Gorgias
A prominent Sophist known for his skepticism and his elaborate rhetorical style.
Most quoted
"If being is generated, it comes either from being or from non-being; but it cannot come from being, for if it is being, it is not generated; nor from non-being, for nothing comes from nothing."
— from On Non-Existence
"Speech is a powerful lord, which by means of the finest and most invisible body effects the divinest works: it can stop fear and banish grief and create joy and nourish pity."
— from Encomium of Helen
"Speech is a powerful lord, which by means of the finest and most invisible body effects the divinest works: it can stop fear and banish grief and create joy and nurture pity."
— from Encomium of Helen
All quotes by Gorgias (155)
Nothing exists; even if something exists, it cannot be known; even if something can be known, it cannot be communicated to others.
Speech is a powerful lord, which by means of the finest and most invisible body effects the divinest works: it can stop fear and banish grief and create joy and nourish pity.
The effect of speech upon the soul is comparable to the effect of drugs upon the body.
If all existing things are non-existent, then nothing exists.
If there is anything, it is either eternal or generated, or both. But it is neither eternal nor generated, nor both. Therefore, there is nothing.
How can we communicate the unknown to others? For if it is unknown, it cannot be communicated.
Persuasion, when it is added to speech, can impress the soul as it wishes.
Beauty is a delightful thing, but it is not always a good thing.
The power of speech is like the power of fate.
The mind is affected by the words it hears.
The speaker is a compelling force, and the listener is a passive recipient.
If Helen was persuaded by speech, she is not to blame.
The truth is not always what appears to be.
The art of rhetoric is the art of deception.
Words are the physicians of a diseased mind.
The power of speech is such that it can make the same thing appear just and unjust, good and bad.
The wise man is he who knows that he knows nothing.
Rhetoric is the craftsman of persuasion.
The soul is affected by what it sees and hears.
The greatest good is to be able to persuade others.
Contemporaries of Gorgias
Other Philosophys born within 50 years of Gorgias (-483–-375).