"Pythagoras used to say that he had received as a gift from Mercury the perpetual transmigration of his soul, so that it was constantly transmigrating and passing into all sorts of plants or animals."

Diogenes Laërtius Philosophy See all quotes by Diogenes Laërtius →

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“Wealth is the sinews of affairs.”

“The question was put to him, what hope is; and his answer was, "The dream of a waking man.”

“Bion used to say that the way to the shades below was easy; he could go there with his eyes shut.”

“It takes a wise man to discover a wise man.”

“Apollodorus says, "If any one were to take away from the books of Chrysippus all the passages which he quotes from other authors, his paper would be left empty.”

“Socrates said, "Those who want fewest things are nearest to the gods.”

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"If their king is their god, he is or should be also their preserver; and if he will not preserve them, he must make room for another who will."

— James Frazer

Literature1854–1941

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"It was Pythagoras who discovered that the 5th and the octave of a note could be produced on the same string by stopping at 2⁄3 and ½ of its length respectively. Harmony therefore depends on a numerica…"

— James Gow (scholar)

Mathematics1854–1923

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"On this earth of ours where everything is subject to the passing of time, one thing only is both subject to time and yet victorious over it: the work of art."

— André Malraux

Literature1901–1976

#nature