The best philosophical phrases. Quotes from philosophers

Seeing the increasing success of automobile transport, the philosopher clutches his burdened brow in horror and asks himself, not without alarm: when will all our vehicles be driven mechanically with the help of steam, gasoline, electricity, compressed air, etc., etc. What will happen to the horses then?<...>I’m afraid that from now on the horse will have no choice but to indulge in drunkenness and a thousand other, even more terrible and repulsive vices.

Aristippus

Philosophers are superior to other people in that if laws are destroyed, philosophers will still live.

Aristotle

This is what philosophy taught me: I act one way or another not on someone’s orders, but only out of fear of the law.

Nikolay Berdyaev

There is a prophetic element in philosophy... A real, called philosopher wants not only knowledge of the world, but also change, improvement, and rebirth of the world. It cannot be otherwise if philosophy is, first of all, a teaching about the meaning of human existence, about human destiny.

One must choose between two philosophies - a philosophy that recognizes the primacy of being over freedom, and a philosophy that recognizes the primacy of freedom over being.

The knowledge of a philosopher inevitably teaches about the ways of realizing meaning. Philosophers have sometimes sunk to crude empiricism and materialism, but a true philosopher has a taste for the otherworldly, for transcending beyond the world; he is not content with this-worldly things. Philosophy has always been a breakthrough from the meaningless, empirical world that coerces and rapes us from all sides to the world of meaning, to the otherworldly world.

Philosophy can exist only if philosophical intuition is recognized. And every significant and genuine philosopher has his own original intuition. Neither the dogmas of religion nor the truths of science can replace this intuition.

Philosophy can have a purifying significance for religion, it can free it from fusion with elements of a non-religious nature, not related to revelation, elements of social origin that perpetuate backward forms of knowledge, as well as backward social forms.

Philosophy is the school of love for truth.

Man cannot be eliminated from philosophy. The knowing philosopher is immersed in being and exists before the knowledge of being and existence, and the quality of his knowledge depends on this. He cognizes being because he himself is being.

The philosophy of each specialty is based on the connection of the latter with other specialties, at the points of contact of which it must be sought.

Pierre Buast

Philosophy cures weaknesses of the heart, but never cures illnesses of the mind.

Francis Bacon

The surface in philosophy inclines the human mind towards atheism, the depth - towards religion.

Vladimir Vernadsky

Every philosophical system certainly reflects the mood of the soul of its creator.

Vauvenargues

Clarity is the politeness of philosophy.

Voltaire

When the listener does not understand the speaker, and the speaker does not know what he means, this is philosophy.

Pierre Gassendi

Since there can be nothing more beautiful... than the achievement of truth, then obviously it is worth pursuing philosophy, which is the search for truth.

Georg Hegel

Courage towards truth is the first condition of philosophical inquiry.

The answer to the questions that philosophy leaves unanswered is that they must be posed differently.

Rene Descartes

Philosophy provides a means of speaking truthfully about all sorts of things and surprising the less knowledgeable.

Philosophy (insofar as it extends to everything accessible to human knowledge) alone distinguishes us from savages and barbarians, and each nation is the more civilized and educated the better it philosophizes; therefore, there is no greater benefit for the state than to have true philosophers.

First of all, I would like to find out what philosophy is. The word "philosophy" signifies the practice of wisdom, and that by wisdom is meant not only prudence in affairs, but also a perfect knowledge of all that a man can know; this same knowledge that guides life, serves the preservation of health, as well as discoveries in all sciences.

Gilles Deleuze

Philosophy is the art of forming, inventing, making concepts.

William James

A philosopher can only be relied upon to do one thing - to criticize other philosophers.

Diogenes of Sinope

Triumph over oneself is the crown of philosophy.

Karl Marx

It’s good if your conscience and your philosophy coexist peacefully with each other.

Boris Krieger

The basic questions of philosophy sound much more interesting than the answers to them.

Modern philosophy is a mockery of man and his never-found happiness.

Philosophers have long forgotten that philosophy is necessary for a person and in itself is of no value if a person cannot, with its help, somehow make his life easier.

Lao Tzu

Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things.

From the imperfect comes the whole. From crooked - straight. From deep - smooth. From old - new.

Who knows, doesn't say. Whoever speaks does not know.

The “holy man” who rules the country tries to prevent the wise from daring to do anything. When everyone becomes inactive, then (on earth) there will be complete peace.

That which contracts expands; that which weakens is strengthened; what is destroyed is restored.

Thirty spokes form the wheel of the cart, but only the emptiness between them makes movement possible. They make a jug out of clay, but always use the emptiness of the jug..., they break through doors and windows, but only their emptiness gives the room life and light. And so it is in everything, because what exists is achievement and benefit, but only what does not exist provides the possibility of both benefit and achievement.

