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The ancient oracle said that I was the wisest of all the Greeks. It is because I alone, of all the Greeks, know that I know nothing.


Socrates

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More Socrates

The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.
SOCRATES Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant.
SOCRATES It is not living that matters, but living rightly.
SOCRATES Worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live.
SOCRATES From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate.
SOCRATES The poets are only the interpreters of the gods.
SOCRATES As to marriage or celibacy, let a man take which course he will, he will be sure to repent.
SOCRATES If all misfortunes were laid in one common heap whence everyone must take an equal portion, most peo...
SOCRATES Beauty is a short-lived tyranny.
SOCRATES I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live.
SOCRATES Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily wh...
SOCRATES All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine.
SOCRATES False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.
SOCRATES I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.
SOCRATES The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect fo...
SOCRATES In childhood be modest, in youth temperate, in adulthood just, and in old age prudent.
SOCRATES The hottest love has the coldest end.
SOCRATES I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within.
SOCRATES When desire, having rejected reason and overpowered judgment which leads to right, is set in the dir...
SOCRATES The soul is pure when it leaves the body and drags nothing bodily with it, by virtue of having no wi...
SOCRATES To fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise, without being wise: for it is to think t...
SOCRATES Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall come easily by what...
SOCRATES There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance
SOCRATES No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet everyone thinks himself sufficie...
SOCRATES A husband is what's left of the lover after the nerve has been extracted.
SOCRATES Let him that would move the world, first move himself.
SOCRATES We are in fact convinced that if we are ever to have pure knowledge of anything, we must get rid of ...
SOCRATES One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing.
SOCRATES I am not an Athenian, nor a Greek, but a citizen of the world.
SOCRATES See one promontory, one mountain, one sea, one river and see all.
SOCRATES If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it.
SOCRATES The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms.
SOCRATES Well I am certainly wiser than this man. It is only too likely that neither of us has any knowledge ...
SOCRATES What a lot of things there are a man can do without.
SOCRATES Happiness is unrepentant pleasure.
SOCRATES Call no man unhappy until he is married.
SOCRATES Do not be angry with me if I tell you the truth
SOCRATES Whenever, therefore, people are deceived and form opinions wide of the truth, it is clear that the e...
SOCRATES A multitude of books distracts the mind.
SOCRATES By all means marry. If you get a good wife you will become happy, and if you get a bad one you will ...
SOCRATES Whom do I call educated? First, those who manage well the circumstances they encounter day by day. N...
SOCRATES An education obtained with money is worse than no education at all
SOCRATES Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune nor t...
SOCRATES The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
SOCRATES The unexamined life is not worth living.
SOCRATES Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.
SOCRATES I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think
SOCRATES The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect fo...
SOCRATES He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.
SOCRATES See one promontory, one mountain, one sea, one river and see all.
SOCRATES My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you
SOCRATES Philebus was saying that enjoyment and pleasure and delight, and the class of feelings akin to them,...
SOCRATES Slanderers do not hurt me because they do not hit me.
SOCRATES The comic and the tragic lie inseparably close, like light and shadow.
SOCRATES Nature has given us two ears, two eyes, and but one tongue-to the end that we should hear and see mo...
SOCRATES Give me beauty in the inward soul; may the outward and the inward man be at one.
SOCRATES He is rich who is content with the least; for contentment is the wealth of nature.
SOCRATES Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.
SOCRATES Life contains but two tragedies. One is not to get your heart's desire; the other is to get it.
SOCRATES The fewer our wants the more we resemble the Gods.
SOCRATES Fame is the perfume of heroic deeds.
SOCRATES Wars and revolutions and battles are due simply and solely to the body and its desires. All wars are...
SOCRATES There is only one good -- knowledge; and only one evil -- ignorance.
SOCRATES The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.
SOCRATES The envious person grows lean with the fatness of their neighbor.
SOCRATES Enjoy yourself -- it's later than you think.
