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In the weightiest matters we must go to school to the animals, and learn spinning and weaving from the spider, building from the swallow, singing from the birds,—from the swan and the nightingale, imitating their art.

— Democritus Source Book in Ancient Philosophy (1907)

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More quotes by Democritus

Medicine heals diseases of the body, wisdom frees the soul from passions.

Freeman (1948)

No power and no treasure can outweigh the extension of our knowledge.

Durant (1939)

Beautiful objects are wrought by study through effort, but ugly things are reaped automatically without toil.

Freeman (1948)

The animal needing something knows how much it needs, the man does not.

Freeman (1948)

Immoderate desire is the mark of a child, not a man.

Freeman (1948)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Democritus (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.