Controversial Sayings

42 sayings found from the Ancient era from 42 authors

Numbers rule the universe.

— Pythagoras c. 500 BCE
General

Life is short, the art long, opportunity fleeting, experience treacherous, judgment difficult.

— Hippocrates 400 BCE
General

The Nile floods because of heavy rains in the south.

— Eratosthenes 240 BCE
General

All parts of the body are formed in the semen.

— Galen 180 CE
General

I would not fear a pack of lions led by a sheep, but I would always fear a flock of sheep led by a lion.

— Alexander the Great 330 BCE
General

Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit.

— Virgil ~29-19 BC
General

Omne solum forti patria est.

— Ovid ~8 AD
General

Veni, vidi, vici. (I came, I saw, I conquered.)

— Julius Caesar 47 BC
General

In this sign, you shall conquer.

— Constantine the Great 312
General

All books shall be burned except those on medicine, divination, and agriculture.

— Qin Shi Huang 213 BCE
General

I am Cyrus, king of the world.

— Cyrus the Great 539 BCE
General

Let us relieve the Romans of the fear they have so long experienced.

— Hannibal Barca 216 BCE
General

I am the Scourge of God.

— Attila the Hun 5th century CE
Religious

The measure of a man is what he does with power.

— Plato Unknown
General

You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

— Marcus Aurelius 161-180 CE
General

No man was ever wise by chance.

— Seneca 1st century CE
General

Fables should be taught as fables, myths as myths, and miracles as poetic fancies. To teach superstitions as truths is a most terrible thing.

— Hypatia c. 400
General

Sire, there is no royal road to geometry.

— Euclid c. 300 BCE
Shocking

The sage is a mirror to heaven and earth, a glass to all things.

— Zhuangzi 4th century BCE
Religious

There is no such thing as a righteous war.

— Mencius 4th century BCE
General
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