Sophocles Quotes

The ideal condition
Would be, I admit, that men should be right by instinct;
But since we are all likely to go astray,
The reasonable thing is to learn from those who can teach.

Heaven never helps the man who will not act.

There is no happiness where there is no wisdom;
No wisdom but in submission to the gods.
Big words are always punished,
And proud men in old age learn to be wise.

Wisdom outweighs any wealth.

Truly, to tell lies is not honorable;
but when the truth entails tremendous ruin,
To speak dishonorably is pardonable.

A short saying oft contains much wisdom.

No man loves life like him that's growing old.

Men of ill judgment oft ignore the good
That lies within their hands, till they have lost it.

For God hates utterly
The bray of bragging tongues.

Grief teaches the steadiest minds to waver.

How dreadful it is when the right judge judges wrong!

Money: There's nothing in the world so demoralizing as money.

Nobody likes the man who brings bad news.

Reason is God's crowning gift to man.

Death is not the worst; rather, in vain
To wish for death, and not to compass it.

Much speech is one thing, well-timed speech is another.

One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love.

The keenest sorrow is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.

What you cannot enforce, do not command.