once we are even marginally separated from what we can touch, the object is sanctified; it acquires the beauty of the unattainable, the quality of the miraculous. Everything, really, has this quality of sacredness, but we can desecrate it at a touch. How strange man is! His touch defiles and yet he contains the source of miracles.”

“If we look on idly, heaven and earth will never be joined. To join heaven and earth, some decisive deed of purity is necessary. To accomplish so resolute an action, you have to stake your life, giving no thought to personal gain or loss.” 

“An ugliness unfurled in the moonlight and soft shadow and suffused the whole world. If I were an amoeba, he thought, with an infinitesimal body, I could defeat ugliness. A man isn’t tiny or giant enough to defeat anything.” 

“Pain, I came to feel, might well prove to be the sole proof of the persistence of consciousness within the flesh, the sole physical expression of consciousness. As my body acquired muscle, and in turn strength, there was gradually born within me a tendency towards the positive acceptance of pain, and my interest in physical suffering deepened.” 

“For an artist to do creative work, he needs at once physical health and some physiomental ill health. He needs both serenity and gloom.” 

“if the world changed, i could not exist, and if i changed, the world could not exist” 

“There is no virtue in curiosity. In fact, it might be the most immoral desire a man can possess.” 

“We tend to suffer from the illusion that we are capable of dying for a belief or theory. What Hagakure is insisting is that even in merciless death, a futile death that knows neither flower nor fruit has dignity as the death of a human being. If we value so highly the dignity of life, how can we not also value the dignity of death? No death may be called futile.” 

“When silence is prolonged over a certain period of time, it takes on new meaning.”

“Beauty is something that burns the hand when you touch it.”


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Horace (December 8, 65 BC – November 27, 8 BC), was an ancient Roman poet renowned for his lyric poetry and satires. His works, including blend wit, wisdom, and reflections on human nature, offering timeless insights into living a balanced and virtuous life. A leading poet under Emperor Augustus, Horace’s influence endured through the ages, shaping Roman literature and beyond.

The English poet Alexander Pope praised Horace, noting, “He is the great master of good sense and good taste, whose works teach us how to think and how to live.”

Below, we list some words of wisdom from Horace, drawn from his enduring works.

“Seize the day, put no trust in tomorrow.”

“Wisdom is not wisdom when it is derived from books alone.”

“He who is greedy is always in want.”

“Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans; it is lovely to be silly at the right moment.”

“Begin, be bold, and venture to be wise.”

“He who postpones the hour of living rightly is like the rustic who waits for the river to run dry before he crosses.”

“Life grants nothing to us mortals without hard work.”

“You have played enough; you have eaten and drunk enough. It is time for you to leave.”

“Avoid great things; under a humble roof one may outstrip kings and the chariots of kings.”

“We are but dust and shadow.”

“Anger is a short madness.”

“It is sweet and honorable to die for one’s country.”

“He who has begun has half done. Dare to be wise; begin!”

“Adversity reveals the genius of a general; good fortune conceals it.”

“Pale Death knocks with impartial foot at the cottages of the poor and the palaces of kings.”

“Why do you hasten to remove things that hurt your eyes, but leave those that harm your mind?”

“Whatever advice you give, be brief.”

“He will always be a slave who does not know how to live upon a little.”

“Cease to inquire what the future has in store, and take as a gift whatever the day brings.”

“Force without wisdom falls of its own weight.”

“A heart well prepared for adversity in bad times hopes, and in good times fears, for a change.”

“It is not the rich man you should properly call happy, but him who knows how to use with wisdom the blessings of the gods.”

“In peace, as a wise man, he prepares for war.”

“Leave off asking what tomorrow will bring, and whatever days fortune will give, count them as profit.”

“The man who is tenacious of purpose in a rightful cause is not shaken from his firm resolve by the frenzy of his fellow citizens.”

“A jest often decides matters of importance more effectively than seriousness.”

“You must avoid flattery; it is a kind of slavery.”

“Riches either serve or govern the possessor.”

“The one who saves a man against his will does the same as if he killed him.”

