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Men in their prayers beg the gods for health, not knowing that this is a thing they have in their own power. Through their incontinence undermining it, they themselves become, because of their passions, the betrayers of their own health.

— 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.