Heraclitus Quotes & Sayings

Heraclitus somewhere says that all things are in process and nothing stays still, and likening existing things to the stream of a river he says that you would not step twice into the same river. — Heraclitus

Stupidity is doomed,
therefore, to cringe
at every syllable
of wisdom. — Heraclitus

What was scattered, gathers.
What was gathered, blows away — Heraclitus

All entities move and nothing remains still — Heraclitus

Though wisdom is common, yet the many live as if they had a wisdom of their own. — Heraclitus

What allows us to be human is something daemonic. — Heraclitus

Hide our ignorance as we will, an evening of wine soon reveals it. — Heraclitus

Men who love wisdom should acquaint themselves with a great many particulars. — Heraclitus

The hidden harmony is better than the obvious. — Heraclitus

The kosmos works by harmony of tensions, like lyre and bow. Good and evil are one. On the one hand God sees all as well, fair, and good; on the other hand a human being sees injustice here, justice there. Justice in our minds is strife. We cannot help but see war makes us as we are. — Heraclitus

All things are in flux; the flux is subject to a unifying measure or rational principle. This principle (logos, the hidden harmony behind all change) bound opposites together in a unified tension, which is like that of a lyre, where a stable harmonious sound emerges from the tension of the opposing forces that arise from the bow bound together by the string. — Heraclitus

If it were not for injustice, men would not know justice. — Heraclitus

The majority of people have no understanding of the things with which they daily meet, nor, when instructed, do they have any right knowledge of them, although to themselves they seem to have. — Heraclitus

Deliberate violence is more to be quenched than a fire. — Heraclitus

The lord whose is the oracle at Delphoi neither utters nor hides his meaning, but shows it by a sign.
The Sibyl, with raving lips uttering things mirthless, unbedizened, and unperfumed, reaches over a thousand years with her voice, thanks to the god in her. — Heraclitus

Most people do not take heed of the things they encounter, nor do they grasp them even when they have learned about them, although they suppose they do. — Heraclitus

Those who are awake all live in the same world. Those who are asleep live in their own worlds. — Heraclitus

The fairest order in the world is a heap of random sweepings. — Heraclitus

The only constant in life is change — Heraclitus

Day by day, what you do is who you become. — Heraclitus

The only constant is change. — Heraclitus

When is death not within ourselves? ... Living and dead are the same, and so are awake and alseep, young and old. — Heraclitus

Silence, healing. — Heraclitus

The nature of things is in the habit of concealing itself. — Heraclitus

Nature is accustomed to hide itself. — Heraclitus

If one does not expect the unexpected, one will not find it out, since it is not to be searched out, and difficut to compass. — Heraclitus

No one that encounters prosperity does not also encounter danger. — Heraclitus

Other men are unaware of what they do when they are awake just as they are forgetful of what they do when they are asleep. — Heraclitus

Time is a child playing a game of draughts; the kingship is in the hands of a child. — Heraclitus

Presumption must be quenched even more than a fire. — Heraclitus

Eternity is a child playing, playing checkers; the kingdom belongs to a child. — Heraclitus

Men that love wisdom must be acquainted with very many things indeed. — Heraclitus

The only thing constant is change — Heraclitus

The results are in great need greater ambition. — Heraclitus

To God all things are beautiful and good and just. — Heraclitus

Whosoever wishes to know about the world must learn about it in its particular details. Knowledge is not intelligence. In searching for the truth be ready for the unexpected. Change alone is unchanging. The same road goes both up and down. The beginning of a circle is also its end. Not I, but the world says it: all is one. And yet everything comes in season. — Heraclitus

To God all things are beautiful, good, and right; human beings, on the other hand, deem some things right and others wrong. It would not be better if things happened to people just as they
wish. — Heraclitus

Greater dooms win greater destinies. — Heraclitus

The phases of fire are craving and satiety. — Heraclitus

All things flow, nothing abides. — Heraclitus

Things keep their secrets. — Heraclitus

A drunk man, staggering and mindless, must be led home by his son, so wet is his psyche ... Water brings death to the psyche, as earth brings death to water ... The psyche lusts to be wet. — Heraclitus

The Lord whose oracle is at Delphi neither reveals nor conceals, but gives a sign — Heraclitus

Opposition brings concord. Out of discord comes the fairest harmony. — Heraclitus

There is exchange of all things for fire and of fire for all things, as there is of wares for gold and of gold for wares. — Heraclitus