Francois VI de La Rochefoucauld

Philosophy triumphs over the sorrows of the past and future, but the sorrows of the present triumph over philosophy.

Georg Lichtenberg

God created man in his own image, the Bible says. Philosophers do the opposite: they create God in their own image.

Henry Mencken

All philosophy essentially boils down to one philosopher trying to prove that all other philosophers are donkeys. Usually he succeeds; Moreover, he convincingly proves that he himself is an ass.

Philosophy almost always tries to prove the incredible by appealing to the incomprehensible.

Michel de Montaigne

Philosophers argue about nothing so passionately and so bitterly as about what constitutes the highest good of man; according to Varro's calculations, there were two hundred and eighty-eight schools dealing with this issue<...>Some say that our highest good consists in virtue; others - that in pleasure, others - in following nature; some find it in science, some in the absence of suffering, and some in not succumbing to appearances...

Yuri Moroz

Everyone has philosophy, even those who do not know this word.

Andre Maurois

It's hard to come up with ideas and easy to come up with phrases; This explains the success of the philosophers.

Arnold Matthew

The power of a philosopher over the world is not in metaphysical conclusions, but in the higher sense thanks to which he derived these conclusions.

Philosophy is not the handmaiden of theology, and theology is not a science, but a complex of propositions interconnected not by rational consistency, but by the cementing power of faith...

Louis Pasteur

There is more philosophy in a bottle of wine than in all the books in the world.

Francesco Patrizi

Philosophy is the study of wisdom.

Plato

Amazement is the beginning of philosophy.

Of the gods, none is engaged in philosophy and does not want to become wise, since the gods are already wise; and in general, one who is wise does not strive for wisdom. But again, the ignorant also do not engage in philosophy and do not want to become wise.

Pierre Proudhon

Philosophy does not recognize any happiness other than itself; happiness, in turn, does not recognize any philosophy other than itself; Thus, both the philosopher is happy, and the happy man considers himself a philosopher.

Bertrand Russell

Science is what you know, philosophy is what you don’t know.

David Risko

Philosophy is the result of a thought from a conversation thought out by the brain...

Erik Satie

One of the stupidest jokes that humanity has ever encountered, I think, resulted in the Great Flood. It is easy to observe the extent to which this joke was obscene and inhumane, even in its era. It is also easy to state that not only did it not prove anything to anyone, but that even world Philosophy did not improve in any way from it.

Lucius Seneca

The science of good and evil alone constitutes the subject of philosophy.

Socrates

As long as I have the breath and the ability, I will not stop philosophizing.

Vladimir Solovyov

To the question what does philosophy do? - we answer: it makes a person - a person.

Oscar Wilde

Philosophy teaches us to be equanimous about the failures of others.

Richard Feynman

The time will come when everything will become known or further search will turn out to be very tedious, and then the heated debates on the main issues of philosophy and physics will naturally fall silent and the concern for a thorough substantiation of all those principles that we discussed in these lectures will disappear. The time will come for the philosophers who always stood on the sidelines making stupid remarks.

Michel Foucault

Philosophy is a set of principles and practices that one can have at one's disposal or make available to others in order to care for oneself and others as one should do.

Martin Heidegger

Philosophy, metaphysics are nostalgia, the desire to be at home everywhere.

Aldous Huxley

Philosophy is the search for dubious reasons to support what you instinctively believe.

Oliver Wendell Holmes (Jr.)

Any two philosophers can tell each other everything they know in two hours.

Marcus Tullius Cicero

Culture of the mind is philosophy.

There is no such nonsense that some philosopher has not taught.

O philosophy, leader of life!... You gave birth to cities, you gathered scattered people into the community of life.

Philosophy is the medicine of the soul.

Lev Shestov

The task of philosophy is not to calm people down, but to confuse people.

Philosophy is the knowledge of the true essence of our world, in which we exist and which exists in us - that knowledge of the world in general, the light of which, once perceived, then illuminates everything individual, no matter what everyone encounters in life, and opens its inner meaning.

Epictetus

People are happy to find an excuse for their misdeeds, while philosophy teaches not to extend even a finger without thinking.

Epicurus of Samos

In a philosophical discussion, the loser gains more in the sense that he increases knowledge.

The words of that philosopher are empty, with which no human suffering can be cured. Just as medicine is of no use if it does not expel disease from the body, so is philosophy if it does not expel disease from the soul.

David Hume

Not every person can be a philosopher, just as not every philosopher can remain a person.

author unknown

A truly great philosopher is one who does not abuse philosophy.

The new series of human wisdom features clever quotes and sayings from philosophers on a variety of topics:

I can't be faithful to a flag if I don't know whose hands it is in. Peter Ustinov

Without ideals, that is, without at least somewhat defined desires for the best, no good reality can ever emerge. Dostoevsky F. M.

