A man’s character is his fate.
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c.540-c.480 BC) Greek philosopher [Ἡράκλειτος, Herákleitos, Heracleitus]
“On the Universe,” fragment 121
Quotations by:
Heraclitus
Much knowledge of divine things is lost to us through want of faith.
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c.540-c.480 BC) Greek philosopher [Ἡράκλειτος, Herákleitos, Heracleitus]
(Attributed)
It is hard to fight with anger; for what it wants it buys at the price of soul.
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c.540-c.480 BC) Greek philosopher [Ἡράκλειτος, Herákleitos, Heracleitus]
(Attributed)
Although reason is common to all, the many act as if each had a private source of truth.
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c.540-c.480 BC) Greek philosopher [Ἡράκλειτος, Herákleitos, Heracleitus]
(Attributed)
All things are in motion, and nothing is at rest. … You cannot step into the same [river] twice, for fresh waters are ever flowing in upon you.
[Πάντα ῥεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει]
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c.540-c.480 BC) Greek philosopher [Ἡράκλειτος, Herákleitos, Heracleitus]
(Attributed)
Paraphrased by Socrates in Plato, Cratylus, l. 402 [tr. B Jowett (1894)] and by Diogenes Laërtius in Lives of the Philosophers Bk 9, sec 8
Alt trans.:
- Everything flows, nothing stays still
- Everything flows and nothing stays.
- Everything flows and nothing abides.
- Everything gives way and nothing stays fixed.
- Everything flows; nothing remains.
- All is flux, nothing is stationary.
- All is flux, nothing stays still.
- You cannot step twice into the same river; for other waters are continually flowing in.
- You cannot step twice into the same stream. For as you are stepping in, other waters are ever flowing on to you.
- You cannot step twice into the same river.
- It is impossible to step into the same river twice.
- No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.
Our envy always lasts longer than the happiness of those we envy.
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c.540-c.480 BC) Greek philosopher [Ἡράκλειτος, Herákleitos, Heracleitus]
(Attributed)
Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character.
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c.540-c.480 BC) Greek philosopher [Ἡράκλειτος, Herákleitos, Heracleitus]
(Attributed)
Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn’t even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c.540-c.480 BC) Greek philosopher [Ἡράκλειτος, Herákleitos, Heracleitus]
(Attributed)
Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c.540-c.480 BC) Greek philosopher [Ἡράκλειτος, Herákleitos, Heracleitus]
Fragment
If you do not expect the unexpected, you will not find it; for it is hard to be sought out and difficult.
[ἐὰν μὴ ἔλπηται ἀνέλπιστον οὐκ ἐξευρήσει, ἀνεξερεύνητον ἐὸν καὶ ἄπορον]Heraclitus of Ephesus (c.540-c.480 BC) Greek philosopher [Ἡράκλειτος, Herákleitos, Heracleitus]
Fragment 18 [tr. Burnet (1920), DK B18]
(Source)
(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:
He who does not expect will not find out the unexpected, for it is trackless and unexplored.
[tr. Kahn (1981), VI (D. 18)]
He who does not expect the unexpected will not find it out.
[tr. Kahn (1981), VI (D. 18), variant]
He who does not expect the unexpected will not find it, since it is trackless and unexplored.
[tr. Allan (2008)]
Unless you expect the unexpected, you will not find it, for it is hidden and thickly tangled.
[tr. Jenks (2014)]
It would not be better if things happened to men just as they wish.
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c.540-c.480 BC) Greek philosopher [Ἡράκλειτος, Herákleitos, Heracleitus]
Fragment 52
Nothing endures but change.
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c.540-c.480 BC) Greek philosopher [Ἡράκλειτος, Herákleitos, Heracleitus]
In Diogenes Laertes, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, 9.8 [tr. R Hicks (1925)]
Alt trans.: There is nothing permanent except change. The only constant is change. Change is the only constant. Change alone is unchanging.
All things come into being by conflict of opposites.
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c.540-c.480 BC) Greek philosopher [Ἡράκλειτος, Herákleitos, Heracleitus]
In Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, 9.1 [tr. Hicks (1925)]