( Greek philosopher ) 384 BC - 322 BC
Aristotle
Excellence, then, is a state concerned with choice, lying in a mean, relative to us, this being determined by reason and in the way in which the man of practical wisdom would determine it.
Courage is a mean with regard to fear and confidence.
For as the eyes of bats are to the blaze of day, so is the reason in our soul to the things which are by nature most evident of all.
Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.
He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god.
If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in government to the utmost.
The young are permanently in a state resembling intoxication.
Nature does nothing in vain.
Wicked men obey from fear; good men, from love.
Therefore, the good of man must be the end of the science of politics.
He who hath many friends hath none.
For though we love both the truth and our friends, piety requires us to honor the truth first.
The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.
A great city is not to be confounded with a populous one.
Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.
Jealousy is both reasonable and belongs to reasonable men, while envy is base and belongs to the base, for the one makes himself get good things by jealousy, while the other does not allow his neighbour to have them through envy.
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
Different men seek after happiness in different ways and by different means, and so make for themselves different modes of life and forms of government.
To run away from trouble is a form of cowardice and, while it is true that the suicide braves death, he does it not for some noble object but to escape some ill.
The virtue of justice consists in moderation, as regulated by wisdom.
We praise a man who feels angry on the right grounds and against the right persons and also in the right manner at the right moment and for the right length of time.
It is Homer who has chiefly taught other poets the art of telling lies skillfully.
Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind.
Bad men are full of repentance.
It is unbecoming for young men to utter maxims.
The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high and heroic temper.
My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake.
The happy life is regarded as a life in conformity with virtue. It is a life which involves effort and is not spent in amusement.
This is the reason why mothers are more devoted to their children than fathers: It is that they suffer more in giving them birth and are more certain that they are their own.
The antidote for fifty enemies is one friend.
It is not enough to win a war; It is more important to organize the peace.
Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach.
Most people would rather give than get affection.
Perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good, and alike in excellence; for these wish well alike to each other qua good, and they are good in themselves.
The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain.
Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.
Poetry is finer and more philosophical than history; for poetry expresses the universal, and history only the particular.
Liars when they speak the truth are not believed.
The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.
It is easy to perform a good action, but not easy to acquire a settled habit of performing such actions.
Men acquire particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way.
Every rascal is not a thief, but every thief is a rascal.
He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.
Love is composed of single soul inhabiting two bodies.
Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.
The generality of men are naturally apt to be swayed by fear rather than reverence, and to refrain from evil rather because of the punishment that it brings than because of its own foulness.
Men are swayed more by fear than by reverence.
To write well, express yourself like common people, but think like a wise man. Or, think as wise men do, but speak as the common people do.
Our judgments when we are pleased and friendly are not the same as when we are pained and hostile.
The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances.