Miracles are where people believe in them, and the more people believe in them, the more often they happen. Denis Diderot

Diseases of the mind are more destructive and more common than diseases of the body. Cicero

Whatever they think of you, do what you think is fair. Pythagoras

In politics, as in grammar, the mistake that everyone makes is proclaimed the rule. Andre Malraux

A man of real character is one who sets meaningful goals for himself and firmly adheres to them, since his individuality would lose all its existence if he were forced to abandon them. Hegel G.

Believing the oaths of a traitor is the same as believing the piety of the devil. Elizabeth I

The brave man avoids danger, but the coward, reckless and defenseless, rushes towards the abyss, which he does not notice due to fear; so the latter rushes towards misfortune, which, perhaps, was not intended for him. Denis Diderot

We begin to value water no sooner than the well dries up. Thomas Fuller

A person's intelligence can be determined by the care with which he considers the future and the outcome of a matter. Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

It’s not so bad: we weren’t sold, we were given away for nothing. Karel Capek

A serious illness is initially easy to cure, but difficult to recognize; when it intensifies, it is easy to recognize, but difficult to cure. Machiavelli

You may not be involved in politics, but politics is still involved with you. Charles Montalembert

The more dangerous enemy is the one who pretends to be your friend. Grigory Skovoroda

The main art of a speaker is not to let the art be noticed. Quintilian

Those who believe that money can do anything can actually do anything for the sake of money. George Saville Halifax

Pride from the knowledge that you are entrusted with a secret is the main reason for disclosing it. Samuel Johnson

Money is a good servant, but a bad master. Friedrich Engels

Modesty is a virtue; modesty is a vice. Thomas Fuller

Virtue is manifested in actions and does not need either an abundance of words or an abundance of knowledge. Antisthenes

The most dangerous thing in war is to underestimate the enemy and rest in the belief that we are stronger. V.I.Lenin

The only criterion of truth is experience. Leonardo da Vinci

It's not about predicting the future, but about creating it. Denis de Rougemont

If a people rebels, it is not from the desire to take what belongs to others, but from the inability to preserve what is theirs. Edmund Burke

Delay is like death. Peter I

If you are considered a camel, spit on everyone. Vladimir Goloborodko

The righteous perish in their righteousness, but the wicked endure in their wickedness. Ecclesiastes

There are people who believe that everything that is done with a reasonable appearance is reasonable. Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

To reproach a person for his own benefit does not mean to blaspheme, but to admonish him. Isocrates

Women don't follow bad advice, they get ahead of it. Wanda Blonska

Think how difficult it is to change yourself, and you will understand how insignificant your ability to change others is. Voltaire

Knowledge is such a valuable thing that there is no shame in obtaining it from any source. Thomas Aquinas

Misguided charity is not only weakness, but borders on injustice and is very harmful to society because it encourages vice. Henry Fielding

Truth loves criticism, it only benefits from it; lies are afraid of criticism, because they lose from it. Denis Diderot

They condemn what they do not understand. Quintilian

As soon as a fool praises us, he no longer seems so stupid to us. F. La Rochefoucauld

He walked over the corpses of those heading towards the goal. Stanislav Jerzy Lec

When there is nothing to be proud of in the present, they boast about yesterday’s merits. Cicero

One of the conditions for recovery is the desire to get well. Seneca

Who is wise? The one who learns from everyone... Who is the hero? The one who controls his passions. Ben Zoma

The danger of deceiving people is that in the end you begin to deceive yourself. Eleonora Duse

He who shows pity for the enemy is merciless towards himself. George Saville Halifax

No intelligent person has ever considered it possible to trust a traitor. Cicero

It's better not to start than to stop halfway. Seneca

Indecisiveness is worse than a failed attempt; Water spoils less when it flows than when it stands. Roxas

Better an obvious enemy than a vile flatterer and hypocrite; This is such a disgrace to humanity. Peter I

Ignorance is a bad way to get rid of trouble. Seneca

Love is a theorem that must be proven every day. Aristotle

You can't always remain a hero, but you can always remain human. Goethe

The minority is always wrong - at first. Herbert Procnow

Don't neglect your enemies: they are the first to notice your mistakes. Antisthenes

I don’t care what they say about me behind my back as long as they tell lies about me. Abraham Lincoln

For those who are not affected by either glory or danger, it is in vain to persuade him. Sallust

You can fool some all the time, you can fool everyone some of the time, but you cannot fool everyone all the time. Abraham Lincoln

Men are like dogs, the ones who are most attached are the ones you don't keep on a leash. Wanda Blonska

My job is to tell the truth, not force people to believe it. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Let us not delude ourselves too much with our victories over nature. For every such victory she takes revenge on us. Friedrich Engels

The measure of justice cannot be a majority of votes. Friedrich Schiller

Ignorance is the night of the mind, a moonless and starless night. Cicero

People of strong and generous character do not change their mood according to their prosperity or their misfortunes. Rene Descartes

The fate of one whom no one envy is unenviable. Aeschylus

The best doctor is the one who knows the uselessness of most drugs. Benjamin Franklin

You cannot preach to people what you deny yourself. Bitter. A. M.

