Socrates is one of those rare names that still feels alive. Not because he left behind books (he didn’t), but because he left behind a method—the habit of questioning, poking at assumptions, and refusing to pretend you understand something when you don’t. Most of what we call “Socrates quotes” comes to us through writers like Plato and Xenophon, where Socrates appears as a character in conversations, arguments, and courtroom scenes.
A quick heads-up before we dive in: since Socrates wrote nothing himself, many quotes are translations or paraphrases from ancient texts, and some are popular attributions that have been repeated for generations. I’m sharing them the way people commonly read and pass them around today—great for reflection, journaling, captions, and that little mental reset when life feels noisy.
110 Quotes Commonly Attributed to Socrates
- “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
- “Know thyself.”
- “I know that I know nothing.”
- “True wisdom is knowing what you do not know.”
- “Wisdom begins in wonder.”
- “I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make them think.” (often attributed)
- “Be as you wish to seem.” (often attributed)
- “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
- “There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.”
- “Strong minds are willing to be corrected.” (often paraphrased)
- “The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.” (often attributed)
- “He is richest who is content with the least.” (often attributed)
- “Contentment is natural wealth; luxury is artificial poverty.” (often attributed)
- “To find yourself, think for yourself.” (often attributed)
- “An honest man is always a child.” (often attributed)
- “Do not do to others what angers you if done to you.” (often attributed)
- “The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms.” (often attributed)
- “When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser.” (often attributed)
- “Prefer knowledge to wealth, for the one is transitory, the other perpetual.” (often attributed)
- “Be slow to fall into friendship; but when you are in, continue firm and constant.” (often attributed)
- “Nothing is to be preferred before justice.” (often paraphrased)
- “It is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong.”
- “Injustice harms the one who commits it.” (paraphrased)
- “Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued.”
- “The greatest good of a person is to discuss virtue every day.” (paraphrased)
- “We cannot live better than in seeking to become better.” (often attributed)
- “The shortest and surest way to live with honor is to be honorable in fact.” (paraphrased)
- “Virtue does not come from money, but money from virtue.” (paraphrased)
- “It is a shame for a person to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which their body is capable.” (often attributed)
- “Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” (often attributed)
- “Employ your time in improving yourself by other people’s writings.” (often attributed)
- “The secret of happiness is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” (often attributed)
- “If you don’t get what you want, you suffer; if you get what you don’t want, you suffer.” (often paraphrased)
- “Happiness is not in living, but in living well.” (paraphrased)
- “Let him that would move the world first move himself.” (often attributed)
- “The easiest and noblest way is not to be crushing others, but to be improving yourselves.” (paraphrased)
- “False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.” (often attributed)
- “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” (often attributed)
- “If a person is proud of their wealth, they should not be praised until it is known how they use it.” (often paraphrased)
- “Wealth does not bring goodness, but goodness brings wealth.” (paraphrased)
- “The greatest blessing granted to humankind is the power of inquiry.” (paraphrased)
- “Question everything.” (popular paraphrase)
- “Wonder is the beginning of philosophy.” (paraphrase)
- “To know, is to know that you know nothing.” (paraphrase)
- “If you seek truth, be ready to be uncomfortable.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “A life spent making excuses is a life unexamined.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “Better to be refuted than to persist in error.” (paraphrased)
- “The greatest fear should be the fear of doing wrong.” (paraphrased)
- “Do not mistake confidence for knowledge.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “The wise person listens more than they speak.” (often attributed)
- “Silence is a profound melody for those who can hear it.” (often attributed)
- “The soul grows by seeking what is good.” (paraphrased)
- “Good people do not need laws to act responsibly.” (often attributed)
- “Bad people will find a way around laws.” (often paired with the above; often attributed)
- “Those who know how to think need no teachers.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” (often attributed)
- “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.” (paraphrased)
- “Be curious, not certain.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “A person who truly knows will be humble.” (paraphrased)
- “The best answer is often another question.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “Speak so that I may see you.” (often attributed)
- “The measure of a person is what they do with power.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “If you would be wise, begin by doubting.” (Socratic spirit, paraphrased)
- “It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.” (often attributed)
- “He who is not contented with what he has would not be contented with what he would like to have.” (often attributed)
- “Nature has given us two ears and one mouth—to listen twice as much as we speak.” (often attributed)
- “The greatest wealth is to live content with little.” (often attributed)
- “The worth of a state is the worth of the individuals composing it.” (often attributed)
- “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.” (often attributed)
- “Be what you wish to appear.” (often attributed)
- “A good decision is based on knowledge, not numbers.” (often attributed)
- “The only constant is change.” (commonly misattributed; often said of Heraclitus—shared here as a popular mix-up)
- “One should eat to live, not live to eat.” (often attributed)
- “If you want respect, be respectable.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “No one does wrong willingly.” (Socratic thesis, paraphrased)
- “People act badly from ignorance of the good.” (paraphrased)
- “Virtue is knowledge.” (short Socratic claim, paraphrased)
- “Courage is knowing what not to fear.” (often attributed)
- “Temperance is the strength to master desires.” (paraphrased)
- “Justice is not merely a rule—it’s a way of being.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “Do not repay wrong with wrong.” (paraphrased)
- “It is never right to do wrong.” (paraphrased)
- “Better a clear mind than a full purse.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “Guard your soul more carefully than your reputation.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “If you chase applause, you lose yourself.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “What is right is not always what is popular.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “It is a terrible thing to think you know when you do not.” (paraphrased)
- “The person who is hardest to deceive is the one who questions themselves.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “When you stop questioning, you stop growing.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “A wise person is more interested in truth than victory.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “Argument without honesty is just noise.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “If you want to be respected, be willing to be examined.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “We become better by seeking the good, not by pretending we’re already good.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “Do not confuse cleverness with wisdom.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “The first step to improvement is admitting you need it.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “You are not harmed by what happens to you, but by how you respond.” (Socratic spirit, paraphrased)
- “A calm mind is a powerful mind.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “The purpose of conversation is to uncover truth.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “If your beliefs can’t survive questions, they need changing.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “What we call ‘common sense’ often needs uncommon examination.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “A good question can be more valuable than a quick answer.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “The hardest person to face is yourself.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “A person who knows themselves is harder to manipulate.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “Do not neglect your character while polishing your image.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “If you want to live freely, learn to think freely.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “Seek truth with humility, not pride.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “The best life is built on virtue, not vanity.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “Care for your soul; everything else follows.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
- “Death may be a blessing—either a dreamless sleep or a journey to another place.” (paraphrased from Apology)
- “Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius; pay it and do not neglect it.” (reported as Socrates’ final words in Plato)
- “The truest test of a life is whether it became more honest over time.” (Socratic idea, paraphrased)
Conclusion
Socrates didn’t leave us a neat self-help manual. He left something more useful: the push to question, to notice what we assume, and to live like truth matters. If even a handful of these quotes by Socrates make you pause, rethink, or ask a better question today, then they’ve done their job—because his greatest “inspiring thought” was never a slogan. It was a habit.
Want to read a bit more? Find some more of my writings here-
100+ Plato Quotes That Still Speak to the Modern Mind
110+ George Orwell Quotes (Truth, Politics, Government, and 1984)
100+ Franz Kafka Quotes That Feel Uncomfortably True
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