Socrates, the ancient philosopher from Greece, was known for his profound ideas that continue to resonate today. He engaged in asking thought-provoking questions that encouraged deep contemplation. Read some of the best Socrates quotes on life, love, youth, and philosophy that will make you think deeply about these aspects of life.
He was a Greek philosopher who is widely regarded and credited as the founder of Western philosophy.
Though he did not personally write his thoughts, his philosophical conversations were recorded by his contemporaries, most notably by Plato.
Socrates employed the Socratic method, a technique of questioning that led individuals to recognize the limitations of their knowledge.
He emphasized the virtue of humility, famously stating, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
Socrates’ life had a greater impact because of the way in which it ended. At the age of 70, he was brought to trial on the charge of impiety and sentenced to death by forcing him to drink poison hemlock.
If you are interested in knowing about ethics, morals, or philosophy, here is a list of the best Socrates quotes from one of the greatest philosophers of all time
Top 10 Socrates Quotes
- “Be as you wish to seem.” — Socrates
- “Envy is the ulcer of the soul.” — Socrates
- “To find yourself, think for yourself.” — Socrates
- “Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” — Socrates
- “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” — Socrates
quotes from socrates - “Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior.” — Socrates
- “Only the extremely ignorant or the extremely intelligent can resist change.” — Socrates
quotes by socrates - “He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.” — Socrates
- “Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.” — Socrates
Best Quotes By Socrates
- “An honest man is always a child.” — Socrates
- “Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.” — Socrates
- “Nothing is so well learned as that which is discovered.” — Socrates
- “Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” — Socrates
- “Remember what is unbecoming to do is also unbecoming to speak of.” — Socrates
- “Be slow to fall into friendship, but when you are in, continue firm and constant.” — Socrates
- “Falling down is not a failure. Failure comes when you stay where you have fallen.” — Socrates
- “Be nicer than necessary to everyone you meet. Everyone is fighting some kind of battle.” — Socrates
- “If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it.” — Socrates
- “Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live.” — Socrates
- “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” — Socrates
- “He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.” — Socrates
- “Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions; but those who kindly reprove thy faults.” — Socrates
- “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
- “Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity.” — Socrates
Famous Quotes Of Socrates
- “Beauty is a short-lived tyranny.” — Socrates
- “Let him that would move the world, first move himself.” — Socrates
- “From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate.” — Socrates
- “We cannot live better than in seeking to become better.” — Socrates
- “When the debate is over, slander becomes the tool of the loser.” — Socrates
- “The first key to greatness is to be in reality what we appear to be.” — Socrates
- “The envious person grows lean with the fatness of their neighbor.” — Socrates
- “The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” — Socrates
- “All men’s souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine.” — Socrates
- “Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us.” — Socrates
- “He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy.” —Socrates
- “True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.” — Socrates
- “Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for.” — Socrates
- “Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune nor too scornful in misfortune.” — Socrates
- “Ordinary people seem not to realize that those who really apply themselves in the right way to philosophy are directly and of their own accord preparing themselves for dying and death.” — Socrates
Socrates Quotes On Love & Life
- “The hottest love has the coldest end.” — Socrates
- “The unexamined life is not worth living.” — Socrates
socrates quotes - “Call no man unhappy until he is married.” — Socrates
- “Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued.” — Socrates
- “Those who are hardest to love need it the most.” — Socrates
- “Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.” — Socrates
- “The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.” — Socrates
- “The soul, like the body, accepts by practice whatever habit one wishes it to contact.” — Socrates
- “The greatest blessing granted to mankind came by way of madness, which is a divine gift.” — Socrates
- “Get not your friends by bare compliments, but by giving them sensible tokens of your love.” — Socrates
- “Get not your friends by bare compliments, but by giving them sensible tokens of your love.” — Socrates
- “People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid.” — Socrates
- “One should never do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him.” — Socrates
