90 Aristotle Quotes on Happiness & Life (EDUCATION)

Aristotle – a name that has echoed through the ages as a titan of philosophy, science, and intellectual thought. As one of the greatest thinkers in history, Aristotle’s words have shaped civilizations, inspired leaders, and provoked thought for over two millennia.

These quotes are far more than ancient aphorisms; they are the crystallized wisdom of a man whose intellect fundamentally transformed our understanding of the world. They capture Aristotle’s thoughts on ethics, politics, science, and the nature of humanity itself.

Whether you’re a passionate philosopher, an avid learner, or simply a reader seeking deeper understanding, these quotes will challenge your perceptions, ignite your curiosity, and inspire you to ponder the bigger questions of life.

Top 17 Most Famous Aristotle Quotes to Inspire You

Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny.”
Aristotle

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

Anyone can become angry — that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way — this is not easy. — Anyone can become angry — that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right **time**, for the right **purpose**, and in the right way — this is not easy.

What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies. Also read: **Friendship Quotes**

Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.

Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all. — Educating the mind without educating the heart is no **education** at all.

Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others. — **Courage** is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others.

The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently; but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life – knowing that under certain conditions it is not worthwhile to live.”
Aristotle

Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet. — **Patience** is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.

The high-minded man must care more for the truth than for what people think. — The high-minded man must care more for the **truth** than for what people think.

It is easy to perform a good action, but not easy to acquire a settled habit of performing such actions. — It is easy to perform a good **action**, but not easy to acquire a settled habit of performing such actions. Also read: **Habits Quotes**

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self.

No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.

The energy of the mind is the essence of life.

At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.

Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence. — **Happiness** is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.

73 Inspirational Quotes on Love, Friendship, and Life

A likely impossibility is always preferable to an unconvincing possibility.

The whole is more than the sum of its parts.

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. — It is during our darkest moments that we must **focus** to see the light.

Democracy arose from men’s thinking that if they are equal in any respect, they are equal absolutely.

All human beings, by nature, desire to know. — All human beings, by **nature**, desire to know.

First, have a definite, clear practical ideal; a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends; wisdom, money, materials, and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end.”
Aristotle

Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. — In all things of **nature** there is something of the marvelous.

Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well.

Learning is not child’s play; we cannot learn without pain. — **Learning** is not child’s play; we cannot learn without pain.

He who has overcome his fears will truly be free. — He who has overcome his **fears** will truly be free.

Time crumbles things; everything grows old under the power of time and is forgotten through the lapse of time. — **Time** crumbles things; everything grows old under the power of time and is forgotten through the lapse of time.

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
Aristotle

The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.

Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.

Where your talents and the needs of the world cross, there lies your vocation. — Where your **talents** and the needs of the world cross, there lies your vocation.

It is of the nature of desire not to be satisfied, and most men live only for the gratification of it. — It is of the **nature** of desire not to be satisfied, and most men live only for the gratification of it.

Equality consists in the same treatment of similar persons. — **Equality** consists in the same treatment of similar persons.

Wise men speak when they have something to say, fools speak because they have to say something.

Misfortune shows those who are not really friends.

All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.

Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.

We make war that we may live in peace. — We make war that we may live in **peace**.

Friends hold a mirror up to each other; through that mirror they can see each other in ways that would not otherwise be accessible to them, and it is this mirroring that helps them improve themselves as persons.”
Aristotle

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.

You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor. — You will never do anything in this world without **courage**. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.

Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them.

He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.

It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organize the peace. — It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organize the **peace**.

It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom. — It is well to be up before daybreak, for such **habits** contribute to **health**, **wealth**, and **wisdom**.

Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.

Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity. — **Education** is an ornament in **prosperity** and a refuge in adversity.

The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high and heroic temper.”
Aristotle

The secret to humor is surprise. — The secret to **humor** is surprise.

Even when laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered.

My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake.

Poetry is finer and more philosophical than history; for poetry expresses the universal, and history only the particular.

This is the reason why mothers are more devoted to their children than fathers: it is that they suffer more in giving them birth and are more certain that they are their own.”
Aristotle

One swallow does not make a summer, neither does one fine day; similarly one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy.

The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living differ from the dead.

Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.

All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. — All human **actions** have one or more of these seven causes: chance, **nature**, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire.

Whatever lies within our power to do lies also within our power not to do.

In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds.”
Aristotle

It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen.

Plato is dear to me, but dearer still is truth. — **Plato** is dear to me, but dearer still is **truth**.

Every rascal is not a thief, but every thief is a rascal.

I do without being ordered what some are constrained to do by their fear of the law.

Good habits formed at youth make all the difference. — Good **habits** formed at youth make all the difference.

It is the mark of an instructed mind to rest satisfied with the degree of precision which the nature of the subject admits and not to seek exactness when only an approximation of the truth is possible.”
Aristotle

The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. — The roots of **education** are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.

Wicked men obey from fear; good men, from love. — Wicked men obey from **fear**; good men, from **love**.

The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousand fold. — The least initial deviation from the **truth** is multiplied later a thousand fold.

The antidote for fifty enemies is one friend.

The more you know, the more you know you don't know. — The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.

For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them. — For the things we have to **learn** before we can do them, we learn by doing them.

Happiness is an expression of the soul in considered actions. — Happiness is an expression of the soul in considered **actions**.

Without friends, no one would want to live, even if he had all other goods.

If happiness is activity in accordance with excellence, it is reasonable that it should be in accordance with the highest excellence.

Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil. — **Fear** is pain arising from the anticipation of evil.

The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances. — The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and **grace**, making the best of circumstances.

Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.

The soul never thinks without a picture. Hope is the dream of a waking man. — The soul never thinks without a picture. **Hope** is the **dream** of a waking man.

Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion. — **Character** may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion.

It is possible to fail in many ways… while to succeed is possible only in one way. — It is possible to fail in many ways… while to **succeed** is possible only in one way.

Education is the best provision for old age. — **Education** is the best provision for old age.

The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain.

We give up leisure in order that we may have leisure, just as we go to war in order that we may have peace. — We give up leisure in order that we may have leisure, just as we go to war in order that we may have **peace**.

To write well, express yourself like common people, but think like a wise man. Or, think as wise men do, but speak as the common people do.

Great men are always of a nature originally melancholy. — Great men are always of a **nature** originally melancholy.

Aristotle Short Biography

Born on 384 BC in the ancient city of Stagira, Chalcidian League, Aristotle was a philosopher, scientist, and a pivotal figure of the Ancient Greek.

Considered to be one of the influential intellectual figures of Western history, Aristotle is the founder of the Lyceum, the Peripatetic school of philosophy, and the Aristotelian tradition.

Aristotle was also the student of another incredibly well-known Greek Philosopher, Plato.

In 338, Aristotle began tutoring Alexander the Great. Some of his most notable works include Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, Metaphysics, Poetics, and Prior Analytics.

Together with Plato and Socrates, Aristotle had laid much of the groundwork for western philosophy. Today, he is still considered one of the greatest thinkers in politics, psychology, and ethics.

Further reading:

Who was Aristotle? – Universe Today
Aristotle and Happiness – Pursuit of Happiness
How Aristotle is the perfect happiness guru – The Guardian
11 things Aristotle taught us about Life – Mentora

Here are the best Aristotle quotes so you can have more wisdom, patient, and understand yourself a tad better.

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Also read:

Top 17 Most Famous Aristotle Quotes to Inspire You

73 Inspirational Quotes on Love, Friendship, and Life

Aristotle Short Biography

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