Allow yourself to think only those thoughts that match your principles and can bear the bright light of day. Day by day, your choices, your thoughts, your actions fashion the person you become. Your integrity determines your destiny. — Heraclitus

There is harmony in the tension of opposites, as in the case of the bow and lyre. — Heraclitus

The world is nothing but a great desire to live and a great dissatisfaction with living. — Heraclitus

The people should fight for the law as for their city wall. — Heraclitus

The Sibyl, with frenzied mouth uttering things not to be laughed at, unadorned and unperfumed, yet reaches to a thousand years with her voice by aid of the god. — Heraclitus

The opposite is beneficial; from things that differ comes the fairest attunement; all things are born through strife. — Heraclitus

What opposes unites, and the finest attunement stems from things bearing in opposite directions, and all things come about by strife. — Heraclitus

Abundance of knowledge does not teach men to be wise. — Heraclitus

Those unmindful when they hear, for all they make of their intelligence, may be regarded as the walking dead. — Heraclitus

Realize that war is common and justice is strife, and that all things come into being and pass away through strife. — Heraclitus

Latent structure is master of obvious structure — Heraclitus

Dogs bark at a person whom they do not know. — Heraclitus

Life has the name of life, but in reality it is death. — Heraclitus

Doctors cut, burn, and torture the sick, and then demand of them an undeserved fee for such services. — Heraclitus

Change alone is unchanging. — Heraclitus

It is better to hide ignorance, but it is hard to do this when we relax over wine. — Heraclitus

People ought to fight to keep their law as to defend the city s walls. — Heraclitus

Many who have learned from Hesiod the countless names of gods and monsters never understand that night and day are one — Heraclitus

Eyes and ears are bad witnesses to men having barbarian souls. — Heraclitus

Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow.
Nothing endures but change. — Heraclitus

Our envy always lasts longer than the happiness of those we envy. — Heraclitus

This universe, which is the same for all, has not been made by any god or man, but it always has been, is, and will be an ever-living fire, kindling itself by regular measures and going out by regular measures. — Heraclitus

Give me one man
from among ten thousand
if he is the best — Heraclitus

What sense or thought do they have? They follow the popular singers, and they take the crowd as their teacher. — Heraclitus

Bigotry is the sacred disease. — Heraclitus

The unexpected connection is more powerful than one that is obvious. — Heraclitus

Nothing endures but change. — Heraclitus

Let us not make random conjectures about the greatest matters. — Heraclitus

To me one man is worth ten thousand if he is first-rate. — Heraclitus

To do the same thing over and over again is not only boredom: it is to be controlled by rather than to control what you do. — Heraclitus

From out of all the many particulars comes oneness, and out of oneness come all the many particulars. — Heraclitus

All is flux, nothing is stationary. — Heraclitus

Could you tell night from day? No, I regard all such distinctions as logically impossible. — Heraclitus

Without injustices,
the name of justice
would mean what? — Heraclitus

People do not know how what is at variance agrees with itself. It is an attunement of opposite tensions, like that of the bow and the lyre. — Heraclitus

The sun is new each day. — Heraclitus

The river where you set your foot just now is gone-those waters give way to this, now this. — Heraclitus

The only constant is change. Unless you get a small group of neighbors together to stop it. — Heraclitus

A blow to the head will confuse a man's thinking, a blow to the foot has no such effect, this cannot be the result of an immaterial soul. — Heraclitus

Because it is so unbelievable, the Truth often escapes being known. — Heraclitus

The soul is undiscovered
though explored forever
to a depth beyond report. — Heraclitus

Time is a game played beautifully by children. — Heraclitus

Wisdom is the oneness of mind that guides and permeated all things. — Heraclitus

Change is the only constant. — Heraclitus

There is but one world common for those who are awake, but when men are asleep, each turns away into a world of his own. — Heraclitus

The waking have one common world, but the sleeping turn aside each into a world of his own — Heraclitus

No same man could walk through the same river twice, as the man and the river have since changed. — Heraclitus

It is hard to contend against one's heart's desire; for whatever it wishes to have it buys at the cost of soul. — Heraclitus

Wisdom is one thing, to know how to make true judgment, how all things are steered through all things. — Heraclitus

The universal cosmic process was not created by any god or man. — Heraclitus

Those who love wisdom must investigate many things — Heraclitus

Stupidity is better kept a secret than displayed. — Heraclitus

It is difficult to fight against anger; for a man will buy revenge with his soul. — Heraclitus

The sun is new every day. (Fragment 6) — Heraclitus

All things come into being by conflict of opposites. — Heraclitus