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Greek Quotes

“If we accept the Greek's definition of the idiot as an altogether private man, then we must conclude that many American citizens are now idiots. And I should not be surprised, although I don't know, if there were some such idiots even in Germany.”

Ifs Knows Men Should Accepting Citizens Definitions Idiot Greek Germany American Citizens

Author:C. Wright Mills

“Isocrates was in the right to insinuate, in his elegant Greek expression, that what is got over the Devil's back is spent under his belly.”

Expression Devil Greek Belly Elegant

Author:Alain-Rene Lesage

“The Greeks got into Troy by trying, my pretties; everything's done by trying.”

Trying Done Greek

Book:Theocritus

Source: Theocritus

“The Berbers belong to a powerful, formidable, and numerous people; a true people like so many others, the world has seen - like the Arabs, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans.”

People World Powerful Greek Formidable True People

Author:Ibn Khaldun

“When I became thoroughly acquainted with the Greek and Roman authors, I thought it incumbent upon me to do something towards the honor of the place of my nativity, and to vindicate the rhetoric of this ancient forum of our Metropolis from the aspersions of the illiterate by composing A Treatise of the Alercation of the Ancients; wherein I have demonstrated that the purity, sincerity, and simplicity of their diction is nowhere so well preserved as amongst my neighbourhood.”

Wells Honor Simplicity Ancient Greek Purity Sincerity Rhetoric Composing Illiterate Forums Incumbents Neighbourhoods Metropolis Diction Nativity Aspersion

Book:The Life and Works of John Arbuthnot, M.D.: Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians

Source: The Life and Works of John Arbuthnot, M.D.: Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians

“They even say that an altar dedicated to Ulysses , with the addition of the name of his father, Laertes , was formerly discovered on the same spot, and that certain monuments and tombs with Greek inscriptions, still exist on the borders of Germany and Rhaetia .”

Stills Certain Father Names Spots Borders Greek Germany Dedicated Monument Altars Tombs Ulysses Inscriptions

Book:The Agricola and Germany of Tacitus

Source: The Agricola and Germany of Tacitus

“A forward critic often dupes us With sham quotations peri hupsos, And if we have not read Longinus, Will magisterially outshine us. Then, lest with Greek he over-run ye, Procure the book for love or money, Translated from Boileau's translation, And quote quotation on quotation.”

Ifs Book Running Critics Greek Quotations Translations Dupes

Author:Jonathan Swift

“The space of early Greek cosmology was structured by logos - resonant utterance or word.”

Space Greek Cosmology Utterance Logos

Author:Marshall McLuhan

“If I had written King Lear, I would regret it all my life afterwards. Because that work is so big, that its defects show as huge, its monstrous defects, things even minimal in between some scenes and their possible perfection. It's not the sun with spots; it's a broken greek statue.”

Ifs Shows Bigs Sun Written Regret Huge Broken Kings Scene Perfection Spots Greek Defects Statues Monstrous Lear

Author:Fernando Pessoa

“The power of the Latin classic is in character , that of the Greek is in beauty . Now character is capable of being taught, learnt, and assimilated: beauty hardly.”

Character Taught Capable Greek Classic Latin

Author:Matthew Arnold

“I'd love to say I'm an accomplished cook, but I don't have any signature dishes. I'm good at breakfast -- I make great eggs. My father gave me a little recipe. It's all in the seasoning. But it's a Greek secret. I won't give it away!”

Giving Littles Father Secret Cooks Greek Accomplished Eggs Breakfast Dishes Recipes Signatures Seasoning

Author:Jennifer Aniston

“They were the first Westerners. The spirit of the West, the modern spirit, is a Greek discovery; and the place of the Greeks is in the modern world.”

World Firsts Spirit Modern Discovery West Greek Modern World Westerners

Book:The Greek way ; The Roman way

Source: The Greek way ; The Roman way

“Nietzsche inveighs against every sort of historical optimism; but he energetically repudiates the ordinary pessimism, which is the result of degenerate or enfeebled instincts of decadence. He preaches with youthful enthusiasm the triumph of a tragic culture, introduced by an intrepid rising generation, in which the spirit of ancient Greece might be born again. He rejects the pessimism of Schopenhauer, for he already abhors all renunciation; but he seeks a pessimism of healthiness, one derived from strength, from exuberant power, and he believes he has found it in the Greeks.”

“Since the Greeks the predominant attitude of thinkers towards intellectual activity was to glorify it insofar as (like aesthetic activity) it finds its satisfaction in itself, apart from any attention to the advantages it may procure. Most thinkers would have agreed with Renan's verdict that the man who loves science for its fruits commits the worst of blasphemies against that divinity. The modern clercs have violently torn up this charter. They proclaim the intellectual functions are only respectable to the extent that they are bound up with the pursuit of concrete advantage.”