“It is courage, courage, courage, that raises the blood of life to crimson splendor.”

“What we learn only through the ears makes less impression upon our minds than what is presented to the trustworthy eye.”

“He gains everyone’s approval who mixes the pleasant with the useful.”

“Drop the question what tomorrow may bring, and count as profit every day that Fate allows you.”

“Who then is free? The wise man who can govern himself.”

“Gold loves to make its way through guards, and breaks through walls more effectively than the thunderbolt.”

“Once a word has been allowed to escape, it cannot be recalled.”

“There is a measure in all things.”

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Yamamoto Tsunetomo (山本 常朝) (June 11th, 1659 – November 30th, 1719), was a samurai of the Saga Domain, in Hizen Province, under his lord Nabeshima Mitsushige. He became a Zen Buddhist priest and told his experiences, wisdom, memories, and theories to the samurai Tashiro Tsuramoto, who put them together in the book Hagakure.

Below we list words of wisdom from Yamamoto Tsunetomo.

“Human life is truly a short affair. It is better to live doing the things that you like.”

“A warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm.”

“Light matters should be dealt with seriously. Serious matters should be dealt with lightly.”

“It is a wretched thing that the young men of today are so contriving and so proud of their material possessions. Men with contriving hearts are lacking in duty. Lacking in duty, they will have no self-respect.”

“By being impatient, matters are damaged and great works cannot be done”

“As everything in this world is but a sham, Death is the only sincerity.”

“It is said that one should not hesitate to correct himself when he has made a mistake. If he corrects himself without the least bit of delay, his mistakes will disappear.”

“The Four Oaths: Never be late with respect to the way of the warrior; be useful to the lord; be respectful to your parents; get beyond love and grief: exist for the good of man.”

“The heart of a virtuous person has settled down and he does not rush about at things. A person of little merit is not at peace but walks about making trouble and is in conflict with all.”

“Go ahead and gamble a lie. A person who will not tell you seven lies within a hundred yards is useless as a man.”

“It is a good viewpoint to see the world as a dream. When you have something like a nightmare, you will wake up and tell yourself that it was only a dream. It is said that the world we live in is not a bit different from this.”

“In the eyes of mercy, no one should have hateful thoughts. Feel pity for the man who is even more at fault. The area and size of mercy is limitless.”

“There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the present moment. A man’s whole life is a succession of moment after moment. There will be nothing else to do, and nothing else to pursue. Live being true to the single purpose of the moment.”

“To give a person an opinion one must first judge well whether that person is of the disposition to receive it or not.”

“Everyone lets the present moment slip by, then looks for it as though he thought it were somewhere else.”

“It is not good to settle into a set of opinions. It is a mistake to put forth effort and obtain some understanding and then stop at that. At first putting forth great effort to be sure that you have grasped the basics, then practicing so that they may come to fruition is something that will never stop for your whole lifetime. Do not rely on following the degree of understanding that you have discovered, but simply think, “This is not enough.””

“One should make his decisions within the space of seven breaths.”

“There is one transcending level, and this is the most excellent of all. This person is aware of the endlessness of entering deeply into a certain Way and never thinks of himself as having finished.”

“There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you will still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything.”

“Nothing is impossible in this world. Firm determination, it is said, can move heaven and earth. Things appear far beyond one’s power, because one cannot set his heart on any arduous project due to want of strong will.”

“Even if it seems certain that you will lose, retaliate. Neither wisdom nor technique has a place in this. A real man does not think of victory or defeat. He plunges recklessly towards an irrational death. By doing this, you will awaken from your dreams.”

“This is the substance of the Way of the Samurai: if by setting one’s heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he gains freedom in the Way. his whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling.”

“In China there was once a man who liked pictures of dragons, and his clothing and furnishings were all designed accordingly. His deep affection for dragons was brought to the attention of the dragon god, and one day a real dragon appeared before his window. It is said that he died of fright. He was probably a man who always spoke big words but acted differently when facing the real thing.”

