Famous Socrates quotes on life, love, and change
Renowned as one of the most exceptional intellectual philosophers to have ever walked planet earth, Socrates and his quotes continue to offer individuals the necessary guidance in this journey of life. By pondering through the multidisciplinary quotes from Socrates' philosophical school of thought, you are sure to acquire critical thinking skills that will enable you to approach life from a better perspective.
Source: UGC
Since old is gold, quotes by Socrates, who lived in the 5th century BCE, are a sure gem to whoever knows and adheres to them. As a significant influencer of the later philosophers, famous Socrates quotes continue to be applied in the current 21st century. These wise words and reasonings range from topics of love, embracing change, education, ethical life, knowledge, and life in general.
Below is a compilation of the best quotes Socrates ever wrote that is sure to juggle your brain in diverse topics.
Socrates quotes on love
Love is a beautiful thing. The famous philosopher had this to say about it;
Source: Original
- 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.
- Love is a madness. The madness of love is the greatest of Heaven’s blessings.
- From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate.
- The hottest love has the coldest end.
- One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life, and that word is love.
- Life contains but two tragedies. One is not to get your heart’s desire; the other is to get it.
Best Socrates quotes on friendship
Finding genuine friends is hard. When you find one, cherish the friendship. The famous philosopher said a lot about friendship. Some of his best quotes were;
- Get not your friends by bare compliments, but by giving them sensible tokens of your love.
- Be slow to fall into friendship, but when you are in, continue firm and constant.
- Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity.
- Slanderers do not hurt me because they do not hit me.
- The easiest and noblest way is not to be crushing others, but to be improving yourselves.
- There is no possession more valuable than a good and faithful friend.
Socrates famous quotes concerning God
The philosopher honoured God in his life. Many centuries after his demise, he still teaches us all to believe in God through his quotes;
- “Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us.”
- I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within.”
- “The end of life is to be like God, and the soul following God will be like Him.”
- The fewer our wants the more we resemble the Gods.
- Be of good hope in the face of death. Believe in this one truth for certain, that no evil can befall a good man either in life or death, and that his fate is not a matter of indifference to the gods.
- 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.
- You think that upon the score of fore-knowledge and divining I am infinitely inferior to the swans. When they perceive approaching death they sing more merrily than before, because of the joy they have in going to the God they serve.
- The poets are only the interpreters of the Gods.
- No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death. He and his are not neglected by the gods.
- Men of Athens, I honor and love you; but I shall obey God rather than you, and while I have life and strength I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of philosophy.
Socrates quotes on change
Source: Original
As a man who opted to see things differently, he had a lot to say about change;
- To find yourself, think for yourself.
- Who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.
- Envy is the ulcer of the soul.
- In childhood be modest, in youth temperate, in adulthood just, and in old age prudent.
- Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of – for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.
- Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for.
- What a lot of things there are a man can do without.
- Nature has given us two ears, two eyes, and but one tongue-to the end that we should hear and see more than we speak.
- He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains in his post and fights against the enemy.
- Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune nor too scornful in misfortune.
- Only the extremely ignorant or the extremely intelligent can resist change.
Socrates apology quotes
Source: Original
Written down by his student Plato, “The Apology” is a list of quotes that Socrates uttered in an Athens court after being charged with corrupting people's minds.
- I am very conscious that I am not wise at all.
- I will not yield to any man contrary to what is right, for fear of death, even if I should die at once for not yielding.
- Neither I nor any other man should, on trial or in way, contrive to avoid death at any cost.
- It is not the purpose of a juryman's office to give justice as a favor to whoever seems good to him, but to judge according to law, and this he has sworn to do.
- 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 education quotes
Source: Original
As the father of intellectual reasoning, Socrates quotes on education shed some light on the field of gathering and seeking knowledge and information;
- The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- An education obtained with money is worse than no education at all.
- There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.
- Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.
- Wisdom begins in wonder.
- People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid.
- No one can teach, if by teaching we mean the transmission of knowledge, in any mechanical fashion, from one person to another. The most that can be done is that one person who is more knowledgeable than another can, by asking a series of questions, stimulate the other to think, and so cause him to learn for himself.
- When you want wisdom and insight as badly as you want to breathe, it is then you shall have it.
- Understanding a question is half the answer.
- A multitude of books distracts the mind.
Socrates quotes on life
Source: Original
As a philosopher whose reasoning changed lives of different societies, Socrates taught people a lot. Explore some of his wise words below;
- The unexamined life is not worth living.
- Be as you wish to seem.
- Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
- He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.
- Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.
- Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.
- Let him that would move the world, first move himself.
- Mankind is made of two kinds of people: wise people who know they’re fools, and fools who think they are wise.
- The mind is everything; what you think you become.
- Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.
- The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.
- Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued.
- Falling down is not a failure. Failure comes when you stay where you have fallen.
Socrates quotes are considered to be well crafted and perfectly delivered in addressing the numerous issues that surround humans. From love, change, life in general, education, friendship, leadership, and many more, his words continue to give humans the right direction and a critical thinking mindset for better judgment and life in general.
Source: Legit.ng
