Demosthenes Quotes (-384--322)

“The man who has received a benefit ought always to remember it, but he who has granted it ought to forget the fact at once.”

“No man can tell what the future may bring forth, and small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.”

“The easiest thing in the world is self-deceit; for every man believes what he wishes, though the reality is often different.”

“You cannot have a proud and chivalrous spirit if your conduct is mean and paltry; for whatever a man's actions are, such must be his spirit.”

“ὥσπερ γὰρ οἰκίας, οἶμαι, καὶ πλοίου καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν τοιούτων τὰ κάτωθεν ἰσχυρότατ᾽ εἶναι δεῖ, οὕτω καὶ τῶν πράξεων τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς ὑποθέσεις ἀληθεῖς καὶ δικαίας εἶναι προσήκει
• For a house, I take it, or a ship or anything of that sort must have its chief strength in its substructure; and so too in affairs of state the principles and the foundations must be truth and justice.”