Critolaus of Phaselis Quotes
Critolaus of Phaselis was a Greek Peripatetic philosopher and the head of the Aristotelian school in the second century BC, one of the three philosophers, with Diogenes of Babylon and Carneades, who took part in the famous philosophical embassy to Rome in 156-155 BC. His influence helped to revive Peripatetic interest in ethics and rhetoric, and the surviving fragments of his work show him defending the Aristotelian theory of the goods of soul, body, and external life as a tripartite hierarchy in which the goods of the soul outweigh the others. The quotes below are attributed to Critolaus of Phaselis, organized by topic.
Critolaus of Phaselis on Politics
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Attributed to Critolaus of Phaselis:
“It is shameful for the Romans to subdue cities while remaining strangers to philosophy.”
Critolaus of Phaselis on Truth
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Attributed to Critolaus of Phaselis:
“Rhetoric without philosophy is the cosmetic art of opinion.”
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Attributed to Critolaus of Phaselis:
“Philosophy persuades by showing; rhetoric persuades by adornment alone.”
Critolaus of Phaselis on Virtue
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Attributed to Critolaus of Phaselis:
“The goods of the soul, the goods of the body, and the goods of fortune are not on a level; the soul outweighs the rest.”
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Attributed to Critolaus of Phaselis:
“Virtue is the principal good; nature provides the materials, and the wise man arranges them.”