Heraclitus Quotes
Heraclitus of Ephesus was a Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of the late sixth and early fifth centuries BC, known in antiquity as the Obscure for the difficulty of his sayings. His one book, conventionally titled On Nature, survives only in roughly 130 fragments quoted by later authors. The quotes below are attributed to Heraclitus, organized by topic.
Browse Heraclitus by topic
Heraclitus on Knowledge
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“Much learning does not teach understanding.”
πολυμαθίη νόον οὐ διδάσκει -
Attributed to Heraclitus:
“The eyes are more accurate witnesses than the ears.”
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“τὰ ὄντα ἰέναι τε πάντα καὶ μένειν οὐδέν”
All entities move and nothing remains still. | As quoted by Plato in Cratylus , 401d -
“All entities move and nothing remains still.”
τὰ ὄντα ἰέναι τε πάντα καὶ μένειν οὐδέν -
“πάντα χωρεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει”
Everything changes and nothing stands still. | As quoted by Plato in Cratylus , 402a | Variants and variant translations: Everything flows and nothing stays. Everything flows and nothing abides. Everything gives way and nothing stays fixed. Everything flows; nothing remains. All is flux, nothing is stationary. All is flux, nothing stays still. All flows, nothing stays. | Πάντα ῥεῖ Everything flows -
“Everything changes and nothing stands still.”
πάντα χωρεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει -
“Variants and variant translations: Everything flows and nothing stays. Everything flows and nothing abides. Everything gives way and nothing stays fixed. Everything flows; nothing remains. All is flux, nothing is stationary. All is flux, nothing stays still. All flows, nothing stays.”
πάντα χωρεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει -
“δὶς ἐς τὸν αὐτὸν ποταμὸν οὐκ ἂν ἐμβαίης.”
You could not step twice into the same river. | As quoted in Plato, Cratylus , 402a
Heraclitus on Mind
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“Πάντα ῥεῖ Everything flows. This statement occurs in Simplicius ' Commentary on Aristotle 's Physics , 1313.11; while some sources attribute to Simplicius the coining of the specific phrase "πάντα ῥεῖ (panta rhei)", meaning "everything flows/is in a state of flux", to characterize the concept in the philosophy of Heraclitus, the essential phrasing "everything changes" and variations on it, in contexts where Heraclitus's thought is being alluded to, was current in both Plato and Aristotle 's writings.”
πάντα χωρεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει
Heraclitus on Nature
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“You cannot step into the same river twice.”
ποταμῷ γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμβῆναι δὶς τῷ αὐτῷ -
Attributed to Heraclitus:
“All things flow.”
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“The way up and the way down are one and the same.”
ὁδὸς ἄνω κάτω μία καὶ ὡυτή -
Attributed to Heraclitus:
“Nature loves to hide.”
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Attributed to Heraclitus:
“The fairest order in the world is a heap of random sweepings.”
Heraclitus on Virtue
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“Character is destiny.”
ἦθος ἀνθρώπῳ δαίμων
Things actually not said by Heraclitus
A number of widely-shared lines are circulated as Heraclitus but are in fact from someone else. Did Heraclitus say these? No. Each entry below pairs the line with the person who actually wrote it.
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Did Heraclitus say this? No.
“Of Every One-Hundred Men, Ten shouldn't even be there, Eighty are nothing but targets, Nine are real fighters... We are lucky to have them... They make the battle. Ah but the One, One of them is a Warrior... and He will bring the others back.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but its actual source is uncertain or unverified in the standard reference works. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: Attributed to "Hericletus c. 500 B.C." [sic] in The Tactical Rifle (1999) by Gabriel Suarez; no earlier source has been found.
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Did Heraclitus say this? No.
“I have sought for myself.”
Fragment 101 (80), trans. John Burnet, Early Greek Philosophy (1920), ch. 3 (Disputed.)
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Did Heraclitus say this? No.
“It pertains to all men to know themselves and to learn self-control.”
Fragment 116 (106), trans. G. T. W. Patrick (1889), p. 109 " Know thyself ." Cf. Ion of Chios ; Chaucer, The Monk's Tale , l. 149; Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice , act I, sc. i, l. 7 (Disputed.)