Man is to man either a god or a wolf

(Only by) the good influence of our conduct may we bring salvation in human affairs; or like a fatal comet we may bring destruction in our train

The desire to write grows with writing.

A man must hug, and dandle, and kistle, and play a hundred little tricks with his bed-fellow when he is disposed to make that use of her that nature designed her for

Amongst the learned the lawyers claim first place, the most self-satisfied class of people, as they roll their rock of Sisyphus and string together six hundred laws in the same breath, no matter whether relevant...

Beware lest clamor be taken for counsel.

The entire world is my temple, and a very fine one too, if I’m not mistaken, and I’ll never lack priests to serve it as long as there are men.

Humility is truth.

Fortune favors the audacious

In the country of the blind the one eyed man is king

Only a very few can be learned, but all can be Christian, all can be devout, and – I shall boldly add – all can be theologians.

Man’s mind is so formed that it is far more susceptible to falsehood than to truth.

Reflection is a flower of the mind, giving out wholesome fragrance; but revelry is the same flower, when rank and running to seed.

War is delightful to those who have had no experience of it.

Fools are without number.

Everyone knows that by far the happiest and universally enjoyable age of man is the first. What is there about babies which makes us hug and kiss and fondle them, so that even an enemy...

Nowadays the rage for possession has got to such a pitch that there is nothing in the realm of nature, whether sacred or profane, out of which profit cannot be squeezed

Concealed talent brings no reputation.

The most disadvantageous peace is better than the most just war.

Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.

Fortune favors the audacious.

He who shuns the millstone, shuns the meal

It’s the generally accepted privilege of theologians to stretch the heavens, that is the Scriptures, like tanners with a hide.

Man is to man either a god or a wolf.

By burning Luther’s books you may rid your bookshelves of him, but you will not rid men’s minds of him

War is sweet to those who have not experienced it.

I have turned my entire attention to Greek. The first thing I shall do, as soon as the money arrives, is to buy some Greek authors; after that, I shall buy clothes.

In short, no association or alliance can be happy or stable without me. People can’t long tolerate a ruler, nor can a master his servant, a maid her mistress, a teacher his pupil, a friend...

Nothing is so foolish, they say, as for a man to stand for office and woo the crowd to win its vote, buy its support with presents, court the applause of all those fools and...

What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.

When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.

A good prince will tax as lightly as possible those commodities which are used by the poorest members of society: grain, bread, beer, wine, clothing, and all other staples without which human life could not...

Before you sleep, read something that is exquisite, and worth remembering.

For them it’s out-of-date and outmoded to perform miracles; teaching the people is too like hard work, interpreting the holy scriptures is for schoolmen and praying is a waste of time; to shed tears is...

To know nothing is the happiest life.

No one respects a talent that is concealed.

Nature, more of a stepmother than a mother in several ways, has sown a seed of evil in the hearts of mortals, especially in the more thoughtful men, which makes them dissatisfied with their own...

What difference is there, do you think, between those in Plato’s cave who can only marvel at the shadows and images of various objects, provided they are content and don’t know what they miss, and...

To know nothing is the happiest life

Young bodies are like tender plants, which grow and become hardened to whatever shape you’ve trained them.

Whether a party can have much success without a woman present I must ask others to decide, but one thing is certain, no party is any fun unless seasoned with folly.

In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

If you keep thinking about what you want to do or what you hope will happen, you don’t do it, and it won’t happen.

If you look at history you’ll find that no state has been so plagued by its rulers as when power has fallen into the hands of some dabbler in philosophy or literary addict.

Jupiter, not wanting man’s life to be wholly gloomy and grim, has bestowed far more passion than reason /you could reckon the ration as twenty-four to one. Moreover, he confined reason to a cramped corner...

Women, can’t live with them, can’t live without them.

When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.

Now I believe I can hear the philosophers protesting that it can only be misery to live in folly, illusion, deception and ignorance, but it isn’t –it’s human.

A nail is driven out by another nail. Habit is overcome by habit.

I doubt if a single individual could be found from the whole of mankind free from some form of insanity. The only difference is one of degree. A man who sees a gourd and takes...