Mankind, fleet of life, like tree leaves, weak creatures of clay, unsubstantial as shadows, wingless, ephemeral, wretched, mortal and dreamlike.

Aristophanes

Birds

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More information about this quote

Topic

Ephemeral nature of life

Author

Aristophanes

Source

Birds

Medium

Play

Genre

Comedy (play)

Language

Greek

Time

424 BC 420s BC 5th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Occupation

Playwright Writer

From

Greece Europe Ancient Greece

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Aristophanes. Ὄρνιθες [Birds]. c. 414, Dionysia, Athens, Greece.

Current Citation

Aristophanes. "Birds." Aristophanes: The Complete Plays, translated by Paul Roche. New American Library/Berkley, 2005.

Illustrated Quote

A quote by Aristophanes about ephemeral nature of life: “Mankind, fleet of life, like tree leaves, weak creatures…”
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A quote by Aristophanes about ephemeral nature of life: “Mankind, fleet of life, like tree leaves, weak creatures…”
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A quote by Aristophanes about ephemeral nature of life: “Mankind, fleet of life, like tree leaves, weak creatures…”
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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 about Ephemeral nature of life

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

William Shakespeare

Macbeth

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More information about this quote
Topic
Absurdity of life The absurd Life as performance Ephemeral nature of life Life
Speaker
Macbeth

Author

William Shakespeare
Source
Macbeth
Medium
Play
Genre
Tragedy (play)
Statement Type
Metaphor, analogy and simile
Language
English
Time
1616 1610s 17th century
Era
European Renaissance
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Macbeth." Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. London: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard, 1623, act 5, sc. 5.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "Macbeth." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 5, sc. 5.

Another quote from the 5th century BC

We are lovers of beauty without extravagance, and lovers of wisdom without unmanliness. Wealth is to us is not mere material for vainglory but an opportunity for achievement; and poverty we think it no disgrace to acknowledge but a real degradation to make no effort to overcome.

Pericles

Quoted in Funeral Oration, by Thucydides

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More information about this quote
Topic
Golden mean
Speaker
Pericles

Author

Thucydides
Source
Funeral Oration History of the Peloponnesian War
Medium
Speech
Genre
Political speech Historical literature
Language
Greek
Time
430 BC 430s BC 5th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Thucydides. The History of the Peloponnesian War. c. 431 BC, bk. 2.

Current Citation

Thucydides. The Peloponnesian War, translated by Martin Hammond. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 2.

Another quote from Classical antiquity

We learn an art or craft by doing the things that we shall have to do when we have learnt it.

Aristotle

The Nicomachean Ethics

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More information about this quote
Topic
Practice Learning Self-improvement

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. 2.

Another quote originally in Greek

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

Socrates

Quoted in Theaetetus, by Plato

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More information about this quote
Topic
Curiosity Wonder Philosophy
Speaker
Socrates

Author

Plato
Source
Theaetetus
Medium
Philosophical dialogue
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
Greek
Time
400 BC 400s BC 5th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

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

Current Citation

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