Democritus Quotes

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

Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion.

The wise man belongs to all countries, for the home of a great soul is the whole world.

Sexual intercourse is a slight attack of apoplexy.

Everywhere man blames nature and fate yet his fate is mostly but the echo of his character and passion, his mistakes and his weaknesses.

Life unexamined, is not worth living.

Our sins are more easily remembered than our good deeds.

The pride of youth is in strength and beauty, the pride of old age is in discretion.

The brave man is not only he who overcomes the enemy, but he who is stronger than pleasures. Some men are masters of cities, but are enslaved to women.

More men have become great through practice than by nature.

My enemy is not the man who wrongs me, but the man who means to wrong me.

Happiness does not reside in strength or money; it lies in rightness and many-sidedness.

People sometimes rationalize their greed by saying that it is all for the good of their children but this is nothing but an excuse they use to make their despicable actions appear respectable and praiseworthy.

If your desires are not great, a little will seem much to you; for small appetite makes poverty equivalent to wealth.

It is greed to do all the talking but not to want to listen at all.

Everything existing in the universe is the fruit of chance and necessity.

Men find happiness neither by means of the body nor through possessions, but through uprightness and wisdom.

Education is an ornament for the prosperous, a refuge for the unfortunate.

Medicine heals diseases of the body, wisdom frees the soul from passions.

The first principles of the universe are atoms and empty space; everything else is merely thought to exist.

You can tell the man who rings true from the man who rings false, not by his deeds alone, but also by his desires.

It is better to destroy one's own errors than those of others.

Many much-learned men have no intelligence.

The sweetest things become the most bitter by excess.

Good means not [merely] not to do wrong, but rather not to desire to do wrong.

The animal needing something knows how much it needs, the man does not.

It is hard to fight desire; but to control it is the sign of a reasonable man.

Moving in space, the atoms originally were individual units, but inevitable they began to collide with each other, and in cases where their shapes were such as to permit them to interlock, they began to form clusters. Water, air, fire, and earth, these are simply different clusters of the changeless atoms.

Raising children is an uncertain thing; success is reached only after a life of battle and worry.

Throw moderation to the winds, and the greatest pleasures bring the greatest pains.

Men have fashioned an image of Chance as an excuse for their own stupidity. For Chance rarely conflicts with intelligence, and most things in life can be set in order by an intelligent sharpsightedness.

Poverty in a democracy is as much to be preferred to what is called prosperity under despots, as freedom is to slavery.

The wrongdoer is more unfortunate than the man wronged.

Immoderate desire is the mark of a child, not a man.

Some men are masters of cities, but are enslaved to women.

We think there is color, we think there is sweet, we think there is bitter, but in reality there are atoms and a void.

Men should strive to think much and know little.

It is godlike ever to think on something beautiful and on something new.

The brave man is not only he who overcomes the enemy, but he who is stronger than pleasures.

The man enslaved to wealth can never be honest.

Hope of ill gain is the beginning of loss.

The offender, who repents, is not yet lost.

There are innumerable worlds of different sizes. In some there is neither sun not moon, in others they are larger than in ours and others have more than one. These worlds are at irregular distances, more in one direction and less in another, and some are flourishing, others declining. Here they come into being, there they die, and they are distroyed by collision with one another. Some of the worlds have no animal or vegetable life nor any water.

I would rather discover one true cause than gain the kingdom of Persia.

The wise man’s home is the universe.

One should practice much sense, not much learning.

Tis hard to fight with anger but the prudent man keeps it under control.

Good breeding in cattle depends on physical health, but in men on a well-formed character.

Moderation multiplies pleasures, and increases pleasure.

Magnanimity consists in enduring tactlessness with mildness.