Philosophy Quotes

Questions about meaning, existence, and truth from thinkers who spent their lives searching for answers.

43879 quotes

P
"The mind is everything. What you think, you become."
Pliny the Younger
P
"The unexamined life is not worth living."
Pliny the Younger
P
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
Pliny the Younger
D
"The mind is humanity's greatest weapon and greatest weakness."
Diocletian
D
"The study of philosophy is the study of truth itself."
Diocletian
D
"In every man lies the capacity for both good and evil."
Diocletian
C
"True philosophy begins with the question: What is justice?"
Constantine I
C
"Philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom, not the possession of it."
Constantine I
S
"What is fame but a fleeting shadow?"
Septimius Severus
S
"Philosophy teaches us to question all."
Septimius Severus
S
"Destiny is written by our choices."
Septimius Severus
P
"Philosophy is the science of questioning what others accept as truth."
Pliny the Elder
C
"The power of an idea exceeds the power of any army."
Cato the Younger
C
"A society that values comfort over principle sows the seeds of its own destruction."
Cato the Younger
C
"The measure of civilization is how it treats those without power."
Cato the Younger
C
"A society that abandons principle for convenience has already abandoned itself."
Cato the Younger
C
"The state of a nation is the reflection of the state of its citizens' souls."
Cato the Younger
C
"The language we use shapes the thoughts we think and the nation we build."
Cato the Elder
D
"The pursuit of perfection often prevents the achievement of good."
Diocletian
D
"To truly understand your enemy, you must first understand yourself."
Diocletian
D
"In every man lies the capacity for both greatness and ruin."
Diocletian
H
"The measure of a man is not his wealth, but his wisdom."
Hadrian
H
"The greatest battles are fought within the mind."
Hadrian
H
"Philosophy is the art of asking the right questions."
Hadrian
S
"The pursuit of perfection is the pursuit of an impossible dream."
Septimius Severus
S
"The strongest empires are built on the weakest foundations."
Septimius Severus
A
"Everything is only for a day, both that which remembers and that which is remembered."
Antoninus Pius
A
"Life is neither good nor evil, but only a place for good and evil."
Antoninus Pius
A
"Ask yourself at every moment: 'Is this necessary?'"
Antoninus Pius
A
"Either there is fate, and we must accept it, or there is free will, and we must take responsibility."
Antoninus Pius