Juvenal Quotes

Dedicate one’s life to truth.

Juvenal (Satires - III)

The traveller with empty pockets will sing in the thief's face.

Juvenal (Satires - X)

All wish to possess knowledge, but few, comparatively speaking, are willing to pay the price.

Juvenal (Satires)

It is difficult not to write satire.

Juvenal (Satires - I)

For whoever meditates a crime is guilty of the deed.

Juvenal (Satires - XIII)

Be gentle with the young.

Juvenal (Satires)

Common sense among men of fortune is rare.

Juvenal (Satires - VIII)

We all live in a state of ambitious poverty.

Juvenal (Satires - III)

No man ever became extremely wicked all at once.

Juvenal (Satires - II)

We are now suffering the evils of a long peace.

Juvenal (Satires - VI)

Honesty is praised and starves.

Juvenal (Satires - I)

Rare indulgence produces greater pleasure.

Juvenal (Satires - XI)

By his own verdict no guilty man was ever acquitted.

Juvenal (Satires - XIII)

It is not easy for men to rise whose qualities are thwarted by poverty.

Juvenal (Satires - III)

Two things only the people anxiously desire,
Bread and circuses.

Juvenal (Satires - X)

Revenge is always the weak pleasure of a little and narrow mind.

Juvenal (Satires - XIII)

Censure pardons the raven, but is visited upon the dove.

Juvenal (Satires - II)

But who will guard the guardians themselves?

Juvenal(Satires - VI)

Many commit the same crimes with a very different result. One bears a cross for his crime; another a crown.

Juvenal (Satires - XIII)

Let me moderate our sorrows. The grief of a man should not exceed proper bounds, but be in proportion to the blow he has received.

Juvenal (Satires)

A hairy body, and arms stiff with bristles, give promise of a manly soul.

Juvenal (Satires - II)

Count it the greatest sin to prefer life to honor, and for the sake of living to lose what makes life worth living.

Juvenal (Satires - VIII)

Never does nature say one thing and wisdom another. 

Juvenal (Satires - XV)

It is to be prayed that the mind be sound in a sound body.
Ask for a brave soul that lacks the fear of death,
which places the length of life ultimate among nature's blessings,
which is able to bear whatever kind of sufferings,
does not know anger, lusts for nothing and believes
the hardships and savage labors of Hercules better than
the satisfactions, feasts, and feather bed of an Eastern king.
I will reveal what you are able to give yourself;
For certain, the one footpath of a tranquil life lies through virtue.

Juvenal (Satires - X)

Juvenal Biography

Born: 1st century ACE
Died: 2nd century ACE

Decimus Junius Juvenal was a Roman poet. He is best known for being author of the Satires. He has been an influential figure through out history.

Notable Works

Satires