The 23 best quotes by Plutarch

Plutarch of Chaeronea left us some great quotes about ethics, friendship and life.

Plutarch (46 AD - 120), who was also known as Plutarch of Chaeronea when he finally obtained Roman citizenship, was an incredible Greek historian, thinker, biographer and philosopher.

Plutarch was born in Chaeronea, Boeotia (a region that corresponds to modern-day Western Greece). During his long life he traveled throughout the Mediterranean and studied rhetoric, philosophy and mathematics at the Athenian Academy.

• "The 75 best philosophical phrases in history".
• "The 35 best phrases of Heraclitus of Ephesus".

Famous phrases of Plutarch.

His work was based on moralism, although he also developed theories and postulates in philosophy and history. He is considered one of the most influential Hellenic thinkers of all time. In today's article let's get to know the work of this Greek thinker through the best phrases of Plutarch..

1. Friendship is a companion animal, not a flock animal.

To be well surrounded does not depend on quantity, but on quality.

2. Patience has more power than strength.

An unequaled quality in the human being: step by step is how we get to a good port.

3. An army of deer led by a lion is much more fearsome than an army of lions led by a deer.

The importance of leadership is highlighted in this sentence by Plutarch.

4. Many things are those that time heals, not those that reason arranges.

Any defeat can be alleviated with the simple passage of time.

5. The brain is not a glass to be filled, but a lamp to be lit.

A brutal metaphor. Perhaps the most famous quote of the great Plutarch.

6. The omission of good is no less reprehensible than the commission of evil.

A maxim of his moral thoughts.

7. Moderate work fortifies the spirit; and weakens it when it is excessive: just as moderate water nourishes the plants and too much drowns them.

Moderation, in any facet of life, is the virtue of a balanced and balanced existence.

8. Spiders catch flies and let wasps flee.

It is for a reason that they do not dare to deal with poisonous beings.

9. He who has many vices has many masters.

Vicious people are slaves to their bad habits.

10. Sometimes a joke, an anecdote, an insignificant moment, paints a better picture of an illustrious man than the greatest exploits or the bloodiest battles.

On the transcendence of small details.

11. There are husbands so unjust that they demand from their wives a fidelity that they themselves violate, they resemble the generals who cowardly flee from the enemy, who, however, want their soldiers to hold their post with courage.

On the prevailing male chauvinism in the conjugal relations of the time.

12. Hatred is a tendency to take advantage of every occasion to harm others.

This is how Plutarch defined hatred.

13. I do not need friends who change when I change and nod when I nod. My shadow does it much better.

One of those phrases of Plutarch in which he shows us the essence of friendship.

14. To enjoy all pleasures is foolish; to avoid them, insensitive.

In moderation is virtue, according to the Greek philosopher.

15. A people that wants to be happy has no need of conquests.

Imperialism is born of an incomplete and unhappy society.

16. There are loves so beautiful that they justify all the follies they make us commit.

A romantic love phrase of great beauty and virtue.

17. He who enters into briars and loves, will enter when he wants, but will not leave when he wants.

A great reflection to apply to our daily life.

18. Hunters catch hares with dogs; many men catch the ignorant with flattery.

Parallelism that gives us to understand that manipulation can generate followers.

19. To know how to speak, it is necessary to know how to listen.

A maxim in empathic and effective communication, according to Plutarch.

20. The death of the young is a shipwreck. The death of the old is a docking in port.

The naturalness of death is only conceivable in old age. Everything else is drama.

21. An authority based on terror, violence and oppression is both a shame and an injustice.

On authoritarian leaders.

22. True friendship seeks three things: virtue, as honesty; dialogue, as delight; and utility, as necessity.

A summary of the three pillars of a beautiful friendship.

23. We must live, and not just exist.

One of those phrases of Plutarch that exhort us to live without fear.