“One swallow does not make a summer, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a short time, does not make a man blessed and happy.”Aristotle
HappinessPatience
Aristotle Quotes
50 FAMOUS QUOTES · PHILOSOPHER
Aristotle Quotes
Read 50 of the best Aristotle quotes on happiness, virtue, friendship, education and habit from the great Greek philosopher and teacher of Alexander the Great.
“All men by nature desire to know.”Aristotle
CuriosityKnowledge
“Anybody can become angry; that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way, that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.”Aristotle
AngerSelf Control
“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
HabitsCharacter
“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”Aristotle
LearningPractice
“It makes no small difference whether we form habits of one kind or of another from our very youth; it makes a very great difference, or rather all the difference.”Aristotle
HabitsYouth
“Virtue is a mean between two vices, that which depends on excess and that which depends on defect.”Aristotle
VirtueBalance
“Courage is a mean with regard to fear and confidence.”Aristotle
CourageBalance
“Happiness depends upon ourselves.”Aristotle
HappinessResponsibility
“Human good turns out to be activity of soul in accordance with virtue.”Aristotle
HappinessVirtue
“Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.”Aristotle
“Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow-ripening fruit.”Aristotle
FriendshipPatience
“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.”Aristotle
“My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake.”Aristotle
FriendshipSelflessness
“The friend is another self.”Aristotle
FriendshipShort Quotes
“He who hath many friends hath none.”Aristotle
FriendshipWisdom
“Plato is dear to me, but dearer still is truth.”Aristotle
TruthIntegrity
“It is the mark of an educated man to look for precision in each class of things just so far as the nature of the subject admits.”Aristotle
EducationWisdom
“The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living from the dead.”Aristotle
“Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.”Aristotle
EducationAdversity
“The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.”Aristotle
EducationPerseverance
“The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching.”Aristotle
TeachingKnowledge
“Hope is a waking dream.”Aristotle
HopeShort Quotes
“Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to hope.”Aristotle
YouthHope
“Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil.”Aristotle
FearEmotions
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About Aristotle
Greek - Philosopher | 384 BC - 322 BC
Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, born in Stagira in northern Greece. At 17 he joined Plato's Academy in Athens, where he studied and taught for about 20 years. He later became tutor to the young Alexander the Great before returning to Athens to found his own school, the Lyceum.
Aristotle wrote on almost every subject known in his time, including logic, ethics, politics, biology, physics, poetry and rhetoric, and his ideas shaped Western thought for more than two thousand years. His *Nicomachean Ethics* remains one of the most influential books ever written about happiness, character and the good life. Here are 50 of the best Aristotle quotes, taken from his own works and the ancient writers who recorded his sayings.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Aristotle and these famous quotes.
Who was Aristotle?
Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist (384–322 BC) who studied under Plato, tutored Alexander the Great and founded the Lyceum in Athens. He is considered one of the greatest thinkers in history.
Did Aristotle say "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit"?
No. The line comes from historian Will Durant's 1926 book *The Story of Philosophy*, where he summarised Aristotle's ideas on habit. Aristotle's own words are "We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts."
Did Aristotle say "It is the mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought without accepting it"?
This is a modern paraphrase, not Aristotle's wording. His actual line from the *Nicomachean Ethics* is "It is the mark of an educated man to look for precision in each class of things just so far as the nature of the subject admits."
What was Aristotle's connection to Alexander the Great?
King Philip II of Macedon hired Aristotle around 343 BC to tutor his son Alexander, then about 13. He taught him philosophy, politics, literature and science for several years.
What was the Lyceum?
The Lyceum was the school Aristotle founded in Athens around 335 BC. His followers became known as "Peripatetics," possibly from his habit of walking while teaching.
What are Aristotle's most famous works?
His best-known works include the *Nicomachean Ethics*, *Politics*, *Poetics*, *Rhetoric*, *Metaphysics* and *Physics*, which together cover ethics, government, literature, persuasion and the natural world.