Classical antiquity

Explore 1180 quotes from Classical antiquity

Zeus does not bring all men's plans to fulfillment.

Achilles

Quoted in The Iliad, by Homer

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Topic

God and man Fate

Speaker

Achilles

Author

Homer

Source

The Iliad

Medium

Poem

Genre

Epic poem

Language

Greek

Time

700 BC 700s BC 8th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Homer. Ἰλιάς [The Iliad], edited by Demetrius Chalcondyles. Florence: Bernardus Nerlius and Demetrius Damilas, 1489, bk. 18, l. 328.

Current Citation

Homer. The Iliad, translated by Robert Fitzgerald. Oxford University Press, 2014, bk. 18, l. 328.

Democracy passes into despotism.

Socrates

Quoted in Republic, by Plato

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Topic

Political theory Democracy Tyranny Politics

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Republic

Medium

Philosophical dialogue Dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

375 BC 370s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Πολιτεία [Republic], written by Plato. c. 375 BCE.

Current Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Republic, written by Plato, translated by Desmond Lee. Penguin Classics, 2007.

All men have need of the Gods.

Homer

The Odyssey

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Topic

God and man God Human nature

Author

Homer

Source

The Odyssey

Medium

Poem

Genre

Epic poem

Language

Greek

Time

700 BC 700s BC 8th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Homer. Ὀδύσσεια [Odyssey]. c. 710 BC, bk. 3, l. 48.

Current Citation

Homer. The Odyssey, edited by Bernard Knox, translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Classics, 2006, bk. 3, l. 48.

For our discussion is about no ordinary matter, but on the right way to conduct our lives.

Socrates

Quoted in Republic, by Plato

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Topic

How to live Purpose of life

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Republic

Medium

Philosophical dialogue Dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

375 BC 370s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Πολιτεία [Republic], written by Plato. c. 375 BCE.

Current Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Republic, written by Plato, translated by Desmond Lee. Penguin Classics, 2007.

For the one thing even God cannot do is change the past.

Agathon

Quoted in The Nicomachean Ethics, by Aristotle

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Topic

God's power God Changing the past The past

Speaker

Agathon

Author

Aristotle

Source

The Nicomachean Ethics

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Agathon. Quoted in Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, Ēthika Nikomacheia [Nicomachean Ethics], written by Aristotle. c. 350 BC, bk. 6.

Current Citation

Agathon. Quoted in Nicomachean Ethics, written by Aristotle, translated by Terence Irwin. Hackett Publishing Company, 2019, bk. 6, ch. 2.

One swallow does not make a spring.

Aristotle

The Nicomachean Ethics

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Topic

Jumping to conclusions Trends Patterns

Author

Aristotle

Source

The Nicomachean Ethics

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

Greek

Time

322 BC 320s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aristotle. Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, Ēthika Nikomacheia [Nicomachean Ethics]. c. 322 BC.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics, translated by Terence Irwin. Hackett Publishing, 2019, bk. 1.

What I say is that "just" or "right" means nothing but what is to the interest of the stronger party.

Thrasymachus

Quoted in Republic, by Plato

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Topic

Might makes right Justice Political theory Moral theory Morality

Speaker

Thrasymachus

Author

Plato

Source

Republic

Medium

Philosophical dialogue Dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

375 BC 370s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Thrasymachus. Quoted in Πολιτεία [Republic], written by Plato. c. 375 BCE.

Current Citation

Thrasymachus. Quoted in Republic, written by Plato, translated by Desmond Lee. Penguin Classics, 2007.

For what should a man live, if not for the pleasures of discourse?

Plato

Phaedrus

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Topic

Good conversation Purpose of life

Speaker

Phaedrus

Author

Plato

Source

Phaedrus

Medium

Philosophical dialogue Dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Question

Language

Greek

Time

370 BC 370s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Φαῖδρος [Phaedrus], written by Plato. c. 370 BC, section 258e.

Current Citation

Socrates. Quoted in "Phaedrus." Plato: Lysis; Symposium; Phaedrus, written by Plato, translated by Christopher Emlyn-Jones and William Preddy. Harvard University Press, 2022, sect. 258e.

The basis of a democratic state is liberty.

Aristotle

Politics

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Topic

Freedom and democracy Democratic legitimacy Democracy Freedom

Author

Aristotle

Source

Politics

Genre

Political literature Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

350 BC 350s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Aristotle. Politics. 4th century BC, bk. 6.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Politics, translated by R. F. Stalley and Sir Ernest Barker. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 6.

I know that I do not know.

Socrates

Quoted in Apology, by Plato

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Topic

Intellectual humility Certainty Ignorance

Speaker

Socrates

Author

Plato

Source

Apology

Medium

Courtroom speech Speech

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

399 BC 390s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Plato. Ἀπολογία Σωκράτους [Apology of Socrates]. Speech of legal self-defence which Socrates spoke at his trial for impiety and corruption. 399 BC, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Plato. "Apology." Plato: Euthyphro; Apology; Crito; Phaedo, translated by Christopher Emlyn-Jones and William Preddy. Harvard University Press, 2017.

