Aristotle was born in 384 BC, in Stagira, Greece. He was one of the greatest philosophers of all time and an intellectual figure in Western history. He was a foundational Greek philosopher and scientist who established the framework for Western logic, biology, physics, and ethics. He also invented formal logic (syllogisms), pioneered empirical biology by classifying over 500 species, and authored foundational texts on metaphysics, politics, and art, such as Nicomachean Ethics and Poetics. May these Aristotle quotes and sayings offer you insights that encourage self-mastery, habitual excellence, and purposeful living.
1. “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” – Aristotle
2. “It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen.” – Aristotle
3. “The energy of the mind is the essence of life.” – Aristotle
4. “He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.” – Aristotle
5. “Wit is educated insolence.” – Aristotle
6. “Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them.” – Aristotle
7. “Wise men speak when they have something to say, fools speak because they have to say something.” – Aristotle
8. “Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way.” – Aristotle
9. “All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.” – Aristotle
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10. “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” – Aristotle
11. “Learning is an ornament in prosperity, a refuge in adversity, and a provision in old age.” – Aristotle
12. “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” – Aristotle
13. “Great men are always of a nature originally melancholy.” – Aristotle
14. “Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil.” – Aristotle
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15. “Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion.” – Aristotle
16. “What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.” – Aristotle
17. “No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.” – Aristotle
18. “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” – Aristotle
19. “Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well.” – Aristotle
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20. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle
21. “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self.” – Aristotle
22. “Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.” – Aristotle
23. “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” – Aristotle
24. “Learning is not child's play; we cannot learn without pain.” – Aristotle
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25. “We must be neither cowardly nor rash but courageous.” – Aristotle
26. “To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man.” – Aristotle
27. “Comedy aims at representing men as worse, Tragedy as better than in actual life.” – Aristotle
28. “To lead an orchestra, you must turn your back on the crowd.” – Aristotle
29. “Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to hope.” – Aristotle
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30. “Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others.” – Aristotle
More Aristotle Most Famous Quotes
31. “Whosoever is delighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a god.” – Aristotle
32. “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” – Aristotle
33. “The high-minded man must care more for the truth than for what people think.” – Aristotle
34. “It is of the nature of desire not to be satisfied, and most men live only for the gratification of it.” – Aristotle
35. “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” – Aristotle
36. “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” – Aristotle
37. “The weak are always anxious for justice and equality. The strong pay no heed to either.” – Aristotle
38. “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” – Aristotle
39. “Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.” – Aristotle
40. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” – Aristotle
41. “Young people are in a condition like permanent intoxication, because life is sweet and they are growing.” – Aristotle
42. “It is absurd to hold that a man should be ashamed of an inability to defend himself with his limbs, but not ashamed of an inability to defend himself with speech and reason; for the use of rational speech is more distinctive of a human being than the use of his limbs.” – Aristotle
43. “For though we love both the truth and our friends, piety requires us to honor the truth first.” – Aristotle
44. “It is simplicity that makes the uneducated more effective than the educated when addressing popular audiences.” – Aristotle
45. “It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.” – Aristotle
46. “The pleasures arising from thinking and learning will make us think and learn all the more.” – Aristotle
47. “The least deviation from truth will be multiplied later.” – Aristotle
48. “The self-indulgent man craves for all pleasant things and is led by his appetite to choose these at the cost of everything else.” – Aristotle
49. “It is not once nor twice but times without number that the same ideas make their appearance in the world.” – Aristotle
50. “If you would understand anything, observe its beginning and its development.” – Aristotle
51. “There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” – Aristotle
52. “The guest will judge better of a feast than the cook.” – Aristotle
53. “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” – Aristotle
54. “The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high and heroic temper.” – Aristotle
55. “Even that some people try deceived me many times, I will not fail to believe that somewhere, someone deserves my trust.” – Aristotle
56. “At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.” – Aristotle
57. “The life of money-making is one undertaken under compulsion, and wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking; for it is merely useful and for the sake of something else.” – Aristotle
58. “Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society.” – Aristotle
59. “Virtue lies in our power, and similarly so does vice; because where it is in our power to act, it is also in our power not to act.” – Aristotle
60. “It is their character indeed that makes people who they are. But it is by reason of their actions that they are happy or the reverse.” – Aristotle
61. “The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently; but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life, knowing that under certain conditions it is not worthwhile to live.” – Aristotle
62. “The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold.” – Aristotle
63. “It is just that we should be grateful, not only to those with whose views we may agree, but also to those who have expressed more superficial views; for these also contributed something, by developing before us the powers of thought.” – Aristotle
