Standing on the shoulders of Publilius Syrus

Publilius Syrus, was a Latin writer, best known for his sententiae, a collection of brief moral sayings, such as proverbs, adages, aphorisms, maxims, or apophthegms. He was a Syrian from Antioch who was brought as a slave to Roman Italy, but by his wit and talent he won the favour of his master, who freed and educated him.

Syrus was brought to Rome on the same ship that brought a certain Manilius, astronomer - not the famous Manilius of the 1st century AD, and Staberius Eros the grammarian. He (flourished 1st century bc) was a Latin mime writer contemporary with Cicero, chiefly remembered for a collection of versified aphorisms that were extracted by scholars from his mimes, probably in the 1st century ad.

Publilius, who went to Rome as a slave from Syria, was soon manumitted. He defeated the veteran mime writer Decimus Laberius in a contest held in 45 bc, when the latter was “invited” by Julius Caesar to perform in one of his own mimes.

1.???? “A friendship that can end never really began.” - Publilius Syrus

2.???? “A service is well rendered when the receiver can remember it.” - Publius Syrus

3.???? “A wise man rules his passions, fool obeys them.” - Publius Syrus

4.???? “A wise man will be master of his mind, a fool will be its slave.” - Publilius Syrus

5.???? “An angry man is, again, angry with himself when he returns to reason.” - Publilius Syrus

6.???? “Any land is your country where you can live happy.” - Publius Syrus

7.???? “Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.” - Publilius Syrus

8.???? “As men, we are all equal in the presence of death.” - Publilius Syrus

9.???? “Be at war with men's vices, at peace with themselves.” - Publius Syrus

10.? “bis vincit qui se vincit - he conquers twice who conquers himself” - Publius Syrus

11.? “Bright faculties are a source of wisdom, not length of years.” - Publius Syrus

12.? “Debt is the slavery of the free” - Publilius Syrus

13.? “Either be silent, or say something better than silence.” - Publilius Syrus

14.? “Even in death, a good man would not deceive.” - Publius Syrus

15.? “Even when we get what we wish, it is not ours.” - Publius Syrus

16.? “Fate is not satisfied with inflicting one calamity.” - Publilius Syrus

17.? “From the errors of others, a wise man corrects his own.” - Publilius Syrus

18.? “God generally finds a way for like to meet like.” - Publius Syrus

19.? “He Conquers Who Conquers Himself” - Publilius Syrus

20.? “He who lives only for himself is truly dead to others.” - Publius Syrus

21.? “He who violates another's honor loses his own.” - Publius Syrus

22.? “How unhappy is he who cannot forgive himself.” - Publilius Syrus

23.? “Human reason grows rich by self-conquest.” - Publius Syrus

24.? “In quarreling, the truth is always lost.” - Publilius Syrus

25.? “It is a very hard undertaking to seek to please everybody.” - Publilius Syrus

26.? “It is hard to recover the lost opportunity.” - Publius Syrus

27.? “It is only the ignorant who despise education” - Publilius Syrus

28.? “It is the soul, not the body, that makes an enduring marriage.” - Publius Syrus

29.? “It is vain to be the pupil of a sage if you have no brains yourself.” - Publius Syrus

30.? “It takes a long time to bring excellence to maturity.” - Publilius Syrus

31.? “It’s a bad plan that can’t be changed.” - Publilius Syrus

32.? “Look to be treated by others as you have treated others.” - Publilius Syrus

33.? “Many consult their reputation; but few their conscience.” - Publilius Syrus

34.? “Mighty rivers may easily be leaped at their source” - Publilius Syrus

35.? “No man is happy unless he believes he is.” – Publilius

36.? “No one can escape death or love.” - Publius Syrus

37.? “Pain forces even the innocent to lie.” - Publilius Syrus

38.? “Poverty wants much; but avarice, everything.” - Publilius Syrus

39.? “Practice is the best of all instructors” - Publilius Syrus

40.? “Seek to please many, and you seek a failure.” - Publius Syrus

41.? “The defect which one period of life fastens upon us, another will remove.” - Publius Syrus

42.? “The fear of death is more to be feared, than death itself.” - Publius Syrus

43.? “The greatest of empires, is the empire over one's self.” - Publilius Syrus

44.? “The poor lack much, the greedy everything.” - Publilius Syrus

45.? “The sweetest pleasure arises from difficulties overcome.” - Publius Syrus

46.? “There's nothing which the lapse of time will not either extinguish or improve.” - Publius Syrus

