Quotations The Best Cicero Quotes  

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A list of the best Cicero quotes. This list is arranged by which famous Cicero quotes have received the most votes, so only the greatest Cicero quotes are at the top of the list. All the most popular quotes from Cicero should be listed here, but if any were missed you can add more at the end of the list. This list includes notable Cicero quotes on various subjects, many of which are inspirational and thought provoking.

This list answers the questions, "What are the best Cicero quotes?" and "What is the most famous Cicero quote?"

You can see what subjects these historic Cicero quotes fall under displayed to the right of the quote. Be sure to vote so your favorite Cicero saying won't fall to the bottom of the list.

1
147 16
Silence is one of the great arts of conversation. Cicero

2
94 8
A room without books is like a body without a soul. Cicero

3
106 10
The wise are instructed by reason, average minds by experience, the stupid by necessity and the brute by instinct. Cicero

4
93 8
It is the peculiar quality of a fool to perceive the faults of others and to forget his own. Cicero

5
241 44
The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt, the mobs should be forced to work and not depend on government for subsistence. Cicero

6
42 2
Friends are proved by adversity. Cicero

7
107 11
The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living. Cicero

8
65 5
They condemn what they do not understand. Cicero

9
64 5
As you have sown so shall you reap. Cicero

10
47 3
The good of the people is the greatest law. Cicero

11
68 6
To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. Cicero

12
15 0
Reason should direct and appetite obey. Cicero

13
52 4
Virtue is its own reward. Cicero

14
82 10
Life is nothing without friendship. Cicero

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15
35 2
Rightly defined philosophy is simply the love of wisdom. Cicero

16
43 3
Let reason govern desire. Cicero

17
43 3
It is the nature of every person to error, but only the fool perseveres in error. Cicero

18
41 3
I never admire another's fortune so much that I became dissatisfied with my own. Cicero

19
73 9
While there's life, there's hope. Cicero

20
47 4
The greater the difficulty, the greater the glory. Cicero

21
24 1
It is better to receive than to do injury. Cicero

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22
24 1
When you are aspiring to the highest place, it is honorable to reach the second or even the third rank. Cicero

23
24 1
Memory is the treasury and guardian of all things. Cicero

24
39 3
Nothing is more noble, nothing more venerable than fidelity. Faithfulness and truth are the most sacred excellences and endowments of the human mind. Cicero

25
23 1
It shows a brave and resolute spirit not to be agitated in exciting circumstances. Cicero

26
50 5
I am not ashamed to confess I am ignorant of what I do not know. Cicero

27
48 5
Brevity is a great charm of eloquence. Cicero

28
57 7
Before beginning, plan carefully. Cicero

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29
30 2
michaelj72 added If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.

30
22 1
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Cicero

31
36 3
There never was a great soul that did not have some divine inspiration. Cicero

32
36 3
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. Cicero

33
36 3
I prefer tongue-tied knowledge to ignorant loquacity. Cicero

34
29 2
Not to know what has been transacted in former times is to be always a child. If no use is made of the labors of past ages, the world must remain always in the infancy of knowledge. Cicero

35
29 2
There is nothing so absurd that some philosopher has not already said it. Cicero

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36
29 2
A friend is, as it were, a second self. Cicero

37
41 4
The causes of events are ever more interesting than the events themselves. Cicero

38
54 7
Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak. Cicero

39
21 1
We think a happy life consists in tranquility of mind. Cicero

40
40 4
If we are not ashamed to think it, we should not be ashamed to say it. Cicero

41
20 1
They are eloquent who can speak low things acutely, and of great things with dignity, and of moderate things with temper. Cicero

42
38 4
michaelj72 added Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century: Believing that personal gain is made by crushing others; Worrying about things that cannot be changed or corrected; Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it; Refusing to set aside trivial preferences; Neglecting development and refinement of the mind; Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.

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43
11 0
The foolishness of old age does not characterize all who are old, but only the foolish. Cicero

44
11 0
Friendship makes prosperity brighter, while it lightens adversity by sharing its grieves and anxieties. Cicero

45
37 4
Can there be greater foolishness than the respect you pay to people collectively when you despise them individually? Cicero

46
37 4
Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat. Cicero

47
40 5
Let the punishment be proportionate to the offense. Cicero

48
18 1
There is no place more delightful than one's own fireplace. Cicero

49
18 1
There is wickedness in the intention of wickedness, even though it be not perpetrated in the act. Cicero

50
18 1
Justice consists of doing no one injury, decency in giving no one offense. Cicero