64. “The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances.” – Aristotle
65. “Bring your desires down to your present means. Increase them only when your increased means permit.” – Aristotle
66. “Education and morals will be found almost the whole that goes to make a good man.” – Aristotle
67. “Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities.” – Aristotle
68. “The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.” – Aristotle
69. “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” – Aristotle
70. “If one way be better than another, that you may be sure is nature's way.” – Aristotle
71. “Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives - choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” – Aristotle
72. “The best way to teach morality is to make it a habit with children.” – Aristotle
73. “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” – Aristotle
74. “It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organize the peace.” – Aristotle
75. “The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching.” – Aristotle
76. “The law is reason, free from passion.” – Aristotle
77. “The habits we form from childhood make no small difference, but rather they make all the difference.” – Aristotle
78. “The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain.” – Aristotle
79. “We can do noble acts without ruling the earth and sea.” – Aristotle
80. “Life in accordance with intellect is best and pleasantest, since this, more than anything else, constitutes humanity.” – Aristotle
81. “There is no great genius without some touch of madness.” – Aristotle
82. “A friend to all is a friend to none.” – Aristotle
83. “Man is by nature a political animal.” – Aristotle
84. “The whole is more than the sum of its parts.” – Aristotle
85. “The antidote for fifty enemies is one friend.” – Aristotle
86. “Character is that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a man chooses and avoids.” – Aristotle
87. “Well begun is half done.” – Aristotle
88. “He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.” – Aristotle
89. “All learning is derived from things previously known.” – Aristotle
90. “What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good.” – Aristotle
91. “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” – Aristotle
92. “Character is made by many acts; it may be lost by a single one.” – Aristotle
93. “Our problem is not that we aim too high and miss, but that we aim too low and hit.” – Aristotle
94. “Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.” – Aristotle
95. “All knowledge should be subject to examination and reason.” – Aristotle
96. “For what one has to learn to do, we learn by doing.” – Aristotle
97. “Good character is the indispensable condition and chief determinant of happiness.” – Aristotle
98. “In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous.” – Aristotle
99. “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise.” – Aristotle
100. “Education is the best provision for old age.” – Aristotle
101. “It is our choice of good or evil that determines our character, not our opinion about good or evil.” – Aristotle
102. “Dignity does not consist in possessing honours, but in deserving them.” – Aristotle
103. “What we know is not capable of being otherwise; of things capable of being otherwise we do not know.” – Aristotle
104. “All men by nature desire knowledge.” – Aristotle
105. “Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.” – Aristotle
106. “The secret of business is to know something that nobody else knows.” – Aristotle
107. “The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living differ from the dead.” – Aristotle
108. “Hope is a waking dream.” – Aristotle
109. “A likely impossibility is always preferable to an unconvincing possibility.” – Aristotle
110. “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.” – Aristotle
Share these Aristotle Best Quotes on Life with your friends, family, and loved ones to inspire them as well.
2. “It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen.” – Aristotle
3. “The energy of the mind is the essence of life.” – Aristotle
4. “He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.” – Aristotle
5. “Wit is educated insolence.” – Aristotle
6. “Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them.” – Aristotle
7. “Wise men speak when they have something to say, fools speak because they have to say something.” – Aristotle
8. “Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way.” – Aristotle
9. “All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.” – Aristotle
11. “Learning is an ornament in prosperity, a refuge in adversity, and a provision in old age.” – Aristotle
12. “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” – Aristotle
13. “Great men are always of a nature originally melancholy.” – Aristotle
14. “Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil.” – Aristotle
16. “What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.” – Aristotle
17. “No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.” – Aristotle
18. “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” – Aristotle
19. “Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well.” – Aristotle
21. “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self.” – Aristotle
22. “Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.” – Aristotle
23. “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” – Aristotle
24. “Learning is not child's play; we cannot learn without pain.” – Aristotle
26. “To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man.” – Aristotle
27. “Comedy aims at representing men as worse, Tragedy as better than in actual life.” – Aristotle
28. “To lead an orchestra, you must turn your back on the crowd.” – Aristotle
29. “Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to hope.” – Aristotle
More Aristotle Most Famous Quotes
31. “Whosoever is delighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a god.” – Aristotle
32. “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” – Aristotle
33. “The high-minded man must care more for the truth than for what people think.” – Aristotle
34. “It is of the nature of desire not to be satisfied, and most men live only for the gratification of it.” – Aristotle
35. “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” – Aristotle
36. “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” – Aristotle
37. “The weak are always anxious for justice and equality. The strong pay no heed to either.” – Aristotle
38. “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” – Aristotle
39. “Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.” – Aristotle
40. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” – Aristotle
