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)
Men do not know how what they are seeking throughout their lives is right by their side.
The universe is fire, that was always, is always, and will be ever-living fire, kindling in measures and being quenched in measures.
God is day and night, winter and summer, war and peace, surfeit and hunger.
The thunderbolt steers all things.
The wise man is not known for his wisdom in the market place.
Knowledge is not intelligence.
The majority of people do not take notice of what goes on around them.
The soul of man is the same as the soul of the universe.
It is the same thing that can be thought and that can be.
Those who speak with understanding must hold fast to what is common to all.
The beginning of a circle is the same as the end.
War is the father of all and king of all.
The hidden attunement is better than the open one.
Immortals are mortals, mortals are immortals, living their death and dying their life.
The dry soul is the wisest and best.
The path up and down is one and the same.
War is the father of all and king of all. He renders some gods, others men; he makes some slaves, others free.
It is in changing that things find repose.
Even sleepers are workers and collaborators in what goes on in the universe.
If you do not expect the unexpected, you will not find it, for it is trackless and unexplored.
Contemporaries of Heraclitus
Other Philosophys born within 50 years of Heraclitus (-535–-475).