Heraclitus
Known for his doctrine of flux and change, famously stating 'No man ever steps in the same river twice'.
Most quoted
"The universe is fire, that was always, is always, and will be ever-living fire, kindling in measures and being quenched in measures."
— from Fragments, -500
"The best of men choose one thing in exchange for all, always having a mind to this even as a flame has a mind to the wood it burns."
— from Fragments, -500
"The sea is the purest and the impurest water. Fish can drink it, and it is good for them; to men it is undrinkable and destructive."
— from Fragments
All quotes by Heraclitus (134)
No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.
The way up and the way down are one and the same.
Everything flows and nothing abides; everything gives way and nothing stays fixed.
War is the father of all and king of all. Some he shows as gods, others as men; some he makes slaves, others free.
The sun is new each day.
Good and ill are one.
Character is destiny.
The hidden harmony is better than the obvious.
The most beautiful order is a random aggregate of things.
It is wise to hearken, not to me, but to my Word, and to confess that all things are one.
The waking have one common world, but the sleeping turn aside each into a world of his own.
Much learning does not teach understanding.
Nature loves to hide.
To God all things are fair and good and right, but men hold some things wrong and some right.
The road up and the road down are one and the same.
The sea is the purest and most polluted water: for fish drinkable and life-sustaining, for men undrinkable and deadly.
Dogs bark at what they do not know.
It is hard to contend with one's heart's desire; for whatever it wishes, it buys at the cost of soul.
The most beautiful ape is ugly compared to humankind.
Opposition brings concord. Out of discord comes the fairest harmony.
Contemporaries of Heraclitus
Other Philosophys born within 50 years of Heraclitus (-535–-475).