It is better to use medications at the beginning of the disease rather than at the last moment. Publilius Syrus

There is nothing more annoying than seeing a well-spoken word die in the ear of a fool. Montesquieu S.

He who respects himself inspires respect in others. Luc Vauvenargues

Nothing great can come from a corrupt pen. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

He who asks timidly will ask for refusal. Seneca

Circumstances change, principles never. Honore de Balzac

He who is afraid of attacks on his beliefs doubts them himself. Wendell Phillips

An embittered atheist does not so much not believe in God as dislike him. George Orwell

Slander usually attacks worthy people, just as worms attack the best fruit. Jonathan Swift

Insults are the arguments of the wrong. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

History is a union between the dead, the living and the unborn. Edmund Burke

The answer to the questions that philosophy leaves unanswered is that they must be posed differently. Georg Hegel

Have the courage to use your own mind. Kant, Immanuel

The first cup belongs to thirst, the second to joy, the third to pleasure, the fourth to madness... Anacharsis

A life without challenges is not life. Socrates

Ostentatious simplicity is ostentatious hypocrisy. Francois de La Rochefoucauld

There are some misconceptions that cannot be refuted. It is necessary to impart to the erring mind such knowledge as will enlighten it. Then the delusions will disappear by themselves. Immanuel Kant

A decent person is always a simpleton. Martial

If a person takes care of his own health, then it is difficult to find a doctor who would know better what is beneficial for his health than himself. Socrates

It’s great if we can manage ourselves. Cicero

If you have made a decision, let your hand never waver from now on. As-Samarkandi

The emptiness sucks in. This is why a man is attracted to a woman. Natalie Clifford Barney

If people argue for a long time, this proves that what they are arguing about is not clear to them. Voltaire

Morality always goes hand in hand with politics. If there is no harmony here, then either politicking or dictatorship will be born. Dmitry Volkogonov

Friendship is the golden mean between the desire to please and rudeness. Aristotle

The most durable element of international agreements remains paper. Peter Ustinov

Great things require tireless persistence. Voltaire

Follow your path and let people say whatever they want. Dante

Even if you lose your point of support, you don’t need to crawl on your belly. Valentin Domil

Happiness does not favor the faint-hearted. Sophocles

What should rise to the very top begins at the very bottom. Publilius Syrus

Endure and stay strong for times to come. Virgil

It's hard to be good. Pittacus

Anyone who moves away from an idea ends up with only sensations. Goethe

Respect yourself if you want to be respected. Baltasar Gracian y Morales

Generally speaking, power does not spoil people, but fools, when they are in power, spoil power. Bernard Shaw to Sarah Bernhardt

Philosophy and medicine have made man the most intelligent of animals, fortune telling and astrology the most insane, superstition and despotism the most unfortunate. Diogenes of Sinope

The word “almost” is very useful when one wants to say something and at the same time say nothing. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

A person dies, the matter remains. Lucretius

Great minds set goals for themselves; other people follow their desires. Washington Irving

The louder he spoke of his honesty, the more carefully we counted the tablespoons. BeRalph Emerson

We may be the sons of merchants, but we are the grandsons of prophets. Chaim Weizmann

What has become funny cannot be dangerous. Voltaire

The bliss of the body is health, the bliss of the mind is knowledge. Thales of Miletus

All I know is that I don’t know anything, but others don’t know that either. Socrates

Trouble is for those who are smart but not endowed with a strong character. Nicola Chamfort

interesting statements by philosophers, writers, politicians and other famous people...

How often does a person say something truly smart and valuable? Certainly much less often than any stupid phrases. But, as the Bible tells us, in the beginning was the Word. It is this that allows us to reveal our thoughts as much as possible and convey them to others.

Beautiful phrases that carry within them, as a rule, appear in the heads of smart and great people. It is customary to quote them and call them aphorisms. Let's take a look at a selection of the best quotes on a variety of topics.

Folk wisdom of Europe

We do not always know exactly the author of any aphorism. They may be “from the people.” So, a simple man once expressed a thought in a conversation - and here is a ready-made quote, already going to the people. Abstruse phrases were not included in such a set of words. People preferred something simple and concise that could be quickly picked up as a compelling argument or reinforcement of their opinion.

This is how proverbs and sayings appeared in the world. They are an important part of folklore. In fact, the entire mentality of the author’s people is visible in them. There are Russian phrases that have sunk into the soul and are very often repeated in the daily lexicon.

