Plutarch Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old Plutarch quotes, Plutarch sayings, and Plutarch proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.'

Friendship is the most pleasant of all things, and nothing more glads the heart of man. Plutarch
The Spartans do not ask how many are the enemy but where are they. Plutarch
Come back with your shield - or on it. Plutarch
A Spartan woman, as she handed her son his shield, exhorted him saying, "As a warrior of Sparta come back with your shield or on it." Plutarch
If you hate your enemies, you will contract such a vicious habit of mind, as by degrees will break out upon those who are your friends, or those who are indifferent to you. Plutarch
You keep to your own ways, and leave mine to me. Plutarch
...To the Dolphin alone, beyond all other, nature has granted what the best philosophers seek: friendship for no advantage. Plutarch
No man ever wetted clay and then left it, as if there would be bricks by chance and fortune. Plutarch
The richest soil, if uncultivated, produces the rankest weeds. Plutarch
No beast is more savage than man when possessed with power answerable to his rage. Plutarch
The belly has no ears. Plutarch
A lover's soul lives in the body of his mistress. Plutarch
It is a true proverb, that if you live with a lame man, you will learn to limp. Plutarch
The talkative listen to no one, for they are ever speaking. And the first evil that attends those who know not to be silent is that they hear nothing. Plutarch
We are more sensible of what is done against custom than against nature. Plutarch
An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics. Plutarch
Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech. Plutarch
For the rich men without scruple drew the estate into their own hands, excluding the rightful heirs from their succession; and all the wealth being centred upon the few, the generality were poor and miserable. Honourable pursuits, for which there was no longer leisure, were neglected; the state was filled with sordid business, and with hatred and envy of the rich. Plutarch
He who least likes courting favour, ought also least to think of resenting neglect; to feel wounded at being refused a distinction can only arise from an overweening appetite to have it. Plutarch
He who busies himself in mean occupations, produces in the very pains he takes about things of little or no use, an evidence against himself of his negligence and indisposition to what is really good. Plutarch
The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits. Plutarch
The measure of a man is the way he bears up under misfortune. Plutarch
Boys throw stones at frogs for fun. but the frogs don't die for 'fun', but in sober earnest. Plutarch
To make no mistakes is not in the power of man; but from their errors and mistakes the wise and good learn wisdom for the future. Plutarch
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled. Plutarch
An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics. Plutarch
For the mind does not require filling like a bottle, but rather, like wood, it only requires kindling to create in it an impulse to think independently and an ardent desire for the truth. Plutarch
I don’t need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better. Plutarch
Philosophy is the art of living. Plutarch
He is a fool who leaves things close at hand to follow what is out of reach. Plutarch