Top 60 Xenophon Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “People often say what is right and do what is wrong; but nobody can be in the wrong if he is doing what is right.”

— Xenophon

2. “Misleaders are slow to work hard but quick to act on greed. They convince their men that dishonest behavior leads to great wealth.”

— Xenophon

3. “A man may hate cruelty and lies, but if he’s never given an opportunity to show what he’s made of, no one will remember him when he dies.”

— Xenophon

4. “Most people, when they are set upon looking into other people’s affairs, never turn to examine themselves.”

— Xenophon

5. “I will choosing to die rather than to remain alive without freedom and beg, as an alternative to death, a vastly inferior life.”

— Xenophon

6. “Nothing that is really good and admirable is granted by the gods to men without some effort and application.”

— Xenophon

7. “Leaders must always set the highest standard. In a summer campaign, leaders must always endure their share of the sun and the heat and, in winter, the cold and the frost. In all labors, leaders must prove tireless if they want to enjoy the trust of their followers.”

— Xenophon

8. “The man who doesn’t know his own ability is ignorant of himself.”

— Xenophon

9. “Success Should Never Breed Complacency.”

— Xenophon

10. “I made my people understand the crucial difference between modesty and self-control. The modest person, I told them, will do nothing blameworthy in the light of day, but a true paragon of self-control – which we all should strive to be – avoids unworthy actions even in the deepest secrecy of his private life.”

— Xenophon

11. “Success always calls for greater generosity – though most people, lost in the darkness of their own egos, treat it as an occasion for greater greed.”

— Xenophon

12. “Truly, men often fail to understand their own weaknesses,” I said neutrally, “and their lack of self-knowledge can bring terrible disasters down on their own heads.”

— Xenophon

13. “I would force myself again and again to guard against my own overeagerness. Such self-control was crucial, for many times it led to great victories when self-indulgence might have led to defeats.”

— Xenophon

14. “And do you think, you fool,” added Socrates, “that kisses of love are not venomous, because you perceive not the poison? Know that a beautiful person is a more dangerous animal than scorpions, because these cannot wound unless they touch us; but beauty strikes at a distance: from what place soever we can but behold her, she darts her venom upon us, and overthrows our judgment.”

— Xenophon

15. “Let’s banish these misleaders from among us, and when we do, we shouldn’t fill their places from our Persian peerage alone. As our journey continues, we’re going to be joined by many races of men. Just as we choose our horses from the best stocks, not limiting ourselves to our national breed, we should choose the best men to join us in the work of command, regardless of their country or color.” A.”

— Xenophon

16. “Well-Trained Personnel Always Come Through in a Pinch.”

— Xenophon

17. “When soldiers are sick or wounded, doctors can fix them up, but you’ve got to save them from falling ill in the first place.”

— Xenophon

18. “Early on, you can expect no one to believe in your destiny as much as yourself.”

— Xenophon

19. “In heaven’s name, let us not wait for other people to come to us and call upon us to do great deeds. Let us instead be the first to summon the rest to a path of honor.”

— Xenophon

20. “Most of us are always trying to increase our wealth, but you and your officers seem far more concerned with perfecting your souls.”

— Xenophon

21. “To quote a dictum of Simon, what a horse does under compulsion he does blindly, and his performance is no more beautiful than would be that of a ballet-dancer taught by whip and goad.”

— Xenophon

22. “In my experience, men who respond to good fortune with modesty and kindness are harder to find than those who face adversity with courage. For in the very nature of things, success tends to create pride and blindness in the hearts of men, while suffering teaches them to be patient and strong.”

— Xenophon

23. “He had put on the best-looking uniform that he could, thinking that... victory deserved the best-looking armour.”

— Xenophon

24. “Do you think there is anything worse for a man than that which makes him choose what is bad for him instead what is good, and persuades him to cultivate the former and disregard the latter, and compels him to behave in the opposite way to that which is adopted by disciplined people?”

— Xenophon

25. “If you wish to be thought a good estate manager, or a good horseman, or a good physician, or a good flute player without really being one, just imagine all the tricks you have to invent just to keep up appearances. You might succeed at first, but in the end you’re going to be exposed as an impostor.”

— Xenophon

26. “Brevity is the soul of command.”

— Xenophon

27. “We must also be careful to educate our sons and daughters when children are born to the women whom we’ve taken as wives. Striving to set the best example we can for our children will make us act even more nobly.”

