They say a person is better understood by the legacy they leave behind; words, actions, initiatives, etc. Of course, no one remains spared from the bad-mouths; presidents, leaders, activists, prophets all have suffered at the hands of character assassination. But see, here’s the interesting paradox; when we talk trash about someone behind their backs, it only intrigues our audience and listeners to find out about the person we’re tearing apart with our words. Anything condemned, intrigues the inquisitive intellect.
Aristotle no doubt is a living legend and one can find inspiration from his quotes. You can read the biography and life of Aristotle: The Legend.
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Quotes From Aristotle on Life
On a personal level, I have learned a lot through quotes from Aristotle because they enabled me to give words to the journey of self-development that I have had to work through to mature as a person. Some of the quotes from Aristotle on life that I identify immensely include:
- To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing
- Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet
- He who has overcome his fears will truly be free
- It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen
- Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.
- Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny
- The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances
Prominent Quotes From Aristotle on Education
Quotes from Aristotle also came under scrutiny from his peers and have borne the same reception by future philosophers and intellectuals. When you go through the many areas of life that quotes from Aristotle touch, you get the feel of an immortal mind that was confined to a mortal body. I can see that this person placed a great deal of emphasis on the value of education. Prominent quotes from Aristotle on education; the importance and weight it commands in life are:
- No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness
- Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all
- Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well
- Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.
- Learning is not child’s play; we cannot learn without pain
- Education is the best provision for old age
- Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity
- The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living differ from the dead
Quotes from Aristotle on Friendship
Aristotle was not just all mind, he was heart too. And that becomes evident when I studied quotes from Aristotle on friendship; its significance & nature. These include the likes of:
- Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit
- A friend to all is a friend to none
- Without friends, no one would want to live, even if he had all other goods
Quotes from Aristotle on Happiness
After taking a look at some other quotes from Aristotle enabled me to decipher that this man not only wanted to live a good life himself, but also wanted to share the secret to doing so with others as well so that, perhaps, they may attain fulfillment in their lives. Examples of such quotes from Aristotle on happiness come inclusive of:
- Happiness depends upon ourselves
- Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence
- Happiness is the settling of the soul into its most appropriate spot
- If happiness is activity in accordance with excellence, it is reasonable that it should be in accordance with the highest excellence
Quotes from Aristotle on Justice and Law
A man who speaks of excellence would understand the significance of our actions and values being in-line with each other. In return, a person who exhibits such consistency would have appreciation and respect for the law and its proper implementation.
- At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst
- The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal
- The law is reason, free from passion
- The only stable state is the one in which all men are equal before the law
Quotes from Aristotle on Politics
When we speak of the rightful implementation of the law, we know we are laying & strengthening the foundations to a stable state that has growth destined for it. Being a visionary, Aristotle saw the development of states no differently. In fact, he envisioned it in a more mature manner.
- The most perfect political community is one in which the middle class is in control, and outnumbers both of the other classes
- Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers
- In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme
Quotes from Aristotle on Tyranny
Understanding what is required at the basic level for states to prosper and grow; Aristotle was very much able to see the flip side of the coin and knew what practices and mindset were detrimental for the same. The following quotes from Aristotle resonate the sentiments he felt with regards to tyranny and abuse of power:
- A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side
- Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms
Quotes from Aristotle on Emotions
- 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 neighbor to have them through envy
- Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil
- Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others
- Anybody can become angry — that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy.
Quotes from Aristotle on Life
As a “feeler”, Aristotle possessed the ability to break matters down and get to their heart. One such “matter” he found delight delving in was studying the intricacies of life and seeing them for their real worth.
- You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor
- I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self
- The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival
- All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire
These are few to mention. You can find more life Quotes from Famous People.
Quotes from Aristotle on Art
A person with the ability to appreciate life finds it so much easier to the same quality into practice with art. Aristotle held great admiration for artists and strived to understand the spirit of their work. Through the following quotes from Aristotle, we get the feel that this man had great desire for art to be welcomed, if not completely embraced, by others as well
- Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit
- The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance
Quotes from Aristotle on Excellence
Excellence is not an exception, but a striving attitude. Excellence and perfection don’t go hand in hand; however, excellence can be attributed as a stepping stone for perfection. Excellence is progress, Excellence is motivation. Excellence is behavior, not a born with instinct. It is cultured over a span of time; thus, it is evolutionary. Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher, was anything and everything par excellence.
Following quotes from Aristotle bring light to the power of excellence
- We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
- Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution
- Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.
Quotes from Aristotle on Love
Probably, when one is asked to be deep in thoughts, one come up with the thought of what is life or what is love. Some answer love is life. Love is the point where the jury is out beyond a final verdict. Some say love cherishes the life, whereas some describe, love is attraction to pull us close and shred us apart. Opinions are built upon the saga of experiences. Life is the name of experiences, so one way or another, love has its voice on life.
Let’s see what Aristotle has to say about love.
- To love someone is to identify with them
- Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies
- Wicked me obey from fear; good men, from love
- The final cause, then, produces motion through being loved
Aristotle Onassis Quotes
Aristotle Onassis was a Greek shipping magnate and a well-off international business tycoon. He added more fame to his pockets by marrying Jaqueline Kennedy, the widow of late US President John F. Kennedy. The name of Aristotle Onassis reverberated in the international media. Words by a common man are mere words but words from a wealthy and a worthy man are worthy words. Aristotle Onassis was well versed and knew the impact of words.
- We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.
- Never start a job, a battle, or a relationship, if the fear of losing overshadows the prospect of success.
- The secret in business is knowing something nobody else knows.
- Be either rich or an enemy of the rich. I understand both, but never be envious of the rich and try to please them at the same time.
- The more you have the more you know you don’t have
- If there weren’t any women all the money in the world wouldn’t matter.
- It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light
