Quotes by
Heraclitus |
A pre-Socratic Greek philosopher and a native of the city of Ephesus remembered for his cosmology, in which fire forms the basic material principle of an orderly universe. He was famous for his insistence on ever-present change as being the fundamental essence of the universe. Little is known about his life, and the one book he apparently wrote is lost. His views survive in the short fragments quoted and attributed to him by later authors.
At some time in antiquity he acquired this epithet The “Obscure” (or “Dark”) philosopher denoting that his major sayings were difficult to understand.
| 35 quotes | 9,944 visits |
Quotations
| • | Character is destiny. 11 |
| • | No man can step twice into the same river. 8 |
| • | War is the father and king of all: some he has made gods, and some men; some slaves and some free. 5 |
Ancient Greek
| • | This world, which is the same for all, has not been made by any god or man, but it always has been, is, and will be an ever-living fire. Κόσμον τονδε, τον αυτόν απάντων, ούτε τις θεών ούτε ανθρώπων εποίησεν, αλλ' ην αεί και έστιν και έστε πύρ αείζωον. 47 |
| • | Good and evil are the same thing. Αγαθόν και κακόν ταυτόν. 32 |
| • | Character is destiny. Ήθος ανθρώπω δαίμων. 28 |
| • | Everything flows, nothing stands still. Τα πάντα ρει και ουδέν μένει. 26 |
| • | The souls in the underworld smell. Αι ψυχαί οσμώνται καθ΄ Άιδην. 20 |
| • | Corpses are more useless than dung. Νέκυες κοπρίων εκβλητότεροι. 12 |
| • | Much learning does not teach the mind. Πολυμαθίη νόον ου διδάσκει. 11 |
| • | No man can step twice into the same river. Ποταμώ ουκ έστιν εμβήναι δις τω αυτώ. 11 |
| • | The road up and the road down is the same. Οδός άνω και κάτω μία. 10 |
| • | The opinions of men are toys for boys. Τα ανθρώπων δοξάσματα παίδων αθύρματα. 8 |
| • | He who does not hope for the unexpected, will not find it. Εάν μη έλπηται ανέλπιστον, ουκ εξευρήσει. 8 |
| • | Donkeys prefer garbage to gold. Όνους σύρματ’ αν ελέσθαι ή χρυσόν. 8 |
| • | I searched for myself. Εδιζησάμην εμεωυτόν. 8 |
| • | Time is a child playing checkers; the kingdom belongs to a child. Χρόνος παις εστι παίζων πεττεύων. Παιδός η βασιλεία. 7 |
| • | Nature is wont to hide herself. Φύσις κρύπτεσθαι φιλεί. 6 |
| • | The sun, as Heraclitus says, is new every day. Ο ήλιος, καθάπερ ο Ηράκλειτος φησι, νέος εφ’ ημέρη εστίν. 6 |
| • | For me, one equals ten thousand if he is really good. Είς εμοί μύριοι, εάν άριστος εί. 5 |
| • | It is better to conceal ignorance than to expose it. Κρύπτειν αμαθίην κρέσσον, ή ες το μέσον φέρειν. 5 |
| • | War is the father and king of all: some he has made gods, and some men; some slaves and some free. Πόλεμος πάντων μεν πατήρ εστί, πάντων δε βασιλεύς. Και τους μεν θεούς έδειξε, τους δε ανθρώπους, τους μεν δούλους εποίησε, τους δε ελευθέρους. 4 |
| • | It is harder to fight against pleasure than against anger. Χαλεπώτερον ηδονῇ μάχεσθαι ή θυμῷ. 4 |
| • | The fool has the tendency to flinch at the slightest thing. Βλαξ άνθρωπος επί παντί λόγω επτοήσθαι φιλεί. 3 |
| • | In a circle, each point is simultaneously both a beginning and an end. Ξυνόν γαρ αρχή και πέρας επί κύκλου περιφερείας. 3 |
| • | Even the sun will not overstep its bounds. Ήλιος ουκ αν υπερβήσεται μέτρα. 3 |
| • | Pigs enjoy mud more than clean water. Ύες βορβόρω ήδονται μάλλον ή καθαρώ ύδατι. 3 |
| • | Man turns on the light at night while he himself is turned off. Άνθρωπος εν ευφρόνη φάος άπτεται εαυτώ αποσβεσθείς. 1 |
| • | It is better to extinguish hubris than a fire. Ύβριν χρη σβεννύναι μάλλον ή πυρκαϊήν. 1 |
| • | To the awake, one and the same world is common, but to the sleeping, each turns away into his own world. Τοις εγρηγορόσιν ένα και κοινόν κόσμον είναι, των δε κοιμωμένων έκαστον εις ίδιον αποστρέφεσθαι. |
| • | You would not find the boundaries of the soul, no matter which path you follow. It has a deep structure. Ψυχής πείρατα ιών ουκ αν εξεύροιο, πάσαν επιπορευόμενος οδόν. Βαθύν λόγον έχει. |
| • | A dry soul, without desires, is the wisest and best. Αύη ψυχὴ σοφωτάτη και αρίστη. |
| • | Heraclitus said that education is another sun for the educated. Ηράκλειτος έλεγεν την παιδείαν έτερον ήλιον είναι τοις πεπαιδευμένοις. |
| • | Be a loyal friend, and associate with loyal friends. Βέβαιος ίσθι και βεβαίοις χρώ φίλοις. |
| • | Heraclitus said that arrogance is an obstacle to progress. Ηράκλειτος έλεγε την οίησιν προκοπής εγκοπήν. |