“Be true to the thought of the moment and avoid distraction. Other than continuing to exert yourself, enter into nothing else, but go to the extent of living single thought by single thought.”

“It is said that what is called “the spirit of an age” is something to which one cannot return. That this spirit gradually dissipates is due to the world’s coming to an end. For this reason, although one would like to change today’s world back to the spirit of one hundred years or more ago, it cannot be done. Thus it is important to make the best out of every generation.”

“Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day when one’s body and mind are at peace, one should meditate upon being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears and swords, being carried away by surging waves, being thrown into the midst of a great fire, being struck by lightning, being shaken to death by a great earthquake, falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease or committing seppuku at the death of one’s master. And every day without fail one should consider himself as dead”

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Ovid (circa 43 BC), was a Roman poet whose lyrical verses have transcended time, offering profound insights into love, change, and the human spirit. His works like Metamorphoses, Ars Amatoria, and Tristia offer timeless truths. Ovid’s ability to capture universal experiences makes his words as poignant today as they were in ancient Rome.

Below we list some words of wisdom from Ovid.

“Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence.”

“Chance is always powerful. Let your hook be always cast; in the stream where you least expect it, there will be fish.”

“All things change; nothing perishes.”

“Love is a kind of warfare.”

“Time, the devourer of all things.”

“Happy is the man who has broken the chains which hurt the mind, and has given up worrying once and for all.”

“The mind grows narrow in seclusion; it flourishes in company.”

“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.”

“We are slow to believe that which if believed would hurt our feelings.”

“Fortune and love favor the brave.”

“Everything comes gradually and at its appointed hour.”

“The cause is hidden, but the result is known.”

“Nothing is stronger than habit.”

“Courage conquers all things: it even gives strength to the body.”

“Art lies in concealing art.”

“To be loved, be lovable.”

“Many women long for what eludes them, and like not what is offered them.”

“The burden which is well borne becomes light.”

“While strength and years permit, endure labor; soon bent old age will come with silent foot.”

“Love yields to business; be busy, and you will be safe.”

“Neither can the wave that has passed by be recalled, nor the hour which has passed return again.”

“A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn.”

“What is without periods of rest will not endure.”

“Fair peace becomes men; ferocious anger belongs to beasts.”

“Envy feeds on the living; it ceases when they are dead.”

“There is no such thing as pure pleasure; some anxiety always goes with it.”

“The spirited horse, which will try to win the race of its own accord, will run even faster if encouraged.”

“Every lover is a soldier, and has his camp in Cupid’s service.”

“Judgment of beauty can err, what with the wine and the dark.”

“Give way to your opponent; thus will you gain the crown of victory.”

“What is now reason was passion before.”

“The gods behold all things; nothing escapes their notice.”

“Where belief is painful, we are slow to believe.”

“Beauty is a frail good, and time destroys it.”

“Night, the friend of lovers, hides their stolen joys.”

“A horse never runs so fast as when he has other horses to catch up and outpace.”

“All love is vanquished by a succeeding love.”

“He who can give has many a good neighbor.”

“Who would not be deceived, let him not trust too much.”

“Time glides by, and we age with silent years.”

“Pleasure is sweet, but it is bought with pain.”

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Copyright © 2025 Scott Petullo, Stephen Petullo 

Jacques Derrida (July 15th,1930 – October 9th, 2004) was a French Algerian philosopher and author of over 40 books and hundreds of essays. He significantly influenced philosophy, sociolinguistics, music, literature, architecture, applied linguistics, political theory, law, psychoanalysis, anthropology, and historiography.

Below we list some words of wisdom from Jacques Derrida.

“If things were simple, word would have gotten around.”

“Who ever said that one was born just once?”

“We are all mediators, translators.”

“Actually, when I write, there is a feeling of necessity, of something that is stronger than myself that demands that I must write as I write.”

“I speak only one language, and it is not my own.”

“What cannot be said above all must not be silenced but written.”

“The poet…is the man of metaphor: while the philosopher is interested only in the truth of meaning, beyond even signs and names, and the sophist manipulates empty signs…the poet plays on the multiplicity of signifiers.”

