Pericles was a prominent and influential Greek statesman of the 5th century BCE. He was a leader of the democratic movement in Athens, and is often credited with the establishment of the city's Golden Age. He was a great orator and strategist, and is remembered for his influential role in the Peloponnesian War. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Pericles on democracy, death, ans.
Quick Jump To
Top 10 Pericles Quotes
Pericles Quotes About Earth
Short Pericles Quotes
Life Lessons
Famous Pericles Quotes
Top 10 Pericles Quotes
What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.
Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it.
We do not say that a man who takes no interest in public affairs is a man who minds his own business. We say he has no business being here at all.
Time is the wisest counselor of all.
Wait for the wisest of all counselors, Time.
Having knowledge but lacking the power to express it clearly is no better than never having any ideas at all.
Instead of looking on discussion as a stumbling block in the way of action, we think it an indispensable preliminary to any wise action at all.
Our love of what is beautiful does not lead to extravagance; our love of the things of the mind does not make us soft.
If Athens shall appear great to you, consider then that her glories were purchased by valiant men, and by men who learned their duty.
The whole earth is the tomb of heroic men and their story is not given only on stone over their clay but abides everywhere without visible symbol woven into the stuff of other mens lives.
Pericles inspirational quote
Pericles Image Quotes
Wait for the wisest of all counselors, Time. — Pericles
Pericles Short Quotes
Who makes the fairest show means most deceit.
The marketplace is democratic.
Time as he grows old teaches many lessons. - Aeschylus Time is the wisest counselor of all.
She is best who is least spoken of among men, whether for good or evil.
Future ages will wonder at us, as the present age wonders at us now.
Although only a few may originate a policy, we are all able to judge it.
We do not imitate, but are a model to others.
A woman's greatest glory is to be little talked about by men, whether for good or ill.
I am more afraid of our own mistakes than of our enemies' designs.
Better die standing than live kneeling.
Pericles Quotes About Earth
For heroes have the whole earth for their tomb; and in lands far from their own, where the column with its epitaph declares it, there is enshrined in every breast a record unwritten with no tablet to preserve it, except that of the heart. — Pericles
Famous men have the whole earth as their memorial. — Pericles
For the whole earth is the tomb of famous men; not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions in their own country, but in foreign lands there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men. — Pericles
Pericles Famous Quotes And Sayings
In private matters everyone is equal before the law. In public matters, when it is a question of putting power and responsibility into the hands of one man rather than another, what counts is not rank or money, but the ability to do the job well. — Pericles
Wait for the wisest of all counselors, Time. — Pericles
We do not need the praises of a Homer, or of anyone else whose words may delight us for the moment, but the estimation of facts will fall short of what is really true. — Pericles
We Athenians hold that it is not poverty that is disgraceful but the failure to struggle against it. — Pericles
Our love of what is beautiful does not lead to extravagance; our love of the things of the mind does not make us soft. We regard wealth as something to be properly used, rather than as
something to boast about. As for poverty, no one need be ashamed to admit it, the real shame is in not taking practical measures to escape from it. — Pericles
An Athenian citizen does not neglect his state because he takes care of his own household; even those of us who are engaged in business have a very fair idea of politics. We do not regard a man who takes no interest in public affairs as harmless. We do not say that such a man 'minds his own business'. Rather we say he has no business here at all. — Pericles
To face calamity with a mind as unclouded as may be, and quickly to react against it-that in a city and in an individual-is real strength. — Pericles
Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you. — Pericles
For grief is felt not so much for the want of what we have never known, as for the loss of that to which we have been long accustomed. — Pericles
For a man's counsel cannot have equal weight or worth, when he alone has no children to risk in the general danger. — Pericles
Not to be able to bear poverty is a shameful thing, but not to know how to chase it away by work is a more shameful thing yet. — Pericles
As for poverty, no one need be ashamed to admit it, the real shame is in not taking practical measures to escape from it. — Pericles
Time is the king of all men, he is their parent and their grave, and gives them what he will and not what they crave. — Pericles
Those who can truly be accounted brave are those who best know the meaning of what is sweet in life and what is terrible, and then go out, undeterred, to meet what is to come. — Pericles
It is difficult to argue with the belly, for it has no ears. — Pericles
I am of opinion that national greatness is more for the advantage of private citizens, than any individual well-being coupled with public humiliation. A man may be personally ever so well off, and yet if his country be ruined he must be ruined with it; whereas a flourishing commonwealth always affords chances of salvation to unfortunate individuals. — Pericles
Just because you are not interested in politics, does not mean that politics is not interested in you. — Pericles
Your great glory is not to be inferior to what you have been given by nature, and the greatest glory of a woman is to be least talked about by men, whether theyare praising or criticizing you. — Pericles
Those who can think, but cannot express what they think, place themselves at the level of those who cannot think. — Pericles
Remember, too, that if your country has the greatest name in all the world, it is because she never bent before disaster; because she has expended more life and effort in war than any other city, and has won for herself a power greater than any hitherto known, the memory of which will descend to the latest posterity. — Pericles
Trees, though they are cut and loped, grow up again quickly, but if men are destroyed, it is not easy to get them again — Pericles
Life Lessons by Pericles
Pericles taught the importance of civic responsibility and the value of democracy, emphasizing the need for citizens to take an active role in the governance of their city.
He also stressed the importance of education and the cultivation of the arts and sciences, believing that these pursuits could help to create a better society.
He also believed in the importance of public service and self-sacrifice, encouraging citizens to put the needs of the community before their own.
Citation
Feel free to cite and use any of the quotes by Pericles. For popular citation styles (APA, Chicago, MLA), go to citation page.