“Greek pederasty honored the erotic magnetism of male adolescence in a way that today brings police to the door. Children are more conscious and perverse than parents like to think.”

Thinking Way Children Today Parent Doors Conscious Police Males Greek Adolescence Honored Erotic Magnetism

Book:Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson

Source: Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson

“In the reign of the Greek Emperor Justinian , and again in the reign of Phocas , the Bishop of Rome obtained some dominion over the Greek Churches, but of no long continuance. His standing dominion was only over the nations of the Western Empire, represented by Daniel's fourth Beast.”

Long Nations Church Standing Western Greek Beast Empires Rome Fourth Reign Emperor Dominion Bishops Continuance Justinian

Book:Observations

Source: Observations

“The monarchy of the Greeks for want of an heir was broken into several kingdoms; four of which, seated to the four winds of heaven, were very eminent. For Ptolemy reigned over Egypt, Lybia and Ethiopia ; Antigonus over Syria and the lesser Asia; Lysimachus over Thrace ; and Cassander over Macedon, Greece and Epirus .”

Want Heaven Four Wind Broken Kingdoms Greek Syria Egypt Asia Greece Monarchy Heirs Ethiopia

Book:Isaac Newton's Observations on the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John: A Critical Edition

Source: Isaac Newton's Observations on the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John: A Critical Edition

“Wrongly do the Greeks suppose that aught begins or ceases to be; for nothing comes into being or is destroyed; but all is an aggregation or secretion of preexisting things; so that all becoming might more correctly be called becoming mixed, and all corruption, becoming separate.”

Might Becoming Corruption Cease Destroyed Greek

Author:Anaxagoras

“He (King Philip) wanted as many Greeks as possible to take part in the festivities in honour of the gods, and so planned brilliant musical contests and lavish banquets for his friends and guests. Out of all Greece he summoned his personal guest-friends and ordered the members of his court to bring along as many as they could of their acquaintances from abroad.”

Wanted Kings Members Court Musical Brilliant Greek Honour Guests Contests Greece Acquaintance Philip Banquets Festivities

Author:Diodorus Siculus

“Such was the end of Philip (II, king of Macedonia) ...He had ruled 24 years. He is known to fame as one who with but the slenderest resources to support his claim to a throne won for himself the greatest empire among the Hellenes (Greeks), while the growth of his position was not due so much to his prowess in arms as to his adroitness and cordiality in diplomacy.”

Years Ends Growth Known Support Position Arms Kings Fame Resources Claims Dues Greek Empires Thrones Diplomacy Philip Prowess Macedonia Cordiality

Author:Diodorus Siculus

“The term "paradigm," from the Greek paradeigma ("pattern"), was used by Kuhn to denote a conceptual framework shared by a community of scientists and providing them with model problems and solutions”

Problem Used Term Community Models Solutions Scientist Patterns Greek Providing Framework Paradigm Problems And Solutions Conceptual Framework

Book:Uncommon Wisdom: Conversations with Remarkable People

Source: Uncommon Wisdom: Conversations with Remarkable People

“Rumors and reports of man's relation with animals are the world's oldest news stories, headlined in the stars of the zodiac, posted on the walls of prehistoric caves, inscribed in the languages of Egyptian myth, Greek philosophy, Hindu religion, Christian art, our own DNA. Belonging within the circle of mankind's intimate acquaintance ... constant albeit speechless companions, they supplied energies fit to be harnessed or roasted.”

“The modern sensibility attempts to drain the contents of experience; these Greek poets strive to state the fact so poignantly that it becomes an ever-flowing spring as Sappho says, "More real than real, more gold than gold.”

Real States Facts Modern Poet Spring Gold Strive Greek Sensibility Drains

Book:Classics Revisited

Source: Classics Revisited

“The ancient Greeks, as Plato reports, believed that we discover truth through "reminiscence," that is by "remembering," by intuitively searching into our own experience.”

Remember Ancient Greek Reports Plato Ancient Greek

Author:Rollo May

“There was no mistaking, even in the uncertain light, the hand, half crabbed, half generous, and wholly drunken, of the Consul himself, the Greek e's, the flying buttresses of d's, the t's like lonely wayside crosses save where they crucified an entire word.”

Hands Light Half Crosses Lonely Flying Greek Generous Uncertain

Book:Under the Volcano: A Novel

Source: Under the Volcano: A Novel

“Philo of Alexandria introduced in the first century what has been described as the 'Hellenizing of the Old Testament,' or the allegorical method of exegesis. By this, as Erdmann observes, the Bible narrative was found to contain a deeper, and particularly an allegorical interpretation, in addition to its literal interpretation; this was not conscious disingenuousness but a natural mode of amalgamating the Greek philosophic with the Hebraic doctrines.”