Of all the creatures that breathe and move across the earth, there is nothing feebler than man.

Homer

The Odyssey

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Topic

Human frailty Nature of man

Author

Homer

Source

The Odyssey

Medium

Poem

Genre

Epic poem

Language

Greek

Time

700 BC 700s BC 8th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Homer. Ὀδύσσεια [Odyssey]. c. 710 BC, bk. 18, l. 130.

Current Citation

Homer. The Odyssey, edited by Bernard Knox, translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Classics, 2006, bk. 18, l. 130.

No tyrant need fear till men begin to feel confident in each other.

Aristotle

Politics

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Topic

Seeds of revolution Revolution Tyranny Political theory Politics

Author

Aristotle

Source

Politics

Genre

Political literature Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

350 BC 350s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Aristotle. Politics. 4th century BC, bk. 5.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Politics, translated by R. F. Stalley and Sir Ernest Barker. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 5.

One soul dwelling in two bodies.

Aristotle

Quoted in The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, by Diogenes Laërtius

On the nature of friendship.

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Topic

Friends Friendship

Speaker

Aristotle

Author

Diogenes Laërtius

Source

The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers

Genre

Biography Historical literature

Language

Greek

Time

3rd century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aristotle. Quoted in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, written by Diogenes Laertius. c. 240 AD, bk. 5, ch. 1, sect. 20.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Quoted in The Lives of Eminent Philosophers, written by Diogenes Laërtius, translated by Pamela Mensch, edited by James Miller. Oxford University Press, 2018, bk. 5, ch. 1, sect. 20.

Cui bono?

Cicero

Pro Milone

More information about this quote

Topic

Incentives

Speaker

Cicero

Source

Pro Milone

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Statement Type

Question

Language

Latin

Time

52 BC 50s BC 1st century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Cicero, Marcus Tullius. Pro Milone [In Defense of Milo]. c. 52 BC, sect. 32.

Current Citation

Cicero, Marcus Tullius. Pro Milone [For Milo], translated by D. H. Berry. Oxford University Press, 2009, sect. 32.

Our heart is restless until it rests in you.

St. Augustine

Confessions

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Topic

Seeking God God and man

Author

St. Augustine

Source

Confessions

Genre

Autobiography and memoir Religious literature

Language

Latin

Time

400 400s 5th century

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score

Original Citation

Augustine of Hippo. Confessiones [Confessions]. c. 398, bk. 1, ch. 1.

Current Citation

Augustine of Hippo. Confessions, translated by R. S. Pine-Coffin. Penguin Classics, 1961, bk. 1, ch. 1.

Every instant of time is a pinprick of eternity.

Marcus Aurelius

Meditations

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Topic

Eternity Time

Author

Marcus Aurelius

Source

Meditations

Medium

Personal journal

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Paradox

Language

Greek

Time

180 180s 2nd century

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Aurelius, Marcus. Meditations. c. 180, bk. 6.

Current Citation

Aurelius, Marcus. Meditations, edited and translated by Martin Hammond. Penguin Classics, 2015, bk. 6.

Who benefits?

Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla

Quoted in Pro Milone, by Cicero

More information about this quote

Speaker

Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla

Author

Cicero

Source

Pro Milone

Statement Type

Question

Language

Latin

Time

80 BC 80s BC 1st century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Cicero, Marcus Tullius. "Pro Roscio Amerino [In defense of Sextus Roscius of Amerina]." 80 BC, Umbria, Italy.

Use a little wine for thy stomach's sake.

1st Timothy 5:23

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Topic

Wine Alchol

Source

1st Timothy The Bible

Medium

Scripture

Genre

Religious literature

Statement Type

Advice

Language

Greek

Time

64 60s 1st century

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 3

Citation

The Holy Bible: The King James Version. 1611. (1st Timothy 5:23).

Give me chastity and continency—but not yet!

St. Augustine

Confessions

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Topic

Chastity Sexual morality Self-control Sex

Author

St. Augustine

Source

Confessions

Genre

Autobiography and memoir

Language

Latin

Time

398 390s 4th century

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Augustine of Hippo. Confessiones [Confessions]. c. 398, bk. 8, ch. 7.

Current Citation

Augustine of Hippo. Confessions, translated by R. S. Pine-Coffin. Penguin Classics, 1961, bk. 8, ch. 7.

Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.

Aristotle

The Nicomachean Ethics

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Topic

Value of friendship Friends Friendship

Author

Aristotle

Source

The Nicomachean Ethics

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

322 BC 320s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aristotle. Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, Ēthika Nikomacheia [Nicomachean Ethics]. c. 322 BC.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics, translated by Terence Irwin. Hackett Publishing, 2019, bk. 8.