They Were Said Centuries Ago — But These Quotes Still Speak Truth Today

Some truths are timeless.

Though spoken generations or even millennia ago,

these words carry wisdom that resonates just as powerfully today

as when they were first uttered.

In our rapidly changing world,

it’s remarkable how human nature, relationships,

and fundamental truths remain constant across centuries.

These quotes have endured because they speak to universal experiences

that transcend time, culture, and technology.

Quotes

“Know thyself.” — Inscribed at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi (4th century BC)

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” — Socrates (470-399 BC)

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” — Aristotle (384-322 BC)

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” — Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” — Socrates (470-399 BC)

“The greatest wealth is to live content with little.” — Plato (428-348 BC)

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Aristotle (384-322 BC)

“The mind is everything; what you think, you become.” — Buddha (563-483 BC)

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” — Lao Tzu (6th century BC)

“When anger rises, think of the consequences.” — Confucius (551-479 BC)

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” — Heraclitus (535-475 BC)

“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” — Thomas Paine (1737-1809)

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” — Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” — Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” — Confucius (551-479 BC)

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” — Confucius (551-479 BC)

“The pen is mightier than the sword.” — Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873)

“To thine own self be true.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” — Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)

“I think, therefore I am.” — René Descartes (1596-1650)

“Give me liberty, or give me death!” — Patrick Henry (1736-1799)

“All that glitters is not gold.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

“The truth will set you free.” — Biblical, John 8:32 (1st century AD)

“An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.” — Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

“To be or not to be, that is the question.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” — Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” — African Proverb (origin unknown)

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” — Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

“We must become the change we wish to see.” — Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” — Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” — Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” — Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

“The time is always right to do what is right.” — Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.” — Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” — Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

“Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.” — Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” — John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” — Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” — Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” — Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

“To be great is to be misunderstood.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” — Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” — Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

“Our life is frittered away by detail… Simplify, simplify.” — Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.” — Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” — Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” — Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” — Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” — Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” — Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

“There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” — Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

“Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” — Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

“Money often costs too much.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

“A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining but wants it back the minute it begins to rain.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear.” — Mark Twain (1835-1910)