— Xenophon

28. “You know, I need hardly remind you, it is not numbers or strength that gives victory in war; but, heaven helping them, to one or other of two combatants it is given to dash with stouter hearts to meet the foe, and such onset, in nine cases out of ten, those others refuse to meet.”

— Xenophon

29. “What angers me are all those kings who are fabled for the heaps of gold in their coffers, and their freedom from trouble and pain. I have a different vision. I say that the true leader shuns luxury and ease. Once in power, he should want to work harder than ever.”

— Xenophon

30. “For in the very nature of things, success tends to create pride and blindness in the hearts of men, while suffering teaches them to be patient and strong.” “Well spoken, Gobryas!” exclaimed.”

— Xenophon

31. “Shamelessness, they hold, treads close on the heels of ingratitude, and thus ingratitude is the ringleader and chief instigator to every kind of baseness.”

— Xenophon

32. “Don’t give them enough time to arrange a solid defense. We’ve got to appear against them like an uncontrollable nightmare of spears and battle-axes and flashing swords!”

— Xenophon

33. “I deeply believe that leaders, whatever their profession, are wrong to allow distinctions of rank to flourish within their organizations. Living together on equal terms helps people develop deeper bonds and creates a common conscience.”

— Xenophon

34. “And even as you’re working to ensure the health of your army, you must remember to take care of your own.”

— Xenophon

35. “If an army is to win through to victory, it has to spend all its time helping itself or hurting its foe. Therefore, an army should never be idle.”

— Xenophon

36. “The suffering of the leader is always lightened by his glory. As much as possible, you must let others share in your glory, so that they never lose heart.” I.”

— Xenophon

37. “There is a deep – and usually frustrated – desire in the heart of everyone to act with benevolence rather than selfishness, and one fine instance of generosity can inspire dozens more.”

— Xenophon

38. “Your leader is only one man,” I heard my voice say. “His strength is no more supernatural than your own, nor is his virtue, and by himself he could never preserve the good things that belong by right to everyone. To govern well, he must have your help – the help of his true, trustworthy friends. You must forever be worthy of his trust, and you must raise up true friends of your own, to help you carry your own burdens. And it is love that must bind all of us together.”

— Xenophon

39. “For I believe that the best life is lived by those who take the best care to make themselves as good as possible, and the pleasantest life by those who are most conscious that they are becoming better.”

— Xenophon

40. “Remember too,” I added, “that getting rid of scoundrels ends the danger of contamination for the rest of the army. Men are drawn closer to virtue when they see the dishonor that falls on misleaders.”

— Xenophon

41. “We’re bound to be proud of the way our children turn out if they see nothing unseemly and hear nothing shameful. They, like us, will live in the light of all that’s good, and their virtue – like ours – will be their strength.”

— Xenophon

42. “Most of all I vowed that my followers would learn more from my own example than from any legal code or set of regulations. As important to the people as written laws may be, the leader serves as a living law. He not only acts as a competent guide but also functions as a wise judge, detecting and punishing those who fail to serve the people with justice and honesty.”

— Xenophon

43. “I am a stranger in all countries.”

— Xenophon

44. “Gentlemen,” I said to my officers, “let’s talk about discipline within our army, and let’s consider our danger from no-account leaders. Unfortunately, such rogues sometimes find more followers than good leaders. Promising everyone a good time with plenty of instant rewards, these scoundrels can exert much more influence than virtuous men, who end up alone on steep, rocky paths.”

— Xenophon

45. “Separated from Hellas by more than a thousand miles, they had not even a guide to point the way.”

— Xenophon

46. “An impostor is a man who claims more wealth and courage than he actually possesses. He’s a man who begins what he can never finish. On the other hand, those who can make their friends laugh are men of good taste.” My.”

— Xenophon

47. “Ruling human beings does not belong among those tasks that are impossible if one does it with knowledge, we know that Cyrus at any rate was willingly obeyed as an exceptional ruler, Cyrus was worthy of wonder and excelled in ruling human beings.”

— Xenophon

48. “Thalassa, Thalassa!”

— Xenophon

49. “Those who do not know themselves and are totally deceived about their own abilities are in the same position whether they are dealing with other people or any other aspect of human affairs.”

— Xenophon

50. “Some one may say, are you not ashamed to be so taken in like a fool? Yes, I should be ashamed, if it had been an open enemy who had so deceived me. But, to my mind, when friend cheats friend, a deeper stain attaches to the perpetrator than to the victim of deceit.”

— Xenophon