He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must either be a beast or a god.

εἰ γὰρ μὴ αὐτάρκης ἕκαστος χωρισθείς, ὁμοίως τοῖς ἄλλοις μέρεσιν ἕξει πρὸς τὸ ὅλον, ὁ δὲ μὴ δυνάμενος κοινωνεῖν ἢ μηδὲν δεόμενος δι᾽ αὐτάρκειαν οὐθὲν μέρος πόλεως, ὥστε ἢ θηρίον ἢ θεός.

Aristotle

Politics

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More information about this quote

Topic

Man as social animal Man and animals

Author

Aristotle

Source

Politics

Genre

Political literature Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

350 BC 350s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Occupation

Philosopher Writer

From

Greece Europe Ancient Greece

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

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

Current Citation

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

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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 Aristotle

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

Aristotle

Politics

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Read Politics at MIT's classics department website
More information about this quote
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.

Another quote about Man as social animal

A man lives not only his personal life, as an individual, but also, consciously or unconsciously, the life of his epoch and his contemporaries.

Thomas Mann

The Magic Mountain

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More information about this quote
Topic
Society and the individual Man as social animal

Author

Thomas Mann
Source
The Magic Mountain
Medium
Novel
Language
German
Time
1924 1920s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Mann, Thomas. Der Zauberberg [The Magic Mountain]. S. Fischer Verlag, 1924, ch. 2.

Current Citation

Mann, Thomas. The Magic Mountain. Everyman's Library, 2005, ch. 2.

Another quote from Classical antiquity

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.

Another quote originally in Greek

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.