top of page

Quotes by Greek Authors

"In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better show more affection than she feels."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Aristotle
"In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better show more affection than she feels."
"Men of ill judgment ignore the good that lies within their hands, till they have lost it."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Sophocles
"Men of ill judgment ignore the good that lies within their hands, till they have lost it."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
12
"He who has overcome his fears will truly be free."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Aristotle
"He who has overcome his fears will truly be free."
"Look and you will find it - what is unsought will go undetected."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Sophocles
"Look and you will find it - what is unsought will go undetected."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
12
"Who except the gods can live without any pain?"
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Aeschylus
"Who except the gods can live without any pain?"
"No finer, greater gift in the world than that: When man and woman possess their home, two minds, two hearts that work as one. Despair to their enemies, a joy to all their friends. Their own best claim to glory."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Homer
"No finer, greater gift in the world than that: When man and woman possess their home, two minds, two hearts that work as one. Despair to their enemies, a joy to all their friends. Their own best claim to glory."
"For the best possible state of your soul, as I say to you: Wealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence makes wealth and everything else good for men, both individually and collectively."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Plato
"For the best possible state of your soul, as I say to you: Wealth does not bring about excellence, but excellence makes wealth and everything else good for men, both individually and collectively."
"A state is not a state if it belongs to one man."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Sophocles
"A state is not a state if it belongs to one man."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
12
"Not even old age knows how to love death."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Sophocles
"Not even old age knows how to love death."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
12
"If my body is enslaved, still my mind is free."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Sophocles
"If my body is enslaved, still my mind is free."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
12
"On the virtuous man "He combines the highest, lowest and middle chords in complete harmony within himself."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Plato
"On the virtuous man "He combines the highest, lowest and middle chords in complete harmony within himself."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
12
"I have gained this from philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Aristotle
"I have gained this from philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
12
"To speak much is one thing, to speak to the point another!"
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Sophocles
"To speak much is one thing, to speak to the point another!"
"For shameful deeds are taught by shameful deeds."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Sophocles
"For shameful deeds are taught by shameful deeds."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
12
"For this feeling of wonder shows that you are a philosopher, since wonder is the only beginning of philosophy."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Plato
"For this feeling of wonder shows that you are a philosopher, since wonder is the only beginning of philosophy."
"Wars and revolutions and battles, you see, are due simply and solely to the body and its desires. All wars are undertaken for the acquisition of wealth; and the reason why we have to acquire wealth is the body, because we are slaves in its service."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Plato
"Wars and revolutions and battles, you see, are due simply and solely to the body and its desires. All wars are undertaken for the acquisition of wealth; and the reason why we have to acquire wealth is the body, because we are slaves in its service."
"A wise doctor does not mutter incantations over a sore that needs the knife."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Sophocles
"A wise doctor does not mutter incantations over a sore that needs the knife."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
12
"We praise a man who feels angry on the right grounds and against the right persons and also in the right manner at the right moment and for the right length of time."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Aristotle
"We praise a man who feels angry on the right grounds and against the right persons and also in the right manner at the right moment and for the right length of time."
"The Muse herself makes some men inspired, from whom a chain of other men is strung out who catch their own inspiration from theirs."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Plato
"The Muse herself makes some men inspired, from whom a chain of other men is strung out who catch their own inspiration from theirs."
"Thy life is safe while any god saves mine."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Sophocles
"Thy life is safe while any god saves mine."
"And also because - Oh, my darling, my darling, forgive me; I'm going to cause you quite a lot of pain."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Sophocles
"And also because - Oh, my darling, my darling, forgive me; I'm going to cause you quite a lot of pain."
"Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Aristotle
"Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence."
"There's a victory, and defeat; the first and best of victories, the lowest and worst of defeats which each man gains or sustains at the hands not of another, but of himself."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Plato
"There's a victory, and defeat; the first and best of victories, the lowest and worst of defeats which each man gains or sustains at the hands not of another, but of himself."
"Socrates: This man, on one hand, believes that he knows something, while not knowing [anything]. On the other hand, I " equally ignorant " do not believe [that I know anything]."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Plato
"Socrates: This man, on one hand, believes that he knows something, while not knowing [anything]. On the other hand, I " equally ignorant " do not believe [that I know anything]."
"There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Aristotle
"There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing."
"Many are the noble words in which poets speak concerning the actions of men; but like yourself when speaking about Homer, they do not speak of them by any rules of art: they are simply inspired to utter that to which the Muse impels them, and that only; and when inspired, one of them will make dithyrambs, another hymns of praise, another choral strains, another epic or iambic verses- and he who is good at one is not good any other kind of verse: for not by art does the poet sing, but by power divine."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Plato
"Many are the noble words in which poets speak concerning the actions of men; but like yourself when speaking about Homer, they do not speak of them by any rules of art: they are simply inspired to utter that to which the Muse impels them, and that only; and when inspired, one of them will make dithyrambs, another hymns of praise, another choral strains, another epic or iambic verses- and he who is good at one is not good any other kind of verse: for not by art does the poet sing, but by power divine."