“Peace is only possible when one of the warring sides takes the first step, the hazardous initiative, the risk of opening up dialogue, and decides to make the gesture that will lead not only to an armistice but to peace.”

“Whatever precautions you take so the photograph will look like this or that, there comes a moment when the photograph surprises you. It is the other’s gaze that wins out and decides.”

“I do everything I think possible or acceptable to escape from this trap.”

“Even if we’re in a state of hopelessness, a sense of expectation is an integral part of our relationship to time. Hopelessness is possible only because we do hope that some good, loving someone could come. If that’s what Heidegger meant, then I agree with him.”

“Psychoanalysis has taught that the dead – a dead parent, for example – can be more alive for us, more powerful, more scary, than the living. It is the question of ghosts.”

“I was wondering myself where I am going. So I would answer you by saying, first, that I am trying, precisely, to put myself at a point so that I do not know any longer where I am going.”

“There is a future which is predictable, programmed, scheduled, foreseeable. But there is a future, l’avenir (to come) which refers to someone who comes whose arrival is totally unexpected. For me, that is the real future. That which is totally unpredictable. The Other who comes without my being able to anticipate their arrival. So if there is a real future, beyond the other known future, it is l’avenir in that it is the coming of the Other when I am completely unable to foresee their arrival.”

“One often speaks without seeing, without knowing, without meaning what one says.”

“There is nothing outside the text”

“I always dream of a pen that would be a syringe.”

“To pretend, I actually do the thing: I have therefore only pretended to pretend.”

“Learning to live ought to mean learning to die – to acknowledge, to accept, an absolute mortality – without positive outcome, or resurrection, or redemption, for oneself or for anyone else. That has been the old philosophical injunction since Plato: to be a philosopher is to learn how to die.”

“If I only did what I can do, I wouldn’t do anything”

“Within the university… you can study without waiting for any efficient or immediate result. You may search, just for the sake of searching, and try for the sake of trying. So there is a possibility of what I would call playing. It’s perhaps the only place within society where play is possible to such an extent.”

“The only attitude (the only politics–judicial, medical, pedagogical and so forth) I would absolutely condemn is one which, directly or indirectly, cuts off the possibility of an essentially interminable questioning, that is, an effective and thus transforming questioning.”

“Everything is arranged so that it be this way, this is what is called culture.”

“Monsters cannot be announced. One cannot say: ‘Here are our monsters,’ without immediately turning the monsters into pets.”

“The end approaches, but the apocalypse is long lived.”

“As soon as there is language, generality has entered the scene.”

“I say things that contradict each other, that are in real tension with each other, that compose me, that make me live, and that will make me die.”

“The trace I leave to me means at once my death, to come or already come, and the hope that it will survive me. It is not an ambition of immortality; it is fundamental. I leave here a bit of paper, I leave, I die; it is impossible to exit this structure; it is the unchanging form of my life. Every time I let something go, I live my death in writing.”

“If you read philosophical texts of the tradition, you’ll notice they almost never said ‘I,’ and didn’t speak in the first person. From Aristotle to Heidegger, they try to consider their own lives as something marginal or accidental. What was essential was their teaching and their thinking. Biography is something empirical and outside, and is considered an accident that isn’t necessarily or essentially linked to the philosophical activity or system.”

“The blindness that opens the eye is not the one that darkens vision. Tears and not sight are the essence of the eye.”

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Hesiod (circa 1200 BC), was an ancient Greek poet whose works are among the earliest surviving examples of Greek literature. He is best known for two major poems: Works and Days, offering practical advice on farming and morality, and Theogony, a cosmological epic detailing the origins of the gods and the universe.

Hesiod’s writings reflect a concern for justice, order, and the human condition.

Below we list some words of wisdom from Hesiod.

“Do not seek evil gains; evil gains are the equivalent of disaster.”

“The man who does evil to another does evil to himself, and the evil counsel is most evil for him who counsels it.”

