Sophocles was an ancient Greek tragedian, known as one of three from whom at least one play has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those of Aeschylus; and earlier than, or contemporary with, those of Euripides.
Sophocles Quotes
1. “Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud.”
— Sophocles
2. “Remember there is no success without hard work.”
— Sophocles
3. “Laziness is the mother of all evils.”
— Sophocles
4. “Without labor nothing prospers.”
— Sophocles
5. “Nothing vast enters the life of mortals without a curse.”
— Sophocles
6. “I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating.”
— Sophocles
7. “Always desire to learn something useful.”
— Sophocles
8. “Success is dependant on effort.”
— Sophocles
9. “All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.”
— Sophocles
10. “Who seeks shall find.”
— Sophocles
11. “Stubbornness and stupidity are twins.”
— Sophocles
12. “To never have been born may be the greatest boon of all.”
— Sophocles
13. “If we always helped one another, no one would need luck.”
— Sophocles
14. “It is a painful thing to look at your own trouble and know that you yourself and no one else has made it.”
— Sophocles
15. “To be doing good deeds is man’s most glorious task.”
— Sophocles
16. “There is no happiness where there is no wisdom.”
— Sophocles
17. “Tomorrow is tomorrow. Future cares have future cures, And we must mind today.”
— Sophocles
18. “Look and you will find it – what is unsought will go undetected.”
— Sophocles
19. “One word Frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love.”
— Sophocles
20. “I was not born to share the hate, but love.”
— Sophocles
21. “Kindness gives birth to kindness.”
— Sophocles
22. “You can kill a man but you cant kill a idea.”
— Sophocles
23. “Fortune cannot aid those who do nothing.”
— Sophocles
24. “The soul that has conceived one wickedness can nurse no good thereafter.”
— Sophocles
25. “The oaths of a woman I inscribe on water.”
— Sophocles
26. “Go then if you must, but remember, no matter how foolish your deeds, those who love you will love you still.”
— Sophocles
27. “Trust dies but mistrust blossoms.”
— Sophocles
28. “Chance never helps those who do not help themselves.”
— Sophocles
29. “I was born to join in love, not hate – that is my nature.”
— Sophocles
30. “One who knows how to show and to accept kindness will be a friend better than any possession.”
— Sophocles
31. “What people believe prevails over the truth.”
— Sophocles
32. “No enemy is worse than bad advice.”
— Sophocles
33. “Fate has terrible power. You cannot escape it by wealth or war. No fort will keep it out, no ships outrun it.”
— Sophocles
34. “The truth is always the strongest argument.”
— Sophocles
35. “When you can prove me wrong, then call me blind.”
— Sophocles
36. “Death is not the greatest of evils; it is worse to want to die, and not be able to.”
— Sophocles
37. “Old age and the passage of time teach all things.”
— Sophocles
38. “Money: There’s nothing in the world so demoralizing as money.”
— Sophocles
39. “Quick decisions are unsafe decisions.”
— Sophocles
40. “Brave hearts do not back down back off.”
— Sophocles
41. “Not knowing anything is the sweetest life.”
— Sophocles
42. “Much wisdom often goes with fewer words.”
— Sophocles
43. “The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves.”
— Sophocles
44. “The keenest sorrow is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.”
— Sophocles
45. “Wonders are many, and none is more wonderful than man; the power that crosses the white sea, driven by the stormy wind, making a path under surges that threaten to engulf him…”
— Sophocles
46. “Fear? What has a man to do with fear? Chance rules our lives, and the future is all unknown. Best live as we may, from day to day.”
— Sophocles
47. “Alas, how terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the man that’s wise! This I knew well, but had forgotten it, else I would not have come here.”
— Sophocles
48. “You must remember that no one lives a life free from pain and suffering.”
— Sophocles
49. “Best to live lightly, unthinkingly.”
— Sophocles
50. “A lie never lives to be old.”
— Sophocles
51. “A human being is only breath and shadow.”
— Sophocles
52. “Our happiness depends on wisdom all the way.”
— Sophocles
53. “A short saying often contains much wisdom.”
— Sophocles
54. “A wise man does not chatter with one whose mind is sick.”
