“Whoever cultivates the golden mean avoids both the poverty of a hovel and the envy of a palace.”

— Horace, Odes, Book II, ode x, line 5

About Horace

65 BC – 8 BC

Roman lyric poet, author of the "Odes" and "Satires".

“Pale death, with impartial step, knocks at the hut of the poor and the towers of kings.”

“It is right for him who asks forgiveness for his offenses to grant it to others.”

“Seize the day, believing as little as possible in the morrow.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”