“For a man wins nothing better than a good wife, and then again nothing deadlier than a bad one.”

“Justice prevails over transgression when she comes to the end of the race.”

“Work is no disgrace: it is idleness which is a disgrace.”

“The gods have placed sweat before virtue.”

“He who neither thinks for himself nor learns from others, is a failure as a man.”

“Observe due measure, for right timing is in all things the most important factor.”

“A day is sometimes a mother, sometimes a stepmother.”

“Wealth should not be seized: God-given wealth is much better.”

“The fool learns by suffering.”

“If you add a little to a little, and then do it again, soon that little will become a lot.”

“Badness you can get easily, in quantity; the road is smooth, and it lies close by. But in front of excellence the immortal gods have put sweat, and long and steep is the way to it.”

“He harms himself who does harm to another, and the evil plan is most harmful to the planner.”

“Moderation is best in all things.”

“The half is greater than the whole when you lack judgment.”

“Gossip is mischievous, light and easy to raise, but grievous to bear and hard to put down.”

“A man’s best treasure is a thrifty tongue.”

“Before the gates of excellence the high gods have placed sweat; long is the road thereto and rough and steep at first; but when the heights are reached, then there is ease, though grievously hard in the winning.”

“It is best to do things systematically, since we are only human, and disorder is our worst enemy.”

“The dawn speeds a man on his journey, and speeds him too in his work.”

“Fools, they do not know how much more the half is than the whole.”

“There is a noise when justice is being dragged in the way where those who devour bribes and give sentence with crooked judgments take her.”

“Potter bears a grudge against potter, and craftsman against craftsman, and beggar is jealous of beggar, and minstrel of minstrel.”

“Love of gain drives men to madness.”

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”

“Often an entire city has suffered because of an evil man.”

“Hunger is the constant companion of the idle man.”

“Strive for honest gain, for dishonest wealth brings ruin.”

“When you deal with a fool, expect folly.”

“From small beginnings come great things, if tended well.”

“Men’s best possession is a sympathetic wife.”

“Evil war and dread battle destroy both men and cities.”

“Keep your hands from violence and your heart from greed.”

“The gods love the just and hate the unjust.”

“Many times the gods bring things to pass beyond our expectation.”

“Death is the lot of man, but to live well is his choice.”

“Do not let a flattering woman coax and wheedle you and deceive you; she is after your barn.”

“The best man is he who relies on himself for all things.”

“Order your work, that your hands may find what they seek.”

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Virgil (October 15, 70 BC – September 21,19 BC), was an ancient Roman poet who composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: the Eclogues, the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid.

T.S. Eliot, 19th century poet and playwright, said, “What Is a Classic? Whatever the definition we arrive at, it cannot be one which excludes Virgil – we may say confidently that it must be one which will expressly reckon with him.”

Below we list some words of wisdom from Virgil.

“Fate will find a way.”

“All these souls, after they have passed away a thousand years, are summoned by the divine ones in great array, to the lethean river…In this way they become forgetful of the former earthlife, and re-visit the vaulted realms of the world, willing to return again into living bodies.”

“Angels boast ethereal vigor, and are formed from seeds of heavenly birth.”

“Love conquers all; therefore, let us submit to love.”

“Easy is the descent to hell; all night long, all day, the doors of dark Hades stand open; but to retrace the path; to come out again to the sweet air of Heaven – there is the task, there is the burden.”

“Come what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance.”

“Maybe one day we shall be glad to remember even these hardships.”

“Yield thou not to adversity, but press on the more bravely.”

“What each man feared would happen to himself, did not trouble him when he saw that it would ruin another.”

“Each of us bears his own Hell.”

“Every man makes a god of his own desire.”

“Fortunate is he whose mind has the power to probe the causes of things and trample underfoot all terrors and inexorable fate.”

“Fortune favors the bold.”

“Oh you who are born of the gods, easy is the descent into Hell. The door of darkness stands open day and night. But to retrace your steps, and come back out into the brightness above, that is the work, that is the labor.”

“All our sweetest hours fly fastest.”