Firsts Has Beens Found Natural Century Conscious Method Deeper Doctrine Narrative Greek Interpretation Testament Literal Old Testament Philosophic Alexandria Exegesis

Author:Philo

“Excessively precise economic analysis can lead to assessing everything in terms of its easily measurable melt value - the value that thieves get from stealing copper wiring from isolated houses, that vandals got from tearing down Greek temples for the lead joints holding the marble blocks together, that shortsighted timber companies get from liquidating their forests. The standard to insist on is live value. What is something worth when it's working?”

Together Values House Term Company Economic Standards Stealing Forests Block Analysis Greek Temples Isolated Thieves Precise Joints Marble Copper Timber Wiring Assessing Vandals

Author:Stewart Brand

“We're living in a Dark Age of macroeconomics. Remember, what defined the Dark Ages wasn’t the fact that they were primitive — the Bronze Age was primitive, too. What made the Dark Ages dark was the fact that so much knowledge had been lost, that so much known to the Greeks and Romans had been forgotten by the barbarian kingdoms that followed.”

Made Facts Age Remember Lost Dark Known Forgotten Kingdoms Defined Greek Primitive Dark Ages Barbarians Bronze Macroeconomics

Author:Paul Krugman

“Santa Claus is a god. He's no less a god than Ahura Mazda, or Odin, or Zeus. Think of the white beard, the chariot pulled through the air by a breed of animal which doesn't ordinarily fly, the prayers (requests for gifts) which are annually mailed to him and which so baffle the Post Office, the specially-garbed priests in all the department stories. And don't gods reflect their creators' society? The Greeks had a huntress goddess, and gods of agriculture and war and love. What else would we have but a god of giving, of merchandising, and of consumption?”

“In one sense, the Stanford prison study is more like a Greek drama than a traditional experiment, in that we have humanity, represented by a bunch of good people, pitted against an evil-producing situation. The question is, does the goodness of the people overwhelm the bad situation, or does the bad situation overwhelm the good people?”

People Doe Humanity Evil Situation Study Drama Goodness Prison Experiments Bunch Traditional Greek Good People Stanford Bad Situations Greek Drama

Author:Philip Zimbardo

“Technology has been defined, perhaps a little ungenerously, as "a long Greek name for a bag of tools".”

Littles Long Has Beens Names Technology Tools Defined Greek Bags

Author:Vincent Massey

“Hellenic science is a victory of rationalism, which appears greater, not smaller, when one is made to realize that it had been won in spite of the irrational beliefs of the Greek people; all in all, it was a triumph of reason in the face of unreason. Some knowledge of Greek superstitions is needed not only for a proper appreciation of that triumph but also for the justification of occasional failures, such as the many Platonic aberrations.”

Source: Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece

“Greek culture is pleasant to contemplate because of its great simplicity and naturalness, and because of the absence of gadgets, each of which is sooner or later a cause of servitude.”

Culture Causes Simplicity Absence Greek Pleasant Contemplating Sooner Or Later Servitude Gadgets Greek Culture

Book:Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece

Source: Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece

“The rationalism of the creative minds was tempered by abundant fantasies, and the supreme beauty of the monuments was probably spoiled by the circumambient vanities and ugliness; in a few cases the Greeks came as close to perfection as it was possible to do, yet they were human and imperfect.”

Mind Humans Cases Fantasy Creative Perfection Supreme Vanity Greek Imperfect Ugliness Monument Spoiled Rationalism Creative Mind

Book:Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece

Source: Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece

“It is childish to assume that science began in Greece; the Greek "miracle" was prepared by millenia of work in Egypt, Mesopotamia and possibly in other regions. Greek science was less an invention than a revival.”

Miracle Assuming Prepared Invention Greek Regions Egypt Greece Revival Mesopotamia

Book:Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece

Source: Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece

“The Hellenistic world was international to a degree, polyglot and inspired by many religious faiths. ...the Greek ideals were pagan and the Hellenistic age witnessed their death struggle against Asiatic and Egyptian mysteries , on the one side, and against Judaism , on the other.”

World Age Sides Religious Struggle Mystery Degrees Ideals Inspired International Greek Judaism Religious Faith Pagan Egyptian Polyglots

Book:A History of Science: Hellenistic science and culture in the last three centuries B.C

Source: A History of Science: Hellenistic science and culture in the last three centuries B.C

“What can we expect from nations still less advanced in civilization than the Greeks?”

Stills Nations Civilization Greek

Book:A treatise on political economy: or, The production, distribution and consumption of wealth

Source: A treatise on political economy: or, The production, distribution and consumption of wealth

“Thanks to my memory, which enabled me to quote Latin and to discuss Greek and Roman civilization, it became obvious to some of my colleagues in other fields that I was interested in things outside mathematics. This lead quickly to very pleasant relationships.”

