Philosopher is someone who studies or writes about the meaning of life. Profoundly inspirational Greek philosopher quotes will challenge the way you think, change the way you live and transform your whole life.
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Wise Greek Philosopher Quotes
Anybody can become angry that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy. Aristotle
We are not separated from spirit, we are in it. Plotinus
Nothing is more active than thought, for it travels over the universe, and nothing is stronger than necessity for all must submit to it. Thales
The God of St. Thomas and Dante is a God Who loves, the god of Aristotle is a god who does not refuse to be loved; the love that moves the heavens and the stars in Aristotle is the love of the heavens and the stars for god, but the love that moves them in St. Thomas and Dante is the love of God for the world; between these two motive causes there is all the difference between an efficient cause on the one hand, and a final cause on the other. Étienne Gilson
Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is just opinion. Democritus
The Republic isn’t as much fun as The Symposium. It’s all long speeches, and nobody bursting in drunk to woo Socrates in the middle. Jo Walton
It is hard to contend against one’s heart’s desire; for whatever it wishes to have it buys at the cost of soul. Heraclitus
As researchers of the paranormal, we must understand there are ways to change the rhythm of time within us, ways to change the beat. These ways have been known since the beginnings of civilization, and possibly much earlier. And these ways would require no more effort than simply recognizing the secret rhythms of things. Moreover, we may learn to beat with them and begin to perceive a different kind of space, and ultimately discover an altogether different conception of reality. Ojo Blacke
Medicine to produce health must examine disease; and music, to create harmony must investigate discord. Plutarch
In all things which have a plurality of parts, and which are not a total aggregate but a whole of some sort distinct from the parts, there is some cause ; inasmuch as even in bodies sometimes contact is the cause of their unity, and sometimes viscosity or some other such quality.But a definition is one account, not by connection, like the Iliad, but because it is a definition of one thing. Aristotle
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 it is out of the reach of industry and valor. Alexander The Great
Having a body, we have seen, does not entail knowing a body. Whereas a cow automatically eats whatever grasses supply needed nutrients, people must determine for themselves what to put into their bodies, with the result that there is room to make mistakes. Mistakes arise, in part, from ignorance. Yet ignorance is not the only problem produced by this arrangement. The fact that we are not compelled by our bodies precise needs understood as particular kinds of food and drink, rather than food and drink tout court allows the formation of desires that have little or nothing to do with the needs on which bodily health depends. Brooke Holmes
I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion. Alexander The Great
Socrates is a shining example of a man who bravely lived up to his ideals, and, in the end, bravely died for them. Throughout his life, he never lost faith in the mind’s ability to discern and decide, and so to apprehend and master reality. Nor did he ever betray truth and integrity for a pitiable life of selfdeception and semi consciousness. In seeking relentlessly to align mind with matter and thought with fact, he remained faithful both to himself and to the world, with the result that he is still alive in this sentence and millions of others that have been written about him. More than a great philosopher, Socrates was the living embodiment of the dream that philosophy might one day set us free. Neel Burton
No man ever wetted clay and then left it, as if there would be bricks by chance and fortune. Plutarch
I think the secret is that it belongs to all of us to us of the West. We’ve learned to think in its terms, and to live in its laws. It’s given us almost everything that our world has that is worthwhile. Truth, straight thinking, freedom, beauty. It’s our second language, our second line of thought, our second country. We all have our own country and Greece. Mary Stewart
He who is of calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age, but to him who is of an opposite disposition youth and age are equally a burden. Plato
Know thyself art Love itself. I repeat; Know thyself art Love itself and that anything else is an abstraction at best and suffering at worst. Wald Wassermann
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be. Socrates
But what difference does it make who spoke the words? They were uttered for the world. Seneca
The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it. Epictetus
There is no practical rationality then without the virtues of character. The vicious argue unsoundly from false premises about the good, while the akratic ignores the sound arguments available to him. Only the virtuous are able to argue soundly to those conclusions which are their actions. Alasdair MacIntyre
All human actions have one or more of these seven causes chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. Aristotle
You don’t develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity. Heraclıtus
Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to hope. Aristotle
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle
The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances. Aristotle
The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. Socrates
The very spring and root of honesty and virtue lie in good education. Plutarch
The foundation of every state is the education of its youth. Diogenes
Worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live. Socrates
For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories. Plato
Even when laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered. Aristotle
Worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live. Socrates
There are two things a person should never be angry at; what they can help, and what they cannot. Plato
You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor. Aristotle
Apply yourself both now and in the next life. Without effort, you cannot be prosperous. Though the land be good, you cannot have an abundant crop without cultivation. Plato
No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man. Heraclitus
It is just that we should be grateful, not only to those with whose views we may agree, but also to those who have expressed more superficial views; for these also contributed something, by developing before us the powers of thought. Aristotle
Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others. Churchill
The life of Money making is one undertaken under compulsion, and wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking; for it is merely useful and for the sake of something else. Aristotle
If I had followed the multitude, I should not have studied philosophy. Chrysippus
Do not say a little in many words but a great deal in few. Pythagoras
Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul. Democritus
When you want wisdom and insight as badly as you want to breathe, it is then you shall have it. Socrates
True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us. Socrates
The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching. Aristotle
No human being will ever know the Truth, for even if they happen to say it by chance, they would not even know they had done so. Xenophanes
Are you not ashamed of heaping up the greatest amount of money and honor and reputation, and caring so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of the soul? Plato
There is nothing permanent except change. Heraclitus
The learning and knowledge that we have, is, at the most, but little compared with that of which we are ignorant. Plato
When you are offended at any man’s fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger. Epictetus
One thing I know, that I know nothing. This is the source of my wisdom. Socrates
He has the most who is most content with the least. Diogenes
True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us. Socrates
