Greek Quotes: Ancient Wisdom and Inspiring Motivation

Know thyself. – Socrates

Change in all things is sweet. – Aristotle

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. – Socrates

Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul. – Democritus

Excess in nothing is good, even in wisdom. – Heraclitus

No man is free who cannot control himself. – Epictetus

The unexamined life is not worth living. – Socrates

In a gentle way, you can shake the world. – Aristotle

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle

To find yourself, think for yourself. – Socrates

The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance. – Socrates

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change. – Heraclitus

The mind is everything. What you think, you become. – Buddha

Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience. – Adam Smith

Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants. – Epictetus

I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world. – Diogenes

Virtue does not come from wealth, but wealth and every other good thing which men have comes from virtue. – Socrates

Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge. – Plato

The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts. – Marcus Aurelius

We must train from the inside out. Using our strengths to attack and nullify any weaknesses. It’s not about denying a weakness may exist but about denying its right to persist. – Vince McConnell

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. – Plato

It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already knows. – Epictetus

He who is not a good servant will not be a good master. – Plato

All I know is that I know nothing. – Socrates

The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. – Socrates

Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil. – Plato

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. – Aristotle

True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing. – Socrates

The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing. – Epictetus

There is nothing permanent except change. – Heraclitus

To do nothing is sometimes a good remedy. – Hippocrates

It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. – Seneca

Good character, when established, is not easily overthrown by evil companions. – Herodotus

Look to the future, because that is where you’ll spend the rest of your life. – Epictetus

Everything in excess is opposed to nature. – Hippocrates

The greatest wealth is to live content with little. – Plato

It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live. – Marcus Aurelius

The goal of life is living in agreement with nature. – Zeno of Citium

The power of thought is the light of knowledge, the power of will is the energy of character, the power of heart is love. Reason, love and power of will are perfections of man. – Pythagoras

There is no greater evil than anarchy. – Democritus

Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so is he. – Demetrius of Phalerum

Man is a bird without wings and a bird is a man without sorrow. – Sophocles

It was a look of triumphal malice, like the smile of life at death. – Aeschylus

Evil events from evil deeds. – Euripides

The course of life is unpredictable, no one can write his autobiography in advance. – Agathocles

Even the God can’t change what is past. – Sophocles

A gem does not lose its value if found in a rubbish heap, nor does it become precious with the seal of a king or merchant. – Theophrastus

It takes less than an instant to say hello, but forever to say goodbye. – Menander

Watch the tongue, it’s a wild animal. – Democritus

If you do something multiple times, it becomes second nature. – Aristotle