Posidonius Quotes
Posidonius of Apamea was a Greek Stoic philosopher, polymath, and one of the most learned men of antiquity. Settling in Rhodes, where he taught the young Cicero, he produced encyclopedic works on natural philosophy, ethics, history, geography, and astronomy, almost all of which are lost. The quotes below are attributed to Posidonius, organized by topic.
Browse Posidonius by topic
Posidonius on Freedom
-
“Things which bestow upon the soul no greatness or confidence or freedom from care are not goods. But riches and health and similar conditions do none of these things; therefore, riches and health are not goods. Things which bestow upon the soul no greatness or confidence or freedom from care, but on the other hand create in it arrogance, vanity, and insolence, are evils. But things which are the gift of Fortune drive us into these evil ways. Therefore these things are not goods.”
As quoted in Epistulae morales ad Lucilium by Seneca , Epistle LXXXVII (trans. R. M. Gummere)
Posidonius on Knowledge
-
“Riches are a cause of evil, not because, of themselves, they do any evil, but because they goad men on so that they are ready to do evil.”
As quoted in Epistulae morales ad Lucilium by Seneca , Epistle LXXXVII (trans. R. M. Gummere) -
“A single day among the learned lasts longer than the longest life of the ignorant.”
As quoted in Epistulae morales ad Lucilium by Seneca , Epistle LXXVIII (trans. R. M. Gummere) -
“Things which bestow upon the soul no greatness or confidence or freedom from care are not goods. But riches and health and similar conditions do none of these things; therefore, riches and health are not goods. Things which bestow upon the soul no greatness or confidence or freedom from care, but on the other hand create in it arrogance, vanity, and insolence, are evils. But things which are the g”
As quoted in Epistulae morales ad Lucilium by Seneca , Epistle LXXXVII (trans. R. M. Gummere) -
“There are never any occasions when you need think yourself safe because you wield the weapons of Fortune; fight with your own! Fortune does not furnish arms against herself; hence men equipped against their foes are unarmed against Fortune herself.”
As quoted in Epistulae morales ad Lucilium by Seneca , Epistle CXIII (trans. R. M. Gummere)
Posidonius on Mind
-
Attributed to Posidonius:
“The passions are not mere wrong judgments, but movements of the irrational part of the soul.”
Posidonius on Nature
-
Attributed to Posidonius:
“All things are connected, since the world is a single living thing.”
-
Attributed to Posidonius:
“The cosmos is a perfect rational animal.”
-
“When men were scattered over the earth, protected by eaves or by the dug-out shelter of a cliff or by the trunk of a hollow tree, it was philosophy that taught them to build houses.”
As quoted in Epistulae morales ad Lucilium by Seneca , Epistle XC (trans. R. M. Gummere)
Posidonius on Time
-
Attributed to Posidonius:
“Time is the measure of motion in respect of before and after.”
Posidonius on Truth
-
Attributed to Posidonius:
“There is one work proper to philosophy: to discover the truth.”