Quotes by Xenophon

“No human being will ever know the truth, for even if they happened to say it by chance, they would not know they had done so.”

“You are well aware that it is not numbers or strength that bring the victories in war. No, it is when one side goes against the enemy with the gods' gift of a stronger morale that their adversaries...”

“...men unite against none so readily as against those whom theysee attempting to rule over them.”

“I will venture to maintain that where the teacher is not pleasing to the pupil, there is no education.”

“All the children of the great men in Persia are brought up at court, where they have an opportunity of learning great modesty, and where nothing immodest is ever heard or seen.”

“Excess of grief for the dead is madness; for it is an injury to the living, and the dead know it not.”

“A horse is a thing of beauty... none will tire of looking at him as long as he displays himself in his splendor.”

“For what the horse does under compulsion, as Simon also observes, is done without understanding; and there is no beauty in it either, any more than if one should whip and spur a dancer.”

“The sweetest of all sounds is praise.”

“For myself, I think that those who cultivate wisdom and believe themselves able to instruct their fellow-citizens as to their interests are least likely to become partisans of violence. They are to...”

“It is only for those to employ force who possess strength without judgment; but the well advised will have recourse to other means. Besides, he who pretends to carry his point by force hath need of...”

“The most delightful of all music, that of your own praises.”

“There is small risk a general will be regarded with contempt by those he leads, if, whatever he may have to preach, he shows himself best able to perform.”

“For showing loyalty in the midst of prosperity calls for no particular admiration, but always, if men show themselves steadfast when friends have fallen upon misfortunes, this is remembered for all...”

“As to what happened next, it is possible to maintain that the hand of heaven was involved, and also possible to say that when men are desperate no one can stand up to them.”

“Every one of you is the leader.”

“It is common opinion among us in regard to beauty and wisdom that there is an honourable and a shameful way of bestowing them. For to offer one’s beauty for money to all comers is called prostituti...”

“The company, then, were feasting in silence, as though some one in authority had commanded them to do so, when Philip the buffoon knocked at the door and told the porter to announce who he was and ...”

“Clearchus spoke, and his words were few; Conquerors do not, as a rule, give up their arms.”

“In this mood he [Proxenus] threw himself into the projects of Cyrus, and in return expected to derive from this essay the reward of a great name, large power, and wide wealth. But for all that he p...”