“Persistent work triumphs.”

“The medicine increases the disease.”

“Love begets love, love knows no rules, this is same for all.”

“Cease to think that the decrees of the gods can be changed by prayers.”

“Do not yield to misfortunes, but advance more boldly to meet them, as your fortune permits you.”

“Myself acquainted with misfortune, I learn to help the unfortunate.”

“Trust one who has tried.”

“The only safety for the conquered is to expect no safety.”

“Go forth a conqueror and win great victories.”

“None but himself can be his parallel.”

“We are not all able to do all things.”

“Trust not too much to appearances.”

“Confidence cannot find a place wherein to rest in safety.”

“Such is the love of praise, so great the anxiety for victory.”

“It is easy to go down into Hell; but to climb back again, to retrace one’s steps to the upper air-there’s the rub.”

”Through pain I’ve learned to comfort suffering men.”

“Let not our proposal be disregarded on the score of our youth.”

“E’en in mid-harvest, while the jocund swain Pluck’d from the brittle stalk the golden grain, Oft have I seen the war of winds contend, And prone on earth th’ infuriate storm descend, Waste far and wide, and by the roots uptorn, The heavy harvest sweep through ether borne, As light straw and rapid stubble fly In dark’ning whirlwinds round the wintry sky.”

“Fury itself supplies arms.”

“A fault is fostered by concealment.”

“Passion and strife bow down the mind.”

“If ye despise the human race, and mortal arms, yet remember that there is a God who is mindful of right and wrong.”

“Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.”

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Copyright © 2025 Scott Petullo, Stephen Petullo

Democritus ( 460 – 370 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosopher from Abdera. He is famous for an atomic theory of the universe. Democritus wrote extensively on many subjects including poetry, military tactics, harmony, and Babylonian theology. His original work didn’t survive, but many second-hand references come from Aristotle, who saw him as an important figure in natural philosophy. He was known as the ‘laughing philosopher’ because of his emphasis on the importance of cheerfulness.

Below we list some words of wisdom from Democritus.

“Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion.”

“Many much-learned men have no intelligence.”

“Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul.”

“Everywhere man blames nature and fate yet his fate is mostly but the echo of his character and passion, his mistakes and his weaknesses.”

“My enemy is not the man who wrongs me, but the man who means to wrong me.”

“The wise man belongs to all countries, for the home of a great soul is the whole world.”

“Life unexamined, is not worth living.”

“The brave man is not only he who overcomes the enemy, but he who is stronger than pleasures.”

“We know nothing in reality; for truth lies in an abyss.”

“The sweetest things become the most bitter by excess.”

“It is better to destroy one’s own errors than those of others.”

“The person who can laugh with life has developed deep roots with confidence and faith-faith in oneself, in people and in the world, as contrasted to negative ideas with distrust and discouragement.”

“Reason is often a more powerful persuader than gold.”

“Raising children is an uncertain thing; success is reached only after a life of battle and worry.”

“I would rather discover one true cause than gain the kingdom of Persia.”

“One great difference between a wise man and a fool is, the former only wishes for what he may possibly obtain; the latter desires impossibilities.”

“Magnanimity consists in enduring tactlessness with mildness.”

“One should practice much sense, not much learning.”

“Education is an ornament for the prosperous, a refuge for the unfortunate.”

“There are innumerable worlds of different sizes. In some there is neither sun not moon, in others they are larger than in ours and others have more than one. These worlds are at irregular distances, more in one direction and less in another, and some are flourishing, others declining. Here they come into being, there they die, and they are destroyed by collision with one another. Some of the worlds have no animal or vegetable life nor any water.”

“It is hard to fight against anger: to master it is the mark of a rational man.”

“The pride of youth is in strength and beauty, the pride of old age is in discretion.”

“All things happen by virtue of necessity.”

“It is hard to fight desire; but to control it is the sign of a reasonable man.”

“Men find happiness neither by means of the body nor through possessions, but through uprightness and wisdom.”

“Medicine heals diseases of the body, wisdom frees the soul from passions.”

