Historical Quotes

Wisdom, inspiration, and insight from great minds throughout history

Philosophy Leadership Wisdom Courage Freedom Knowledge

Quote of the Day

"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."
- Socrates

Timeline of Historical Quotes

~500 BC
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."
- Lao Tzu
~400 BC
"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."
- Socrates
~350 BC
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
- Aristotle
~50 BC
"Experience is the teacher of all things."
- Julius Caesar
~20 BC
"Fortune favors the bold."
- Virgil
~1600
"I think, therefore I am."
- René Descartes
1776
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
- Thomas Jefferson
1863
"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth."
- Abraham Lincoln
1940
"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."
- Winston Churchill
1963
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
- Martin Luther King Jr.

Ancient Times

"The unexamined life is not worth living."
- Socrates
Philosophy Wisdom
"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom."
- Aristotle
Philosophy Wisdom
"The mind is everything. What you think you become."
- Buddha
Philosophy Wisdom
"He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions."
- Confucius
Philosophy Wisdom

Middle Ages

"The truth will set you free."
- Jesus Christ
Wisdom Truth
"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive."
- Dalai Lama XIV
Compassion Wisdom
"The pen is mightier than the sword."
- Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Knowledge Power
"To be, or not to be: that is the question."
- William Shakespeare
Philosophy Wisdom

Renaissance

"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions."
- Leonardo da Vinci
Wisdom Truth
"I think, therefore I am."
- René Descartes
Philosophy Knowledge
"The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do."
- Galileo Galilei
Science Wisdom
"Knowledge is power."
- Francis Bacon
Knowledge Power

Enlightenment

"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains."
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Freedom Philosophy
"I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."
- Voltaire
Freedom Courage
"The duty of man is to pursue happiness."
- Thomas Paine
Wisdom Happiness
"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid."
- Benjamin Franklin
Knowledge Wisdom

Modern Era

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
Courage Leadership
"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."
- Albert Einstein
Wisdom Optimism
"Be the change that you wish to see in the world."
- Mahatma Gandhi
Change Courage
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Optimism Courage