60+ Best Ancient Quotes about Philosophy, Love and Life

Here are some of the best philosophical quotes by famous people from ancient times.

Lots of great sayings about wisdom have been passed onto generations since ancient times. Some of them are as memorable as they can get.

The word 'philosophy' comes from two Greek words, 'Philos' meaning 'love of wisdom' and 'Sophos' meaning 'wisdom'. Philosophy is defined as a way of thinking about things like the universe, the world, and society. Asking basic questions about human nature and the ideas of finding connections between human thought and the way the universe works. These ideas are mostly abstract but that does not mean philosophy isn't about the real world and its ongoing. Philosophy has come from different times and places. Some of the most famous philosophers are Plato and Aristotle from Ancient Greece and Confucius or Buddha from Asia. Some of the most prominent branches of Philosophy are Aesthetics, Epistemology, Ethics, Logic, Metaphysics and Philosophy of mind.

With all said, let's go through our list of some famous philosopher quotes about things like quotes for wisdom, ancient Egypt quotes, quotes about ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.

For more related content, take a look at these [Greek quotes] and [Iliad quotes].

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Here are some wise words from ancient philosophers about love.

1. "Those who intend on becoming great should love neither themselves nor their own things, but only what is just, whether it happens to be done by themselves or others."

— Plato

2. "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."

— Aristotle

3. "It is just that we should be grateful, not only to those with whose views we may agree, but also to those who have expressed more superficial views; for these also contributed something, by developing before us the powers of thought."

— Aristotle

4. "Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet."

— Plato

5. "Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."

— Lao Tzu

6. "The knowledge of courtesy and good manners is a very necessary study. Like grace and beauty, it begets liking and an inclination to love one another at first sight."

— Michel De Montaigne, 'Essays', 1580

7. "Those who intend on becoming great should love neither themselves nor their own things, but only what is just, whether it happens to be done by themselves or others."

— Plato

8. "At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet."

— Plato

9. "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."

— Lao Tzu

10. "Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination."

— Voltaire

11. "One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life, that word is Love."

— Sophocles 'Oedipus at Colonus', 401 B.C.

12. "Fortune and love favor the brave."

— Ovid

Quotes about life from some of the best philosophers to ever live.

13. "He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."

— Epictetus

14. "Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."

― Lao Tzu

15. "He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior."

― Confucius

16. "Out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks."

— Geoffrey Chaucer

17. "First say to yourself what would you be; and then do what you need to do."

— Epictetus

18. "The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear."

— Socrates

19. "For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories."

— Plato

20. "True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us."

— Socrates

21. "Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."

— Plato

22. "What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow. Our life is the creation of our mind."

— Gautama Buddha

23. "Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is in doing something else."

— Leonardo da Vinci

24. "Beware the barrenness of a busy life."

— Socrates

25. "The more sand had escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it."

— Niccolo Machiavelli

26. "When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love..."

― Marcus Aurelius, 'Meditations', 161-180 AD

27. "Apply yourself both now and in the next life. Without effort, you cannot be prosperous. Though the land be good, you cannot have an abundant crop without cultivation."

— Plato

(Wake up with insightful ancient Greek quotes!)

Find wisdom right here with some of the best ancient Greece quotes and much more.

28. "Persuasion is achieved by the speaker's personal character when the speech is spoken as to make us think him credible."

— Aristotle

29. "The life of money-making is one undertaken under compulsion, and wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking; for it is merely useful and for the sake of something else."

— Aristotle, 'The Nicomachean Ethics', 340 B.C.

30. "You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor."

— Aristotle

31. "The superior man is distressed by the limitations of his ability; he is not distressed by the fact that men do not recognize the ability that he has."

— Confucius

32. "All things will be produced in superior quantity and quality, and with greater ease, when each man works at a single occupation, in accordance with his natural gifts, and at the right moment, without meddling with anything else."

— Plato, 'Republic', 375 B.C.

33. "When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps."

— Confucius

34. "I am all that hath been, and is, and shall be; and my veil no mortal has hitherto raised."

― Plutarch

35. "Move thy tongue,

For silence is a sign of discontent."

— Elizabeth Cary, 'The Tragedy of Mariam', 1613

36. "People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die."

— Plato

37. "Anyone can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person at the right time, and for the right purpose and in the right way - that is not within everyone's power and that is not easy."

— Aristotle, 'The Nicomachean Ethics', 340 B.C.

38. "Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind."

— Aristotle

39. "Do not say a little in many words but a great deal in few."

— Pythagoras

40. "I am called a dog because I fawn on those who give me anything, I yelp at those who refuse, and I set my teeth in rascals."

— Diogenes

41. "A room without books is like a body without a soul."

— Marcus Tullius Cicero

42. "No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."

— Heraclitus

43. "It is just that we should be grateful, not only to those with whose views we may agree, but also to those who have expressed more superficial views; for these also contributed something, by developing before us the powers of thought."

— Aristotle, 'Metaphysics by Aristotle – Book II', 350 B.C.

44. "Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all."

— Aristotle

45. "When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds."

— Patanjali

46. "The wealth required by nature is limited and is easy to procure; but the wealth required by vain ideals extends to infinity."

— Epicurus, 'Principal Doctrines'

47. "No one that encounters prosperity does not also encounter danger."

— Heraclitus

The best philosophical sayings to rack your brain for.

48. "When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger."

— Epictetus

49. "Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character."

— Heraclitus

50. "It is hard to contend against one's heart's desire; for whatever it wishes to have it buys at the cost of soul."

— Heraclitus

51. "The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing."

— Marcus Aurelius, 'Meditations', 161-180 B.C.

52. "It is absurd and disgraceful to live magnificently and luxuriously when so many are hungry."

— Clement of Alexandria

53. "Better to be wise by the misfortunes of others than by your own."

— Aesop, 'Aesop's Fables'

54. "Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once."

— Shakespeare, 'Julius Caesar', act 2, sc. 2, l. 30, 1599

55. "My heart is at ease knowing that what was meant for me will never miss me, and that what misses me was never meant for me."

— Imam Ash-Shafi'i

56. "What I hate is ignorance, smallness of imagination, the eye that sees no farther than its own lashes. All things are possible… Who you are is limited only by who you think you are."

— 'Egyptian Book of The Dead', 1842

57. "To be satisfied with a little, is the greatest wisdom; and he that increaseth his riches, increaseth his care; but a contented mind is a hidden treasure, and trouble findeth it not."

— Pharaoh Akhnaton

58. "If those who do not possess knowledge avoid the scholarly discussions, disagreement will end."

— Imam Ghazali

59. "Happiness and freedom begin with one principle. Some things are within your control and some are not."

— Epictetus

60. "Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character."

— Heraclitus

61. "To know what people really think, pay regard to what they do rather than what they say."

— René Descartes

62. "Although you may spend your life killing, you will not exhaust all your foes. But if you quell your own anger, your real enemy will be slain."

— Nagarjuna

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Ancient Quotes then why not take a look at The Odyssey quotes, or Plato symposium quotes.

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