Socrates Quotes
Introduction
Socrates, an ancient Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Western philosophy did not leave behind any written works. However, his ideas and teachings were recorded by his students, particularly by Plato. Here are some quotes attributed to Socrates based on the writings of Plato and other ancient sources:
Socrates Philosophy Quotes
The Socratic Method:
“I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.”
The Pursuit of Wisdom:
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
“He who is not a good servant will not be a good master.”
The Examined Life:
“An unexamined life is not worth living.”
“The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being.”
Irony and Humility:
“I know that I am intelligent because I know that I know nothing.”
“I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.”
Virtue and Morality:
“It is not living that matters, but living rightly.”
“He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it.”
The Nature of Love:
“At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.”
“The hottest love has the coldest end.”
The Value of Knowledge:
“The only good is knowledge, and the only evil is ignorance.”
“True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.”
Individual Integrity:
“Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of.”
“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”
Wonder and Curiosity:
“Wisdom begins in wonder.”
“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”
Facing Death:
“To fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise, without being wise.”
“Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.”
Famous Socrates Quotes
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
“An unexamined life is not worth living.”
“I know that I am intelligent because I know that I know nothing.”
“To find yourself, think for yourself.”
“He who is not a good servant will not be a good master.”
“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”
“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.”
“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.”
“Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.”
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
Socrates Quotes on Life
“He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it.”
“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”
“Life contains but two tragedies. One is not to get your heart’s desire; the other is to get it.”
“Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for.”
“Wisdom begins in wonder.”
“Life is full of questions that cannot be answered, and the true wisdom is to know when it is time to ask these questions and when it is time to contemplate them silently in your heart.”
“An honest man is always a child.”
“The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be.”
“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”
“Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of.”
Socrates Quotes on Love
“At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.”
“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.”
“The hottest love has the coldest end.”
“Love is that splendid triggering of human vitality, the supreme activity which nature affords anyone for going out of himself toward someone else.”
“He who is not a good servant will not be a good master.”
“Love is the joy of the good, the wonder of the wise, the amazement of the gods.”
“Love is an endless mystery, for it has nothing else to explain it.”
“The lover, like the artist, is a rebel, and to obey in love is to rebel against judgment, against society, against fate, and against the divine.”
“Love is simply the name for the desire and pursuit of the whole.”
“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.”
Socrates Quotes on Success
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
“It is not living that matters, but living rightly.”
“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.”
“Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of.”
“Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for.”
“An unexamined life is not worth living.”
“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.”
“Be slow to fall into friendship, but when you are in, continue firm and constant.”
“He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it.”
Socrates Quotes on Knowledge
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
“I know that I am intelligent because I know that I know nothing.”
“Wisdom begins in wonder.”
“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.”
“True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.”
“To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge.”
“He who is not a good servant will not be a good master.”
“The only good is knowledge, and the only evil is ignorance.”
“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”
“Be as you wish to seem.”
Socrates Quotes on Death
“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.”
“Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.”
“He who is not a good servant will not be a good master.”
“The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways—I to die, and you to live. Which is better, God only knows.”
“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”
“He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it.”
“An unexamined life is not worth living.”
“As the state of death is a dreamless sleep, the dead may have an infinitely long life in a single night.”
“No one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all blessings for a man, yet men fear it as if they knew that it is the greatest of evils.”
“I would rather die having spoken in my manner than speak in your manner and live.”
