Sophocles Quotes

Silence is an ornament for women.

All a man's affairs become diseased when he wishes to cure evils by evils.

Heaven never helps the man who will not help himself

No speech can stain what is noble by nature.

They are not wise, then, who stand forth to buffet against Love; for Love rules the gods as he will, and me.

Nobody likes the man who brings bad news.

There is no greater evil than anarchy.

Money: There's nothing in the world so demoralizing as money.

A wise man does not chatter with one whose mind is sick.

Ignorance is a tough evil to conquer.

Afterthought makes the first resolve a liar.

We must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day had been.

Alas, how quickly the gratitude owed to the dead flows off, how quick to be proved a deceiver.

Wise thinkers prevail everywhere.

Old age and the passage of time teach all things.

Fear? What has a man to do with fear? Chance rules our lives, and the future is all unknown. Best live as we may, from day to day.

Thoughts are mightier than strength of hand.

Rash indeed is he who reckons on tomorrow, or happily on the days beyond it; for tomorrow is not, until today is past.

If it were possible to heal sorrow by weeping and to raise the dead with tears, gold were less prized than grief.

To me no profitable speech sounds ill.

Not to be born surpasses all reckoning. The next best thing by far, when one has been born is to go back as swiftly as possible whence one came.

When an oath is taken ... the mind is more attentive; for it guards against two things, the reproach of friends and offence against the gods.

For no one loves the bearer of bad tidings.

It is a base thing for a man among the people not to obey those in command. Never in a state can the laws be well administered when fear does not stand firm.

Be a thrifty steward of thy goods.

How dreadful it is when the right judge judges wrong!

Show me the man who keeps his house in hand, He's fit for public authority.

Whoever gets up and comes to grips with Love like a boxer is a fool.

The tyrant is a child of pride.

The ideal condition would be, I admit, that men should be right by instinct; but since we are all likely to go astray, The reasonable thing is to learn from those who can teach

The eyes of men love to pluck the blossoms from the faded flowers they turn away.

We have only a little time to please the living. But all eternity to love the dead.

Hide nothing, for time, which sees all and hears all, exposes all.

All is disgust when one leaves his own nature and does things that misfit it.

Is anyone in all the world safe from unhappiness?

To be doing good deeds is man's most glorious task.

God's dice always have a lucky roll.

Evil gains work their punishment.

Profit is sweet, even if it comes from deception.

What house, bloated with luxury, ever became prosperous without a woman's excellence?

When I do not understand, I like to say nothing.

Nobody likes the bringer of bad news.

Men should pledge themselves to nothing; for reflection makes a liar of their resolution.

Knowledge must come through action. You can have no test which is not fanciful, save by trial.

Goodbye to the sun that shines for me no longer.

Remember there is no success without hard work.

Fortune cannot aid those who do nothing.

Wealth makes an ugly person beautiful to look on and an incoherent speech eloquent; and wealth alone can enjoy pleasure even in sickness and can conceal its miseries.

Much speech is one thing, well-timed speech is another.

Woman, to women silence is the best ornament.