Sophocles Quotes

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Truly, to tell lies is not honorable;
But when the truth entails tremendous ruin,
To speak dishonorably is pardonable.

Sophocles (Creusa - Fragment 323)

Heaven never helps the man who will not act.

Sophocles

Men of ill judgement oft ignore the good
That lies within their hands, till they have lost it.
Variant: Ignorant men don't know what good they hold in their hands until they've flung it away.

Sophocles (Ajax)

Nobody likes the man who brings bad news.

Sophocles (Antigone)

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 (Oedipus Rex)

Rash indeed is he who reckons on the morrow, or haply on days beyond it; for tomorrow is not, until today is past.

Sophocles (Trachiniae)

Of all human ills, greatest is fortune's wayward tyranny.

Sophocles (Ajax)

When ice appears out of doors, and boys seize it up while it is solid, at first they experience new pleasures. But in the end their pride will not agree to let it go, but their acquisition is not good for them if it stays in their hands. In the same way an identical desire drives lovers to act and not to act.

Sophocles (The Loves of Achillies - Fragment)

Time eases all things.

Sophocles (Oedipus Rex)

Wisdom is a curse when wisdom does nothing for the man who has it.

Sophocles (Oedipus Rex)

A short saying oft contains much wisdom.

Sophocles

I have nothing but contempt for the kind of governor who is afraid, for whatever reason, to follow the course that he knows is best for the State; and as for the man who sets private friendship above the public welfare - I have no use for him, either.

Sophocles (Antigone)

For kindness begets kindness evermore,
But he from whose mind fades the memory
Of benefits, noble is he no more.

Sophocles (Ajax)

They are not wise, then, who stand forth to buffet against Love; for Love rules the gods as he will, and me.

Sophocles (Trachiniae)

Money: There's nothing in the world so demoralizing as money.

Sophocles (Antigone)



It is no weakness for the wisest man to learn when he is wrong.

Sophocles (Antigone)

What people believe prevails over the truth.

Sophocles (The Sons of Aleus - Fragment)

Unwanted favours gain no gratitude.

Sophocles (Oedipus at Colonus, 401 BCE)

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 (Antigone)

How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be
When there's no help in truth!

Sophocles (Oedipus Rex)

Grief teaches the steadiest minds to waver.

Sophocles (Antigone)

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 (Oedipus Rex)

No man loves life like him that's growing old.

Sophocles (Acrisius - Fragment 64)



A mind at peace does not engender wars.

Sophocles (Oedipus Rex)

The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves.
Variant: The keenest sorrow is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.

Sophocles (Oedipus Rex)

What you cannot enforce, do not command.

Sophocles

Each one of us must live the life God gives him; it cannot be shirked.

Sophocles (Philoctetes, 409 BCE)

When an oath is taken ... the mind is more attentive; for it guards against two things, the reproach of friends and offence against the gods.

Sophocles (Oenomaus - Fragment)

Whoever grows angry amid troubles applies a drug worse than the disease and is a physician unskilled about misfortunes. 

Sophocles

War never takes a wicked man by chance, the good man always.

Sophocles (Philoctetes, 409 BCE)

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Sophocles Biography

Born: 496 BCE
Died: 405 BCE

Sophocles was an ancient Greek writer and tragedian. He is mostly known for his plays "Oedipus" and "Antigone", also known as the Theban plays. He has had an great influence on drama throughout history.

Notable Works

Ajax
Antigone
Trachiniae, or Trachinian Women
Oedipus Rex, or Oedipus the King
Electra
Philoctetes
(409 BCE)
Oedipus at Colonus (401 BCE)

Related Authors
Aeschylus (525 BCE - 456 BCE)
Euripides (480 BCE - 406 BCE)