Memories Fields Civilization Mathematics Obvious Thanks Greek Pleasant Latin Colleagues Roman Civilization

Author:Stanislaw Ulam

“You know, I found out recently that the word "heretic" comes from the Greek word "airetikós", meaning "able to choose" - which pretty much says it all, don't you think?”

Thinking Knows Able Found Greek Heretic

Author:Pat Condell

“Your ancestors invaded Macedonia and the rest of Greece and did us great harm, though we had done them no prior injury; ... [and] I have been appointed leader of the Greeks.”

Has Beens Done Leader Harm Greek Injury Ancestor Greece Macedonia

Author:Arrian

“The Macedonian people and their kings were of Greek stock, as their traditions and the scanty remains of their language combine to testify.”

People Language Kings Tradition Remains Greek

Author:J. B. Bury

“We are living in what the Greeks called the kairos - the right moment - for a 'metamorphosis of the gods', of the fundamental principles and symbols. This peculiarity of our time, which is certainly not of our conscious choosing, is the expression of the unconscious man within us who is changing.”

Men Moments Growth Principles Expression Conscious Fundamentals Symbols Greek Our Time Unconscious Metamorphosis Memories Dreams Reflections Right Moment Fundamental Principles

Author:Carl Jung

“Evangelion (that we call the gospel) is a Greek word and signifieth good, merry, glad and joyful tidings, that maketh a man's heart glad and maketh him sing, dance, and leap for joy.”

Men Heart Joy Glad Greek Leap Joyful Merry Tidings

Book:The Works of the English Reformers: The works of Tyndale, (continued:) An answer to Sir Thomas More's Dialogue ; An exposition upon the 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters of Matthew ; An exposition upon the 1st epistle of St. John ; A pathway into the Holy Scripture ; The sacrament of baptism, and the sacrament of the body and blood of our saviour Jesus Christ

Source: The Works of the English Reformers: The works of Tyndale, (continued:) An answer to Sir Thomas More's Dialogue ; An exposition upon the 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters of Matthew ; An exposition upon the 1st epistle of St. John ; A pathway into the Holy Scripture ; The sacrament of baptism, and the sacrament of the body and blood of our saviour Jesus Christ

“There's no genetic basis for any kind of rigid ethnic or racial classification. I'm always asked is there Greek DNA or an Italian gene, but, of course, there isn't. We're very closely related.”

Kind Courses Race Bases Greek Related Italian Genes Dna Classification

Author:Bryan Sykes

“Among the conservative Greek opinion there would be no regrets that Alexander the Greek leader was invading the barbarians.”

Would Be Leader Opinion Regret Conservative Greek No Regrets Barbarians Invading

Book:Alexander The Great

Source: Alexander The Great

“Alexander was not the first Greek to be honoured as a god for political favour.”

Firsts Political Greek Favour

Book:Alexander The Great

Source: Alexander The Great

“A scholar like myself who is not a Sinologist and yet ventures the proposition that Chinese languages should be rewritten in the Greek alphabet (or "Romanized", to use the current term) is treading on uncharted territory (for him) and does so at his peril.”

Should Doe Use Language Term Currents Chinese Greek Territory Scholar Venture Propositions Peril Alphabet Uncharted Treading Uncharted Territory Chinese Language

Author:Eric A. Havelock

“Over the years, I have become convinced that Hellenism as a culture represents not a static condition of uniform sublimity mysteriously achieved and maintained as an effect of some racial advantage. Rather it should be understood as an evolving process, governed by a dynamic of change, as both language and thought underwent transformational alteration caused by a transition from orality to literacy. The instrument of change is discerned to be the invention of the Greek alphabet, at a quite late stage in the history of developing cultures.”

“All we can say is that, as the result of a process which went on from the fourth century to about the eighth, a standard type of text was produced, which is found in the vast majority of the manuscripts that have come down to us. At least ninety-six per cent of the extant manuscripts of the Greek New Testament are later than the eighth century; and of those only a handful preserve traces of the other types of text which were in existence before the adoption of the standard text, and out of which it was created.”

Found Process Results Existence Century Type Six Standards Majority Preserves Greek Fourth Cents Adoption Testament Ninety Handful New Testament Manuscripts

Author:Frederic G. Kenyon

“Seldom can two such epoch-making events have occurred in successive years as happened then. In 1453 the Turks stormed Constantinople and finally destroyed the Greek Empire, driving out Greek scholars, who carried the knowledge of Greek language and literature to the western world; and in 1454 the first document known to us appeared from the printing press at Mainz.”