The European tradition of proverbs and sayings is very similar to ours in meaning and content. How can this be explained? Of course, by our extremely connected historical past and common monotheistic religion. If you wish, you can easily find analogues of Russian morality within the folklore of other European peoples.

As can be seen from the comparative table, the meaning of the listed clever phrases is the same, despite the fact that they are present in the lexical use of the peoples of different countries.

Folk wisdom of other countries

When confronted with the cultural heritage of people from other continents, an equally enormous source of wisdom is revealed. These abstruse phrases carry a lot of information, convey the meaning of these people’s lives, their history and allow us to better understand their mentality.

For example, residents of Europe and Russia know very well that a real man does not cry. A true husband should not express his emotions in public, especially such as grief and disappointment. Yes, and you shouldn’t “dismiss the nagging” on your own; you just need to take it and do the job. However, the Indians from North America look at us with a grin because of this:

“A strong man cries, a weak man does not.”
“The weak are afraid of their feelings.”
“The soul has no rainbow if there are no tears in the eyes.”

This is how these people, who always lived among wild nature and did not know enlightenment, treated manifestations of emotions as a natural need of any creature. Maybe we should listen to these wise phrases expressed by representatives of the indigenous population of America?

Using the example of the deep thought of the Chinese, one can understand how differently we see, know and feel the world. Often the philosophical phrases of the people of the Celestial Empire are so different from what we are accustomed to consider as wisdom that one wonders how it is possible to feel the same land so differently?

This is how the Chinese speak about the importance of a person, his “I”, which, according to the philosophy of Tao, does not exist at all:

“If you are there, nothing has been added; if you are not there, nothing has been lost.”

For Europeans and Russians, this sounds not only incomprehensible, but sad and depressing.

In addition, the search for peace is of great importance for the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom. For them, he is the secret goal to which a person must strive in order to become one with nature. That is why interesting phrases of this country are closely related to the description of trees and flowers. They often use references to spring.

The Chinese place great importance on harmony and unity. The whole world in their view is just an echo of the Tao River, which flows in some other dimension.

They are sure that at the end of the road everyone is the same, regardless of who they were in this life. Many of their sayings speak about this.

Quotes about power

Since the times of primitive existence, man wants to be above the rest, longs to become the head of the tribe. He dreams of commanding and managing, because he is confident that he knows everything better than anyone. Power is a terrible force, and not everyone is worthy of it. However, the desire to achieve high status is one of those qualities thanks to which people changed our entire world.

Power was especially revered in Antiquity, mainly in Ancient Rome, where civic activity was placed above all else. We could hear interesting phrases from the lips of people of that time:

“I’d rather be first in this village than second in Rome” (Gaius Julius Caesar, during an overnight stop in a small village).
“To rule is to fulfill duties” (Seneca).
“Before you begin to command, learn to obey” (Solon of Athens).

Subsequently, the thirst for power never let go of humanity from its tenacious embrace. It becomes the object of statements by many politicians, writers and public figures. Each of them (like any other person, isn't it?) was worried about issues of power. Perhaps, due to their wisdom, they found answers to some of them, from which we can learn by looking at their clever phrases:

“Violence, if it allows itself to linger, becomes power” (Elias Canetti).
“A minister should not complain about newspapers or even read them - he should write them” (Charles de Gaulle).
“Power is given only to those who dare to bend down and take it” (Fyodor Dostoevsky).

Many later, after the Middle Ages, saw power as the root of all troubles - both in the need to obey and in the desire to command. Philosophers and writers agreed that all people are equal, and the very concept of a world order where one person can order another is contrary to our high nature.

Alas! Humanity is still stuck at the level where power is the most important driver of human emotion. People cannot imagine how one can disobey.

Quotes about war

However, we must also fight for power. After all, other people really, really want to take it away. When two endless desires for power collide, war begins.

Humanity has succeeded in waging wars, and abstruse phrases about them flow like a river. This is what people do most often. They learn to fight from an early age, and therefore war takes up a lot of space in their minds. Some praise her, others give advice on how to avoid military conflicts, and others are ironic.

That war cripples billions of lives, destroys thousands of countries, wipes out millions of cities and cultures from the face of the earth, it will always find a place in someone’s head. And the longer humanity exists, the more it realizes how much destructive energy war generates. We are trying harder and harder to get rid of it. Declaring war on war.

People used to talk about how wonderful it was to fight. How much true courage, valor, courage and patriotism is manifested in this. Now we are getting closer to the point where people realize that killing another person will never bring anything good.

"War... War never changes" (Fallout, video game).
“The Generals are a striking case of arrested development. Who among us at the age of five did not dream of being a general? (Peter Ustinov).
“I do not know a single nation that has become rich as a result of victory in war” (Voltaire).
“If we want to enjoy the world, we have to fight” (Cicero).

