← One Stoic Quote

Greco-Roman & Adjacent

Classical figures who shaped or argued with Stoicism — Socrates, Aristotle, Heraclitus, Cicero and others. Related, but not Stoic.

64 quotes. Browse by author instead.

• "The greatest wealth is to live content with little."
  — Plato
• "True wisdom lies in recognizing one's own ignorance."
  — Socrates
• "Wisdom begins with self-reflection."
  — Socrates
• "A life without reflection is not worth living."
  — Socrates
• "The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new."
  — Socrates
• "No man is free if he cannot control himself."
  — Pythagoras
• "Better safe than sorry."
  — Cicero
• "Doing good without expecting recognition is the greatest virtue."
  — Cicero
• "Virtue is nothing but perfect reason."
  — Cicero
• "We do not live to eat, but we eat to live."
  — Socrates
• "The path to happiness is virtue."
  — Aristotle
• "Adversity reveals a man's genius, prosperity conceals it."
  — Horace
• "Time is the wisest counselor."
  — Pericles
• "True wisdom is knowing that you know nothing."
  — Socrates
• "Dogs bark at those they do not know."
  — Heraclitus
• "There is always fluidity in nature: all things are in motion."
  — Heraclitus
• "Those who love the truth must investigate many things."
  — Heraclitus
• "It is not possible to step twice into the same river."
  — Heraclitus
• "True perfection is not to commit faults."
  — Cicero
• "All men should take care of the gardens of their minds."
  — Plato
• "Ask yourself each morning: what must I do? At night: what did I do?"
  — Pythagoras
• "The wise man learns from the error of others, the fool not even from his own."
  — Latin Proverb
• "Before healing someone, ask them if they are willing to give up the things that make them sick."
  — Hippocrates
• "You only become wise by learning from your own mistakes."
  — Socrates
• "Criticism is something we can easily avoid by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing."
  — Aristotle
• "Adversity has the effect of extracting talents that, in prosperity, would have remained dormant."
  — Horace
• "Life is short, but art is long."
  — Hippocrates
• "The worst enemy is the one that lives within you."
  — Cicero
• "Wisdom begins in wonder."
  — Socrates
• "Excellence is not an act, but a habit."
  — Aristotle
• "Courage is the first of human virtues, because it guarantees all the others."
  — Aristotle
• "The man who changes himself is always at the beginning of his own life."
  — Socrates
• "Where there is life, there is hope."
  — Cicero
• "Patience is the sweetest fruit of philosophy."
  — Plutarch
• "Dedicate yourself to being the best at what you do."
  — Aristotle
• "Courage is the mean between rashness and cowardice."
  — Aristotle
• "To know oneself is the beginning of all wisdom."
  — Aristotle
• "Learn to think that death is nothing to us, for all good and all evil consists in sensation; and death is the privation of sensation."
  — Epicurus
• "The love of wisdom is the beginning of wisdom."
  — Socrates
• "Reflection should be applied as a remedy for the soul."
  — Cicero
• "If you seek the truth, be prepared for the unexpected."
  — Heraclitus
• "It is not by fearing that we avoid evil, but by avoiding evil that we are free from fear."
  — Epicurus
• "He who has fewer desires is closer to the gods."
  — Socrates
• "Everything flows, nothing remains the same."
  — Heraclitus
• "The joy that one has in thinking and learning makes us think and learn even more."
  — Aristotle
• "The greatest good is knowledge, the greatest evil is ignorance."
  — Socrates
• "To conquer oneself is the greatest of victories."
  — Plato
• "Happiness is not having what we want, but wanting what we have."
  — Aristotle
• "I never regretted my silence, but I have often regretted having spoken."
  — Xenocrates
• "Hope is the dream of the awake man."
  — Aristotle
• "Philosophy is a preparation for death."
  — Socrates
• "A life without challenges is not worth living."
  — Socrates
• "The unexamined life is not worth living."
  — Socrates
• "The true philosopher is always prepared to die."
  — Plato
• "It is not possible to step twice into the same river, for new waters are always flowing."
  — Heraclitus
• "A man's character is his destiny."
  — Heraclitus
• "The eyes are more accurate witnesses than the ears."
  — Heraclitus
• "Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the aim and end of human existence."
  — Aristotle
• "The roots of education are bitter, but the fruits are sweet."
  — Aristotle
• "Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity."
  — Aristotle
• "Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution."
  — Aristotle
• "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
  — Aristotle
• "The greatest victory is the one won over oneself."
  — Plato
• "I only know that I know nothing."
  — Socrates