80 Alexander the Great Quotes with So Much Life Lessons
– Alexander the Great Quotes –
The daily struggle seems hard but a collection of Alexander The Great Quotes is sure to fire you up for the long run. Read through these Alexander The Great quotes for a dose of inspiration.
Alexander From 336 to 323 B.C., Alexander the Great ruled Macedonia. He was a member of the Argead dynasty and was also known as Alexander III of Macedonia. He ascended to the throne at the age of twenty, succeeding his father, Philip II.
As a child, he was tutored by the great Greek philosopher Aristotle, who instilled in him a love of knowledge and interest in philosophy, science, literature, and medicine. By the age of thirty, he had established one of the ancient world’s largest empires, stretching from Greece to northwest India.
The majority of his reign was spent on an unrivalled military campaign across North Africa and Asia. He went undefeated and is regarded as one of the greatest military commanders of all time.
Alexander the Great Quotes
1. “There is nothing impossible to him who will try.”
2. “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.”
3. “Remember, upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all.”
4. “Whatever possession we gain by our sword cannot be sure or lasting, but the love gained by kindness and moderation is certain and durable.”
5. “Through every generation of the human race there has been a constant war, a war with fear. Those who have the courage to conquer it are made free and those who are conquered by it are made to suffer until they have the courage to defeat it, or death takes them.”
6. “I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.”
7. “I had rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent, than in the extent of my power and dominion.”
8. “You shall, I question not, find a way to the top if you diligently seek for it; for nature hath placed nothing so high that is out of the reach of industry and valor.”
9. “For my own part, I would rather excel knowledge of the highest secrets of philosophy than in arms.”
Alexander the Great Quotes on Fear
10. “I would rather live a short life of glory than a long one of obscurity.”
11. “Let us conduct ourselves so that all men wish to be our friends and all fear to be our enemies.”
12. “Every light is not the sun.”
13. “There is something noble in hearing myself ill spoken of when I am doing well.”
14. “With the right attitude, self-imposed limitations vanish.”
15. “As for a limit to one’s labors, I, for one, do not recognize any for a high-minded man, except that the labors themselves should lead to noble accomplishments.”
16. “I do not steal victory.”
17. “In the end, when it’s over, all that matters is what you’ve done.”
18. “How should a man be capable of grooming his own horse, or of furbishing his own spear and helmet, if he allows himself to become unaccustomed to tending even his own person, which is his most treasured belonging?”
19. “A tomb now suffices him for whom the whole world was not sufficient.”
20. “Who does not desire such a victory by which we shall join places in our Kingdom, so far divided by nature, and for which we shall set up trophies in another conquered world?”
21. “Now that the wars are coming to an end, I wish you to prosper in peace. May all mortals from now on live like one people in concord and for mutual advancement. Consider the world as your country, with laws common to all and where the best will govern irrespective of tribe. I do not distinguish among men, as the narrow-minded do, both among Greeks and Barbarians. I am not interested in the descendance of the citizens or their racial origins. I classify them using one criterion: their virtue. For me every virtuous foreigner is a Greek and every evil Greek worse than a Barbarian. If differences ever develop between you never have recourse to arms, but solve them peacefully. If necessary, I should be your arbitrator.”
22. “When we give someone our time, we actually give a portion of our life that we will never take back.”
23. “Now you fear punishment and beg for your lives, so I will let you free, if not for any other reason so that you can see the difference between a Greek king and a barbarian tyrant, so do not expect to suffer any harm from me. A king does not kill messengers.”
24. “My treasure lies in my friends.”
25. “Holy shadows of the dead, I am not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and brother people to fight one another. I do not feel happy for this victory of mine. On the contrary, I would be glad, brothers, if I had all of you standing here next to me, since we are united by the same language, the same blood and the same visions.”
Alexander the Great Quotes on Ambition
26. “Each moment free from fear makes a man immortal.”
27. “Sex and sleep alone make me conscious that I am mortal.”
28. “For as a newborn babe cannot be nourished without the nurse’s milk, nor conducted to the approaches that lead to growth in life, so a city cannot thrive without fields and the fruits thereof pouring into its walls.”
29. “If I were not Alexander, I should wish to be Diogenes.”
30. “In faith and hope the world will disagree, but all mankind’s concern is charity.”
31. “Heaven cannot brook two suns, nor earth two masters.”
32. “I send you a kaffis of mustard seed, that you may taste and acknowledge the bitterness of my victory.”
33. “I want the road to be covered with my treasure so that everybody sees that material wealth acquired on earth, stays on earth.”
34. “How happy had it been for me had I been slain in the battle. It had been far more noble to have died the victim of the enemy than fall a sacrifice to the rage of my friends.”