— Sophocles
55. “I have no desire to suffer twice, in reality and then in retrospect.”
— Sophocles
56. “I am the child of Fortune, the giver of good, and I shall not be shamed. She is my mother; my sisters are the Seasons; my rising and my falling match with theirs. Born thus, I ask to be no other man than that I am.”
— Sophocles
57. “A man growing old becomes a child again.”
— Sophocles
58. “Children are the anchors of a mother’s life.”
— Sophocles
59. “Success, remember is the reward of toil.”
— Sophocles
60. “If you try to cure evil with evil you will add more pain to your fate.”
— Sophocles
61. “I don’t even exist – I’m no one. Nothing.”
— Sophocles
62. “When I have tried and failed, I shall have failed.”
— Sophocles
63. “The kind of man who always thinks that he is right, that his opinions, his pronouncements, are the final word, when once exposed shows nothing there. But a wise man has much to learn without a loss of dignity.”
— Sophocles
64. “How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be when there’s no help in truth!”
— Sophocles
65. “Things gained through unjust fraud are never secure.”
— Sophocles
66. “Death is not the worst thing; rather, when one who craves death cannot attain even that wish.”
— Sophocles
67. “God’s dice always have a lucky roll.”
— Sophocles
68. “Grief teaches the steadiest minds to waver.”
— Sophocles
69. “Troubles hurt the most when they prove self-inflicted.”
— Sophocles
70. “Wise thinkers prevail everywhere.”
— Sophocles
71. “Reason is God’s crowning gift to man.”
— Sophocles
72. “Astronomy? Impossible to understand and madness to investigate.”
— Sophocles
73. “What greater ornament to a son than a father’s glory, or to a father than a son’s honorable conduct?”
— Sophocles
74. “It is terrible to speak well and be wrong.”
— Sophocles
75. “He who throws away a friend is as bad as he who throws away his life.”
— Sophocles
76. “It can be no dishonor to learn from others when they speak good sense.”
— Sophocles
77. “A man though wise, should never be ashamed of learning more, and must unbend his mind.”
— Sophocles
78. “The golden eye of justice sees, and requites the unjust man.”
— Sophocles
79. “The strongest iron, hardened in the fire, most often ends in scraps and shatterings.”
— Sophocles
80. “The dice of Zeus always fall luckily.”
— Sophocles
81. “To those who err in judgment, not in will, anger is gentle.”
— Sophocles
82. “And if my present actions strike you as foolish, let’s just say I’ve been accused of folly by a fool.”
— Sophocles
83. “A cunning fellow is man, inventive beyond all expectation, he reaches sometimes evil and sometimes good.”
— Sophocles
84. “Much speech is one thing, well-timed speech is another.”
— Sophocles
85. “A mind at peace does not engender wars.”
— Sophocles
86. “Do nothing secretly; for Time sees and hears all things, and discloses all.”
— Sophocles
87. “Truly, to tell lies is not honorable; but when the truth entails tremendous ruin, To speak dishonorably is pardonable.”
— Sophocles
88. “Ill-gotten gains work evil.”
— Sophocles
89. “Silence is an ornament for women.”
— Sophocles
90. “Many are the wonders of the world, and none so wonderful as man.”
— Sophocles
91. “The Most beautiful human deed, is to be useful to others.”
— Sophocles
92. “Time is a kindly God.”
— Sophocles
93. “There is no sense in crying over spilt milk. Why bewail what is done and cannot be recalled?”
— Sophocles
94. “Let a man nobly live or nobly die.”
— Sophocles
95. “Unwanted favours gain no gratitude.”
— Sophocles
96. “If my body is enslaved, still my mind is free.”
— Sophocles
97. “Man’s worst ill is stubbornness of heart.”
— Sophocles
98. “Knowledge must come through action.”
— Sophocles
99. “To err from the right path is common to mankind.”
— Sophocles
100. “How terrible it is to have wisdom when it does not benefit those who have it.”
— Sophocles
101. “Gratitude to gratitude always gives birth.”
— Sophocles
102. “For the wretched one night is like a thousand; for someone faring well death is just one more night.”