“More men have become great through practice than by nature.”

“If your desires are not great, a little will seem much to you; for small appetite makes poverty equivalent to wealth.”

“Everything existing in the universe is the fruit of chance and necessity.”

“Envy creates the beginning of strife.”

“Men will cease to be fools only when they cease to be men.”

“The animal needing something knows how much it needs, the man does not.”

“Good means not [merely] not to do wrong, but rather not to desire to do wrong.”

“Happiness does not reside in strength or money; it lies in rightness and many-sidedness.”

“Some men are masters of cities, but are enslaved to women.”

“The wrongdoer is more unfortunate than the man wronged.”

“Immoderate desire is the mark of a child, not a man.”

“It is greed to do all the talking but not to want to listen at all.”

“We think there is color, we think there is sweet, we think there is bitter, but in reality there are atoms and a void.”

“You can tell the man who rings true from the man who rings false, not by his deeds alone, but also by his desires.”

“Throw moderation to the winds, and the greatest pleasures bring the greatest pains.”

“Sexual intercourse is a slight attack of apoplexy.”

“Our sins are more easily remembered than our good deeds.”

“The man enslaved to wealth can never be honest.”

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Copyright © 2025 Stephen Petullo, Scott Petullo

Dante Alighieri (May 1265 – September 14, 1321), was an Italian philosopher, poet, and writer. He was influential in establishing Italy’s literature and is considered one of the world’s greatest literary legends. He is most known for his portrayals of Heaven and Hell.

Below we list some words of wisdom from Dante Alighieri.

“Astrology, the noblest of sciences.”

“I am made of God, through his Grace. Such that your misery touches me not, Nor does flame of that burning assail me.”

“Fate’s arrow, when expected, travels slow.”

“The path to paradise begins in hell.”

“I care not where my body may take me as long as my soul is embarked on a meaningful journey.”

“If you give people light, they will find their own way.”

“Follow your path, and let the people talk.”

“Consider your origins: you were not made to live as brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge.”

“The more souls who resonate together, the greater the intensity of their love… and, mirror-like… each soul reflects the other.”

“If your world isn’t right, the cause is in you.”

“From a small spark, Great flame has risen.”

“Do not be afraid; our fate Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.”

“Mankind is at its best when it is most free. This will be clear if we grasp the principle of liberty. We must recall that the basic principle is freedom of choice, which saying many have on their lips but few in their minds.”

“Be like a solid tower whose brave height remains unmoved by all the winds that blow; the man who lets his thoughts be turned aside by one thing or another, will lose sight of his true goal, his mind sapped of its strength.”

“O mortal men, be wary of how ye judge.”

“He who sees a need and waits to be asked for help is as unkind as if he had refused it.”

“Because your question searches for deep meaning, I shall explain in simple words.”

“Nature is the art of God.”

“Because there is no man who can be true and just judge of himself, so much will self-love deceive him.”

“This mountain is so formed that it is always wearisome when one begins the ascent, but becomes easier the higher one climbs.”

“Compassion is not a passion; rather a noble disposition of the soul, made ready to receive love, mercy, and other charitable passions.”

“All hope abandon, ye who enter here!”

“The day that man allows true love to appear, those things which are well made will fall into confusion and will overturn everything we believe to be right and true.”

“He is not always at ease who laughs.”

“Worldly fame is but a breath of wind that blows now this way, and now that, and changes name as it changes direction.”

“The greatest gift that God in His bounty made in creation, and the most conformable to His goodness, and that which He prizes the most, was the freedom of will, with which the creatures with intelligence, they all and they alone, were and are endowed.”

“A fair request should be followed by the deed in silence.”

“There is no greater pain than to remember, in our present grief, past happiness.”

“As one who sees in dreams and wakes to find the emotional impression of his vision still powerful while its parts fade from his mind – Just such am I, having lost nearly all the vision itself, while in my heart I feel the sweetness of it yet distill and fall.”

“In His will, our peace.”

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Copyright © 2025 Scott Petullo, Stephen Petullo