50 Aristotle Quotes on Philosophy, Virtue and Education

Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle statue

Few have left such a great impact on history as Aristotle. As a philosopher, he has heavily impacted how humans think and navigate the world. In most cultures, he is called “The Philosopher” or “The First Teacher” because his works and those of other ancient philosophers set the foundation for modern schools of thought. It's no wonder we have so many inspiring Aristotle quotes on life, philosophy and learning.

Despite the fact that we don’t have a detailed history of Aristotle’s childhood, we do know that he was sent to Plato’s Academy at 17, where he studied and taught for the next two decades.

Eventually, he founded the Lyceum, where he wrote most of his most well-known works, covering topics ranging from metaphysics, scientific investigation and cosmology, to how humans operate in society.

Although many of his writings were lost throughout history, over 30 are preserved today. Some of the theories he created were disproved simply due to future discoveries unknown during his lifetime, but the majority remain highly influential.

The ancient Greek philosopher's teachings have impacted virtually every human society on earth since his death, given a few centuries here and there where he was largely forgotten in favor of other more popular and relevant thinkers. This list compiles some of the most famous quotes by Aristotle and a few lesser-known ones, but equally as profound.

Related: 75 Stoic Quotes from Philosophers of Stoicism About Life, Happiness and Wisdom

50 Aristotle Quotes

1. “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

2. “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”

3. “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.”

4. “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”

5. “Whosoever is delighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a god.”

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6. “It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organize the peace.”

7. “One swallow does not make a summer, neither does one fine day; similarly one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy.”

8. “He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.”

9. “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.”

10. “He who is to be a good ruler must have first been ruled.”

11. “At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.”

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12. “The law is reason, free from passion.”

13. “The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain.”

14. “We can do noble acts without ruling the earth and sea.”

15. “All men naturally desire knowledge.”

16. “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

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17. “Quality is not an act, it is a habit.”

18. “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.”

19. “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.”

20. “Life is full of chances and changes, and the most prosperous of men may in the evening of his days meet with great misfortunes.”

21. “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.”

22. “No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.”

23. "What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.”

24. “Where the needs of the world and your talents cross, there lies your vocation.”

25. “The high-minded man must care more for the truth than for what people think.”

26. “In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.”

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27. “What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good.”

28. “To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man.”

29. “Greatness of spirit is accompanied by simplicity and sincerity.”

30. “Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society.”

31. “All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.”

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32. “Nature does nothing uselessly.”

33. “Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion.”

34. “Learning is an ornament in prosperity, a refuge in adversity, and a provision in old age.”

35. “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”

36. “It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen.”

37. “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.”

38. “A person’s life persuades better than his word.”

39. “All teaching and all intellectual learning come about from already existing knowledge.”

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40. “If the art of ship-building were in the wood, ships would exist by nature.”

41. “Virtue is the golden mean between two vices, the one of excess and the other of deficiency.”

42. “It is the mark of an educated mind to expect that amount of exactness which the nature of the particular subject admits. It is equally unreasonable to accept merely probable conclusions from a mathematician and to demand strict demonstration from an orator.”

43. “The many are more incorruptible than the few; they are like the greater quantity of water which is less easily corrupted than a little.”

44. “Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.”

45. “Music has the power of producing a certain effect on the moral character of the soul, and if it has the power to do this, it is clear that the young must be directed to music and must be educated in it.”

46. “He who sees things grow from the beginning will have the best view of them.”

47. “The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.”

48. “No democracy can exist unless each of its citizens is as capable of outrage at injustice to another as he is of outrage at unjustice to himself.”

49. “Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind.”

50. “Life is only meaningful when we are striving for a goal.”

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