— Sophocles
103. “To me so deep a silence portends some dread event; a clamorous sorrow wastes itself in sound.”
— Sophocles
104. “A man who takes pleasure in speaking continuously fools himself in thinking he is not unpleasant to those around him.”
— Sophocles
105. “A prudent man should neglect no circumstances.”
— Sophocles
106. “I ask this one thing: let me go mad in my own way.”
— Sophocles
107. “Better to die, and sleep The never-waking sleep, than linger on And dare to live when the soul’s life is gone.”
— Sophocles
108. “It is best not to have been born at all: but, if born, as quickly as possible to return whence one came.”
— Sophocles
109. “The tyrant is a child of Pride Who drinks from his sickening cup Recklessness and vanity, Until from his high crest headlong He plummets to the dust of hope.”
— Sophocles
110. “We must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day had been.”
— Sophocles
111. “The tyrant is a child of pride.”
— Sophocles
112. “Why should man fear since chance is all in all for him, and he can clearly foreknow nothing? Best to live lightly, as one can, unthinkingly.”
— Sophocles
113. “There is no happiness where there is no wisdom; No wisdom but in submission to the gods. Big words are always punished, And proud men in old age learn to be wise.”
— Sophocles
114. “To women silence gives their proper grace.”
— Sophocles
115. “Weep not, everything must have its day.”
— Sophocles
116. “Gentle time will heal our sorrows.”
— Sophocles
117. “Profit is sweet, even if it comes from deception.”
— Sophocles
118. “Many the wonders but nothing walks stranger than man.”
— Sophocles
119. “What you can’t enforce, do not command.”
— Sophocles
120. “It is the brave man’s part to live with glory, or with glory die.”
— Sophocles
121. “I write a woman’s oaths in water.”
— Sophocles
122. “Despite so many ordeals, my advanced age and the nobility of my soul make me conclude that all is well.”
— Sophocles
123. “Wisdom is a dreadful thing when it brings no knowledge to its possessor.”
— Sophocles
124. “Thoughts are mightier than strength of hand.”
— Sophocles
125. “None love the messenger who brings bad news.”
— Sophocles
126. “Many things are formidable, and none more formidable than man.”
— Sophocles
127. “Laws can never be enforced unless fear supports them.”
— Sophocles
128. “If men live decently it is because discipline saves their very lives for them.”
— Sophocles
129. “My nails are broken, my fingers are bleeding, my arms are covered with the welts left by the paws of your guards – but I am a queen!”
— Sophocles
130. “King as thou art, free speech at least is mine. To make reply; in this I am thy peer.”
— Sophocles
131. “Wonders are many, and none is more wonderful than man.”
— Sophocles
132. “Bear up, my child, bear up; Zeus who oversees and directs all things is still mighty in heaven.”
— Sophocles
133. “Men should pledge themselves to nothing; for reflection makes a liar of their resolution.”
— Sophocles
134. “Thou lov’st to speak in riddles and dark words.”
— Sophocles
135. “Isn’t it the sweetest mockery to mock our enemies?”
— Sophocles
136. “Despair often breeds disease.”
— Sophocles
137. “Sleep’s the only medicine that gives ease.”
— Sophocles
138. “Stranger in a strange country.”
— Sophocles
139. “For God hates utterly the bray of bragging tongues.”
— Sophocles
140. “It is no weakness for the wisest man to learn when he is wrong.”
— Sophocles
141. “No greater evil can a man endure Than a bad wife, nor find a greater good Than one both good and wise; and each man speaks As judging by the experience of his life.”
— Sophocles
142. “The happiest life is to be without thought.”
— Sophocles
143. “Love, you mock us for your sport.”
— Sophocles
144. “Every wind is fare when we are flying from misfortune.”
— Sophocles
145. “Ignorance is a tough evil to conquer.”
— Sophocles
146. “What greater wound is there than a false friend?”
— Sophocles
147. “Zeus detests above all the boasts of a proud tongue.”
— Sophocles
148. “If it were possible to heal sorrow by weeping and to raise the dead with tears, gold were less prized than grief.”
— Sophocles
149. “Wild as you are, all that love you must love you still.”
