"I do believe that there are gods, and in a far higher sense than that in which any of my accusers believe in them."

"Beauty is a short-lived tyranny"

"How can you wonder your travels do you no good, when you carry yourself around with you?"

"And in knowing that you know nothing makes you the smartest of all."

"He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god."

"I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled [poets] to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean."

"As to marriage or celibacy, let a man take which course he will, he will be sure to repent."

"Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down."

"My friend...care for your psyche...know thyself, for once we know ourselves, we may learn how to care for ourselves"

"In all of us, even in good men, there is a lawless wild-beast nature, which peers out in sleep."