Socrates (469-369 B.C.)

In his use of critical reasoning, by his unwavering commitment to truth,
and through the vivid example of his own life, fifth-century Athenian Socrates
set the standard for all subsequent Western philosophy. Since he left no literary
legacy of his own, we are dependent upon contemporary writers like
Aristophanes and Xenophon for our information about his life and work. 

 thinkers home

 As a pupil of Archelaus during his youth, Socrates showed a great deal of interest
in the scientific theories of Anaxagoras, but he later abandoned inquiries into the
physical world for a dedicated investigation of the development of moral character.
Having served with some distinction as a soldier at Delium and Amphipolis during
the Peloponnesian War, Socrates dabbled in the political turmoil that consumed
Athens after the War, then retired from active life to work as a stonemason
and to raise his children with his wife, Xanthippe. After inheriting a modest
fortune from his father, the sculptor Sophroniscus, Socrates used his marginal
financial independence as an opportunity to give full-time attention
to inventing the practice of philosophical dialogue.

Having the fewest wants, I am nearest to the gods.

The unexamined life is not worth living.

Bad people live that they may eat and drink, 
whereas good people eat and drink that they may live.

Virtue is doing nothing to excess.

Let those that would move the world first move themselves.

To do is to be.

What most counts is not to live,
but to live aright.

Our prayers should be for blessings in general,
for God knows best what is good for us.

How many things there are which I do not want.

Living well and beautifully and justly are all one thing.

Beloved Pan, and all ye gods who haunt this place,
give me beauty in the inward soul;
and may the outward and inward man be at one.

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