Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.
Socrates (c. 470–399 BC) was an Athenian philosopher who left no writing; we know him through Plato, Xenophon and Aristophanes. He philosophised by talking in the street, questioning people until their assumptions came apart. He was sentenced to death on charges of corrupting the young and impiety.
About this theme: Philosophy
Philosophy always sits awkwardly in a collection of quotations: systems do not compress into a sentence, and that is exactly what is asked of them. Kant's ethics or Nietzsche's critique of morality do not fit into a single line without loss. What survives is the phrasing — often brilliant, but lifted out of the context that gave it weight.
More by Socrates
More on Philosophy
- Do not weep; do not wax indignant. Understand.— Baruch Spinoza
- The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.— Michel de Montaigne
- A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.— Blaise Pascal
- He who flies high falls low.— Croatian Proverb