Aristotle Quotes

“In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds.”

“A human being is a naturally political [animal].”

“Friends enhance our ability to think and act.”

“Just as at the Olympic games it is not the handsomest or strongest men who are crowned with victory but the successful competitors, so in life it is those who act rightly who carry off all the prizes and rewards.”

“It is the repeated performance of just and temperate actions that produces virtue.”

“If there is any kind of animal which is female and has no male separate from it, it is possible that this may generate a young one from itself. No instance of this worthy of any credit has been observed up to the present at any rate, but one case in the class of fishes makes us hesitate. No male of the so-called erythrinus has ever yet been seen, but females, and specimens full of roe, have been seen. Of this, however, we have as yet no proof worthy of credit.”

“For often, when one is asleep, there is something in consciousness which declares that what then presents itself is but a dream.”

“Justice therefore demands that no one should do more ruling than being ruled, but that all should have their turn.”

“I say that habit's but a long practice, friend, and this becomes men's nature in the end.”

“And it is characteristic of man that he alone has any sense of good and evil, of just and unjust, and the like, and the association of living beings who have this sense makes family and a state.”

“A tragedy is that moment where the hero comes face to face with his true identity.”

“The excellence of a thing is related to its proper function.”

“It is not once nor twice but times without number that the same ideas make their appearance in the world.”

“At the intersection where your gifts, talents, and abilities meet a human need; therein you will discover your purpose”

“But also philosophy is not about perceptible substances they, you see, are prone to destruction.”

“So we must lay it down that the association which is a state exists not for the purpose of living together but for the sake of noble actions. Those who contribute most to this kind of association are for that very reason entitled to a larger share in the state than those who, though they may be equal or even superior in free birth and in family, are inferior in the virtue that belongs to a citizen. Similarly they are entitled to a larger share than those who are superior in riches but inferior in virtue.”

“To let them share in the highest offices is to take a risk; inevitably, their unjust standards will cause them to commit injustice, and their lack of judgement will lead them into error. On the other hand there is a risk in not giving them a share, and in their non participation, for when there are many who have no property and no honours they inevitably constitute a huge hostile element in the state. But it can still remain open to them to participate in deliberating and judging.”

“A state is not a mere society, having a common place, established for the prevention of mutual crime and for the sake of exchange. Political society exists for the sake of noble actions, and not mere companionship.”

“Everything is done with a goal, and that goal is "good."”

“They - Young People have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great things - and that means having exalted notions. They would always rather do noble deeds than useful ones: Their lives are regulated more by moral feeling than by reasoning - all their mistakes are in the direction of doing things excessively and vehemently. They overdo everything - they love too much, hate too much, and the same with everything else.”

“When their adventures do not succeed, however, they run away; but it was the mark of a brave man to face things that are, and seem, terrible for a man, because it is noble to do so and disgraceful not to do so.”

“For legislators make the citizens good by forming habits in them, and this is the wish of every legislator, and those who do not effect it miss their mark, and it is in this that a good constitution differs from a bad one.”

“Equality consists in the same treatment of similar persons.”

“Character is that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a man chooses and avoids.”

“Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way.”