- “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” — Socrates
- “The hour of departure has arrived and we go our ways; I to die, and you to live. Which is better? Only God knows.” — Socrates
Socrates Quotes & Philosophy
- “Wisdom begins in wonder.” — Socrates
- “Understanding a question is half an answer.” — Socrates
- “The poets are only the interpreters of the gods.” — Socrates
- “I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live.” — Socrates
- “The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.” — Socrates
- “Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.” — Socrates
- “It is better to change an opinion than to persist in a wrong one.” — Socrates
- “Only the knowledge that comes from inside is the real Knowledge.” — Socrates
- “Beauty is the bait which with delight allures man to enlarge his kind.” — Socrates
- “An education obtained with money is worse than no education at all.” — Socrates
- “Prefer knowledge to wealth, for the one is transitory, the other perpetual.” — Socrates
- “Give me beauty in the inward soul; may the outward and the inward man be at one.” — Socrates
- “As to marriage or celibacy, let a man take which course he will, he will be sure to repent.” — Socrates
- “I would rather die having spoken after my manner, than speak in your manner and live.” — Socrates
- “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.” — Socrates
Inspirational Socrates Quotes To Make You Think
- “Speak, so that I may see you.” — Socrates
- “Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” — Socrates
- “How many are the things I can do without!” — Socrates
- “Every action has its pleasures and its price.” — Socrates
- “The mind is everything; what you think you become.” — Socrates
- “There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.” — Socrates
- “Beauty comes first. Victory is secondary. What matters is joy.” — Socrates
- “Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others.” — Socrates
- “I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.” — Socrates
- “…[R]eal wisdom is the property of God, and… human wisdom has little or no value.” — Socrates
- “In childhood be modest, in youth temperate, in adulthood just, and in old age prudent.” — Socrates
- “Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.” — Socrates
- “The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” — Socrates
- “Mankind is made of two kinds of people: wise people who know they’re fools, and fools who think they are wise.” — Socrates
- “I only wish that ordinary people had an unlimited capacity for doing harm; then they might have an unlimited power for doing good.” — Socrates
Thoughtful Socrates Quotes
- “Justice. If only we knew what it was.” — Socrates
- “Nothing is to be preferred before justice.” — Socrates
- “Wisdom is knowing what you don’t know.” — Socrates
- “The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms.” — Socrates
- “Slanderers do not hurt me because they do not hit me.” — Socrates
- “The nearest way to glory is to strive to be what you wish to be thought to be.” — Socrates
- “False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.” — Socrates
- “You never know a line is crooked unless you have a straight one to put next to it.” — Socrates
- “We gain our first measure of intelligence when we first admit our own ignorance.” — Socrates
- “Worthless people love only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live.” — Socrates
- “It is better to be at odds with the whole world than, being one, to be at odds with myself.” — Socrates
- “The easiest and noblest way is not to be crushing others, but to be improving yourselves.” — Socrates
- “They are not only idle who do nothing, but they are idle also who might be better employed.” — Socrates
- “We can do nothing without the body, let us always take care that it is in the best condition to sustain us.” — Socrates
- “The perfect human being is all human beings put together, it is a collective, it is all of us together that make perfection.” — Socrates
More About Socrates’ Life
Socrates was born around 470 BC in Athens, Greece, and he died in 399 BC. He lived during a period known as the Golden Age of Athens.
He is best known for his contribution to the field of ethics.
According to the Greek philosopher Xenophon, there was no man freer, more just, or more moderate than Socrates.
With time, he started becoming famous as a thinker and naturalist which made him some enemies.
Socrates’ ideas and methods had a profound influence on subsequent philosophers and the development of Western philosophy. His emphasis on critical thinking and ethical inquiry laid the groundwork for many philosophical inquiries that followed.
He advocated an inflexible set of morals that had no place for dishonesty, dishonor, or double standards. As a result, many people thought that his teachings threatened their way of life.
His teachings on life, philosophy, ethics, and irony are also put forth in Aristophenes’ plays and Plato’s Dialogues which serve as some of the most important sources of information about Socrates.
Conclusion
Which of these Socrates quotes and sayings is your favorite? Do you have any other favorite quote that you want to add to the list? Feel free to share with us in the comment section below.
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