Horace Quotes

Carpe diem! Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have. It is later than you think.

Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant.

The great virtue of parents is a great dowry.

Carpe diem. (Seize the day.)

When things are steep, remember to stay level-headed.

Wisdom is not wisdom when it is derived from books alone.

It makes a great difference whether Davus or a hero speaks.

Remember when life's path is steep to keep your mind even.

Rule your mind or it will rule you.

A heart well prepared for adversity in bad times hopes, and in good times fears for a change in fortune.

Pale Death beats equally at the poor man's gate and at the palaces of kings.

Anger is a momentary madness, so control your passion or it will control you.

Dare to begin! He who postpones living rightly is like the rustic who waits for the river to run out before he crosses.

I can never forget suffering and I will never forget sunset. I came home with all of it in my mind.

If you drive nature out with a pitchfork, she will soon find a way back.

A leech that will not quit the skin until sated with blood.

In neglected fields the fern grows, which must be cleared out by fire.

Once a word has been allowed to escape, it cannot be recalled.

Nothing's beautiful from every point of view.

A picture is a poem without words

Life grants nothing to us mortals without hard work.

It is courage, courage, courage, that raises the blood of life to crimson splendor. Live bravely and present a brave front to adversity

Misfortunes, untoward events, lay open, disclose the skill of a general, while success conceals his weakness, his weak points.

One wanders to the left, another to the right. Both are equally in error, but, are seduced by different delusions.

What we learn only through the ears makes less impression upon our minds than what is presented to the trustworthy eye.

Happy he who far from business, like the primitive are of mortals, cultivates with his own oxen the fields of his fathers, free from all anxieties of gain.

Whatever advice you give, be short.

Ridicule more often settles things more thoroughly and better than acrimony.

Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans. It is lovely to be silly at the right moment.

Seize the day, and put the least possible trust in tomorrow.

He who has begun has half done. Dare to be wise -begin!

Happy the man, and happy he alone, he who can call today his own: he who, secure within, can say, tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today. Be fair or foul or rain or shine, the joys I have possessed, in spite of fate, are mine. Not Heaven itself upon the past has power, but what has been, has been, and I have had my hour.

It is right for him who asks forgiveness for his offenses to grant it to others.

A word once let out of the cage cannot be whistled back again.

It is not the rich man you should properly call happy, but him who knows how to use with wisdom the blessings of the gods, to endure hard poverty, and who fears dishonor worse than death, and is not afraid to die for cherished friends or fatherland.

Who then is free? The wise man who can govern himself.

Let's put a limit to the scramble for money. ... Having got what you wanted, you ought to begin to bring that struggle to an end.

Success in the affairs of life often serves to hide one's abilities, whereas adversity frequently gives one an opportunity to discover them.

Knowledge without education is but armed injustice.

The man who is tenacious of purpose in a rightful cause is not shaken from his firm resolve by the frenzy of his fellow citizens clamoring for what is wrong, or by the tyrant's threatening countenance.

Youth is unduly busy with pampering the outer person.

The common people are but ill judges of a man's merits; they are slaves to fame, and their eyes are dazzled with the pomp of titles and large retinue. No wonder, then, that they bestow their honors on those who least deserve them.

A corrupt judge does not carefully search for the truth.

Never despair. [Nil desperandum.]

In times of stress, be bold and valiant.

A good and faithful judge ever prefers the honorable to the expedient.

To have a great man for an intimate friend seems pleasant to those who have never tried it; those who have, fear it. [Lat., Dulcis inexpertis cultura potentis amici; Expertus metuit.]

Why do you hasten to remove anything which hurts your eye, while if something affects your soul you postpone the cure until next year?

Who can hope to be safe? who sufficiently cautious? Guard himself as he may, every moment's an ambush.

Choose a subject equal to your abilities; think carefully what your shoulders may refuse, and what they are capable of bearing.