Socrates

collection of quotes by Socrates

Here is a compilation of Socrates’ most renowned and profound quotes, showcasing his philosophical insights into life, knowledge, virtue, and the human experience:

On Knowledge and Wisdom:

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
“I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.”
“True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.”
“To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.”
“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”
“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.”
“He who is not contented with what he has would not be contented with what he would like to have.”
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
“There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.”

On Life and Virtue:

“An unexamined life is not worth living.”
“He who is richest is content with the least, for contentment is the wealth of nature.”
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
“Let him who would move the world first move himself.”
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
“Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued.”
“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.”
“Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.”

On Morality and Ethics:

“I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live.”
“It is not living that matters, but living rightly.”
“Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of.”
“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.”
“To find yourself, think for yourself.”

On Justice and Politics:

“One who is injured ought not to return the injury, for on no account can it be right to do an injustice.”
“When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser.”
“In all of us, even in good men, there is a lawless wild-beast nature, which peers out in sleep.”
“He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.”
“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”

On Love and Relationships:

“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.”
“Those who are hardest to love need it the most.”

On Death and Mortality:

“Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.”
“To fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise without being wise, for it is to think that we know what we do not know.”
“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.”
“All men’s souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine.”

On Happiness and Well-being:

“Happiness is unrepentant pleasure.”
“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.”
“The fewer our wants, the more we resemble the gods.”

Socrates’ method of philosophy, notably through questioning and dialogue, underscores self-awareness, virtue, and the quest for wisdom, continuing to influence philosophical thought centuries after his era.