Gaius Cosconius was accused under the Servilian law, and because of his many obvious crimes, there was no doubt that he was guilty. But...

I shall add the story of two men who were acquitted through the fault of their accusers. Marcus Flavius was brought on trial before the...

How cleverly indeed Anacharsis used to compare laws with spider-webs! Just a web catches weaker creatures and lets the stronger ones get...

The following remark was no less wise. A father with only one daughter asked Themistocles whether he should marry her off to a man who...

Well? Wasn’t the reply of Xenocrates admirable! He was there when some men were gossiping maliciously, but he kept completely silent. One...

When he saw one of his friends grieving bitterly, Solon led him to the top of the city and urged him to look all around at the houses...

When Socrates was asked by a young man whether he should take a wife or avoid marriage altogether, Socrates replied that whichever the...

Socrates also used to say that there was a quick and short road for those who wanted to attain glory: they would have to make sure that...

Gyges was conceited about his kingdom of Lydia, which abounded in riches and military power, so he came to Pythian Apollo to ask whether...

We have told several stories about the fickleness of Fortune, but very few stories can be told about her being consistently well...

What we call people’s wealth and power are in fact very short-lived and fragile things, like a child’s toys. They come to us suddenly,...

The next story tells of frankness that was brave and witty too. There was a very old woman at Syracuse, and though everyone else was...

I would have said that this former censor was too fierce, if I did not see that Publius Atilius Philiscus, who had been forced by his...

the death masks of one’s ancestors, with a list of their achievements, were deliberately placed in the most conspicuous part of the house...

Can we imagine how distinguished Menenius Agrippa must have been if the Senate and plebs chose him as the man to make peace between them?...

Alexander may have acquired the reputation of being unconquerable, but he was unable to conquer the self-restraint of Diogenes the Cynic....

Fabricius Luscinus felt the same way. In his day, he held the highest offices and exercised the greatest influence in the entire state,...

A household, a state, a kingdom will easily survive on a permanent basis provided that the desire for sexual pleasure and money wins the...

So I am not at all surprised that he was consistently moderate in dealing with his pupil Xenocrates. He had heard that Xenocrates had...

Archytas of Tarentum was immersing himself deeply in the teachings of Pythagoras at Metapontum, and after a long time and a lot of hard...

I shall begin with the birth of our highest public office. Valerius won the name of Publicola (devoted to the people) because he had such...

The bravest commanders do not allow me to linger any longer on these frivolous stories. His fellow citizens were angry with Epaminondas,...

Scipio matched this confidence after he had landed in Africa. Two spies sent by Hannibal were caught in his camp, and when they were...

In a truly great generation of talented and distinguished citizens, Quintus Hortensius reached the highest level of influence and...