Philosophy quotes
Famous quotes from the great thinkers — each with its real source and a short explanation of what it actually means. No floating misattributions: every line is sourced and put in context.
Marcus Aurelius
- “You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” — Meditations
- “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.” — Meditations, Book X
- “The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.” — Meditations, Book VI
- “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” — Meditations (paraphrase)
Plato
- “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” — Attributed (paraphrase of the Cave)
- “The beginning is the most important part of the work.” — The Republic, Book II
- “There are three classes of men: lovers of wisdom, lovers of honour, and lovers of gain.” — The Republic (paraphrase)
Friedrich Nietzsche
- “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” — Twilight of the Idols
- “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” — Twilight of the Idols
- “Without music, life would be a mistake.” — Twilight of the Idols
- “He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.” — Beyond Good and Evil, §146
- “What if a demon crept after you and said: "This life as you now live it you will have to live once more and innumerable times more"?” — The Gay Science, §341
Immanuel Kant
- “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.” — Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
- “Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.” — Critique of Practical Reason
- “Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made.” — Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Aim
- “Dare to know! Have the courage to use your own reason — that is the motto of enlightenment.” — Answering the Question: What Is Enlightenment?
Carl Jung
- “Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” — Letters
- “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” — Attributed (paraphrase of Aion / collected works)
- “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” — Memories, Dreams, Reflections
- “Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.” — Letters, Vol. 1
Lao Tzu
- “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” — Tao Te Ching (attributed)
- “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” — Tao Te Ching, ch. 64
- “Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.” — Tao Te Ching, ch. 56
- “Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.” — Tao Te Ching, ch. 33