SOCRATES The nearest way to glory is to strive to be what you wish to be thought to be.
SOCRATES Worthless people love only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live.
SOCRATES Nothing is to be preferred before justice.
SOCRATES I was afraid that by observing objects with my eyes and trying to comprehend them with each of my ot...
SOCRATES I must first know myself, as the Delphian inscription says; to be curious about that which is not my...
SOCRATES Crito, I owe a cock to Asclepius; will you remember to pay the debt?
SOCRATES They are not only idle who do nothing, but they are idle also who might be better employed.
SOCRATES How many are the things I can do without!
SOCRATES If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap whence everyone must take an equal portion, mo...
SOCRATES One who is injured ought not to return the injury, for on no account can it be right to do an injust...
SOCRATES Where there is reverence there is fear, but there is not reverence everywhere that there is fear, be...
SOCRATES Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions, but those who kindly reprove thy faul...
SOCRATES Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperit...
SOCRATES Be of good cheer about death and know this as a truth-- that no evil can happen to a good man, eith...
SOCRATES Be slow to fall into friendship, but when thou art in, continue firm and constant.
SOCRATES The sum of intelligence on the planet is a constant; the population is growing.
SOCRATES When you belong to a minority, you have to be better in order to have the right to be equal.
SOCRATES Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty
SOCRATES He is richest who is content with the least.
SOCRATES I don't know why I did it, I don't know why I enjoyed it, and I don't know why I'll do it again.
SOCRATES If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, mos...
SOCRATES Let him that would move the world first move himself.
SOCRATES Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity,...
SOCRATES What you cannot enforce, do not command.
SOCRATES The difficulty, my friends, is not in avoiding death, but in avoiding unrighteousness; for that runs...
SOCRATES The hour of departure has arrived and we go our ways; I to die, and you to live. Which is better? On...
SOCRATES I swear it upon Zeus an outstanding runner cannot be the equal of an average wrestler.
SOCRATES Sometimes you have to let go to see if there was anything worth holding on to.
SOCRATES Virtue does not come from wealth, but. . . wealth, and every other good thing which men have. . . co...
SOCRATES I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
SOCRATES To find yourself, think for yourself.
SOCRATES One should never do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by ...
SOCRATES Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live.
SOCRATES I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance.
SOCRATES All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine.
SOCRATES The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.
SOCRATES From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate.
SOCRATES Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions; but those who kindly reprove thy faul...
SOCRATES Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their...
SOCRATES Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of -- for credit is like fi...
SOCRATES Ordinary people seem not to realize that those who really apply themselves in the right way to philo...
SOCRATES True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.
SOCRATES Wisdom begins in wonder.
SOCRATES True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and ...
SOCRATES Be as you wish to seem.
SOCRATES I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or...
SOCRATES Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us.
SOCRATES To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge.
SOCRATES I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.
SOCRATES He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.
SOCRATES Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.
SOCRATES I only wish that ordinary people had an unlimited capacity for doing harm; then they might have an u...
SOCRATES He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy.
SOCRATES An honest man is always a child.
SOCRATES The end of life is to be like God, and the soul following God will be like Him.
SOCRATES No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death. He and his are not neglected by the...
SOCRATES Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued.
SOCRATES Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior.
SOCRATES Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.
SOCRATES The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.
SOCRATES A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vu...
SOCRATES Beauty is the bait which with delight allures man to enlarge his kind.
SOCRATES By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'...
SOCRATES Beware the barrenness of a busy life.
SOCRATES I was afraid that by observing objects with my eyes and trying to comprehend them with each of my ...
SOCRATES I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world."

[As quoted in Plutarch's SOCRATES Suppose... that you acquit me... Suppose that, in view of this, you said to me 'Socrates, on this oc...
SOCRATES I examined the poets, and I look on them as people whose talent overawes both themselves and others,...
SOCRATES If a man comes to the door of poetry untouched by the madness of the Muses, believing that technique...