"We should behave to our friends as we would wish our friends to behave to us."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Aristotle
"We should behave to our friends as we would wish our friends to behave to us."
"Then we shan't regard anyone as a lover of knowledge or wisdom who is fussy about what he studies."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Plato
"Then we shan't regard anyone as a lover of knowledge or wisdom who is fussy about what he studies."
"Knowledge is true opinion."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Plato
"Knowledge is true opinion."
"What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Aristotle
"What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies."
"Learning is an ornament in prosperity, a refuge in adversity, and a provision in old age."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Aristotle
"Learning is an ornament in prosperity, a refuge in adversity, and a provision in old age."
"Therefore, the good of man must be the end of the science of politics."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Aristotle
"Therefore, the good of man must be the end of the science of politics."
"For one swallow does not make a summer, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a short time, does not make a man blessed and happy."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Aristotle
"For one swallow does not make a summer, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a short time, does not make a man blessed and happy."
"Know one knows whether death, which people fear to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Plato
"Know one knows whether death, which people fear to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
11
"A man dies still if he has done nothing, as one who has done much."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Homer
"A man dies still if he has done nothing, as one who has done much."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
11
"Life must be lived as play."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Plato
"Life must be lived as play."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
11
"The soul never thinks without a picture."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Aristotle
"The soul never thinks without a picture."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
11
"I am speaking like a book, but I believe that what I am saying is true."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Plato
"I am speaking like a book, but I believe that what I am saying is true."
"I would fain grow old learning many things."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Plato
"I would fain grow old learning many things."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
11
"You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. For men sell themselves at various prices. This is why, when Florus was deliberating whether he should appear at Nero's shows, taking part in the performance himself, Agrippinus replied, 'Appear by all means.' And when Florus inquired, 'But why do not you appear?' he answered, 'Because I do not even consider the question.' For the man who has once stooped to consider such questions, and to reckon up the value of external things, is not far from forgetting what manner of man he is."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Epictetus
"You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. For men sell themselves at various prices. This is why, when Florus was deliberating whether he should appear at Nero's shows, taking part in the performance himself, Agrippinus replied, 'Appear by all means.' And when Florus inquired, 'But why do not you appear?' he answered, 'Because I do not even consider the question.' For the man who has once stooped to consider such questions, and to reckon up the value of external things, is not far from forgetting what manner of man he is."
"Too few rejoice at a friend's good fortune."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Aeschylus
"Too few rejoice at a friend's good fortune."
"If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Plato
"If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
11
"And his good wife will tear her cheeks in grief, his sons are orphans and he, soaking the soil red with his own blood, he rots away himself-more birds than women flocking round his body!"
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Homer
"And his good wife will tear her cheeks in grief, his sons are orphans and he, soaking the soil red with his own blood, he rots away himself-more birds than women flocking round his body!"
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
11
"The excessive increase of anything causes a reaction in the opposite direction."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Plato
"The excessive increase of anything causes a reaction in the opposite direction."
"Remember, it is not enough to be hit or insulted to be harmed, you must believe that you are being harmed. If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation. Which is why it is essential that we not respond impulsively to impressions; take a moment before reacting, and you will find it easier to maintain control."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Epictetus
"Remember, it is not enough to be hit or insulted to be harmed, you must believe that you are being harmed. If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation. Which is why it is essential that we not respond impulsively to impressions; take a moment before reacting, and you will find it easier to maintain control."
"Not to be born is, past all prizing, best."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Sophocles
"Not to be born is, past all prizing, best."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
11
"When you want wisdom and insight as badly as you want to breathe, it is then you shall have it."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Socrates
"When you want wisdom and insight as badly as you want to breathe, it is then you shall have it."
"I'd three times sooner go to war than suffer childbirth once."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Euripides
"I'd three times sooner go to war than suffer childbirth once."
Share on Facebook_Black.png
Share on X_edited.png
Painting Icon
11
"Do not trouble about those who practice philosophy, whether they are good or bad; but examine the thing itself well and carefully. And if philosophy appears a bad thing to you, turn every man from it, not only your sons; but if it appears to you such as I think it to be, take courage, pursue it, and practice it, as the saying is, 'both you and your house."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Socrates
"Do not trouble about those who practice philosophy, whether they are good or bad; but examine the thing itself well and carefully. And if philosophy appears a bad thing to you, turn every man from it, not only your sons; but if it appears to you such as I think it to be, take courage, pursue it, and practice it, as the saying is, 'both you and your house."
"The misuse of language induces evil in the soul."
Quote_Sign_edited_edited.png
Socrates
"The misuse of language induces evil in the soul."
bottom of page