Publilius Syrus
Roman writer of maxims, 1st century BC
54 quotes.
Quotes by Publilius Syrus
- A small debt produces a debtor; a large one, an enemy.
- A wise man rules his passions, a fool obeys them.
- Admonish your friends privately, but praise them openly.
- Adversity shows whether we have friends, or only the shadows of friends.
- An angry man is again angry with himself when he returns to reason.
- An orator's life is more convincing than his eloquence.
- Anger would inflict punishment on another; meanwhile, it tortures itself.
- Any one can hold the helm, when the sea is calm.
- Audacity augments courage; hesitation, fear.
- Be the first to laugh at your own blunder, and no one will laugh at you.
- Be your money's master, not its slave.
- Consult your conscience, rather than popular opinion.
- Depend not on fortune, but on conduct.
- Do not despise the lowest steps in the ascent to greatness.
- Do not turn back when you are just at the goal.
- Either be silent, or say something better than silence.
- Fear never advanced any man to the highest standing.
- From the errors of others a wise man corrects his own.
- Gain at the expense of reputation should be called loss.
- Gold is tried by fire, fortitude by affliction.
- He doubly benefits the needy who gives quickly.
- He finds assistance in adversity who renders services in prosperity.
- He is truly wise who gains wisdom from another's mishap.
- He who lives only for himself is truly dead to others.
- He who promptly corrects, makes his error the less.
- He who subdues his temper vanquishes his greatest enemy.
- His own character is the arbiter of every one's fortune.
- I often regret that I have spoken; never that I have been silent.
- It is folly for him to rule over others who cannot govern himself.
- It matters not how long you live but how well.
- It matters not what you are thought to be, but what you are.
- It takes a long time to bring excellence to maturity.
- Many receive advice, few profit by it.
- Multiply your acts of kindness, and you teach the recipient to return them.
- No one knows what he can do till he tries.
- No scar is dishonorable which is a mark of our courage.
- Opportunities are easily lost, with difficulty found.
- Poverty is in want of much, avarice of everything.
- Practice is the best of all instructors.
- Speech is a mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so is he.