Démokritos citáty

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„Je rozumný ten, kto nesmúti pre to, čo nemá, ale sa raduje z toho, čo má.“

„Život sa podobá knihe. Blázon v nej listuje letmo, zatiaľ čo múdry pri čítaní premýšľa, pretože vie, že čítať môže iba raz.“

„Nerozumní sa tešia zo ziskov náhody, skúsení len zo ziskov múdrosti.“

„Kto nemá jediného priateľa, toho život nestojí za to, aby žil.“

„Ak pochvale nerozumieš, predpokladaj, že ti len lichotia.“

„Otcovo sebaovládanie je pre deti najlepším ponaučením.“

„Stále chcenie skutky nedokončí.“

„Kto odporuje a veľa tára, je neschopný sa naučiť potrebné.“

„Premôcť zlé návyky sa dá iba dnes, nie zajtra.“

„Dobrý človek nedbá, ak ho haní zlý.“

„Je nerozumné chcieť sa páčiť iným, múdrejšie je, keď sa iní páčia nám.“

„Človek je svet v malom.“

„Najviac zo všetkého ľudia stoja o to, zachovať si život a zo všetkého najmenej si ho šetria.“

„Každý, kto má v rukách moc, má sklon ju zneužívať.“

„Dobročinný nie je ten, kto pozerá na odmenu, ale ten, kto si predsavzal robiť dobre.“

„Ak sa túžba po peniazoch neobmedzuje nasýtením, je oveľa horšia ako najväčšia chudoba, lebo väčšie túžby spôsobujú väčšie potreby.“

„Šťastie a nešťastie je vecou duše.“

„Lepšie je vytýkať vlastné chyby, než cudzie.“

„Prácu uľahčuje návyk.“

„Zdá sa, že kto nemiluje, nie je milovaný ani jediným človekom.“

„Nerozumný túžia po dlhom živote, nech sa tešia z dlhého života.“

„Odchovať deti je neistá vec, lebo úspech je tu plný zápasov a starostí a neúspech je väčší nad iné bolesti.“

„Treba hovoriť pravdu, nie hovoriť veľa.“

„Získať peniaze nie je neužitočné, ale získať ich nespravodlivo, je nad všetko najhoršie.“

“If one choose the goods of the soul, he chooses the diviner [portion]; if the goods of the body, the merely mortal.”

“Those who have a well-ordered character lead also a well-ordered life.”

“Moderation multiplies pleasures, and increases pleasure.”

“A life without a holiday is like a long journey without an inn to rest at.”

“Of all things the worst to teach the young is dalliance, for it is this that is the parent of those pleasures from which wickedness springs.”

“Men achieve tranquillity through moderation in pleasure and through the symmetry of life. Want and superfluity are apt to upset them and to cause great perturbations in the soul. The souls that are rent by violent conflicts are neither stable nor tranquil. One should therefore set his mind upon the things that are within his power, and be content with his opportunities, nor let his memory dwell very long on the envied and admired of men, nor idly sit and dream of them. Rather, he should contemplate the lives of those who suffer hardship, and vividly bring to mind their sufferings, so that your own present situation may appear to you important and to be envied, and so that it may no longer be your portion to suffer torture in your soul by your longing for more. For he who admires those who have, and whom other men deem blest of fortune, and who spends all his time idly dreaming of them, will be forced to be always contriving some new device because of his [insatiable] desire, until he ends by doing some desperate deed forbidden by the laws. And therefore one ought not to desire other men's blessings, and one ought not to envy those who have more, but rather, comparing his life with that of those who fare worse, and laying to heart their sufferings, deem himself blest of fortune in that he lives and fares so much better than they. Holding fast to this saying you will pass your life in greater tranquillity and will avert not a few of the plagues of life—envy and jealousy and bitterness of mind.”

“The hopes of the right-minded may be realized, those of fools are impossible.”

“This argument too shows that in truth we know nothing about anything, but every man shares the generally prevailing opinion.”

“Neither art nor wisdom may be attained without learning.”

“Man is a universe in little [Microcosm].”

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

“No power and no treasure can outweigh the extension of our knowledge.”

“The pleasures that give most joy are the ones that most rarely come.”

“Democritus said he would rather discover a single demonstration than win the throne of Persia.”

“An evil and foolish and intemperate and irreligious life should not be called a bad life, but rather, dying long drawn out.”

“Strength of body is nobility in beasts of burden, strength of character is nobility in men.”

“Sweet exists by convention, bitter by convention, colour by convention; atoms and Void [alone] exist in reality. (trans. Freeman 1948), p. 92.”

“Men in their prayers beg the gods for health, not knowing that this is a thing they have in their own power. Through their incontinence undermining it, they themselves become, because of their passions, the betrayers of their own health.”

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

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

“For a man petticoat government is the limit of insolence.”

“Fame and wealth without wisdom are unsafe possessions.”

“Making money is not without its value, but nothing is baser than to make it by wrong-doing.”

“Verily we know nothing. Truth is buried deep.”

“All who delight in the pleasures of the belly, exceeding all measure in eating and drinking and love, find that the pleasures are brief and last but a short while—only so long as they are eating and drinking—but the pains that come after are many and endure. The longing for the same things keeps ever returning, and whenever the objects of one's desire are realized forthwith the pleasure vanishes, and one has no further use for them. The pleasure is brief, and once more the need for the same things returns.”

“[I would] rather discover one cause than gain the kingdom of Persia.”

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

“To a wise man, the whole earth is open; for the native land of a good soul is the whole earth.”

“In the weightiest matters we must go to school to the animals, and learn spinning and weaving from the spider, building from the swallow, singing from the birds,—from the swan and the nightingale, imitating their art.”