Protagoras Quotes
Protagoras of Abdera was a Greek thinker traditionally counted as the first of the Sophists. He traveled widely as a teacher of rhetoric and civic virtue, charging substantial fees, and spent much time in Athens, where he was a friend of Pericles. The quotes below are attributed to Protagoras, organized by topic.
Browse Protagoras by topic
Protagoras on God
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Attributed to Protagoras:
“Concerning the gods, I am unable to know whether they exist or do not exist, nor what their nature is; many things prevent such knowledge: the obscurity of the matter and the brevity of human life.”
Protagoras on Justice
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“When they [the Athenians] meet for a consultation on civic art, where they should be guided throughout by justice and good sense, they naturally allow advice from everybody, since it is held that everyone should partake of this excellence, or else that states cannot be.”
Quoted in Plato, Protagoras , sec. 322d–e. Translated by W. R. M. Lamb, Plato , vol. 4 (1924) p. 135
Protagoras on Knowledge
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Attributed to Protagoras:
“Education does not take root in the soul unless one goes deep.”
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“Πάντων χρημάτων μέτρον ἄνθρωπον εἶναι, τῶν μὲν ὄντων, ὡς ἔστι, τῶν δὲ μὴ ὄντων, ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν.”
Man is the measure of all things : of things which are, that they are, and of things which are not, that they are not. | Quoted in Plato , Theaetetus , sec. 152a. Translated by John Stuart Mill , "Plato", in the Edinburgh Review (April 1866) -
“Δύο λόγους εἶναι περὶ παντὸς πράγματος.”
There are two sides to every question. | Quoted in Diogenes Laërtius , Lives of Eminent Philosophers , b. 9, sec. 51. Translated by R. D. Hicks, Diogenes Laertius , vol. 2 (1925) p. 463. Similar "proverbial sayings" quoted by George Huntingford , Twelve Discourses on Different Subjects , vol. 2 (1797) p. 99, note: Παν πραγμα δυο εχει λαβας; Audi alteram partem . -
“There are two sides to every question.”
Δύο λόγους εἶναι περὶ παντὸς πράγματος. -
“Περὶ μὲν θεῶν οὐκ ἔχω εἰδέναι οὔθ᾽ ὡς εἰσίν, οὔθ᾽ ὡς οὐκ εἰσίν· πολλὰ γὰρ τὰ κωλύοντα εἰδέναι, ἥ τ᾿ ἀδηλότης καὶ βραχὺς ὢν ὁ βίος τοῦ ἀνθρώπου.”
As to the gods, I have no means of knowing either that they exist or that they do not exist. For many are the obstacles that impede knowledge, both the obscurity of the question and the shortness of human life. | Quoted in Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers , b. 9, sec. 51. Translated by R. D. Hicks, vol. 2 (1925) p. 465. Diogenes adds: "For this introduction to his book the Athenian -
“As to the gods, I have no means of knowing either that they exist or that they do not exist. For many are the obstacles that impede knowledge, both the obscurity of the question and the shortness of human life.”
Περὶ μὲν θεῶν οὐκ ἔχω εἰδέναι οὔθ᾽ ὡς εἰσίν, οὔθ᾽ ὡς οὐκ εἰσίν· πολλὰ γὰρ τὰ κωλύοντα εἰδέναι, ἥ τ᾿ ἀδηλότης καὶ βραχὺς ὢν ὁ βίος τοῦ ἀνθρώπου.
Protagoras on Truth
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“Man is the measure of all things: of those that are, that they are; of those that are not, that they are not.”
Πάντων χρημάτων μέτρον ἄνθρωπον εἶναι, τῶν μὲν ὄντων, ὡς ἔστι, τῶν δὲ μὴ ὄντων, ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν. -
Attributed to Protagoras:
“About every matter there are two arguments opposed to each other.”
Protagoras on Virtue
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“Virtue can be taught.”
Quoted in Plato, Protagoras , sec. 361a–b. Translated by C. C. W. Taylor, Plato: 'Protagoras' (Oxford, 1976) p. 56