Pericles Quotes & Sayings

A woman's greatest glory is to be little talked about by men, whether for good or ill. — Pericles

We do not need the praises of a Homer, or of anyone else whose words may delight us for the moment, but the estimation of facts will fall short of what is really true. — Pericles

For a man's counsel cannot have equal weight or worth, when he alone has no children to risk in the general danger. — Pericles

Time is the wisest counselor of all. — Pericles

The freedom which we enjoy in our government extends also to our ordinary life. There, far from exercising a jealous surveillance over each other, we do not feel called upon to be angry with our neighbor for doing what he likes, or even to indulge in those injurious looks which cannot fail to be offensive, although they inflict no positive penalty. — Pericles

Your empire is now like a tyranny: it may have been wrong to take it; it is certainly dangerous to let it go. — Pericles

Time is the king of all men, he is their parent and their grave, and gives them what he will and not what they crave. — Pericles

Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you. — Pericles

All who have taken it upon themselves to rule over others have incurred hatred and unpopularity for a time; but if one has a great aim to pursue, this burden of envy must be accepted, and it is wise to accept it. — Pericles

To face calamity with a mind as unclouded as may be, and quickly to react against it-that in a city and in an individual-is real strength. — Pericles

Those who can truly be accounted brave are those who best know the meaning of what is sweet in life and what is terrible, and then go out, undeterred, to meet what is to come. — Pericles

Those who are politically apathetic can only survive if they are supported by people who are capable of taking action. — Pericles

Better die standing than live kneeling. — Pericles

The whole earth is the tomb of heroic men and their story is not given only on stone over their clay but abides everywhere without visible symbol woven into the stuff of other mens lives. — Pericles

If Athens shall appear great to you, consider then that her glories were purchased by valiant men, and by men who learned their duty. — Pericles

[F]or grief is felt not so much for the want of what we have never known, as for the loss of that to which we have been long accustomed. — Pericles

Having knowledge but lacking the power to express it clearly is no better than never having any ideas at all. — Pericles

For heroes have the whole earth for their tomb; and in lands far from their own, where the column with its epitaph declares it, there is enshrined in every breast a record unwritten with no tablet to preserve it, except that of the heart. — Pericles

Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it. — Pericles

Trees, though they are cut and loped, grow up again quickly, but if men are destroyed, it is not easy to get them again. — Pericles

We cultivate refinement without extravagance and knowledge without effeminacy; wealth we employ more for use than for show, and place the real disgrace of poverty not in owning to the fact but in declining the struggle against it. Our public men have, besides politics, their private affairs to attend to, and our ordinary citizens, though occupied with the pursuits of industry, are still fair judges of public matters; for, unlike any other nation, regarding him who takes no part in these duties not as unambitious but as useless, we Athenians are able to judge at all events if we cannot originate, and instead of looking on discussion as a stumbling-block in the way of action, we think it an indispensable preliminary to any wise action at all. — Pericles

Fishes live in the sea, as men do on land: the great ones eat up the little ones. — Pericles

Future ages will wonder at us, as the present age wonders at us now. — Pericles

Who makes the fairest show means most deceit. — Pericles

Remember, too, that if your country has the greatest name in all the world, it is because she never bent before disaster; because she has expended more life and effort in war than any other city, and has won for herself a power greater than any hitherto known, the memory of which will descend to the latest posterity. — Pericles

We do not imitate, but are a model to others. — Pericles

Those who can think, but cannot express what they think, place themselves at the level of those who cannot think. — Pericles

It is difficult to argue with the belly, for it has no ears. — Pericles

Not to be able to bear poverty is a shameful thing, but not to know how to chase it away by work is a more shameful thing yet. — Pericles

Wait for the wisest of all counselors, Time. — Pericles

Wait for that wisest of all counselores, Time. — Pericles

Although only a few may originate a policy, we are all able to judge it. — Pericles

For famous men have the whole earth as their memorial. — Pericles

In private matters everyone is equal before the law. In public matters, when it is a question of putting power and responsibility into the hands of one man rather than another, what counts is not rank or money, but the ability to do the job well. — Pericles

It is more of a disgrace to be robbed of what one has than to fail in some new undertaking. — Pericles

Time is the wisest counsellor of all — Pericles

An Athenian citizen does not neglect his state because he takes care of his own household; even those of us who are engaged in business have a very fair idea of politics. We do not regard a man who takes no interest in public affairs as harmless. We do not say that such a man 'minds his own business'. Rather we say he has no business here at all. — Pericles

I am of opinion that national greatness is more for the advantage of private citizens, than any individual well-being coupled with public humiliation. A man may be personally ever so well off, and yet if his country be ruined he must be ruined with it; whereas a flourishing commonwealth always affords chances of salvation to unfortunate individuals. — Pericles

Your great glory is not to be inferior to what you have been given by nature, and the greatest glory of a woman is to be least talked about by men, whether theyare praising or criticizing you. — Pericles

The marketplace is democratic. — Pericles

It is right to endure with resignation what the gods send, and to face one's enemies with courage. — Pericles

Our love of what is beautiful does not lead to extravagance; our love of the things of the mind does not make us soft. — Pericles

We regard wealth as something to be properly used, rather than as something to boast about. As for poverty, no one need be ashamed to admit it: the real shame is in not taking practical measures to escape from it. — Pericles

She is best who is least spoken of among men, whether for good or evil. — Pericles

Just because you are not interested in politics, does not mean that politics is not interested in you. — Pericles

We Athenians hold that it is not poverty that is disgraceful but the failure to struggle against it. — Pericles

Our form of government does not enter into rivalry with the institutions of others. Our government does not copy our neighbors', but is an example to them. It is true that we are called a democracy, for the administration is in the hands of the many and not of the few. But while there exists equal justice to all and alike in their private disputes, the claim of excellence is also recognized; and when a citizen is in any way distinguished, he is preferred to the public service, not as a matter of privilege, but as the reward of merit — Pericles

I am more afraid of our own mistakes than of our enemies' designs. — Pericles

Time as he grows old teaches many lessons. - Aeschylus Time is the wisest counselor of all. — Pericles