Pericles Quotes

Pericles presents a grand view of power and legacy, urging thoughtful action over mere monuments.

39 quotes

1. Nor is it any longer possible for you to give up this empire ... Your empire is now like a tyranny: it may have been wrong to take it; it is certainly dangerous to let it go.

2. But the bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding go out to meet it.

3. The whole Earth is the Sepulchre of famous men; and their story is not graven only on Stone over their native earth, but lives on far away, without visible symbol, woven into the stuff of other men's lives.

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

5. What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.

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

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

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

9. 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.

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

11. Make up your mind that happiness depends on being free, and freedom depends on being courageous.

12. 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.

13. Wait for that wisest of all counselors, Time.

14. For 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.

15. “[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.”

16. 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.

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

18. 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.

19. As for poverty, no one need be ashamed to admit it, the real shame is in not taking practical measures to escape from it.

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

21. We alone regard a man who takes no interest in public affairs not as harmless but as a useless character.

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

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. For the whole earth is the tomb of famous men; not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions in their own country, but in foreign lands there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men.

26. Famous men have the whole earth as their memorial.

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

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

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

30. The marketplace is democratic.

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

32. 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.

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

34. 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.

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

36. We do not say that a man who takes no interest in public affairs is a man who minds his own business. We say he has no business being here at all.

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

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

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