Socrates Quotes

Socrates was a classical Greek (Athenian) philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, and as being the first moral philosopher, of the Western ethical tradition of thought.An enigmatic figure, he made no writings, and is known chiefly through the accounts of classical writers writing after his lifetime, particularly his students Plato and Xenophon. Other sources include the contemporaneous Antisthenes, Aristippus, and Aeschines of Sphettos. Aristophanes, a playwright, is the only source to have written during his lifetime.

Beware the barrenness of a busy life.

Socrates
- Life
- Busy
- Beware
Let us follow the truth whither so ever it leads.

Socrates
- Truth
- Follow
- Leads

My belief is that to have no wants is divine.

Socrates
- Belief
- Divine
- Wants
The right way to begin is to pay attention to the young, and make them just as good as possible.

Socrates
- Good
- Attention
- Right
Be of good cheer about death and know this as a truth, that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death.

Socrates
- Life
- Death
- Know
How many things are there which I do not want.

Socrates
- Want
- Things
- Many
The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms.

Socrates
It is better to be at odds with the whole world than, being one, to be at odds with myself.

Socrates
- World
- Better
- Odds

I swear it upon Zeus an outstanding runner cannot be the equal of an average wrestler.

Socrates
- Equal
- Swear
- Runner
An envious man waxeth lean with the fatness of his neighbors. Envy is the daughter of pride, the author of murder and revenge, the beginner of secret sedition and the perpetual tormentor of virtue. Envy is the filthy slime of the soul; a venom, a poison, or quicksilver which consumeth the flesh and drieth up the marrow of the bones.

Socrates
- Man
- Pride
- Revenge
The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form.

Socrates
- Heart
- Person
- See
In my investigation in the service of the god I found that those who had the highest reputation were nearly the most deficient, while those who were thought to be inferior were more knowledgeable.

Socrates
The greatest of all mysteries is the man himself.

Socrates
- Man
- Greatest
- Mysteries
The fewer our wants the more we resemble the Gods.

Socrates
- Gods
- Wants
- Fewer

Only the knowledge that comes from inside is the real Knowledge.

Socrates
- Real
- Knowledge
- Inside
Creation is man's immortality and brings him nearest to the gods.

Socrates
The uninitiated are those who believe in nothing except what they can grasp in their hands, and who deny the existence of all that is invisible.

Socrates
There are two kinds of disease of the soul, vice and ignorance.

Socrates
- Soul
- Ignorance
- Disease
The life of which meaning one never ponders is not worth living.

Socrates
- Life
- Never
- Meaning
The real danger in life is not death, but living an evil life.

Socrates
- Life
- Real
- Death

It is possible that a man could live twice as long if he didn't spend the first half of his life acquiring habits that shortens the other half.

Socrates
- Life
- Man
- Habits
The man who is truly wise knows that he knows very little.

Socrates
- Man
- Wise
- Knows
Envy is the ulcer of the soul.

Socrates
- Soul
- Envy
- Ulcer
There is no greater magnificence than to defeat oneself. That is the magnificence.

Socrates