— Sophocles
150. “The curse of ignorance is that man without being good or evil is nevertheless satisfied with himself.”
— Sophocles
151. “Nothing great enters the life of mortals without a curse.”
— Sophocles
152. “Men of ill judgment ignore the good that lies within their hands, till they have lost it.”
— Sophocles
153. “Every man can see things far off but is blind to what is near.”
— Sophocles
154. “The joy that comes past hope and beyond expectation is like no other pleasure in extent.”
— Sophocles
155. “Time alone reveals the just man; but you might discern a bad man in a single day.”
— Sophocles
156. “You would rouse to anger a heart of stone.”
— Sophocles
157. “You’re dreaming, girl, lost in a moving dream.”
— Sophocles
158. “You don’t know what kind of day you will have, until evening.”
— Sophocles
159. “Afterthought makes the first resolve a liar.”
— Sophocles
160. “Obedience to authority saves many skins.”
— Sophocles
161. “Not all things are to be discovered; many are better concealed.”
— Sophocles
162. “If you are out of trouble, watch for danger.”
— Sophocles
163. “In season, all is good.”
— Sophocles
164. “A man who deals in fairness with his own, he can make manifest justice in the state.”
— Sophocles
165. “In a just cause the weak will beat the strong.”
— Sophocles
166. “Thou shalt not ration justice.”
— Sophocles
167. “He has the thousand-yard stare.”
— Sophocles
168. “I know that you are deathly sick; and yet, sick as you are, not one is as sick as I.”
— Sophocles
169. “Alas! How sad when reasoners reason wrong.”
— Sophocles
170. “Not even Ares battles against necessity.”
— Sophocles
171. “Trouble brings trouble upon trouble.”
— Sophocles
172. “There is nothing more hateful than bad advice.”
— Sophocles
173. “Wisdom is the most important part of happiness.”
— Sophocles
174. “When I do not understand, I like to say nothing.”
— Sophocles
175. “In a just cause it is right to be confident.”
— Sophocles
176. “Therefore, while our eyes wait to see the destined final day, we must call no one happy who is of mortal race, until he has crossed life’s border, free from pain.”
— Sophocles
177. “To the person who is afraid, everything rustles.”
— Sophocles
178. “To speak much is one thing; to speak to the point another!”
— Sophocles
179. “How dangerous can false reasoning prove!”
— Sophocles
180. “No honest man will argue on every side.”
— Sophocles
181. “To revive sorrow is cruel.”
— Sophocles
182. “There is some pleasure even in words, when they bring forgetfulness of present miseries.”
— Sophocles
183. “As sight is in the eye, so is the mind in the soul!”
— Sophocles
184. “There is no such thing as the old age of the wise.”
— Sophocles
185. “True, as unwisdom is the worst of ills.”
— Sophocles
186. “The wise form right judgment of the present from what is past.”
— Sophocles
187. “Death the deliverer freeth all at last.”
— Sophocles
188. “Fortune never helps the fainthearted.”
— Sophocles
189. “The gods love those of ordered soul.”
— Sophocles
190. “Opportunity has power over all things.”
— Sophocles
191. “Whoever has a keen eye for profits, is blind in relation to his craft.”
— Sophocles
192. “Time is the great healer, you will see.”
— Sophocles
193. “I’ve never known an honest man who can plead so well for any plea whatever.”
— Sophocles
194. “The truth with all its power lives inside me.”
— Sophocles
195. “Give me a life wherever there is an opportunity to live, and better life than was my father’s.”
— Sophocles
196. “Dark, dark! The horror of darkness, like a shroud, wraps me and bears me on through mist and cloud.”
— Sophocles
197. “In his autumn before the winter comes mans last mad surge of youth.”
— Sophocles
198. “Love, unconquerable, Waster of rich men, keeper Of warm lights and all-night vigil In the soft face of a girl: Sea-wanderer, forest-visitor! Even the pure immortals cannot escape you, And mortal man, in his one day’s dusk, Trembles before your glory.”
— Sophocles
199. “Time is the only test of honest men, one day is space enough to know a rogue.”
— Sophocles
200. “Time, which sees all things, has found you out.”
— Sophocles
