Socrates
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greekphilosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. He is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon and the plays of his contemporary Aristophanes. Plato's dialogues are among the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity, though it is unclear the degree to which Socrates himself is "hidden behind his 'best disciple', Plato"...
NationalityGreek
ProfessionPhilosopher
change wisdom life-and-death
The hour of departure has arrived and we go our ways; I to die, and you to live. Which is better? Only God knows.
fall sight color
And the same things look bent and straight when seen in water and out of it, and also both concave and convex, due to the sight's being mislead by the colors, and every sort of confusion of this kind is plainly in our soul. And, then, it is because they take advantage of this affection in our nature that shadow painting, and puppeteering, and many other tricks of the kind fall nothing short of wizardry.
what-matters joy victory
Beauty comes first. Victory is secondary. What matters is joy.
knows
All I know is that I do not know anything
hurt feet
When our feet hurt, we hurt all over.
men may limits
It is a disgrace to grow old through sheer carelessness before seeing what manner of man you may become by developing your bodily strength and beauty to their highest limit.
money men greed
If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it.
air secret want
When you want success as badly as you want the air, then you will get it. There is no other secret of success.
perfection together humans
The perfect human being is all human beings put together, it is a collective, it is all of us together that make perfection.
wisdom greek oracles
The Delphic 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.
running wickedness faster
It is not difficult to avoid death. It is much more difficult to avoid wickedness, for it runs faster than death.
knowing-nothing ancient-greek knows
I know one thing, that I know nothing.
differences embrace temperance
There is no difference between knowledge and temperance; for he who knows what is good and embraces it, who knows what is bad and avoids it, is learned and temperate.
children one-day care
Fellow citizens, why do you burn and scrape every stone to gather wealth and take so little care of your children to whom you must one day relinquish all?