SOCRATES Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.
SOCRATES Crito, I owe a cock to Asclepius; will you remember to pay the debt?
SOCRATES The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear...
SOCRATES Wind buffs up empty bladders; opinion, fools.
SOCRATES Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their te...
SOCRATES As for me, all I know is that I know nothing.
SOCRATES And in knowing that you know nothing, that makes you the smartest of all.
SOCRATES My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you’ll be happy; if not, you’ll become ...
SOCRATES Flattery is like friendship in show, but not in fruit
SOCRATES The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways - I to die, and you to live. Which is better G...
SOCRATES I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled [poets] to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct ...
SOCRATES I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world.
SOCRATES Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live.
SOCRATES There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.
SOCRATES Having the fewest wants, I am nearest to the gods.
SOCRATES Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.
SOCRATES The shortest and surest way to live with honour in the world, is to be in reality what we would appe...
SOCRATES Remember what is unbecoming to do is also unbecoming to speak of.
SOCRATES Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of - for credit is like fir...
SOCRATES If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it.
SOCRATES Get not your friends by bare compliments, but by giving them sensible tokens of your love.
SOCRATES Envy is the ulcer of the soul.
SOCRATES Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others.
SOCRATES By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a p...
SOCRATES The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways--I to die and you to live. Which is the better...
SOCRATES I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike, not to take thought for your pers...
SOCRATES You think that upon the score of fore-knowledge and divining I am infinitely inferior to the swans....
SOCRATES The fewer our wants, the nearer we resemble the gods.
SOCRATES The soul, like the body, accepts by practice whatever habit one wishes it to contact.
SOCRATES He is the richest who is content with the least
SOCRATES To find yourself, think for yourself
SOCRATES Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
SOCRATES The only thing I know is that I know nothing, and i am no quite sure that i know that.
SOCRATES Be slow to fall into friendship, but when you are in, continue firm and constant.
SOCRATES No man undertakes a trade he has not learned, even the meanest; yet every one thinks himself suffici...
SOCRATES My friend...care for your psyche...know thyself, for once we know ourselves, we may learn how to car...
SOCRATES I only know that I know nothing
SOCRATES There is no solution; seek it lovingly
SOCRATES By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one, you’ll be...
SOCRATES The misuse of language induces evil in the soul
SOCRATES The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms.
SOCRATES I know I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.
SOCRATES The philosophy exam was a piece of cake -- which was a bit of a surprise, actually, because I was ex...
SOCRATES My advice to you is to get married. If you find a good wife you'll be happy; if not you'll become a...
SOCRATES An unexamined life is not worth living.
SOCRATES If all the misfortunes were laid in one common heap whence everyone must take an equal portion, most...
SOCRATES Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune nor t...
SOCRATES The nearest way to glory is to strive to be what you wish to be thought to be.
SOCRATES As to marriage or celibacy, let a man take which course he will-he will be sure to repent it.
SOCRATES Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their te...
SOCRATES True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and ...
SOCRATES Suddenly there were people who came to realize that there must be some things that must be done abou...
SOCRATES How much there is in the world I do not want
SOCRATES To do is to be.
SOCRATES My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a ph...
SOCRATES I thought to myself, 'I am wiser than this man: neither of us knows anything that is really worthwhi...
SOCRATES I am a citizen, not of Athens or Greece, but of the world
SOCRATES Living well and beautifully and justly are all one thing.
SOCRATES Some have courage in pleasures, and some in pains: some in desires, and some in fears, and some are ...
SOCRATES My belief is that to have no wants is divine
SOCRATES If I tell you that I would be disobeying the god and on that account it is impossible for me to keep...
SOCRATES It is necessary that one who really and truly fights for the right, if he is to survive even for a s...
SOCRATES Man's life is like a drop of dew on a leaf.
SOCRATES Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall come easily by what...
SOCRATES Are you not ashamed of caring so much for the making of money and for fame and prestige, when you ne...
SOCRATES