35. “On their side more men are standing, on ours more will fight!”
36. “Are you still to learn that the end and perfection of our victories is to avoid the vices and infirmities of those whom we subdue?”
37. “O fortunate youth, to have found Homer as the herald of your glory!”
38. “My father will anticipate everything. He will leave you and me no chance to do a great and brilliant deed.”
39. “I foresee a great funeral contest over me.”
40. “Our enemies are Medes and Persians, men who for centuries have lived soft and luxurious lives; we of Macedon for generations past have been trained in the hard school of danger and war.”
41. “How great are the dangers I face to win a good name in Athens.”
42. “I am dying from the treatment of too many physicians.”
43. “I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that, in the face of death, even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal.”
44. “To the strongest!”
45. “The end and object of conquest is to avoid doing the same thing as the conquered.”
46. “Without Knowledge, Skill cannot be focused. Without Skill, Strength cannot be brought to bear and without Strength, Knowledge may not be applied.”
Alexander the Great Quotes to Inspire You
47. “Toil and risk are the price of glory, but it is a lovely thing to live with courage and die leaving an everlasting fame.”
48. “Bury my body and don’t build any monument. Keep my hands out so the people know the one who won the world had nothing in hand when he died.”
49. “True love never has a happy ending, because there is no ending to true love.”
50. “Glory crowns the deeds of those who expose themselves to toils and dangers.”
51. “When my casket is being carried to the grave, leave my hands hanging outside. For empty-handed, I came into this world and empty-handed, I shall go! My whole life has been a hallow waste, a futile exercise, for no one at death can take anything with them!”
52. “A horse must be a bit mad to be a good cavalry mount, and its rider must be completely so.”
53. “Soldiers, I had lately like to have been taken from you by the attempt of a few desperate men, but by the grace and providence of the gods, I am still preserved.”
54. “Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all.”
55. “I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.”
56. “There is nothing impossible to him who will try.”
57. “Through every generation of the human race there has been a constant war, a war with fear. Those who have the courage to conquer it are made free and those who are conquered by it are made to suffer until they have the courage to defeat it, or death takes them.”
58. “I am not afraid of life of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.”
59. “I do not steal victory.”
60. “May God keep you away from the venom of the cobra, the teeth of the tiger, and the revenge of the Afghans.”
61. “I had rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent, than in the extent of my power and dominion.”
62. “A tomb now suffices him for whom the whole world was not sufficient.”
63. “There are so many worlds and I have not yet conquered even one.”
64. “I am dying with the help of too many physicians.”
65. “My logisticians are a humorless lot … they know if my campaign fails, they are the first ones I will slay.”
66. “There are no more worlds to conquer!”
67. “I would rather live a short life of glory than a long one of obscurity.”
68. “Heaven cannot brook two suns, nor earth two masters.”
69. “How great are the dangers I face to win a good name in Athens.”
70. “We of Macedon for generations past have been trained in the hard school of danger and war”
71. “I am involved in the land of a leonine and brave people, where every foot of the ground is like a well of steel, confronting my soldier. You have brought only one son into the world, but everyone in this land can be called an Alexander.”
72. “Without Knowledge, Skill cannot be focused. Without Skill, Strength cannot be brought to bear and without Strength, Knowledge may not be applied.”
73. “In the end, when it’s over, all that matters is what you’ve done.”
74. “But truly, if I were not Alexander, I would be Diogenes.”
75. “Sex and sleep alone make me conscious that I am mortal.”
76. “I consider not what Parmenio should receive, but what Alexander should give.”
77. “Youths of the Pellaians and of the Macedonians and of the Hellenic Amphictiony and of the Lakedaimonians and of the Corinthians… and of all the Hellenic peoples, join your fellow-soldiers and entrust yourselves to me, so that we can move against the barbarians and liberate ourselves from the Persian bondage, for as Greeks we should not be slaves to barbarians.”
78. “Shall I pass by and leave you lying there because of the expedition you led against Greece, or shall I set you up again because of your magnanimity and your virtues in other respects?”
79. “Are you still to learn that the end and perfection of our victories is to avoid the vices and infirmities of those whom we subdue?”
80. “Your ancestors came to Macedonia and the rest of Hellas [Greece] and did us great harm, though we had done them no prior injury. I have been appointed leader of the Greeks, and wanting to punish the Persians I have come to Asia, which I took from you.”
When you doubt your abilities or self-worth, you limit your potential. These quotes serve as a good reminder to always pursue your dreams. Share these inspirational quotes with someone who could use a pick-me-up.
CSN Team.
