Democritus Quotes

Greek philosopher (c. 460–c. 370 BC)

Democritus (c. 460 BC – c. 370 BC) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. He is popularly known as "the laughing philosopher" for advocating a cheerful outlook, and for his rhetorical use of irony and ridicule. A pupil of Leucippus, he was an influential pre-Socratic philosopher who formulated an atomic theory of the universe. Of his voluminous writings, only a few fragments of his ethical theory remain, with descriptions by other writers of his atomic theory.

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Native Name: Δημόκριτος

Alternative Names: Democritus of Abdera • Laughing Philosopher • Demokritos

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Beautiful objects are wrought by study through effort, but ugly things are reaped automatically without toil.

If any one hearken with understanding to these sayings of mine many a deed worthy of a good man shall he perform and many a foolish deed be spared.

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

Man is a universe in little [Microcosm].

By convention hot, by convention cold, by convention color, but in reality atoms and void.

Not from fear but from a sense of duty refrain from your sins.

Do not trust all men, but trust men of worth; the former course is silly, the latter a mark of prudence.

[Democritus says:] By convention sweet is sweet, by convention bitter is bitter, by convention hot is hot, by convention cold is cold, by convention color is color. But in reality there are atoms and the void. That is, the objects of sense are supposed to be real and it is customary to regard them as such, but in truth they are not. Only the atoms and the void are real.

Boldness is the beginning of action, but fortune controls how it ends

Seek after the good, and with much toil shall ye find it; the evil turns up of itself without your seeking it.

'Tis well to restrain the wicked, and in any case not to join him in his wrong-doing.

In a shared fish, there are no bones.

To a wise man, the whole earth is open, because the country of a virtuous soul is the entire universe.

He who does wrong is more unhappy than he who suffers wrong.

One should emulate works and deeds of virtue, not arguments about it.