Ancient Philosophy Quotes

“It is impossible, or not easy, to alter by argument what has long been absorbed by habit”
― Aristotle

“Any polis which is truly so called, and is not merely one in name, must devote itself to the end of encouraging goodness. Otherwise, political association sinks into a mere alliance.”
― Aristotle

“The image of the Serpent, because of its association with life, rejuvenation, fertility, and regeneration, was a symbol of immortality. The coiled Serpent with its tail in its mouth was a circle of infinitude indicating omnipotence and omniscience. The Serpent, depicted in several successive rings, represented cyclical evolution and reincarnation. In ancient philosophy or mythological systems, creation and wisdom were closely bound together, and the Serpent was a potent symbol of both. It is in this capacity that the Serpent appears in the Babylonian and Sumerian mythologies, which contain elements akin to the Genesis story. The Serpent has the power to bestow immortality but also has the power to cheat humankind. In many of the ancient Near Eastern stories—for instance, the Gilgamesh Epic and myth of Adapa—the Serpent holds out the promise of immortality but then cheats man at the last minute.”
― Mary Condren, The Serpent and the Goddess: Women, Religion, and Power in Celtic Ireland

“Friends are a comfort in misfortune but one should not make them unhappy by seeking their sympathy...”
― Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics

“...engaging with a work of ancient philosophy can be a two-way street; bringing it into a discussion can enrich that discussion, which also encouraging us to see the work in light of that discussion.”
― Julia Annas

“Socrates is a shining example of a man who bravely lived up to his ideals, and, in the end, bravely died for them. Throughout his life, he never lost faith in the mind’s ability to discern and decide, and so to apprehend and master reality. Nor did he ever betray truth and integrity for a pitiable life of self-deception and semi-consciousness. In seeking relentlessly to align mind with matter and thought with fact, he remained faithful both to himself and to the world, with the result that he is still alive in this sentence and millions of others that have been written about him. More than a great philosopher, Socrates was the living embodiment of the dream that philosophy might one day set us free.”
― Neel Burton, Heaven and Hell: The Psychology of the Emotions

“Οἶδα οὐκ εἰδώς.”
― Socrates

“Non exiguum temporis habemus, sed multum perdidimus.”
― Seneca, De Brevitate Vitae - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

“Most radical of all in their scepticism were the Cynics. From Diogenes until the last ‘dogs’ of the ancient world, the Cynics defined themselves first by ‘snarling’ at the institutions, rituals, beliefs and assumptions by which their contemporaries lived. To list their different acts of critique would be to compose a long priamel: ‘Not this, not that, and definitely not that’, says the Cynic in his scorn for all things merely conventional. In his seemingly universal nay-saying, the Cynic avoids traditional clothes, jewellery and bodily adornments for his own ‘uniform’; he restricts his diet; does not live in a house; derides bathing, sports, the Games; scoffs at festivals, sacrifice, prayer and religious life generally; does not marry, dodges work and steers clear of the courts, assembly, army and other arenas of political participation. He even strives to bust out of old patterns of talking, and tosses up for himself a wild new language.”
― William Desmond, Cynics