Ancient Greece

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Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.

Socrates

Quoted in Theaetetus, by Plato

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Socrates. Quoted in Θεαίτητος [Theaetetus], written by Plato. c. 369 BC.

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Socrates. Quoted in Theaetetus, written by Plato, translated by John McDowell. Oxford University Press, 2014.

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The unexamined life is not worth living.

Socrates

Quoted in Apology, by Plato

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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.

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Current Citation

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

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There are many wonderful things, and nothing is more wonderful than man.

Sophocles

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Sophocles. Ἀντιγόνη [Antigone]. c. 441 BC, Festival of Dionysus, Athens, Greece.

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Sophocles. "Antigone." The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone, translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. Mariner Books, 2002.

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Man is the measure of all things.

Protagoras

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Quoted in Theaetetus, by Plato

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Plato. Θεαίτητος [Theatetus]. c. 400 BC.

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Plato. Theatetus, translated by John McDowell. Oxford University Press, 2014.

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Know thyself.

Thales

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

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Thales. Quoted in The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, written by Diogenes Laërtius. c. 240 AD, bk. 1, ch. 1.

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

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All men by nature desire to know.

Aristotle

Metaphysics

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Aristotle. τὰ μετὰ τὰ φυσικά [Those after the physics]. c. 322 BC, bk. 1.

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Aristotle. Metaphysics, translated by Hugh Lawson-Tancred. Penguin Classics, 1999, book alpha.

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Man is by nature a political animal.

Aristotle

Politics

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Aristotle. Politics. 4th century BC, bk. 1.

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Aristotle. Politics, translated by R. F. Stalley and Sir Ernest Barker. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 1.

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The true creator is necessity, who is the mother of our invention.

Socrates

Quoted in Republic, by Plato

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

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

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

Achilles

Quoted in The Iliad, by Homer

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Original Citation

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

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Current Citation

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

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Democracy passes into despotism.

Socrates

Quoted in Republic, by Plato

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

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

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All men have need of the Gods.

Homer

The Odyssey

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Original Citation

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

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

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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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Original Citation

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

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

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Hope is a waking dream.

Aristotle

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

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Original Citation

Aristotle. Quoted in Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, written by Diogenes Laertius. c. 240 AD, bk. 5, ch. 1, sect. 18.

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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. 18.

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

Agathon

Quoted in The Nicomachean Ethics, by Aristotle

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Original Citation

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

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Current Citation

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

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One swallow does not make a spring.

Aristotle

The Nicomachean Ethics

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Original Citation

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

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

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

Thrasymachus

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Quoted in Republic, by Plato

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

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

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

Plato

Phaedrus

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

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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.

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The basis of a democratic state is liberty.

Aristotle

Politics

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

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

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I know that I do not know.

Socrates

Quoted in Apology, by Plato

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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.

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Current Citation

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

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

Homer

The Odyssey

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Original Citation

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

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

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