Heraclitus of Ephesus (Ἡράκλειτος, Herakleitos; c. 535 BC – 475 BC) was a Greek philosopher, known for his doctrine of change being central to the universe, and for establishing the term Logos (λόγος) in Western philosophy as meaning both the source and fundamental order of the Cosmos.
He was of distinguished parentage but eschewed his privileged life for a lonely one as a philosopher. Little else is known about his early life and education. He regarded himself as self-taught and a pioneer of wisdom. He was considered a misanthrope given to depression; he was also called "the weeping philosopher", in contrast to Democritus, "the laughing philosopher".
Quotes:
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“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?” - “If God listened to the prayers of men, all men would quickly have perished: for they are forever praying for evil against one another.”
- “A strong belief in fate is the worst kind of slavery; on the other hand, there is a comfort in the thought that God will be moved by our prayers.”
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“Don't fear god,
Don't worry about death;
What is good is easy to get, and
What is terrible is easy to endure.” - “The fear of death arises from the belief that in death, there is awareness.”
- “when you die, your mind will be gone even faster than your body.”
- “There is nothing terrible in life for the man who realizes there is nothing terrible in death.”
- “Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.”
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“Why should I fear death?
If I am, then death is not.
If Death is, then I am not.
Why should I fear that which can only exist when I do not?
Long time men lay oppressed with slavish fear.
Religious tyranny did domineer.
At length the mighty one of Greece
Began to assent the liberty of man.” - “Accustom yourself to the belief that death is of no concern to us, since all good and evil lie in sensation and sensation ends with death.”
- “The art of living well and the art of dying well are one.”
- “For there is nothing terrible in life for the man who has truly comprehended that there is nothing terrible in not living.”
- “A free life cannot acquire many possessions, because this is not easy to do without servility to mobs or monarchs.”
- “If you shape your life according to nature, you will never be poor; if according to people's opinions, you will never be rich.”
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Quotes by EPICURUS:
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