47.? “To be always giving, is to encourage a forcible taking when you refuse to give.” - Publius Syrus

48.? “To dispute with a drunkard is to debate with an empty house.” - Publius Syrus

49.? “To do two things at once is to do neither.” - Publilius Syrus

50.? “To forget the wrongs you receive, is to remedy them.” - Publilius Syrus

51.? “To submit to necessity involves no disgrace.” - Publius Syrus

52.? “Trust, like the soul, never returns once it is gone.” - Publilius Syrus

53.? “We are interested in others when they are interested in us” - Publilius Syrus

54.? “We should keep our word even to the undeserving.” - Publius Syrus

55.? “What greater evil could you wish a miser than long life?” - Syrus Publilius

56.? “What is left when honor is lost?” - Publilius Syrus

57.? “When angry, a man has deserted his body.” - Publius Syrus

58.? “Where there is unity, there is always victory” - Publilius Syrus

59.? “whom fortune wishes to destroy she first makes mad” - Publilius Syrus

60.? “Why do we not hear the truth? Because we don't speak it.” - Publilius Syrus

61.? “Would you have a great empire? Rule over yourself.” - Publilius Syrus

62.? “You should hammer your iron when it is glowing hot.” - Publius Syrus

63.? “You should not live one way in private, another in public.” - Publilius Syrus

64.? “You will find a great many things before you find a good man.” - Publius Syrus

65.? A good reputation is more valuable than money. - Publilius Syrus

66.? A tongue prone to slander is the proof of a depraved mind. - Publilius Syrus

67.? Adversity shows whether we have friends, or only the shadows of friends. - Publilius Syrus

68.? Consider what you ought to say, and not what you think. - Publilius Syrus

69.? Consult your conscience, rather than popular opinion. - Publilius Syrus

70.? Conversation is the image of the mind. As the man is, so is his talk. - Publilius Syrus

71.? Do not despise the bottom rungs in the ascent to greatness. - Publilius Syrus

72.? Each day is the scholar of yesterday. - Publilius Syrus

73.? Equanimity is calamity's medicine. - Publilius Syrus

74.? Every man is a master in his own calling. -? Publilius Syrus

75.? God looks at the clean hands, not the full ones. - Publilius Syrus

76.? Good health and good sense are two of life's greatest blessings. - Publilius Syrus

77.? He who has lost honor can lose nothing more. - Publilius Syrus

78.? I often regret that I have spoken; never that I have been silent. - Publilius Syrus

79.? If you wish to reach the highest, begin at the lowest. - Publilius Syrus

80.? It is a fraud to borrow what we are unable to pay. - Publilius Syrus

81.? It is folly to punish your neighbor by fire when you live next door. - Publilius Syrus

82.? It is not every question that deserves an answer. - Publilius Syrus

83.? It is of no profit to have learned well, if you neglect to do well. - Publilius Syrus

84.? It matters not how long you live, but how well. - Publilius Syrus

85.? It matters not what you are thought to be, but what you are. - Publilius Syrus

86.? Let a fool hold his tongue and he will pass for a sage. - Publilius Syrus

87.? Many receive advice, only the wise profit by it. - Publilius Syrus

88.? Never promise more than you can perform. - Publilius Syrus

89.? No one knows what he can do until he tries. - Publilius Syrus

90.? Observation, not old age, brings wisdom. - Publilius Syrus

91.? Patience is the remedy for every misfortune. - Publilius Syrus

92.? Powerful indeed is the empire of habit. - Publilius Syrus

93.? Reproach in misfortune is an unseasonable cruelty. - Publilius Syrus

94.? Reprove your friends in secret, praise them openly. - Publilius Syrus

95.? The greatest of comforts is to be free from blame. - Publilius Syrus

96.? The pain of the mind is worse than the pain of the body. - Publilius Syrus

97.? The person who receives the most favors is the one who knows how to return them. - Publilius Syrus

98.? There is no fruit which is not bitter before it is ripe. - Publilius Syrus

99.? To receive a favor is to pawn your freedom. - Publilius Syrus

100.??????? We are born princes and the civilizing process makes us frogs. - Publilius Syrus

101.??????? When you confer a benefit on those worthy of it, you confer a favor on all. - Publilius Syrus

102.??????? While we stop to think, we often miss our opportunity. - Publilius Syrus

103.??????? Yesterday should be the teacher of today. - Publilius Syrus

104.??????? You are in a pitiable condition if you have to conceal what you wish to tell. - Publilius Syrus