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The afterlife5 quotes
To fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise, without being wise: for it is to think that we know what we do not know. — Socrates · 399 BCEither death is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness, or, as men say, there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another. Now if death be of such a nature, I say that to die is to gain; for eternity is then only a single night. — Socrates · 339 BCBut already it is time to depart, for me to die, for you to go on living; which of us takes the better course, is not known to anyone except God. — Socrates · 399 BCDeath is, you see, one or the other of two things: either to be dead is to be non-existent, as it were, and a dead person has no awareness of anything at all; or else, as we are told, the soul undergoes some sort of transformation, or exchanging of this present world for another. — Socrates · 399 BCIt is perfectly certain that the soul is immortal and imperishable, and our souls will actually exist in another world. — Socrates · 347 BCPhilosophy4 quotes
Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder. — Socrates · 400 BCThe unexamined life is not worth living. — Socrates · 399 BCIf you were prepared to let me go on those terms, I should reply to you as follows: "I have the greatest fondness and affection for you, fellow Athenians, but I will obey my god rather than you." — Socrates · 399 BCWell, my art of midwifery is in most respects like theirs; but differs, in that I attend men and not women, and I look after their souls when they are in labor, and not after their bodies: and the triumph of my art is in thoroughly examining whether the thought which the mind of the young man brings forth is a false idol or a noble and true birth. — Socrates · 369 BCPolitical theory4 quotes
Democracy passes into despotism. — Socrates · 375 BCThe city in which those who are to rule are least eager to hold office must needs be the best governed and freest from strife. — Socrates · 375 BCUntil philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand aside, cities will never have rest from their evils. — Socrates · 375 BCWhen the tyrant has disposed for foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader. — Socrates · 375 BCPolitics4 quotes
Democracy passes into despotism. — Socrates · 375 BCDemocracy, which is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike. — Socrates · 375 BCThe city in which those who are to rule are least eager to hold office must needs be the best governed and freest from strife. — Socrates · 375 BCUntil philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand aside, cities will never have rest from their evils. — Socrates · 375 BCDeath3 quotes
To fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise, without being wise: for it is to think that we know what we do not know. — Socrates · 399 BCEither death is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness, or, as men say, there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another. Now if death be of such a nature, I say that to die is to gain; for eternity is then only a single night. — Socrates · 339 BCDeath is, you see, one or the other of two things: either to be dead is to be non-existent, as it were, and a dead person has no awareness of anything at all; or else, as we are told, the soul undergoes some sort of transformation, or exchanging of this present world for another. — Socrates · 399 BCIgnorance3 quotes
I know that I do not know. — Socrates · 399 BCBehold! human beings living in an underground den... Like ourselves... They see only their own shadows, or the shadows of one another, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave. — Socrates · 375 BCTo fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise, without being wise: for it is to think that we know what we do not know. — Socrates · 399 BCThe soul3 quotes
The soul of man is immortal and imperishable. — Socrates · 375 BCDeath is, you see, one or the other of two things: either to be dead is to be non-existent, as it were, and a dead person has no awareness of anything at all; or else, as we are told, the soul undergoes some sort of transformation, or exchanging of this present world for another. — Socrates · 399 BCIt is perfectly certain that the soul is immortal and imperishable, and our souls will actually exist in another world. — Socrates · 347 BCDemocracy2 quotes
Democracy passes into despotism. — Socrates · 375 BCDemocracy, which is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike. — Socrates · 375 BCEducation2 quotes
Behold! human beings living in an underground den... Like ourselves... They see only their own shadows, or the shadows of one another, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave. — Socrates · 375 BCThe object of education is to teach us to love what is beautiful. — Socrates · 375 BCMaterialism2 quotes
Having the fewest wants, I am nearest to the gods. — Socrates · 240How many things I can do without! — Socrates · 399 BCMystery of death2 quotes
But already it is time to depart, for me to die, for you to go on living; which of us takes the better course, is not known to anyone except God. — Socrates · 399 BCDeath is, you see, one or the other of two things: either to be dead is to be non-existent, as it were, and a dead person has no awareness of anything at all; or else, as we are told, the soul undergoes some sort of transformation, or exchanging of this present world for another. — Socrates · 399 BCSimple living2 quotes
Having the fewest wants, I am nearest to the gods. — Socrates · 240How many things I can do without! — Socrates · 399 BCThe unknown2 quotes
To fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise, without being wise: for it is to think that we know what we do not know. — Socrates · 399 BCEither death is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness, or, as men say, there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another. Now if death be of such a nature, I say that to die is to gain; for eternity is then only a single night. — Socrates · 339 BCTyranny2 quotes
Democracy passes into despotism. — Socrates · 375 BCThe people have always some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness. This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector. — Socrates · 375 BCTyrants2 quotes
In the early days of his power, he is full of smiles, and he salutes everyone whom he meets. — Socrates · 375 BCWhen the tyrant has disposed for foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader. — Socrates · 375 BCAnimals1 quote
Will you not allow that I have as much of the spirit of prophecy in me as the swans? For they, when they perceive that they must die, having sung all their life long, do then sing more lustily than ever, rejoicing in the thought that they are going to the god they serve. — Socrates · 360 BCAstronomy1 quote
Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another. — Socrates · 375 BCAttachment (Buddhism)1 quote
Having the fewest wants, I am nearest to the gods. — Socrates · 240Bad influences1 quote
Socrates, he says, breaks the law by corrupting young men and not recognizing the gods that the city recognizes, but some other new deities. — Socrates · 399 BCBirds1 quote
Will you not allow that I have as much of the spirit of prophecy in me as the swans? For they, when they perceive that they must die, having sung all their life long, do then sing more lustily than ever, rejoicing in the thought that they are going to the god they serve. — Socrates · 360 BCCertainty1 quote
I know that I do not know. — Socrates · 399 BCCities1 quote
The country places and the trees won't teach me anything, and the people in the city do. — Socrates · 370 BCCitizens of the world1 quote
I am not Athenian or Greek but a citizen of the world. — Socrates · 1783Consequences of lying1 quote
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil. — Socrates · 360 BCCorrosive effects of wealth1 quote
Wealth is the parent of luxury and indolence, and poverty of meanness and viciousness, and both of discontent. — Socrates · 375 BCCreativity1 quote
The true creator is necessity, who is the mother of our invention. — Socrates · 375 BCCuriosity1 quote
Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder. — Socrates · 400 BCDecline of democracy1 quote
The people have always some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness. This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector. — Socrates · 375 BCDownsides of wealth1 quote
Wealth is the parent of luxury and indolence, and poverty of meanness and viciousness, and both of discontent. — Socrates · 375 BCEpistemology1 quote
Let us now suppose that in the mind of each man there is an aviary of all sorts of birds-some flocking together apart from the rest, others in small groups, others solitary, flying anywhere and everywhere... We may suppose that the birds are kinds of knowledge, and that when we were children, the receptacle was empty; whenever a man has gotten and detained in the enclosure a kind of knowledge, he may be said to have learned or discovered the thing which is the subject of the knowledge: and this is to know. — Socrates · 369 BC