Aristotle Quotes

On withdrawing from community to go it alone:

Man is by nature a political animal.

On isolating yourself after being hurt by people:

He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god.

On cutting corners once no one is watching:

Man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all.

On chasing the next raise instead of feeling content:

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

On choosing a team for what it builds, not just how it feels:

Political society exists for the sake of noble actions, and not of mere companionship.

On assuming your case is identical to everyone else's:

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

On ignoring financial strain until it forces a bad decision:

Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.

On justifying overreach as just meeting your needs:

The greatest crimes are caused by excess and not by necessity.

On confronting someone who wronged you:

Anybody 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, that is not easy.

On freezing before a risky career move:

Fear may be defined as a pain or disturbance due to the imagination of impending danger.

On telling a friend an uncomfortable truth:

For while both are dear, piety requires us to honor truth above our friends.

Weighing a high paying job that would cost you time with the people you love:

Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.

Deciding who to call when everything falls apart at once:

In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge.

Feeling impatient for a new connection to become a real friendship:

The wish for friendship comes quickly, friendship does not.

Deciding whether to invest deeply in a few people or stay friendly with everyone:

Those who are friends of many people, and treat everyone as close to them, seem to be friends of no one.

Choosing between a virtue that looks good and one that actually helps someone:

The greatest of virtues are those that are most useful to other persons.

Deciding whether a decision actually moves you toward a life well lived:

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

On preparing to make your case before a big meeting:

Rhetoric is the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.

Figuring out how to show up for a friend who has just suffered a loss:

Pity is a feeling of pain caused by the sight of some evil, destructive or painful, which befalls one who does not deserve it.