Friendship Quotes

Since ancient times, friendship has been a way to get rid of loneliness, salvation and support. And betrayal is the most terrible sin, according to most peoples of the world. Take Dante, for example - weren’t traitors tormented in his worst, ninth circle of Hell?

The reverence for friendship has found important reflection in every culture of the world. Many felt obliged to note its importance. Meaningful phrases telling about the power of friendships are found very often in the sayings of great philosophers and writers of different times. Among them are such great names as Socrates, Aristotle, Johann Schiller, Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain. They all skillfully focus on the quality of friendships.

“Friendship is not such a pitiful flame that it can go out in separation” (Johann Schiller).

Quotes about love

Love has always had power over people. And sometimes it grabbed me stronger than friendship, forcing me to step over principles. A person has a hard time without her. This feeling has visited millions of people. The wiser they were, the more it consumed them. Poets and musicians, writers and playwrights - many wrote only about her, about love. Abstruse phrases do not suit her; only sincerity and honesty suit her.

At the same time, it became a topic for speculation, material for excellent manipulation. Thousands of monotonous works impose the image of false, non-sensual, “obligatory” love in everyone’s life. But what does the real thing look like? Great people left us clever phrases about this:

“To resist love is to provide it with new weapons” (Georges Sand).

Quotes about freedom

Man's desire to be free manifests itself with different strengths in different eras. No matter how often people forget about it now, the desire to break free from someone’s control and power lives in every person. And this despite so many prevailing factors: war makes him a slave, friendship with someone bad takes away all his strength, and false love forever deprives him of sleep and demands submission.

And only by getting rid of all these misfortunes can you become free. And it is precisely this kind of freedom that people always strive for; it is precisely for it that they are ready to die. people are forced to think: how free are we?

This highest struggle - for one's will - is aimed precisely at the first, bestial and herd trait - the desire for power. And when every person, even the smallest one, kills the king within himself, and when everyone begins to “squeeze out the slave drop by drop,” then we will be able to talk about a free world. A world where everyone has the right to make mistakes. Where one person cannot kill another, not because he will be punished for it, but because he does not give himself the internal right to do so.

“A people accustomed to living under the rule of a sovereign and, thanks to chance, becoming free, has difficulty maintaining freedom” (Nicolo Machiavelli).
“He who sacrifices liberty for safety deserves neither liberty nor safety” (Benjamin Franklin).
“Only by losing everything completely do we gain freedom” (Chuck Palahniuk).

Quotes about the meaning of life

Every person from time to time wonders: “In the name of what do we exist and came into this world?” Phrases about the meaning of life probably have more mysteries than answers. You can argue with them and not share the opinions of their authors. And this is correct, since the answer to this question is individual for each person. And his future, goals and desires depend on what he will be like.

However, it won't hurt to listen to smarter people. Expressions and phrases of those who searched for the meaning of existence can help us and guide us in the right direction.

“The meaning of life is to achieve excellence and tell others about it” (Richard Bach).

Funny Quotes

What can a person do when he has renounced the thirst for power and war, acquired true friends, known true love, gained freedom and found the meaning of life? Of course, one thing is to laugh with happiness.

Despite all sorts of clever phrases, human life, first of all, is incredibly funny. In all its tragedy, sorrow, and need, it continues to remain funny. And only subtle people understood this with all their souls. For example, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov knew how to laugh at his own grief: “How so! There is so much terrible and bad in our life, but it is declared that it is funny!” It’s as if he, who fed his whole family with the daily work of a writer in his youth, who was dying of consumption, who buried his brothers, had never tasted the taste of grief... But the fact of the matter is that the stronger a person is, the more he is able to be ironic about their troubles.

And great and wise people understood this. None of those whose beautiful phrases are presented above ever missed an opportunity to joke. Laughter is the main proof of a person who is alive at heart. Here are some of their famous ironic sayings:

“I didn’t fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong” (Benjamin Franklin).
“Murderers and architects always return to the scene of the crime” (Peter Ustinov).

Conclusion

Phrases with a meaning that is deeply hidden in them will never lose their relevance. Such are they in themselves - aphorisms, an important part of human culture. After all, how much intelligence is needed to fit your strong message into one or two sentences! For this mastery of rhetoric and eloquence alone, a person can be called wise.

After all, this is such a lot of work - a well-tailored phrase. Examples clearly show that people have always, at all times, been worried about the same thing. Human nature is unchanged and, apparently, will remain so for a long time. Therefore, quotes, aphorisms and proverbs will remain an inexhaustible source of the main treasure - intelligence and wisdom.

