Man is the measure of all things.

πάντων χρημάτων μέτρον ἄνθρωπον εἶναι

Protagoras

Quoted in Theaetetus, by Plato

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More information about this quote

Topic

Nature of man

Speaker

Protagoras

Author

Plato

Source

Theaetetus

Medium

Philosophical dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

420 BC 420s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Occupation

Philosopher

From

Greece Europe Ancient Greece

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

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

Current Citation

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

Illustrated Quote

A quote by Protagoras about nature of man: “Man is the measure of all things.”
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A quote by Protagoras about nature of man: “Man is the measure of all things.”
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A quote by Protagoras about nature of man: “Man is the measure of all things.”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote by Plato

The object of education is to teach us to love what is beautiful.

Socrates

Quoted in Republic, by Plato

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More information about this quote
Topic
Purpose of education Education
Speaker
Socrates

Author

Plato
Source
Republic
Medium
Philosophical 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.

Another quote about Nature of man

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

Homer

The Odyssey

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More information about this quote
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.

Another quote from the 5th century BC

If cows and horses or lions had hands, or could draw with their hands and make things as men can, horses would have drawn horse-like gods, cows cow-like gods, and each species would have made the gods' bodies just like their own.

Xenophanes

More information about this quote
Topic
Nature of God God and man God Anthropomorphism

Author

Xenophanes
Medium
Presocratic fragment Fragment
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
Greek
Time
5th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 0
Original Citation

Xenophanes. Fragments. 5th century BC, DK21 B15.

Current Citation

Xenophanes. "Xenophanes of Colophon." The First Philosophers: The Presocratics and Sophists. Oxford World Classics, 2009, DK21 B15.

Another quote from Classical antiquity

Where some people are very wealthy and others have nothing, the result will be either extreme democracy or absolute oligarchy, or despotism will come from either of those excesses.

Aristotle

Politics

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More information about this quote
Topic
Economic inequality Decline of democracy Tyranny

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. 4.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Politics, translated by R. F. Stalley and Sir Ernest Barker. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 4.

Another quote originally in Greek

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

Agathon

Quoted in The Nicomachean Ethics, by Aristotle

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More information about this quote
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.