100 Top Quotes By Socrates That Are Full Of Wisdom
Socrates was a philosopher who lived in ancient Greece at around 470 BC and is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern philosophy. Socrates was without doubt the greatest philosophers of his time and taught some of the stalwarts of the time like Xenophon and Plato among others. Much of his body of work as a philosopher is not directly available but instead his teachings have been published in the works of his students like Plato. Aristophenes’ plays also put forth the teachings of Socrates so that the general public of the time could get to know his lofty views on philosophy. In the widely read Plato’s Dialogues, Socrates’ take on philosophy, ethics and irony have been put forwards by his student and remains one of the most important sources of information on the teachings of the Greek philosopher. Epistemology or the study of knowledge, is another distinct branch of philosophy that was pioneered by Socrates and he remains the most authoritative voice on the subject. Now, a man of such thinking abilities must also have left behind an excellent cache of quotes that would inspire people to this day and here are some of the choicest quotes by Socrates.
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
The unexamined life is not worth living.
There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.
I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think
Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.
To find yourself, think for yourself.
Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.
By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.
Be slow to fall into friendship, but when you are in, continue firm and constant.
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.
The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.
Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.
Know thyself.
Let him who would move the world first move himself.
When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser.
Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.
The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.
Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.
Every action has its pleasures and its price.
Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others.
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for.
No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.
I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world." [As quoted in Plutarch's Of Banishment]
The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our separate ways, I to die, and you to live. Which of these two is better only God knows.
Prefer knowledge to wealth, for the one is transitory, the other perpetual.
We cannot live better than in seeking to become better.
Understanding a question is half an answer
Envy is the ulcer of the soul.