It is difficult to go through life on several paths at the same time. Pythagoras of Samos
We enter different ages of our lives, like newborns, without any experience behind us, no matter how old we are. Francois de La Rochefoucauld
In nature, everything is wisely thought out and arranged, everyone should mind their own business, and in this wisdom lies the highest justice of life. Leonardo da Vinci
Happiness depends on our opinion about things, because in human life everything is so unclear and so complicated that nothing can be known for sure... And even if knowledge is sometimes possible, it often takes away the joy of life. Erasmus of Rotterdam
A kind mind makes any lifestyle easy. Grigory Skovoroda
Those who have an orderly character have a well-ordered life. Democritus
Living does not mean breathing, it means acting. It is not the man who lived the most who can count the most years, but the one who felt life most. Jean Jacques Rousseau
Do you remember what happened to you in the first year of your life? “I don’t remember,” you say. - Well, what’s so strange that you don’t remember what happened to you before you were born? Petr Yakovlevich Chaadaev
No man has the right to lead such a contemplative life as to forget his duty of service to his fellow man. St. Augustine
A noble husband must beware of three things in his life: in his youth, when vital forces are abundant, beware of being carried away by women; in maturity, when the vital forces are powerful, beware of rivalry; in old age, when vitality is scarce, beware of stinginess. Confucius
“I think, therefore I exist,” said Descartes. What matters is what you think about, it determines how long you will last. There are many examples in world history when people's lives were taken away for their thoughts. Anisimova Svetlana
Death should be the same as life, we don’t become different just because we die. M. Montaigne
He who timidly fears for his life will never be able to rejoice in it. Immanuel Kant
If you continue to sincerely love what is truly worthy of love, and do not waste your love on trifles, on trifles, on nonsense, you can little by little make your life brighter and become stronger. Albert Camus
In all morality, the point is to discover or seek higher states of life, where hitherto separated abilities could be united. Friedrich Nietzsche
The study of history turns a young man into a sage, without giving him wrinkles and gray hair; gives him life experience before he is faced with all the weaknesses and infirmities of old age. Francis Bacon
We have lived and will live again. life is a night spent in deep sleep, often turning into a nightmare. Arthur Schopenhauer
He who neglects his life thereby values his life. Lao Tzu
The book is the life of our time, everyone needs it - both old and young. V.G. Belinsky
Study was for me the main remedy against the boredom of life, and I never had a grief that did not dissipate after one hour of reading. Charles Louis Montesquieu

Our life is a consequence of our thoughts; it is born in our heart, it is created by our thoughts. If a person speaks and acts with a good thought, joy follows him like a shadow that never leaves.

"Dhammapada"

Everything that changes our lives is not an accident. It is within us and awaits only an external reason for expression through action.

Alexander Sergeevich Green

Life is neither suffering nor pleasure, but a task that we must do and honestly complete it.

Alexis Tocqueville

Strive not to achieve success, but to ensure that your life has meaning.

Albert Einstein


The Mystery of God (Part 1)	The Mystery of God (Part 2)	The Mystery of God (Part 3)

To see all things in God, to make one's life a movement towards the ideal, to live with gratitude, concentration, gentleness and courage: this is the amazing point of view of Marcus Aurelius.

Henri Amiel

Every life creates its own destiny.

Henri Amiel

Life is a moment. It cannot be lived first in a draft and then rewritten into a white paper.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

The calling of every person in spiritual activity is a constant search for the truth and meaning of life.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

The meaning of life is only in one thing - struggle.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Life is a continuous birth, and you accept yourself as you become.

I want to fight for my life. They fight for the truth. Everyone always fights for the truth, and there is no ambiguity in this.

It is not necessary to look at where a person was born, but what his morals are, not in what land, but by what principles he decided to live his life.

Apuleius

Life - is a risk. Only by getting into risky situations do we continue to grow. And one of the biggest risks we can take is the risk of love, the risk of being vulnerable, the risk of allowing ourselves to open up to another person without fear of pain or hurt.

Arianna Huffington

What is a sense of life? Serve others and do good.

Aristotle

No one lived in the past, no one will have to live in the future; the present is the form of life.

Arthur Schopenhauer

Remember: only this life has value!

Aphorisms from literary monuments of ancient Egypt

We should not be afraid of death, but of empty life.

Bertolt Brecht

People seek pleasure, rushing from side to side, only because they feel the emptiness of their life, but do not yet feel the emptiness of that new fun that attracts them.

Blaise Pascal

The moral qualities of a person should be judged not by his individual efforts, but by his daily life.

Blaise Pascal

No, apparently death doesn’t explain anything. Only life gives people certain opportunities that they realize or are wasted; only life can resist evil and injustice.

Vasily Bykov

Life is not about living, but about feeling that you are living.

Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky

Life is not a burden, but wings of creativity and joy; and if anyone turns it into a burden, then he himself is to blame.

Vikenty Vikentyevich Veresaev

Our life is a journey, an idea is a guide. There is no guide and everything stops. The goal is lost, and the strength is gone.

Whatever we strive for, whatever the particular tasks that we set for ourselves, we ultimately strive for one thing: completeness and completeness... We strive to become eternal, complete, and all-encompassing life ourselves.

