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Wisdom Quotes by Socrates

70 Wisdom quotes by Socrates

All Wisdom quotes Socrates’s page

Socrates teaches that real wisdom starts with admitting you don’t know everything. He says the first step is to clarify what words mean and to stay curious, because wonder sparks learning. He also links wisdom to self‑control, urging us to follow a steady heart instead of reckless impulses.

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I am very conscious that I am not wise at all.

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Wisdom begins in wonder.

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Wisdom is knowing what you don't know.

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To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.

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Wisdom is knowing how little we know.

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“Wisdom is knowing you know nothing”

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Wisdom belongs in wonder.

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Knowing thyself is the height of wisdom.

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The man who is truly wise knows that he knows very little.

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People learn more on their own rather than being force fed.

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To live well and honorably and justly are the same thing.

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The bad one is that way because of the ignorance, therefore he can be healed with wisdom.

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“The definition of terms is the beginning of wisdom.”

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True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.

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Wisdom adorneth riches and casteth a shadow over poverty.

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Prefer knowledge to wealth, for the one is transitory, the other perpetual.

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All of the wisdom of this world is but a tiny raft upon which we must set sail when we leave this…

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May I consider the wise man rich, and may I have such wealth as only the self-restrained man can bear or endure.

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The Delphic Oracle said I was the wisest of all the Greeks. It is because that I alone, of all the Greeks,…

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Are you not ashamed of heaping up the greatest amount of money and honor and reputation, and caring so little about wisdom…

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The Spirit is neither good nor bad, it runs where the wild heart leads" "Wisdom begins in wonder.

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Are you not ashamed of caring so much for the making of money and for fame and prestige, when you neither think…

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“The ancient Oracle said that I was the wisest of all the Greeks. It is because I alone, of all the Greeks,…

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The hour of departure has arrived and we go our ways; I to die, and you to live. Which is better? Only…

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We are in fact convinced that if we are ever to have pure knowledge of anything, we must get rid of the…

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Are you not ashamed of your eagerness to possess as much wealth, reputation, and honors as possible, while you do not care…

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The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient…

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I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such…

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Philebus was saying that enjoyment and pleasure and delight, and the class of feelings akin to them, are a good to every…

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I am wiser than this man, for neither of us appears to know anything great and good; but he fancies he knows…

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“Esteemed friend, citizen of Athens, the greatest city in the world, so outstanding in both intelligence and power, aren't you ashamed to…

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For this fear of death is indeed the pretense of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being the appearance of knowing the unknown;…

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When I was young, I believed that life might unfold in an orderly way, according to my hopes and expectations. But now…

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“If the soul is immortal, it demands our care not only for that part of time which we call life, but for…

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“I examined the poets, and I look on them as people whose talent overawes both themselves and others, people who present themselves…

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“I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of philosophy, exhorting anyone whom I meet after my manner, and convincing him,…

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“For the fear of death is indeed the pretense of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being a pretense of knowing the unknown;…

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“One day, the old wise Socrates walks down the streets, when all of the sudden a man runs up to him "Socrates…

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“I went to interview a man with a high reputation for wisdom, because I felt that here if anywhere I should succeed…

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Those then who know not wisdom and virtue, and are always busy with gluttony and sensuality, go down and up again as…

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More by Socrates

By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.

Falling down is not a failure. Failure comes when you stay where you have fallen.

Do not go through life like leaf blown from here to there believing whatever you are told.

If the whole world depends on today's youth, I can't see the world lasting another 100 years.

“I only know, I know nothing”

I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.

If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... Measure and symmetry are…

Marry a good woman, and be happy the rest of your life. Or, marry a bad, and become a good philosopher

“For the fear of death is indeed the pretense of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being a pretense of knowing the unknown; and no…

There is no difference between knowledge and temperance; for he who knows what is good and embraces it, who knows what is bad and…

Besides, it is a shame to let yourself grow old through neglect before seeing how you can develop the maximum beauty and strength of…

The greatest blessing granted to mankind come by way of madness, which is a divine gift.

I desire only to know the truth, and to live as well as I can...And, to the utmost of my power, I exhort all…

So you would rather suffer an injustice than do an injustice?

The end of life is to be like unto God; and the soul following God, will be like unto Him; He being the beginning,…