Empedocles Quotes
Empedocles of Acragas was an ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosopher of the 5th century BC, born in the Greek city of Acragas in Sicily. His doctrine of the four elements, earth, water, air, and fire, mixed and separated by the cosmic forces of Love and Strife, was the dominant account of natural change in Greek and medieval thought until the early modern period. The quotes below are attributed to Empedocles, organized by topic.
Empedocles on Knowledge
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Attributed to Empedocles:
“Hold fast to these things in your eager mind, and you will see them all clearly.”
Empedocles on Life
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Attributed to Empedocles:
“I have already once been a boy and a girl, a bush and a bird and a mute fish in the sea.”
Empedocles on Love
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Attributed to Empedocles:
“Love and Strife alternately rule and are ruled in turn.”
Empedocles on Nature
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Attributed to Empedocles:
“There are four roots of all things: bright Zeus, life-giving Hera, Aidoneus, and Nestis whose tear-drops are a well-spring to mortals.”
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Attributed to Empedocles:
“There is no birth in mortal things, nor any end in ruinous death; there is only mingling and interchange of what is mingled.”