Courage begins the difficult deed, but fortune governs its outcome.
andreia arche deinon pragmaton, tyche de telos kratei.
Philosophers
Democritus
Born around 460 BCE in Abdera, Thrace, Democritus was an ancient Greek natural philosopher who, together with his teacher Leucippus, proposed that the fundamental constituents of reality are 'atoms' (indivisible particles) and 'void' (empty space). Known as 'the laughing philosopher,' his ethical vision locating human happiness in euthymia (tranquility of mind) was carried forward by Epicurus.
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Democritus's Other Quotes
Color exists by convention, sweet by convention, bitter by convention; in reality there are only atoms and void.
Tranquility arises for human beings from moderation in enjoyment and a balanced life.
He who would be tranquil should not undertake too many things, either private or public.
For those who want more, time is never enough.
Related Quotes
Fate is a natural order of all things, following one upon another from eternity, and their intertwining is inviolable.
-- Chrysippus of Soli
Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.
-- Marcus Aurelius
The beginning is half of the whole.
-- Aristotle
Character is destiny.
-- Heraclitus
It is not I who conform to the stars; the stars conform to me.
-- Plotinus
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
-- Laozi