Victor Frankl

Finding your way, finding out your place in life - this is everything for a person, this means for him to become himself.

Vissarion Grigorievich Belinsky

Whoever wants to accept the meaning of life as an external authority ends up accepting the meaning of his own arbitrariness as the meaning of life.

Vladimir Sergeevich Solovyov

A person can have two basic behaviors in life: he either rolls or climbs.

Vladimir Soloukhin

Only you have the power to change your life for the better, simply by intending to do so.

Eastern wisdom

This is the meaning of our stay on earth: to think and search and listen to distant disappeared sounds, since behind them lies our true homeland.

Hermann Hesse

Life is a mountain: you go up slowly, you go down quickly.

Guy de Maupassant

Idleness and idleness entail depravity and ill health - on the contrary, the aspiration of the mind towards something brings with it vigor, eternally aimed at strengthening life.

Hippocrates

One thing, constantly and strictly performed, organizes everything else in life, everything revolves around it.

Delacroix

Just as there is a disease of the body, there is also a disease of the lifestyle.

Democritus

There is no poetry in a serene and blissful life! You need something to move your soul and burn your imagination.

Denis Vasilievich Davydov

You cannot lose the meaning of life for the sake of life.

Decimus Junius Juvenal

True Light is the one that comes from within a person and reveals the secrets of the heart to the soul, making it happy and in harmony with life.

Man struggles to find life outside himself, not realizing that the life he seeks is within him.

A person who is limited in heart and thoughts tends to love what is limited in life. One whose vision is limited cannot see beyond the length of one cubit on the road he is walking on or on the wall he is leaning against with his shoulder.

Those who illuminate the lives of others will not be left without light themselves.

James Matthew Barry

Look at every dawn as the beginning of your life, and at every sunset as the end of it. Let each of these short lives be marked by some kind deed, some victory over oneself or acquired knowledge.

John Ruskin

It's hard to live when you haven't done anything to earn your place in life.

Dmitry Vladimirovich Venevitinov

The completeness of life, both short and long, is determined only by the purpose for which it is lived.

David Star Jordan

Our life is a struggle.

Euripides

You can't get honey without difficulty. There is no life without sadness and adversity.

Debt is what we owe to humanity, our loved ones, our neighbors, our family, and, above all, what we owe to all those who are poorer and more defenseless than us. This is our duty, and failure to fulfill it during life makes us spiritually bankrupt and leads to a state of moral collapse in our future incarnation.

A person's honor is not in the power of another; this honor is in himself and does not depend on public opinion; her defense is not a sword or a shield, but an honest and impeccable life, and a battle in such conditions is not inferior in courage to any other battle.

Jean Jacques Rousseau

The cup of life is beautiful! What stupidity it is to be indignant at her just because you see her bottom.

Jules Renan

Life is only wonderful for those who strive for a goal that is constantly achieved, but never achieved.

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov

Two meanings in life - internal and external,
The external one has family, business, success;
And the inner one is unclear and unearthly -
Everyone is responsible for everyone.

Igor Mironovich Guberman

He who can fill every moment with deep content endlessly prolongs his life.

Isolde Kurtz

Truly, there is nothing better in life than the help of a friend and mutual joy.

John of Damascus

Everything that happens to us leaves one mark or another in our lives. Everything is involved in making us who we are.

Life is a duty, even if it were a moment.

Only he is worthy of life and freedom who goes to battle for them every day.

A person lives a real life if he is happy with the happiness of others.

Life, like the waters of the sea, is refreshing only when it rises to heaven.

Johann Richter

Human life is like iron. If you use it, it wears out, but if you don’t use it, rust eats it up.

Cato the Elder

It's never too late to plant a tree: even if you don't get the fruits, the joy of life begins with the opening of the first bud of the planted plant.

Konstantin Georgievich Paustovsky

What is more valuable - a glorious name or life? What is smarter - life or wealth? What is more painful - to achieve or to lose? This is why great passions inevitably lead to great losses. And indefatigable accumulation turns into a huge loss. Know when to stop and you won't have to feel ashamed. Know how to stop - and you will not encounter dangers and you will be able to live a long time.

Lao Tzu

Life should and can be unceasing joy

The shortest expression of the meaning of life can be this: the world moves and improves. The main task is to contribute to this movement, submit to it and cooperate with it.

Salvation does not lie in rituals, sacraments, or in the confession of this or that faith, but in a clear understanding of the meaning of one’s life.

I am sure that the meaning of life for each of us is simply to grow in love.

In nature, everything is wisely thought out and arranged, everyone should mind their own business, and in this wisdom lies the highest justice of life.

Leonardo da Vinci

The blessing is not in having a long life, but in how to manage it: it can happen, and it often happens, that someone who lives a long time lives short.