People who talk well but do nothing are like musical intruments; the sound is all they have to offer.
The noblest people are those despising wealth , learning , pleasure and life ; esteeming above them poverty , ignorance , hardship and death .
To the question what wine he found pleasant to drink, he replied, "That for which other people pay.
When some one reminded him that the people of Sinope had sentenced him to exile , he said, "And I sentenced them to stay at home .
Those who have virtue always in their mouths, and neglect it in practice, are like a harp, which emits a sound pleasing to others, while itself is insensible of the music.
When the slave auctioneer asked in what he was proficient, he replied, "In ruling people .