Alexander of Hales Quotes
Alexander of Hales was an English Franciscan theologian and the first holder of the Franciscan chair of theology at the University of Paris. After training in the arts and theology, he taught at Paris from about 1220 and was the first master to use the Sentences of Peter Lombard as the basic textbook of theology, a practice that would shape scholastic method for centuries. The quotes below are attributed to Alexander of Hales, organized by topic.
Browse Alexander of Hales by topic
Alexander of Hales on Death
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“Sex and sleep alone make me conscious that I am mortal.”
As quoted in Alexander the Great (1973) by Robin Lane Fox Unsourced variant : Only sex and sleep make me conscious that I am mortal. -
“Unsourced variant : Only sex and sleep make me conscious that I am mortal.”
Wikiquote
Alexander of Hales on God
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Attributed to Alexander of Hales:
“Sacred doctrine treats of God, both as he is in himself and as he is the principle of things.”
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Attributed to Alexander of Hales:
“Faith and reason are the two paths by which the soul rises to God.”
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Attributed to Alexander of Hales:
“Poverty embraced for Christ is the gateway to true freedom.”
Alexander of Hales on Knowledge
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“Know ye not that the end and object of conquest is to avoid doing the same thing as the conquered?”
As quoted in Lives by Plutarch , VII, "Demosthenes and Cicero. Alexander and Caesar" (40.2), as translated by Bernadotte Perrin
Alexander of Hales on Life
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“Statement upon seeing Bucephalas being led away as useless and beyond training, as quoted in Lives by Plutarch , as translated by Arthur Hugh Clough”
Wikiquote -
“Now you fear punishment and beg for your lives, so I will let you free, if not for any other reason so that you can see the difference between a Greek king and a barbarian tyrant, so do not expect to suffer any harm from me. A king does not kill messengers .”
As quoted in the Historia Alexandri Magni of Pseudo-Kallisthenes , 1.37.9-13
Alexander of Hales on Mind
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Attributed to Alexander of Hales:
“The will follows the intellect's apprehension of the good.”
Alexander of Hales on Truth
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Attributed to Alexander of Hales:
“Beauty, truth, and goodness are convertible aspects of being.”
Alexander of Hales on Virtue
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“Are you still to learn that the end and perfection of our victories is to avoid the vices and infirmities of those whom we subdue?”
As quoted in Lives by Plutarch , as translated by Arthur Hugh Clough -
“For my part, I assure you, I had rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent, than in the extent of my power and dominion.”
Quoted by Plutarch in Life of Alexander from Plutarch's Lives as translated by John Dryden (1683) -
“What an excellent horse do they lose, for want of address and boldness to manage him! ... I could manage this horse better than others do.”
Statement upon seeing Bucephalas being led away as useless and beyond training, as quoted in Lives by Plutarch , as translated by Arthur Hugh Clough -
“Shall I pass by and leave you lying there because of the expedition you led against Greece, or shall I set you up again because of your magnanimity and your virtues in other respects?”
Pausing and addressing to a fallen statue of Xerxes the Great Plutarch . The age of Alexander: nine Greek lives . Penguin, 1977. p. 294