41. “Young people are in a condition like permanent intoxication, because life is sweet and they are growing.” – Aristotle
42. “It is absurd to hold that a man should be ashamed of an inability to defend himself with his limbs, but not ashamed of an inability to defend himself with speech and reason; for the use of rational speech is more distinctive of a human being than the use of his limbs.” – Aristotle
43. “For though we love both the truth and our friends, piety requires us to honor the truth first.” – Aristotle
44. “It is simplicity that makes the uneducated more effective than the educated when addressing popular audiences.” – Aristotle
45. “It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.” – Aristotle
46. “The pleasures arising from thinking and learning will make us think and learn all the more.” – Aristotle
47. “The least deviation from truth will be multiplied later.” – Aristotle
48. “The self-indulgent man craves for all pleasant things and is led by his appetite to choose these at the cost of everything else.” – Aristotle
49. “It is not once nor twice but times without number that the same ideas make their appearance in the world.” – Aristotle
50. “If you would understand anything, observe its beginning and its development.” – Aristotle
51. “There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” – Aristotle
52. “The guest will judge better of a feast than the cook.” – Aristotle
53. “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” – Aristotle
54. “The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high and heroic temper.” – Aristotle
55. “Even that some people try deceived me many times, I will not fail to believe that somewhere, someone deserves my trust.” – Aristotle
56. “At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.” – Aristotle
57. “The life of money-making is one undertaken under compulsion, and wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking; for it is merely useful and for the sake of something else.” – Aristotle
58. “Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society.” – Aristotle
59. “Virtue lies in our power, and similarly so does vice; because where it is in our power to act, it is also in our power not to act.” – Aristotle
60. “It is their character indeed that makes people who they are. But it is by reason of their actions that they are happy or the reverse.” – Aristotle
61. “The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently; but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life, knowing that under certain conditions it is not worthwhile to live.” – Aristotle
62. “The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold.” – Aristotle
63. “It is just that we should be grateful, not only to those with whose views we may agree, but also to those who have expressed more superficial views; for these also contributed something, by developing before us the powers of thought.” – Aristotle
64. “The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances.” – Aristotle
65. “Bring your desires down to your present means. Increase them only when your increased means permit.” – Aristotle
66. “Education and morals will be found almost the whole that goes to make a good man.” – Aristotle
67. “Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities.” – Aristotle
68. “The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.” – Aristotle
69. “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” – Aristotle
70. “If one way be better than another, that you may be sure is nature's way.” – Aristotle
71. “Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives - choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” – Aristotle
72. “The best way to teach morality is to make it a habit with children.” – Aristotle
73. “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” – Aristotle
74. “It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organize the peace.” – Aristotle
75. “The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching.” – Aristotle
76. “The law is reason, free from passion.” – Aristotle
77. “The habits we form from childhood make no small difference, but rather they make all the difference.” – Aristotle
78. “The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain.” – Aristotle
79. “We can do noble acts without ruling the earth and sea.” – Aristotle
80. “Life in accordance with intellect is best and pleasantest, since this, more than anything else, constitutes humanity.” – Aristotle
81. “There is no great genius without some touch of madness.” – Aristotle
82. “A friend to all is a friend to none.” – Aristotle
83. “Man is by nature a political animal.” – Aristotle
84. “The whole is more than the sum of its parts.” – Aristotle
85. “The antidote for fifty enemies is one friend.” – Aristotle
86. “Character is that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a man chooses and avoids.” – Aristotle
87. “Well begun is half done.” – Aristotle
88. “He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.” – Aristotle
89. “All learning is derived from things previously known.” – Aristotle
90. “What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good.” – Aristotle
91. “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” – Aristotle
92. “Character is made by many acts; it may be lost by a single one.” – Aristotle
93. “Our problem is not that we aim too high and miss, but that we aim too low and hit.” – Aristotle
94. “Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.” – Aristotle
95. “All knowledge should be subject to examination and reason.” – Aristotle
96. “For what one has to learn to do, we learn by doing.” – Aristotle
97. “Good character is the indispensable condition and chief determinant of happiness.” – Aristotle
98. “In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous.” – Aristotle
99. “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise.” – Aristotle
100. “Education is the best provision for old age.” – Aristotle
101. “It is our choice of good or evil that determines our character, not our opinion about good or evil.” – Aristotle
102. “Dignity does not consist in possessing honours, but in deserving them.” – Aristotle
103. “What we know is not capable of being otherwise; of things capable of being otherwise we do not know.” – Aristotle
104. “All men by nature desire knowledge.” – Aristotle
105. “Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.” – Aristotle
106. “The secret of business is to know something that nobody else knows.” – Aristotle
107. “The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living differ from the dead.” – Aristotle
108. “Hope is a waking dream.” – Aristotle
109. “A likely impossibility is always preferable to an unconvincing possibility.” – Aristotle
110. “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.” – Aristotle
Share these Aristotle Best Quotes on Life with your friends, family, and loved ones to inspire them as well.